BC Chinese Chef of the Year Award at BC Foodservice Expo Recap & Results!

A Follow Me Foodie Recap of the Chinese Chef of the Year Competition

All photos provided by Alvin K.C. Lee Photography

Congratulations to all the chefs who competed in the culinary competitions at The BC Foodservice Expo (January 29-30) at the Vancouver Convention Center. Organized by The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA), the B.C. Chefs Association (BCCA) and Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC), chefs from various restaurants in Metro Vancouver came together to compete for the title of “BC Chinese Chef of the Year” and “Roasted Chef of the Year”. After 2 days of Iron Chef like cooking challenges in front of a live audience the scores have been tallied and the results are in.

BC Chinese Chef of the Year

Gold Medal Winner: Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Other competitors include:

Gordon Ping Wah Chan of Always Seafood Restaurant
Sam Ka Bo Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant
Wing Ho of Fortune Seafood Restaurant
Anthony Shy Wing Leung of Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant
Joseph Jiang of The Jade Seafood Restaurant
Chun Lum Ma of Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant
Keng Wai Ng of Vivacity Restaurant
William Tse, The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant
Todd Bright of Wild Rice Modern Chinese Restaurant

**The competing chefs are members of the Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC) and the BC Chefs Association. Ten teams have been selected to date, based on merit and experience.

Roasted Chef of the Year

1st Place: Jeff Kang – Diva at the Met, Vancouver
2nd Place: Dan Craig – Delta, Burnaby
3rd Place: William Tse – The Sandbar, Vancouver

Other competitors include:

Rebecca Johnson – Italian Cultural Centre, Vancouver
Gerard Martin -Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, Penticton
Romeo Oloresisimo – Ora Restaurant, Kamloops
Tyler Leeson – Kingfisher Restaurant at Halcyon Hot Springs Resort, Nakusp
James Marinoff – Bon Rouge Bistro and Lounge, Victoria
John Waller – Victoria
Colman Herrington – Vancouver
Nathan Wright – Coast, Vancouver
James Hanna – RauDZ Regional Table, Kelowna

**All 12 chefs are active members of the Canadian Culinary Federation. Chefs from each of the four provincial chapters will represent their region thanks to a combination of merit, previous competition experience and success in regional challenges.

About the Chinese Chef of the Year Competition

For many of these Chinese chefs it was their first time competing in this sort of challenge, let alone in front of a live audience. Vancouver is world renowned for its excellence in Chinese cuisine and many, including myself, find that it’s just as good as what you can get in Hong Kong and China. For one, some of the best chefs in Hong Kong and China are the ones in the kitchen of many of our famous Chinese restaurants in Vancouver. Another reason is because the seafood quality and water is also better in Vancouver, which is especially important since Chinese food consists mainly of seafood. Quite often, it all starts with using the right ingredient. Sure there are dishes Hong Kong and China excel in, like Peking Duck, hand pulled noodles, and congee just to name a few, but generally speaking, Vancouver is the most well recognized North American city to house the best in authentic Chinese cuisine.

It’s not often to have a Chinese chef step out of a kitchen and that’s partially why I’m so passionate about this initiative. The BC Chinese Chef of the Year competition is a platform that gives them the opportunity to be equally as recognized as other well known and talented chefs in the city. Starting with a “Chinese Chef of the Year” is perhaps the first step, since it’s the most popular ethnic cuisine in Vancouver, but even better would be to eventually see Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and other Asian cultures being showcased in the same context. In the end, cooking is cooking, technique is technique and good food is good food, so seeing them all represented in their respective categories is something I look forward to.

Judging Panel & Criteria

This was the first BC Chinese Chef of the Year competition and I was honoured and overwhelmed to be invited as a guest judge. The judging panel was lead by Chef Alex Chen, who is the 2013 chef representing Canada in the most prestigious and demanding culinary competition in the world – Bocuse d’Or in France. Other culinary masters on the panel included Sylvain Cuerrier (Executive Chef of RiverRock Casino Resort), Paul Ho (Treasurer of BCCA), Michael S.Pinter (Director of BCCA), and Ned Bell (Executive Chef of YEW at The Four Seasons Hotel).

The judging criteria included: Presentation, Taste, Organization, Sanitation, Safety, Kitchen Skills, Creativity, Communication with Chef and Sous Chef, and Wastage of Food.

With a similar stage set up to Iron Chef, the additional ingredients, spices and sauces were provided.

If I look through a cultural lens at Chinese food there are many factors that come to mind, such as efficiency and cost. Yes, this could be true of many cultures, and I know I’m speaking quite generally, but it is especially true with Chinese cuisine. Quite often it’s about getting the food out there as fast as you can because one less turnover is one less sale. Wasting is also highly frowned upon and that’s why every part of the animal is used and for the most part eaten.

Being very familiar with Chinese cuisine I’ve become immune to the expected family style servings and presentation. Making a dish look nice is not exactly the important focus, although what’s considered “nice presentation” is also debatable. Nonetheless, part of the competition was to challenge these chefs to strengthen their presentation skills and hopefully one day be able to have them at a level fit for national chef competitions. In a way it does mean these dishes need to visually appeal to Western and European standards, but at the same time it isn’t to take away from what they already know and do.

If there was an award for “game face”, he would have won it hands down. This is Chef Sam Ka Bo Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant who is currently training to compete in the World Culinary Olympics in Germany. Best of luck to him!

Although many of these Chinese chefs are classically trained in Chinese cuisine and have cooked for decades in Asia and in Vancouver, there were also some chefs representing Vancouver’s modern Chinese restaurants, like Chef Todd Bright from Wild Rice and Chef William Tse from The Sandbar. These two chefs have exercised the idea of fusion in their own style at their perspective restaurants. While some could consider this as comparing apples to oranges, it is more or less an equal battlefield when there are chefs trained in traditional Chinese cuisine trying to modernize dishes, and chefs trained in non-traditional Chinese cuisine trying to keep them authentic.

It was interesting to see the different approaches to the challenges. On one hand there were the chefs with a set of nicely sharpened knives, and on the other hand there would be the chefs with one knife, which is the cleaver. You can predict which teams had which knife. The cleaver is the one knife that does it all if you know how to use it, and this all partially goes back on the idea of efficiency too. There’s no right or wrong, but they’re just completely different set of tools for different cooking styles.

This also stems from the fact that most traditional Chinese cuisine will require chopping of bones and the fish rarely has to be de-boned since it’s served whole, so the clever is more or less required. In Asia you rarely come across perfectly packaged chicken breasts and quite often the whole chicken is used and presented. A personal default I find with the cleaver is that it makes it harder to be intricate and detailed with its blunter blade and I find this also affects presentation. Once in a while I would see carving knives to cut lotus blossoms out of daikon, but generally the cleaver played the dominant role as expected.

In terms of cooking techniques, the wok was typically the cooking equipment most used as you may have guessed. The ovens were pretty much decoration as Chinese cuisine rarely requires an oven, and in fact, many homes in Asia don’t have ovens.

In regards to ingredients, the most used ingredient was likely the mushrooms since they symbolizes wealth and prosperity. It’s also especially popular to use during this time since it’s around Chinese New Year. The ingredients that were never touched were quite predictable too, the beets and fennel. Those are just way out of Asian comfort zone, although I’m sure they could do something amazing with it once they start experimenting. Who knows? Maybe next year?

**I apologize in advance for those hoping to read the “critiques” of the food. I’m not going to be commenting on the food too much, since that’s not really the purpose of this blog post. I just want to share with you my insights and experience at the Chinese Chef of the Year competition. I will however include some general comments on interesting techniques I witnessed.

Day 1: Chinese Chef of the Year Protein Challenge

The first Chinese Chef of the Year cooking challenge was to create one dish using a protein they previously drew from a hat. Given time to prepare and bring their proteins to the competition, the time limit was 45 minutes to complete the one dish. The point is to maximize this time, which again is a rather new concept for traditional Chinese Chefs who are accustomed to speed. Each chef had one sous chef and 2 teams competed at a time. Protein choices included chicken, beef, pork, lamb, duck, or seafood. Just like Food Network’s Iron Chef, additional ingredients, spices and sauces were provided for use.

Always Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Chicken

Sauteed Chicken in Phoenix Sauce – Chef Gordon Ping Wah Chan, Always Seafood Restaurant

The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Seafood

Steamed Mussels with Black Bean, Sauteed Seafood, BC Spot Prawn in Coconut Broth – Chef William Tse, The Sandbar

Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Beef

Diced Beef Tenderloin with Pepper – Chef Chun Lum Ma, Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant

Dynasty Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Duck

Duck in Two Delicacies: Pan Fried Stuffed Duck Breast with Mushroom & Sauteed Duck Diced Meat with Fresh Greens – Chef Sam Leung, Dynasty Seafood Restaurant

• The Endive leaves are very modern to Chinese cuisine and in this dish they filled them with mushrooms like a lettuce wrap.

The Jade Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Seafood

West Coast Sablefish Duo – Stir-fried fillet of sablefish with salted egg and pan-fried fillet of sablefish with pea tips and ginger puree – Chef Joseph Jiang, The Jade Seafood Restaurant

• The sauce used for the calligraphy was a puree of peas and ginger.

Fortune House Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Duck

Duck Breast in Yunnan Wild Mushroom Sauce & Sliced Duck in Black Pepper Sauce – Chef Wing Ho, Fortune House Seafood Restaurant

Grand Dynasty – Protein: Pork

Baby Pork with Black Vinegar Sauce and Pork Chop with Golden Maple Syrup – Chef Anthony Leung, Grand Dynasty

• The pork chop cutlet reminded me of the deep fried prawn dish tossed in mayonnaise and honey with candied walnuts. It’s a modernized Chinese dish and in this case it was executed with pork and a maple syrup glaze which hardened like crispy candy mimicking pork crackling to me.

Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant – Protein: Beef

Year of the Dragon with Delicious Beef – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

• I’ve never seen this done before. Chef made egg crepes and wrapped them around thin strips of beef tenderloin and then rolled it all together with more beef tenderloin like sushi. It visually reminded me of oxtail, but the whole execution process I’ve never seen.
• The wraps along the edges were almost like Peking Duck Wraps, but stuffed with mushrooms.

Vivacity Restaurant – Protein: Duck

Shunde Style “Sammi” Duck – Chef Keng Wai Ng, Vivacity Restaurant

• This showcased duck breast and duck tongue. The orange sauce was made with salted egg yolk and red pepper which are ingredients I’m familiar with separately, but not together.

Wild Rice Modern Chinese Restaurant – Protein: Pork

Sauteed Pork Liver with Szechuan Caramel, Mushroom Steam Bun, and Sauteed Vegetables – Chef Todd Bright, Wild Rice Modern Chinese Restaurant

Day 2: Chinese Chef of the Year – The Black Box Challenge

Day 2 of the BC Chinese Chef of the Year was The Black Box Challenge. Each team was given a black box featuring 2-3 ingredients which had to be used to make an appetizer and a main. Each team was given 45 minutes and only discovered their ingredients a minute before starting their challenge. Each chef had one sous chef and 2 teams competed at a time.

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Appetizer: Mussels with 3 different sauces – Chef William Tse, Sandbar

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Main: Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Monk Fish with Coconut Milk and Vegetables – Chef William Tse, Sandbar

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Appetizer: Monkfish on Grilled King Oyster Mushroom with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

Secret ingredients: Mussels & Monkfish

Appetizer: Black Bean Stir-Fried Mussels with Peppers and Baby Bok Choy

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Appetizer: Beef Tartare & Hamachi Tartare with Wonton Crisps – Chef Todd Bright, Wild Rice Modern Chinese Cuisine

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Main: Seared Beef Sirloin, Hamachi Sashimi & Pan-Fried Fermented Black Bean Stuffed Gyoza, Chef Todd Bright, Wild Rice Modern Chinese Cuisine

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Appetizer: Seared Hamachi (Rare) with Wasabi Mayo

Secret ingredients: Beef Sirloin, Hamachi

Main: Seared Beef Sirloin, Hamachi Sashimi Tower with Egg, Cucumber and Wasabi Mayo & Potato Salad with Mushrooms

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Appetizer: Grilled Saba with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Main: Sauteed Beef Chuck in Satay Sauce with Saba Endive Wrap on Enoki Mushrooms

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Pre-Appetizer: Fried Saba with Garlic and Onions – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Appetizer: Saba Poached in Egg with Dried Scallop on Butternut Squash with Sweet Soy Sauce – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Secret ingredients: Saba, Beef Chuck

Main: Sauteed Beef Chuck wrapped with Chinese Broccoli in Satay Sauce & Sauteed Black Trumpets, Chanterelles and Vegetables – Chef Kent Wong, Fraser Court Seafood Restaurant

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Appetizer: Deep Fried Noodle Wrapped Horse Mackerel with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce in Endive Leaves and Sauteed Vegetables

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Main: Kangaroo Meat Patties with Baby Bok Choy

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Appetizer: Deep Fried Horse Mackerel with Butternut Squash

Secret ingredients: Horse Mackerel, Kangaroo

Main: Sauteed Kangaroo with Sugar Snap Peas in Black Bean Sauce

Secret ingredients: Monkfish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Appetizer: Fried Monkfish with Sauteed Mussels and Chinese Broccoli in Black Bean Sauce

Secret ingredients: Monkfish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Main: Seared Sirloin Tip on Lotus Root with Honey Sauce

Secret ingredients: Monkfish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Appetizer: Minced Monkfish and Mussels Wrapped in Egg Crepe

Secret ingredients: Monk Fish, Sirloin Tip, Mussels

Main: Sauteed Sirloin Tip in Sweet Soy Sauce with Leeks and Endive

Restaurant: The Jade Seafood Restaurant
Cuisine: Chinese/Dim Sum/Seafood
Last visited: January 23, 2012
Location: Richmond, BC (Richmond Central)
Address: 8511 Alexandra Rd
Train: Lansdowne Station Northbound
Price Range: $10-20 (dim sum) $ 30-50, $50+ (dinner)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Authentic Cantonese cuisine
• Fine dining Chinese
• Popular for fresh seafood
• Local favourite/Busy
• “Chinese Chef of the Year” Tony Luk
• Voted “Best Dim Sum”
• Award winning Chinese restaurant
• Some modern Chinese dishes
• “Customized Cuisine” available
• Banquets/events
• Reservations recommended
• 15% off Take Out Menu before 6:30pm
• 9-11am 20% off
• Dim Sum/Lunch: Mon-Sun 9am-3pm
• Dinner: Mon-Dun 5pm-10pm
• Free parking
• See my Jade Dinner post here.

**Recommendations: For dim sum: Steamed Mushroom Dumpling, Deep Fried Shrimp Ball with Almond Chips, Baked BBQ Pork Bun, Steamed Beef Ball with Bean Curd, Baked Mushroom Pie, Steamed Vegetable with Preserved Vegetable, Mixed Mushroom Chow Mein, Jade Fried Rice, Preserved Egg & Pork Congee, Steamed Brown Sugar with Honey Cake, Blueberry Glutinous Ball (I’m curious about their Deep Fried Milk). For dinner recommendations see here. Any live seafood is a good bet.

Oh crap. I woke up late for dim sum. It was a Chinese New Year Eve dim sum and since I was going to be late, I told everyone to go ahead and order first. For most people you would feel guilty for showing up late, and I do, but as a foodie, it also sucks that you miss out on the ordering. Boo. That’s one of my favourite parts. Yes, that should also be in “Sh*t Foodies Say“. Therefore the items you see are not necessarily what I would order, but I did add a few items to the list.

It’s not even tradition, but my Chinese New Year Eve dim sum last year happened to also be at The Jade Seafood Restaurant – see here. It was with different groups of people, but it’s generally well liked by locals for upscale dim sum or Chinese fine dining. The prices have increased slightly since last year and most of the dim sum comes in 3 rather than 4.

I find the general issue with The Jade is that the items are a bit pricey for what they’re serving. While that is somewhat true, the ingredients and techniques are still good, and they do offer some specialties unique to the restaurant. Some dishes I can find better elsewhere, but it’s still never been “bad” from my experiences here, if anything just overpriced. They do have award winning credentials as the “best dim sum in Richmond” and the chef is Tony Luk, who was last year’s Chinese Chef of the Year, so all of the above sums up to higher prices and that’s somewhat expected.

What I like about The Jade is their willingness to challenge tradition by offering innovative dim sum and overall dishes. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it “fusion”, but they do add their own twists to authentic Chinese food without butchering it.

On this occasion I actually came to The Jade for dim sum on Chinese New Year Eve and then again for dinner for Chinese New Year with Tourism Richmond. I’ve come here on several occasions for dim sum and dinner without Tourism Richmond, and I’ve never had a bad experience although there are hit and miss dishes which I find is pretty normal. Whether it offers the “best dim sum” is debatable, but I feel comfortable to say it is one of the best in the context of Richmond from what I’ve tried, which is quite a bit. It’s not necessarily my favourite dim sum, but it’s still one I go to and like. I recommend it because they’re reliable, quite consistent, and offer dishes I can’t get anywhere else.

On the table:

**Steamed Shrimp Dumpling - 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• $4.88
• Well I’ve never seen it served like that before.
• I’m not sure if the prawn was special for the New Year, but it was an unexpected surprise. Deciding who got to eat it was the hard part, but out of respect, it’s usually the oldest person. Luckily I was at the kids table, so lucky me!
• The Shrimp Dumpling proves the skill of a chef and it’s usually the must try item at every dim sum restaurant.

• The skin was thin, but it wasn’t as chewy as I had hoped and that’s an important part to a prawn dumpling.
• The prawn meatball was juicy and crunchy with no bamboo shoots, but I do remember the skin being better previously.

Steamed Pork Dumpling – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• $4.88
• It was about 50% pork and 50% shrimp and for a high end restaurant like this I expected it to be at least 70% shrimp. Most high end dim sum restaurants will give more shrimp since it makes it more valuable.
• They each had a little Shiitake mushroom and they were very juicy and tender with a nice crunch from the shrimp and sponge like texture from the pork.
• Personally I prefer the Red Star Seafood Steamed Pork Shiu Mai Dumplings, but these were still good.

**Steamed Mushroom Dumpling – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $4.88
• This is one of their signature items and award winning dishes and I have to say it’s a must try if you come here. I always order it every time I come.
• It’s very good and original, but at the same time it has few ingredients and the flavours are not necessarily complex, but simply enjoyed by all.
• It is made for mushroom lovers and they’re rich, but not saucy dumplings that would suit the tastes of both Chinese and non-Chinese.
• The dumpling skin was pretty perfect and it’s a different skin than the prawn dumpling skin. This one is a bit thicker, but it’s much chewier and has a great resistance to it.

• The inside is generously filled with sweet Shiitake mushrooms, Enoki mushrooms and Oyster mushrooms.
• The mushrooms give the dumpling a nice crunch and there’s a good balance of all three.
• There was supposed to be an accent of truffle oil, but I couldn’t taste it as much as I could get the aroma of it.
• It’s the best when you get one stuffed with a bundle of Enoki mushrooms because it gives the dumpling an extra crunch to contrast all the soft and juicy textures.
• The natural juices from the mushrooms are the sauce and it gives the dumpling a very slippery texture, although it can get a bit gummy at times if it’s over steamed.

Dried Oyster Seaweed Dumpling - 2/6 (Okay)

• $4.68
• This is a special dim sum dish only available for a limited of time during the New Year so I had to order it. It’s unique to Jade restaurant.
• The ingredients used to make it are quite pricey, but also symbolic to the New Year.
• The oysters and seaweed (actually dried black moss) translate to prosperity and good business.
• The execution was quite interesting and it was almost like a purse with 2 compartments, one for the oyster and the other for the seaweed.
• Underneath the two features was a roughly chopped mixture of prawns, dried oyster and seaweed. It’s not a creamy or saucy stuffing.
• I would say this dumpling is acquired in taste and texture because it can be a little mushy and pungent due to the dried oyster.
• There really wasn’t much dried oyster and it was all kind of crumbled into the mixture and I think it should have been one entire piece of dried oyster to show quality.
• It has a strong seafood flavour, but the pieces of shrimp gave it a nice crunch so it’s not as mushy as it could have been.
• Personally I would have loved more dried black moss because there was so little I couldn’t tell the quality.
• I feel kind of bad because black moss is going extinct so it’s hard to get nowadays and that’s why it’s so valued and prized.
• I’m familiar with all the ingredients and I would eat it again, but I wouldn’t order it again. I just expected more.

**Steamed Beef Ball with Bean Curd – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• $4.38
• I’m actually not a huge fan of these, but I’ll still eat them and I actually really liked these one and so did everyone else.
• I’m usually not keen on the orange peel flavour, which these ones still had, but I still liked them and the orange was quite obvious too.
• They were super soft and tender meatballs wrapped in tofu skins and they were juicy, spongy and full of flavour without being too salty.
• The meatball mixture had some chives, cilantro and minced water chestnuts for some texture and crunch and they almost melted in your mouth.

**Baked BBQ Pork Bun - 5/6

• About $4.18
• These are one of my favourite dim sum items. The baked BBQ pork buns are so much better than the steamed ones to me.
• These are rather new at Jade and not even on the menu yet, but I hope they eventually include them.
• They’re basically melt in your mouth savoury “donuts” and my non-Asian friend calls them savoury Krispy Kremes.
• My all time favourite baked BBQ Pork Bun is still at Top Gun J& C Restaurant, but these ones are definitely up there as one of my favourites.

• The topping on this one was almost like a meringue and it was all crispy and buttery, but not as sugary and sweet as it usually is and that I usually prefer.
• The crumbly topping forms a dome shaped crust, and this one was excellent, but I wouldn’t mind it a bit sweeter and more of it.
• The BBQ pork meat was a little heavy on the dye, but it still tasted delicious and the meat wasn’t fatty or chewy, but also not dry.
• The filling wasn’t too sweet and it was nice and saucy with some crunchy onions.
• The onions were more apparent and usually there are less onions and almost all pork.
• The bun was very soft and it’s a sweeter type of Asian bread and I just love these things!

Steamed Chicken Wrap with Fish Maw – n/a

• $4.98
• Okay so I know it looks like dead crow, but keep an open mind.
• The black chicken is Silkie Chicken and it offers lots of health benefits and is often used to create chicken stocks.
• I rated it “n/a” not because I didn’t try it, but I just don’t really know how to eat the chicken.
• Eating the Silkie Chicken just seems like sucking on skin and bones to me. I left it for the “older generation” to appreciate.
• The part I liked is everything else.
• Fish maw (gas bladder) is a Chinese delicacy. It’s a chewy, jelly-like spongy tube and it has a slight crunch. It’s a bit slimy and acquired, but I really like it. It doesn’t even really have a flavour and just absorbs the flavour of everything it’s cooked in.
• The broth is one of the best parts of this dish and it’s meant to be enjoyed as soup, but the qualities of it make it like a rich sauce.
• The broth was infused with a bit of ginseng which makes it naturally a bit bitter, but very healthy, and then some dried gogi berries are added which give it a sweetness.
• The broth was thick and full of rich chicken flavour and a sweetness that was not from granulated sugar, but from natural sugars.
• It almost tasted a bit caramelized, but this is considered a healthy and high end dim sum dish although acquired.

**Baked Mushroom Pie - 5/6 (Excellent)

• $4.88
• This is from my previous Jade dim sum post, but I still think it’s worth re-mentioning.
• Chef likes mushrooms and I love mushrooms! Actually Chinese people really like mushrooms because they represent wealth and prosperity.
• As “non-Chinese” as these were I still loved them! This was definitely modern dim sum and it is a signature dish that is very catered to Western tastes.
• Compared to a Western baked mushroom pie it might not be comparable, but I still liked it a lot.
• It’s almost like a quiche meets a mini mushroom pot pie, but made with Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms.
• It had a generous layer of baked cheese over top which is not Chinese, but it was all still incredibly delicious!
• Mushrooms + melted ooey gooey cheese in a tender buttery pie pastry shell… sign me up!
• If you like this you might also like the Baked Seafood Pie with Portuguese Sauce at Top Gun J & C Restaurant.

**Preserved Egg, Dried Oyster & Pork Congee - 5/6 (Excellent)

• Bowl $6.99 Casserole $14.99 (By “casserole’ they mean large bowl)
• This is my favourite kind of congee and this was likely one of the best versions of it I’ve had.
• I’ve never had huge chunks of pork in my congee like the ones they gave here, and I’m pretty sure it was their leftover roasted suckling pork. It was delicious!
• The congee was incredibly creamy and well flavoured on its own too.
• The pork was lean and slightly dry, but in the context of the congee, it was easily overlooked.
• There was a good amount of egg and I can’t comment on the amount of dried oyster since I didn’t get any.

The congee comes with savoury Chinese donuts which were completely crunchy, light and airy. There are also green onions, and some pickled Chinese radish as accompaniments. The Chinese donut is basically a “Chinese churro”, but it’s not sweet. The photo was a late photo, but it came with more of them.

Wok Fried Sweet Rice with Chinese Sausage Bits – 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• $15.59
• I’m not huge on this dish, but for what it was, it was very good.
• The rice is called sweet rice, but it’s not actually sweet. It’s sweeter than regular rice and does have a sweetness and chewiness, but it’s not dessert.
• It’s a bit like sticky rice and it was fried very well with a nice wok aroma and it wasn’t clumpy, wet, or dry.
• The Chinese sausage added a sweetness and there was also lots of dried shrimp which gave it salty nutty bites and intense flavour.
• For what it was, I actually liked it a lot, but it’s just not something I would order.

I came late and people had started on this so I tried reassembling the dish for the photo.

**The Jade Fried Rice – 5/6 (Excellent)

• $16.99
• Next to Red Star Seafood’s Dungeness Crab with Wild Rice Sea Conpoy & Chicken, this is possible my next favourite modern version of fried rice.
• It had fresh chopped prawns, scrambled eggs, minced carrots, slices of Chinese broccoli stems, preserved Chinese olives, and dried pork floss (dried and shredded pork jerky) generously sprinkled over the top.
• The Chinese olives and the dried pork floss was what made this fried rice different and I personally love those ingredients so it worked well for me.
• The rice was well fried, separate and well flavoured with a wok aroma and it was so much more interesting than your basic fried rice.
• There was crunchy texture from the vegetables and great savoury flavour from the pungent olives which were used sparingly because a little goes a long way.
• I would have loved some dried scallops for even more flavour, but it was still great as is.

**Mixed Mushroom Chow Mein – 5/6 (Excellent)

• $15.59
• I came late and people had started on this, but I have a photo of a special order dinner sized version below.
• It’s called “Mixed Mushroom and Truffle Chow Mein” on the dinner menu, but it should be the same thing.
• See description below.

I came late and people had started on this so I tried reassembling the dish for the photo.

Fried Rice Noodle with Beef in Satay Sauce – 4/6 (Very good)

• About $15.59
• The noodles were soft and chewy and there were plenty of tender beef slices and even some Enoki mushrooms which was a modern twist.
• The sauce was not heavy with the usual cornstarch so it wasn’t as gluey or gelatinous.
• The savoury and aromatic satay sauce had a bit of heat and it was slightly gritty and very nutty with garlic.
• It seemed heavier with Hoisin sauce and I don’t think there was peanut or sesame sauce since it was a Chinese version of satay sauce and not South East Asian version.

New Year Rice Cake Layered with Biscuit– 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• $3.98
• This is a special item new to the menu specifically for Chinese New Year. This is from my previous Jade dim sum post.
• This was their own creation. It was a sweet sticky rice cake called “New Year Cake” and it was topped with a pineapple bun crust that has no actual pineapple, but it tastes like a short bread cookie.
• I’m indifferent about New Year Cake, but it was pretty good here.
• It’s served warm and it’s very chewy, sticky and gummy and it’s made with rice flour and brown sugar.
• It’s not very sweet at all but has a caramel like flavour, but way less intense and sweet.
• Eaten together I kind of felt like I was eating a Fig Newton or Nutri-Grain Bar, but instead of fruit puree it’s a chewier sticker rice cake.

Steamed Layer Cake with Egg – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• $3.98
• This is from my previous Jade dim sum post.
• I actually really liked this! It was made very well for what it was.
• It’s a warm and layered sponge cake and there’s a bit of caramelized coconut custard and sweetened egg yolk layers in between.
• It’s moist, soft, chewy and slightly sweetened. It’s quite mild in sweetness, but it’s very aromatic and enjoyable.
• You can’t compare it to Western style cakes, but it’s unique and good in the Asian category of desserts.

Dinner at The Jade Seafood Restaurant

Complimentary Peanuts

• This is a common complimentary appetizer in China.
• It’s equivalent to complimentary bread and butter.
• Unlike North America, peanut allergies are very rare in China and peanuts and peanut oil are used in a lot of Chinese cooking there.

**Steamed Mushroom Dumpling - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $4.88 for 3 at dim sum.
• I wrote about them above, but we special ordered these for dinner and they were just as good.

Seafood is the specialty at all Chinese restaurants and the sign of an in house live seafood tank is a sign of quality and freshness. The whole sustainable seafood thing is a whole other topic that includes culture, so I won’t get into that although your comments are welcome below.

Most if not all Chinese restaurants will bring out your seafood before they prepare it to show you size and freshness. At this point you can approve it before they start. They do this all over Asia and part of the reason is to reassure you that you’re not getting tricked.

**Sautéed B.C. Dungeness Crab & Mixed Mushrooms with Amoy Premium Soy – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• Seasonal and market price.
• You can select your choice of seafood and style of preparation.
• It may be apples and oranges, but personally I’ve always preferred the Asian methods of preparing seafood in Vancouver.
• This was won the Critics’ Choice Signature Dish Gold Award in the seafood category at the Chinese Restaurant Awards 2012.
• First off, it smelled delicious. The aromas were lifting off the plate.
• It was crab sauteed with lots of green onions, onions, garlic, ginger and mushrooms.
• The crab was no doubt fresh and cooked perfectly with flaky and juicy crab meat.
• The flavours were aromatic and a bit nutty with sauteed shiitakes and oyster mushrooms in a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil. The mushrooms had a bit of chewiness and they were quite meaty.
• The pieces of ginger were also sauteed to the point of almost being like jerky and I could eat them whole and they weren’t spicy or crunchy.
• The head of the crab is always served and the tomalley (sperm, guts, brain) is highly prized and “fought” for. It’s basically seafood butter and although rich and high in cholesterol, it’s often known as the best part. “Real foodies” will fight for it.
• Other Jade seafood dishes include: Braised Fresh Whole Australian Abalone, Sauteed Pumpkin & Prawn with Salted Egg, Fresh Crab Meat Sauteed with Egg Yolk & Soy Milk and Live Rock Cod.

**The Jade Smoked Grandpa Chicken - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $14.99 half
• I don’t know if they left the head out intentionally to not freak out the “Westerners”, but it should have been the whole bird, head to tail, to symbolize coming together of families… on the other hand dinner was “business-oriented” so I guess it wasn’t necessary. =p
• This is one of Jade Seafood Restaurant’s award winning dishes and most famous items on the menu.
• It’s not my first time trying it, but I love it.
• It’s a chilled chicken and full of flavour. It’s not heavy or greasy, but the flavours will keep your taste buds excited and guessing.
• There is a very light sauce, but the flavour is literally in every thread of the chicken meat, down to the bone. The sauce is still fantastic though!
• It was sweet and savoury and you could taste the smokiness infused in the chicken meat as well as the sauce. I just wonder if they use liquid smoke because there’s no grilling or barbequing going on here.
• It’s a free range chicken so the meat is naturally firmer and more flavourful with a drier texture, but it’s certainly not a dry chicken.
• The sauce has some sweet Chinese cooking wine that’s similar to Japanese mirin, and it’s combined with the natural flavours of the chicken oil. This is what gives it the savoury and sweet balance.
• It’s infatuating to not see a heavy sauce or any visible spices and rubs and to still achieve such intense flavour throughout. A real talent from the Chef.

The chicken is served with green onion and ginger oil, but it doesn’t even need it. It was made in house and nicely salted, but I prefer my onions a bit more minced. I love this condiment in general though and can eat it alone.

Pea Tips (Seasonal Vegetable) Sauteed with Garlic – 5/6 (Excellent)

• Around $13.99
• It’s just a simple vegetable dish and for what it was it was pricey, but expected and at least they did a good job with it.
• The pea tips and garlic were fresh and the dish wasn’t greasy or overcooked, so that’s pretty much all you look for in a dish like this, hence the 5/6.

**Mixed Mushroom and Truffle Chow Mein - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $15.59
• There’s a slight increase in price since last year and it’s also offered during dim sum, but called “Mixed Mushroom Chow Mein”.
• This is an original Jade creation and I would say it’s a must try here. It’s even better than the one I had last year and they even looked different.
• These were not the crispy chow mein, but the soy sauce wok tossed chow mein.
• It’s tossed with Shiitake mushrooms, Oyster mushrooms, bean sprouts, green onions, carrots and drizzled with truffle oil.
• I could definitely smell the truffle oil as soon as it hit the table, but I couldn’t really taste it in my noodles, which was disappointing. It was the same issue with the mushroom dumplings. Regardless, they’re both still delicious.
• It had more mushroom flavour and mushrooms compared to last time and it was better seasoned overall.
• There was nice crunchy texture from bean sprouts, green onions and carrots and the noodles had a great wok aroma and smokiness without being dry.
• It’s actually a great dish for vegetarians.

**Blueberry Glutinous Ball (Cold) – 4/6 (Very good)

• $4.28
• Being that I’m not a fan of most Chinese desserts, I actually like this one because it’s a modern Chinese dessert catered towards Western tastes.
• This is unique to Jade and it’s a Chinese-American style Japanese mochi.

• It’s a chilled light and fluffy mochi, but it’s not frozen and the skins were very soft and not as chewy as the Japanese kind. They also weren’t starchy or doughy.
• The inside is filled with fresh whipped cream that’s semi melted and some frozen blueberries that have thawed out so they’re a bit wrinkly.
• The inside was a super creamy semi melted mixture of very lightly sweetened whipped cream with the blueberries folded in and I found them enjoyable.
• At times in the past, some of them had harder bottoms which meant air got to them.

**Steamed Brown Sugar with Honey Cake - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $4.38
• This was delicious and so unique! Apparently it’s very common and traditional in Hong Kong, but I’ve never seen it in Vancouver.
• It was a very light and airy warm cake, and it had a caramel flavour, but as usual it still wasn’t that sweet like most Chinese desserts.
• It looked like honeycomb, but it was completely soft and seemed like a bunch of compacted mini straws.
• It was almost like a chewy very elasticky sponge cake and they used rice flour to make it.
• There were very squishy with a nice bounce and spring to them and they’re almost water resistant, yet incredibly moist from being steamed.
• It was the love child of a traditional Chinese sweet brown sugar rice cake and a traditional steamed Chinese almond cake (the almond cake is available at most dim sum places – see Steamed Sponge Cake).
• I’ve really never had anything quite like this cake though and it was very peel-able like cheese string. Definitely a must try for uniqueness.

Restaurant: Xi Shi Lounge – Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea
Cuisine: Tea/Pacific Northwest/West Coast/Fusion/Desserts
Last visited: January 24, 2012
Location: Vancouver, BC (Downtown)
Address: 1128 West Georgia Street (At Shangri-La Hotel)
Subway stop: Burrard
Price Range: $20-30+ ($34 Afternoon Tea)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 4 (for Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea)
Service: n/a
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 4.5
Additional comments:

• Inside Shangri-La Hotel
• Euro-Asian/Fusion menu
• Tearoom/Lounge/Restaurant
• Aafternoon Tea Service
• Lunch service
• Great for snacks
• Elegant/posh
• Cocktail/wine list
• Afternoon Tea with live classical piano
• 11.30am – 1am (Seasonal Patio from 11.30am – 11pm)
• 11.30am - 5pm (Saturday and Sunday)

**Recommendations: Afternoon Tea

Adding to the growing list of Chinese New Year menus in Vancouver is Xi Shi Lounge’s Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea (limited time). I’m loving the enthusiasm for the New Year and the various restaurant choices and menu options are more than welcome in a multicultural city.

Xi Shi Lounge opened late last year at the Shangri-La Hotel just underneath Market by Jean-Georges. It features an Euro-Asian fusion inspired menu with a focus on chilled and hot snacks, limited lunch items and a traditional Afternoon Tea. Yes, Afternoon Tea, not High Tea, there’s a difference (see my post here). On this occasion I was invited to their Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea which is offered from January 23rd through Sunday, January 29th from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm.

One of the things I valued most at the Xi Shi Lounge Afternoon Tea service was the live classical piano performance they had for entertainment. I’ve been to Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Vancouver, The Secret Garden Tea Company, The China Cup Tea Company, Applewood Country Gifts, Tearoom & Bakery, Tracycakes Bakery Cafe, and The Urban Tea Merchant, but this is the only one that featured live entertainment which really made it an elegant and upscale experience. This is featured on a daily basis even with their regular Afternoon Tea service.

It was nice to see Xi Shi continue the Asian theme with the Nikko chinaware rather than the English brands. When it comes to Afternoon Tea I can get quite particular because there are a certain set of expectations and traditions that come with it. Ambiance is a big part of it. It was an elegant, stylish and posh tearoom, and I found it carried more of a cocktail atmosphere fit for after work drinks.

I recently tried the “Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea at The Urban Tea Merchant a block away. It featured a standard version of Afternoon Tea, but with some playful Asian influences. It was definitely still more Westernized, and if you’re looking for something more traditional to the Chinese culture, that isn’t quite authentic as dim sum, then I would suggest trying this Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea at Xi Shi. Personally, the “foodie” part of me enjoyed the food, value and overall experience at Xi Shi more, but the “tea lover” (not connoisseur) in me appreciated the luxury teas and tea culture at The Urban Tea Merchant. They both offer very different experiences and each have their strengths and clientele so it depends on what you’re looking for.

Even though I am very familiar with traditional dim sum, I still appreciated this Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea at Xi Shi, but on another level. I didn’t have expectations for authentic dim sum, but I was expecting a general understanding of the East meets West concept since the menu was developed by Chef Wayne Harris of Market by Jean-Georges upstairs. Jean-Georges is notorious for Asian fusion, so I was quite confident in the Chinese New Year menu even though the chef is of non-Asian decent. The selection of dim sum was more traditional than I expected from a place like Xi Shi, and if it can introduce or warm people up to traditional Chinese food via a modern context, I’m more than happy.

Now for the “stick to tradition” readers, I wouldn’t compare this Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea at Xi Shi Lounge to authentic Chinese dim sum. However, they actually did a good job replicating dim sum dishes making it more approachable for Western tastes. I would say the food was probably more Westernized than a place like Wild Rice (where the chef is non-Asian, but culinary trained in dim sum), but I do respect the extra effort they went on creating an entire menu just for the New Year and it was representable of Chinese food. Food authenticity aside, I would recommend this for anyone who values ambiance and style and it plays well into the Chinese New Year celebration.

On the table:

**Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea - 4/6 (Very good)

• $34/per person (Includes choice of loose leaf tea)
• Available January 23rd through Sunday, January 29th from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm.
• It was Western style dim sum, but again they did a respectable job with it.
• I was very impressed with what was delivered and the value was certainly there, especially when you factor in the provided classical piano performance.
• The menu featured great variety and every item was handmade and actually representable of traditional Chinese food.
• If you compare the items to the real deal, this doesn’t really do it justice, but it also wasn’t disappointing and I really did enjoy it.
• It’s supposed to be an Afternoon Tea, but with 9 hors d’ouevres, it’s definitely substantial enough as a lunch, and that’s coming from me! (I eat a lot.)

Choice of Loose Leaf Tea – 5/6 (Excellent)

• It was a premium brand of loose leaf tea from England, and I would have loved if they offered an Asian brand to suit their Asian theme.
• I have to admit, The Urban Tea Merchant is my shrine for luxury teas and it’s hard to compete with that quality.
• **Shangri-La Blend
• A black tea blend with pineapple, kiwi and plum.
• This is the signature tea. It was a fruity tea, but it smelled fruitier and sharper than it tasted.
• It was floral, with a hint of citrus, but I couldn’t pick up the kiwi although I enjoyed it overall.
• **Classic Chai
• An assam tea with exotic spices – India at its best.
• How can I resist “India at its best”?
• This was an excellent Chai and it was heavy with the cinnamon with a hint of cardamom and even spicy ginger notes.
• The spices were quite apparent and well rounded after adding cream.

Barbeque Pork and Puff Pastry, Vegetable Spring Roll, Shrimp Dumplings

• The items on this plate is representable of Cantonese style dim sum.
• It had something baked, fried and steamed and there was good variety.

The tier of hot appetizers were served with a soy and rice wine vinegar, Hoisin sauce, and lemon plum sauce. Traditionally the only item that would come with a sauce is the spring rolls, but this was the Westernized version.

Barbeque Pork and Puff Pastry - 4/6 (Very good)

• This is more or less an Asian inspired “sausage roll”, but it does exists in authentic Chinese dim sum. See BBQ Pork Pastry.
• This was meant to be eaten with the Hoisin sauce, which is the modern take.
• It was a soft and flaky buttery puff pastry that wasn’t dry and it was well stuffed with sweet and salty barbeque pork and green onions.
• The barbeque pork was lean, but not dry and although I prefer the authentic version, I still easily enjoyed this one.
• It was less saucy than the traditional version and since it had the Hoisin dipping sauce, it was understandable.
• If you like BBQ pork style buns, I would highly recommend these Baked BBQ Pork Buns.

Vegetable Spring Roll - 4/6 (Very good)

• A spring roll is a spring roll, but for a vegetarian spring roll, this was very good!
• It was well stuffed with carrots, cilantro and sweet Shiitake mushrooms and a bit of cabbage and celery.
• They were very crispy and the vegetables still kept their flavours and textures and it had a great crunch.
• There was a very subtle heat, but it wasn’t spicy. This was meant to be enjoyed with plum sauce and I was surprised that I even liked it at all since it was just a spring roll.
• A traditional Chinese style spring roll would be stuffed with prawns and the dipping sauce would be Worcestershire sauce. As for their vegetarian versions, I actually don’t think it’s as good as this one.

Shrimp Dumplings - 2/6 (Okay)

• It’s ambitious to take on the shrimp dumpling.
• This is what dim sum chefs and restaurants pride themselves on and it’s one of the hardest things to master. You judge a Chinese restaurant based on their Shrimp Dumplings.
• This requires a lot of technique to make so it almost holds too much significance for me to enjoy unbiasedly.
• The skin was actually quite chewy and nice, but it was too thick and classically it should be very thin and transparent, but not breaking.
• The prawn was a Side Stripe (?) and it had a mild infused ginger flavour, but it was on the dry side.
• It just didn’t carry that desired juicy crunch of an authentic prawn dumpling – see “Har Gow“.
• The effort is commendable, but if you’ve had a great version of the real thing, this was tough to appreciate.
• It was served with a soy and rice wine vinegar which is very modern, but it actually made it taste better. Traditionally soy and vinegar sauces are served with fried meat dumplings.

Green Onion Pancake, Steam Buns, Crunchy Sesame Balls

• This was the starch tier that was in between sweet and savoury. It led up to the top tier of sweet desserts nicely.
• The items on this plate is more traditional of Shanghainese dim sum.
• Green Onion Pancake – 1.5/6 (Poor – Okay)
• Next time I would start by eating this one first. It hindered from being eaten cold. That being said, I’ve had cold versions of the green onion pancake that have worked better.
• Usually there is more green onion and it should be all crispy and flaky.
• This one was quite dense and chewy, but it tasted better with the Hoisin sauce, which is not an uncommon method to enjoy together.
• I prefer it fried, but traditionally Shanghainese cultures tend to deep fry it – see Grilled Onion Pancake (it’s not actually grilled).
• Crunchy Sesame Balls – 2/6 (Okay)
• I loved that they served these, but the only thing is that they under baked/fried them and the inside was still doughy and stretchy. The flour flavour was cooked out, but they were still under cooked.
• This is very traditional to Chinese New Year – see my post on Chinese New Year Food.
• Traditionally they’re known as “Laughing Sesame Balls” and they’re enjoyed as a dessert or sweet snack.
• The sesame balls have a crack or dent in them which represent a smile and the seeds are symbolic for “having kids” (procreation) so you’ll get pregnant after one… just kidding.
• It’s actually a deep fried sweetened pastry and usually it’s crusted with white sesame seeds.
• I actually liked the black sesame seeds better and it made it even nuttier and more aromatic.
• They’re supposed to be crunchy throughout, but these were crunchy just on the outside and then soft and bready in the middle and unfortunately still doughy in the centre.
• I really loved the flavour of these (even more than the traditional ones) because I think they used all butter rather than lard/shortening (which Chinese people use). It was richer, a bit sweeter and not as greasy or dry as the traditional ones – see traditional Laughing Sesame Ball Cookies.

Steam Buns – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• Wow. This was impressive. They did a great job with this and I was surprised to even see them. It was almost the “scone” on the tier.
• It’s traditionally a Shanghainese dish and they’re basically deep fried buns known as “Mantou buns”. Terracotta Modern Chinese actually uses them to make amazing Short Rib Sliders.
• These tasted very authentic and perhaps even better than some traditional ones.
• They’re meant to be dipped in condensed milk (in the centre) and enjoyed as a dessert.

• It’s deep fried, but it’s not a doughnut and it’s only the outside that is meant to be crispy.
• The inside was soft, somewhat spongy and fluffy as it should be, and the bread is a sweeter type of Asian white bread.
• The larger versions of mantou (loaves) are rolled like cinnamon buns before being deep fried and it creates a noodle like inside that Asian kids often enjoy. You can peel them like cheese strings.

Lychee and Osmanthus Flower Shooter, Red Bean Mochi Ball, Egg Tarts

• Oh gosh. Chinese desserts. Desserts is not the forte in Chinese cuisine and usually it’s just fruits, which I kind of expected, but this was still appreciated.
• I eat everything, but Chinese desserts and Indian desserts are hard for me to love.
• Indian desserts I find often too sweet and Chinese desserts often not sweet enough, and it bothers me that they’re usually served warm.
• Anyways, they took the “better” of Chinese desserts and I didn’t fear getting to the top tier.

Red Bean Mochi – 2/6 (Okay)

• Alright, so I kind of feared this so I ate it first. Save the best for last…
• If you know this blog, you all know how I feel about red bean. Basically, it’s something I think I’ll appreciate when I’m older.
• Red bean mochi is more of a Japanese thing, but Chinese people still have their own version and so do Koreans. I prefer the Japanese kind – see here.
• The mochi skin was a bit doughy, dense and starchy and sprinkled with coconut, the coconut I liked!
• The inside was filled with sweetened red bean paste that was smooth and sweeter than traditional Chinese red bean paste.
• This was very rich and pasty and it’s just not my thing. That being said I still swallowed my bite and it wasn’t bad for what it was.
• A mochi that is my thing that I love (since it has no red bean) is the one from Hapa Umi that’s filled with ice cream – see Passionfruit Mochi Ice Cream.

Egg Tarts – 3/6 (Good)

• They did a good job with the egg tarts and they’re made in house too.
• It was a sweetened, crumbly, soft and moist shortbread like tart and the egg custard was also smooth and well made.
• It wasn’t a flaky or crispy egg tart shell, but they were very tender and even better than some Chinese dim sum places.
• There are some amazing ones at authentic Chinese dim sum, but these were still good.

Lychee and Osmanthus Flower Shooter – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• When I heard “shooter” I expected a drink, but this was actually jello.
• Jello shooters at Afternoon Tea was new, but of course non-alcoholic… boo. Just kidding.
• This was a version of the traditional Longan & Wolfberry Pudding or Lychee and Gogi Berry Jello.
• The bottom was the Chrysanthemum(?) flowers and I’m not sure if they meant them to sink to the bottom, but traditionally the flowers float throughout the jello.
• The gogi berries usually float throughout the jello too, but they just had the one dried one on top. This is perhaps a bit “exotic” so I understand the interpretation.
• This lychee jello was probably the best lychee jello I’ve had to date. It was full of fresh lychee fruit flavour (how? I don’t know since it’s not in season), but I loved it.
• It was fragrant and fruity and definitely sweeter than most Chinese desserts, and as sweet as most American jellos.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Provided by: Martin Newman – casinotop10.net (How appropriate since it’s Chinese New Year when everything is about $$$)

Gong Hay Fat Choy! Sun Lien Fai Lok! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xin Nian Kuai Le!

The day has finally come, but the Chinese dinners should have started last night! If you missed out, there are still 15 days to go! It’s not as long as the celebrations for an Indian wedding, but the Chinese can still party half as hard! Hey there’s tea involved, not alcohol. Don’t judge… or did I just do that for you?

Anyways I’ve been gearing Chinese New Year up since Friday with a post on Chinese New Year Menus (which are still available at some places), followed by a post on Continental and Kirin. After all that talk about Chinese food I’m going to talk more about Chinese food, except this time it’s specific to the New Year.

If you don’t eat these things you’ll be poor and unsuccessful and have bad se… whoa! Ha! Just kidding, this is a Chinese post, you don’t make mention of that ever. The poor and unsuccessful thing is actually more true, but it’s all based on superstition so you can believe as much or as little as you want to. All jokes aside, Chinese New Year food is very symbolic and it’s part of the celebration to eat these things amongst family and friends.

Note: The following are only some of the foods, but there are a lot more! I listed them in order of “foodie beginners” to “foodie experts” … beginners first.

Follow Me Foodie to Chinese New Year Food!

Mini Honey Mandarins

Credit: flickr.com/photos/garysoup | CC BY 2.0

Yes! Come to mama! I love these things! No! They’re not the “Cuties” or regular mandarins, but they’re the little mini honey mandarins that are the size of golf balls. I’ve literally had a mini box for breakfast for the last 2 days and that’s about 30 mini mandarins. They’re so tiny though and 30 of them is about 3 oranges… whoa… okay never mind, that’s actually quite a bit for breakfast. Building up my immune system!

The mandarins translate to “gold” in Chinese so you’re supposed to eat them during the New Year. You’ll be rich. It doesn’t have to be these mini honey mandarins, and it can be any mandarins or even oranges, but they all translate to “baller”.

Sesame Ball Cookies

These are Laughing Sesame Ball Cookies which are deep fried sesame crusted cookies. It’s supposed to symbolize a laughing head… eat them and you’ll start to giggle! The sesame seeds (or any seed) also represent having lots of children, so don’t blame me if you happen to get pregnant or start popping out babies after eating one.

Chinese Cakes and Puddings

I’m warming up to the more “exotic” stuff. This is a Taro Cake and I mentioned the Turnip/Radish Cakes in my post on Chinese New Year Menus. To repeat myself, both are savoury cakes and the Radish/Turnip Cakes (different names, same thing) are definitely available all year. There’s also a traditional sweet brown sugar rice cake called “Nian Gao” and these cakes symbolize a sweet year and growth… growth in prosperity, success, and height… although the last is wishful thinking. Just kidding, but cake or pudding in Chinese is “Gao” which means height or raising higher. You can try these all or even buy them at almost any dim sum restaurant or purchase them at Saint Germain Bakery.

Whole Chicken

Not exactly exotic, but serving it whole may be different. The whole chicken should be presented with the head and tail and it symbolizes the coming together of families and completeness. In Vancouver they don’t always serve the head and tail anymore because people don’t really eat it as much as they would in Asia. Yes, people do eat the tail, but not everyone can make it well. This is The Jade Smoked Grandpa Chicken, one of the Jade Seafood Restaurant’s award winning dishes and most famous items.

Abalone

Abalone (sea snail) symbolizes good fortune, wealth and prosperity… and if you’re eating it, you likely have all of the above. The one you see above is a Braised Whole Fresh Australian Abalone (Medium) and it goes for $34.99 each at The Jade Seafood. There are lots of different qualities for abalone and some can taste like mushrooms while the more expensive kinds can taste like clams. 

Braised Dried Oyster, Pork Tongue & Black Moss

See I told you I was warming you up. I know. It doesn’t look good and it sounds pretty exotic and adventurous. But if you’re a “real foodie” you should at least give it a try. If ordering it at a restaurant is intimidating then just order it to go and dissect it at home.

For those familiar with this dish, you’re likely drooling at your screen. This is an expensive dish and it’s full of Chinese delicacies. It comes with a price tag, but if you want quality, you got to pay for it and the portion is enough for 10.

This is the mother of all dishes when it comes to symbolism because it has some of everything. The braised dried oyster is a Chinese delicacy and they represent wealth. The Chinese Shiitake mushroom and Abalone sauce also represent wealth and the black moss also represents wealth. It all has to do with money, which I think is no surprise anymore. The reason for the pork tongue (which can also be pork hock or pigs hand/feet) is the idea of giving money to the hands of people. Super creepy thought, but it’s true!

This photo is the Braised Dried Oyster, Pork Tongue & Black Moss from Kirin and another one is the Dried Oyster with Fat Choy from Fisherman’s Terrace at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond.

Restaurant: Continental Seafood Restaurant 辛運海鮮酒樓
Cuisine: Chinese/Seafood/Dim Sum
Last visited: August 18, 2011
Location: Richmond, BC (Richmond)
Address: 11700 Cambie Rd
Bus: WB Cambie Rd FS No. 5 Rd
Price Range: $10 or less dim sum, $20-30+ dinner

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 3.5-4
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3
Additional comments:

• Traditional Cantonese cuisine
• Chinese/English menus
• Live seafood tanks
• Popular for dim sum
• Push cart dim sum
• Popular for take-out BBQ meats
• Known to Chinese locals
• Nightly live entertainment
• Ballroom dance floor
• Very affordable prices
• Large space/venue
• Free parking
• Dim Sum/Lunch/Dinner
• Monday 10am – 12:30am
• Tuesday 10am – 12am
• Wed-Thurs: 10am – 12:30am
• Fri-Sat: 10am – 1am
• Sunday 10am-10pm
• Banquet dinner post

**Recommendations: Double Boiled Winter Melon Soup with Mixed Seafood, Black Cod & Eggplant, Sauteed Beef and Seasonal Vegetable with Satay Sauce, Golden Crispy Roasted Pork

Chinese New Year Eve is tomorrow so I’m continuing the Chinese theme! I posted on a few different types of Chinese New Year menus yesterday (see here), but perhaps there was still nothing you fancied? Well that just makes you picky because I had quite the variety! Kidding… sort of.

If you don’t have reservations by now, you’re likely screwed since all the “best” and popular Chinese restaurants have been booked for weeks/months. However here is an option that might still be available. It’s one of Richmond’s largest Chinese restaurants and you might be able to get seated for dim sum if not for dinner… and if neither, then there’s also their discrete take out window. It’s not the best place for Chinese food in Richmond or Metro Vancouver, but it’s not bad either, and your procrastination leaves you with slim pickings anyways.

I’ve been coming to this restaurant since I was in elementary and I’ve seen it change names, chefs and hands on a few occasions. To be honest, I usually dread coming to this place because I know I’m usually in for a long banquet dinner featuring very mediocre mass produced food. The thing I look forward to the most is the Dairy Queen Blizzard I get for dessert since it’s conventionally across the street.

Although I’m not crazy about the food, the reason for the return is usually due to mandatory obligations and the fact that my parents love ballroom dancing. Yup! This is the “hot spot” in Richmond for the Chinese baby boomers. They come to eat, sing and dance… or in their words, “eat, sing K, and disco”.

I’ve blogged about a banquet dinner at Continental Seafood Restaurant before (see here), and I’ve never really been impressed. I rarely come here for dinner since I come here enough for banquets throughout the year, but when “K and disco” are a must, then I can bet my parents’ dancing shoes that I’m likely to end up here.

Anyways, on this occasion I was definitely caught by surprise and I ended up being incredibly impressed with the food, quality, portions and price. I think the majority would agree that banquet dinners don’t properly represent a restaurant, and this is a perfect example. Sure, it might have just been a good day, but regardless, the food was good enough to make me want to come back on a regular night and that’s what matters.

Personally, I find it extremely difficult to order at pretty much all Chinese restaurants even if they have English menus. The menus are the size of bibles and the descriptions are vague or poorly translated. Well it’s no different here, but I’m hoping to help!

On the table:

**Double Boiled Winter Melon Soup with Mixed Seafood (Advance Order) – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $50
• You have to order this in advance and it’s enough for at least 10 people which makes it $5/bowl with more left for seconds.
• What better time of the year than to have this healthy comfort food/soup?
• It’s a premium soup that exists in Hong Kong, but it’s not that easy to find and it’s even harder to find in Metro Vancouver, so it’s quite special.
• It’s an entire winter melon that’s carved and used as a pot.

• Needless to say, I loved the presentation.
• Although it might not be “the best” in Vancouver, it’s not something easily made at home and this one was still excellent, so I would say it’s definitely still a must try.
• The winter melon is super tender from being boiled and the meat gets scraped and scooped into your bowl. At the end it’s just the outer shell of the melon.
• The winter melon is extremely tender, juicy, soft and creamy and it just absorbs all the flavours of the soup.
• It’s naturally sweet and very mild and neutral in flavour and comparable to a cucumber, zucchini or perhaps squash, but less filling and not starchy.

• The soup was full of ingredients like dried scallops (Chinese delicacy), fresh mushrooms, Shiitake mushrooms, straw mushrooms, Chinese broccoli (kai lan) slices, dried red dates, boneless dark meat chicken, little pieces of pork shoulder, pieces of duck, ham, crab, fresh prawn, and fish maw (Chinese delicacy).
• Fish maw (gas bladder) is a chewy, jelly-like spongy tube and it has a slight crunch. It’s a bit slimy and acquired, but I really like it. It doesn’t even really have a flavour and just absorbs the flavour of everything it’s cooked in.
• It was a clear soup that wasn’t oily and it didn’t taste like an intense meat and seafood soup.
• It was more of a savoury vegetable and chicken soup.
• The meat and seafood was obvious, but the flavours didn’t really infuse into the soup since there were no bones or shells used.
• It was more flavourful than a standard vegetable soup of course, and although it was a light broth, it was full of hearty ingredients and flavour.

Golden Crispy Roasted Pork & BBQ Duck – 4/6 (Very good)

• $15.80, 1/2 BBQ Duck $16.80
• Golden Crispy Roasted Pork – 4/6 (Very good)
• I had the suckling pig last time too (here), but it was even better than I remembered this time around.
• The pork was ultra tender, falling apart and almost melting as you can see in the picture.
• It wasn’t as fatty as last time with a better balance of lean meat and fat, but the fatty parts were still a bit chewy and gelatinous rather than creamy.
• It had a delicious crispy crackling skin that was well salted and overall it was delicious!
• BBQ Duck – 3.5/6 (Good – Very good)
• The duck had a sweet soy sauce marinade and it was tender and moist.
• For some reason it tasted more like squab than duck and it wasn’t juicy, but still moist.
• It wasn’t too fatty (which I like) and it had a crispy skin, but the fat part was still slightly gelatinous for my liking rather than creamy.
• It was a good BBQ duck, but there are others I prefer in Richmond.

Garlic Chicken – 3/6 (Good)

• Half $16.80 Whole $29.80
• I’m not really a fan of this dish, but it was still good for what it was.
• It was covered with crispy nutty fried garlic chips which I could have used more of.
• It was salty and oily with an unexpected spicy kick at the end, but I wouldn’t say it was a spicy dish.
• The chicken juices were strong and it was likely in a brine of cooking wine, salt, sugar, ginger and garlic before it was steamed and drizzled with sesame oil.
• The free range chicken was flavourful moist and juicy, but I prefer mine slightly more slippery and silky smooth.
• Usually free range chicken like this tends to be a bit on the dry side, but this one was nice and oily and well done.
• I had this last time too – see here, and I think it was better last time with more garlic.
• For a change I also recommend The Jade Smoked Grandpa Chicken from The Jade Seafood Restaurant.

Green Onion Ginger Oil -  This is the condiment for the chicken. This was a very chunky version of it and I liked it. The garlic seemed nuttier than usual because they fried it and it also had some fried onions/garlic/shallots in it for extra flavour. There was a good ginger and onion balance and it was well salted and I actually like the frying method better than having it raw (which I do also like).

Fresh Rock Cod Steamed – Whole Fish – 4/6 (Very good)

• Current price
• The fish was fresh and it was boneless and skinless so very easy to eat.
• The fish was firmer than expected, but not like halibut either. It was moist and light, but a bit mushy rather than flaky.
• The vegetables included carrots, scallions, snow peas and celery and it actually wasn’t all celery which is good.
• It was simply sauteed with soy sauce and a bit of garlic, ginger and onions, and it was quite a standard and simple dish, but done well.
• It was slightly oily, but only as oily as expected.

**Black Cod & Eggplant – 4.5/6 (Very good-Excellent)

• $20.80
• I love black cod (sablefish) and eggplant, so naturally I’m going to love this dish.
• The sable fish was lightly deep fried in huge pieces and although the skin was slimy, it tends to be when it’s made in a clay pot like this since it’s covered with sauce.
• The fish was very moist and juicy (as black cod usually is), but it was a bit slimy since the gravy was a bit thick and oily (as it tends to be in clay pots).
• I expected it to be black bean sauce, but surprisingly it wasn’t.
• There was some ginger, garlic and onions and the sauce was the standard soy sauce, garlic and maybe oyster sauce gravy.
• The eggplant was tender and plentiful and super creamy with all the sauce and there were also pieces of fatty pork in it.
• The pork just made the dish richer, heartier and more flavourful.
• If you’re familiar with these clay pot dishes, than this was good, but if you’re not, then the slightly slimy texture may take getting used to.

Pan Fried Prawns with Wasabi Sauce – 1.5/6 (Poor-Okay)

• $18.80
• I was pretty disappointed with this modern Chinese dish and expected something very different.
• The menu said “pan fried”, but it was very obviously deep fried and the batter was very thick and mushy with no crispiness or crunch.
• It looked and tasted like deep fried prawns tossed in a mayo salad dressing and I couldn’t taste an Wasabi sauce either.
• The wasabi sauce was just some wasabi paste/powder mixed with some mayo an  perhaps honey. It had a bit of a powdery texture.
• It wasn’t spicy and more sweet and carried very little wasabi kick.
• The prawns were cooked well and tender with a crunch, but the batter and sauce just wasted it.

Buddha’s Feast with Pumpkin- 3/6 (Good)

• $16.80
• I know it sounds super “Caucasian” to order “Buddha’s Feast”, but the pumpkin was the selling factor for me!
• It’s basically a vegetarian dish, but this was a modern yet traditional Chinese way of making it.
• Note it’s not actually vegetarian because it had fish maw (gas bladder) in it (Chinese delicacy).
• The ingredients were traditional Chinese and a bit exotic, but the pumpkin was the modern twist.
• It was half a Japanese Kaboocha Squash used as the bowl and the whole thing was creamy, sweet and super saucy.
• It was perhaps too saucy and the vegetables were all a bit slimy and it was almost soupy.
• The sauce just tasted salty with soy sauce and it was quite basic and not offensive, but texturally a bit goopy.
• It was filled with fresh crunchy bamboo shoots, baby corn, crunchy chestnuts, a couple Shiitakes mushrooms, soft black wood ear mushroom, straw mushrooms and fish maw.
• I would have liked more Shiitakes and I wish the chestnuts were soft.
• The broccoli was tender and the fish maw (gas bladder) was unexpected, but it’s what made it worth the price.
• Again, fish maw is a chewy, jelly-like spongy tube and it has a slight crunch. It’s a bit slimy and acquired, but I really like it. It doesn’t even really have a flavour and just absorbs the flavour of everything it’s cooked in.

**Sauteed Beef and Seasonal Vegetable with Satay Sauce – 5.5/6 (Excellent!)

• $15.80
• We had chicken, pork, duck, prawn, fish and needed beef!
• This is a very typical dish, but it was excellent here! I was very impressed with the quality of beef and how tender it was.
• The slices of beef melted in your mouth and it was nice and saucy with a satay sauce likely made with garlic, ginger, soy, sugar and a little chili.
• It was sweet and savoury with a little heat, but it wasn’t spicy and just creamy in texture. It wasn’t dry at all.
• The seasonal vegetable was Chinese broccoli (kai lan) and it was young, tender and crunchy and cooked perfectly.
• I hope they’re consistent with this dish because it was a sure winner.

Braised Fish Head and Tofu in Brown Sauce – 4/6 (Very good)

• $19.80
• It wasn’t the actual head, but pieces of the head. It’s the best part of the fish and has the most flavour although it might sound intimidating. It’s for the “real fish eaters”.
• This is for those who have graduated from eating fish with the skin and bones, and if you’re not even at that point, then you might not want to start here.
• It had the collar or neck, and pieces of the cheek which is my favourite part of the fish. The collar and neck is great too! They have great texture and flavour.
• The fish pieces were lightly battered and fried and it was a bit greasy, but that was a bit assumed.
• The pieces of fish have a lot of meat and the cheeks were big pieces of cheek.
• The meat was also easy to eat because the bones are big and easy to remove. The cheek just slides off the bone.
• It was sauteed with garlic and a typical soy sauce/fish sauce gravy and it even had a little bit of dark meat chicken in it.
• The tofu was lightly deep fried and crispy, just like the fish, and it was an interesting component for those who don’t eat fish.
• It should have come in a clay pot since it was braised, but it didn’t. It didn’t really bother me, but it adds to the fresh factor having it bubbling hot in a pot. On the other hand this makes it easier so people don’t pick through the dish.
• There were some hidden baby bok choy and mushrooms underneath as well.

Fried Rice with Shrimp & Chicken in 2 Different Sauces – 4/6 (Very good)

• $16.80
• Popularly known as Honeymoon Fried Rice, or Ying Yang fried rice, this is one of my favourite fried rices to be served at a Chinese banquet dinner, or really any Chinese dinner.
• It wasn’t exactly 50% of each sauce, but I do like the red sauce better so I was happy. Most like the cream sauce, but I actually like it best mixed.
• The tomato sauce was a bit too neon for me and I like it a deeper darker red – like this one at Gingeri – see Fried Rice with Shrimp and Cream & Chicken in Tomato Sauce.
• The tomato side has onions, chicken and tomatoes, but the chicken was a bit dry. It’s typically a Ketchupy sweet and sour like sauce, but this one wasn’t that tangy.
• The cream side was creamy, but could have been creamier and it was slightly gluey from the corn starch.
• The cream side had tender baby shrimps and peas, but it was slightly bland overall.
• The fried rice underneath was just regular white rice and I was hoping it would have some scrambled egg in it at the very least.

Dessert - Red Bean Soup - n/a

• You bet there was complimentary red bean soup! And you bet right again that I left before it even came! Dairy Queen across the street was about to close!
• I’m not a fan of red bean, and like I said in the intro of this post, usually when I come to Continental I look forward to the Dairy Queen after (just out of convenience).
• It’s almost the only time I have DQ unless it’s an ice cream cake at someone’s birthday.

Dairy Queen

Bananaless Split

• I was incredibly disappointed they ran out of bananas and the service was actually pretty awful.
• I had to ask them not to charge full price for a banana split that had no bananas. Then they made it into a blizzard which wasn’t what I requested and sold it to someone else at full price. Ouch.
• This ended up being a triple sundae with marshmallow cream, pineapples and strawberry sauce.
• Really not the same without bananas and I should have just went with an ice cream sandwich or Oreo Blizzard.

Caramel Toffee Cookie Blizzard

• It was the flavour of the month so I was curious, but it was way too sweet for me. It was almost hurt your teeth sweet.
• The toffee cookie was pretty hard and again I should have just went for a reliable Oreo Blizzard or ice cream sandwich.

Follow Me Foodie to the Chinese New Year Kick Off & Chinese New Year Menus!

Gong Hay Fat Choy! Sun Lien Fai Lok! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Nom nom nom! Ah yes, those are phonetics everyone might understand! Happy Chinese New Year and welcome to the year of the dragon! “Puff the Magic Dragon lives by the sea…”, I bet you’ll be singing that all day now. Anyways, it’s the year of the dragon, one of the few animals Chinese people don’t eat… and why? Because they’re mythical creatures that only exist in forms of tattoos on Asian gang members… and in Mulan. Anyways, if you missed my Foodie Friday segment on NEWS 1130AM radio this morning (11am every other Friday) here’s a quick recap.

If you don’t have reservations for your Chinese New Year dinner or more importantly Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner, you’re likely not going to get any of the “Best Chinese Restaurants” the city has to offer. But no worries! There are lots of other options! Being in Vancouver, even plan B or C isn’t that bad for Chinese food. We’re lucky to live in a place where excellent Chinese food isn’t hard to find.

There are endless options in the city for Chinese food and various ways to participate in the celebration of the New Year. If you want to do it the traditional way, then a traditional Chinese restaurant with a traditional Chinese menu, and a group of 10 people is the way to do it. However we’re in Vancouver and traditions don’t have to be followed, it’s more about the spirit and always about the food, so grab your chopsticks and toothpicks and Follow Me Foodie to various Chinese New Year Menus in Metro Vancouver, BC!

This is a very small dent in the Chinese restaurant scene and there and many more options than this, so please use this as a rough guide. Feel free to leave a comment if you have questions or need further suggestions.

Follow Me Foodie to Chinese New Year Menus!

“I’m a foodie of tradition and I’ll eat all 10-12 courses myself if I have to! Bring on the real deal!”

Dried Oyster with Fat Choy from Fisherman’s Terrace at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, BC

You said it! Almost all the formal Chinese restaurants will have a set menu for Chinese New Year. It should include Chinese mushrooms, fish, chicken, noodles, and abalone if you go for the higher end menu. There are different menus and prices usually set for 10 and you can expect to spend anywhere from $280-$800 for a table of 10 at a nicer Chinese restaurant. Each restaurant should have at least 4 different set menus for you to choose from.

Dried Oyster with Fat Choy is a very traditional dish for Chinese New Year and there is a lot of symbolism behind it. You can listen to my explanation of it here on air with CBC Radio last year.

Here are some sample menus of traditional Chinese New Year dinners I’ve had: Fisherman’s Terrace, Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant, Kirin Seafood Restaurant and The Jade Seafood Restaurant.

“I want to do something traditional, but less formal and I can’t get a reservation for dinner.”

Make it a dim sum! It still may require a reservation, but your chances are higher for dim sum than dinner. A few dishes traditional to Chinese New Year are the Pan Fried Radish/Turnip Cakes and the Pan Fried Taro Cakes. They are both savoury cakes and the Radish/Turnip Cakes (different names, same thing) are definitely available all year. There’s also a traditional sweet brown sugar rice cake called “Nian Gao” and these cakes symbolize a sweet year and growth… growth in prosperity, success, and height… although the last is wishful thinking. Just kidding, but cake or pudding in Chinese is “Gao” which means height or raising higher.

You can also buy premade ones and pan fry them at home yourself. Almost all the of dim sum restaurants will sell ready to fry ones during this time. It’s tradition to buy them and give them away to people as gifts during the New Year. Saint Germain Bakery sells nicely packaged ones (see here), so if you really want to impress someone… *ahem* bring one for their mother.

Dim sum options: Richmond options: Red Star Seafood, J&C Top Gun Restaurant, Rainflower Restaurant, The Jade Seafood Restaurant, Empire Chinese Cuisine, VivaCity Seafood, Kalok Seafood Restaurant, Sea Harbour, Kirin Seafood Restaurant, Good Eat Seafood Restaurant etc. Vancouver options: Kirin Seafood Restaurant, Red Star Seafood, Dynasty Seafood Restaurant, Golden Ocean Seafood etc., and Burnaby option: Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant. There are honestly so many options and if you’re not familiar with your dim sum, then get cracking! Not knowing what or how to order is no excuse when I have pictures to help

“I prefer a modern take on Chinese food and don’t have 10 friends/family I like.”

Try Wild Rice. It’s a modern fusion take on traditional Chinese cuisine and they have a special Year of The Dragon Prix Fixe Menu designed for 2 from January 22 – February 4, 2012. (I hope you have at least one person you like). The menu includes Water Dragon Platter for Two, Dungeness Crab Salad, Steamed Ling Cod, Albacore Tuna Tartare and a dessert Plate of Food Wishes. $38.88 for two people.

Wild Rice Vancouver: 117 W. Pender Street at Abbott on the edge of old Chinatown, 604-642-2882

Wild Rice New Westminster: 122-810 Quayside Drive in the River Market, 778-397-0028

“I’m a tea connoisseur, and I’ve done the dim sum, but I want something new and modern.”

This is the shrine for tea lovers. Their tea library and quality of luxury teas are incredible. From January 16th – January 31st, 2012, The Urban Tea Merchant is introducing their “Year of the Dragon” Signature Afternoon Tea Service. The menu includes Tiger Hill Tea-infused egg salad sandwich, traditional wrapped Peking duck & plum sauce, chocolate dipped dragon fruit, dragon eye fruit, Matcha tea-infused fortune cookie and many more savoury and sweet bites. $48 per person. Full menu here.

The Urban Tea Merchant Downtown Vancouver: 1070 West Georgia St. Vancouver, 604-692-0071

The Urban Tea Merchant The Village at Park Royal: G3 – 825 Main St. West Vancouver, 604-926-3392

Now heads up! Xi Shi Lounge at the Shangri-La Hotel nearby is also hosting a Special Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea Monday, January 23rd through Sunday, January 29th from 11:30 am to 5:00 pm. $34 per person. See my post here.

“I prefer the hotel version of Chinese New Year.”

Photo Credit Pan Pacific Vancouver

So you’re a little less adventurous and maybe not a fan of the traditional stuff? Or your dining with some “white bread and butters”? Or you need something for the kids? (I personally believe kids should be introduced to unfamiliar food at a young age though). Well whatever the reasons are you’ll get a good mix of everything (including non-Chinese items) at the Cafe Pacfica Restaurant.

This Sunday January 22, Cafe Pacfica Restaurant at Pan Pacific Vancouver is hosting their annual Chinese New Years Day Brunch Buffet which includes a fancy buffet featuring: Chinese Charcuterie, Dim Sum, Lemon Chicken, Wok Station, Sushi Station, Omelette Station, Carving Station and many more things. The dessert buffet offers Chocolate Dipped Fortune Cookies, Sweat Bean Sesame Balls, Egg Tarts, Sago & Lotus seed pudding, Chocolate Mousse and Creme Brulee. See the full menu here.

The buffet also includes a live piano performance and a great view – see here for prices and more details.

Pan Pacific Vancouver: 300-999 Canada Place, Vancouver, 604.891.2555

“Just take me to a Chinese New Year fair and let me sample random Chinese goodies!”

Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, BC is hosting their annual Chinese New Year flower and gift fair January 19-29 (see hours here). There will also be a live countdown on January 22 at 10:30pm – 12:10am in the Central Atrium of the mall. Parking will make you want to pull each strand of hair out one by one and you may discover a heightened sense of road rage, so I highly recommend taking the Canada Line… thank me later.

Make sure you check out the Dragon’s Beard Candy stand. It’s Chinese style cotton candy stuffed with sugared ground peanuts and it will be extra popular this year since it’s the Year of the Dragon. It’s a special dessert that’s labour intensive to make and the “cotton candy” is hand pulled.

Aberdeen Centre: Suite 130, 4400 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, 604.270.1234

Restaurant: Rhino’s Kitchen 新犀牛屋
Cuisine: Chinese/Noodles
Last visited: December 19, 2011
Location: Richmond, BC (Richmond Central)
Address: 5300 #3 Rd
Train: Lansdowne Station Northbound
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 2
Service: 2
Ambiance: 2.5
Overall: 2
Additional comments:

• Hong Kong style cafe
• Extensive menu
• Soup noodle bowls
• Cheap lunch combos
• Casual/quick
• Family friendly
• Budget friendly/cheap eats
• Cash only
• Lunch/Dinner
• Mon-Sun 11am – 11pm

**Recommendations: n/a

“It was dead long ago
But it’s all coming back to me
It’s so hard to resist
And it’s all coming back to me
I can barely recall
But it’s all coming back to me now”
It’s All Coming Back To Me Now – by Celine Dion

Yes, it is all coming back to me now! I didn’t even put the puzzle together myself. Someone on Twitter had reminded me that this was the Top Gun restaurant that used to be in the bowling alley of the old Aberdeen Centre. I was definitely alive when it existed, but I was probably still playing with the 5 pins. Okay who am I kidding? I still bowl the 5 pins… okay no, kidding again! I don’t even bowl… the closest thing I get to bowling is an actual bowl.

Anyways, Rhino Kitchen was the place where Asian families used to host their kids’ birthdays since the bowling alley was conveniently located below. It was considered Chinese McDonald’s back in the day. I barely remember the old Rhino Kitchen, but this current interior brought me back to memories of the old Rainforest Cafe in Metrotown… but made in China. It could also pass as the waiting room at the doctor’s office… when I was 6. Okay so decor isn’t the thing here, but maybe the food is!

It’s a Hong Kong style cafe and the restaurant used to be California Cafe, which was basically the same deal. Hong Kong style cafes are more or less Chinese sit down cafeterias or fast food restaurants. They serve a lot of Chinese style Western food, but it’s not “Western Chinese food”. There’s a difference. It’s not “Wok and Roll” at the mall food court and the food is actually intended for Chinese (Cantonese) tastes. It’s Hong Kong style Western food and it’s meant to be cheap eats.

I actually do like these places and they satisfy late night cravings and cheap lunches, however Rhino’s Kitchen really didn’t do the food any justice. Personally I prefer Cafe Gloucester in Vancouver and in the context of Richmond I would go to Alleluia Cafe, but I haven’t been there in a while either. Rhino’s Kitchen is also following Deer Garden Signatures by offering fish based soup noodle bowls, but overall the food was very average to subpar and it does get easily better even for this style of dining.

The Top Gun Group also owns Richmond Sushi, Kingsway Sushi, Top Gun J&C, Top Gun Hot Pot, and Garden City Hot Pot. It’s like the Asian version of the Glowbal Group. Anyways I’ve had good experiences at some of their other restaurants and Top Gun J&C is where I frequent for dim sum, so I just know they are capable of better.

On the table:

Deep Fried Milk Pudding – 1.5/6 (Poor-Okay)

• $5.25
• I really love this dish when it’s done well.
• If it’s your first time trying this and you try it here, you probably wouldn’t order it again and that’s a shame.
• Traditionally it’s served with sugar for dipping.
• These ones were made like spring rolls which is a shortcut method.
• Authentically it should be deep fried balls of milk dipped in tempura-like batter, not wrapped in egg roll wrappers.
• They were naturally a bit oily from being deep fried, but at least they were crispy and not soggy.

• The inside is soft, creamy and fluffy, but it’s not salty or even really sweet.
• The filling is neutral like the flavour of milk.
• This one tasted like they added some coconut milk too, so it was a bit more aromatic and sweet.
• The inside should be creamy, velvety and rich, but this one was creamy, doughy and almost like mochi instead of custard. It had too much flour or cornstarch.
• The oil used to deep fry it was also a bit old and I could taste it.
• The best one I had was in Hong Kong at Fung Shing Restaurant – see Deep Fried Milk. They also have it at Rainflower in Richmond, BC, but I haven’t tried that one yet.

Borsch-A La Russian - 2/6 (Okay)

• The rice/spaghetti meals come with complimentary soup. ($4.95 a la carte)
• It’s your choice of borsch or cream soup and this should be standard no matter what Hong Kong style cafe you go to. It’s always Borsch or some type of cream soup.
• I love the fancy name, “Borsch-A La Russian”, it’s so multicultural.
• Don’t compare it to real Borsch because it’s not meant to be authentic. It’s Chinese style and for Chinese tastes and it’s not unusual.
• There are no beets because Chinese people don’t use beets, and most European cultures would call this “vegetable & beef soup”.
• It had tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions and maybe a couple shreds of beef brisket which were quite dry.
• There was no beef flavour in the broth and it just tasted like an acidic tomato base with a mild spice of pepper, but it’s not spicy.
• There are better versions of Chinese style Borsch than this.

Baked Spaghetti with Cheese in Meat Sauce – 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• Served with soup or salad or poached vegetables $8.25
• This brings back childhood memories and it’s pretty much comfort food for any Asian kid.
• It’s not comparable to spaghetti and meatballs for a Caucasian kid because this also settled the general desire for Western food as a whole. This was equivalent to getting McDonald’s for dinner.
• All versions of “baked spaghetti” at Hong Kong style cafes are almost “cafeteria style spaghetti” and that makes it “authentic” for this type of cuisine.
• I wish it had the baked on crispy cheese crust and this one didn’t actually taste that bad, but it just wasn’t a good version of it either.

• It was very generously sauced with a creamy tomato sauce and minced beef. It’s almost like the Chinese version of Spaghetti Bolognese.
• It had a lot of noodles which were pretty overcooked, but that’s normal and expected for Hong Kong style spaghetti.
• It was saucy and cheesy, but even for what it was, it does get better. It could have even just used more beef.
• Some other Hong Kong style cafes will include more beef, chopped tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms and onions, but this one had nothing.

Cream of Mushroom Soup – 2/6 (Okay)

• The rice/spaghetti meals come with complimentary soup. ($4.95 a la carte)
• It’s your choice of borsch or cream soup and this should be standard no matter what Hong Kong style cafe you go to. It’s always Borsch or some type of cream soup.
• It was edible, but it’s not something I would order.
• It was creamy with little mushroom flavour and heavily rue based with flour, butter and of course cream.
• There were actual mushrooms in it and they weren’t canned, so that’s the bright side.
• Don’t compare this to Western styles of mushroom soup either.
• It doesn’t taste “Chinese”, but it’s like going to Safeway and buying sushi, it probably won’t be that good… but nice try.

Baked Chicken with Rice in Portuguese Sauce – 2/6 (Okay)

• Served with soup or salad or poached vegetables $8.25
• This is another classic at a Hong Kong style cafe.
• This dish actually exists in Hong Kong and in Portugal and I’ve tried it in both countries. Portuguese one for the win.
• It had a layer of baked cheese on top which is normal for this dish.
• The Portuguese sauce is basically a coconut milk based curry sauce, but it’s not the Thai kind. It’s the Chinese kind and similar to the one used to cook curry fishballs in.
• The curry sauce was creamy and sweet and it will almost never be spicy. It was a bit bland and it had no spices or depth.
• The chicken quality wasn’t great and it wasn’t that moist, and there was just no care in prepping it for the dish.
• The dish also wasn’t hot enough and the only vegetable was carrots and usually there are some onions, peas or bell peppers too.
• The fried rice underneath was dry and it just seemed like steamed rice tossed with scrambled eggs. It didn’t have any sign or flavour of “wok aroma” or being fried.

Baked Seafood on Rice – 1.5/6 (Poor-Okay)

• Served with soup or salad or poached vegetables $8.25
• This is another typical dish at a Hong Kong style cafe, but it does get better than this version.
• The layer of melted cheese on top is standard, but this one didn’t have much.
• The seafood was all frozen, but that’s pretty expected for these style of restaurants too. You don’t go to McDonald’s expecting fresh beef patties either.

• It had one overcooked mussel, one very bland scallop, a piece of boneless and skinless mushy white fish fillet, an overcooked shrimp, and two artificial crab sticks. For $8.25 it’s more or less what I expect, but they didn’t have to be bland or overcooked.
• The sauce was a flour, butter and cream (rue) based sauce that’s similar to a béchamel, but not quite as rich, creamy and good as béchamel.
• The fried rice underneath was again very disappointing. It was dry with hardly any scrambled egg and the rice seemed steamed instead of fried and it had no “wok aroma”.
• The dish also wasn’t hot enough and I feel like all these bowls are preassembled with rice rather than being fried upon order.

Restaurant: Phnom Penh – Post 3
Cuisine: Vietnamese/Cambodian
Last visited: December 28, 2011
Location: Vancouver, BC (Chinatown)
Address: 244 E Georgia Street
Train: Main Skytrain
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: FMF Must Try!

Food: 5 (6 for the famous items)
Service: 3 (Is what it is, but it’s fast)
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Family owned
• Vietnamese & Cambodian fusion
• Some Chinese dishes
• Extensive menu
• English/Chinese/Vietnamese menu
• Busy at all hours/line-ups
• Local/tourist favourite
• Famous for chicken wings
• Hole in the wall
• Quick/Casual
• Moderately priced
• Award winning restaurant
• Dine In/Take Out
• Reservations for 8+
• Mon-Thurs 10am – 9pm
• Fri-Sun 10am – 10pm

**Recommendations: Most famous: Phnom Penh Deep Fried Chicken Wings/Squid/Prawns, Marinated Butter Beef, Filet Beef Luc Lac on Rice with Egg (ask to get the rice replaced with fried rice) and Mango Moo Shake! People also like the Phnom Penh Two Kinds of Noodle, Steamed Rice Rolls, Phnom Penh Hot & Sour Soup and Trieu Chau Fried Oyster Cake.

Kicking off the New Year with something most of us already know and love! I’ve already blogged about it twice (see here and here), but it’s a place that never gets old. It’s Vancouver’s most beloved hole in the wall serving Vietnamese-Cambodian cuisine. If you haven’t tried it yet, you’re either out of the loop or severely deprived. I actually named it as one of the dives Guy Fieri missed when he came to Vancouver to film Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives – see here.

Over the holidays I brought almost every out of towner here, either upon request because they’ve tried it, or my suggestion if they haven’t. I get the same orgasmic response every time and it never fails to disappoint. However part of the reason is because I never venture too far away from the signature menu items. I’ve tried some of their not so popular items, and they’re either okay or better elsewhere, so it’s only a guaranteed experience if you know what to order.

It doesn’t matter what time you come, along with your guaranteed experience will be your guaranteed line up. As a local, it’s one of the few places I’ll wait 20 minutes for. They recently had renovations, but you can’t even tell, and to be honest if they ever renovated to a “nice restaurant” with new tables and chairs etc., it just wouldn’t be the same.

If you’re a table for 2-3 it’s likely you’ll have to share a big round communal table, so it’s really not a place for socializing. Mind you, I suggest coming with a group of at least 3-4 because the portions are pretty big and you can’t miss any of the “must try” items. It’s really only famous for a handful of items, but those handful of items have become iconic to the restaurant and in Vancouver.

On the table:
**Phnom Penh Deep Fried Chicken Wing - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• 1/2 order (4 wings) $7.95 Full order (8 wings) $12.50
• This is the claim to fame.
• They’re not “just chicken wings”. So far, nobody has made better ones than these and the dipping sauce is really what makes it.
• I actually prefer the deep fried squid or prawns, which are made the same way as the chicken wings, but it’s all about personal preference.

• They’re lightly battered, crispy, juicy and seasoned with rock salt, white pepper, a little sugar and what I think is MSG.
• They’re salty, peppery, very slightly sweet form the sugar or MSG. (MSG is actually sweet and salty, not just salty.)
• They come with lots of sauteed garlic and green onions too. I wish it had some deep fried crispy garlic as well.
• They’re very garlicky and it’s like a Greek meal after you finish. Pah!
• If you like chicken wings I’d also recommend Wo Fung Dessert House for their famous chicken wings – see here.

• This is what makes all the difference. The dipping sauce for the chicken wings. It makes it that much more addicting.
• It’s basically lemon juice with white and black pepper. It’s not spicy but white pepper is always so aromatic and with the lemon it’s an intense combo.
• It’s super tangy and the citrus brightens up the wings and helps cut through the grease.
• The combination of salt, lemon, garlic and pepper is undeniably delicious and flavourful!
• Eating meat dipped in white pepper and lemon/lime juice is something some Vietnamese people will do at home, especially with beef. The lemon pepper sauce is actually a condiment used for many dishes, like hot sauce, so the idea isn’t necessarily that new.

**Marinated Butter Beef - 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• Thin sliced specially prepared (medium rare) beef on a bed of brown garlic, cilantro, served with our special sauce $12.85
• I love this dish and it’s my favourite thing here. It’s a must every time I come.
• This dish does not exist in Vietnam, so it is unique to the restaurant. It is a take on Phnom Penh’s Bo Tai Chanh though! (Thanks to @wisemonkeysblog!)
• It’s like the Vietnamese version of beef carpaccio or Japanese beef tataki.
• It’s super tender like the texture of butter, and it’s almost raw slices of beef. The slices are a bit thicker, but they don’t require much chewing.
• It’s quite a large plate and I can eat it alone, but I do recommend ordering it with rice to soak up the sauce or the sauce can be a bit overwhelming, salty and tangy.

• The tender beef is intensely covered with nutty crispy garlic, perhaps some ginger and loads of fresh cilantro. It’s almost like a cilantro raw beef garlic salad.
• It’s a super aromatic and saucy dish and I love the texture of soft raw beef, crunchy fresh cilantro, nutty garlic chips and the savoury tangy soy based vinaigrette.
• The special sauce is a very sharp and bold vinaigrette and they just pour it onto the beef and let it absorb.
• I think it’s made with soy sauce, fish sauce, and lemon juice with perhaps some sugar. It’s definitely predominantly tangy and salty though.
• I could drink the sauce, although I’d be coughing from the acid and dying of thirst afterward.

**Filet Beef Luc Lac on Rice with Egg - 5/6 (Excellent)

• $9.50
• Another famous Phnom Penh phenomenon. It’s their most popular rice dish and it’s Vietnamese comfort food.
• I’ve ordered it once at another Vietnamese restaurant before so I don’t have much to compare it to, although this one was much better than the one I had.
• Don’t even think about ordering the version without the egg… unless you’re allergic.
• It’s a traditional Vietnamese beef stir fry dish and it actually tastes really Chinese to me.
• There’s a popular Chinese dish called “Minced Beef with Raw Egg on Rice” and it’s very similar and I actually like them equally. It also reminds me of a sauteed version of Korean Bulgogi beef.
• The beef is generously coated with a thick sauce and it’s savoury, sweet and nutty from sesame oil.
• The beef is tender and has probably been marinating for a long time, and they give you a lot of slices.

• From what I could taste I think the sauce is soy sauce with Oyster sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, garlic and maybe some honey or sugar. It’s not sticky, but it’s almost creamy and very flavourful.
• It is very good, but I’m pretty used to this flavour so it wasn’t anything spectacular for me. It’s simply well marinated, savoury and sweet, tender beef stir fry.
• You have to break the egg yolk into the beef. It’s the traditional way any Asian person would eat it.
• The raw egg yolk just blends in with the meat and it adds a richness and creaminess to the overall dish. It’s like a”natural sauce” and I only wish the fried egg was even more raw.
• For the Chinese version they literally crack a raw egg on top of the minced meat before serving it. The heat of the meat is supposed to “cook” the egg, but it doesn’t… and no one cares. It’s delicious.

**Filet Beef Luc Lac on Rice with Egg (With Fried Rice upgrade) – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $9.50 + $3 (Fried rice upgrade) $12.50
• If you think the Filet Beef Luc Lac on Rice with Egg is excellent, try upgrading the rice to fried rice and it’s trés excellent!
• The dish as a whole is 6/6.
• The fried rice is their “Trieu Chau fried rice” with finely chopped Chinese sausages, carrots, egg and green onion.
• The rice is fried really well here and it’s not clumpy, dry or wet. It’s moist and full of ingredients and I got that earthy smoky “wok aroma”.
• The Chinese sausages are a bit chewy and sweet like jerky so they make for great flavour and it’s also sauteed with some soy sauce or fish sauce.

Phnom Penh Hot & Sour Soup with Prawn – 3.5/6 (Good-Very Good)

• Small $12.25 Large $24.50
• This is a Vietnamese-Cambodian style of Hot & Sour Soup, and I prefer the Chinese or Szechuan kind which is almost incomparable.
• This is popular in Southern Vietnam and Cambodia and it’s the most popular soup at Phnom Penh.
• It’s a huge pot served boiling hot.
• The broth is lighter and more clear than most Chinese versions and it has more acidity to it too.
• It’s savoury from the fish sauce, sweet from some sugar, and sour from the lemon/lime/tamarind (?), acidic from some tomato stock and it has a good kick of chili spice.
• It had chunks of tomatoes, taro stems, pineapples, some peeled shrimp, bean sprouts, basil leaves, onions, cilantro and dried/fried brown garlic so it was full of ingredients.
• The soup had depth, great flavour and balance, but I couldn’t taste the prawns infused in it. I liked it, but it’s not something I’d have to order again.

Trieu Chau Steamed Dumplings - 3.5/6 (Good-Very Good)

• Clear dumpling stuffed with Jicama nut & pork $8.25
• They take 15-20 minutes to make. They were huge and each one is a 2-3 biter.
• I usually order these at dim sum (aka Chiu Chow Fun Guo), but for a non dim sum restaurant these are pretty good. I still prefer dim sum ones, but the style of these are different.
• It is served with a tangy malted vinegar for dipping and topped with cilantro and dried/fried brown garlic.
• They’re made fresh upon order and I’ve had several versions of these before, including Trieu Chau ones, but never with these ingredients.

• The skins are the chewy clear glutinous rice flour skins you see on prawn dumplings, but these were thicker.
• They are stuffed with jicama, ground pork, Shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, baby shrimps, I think some dried shrimps, and the most unusual was the hard boiled eggs. Everything else is quite standard, but the hard boiled eggs are different.
• Each one had a 1/4 of a hard boiled egg, and I liked it, but I just wished it was mixed up with the mixture so it wasn’t so random.
• The outside is soft and chewy and the inside is crunchy and meaty with tons of ingredients, but without the dipping sauce they are on the bland side.
• Texturally I liked them, but here are a few other versions of them that I prefer: 5 Spice Swatow Style Dumpling with more of a gravy, Steamed Diced Pork & Vegetable Dumpling “Chiu Chow Fun Guo”, and Steamed Pork Dumplings with Peanuts.

Phnom Penh Dry Rice Noodle (No broth) - 3.5/6 (Good-Very good)

• Rice noodles with seafood, pork, ground pork, dried shrimp, and special sauces, served with bean sprouts (soup on the side upon request) $6
• This is pretty good and enjoyable, but also not that special.
• It could have been better if the meat wasn’t so dry too. The pork slices were really hard to chew, and since it was a dry noodle dish, it didn’t help.
• The only liquid is some dark soy sauce and I think they add a little oil so it’s not so dry.
• The noodles are just the standard Vietnamese rice noodles they serve in pho. Here, they are served luke warm and they’re nice and chewy.
• I liked the freshness of the cilantro with the addition of steamed bean sprouts which were served on the side.
• The heat just brings out the nuttiness of the fried garlic which I wish had been crispy. I could have used some more salty dried shrimp as well.
• The “special sauces” it’s served with is the standard Vietnamese spring roll dipping sauce (Nuoc Cham) and a chili bean paste. Mixed in with the noodles it’s all sweet, tangy, spicy and savoury especially with the already added soy sauce.

Pork Soup - 2.5/6 (Okay-Good)

• This is their signature soup that comes as a side. It’s usually served with a pork bone in it, but they probably ran out since it was late in the evening.
• It tastes like chicken soup to me and it was light, but flavourful, and I didn’t find it anything special.

Phnom Penh Special Jumbo Rice B (with Fried Rice upgrade) – 4/6 (Very good)

• BBQ Lemon grass pork chop, shredded pork, ham and egg on rice $10.50 + $3 (Fried rice upgrade) $13.50
• This is definitely shareable and well worth it.
• It comes with a side of orange Nuoc Cham vinaigrette which you pour over top and mix everything together.
• It comes with a few slices of Vietnamese ham, a fried egg, a generous amount of pork chops, a dry fried pork rind (which tasted like vermicelli noodles) with chopped Vietnamese ham and browned garlic, and a salad.
• The garlicky pork rinds kind of tasted like something you would use to fill vermicelli noodle spring rolls with.
• They seem like they’re coated in bread crumbs, which are dried/fried brown garlic flakes, so it has that crumbly texture and they’re not crispy and intentionally not saucy.
• The pork is tender and juicy, but I could have used more lemongrass on the rub.
• It has a nice sweet glaze on them and the quality of the meat is a bit higher than a lot of Vietnamese places. It isn’t just all gelatinous fat or wimpy chewy pork cutlets.
• I enjoyed the variety in the dish and you get some of everything.

Beef Fillet Anchois - 4/6 (Very good)

• Very rare beef specially prepared with smashed fillets of Anchovies, fresh lemon juice, sliced lettuce, green peppers & onions $16.50
• I was hoping this was going to be a Butter Beef 2.0. I was hoping it was an undiscovered item just waiting to be ordered.
• I did enjoy it, but I wouldn’t want an entire plate. This is good for groups of 4. It’s a very crunchy and a refreshing salad.
• And you thought the Butter Beef was rare!!? Take a look at this one! It’s almost still bleeding! There’s a lot of super rare and pretty much raw beef pieces tossed throughout this salad. It’s almost like ceviche. They’re incredibly tender and each piece only took a few chews. It doesn’t taste fatty or tendonous.
• The beef fillets are so pounded and tenderized. It’s probably marinated overnight in anchovy lemon juice as well as maybe some ginger that comes unnoticed.
• Each piece was incredibly flavourful with juicy tangy savoury marinade, however it was to the point of loosing that natural beef flavour. For that one reason, it’s not really for hardcore carnivores who love meaty flavours. I still enjoyed it though. I’m not a major carnivore nor am I vegetarian.
• The salad itself reminded me of Subway sandwich toppings. I wanted way more herbs in it, like mint, cilantro and basil etc.
• It was generously dressed with a very tangy and sweet lemon vinaigrette that’s slightly spicy. The sharp dressing is required to “cook” and kill all the germs in that beef! I couldn’t see or really taste any anchovies, but it’s in the marinade giving it sharp savoury flavour.
• All the veggies were also tenderized with the vinaigrette so the onions weren’t spicy, but the sauce kind of has a slight kick.

Green Papaya Salad – 3/6 (Good)

• $14.50
• This is a huge papaya salad, but I prefer the Thai papaya salads.
• Usually this is an appetizer, but with the added prawns and beef it would be considered a main.
• It comes with lots of shrimp, freshly shredded crunchy green papaya, mint leaves, some shredded carrots, toasted peanuts, crumbled beef jerky, and chilies.
• It’s a very refreshing and crunchy salad with lots of different textures.
• The papaya is green papaya so it’s not your typical orangey yellow one. It’s tart, not sweet and almost like crunchy daikon.
• It’s sweet from the sugar, tart and citrusy from the papaya and vinaigrette, savoury with the beef and very aromatic overall.
• It comes with a side of orange Nuoc Cham vinaigrette which just brings everything together and gives it more salty, sweet and sour flavours.

Vietnamese Crepe or Bánh Xèo - 3/6 (Good)

• Crisp bean pancake wrapped with bean-sprout, shrimp, ground pork, pan-fried to perfection $12.95
• This takes a while to prepare. It’s actually a French inspired Vietnamese dish popular in Saigon.
• I had the honour of trying a homemade one from a good friend. I won’t compare them, but I learned that traditionally the crepe is used as the filling for lettuce wraps. You fill romaine leaves with the crepe and top it off with a variety of fresh herbs. It’s then wrapped and rolled and dipped into Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese spring roll dipping sauce) before eating. It’s so much better that way!
• This crepe was MASSIVE. It’s actually pretty good, but just very bland and I do wish they would serve it authentically. There’s not many places making this though.
• It was a super crispy thin crepe and similar to a chip. It was almost deep fried and pretty oily.
• It’s nice and crunchy and the batter has some sliced garlic pieces, chives and frozen baby shrimp cooked into it. Fresh prawns would obviously be better, but I understand.
• It’s yellow from Tumeric, but it’s still bland.

• It was well stuffed, but I wish the variety of stuffing was more spread out. It was almost like clumps of toppings rather than an incorporated mixture.
• There was a lot of steamed bean sprouts, which is actually quite standard for this crepe. But since these were previously steamed they tasted a bit watery and lost their flavour. It didn’t help since everything else was already bland.
• It’s also stuffed with bland ground pork, and some yellow starchy bits that tasted like hard boiled duck egg yolks, but not salty. They were almost like coarse lentils and they were bland as well.
• The orange stuff is the shrimp and it was the only decently salty part. I wanted way more of it. It was a combination of dried and cooked shrimp and it had the texture and slight taste of sweet pumpkin, salty shrimp flavour followed by a slightly spicy note. It sounds gross, but I liked it. It’s a bit mushy and bitty.
• Eaten together it’s all crispy, crunchy and almost like a salad filled with bean like starchy textures.
• Texture was interesting, but it was very bland without the orange Nuoc Cham vinaigrette dipping sauce they served on the side. It also needed more fresh herbs.

**Mango Moo Shake – 6/6 (FMF Must Try!)

• $4.25 (Mango flavour is seasonal)
• It’s found in the “desserts” section and it’s almost like a bubble tea, but better.
• The Moo Shakes aren’t as well known, but people who know about them will always order them. They’re amazing.
• It’s not a milkshake, but there is a tiny bit of milk in it. It tastes like it’s made with fresh mango sorbet and it’s like a frozen mango slushy.
• It’s very naturally sweet with a little bit of added sugar syrup and it’s made with 100% real mangoes! They’re probably frozen but you can tell it’s real.
• It’s like a frozen fresh fruit puree of mango and it’s super thick and better than any fresh fruit mango bubble tea type drink I’ve tried to date.

Lychee Moo Shake – 5/6 (Excellent)

• $4.25
• I’m assuming the lychee is canned because they have it available all year.
• It’s full of lychee flavour and again it’s better than most bubble tea places making lychee bubble tea.
• It’s thick, refreshing and blended with ice like a slushy. There could be a splash of milk too.
• I find it a bit sweet, and I still prefer the mango, but I still liked this.

Assorted Handmade Chocolates – not from Phnom Penh, but it was dessert after dinner.

Miku Restaurant – Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi

2011 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog

Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie (FMF) Food and FMF Foodie Moments in 2011.

I wrote a Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010, so I decided to do another one this year. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so grateful for everything that has happened with this blog. I’ve loved every minute of it (even the parts where it hurt to laugh because I was so full) and I’m so happy to have shared these delicious moments with you. Thank you for following me foodie and cheers to another year of gastronomic indulgence!

NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2011 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2011 ONLY.

Top 20 BEST ASIAN/FUSION Restaurant Dishes & Food in Vancouver:

Suika – Beef Short Rib

Being in Vancouver, we’re spoiled by great Asian/Asian Fusion cuisine, so I decided to make it a separate category. Vancouver dominates and excels when it comes to Asian/Asian fusion cuisine.

Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.

1. Suika – Beef Short Rib

2. Aki Japanese Restaurant – Black Cod (Sable Fish)

3. Pho Tam – House Special Pho

4. Wing Kee – Fresh Steamed Scallops with Vermicelli and Garlic

5. Dan Japanese – Tuna Chili Sashimi

6. Wang’s Beef Noodle House – Beef Brisket Noodle

7. Kirin Seafood Restaurant – Black Cod Braised with Squash and Roasted Pork Belly

8. Jade Seafood Restaurant – Steamed Mushroom Dumpling

9. Rainflower Restaurant – Pan Fried Tiger Prawns with Basil

10. Tokyo Joe’s Sushi Factory – Volcano Roll

11. Empire Chinese Cuisine – Alaskan King Crab Dinner – 4 ways

12. Red Star Seafood – Dungeness Crab with Wild Rice

13. Motomachi Shokudo – Bamboo-Charcoal Dark Miso Ramen

14. Tokachi Japanese – Tuna Gomaae

15. Empire Chinese Cuisine – Deep Fried Alaskan King Crab Knuckles

16. Ichiro Japanese – Dragon Roll

17. Delicious Cuisine – Deep Fried Shrimp with Salted Egg Yolk

18. Hapa Izakaya (Kistilano) – Salmon Shooter

19. Suhang Restaurant – Steamed Soup Buns with Pork Filling (XLB)

20. Jade Seafood Restaurant – Jade Smoked Grandpa Chicken

Honorary Mentions from 2010 list: Miku Restaurant – Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi, Top Gun J & C Restaurant – Baked BBQ Pork Bun, Hakkaido Ramen Santouka – Toroniku Shio Ramen

See “Follow Me Foodie Best of 2010 Asian/Fusion Dishes” here.

See the full “Follow Me Foodie Best of 2011″ here.

Making Croissants at Bouchon in Las Vegas

2011 Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Yearblog

Happy New Year! Welcome to my Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2011! This is a recap and yearbook/yearblog of the BEST Follow Me Foodie (FMF) Food and FMF Foodie Moments in 2011.

I wrote a Follow Me Foodie Favourites & Best of 2010, so I decided to do another one this year. I don’t even know where to start. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m so grateful for everything that has happened with this blog. I’ve loved every minute of it (even the parts where it hurt to laugh because I was so full) and I’m so happy to have shared these delicious moments with you. Thank you for following me foodie and cheers to another year of gastronomic indulgence!

NOTE: IT’S NOT NECESSARILY “THE BEST“, BECAUSE FOOD IS PERSONAL AND I CAN ONLY DISCOVER SO MUCH IN A YEAR. THESE ARE JUST SOME WORTH MENTIONING IN MY BOOKS… OR BLOG? BLOG. IT’S MORE OF A 2011 RECAP/SUMMARY. ALL EXPERIENCES ARE FROM 2011 ONLY.

Top 25 Most Memorable/BEST Dishes Internationally:

At the 5th day of the opening for the first ever Ladurée in the United States in New York

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee on Blue Mountain, Jamaica

Food is undeniably a focus when I’m traveling. This year I was grateful to take Follow Me Foodie to Bowen Island, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Portland, Los Angeles, Montreal, Quebec City and Jamaica.  Here are some of my best international indulgences this year. So Follow Me Foodie to some of my favourite foods and restaurants abroad with just one click!

Listed in no particular order. Based on the menu item, not the restaurant.

1. Pine State Biscuits – The Reggie Deluxe Biscuit Sandwich – Portland, Oregon

2. Pambiche – Masitas – Portland, Oregon

3. Local 360 – Fried Chicken – Seattle, Washington

4. Beecher’s Handmade Cheese Cafe – World’s Best” Mac & Cheese – Seattle, Washington

5. Nove Italiano - Shrimp Francaise – Las Vegas, Nevada

6. Bouchon – Truite Grenobloise – Las Vegas, Nevada

7. Traif – Crispy Pork Belly – Brooklyn, New York

8. The Spotted Pig – Gnudi – Manhattan, New York

9. Katz Deli – Pastrami Sandwich on Rye – Manhattan, New York

10. Jean-Georges – Manhattan, New York

11. BonChon Chicken – BonChon Chicken Wings – Manhattan, New York

12. Peasant – Cannolichi, Suckling Pig (Porchetta) – Manhattan, New York

13. Boqueria – Croquetas Cremosas – Manhattan, New York

14. Blue Hill – Chilled Corn Soup, Berkshire Pig - Manhattan, New York

15. Scotchies – Jerk Chicken – Ocho Rios, Jamaica

16. Blue Mountain Coffee – Blue Mountain, Jamaica

17. Schwartz’s – Smoked Meat Sandwich – Montreal, Quebec

18. Le St-Urbain – Coffee Glazed Sweetbread – Montreal, Quebec

19. Van Horne – Melon Canari (Canary Melon) – Montreal, Quebec

20. Le Bremner – Kimchi Snow Crab, Lobster Toast Au Gratin – Montreal, Quebec

21. Café Clocher Penché – Duck Confit – Quebec City, Quebec

22. Laurie Raphaël – Apple Crumble, Carrot Cake – Quebec City, Quebec

23. La Traite – Wendake, Quebec

24. Au Goût d’Autrefois (Dining at the Duck Farm), Quebec

25. North End Caffe – Kahlua Pig Egg Rolls – Los Angeles, California