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Chinese in Vancouver 2007 -


SushiCat

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I was at Chen's recently, first time. The SLB are indeed very good, inside broth was quite tasty. I'll have to do a side-by comparison with The Place to confirm whose baos reign supreme. The spicy wonton were also excellent (dare I say I liked them better than the SLB? Yes, I dare), and the general noodle quality was good as well (I prefered the beef brisket / tendon one over the dan-dan). I really liked the black sesame dessert too, good pastry. (I am not anti-all Chinese desserts, just anti-red bean.)

My lunch companions were raving about this vegetable dish - don't know what it's called, it's one of those northern appetizer things. This was minced blanched mystery green (spinach?) and tofu. I was kind of meh about it, but they all liked it. If you're gonna get a northern appetizer, the peanuts in soy are the way to go. Highly addictive and a good way to show off your chopstick skillz to boot.

Edited by BCinBC (log)
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  • 3 weeks later...

I went to Chen's today and it was sooooo good! I didn't realize that it was not traditional Chinese dim sum, as our waitress explained to us, but more ShangHai style. She was very helpful, explaining all the dishes to us and being very patient, really good service!

One of my favorite dishes was beef wrapped in a really yummy green onion pancake, i could have eaten ten of them! And the cold curry prawns.....so fresh! Everything was really good and i can't wait to go back to try everything else.

Thank you all for the good reviews!

M

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm going to be in Vancouver this coming Sunday and Monday and am planning on having dim sum. It looks like Kirin is the place to go, but I'm wondering if I should go to the downtown location, or the Richmond location. The downtown location would be more convenient, but I'm willing to go to Richmond if it will be better. I usually order mostly dumplings - will there be a big difference between the two? Also, any suggestions for certain things I should try (dumplings or otherwise)?

Thanks!

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There's no need to drive to Richmond from downtown if you want to go to Kirin. There's subway construction along Cambie which is slowing traffic, I'd reccomend going to Cambie via 12th ave. turn into the parking lot pre-Cambie and construction is not an issue. If you want to shop at Yaohan after lunch, then yes go to Richmond, otherwise there's no significant difference between the locations.

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Went to Shanghai Wind tonight - and the owners have done it again! They have sold everything lock stock and barrel to a new team. It was immeadiately noticable - the xlb are not the same (not a good thing). They have moved to the old Bread Garden location on Cooney and Lansdowne - under the name of Wonderful Shanghai Restaurant. Things are definitely more upscale and they should give service impaired Top Shanghai a run for their money.

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Great - thanks for the tip.

Caitlin - Kirin is very good at bringing freshness to old standards. Aspargus and Scallop rice rolls, Prawns/Pea Tip fried tofu rolls, and their deep fried Smelts are highlights - they always have a seasonal dim sum sheet with good things.

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Shanghai Wonderful is already stupid busy. And do buyers not insist on a non-competition clause as a term of sale?

The menu at Wonderful is virtually the same as the old one at Wind - but there is a stronger emphasis on larger dishes rather than dim sum items. You'd think that the buyer would be more careful - but word of mouth is already at work - at 5:30 - Wind was completely empty, while Wonderful was almost already full and I could see that their reservation book was packed.

But I think that Chen's xlb are the best.

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Not the service staff - certainly the Chef has moved over.

And the Wind's service staff looked pissed that they left marooned at the now doomed new enterprise. I over heard the new xlb wrapper ask (in Cantonese!) as to should'nt the dinner rush have already started - to which the waitress replied that the rush seems to start later and later now.

Doooooooomed!

All kidding aside - I hope the new Wind owner can still make a go of things.

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Went to Shanghai Wind tonight - and the owners have done it again!  They have sold everything lock stock and barrel to a new team.  It was immeadiately noticable - the xlb are not the same (not a good thing).  They have moved to the old Bread Garden location on Cooney and Lansdowne - under the name of Wonderful Shanghai Restaurant.  Things are definitely more upscale and they should give service impaired Top Shanghai a run for their money.

That new place in Cooney road used to be owned by the owners of Shanghai River. They were supposed to open a new Hongkong style restaurant last December called Simply Chao. But for some reasons they backed out. I heard they ran into some problems when they were renovating the place, ie leaky roof, etc. They decided to let it go. They lost some money in the process. And what do you know, their closest competitor moves in.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just came back from my first visit to Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodle House in Burnaby. Pure awesomeness in a bowl!!!

I shared a bowl of their specialty - braised beef flank with noodle (Niuroumian) in spicy soup - and I have to say that it's the best Taiwanese noodles I've had here by far. A bargain at $6.75 for the large bowl.

The place was packed for lunch and apparently they quite often get lineups. It's at 4887 Kingsway, across from Metrotown at the corner of Kingsway and Nelson.

Website

I'd love to hear if anyone has any recommendations for other Taiwanese noodle shops in the area, especially closer to downtown. This place will be hard to beat, though.

健啖家(kentan-ka):A hearty eater

He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

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Had the last of the King Crab of the season last night at SSW in Richmond (pretty sure they will have crab over the weekend). Best I've had this year. The crab was served three ways, and we also had roasted squab, braised Chekiang ribs, and pea tips with abalone mushrooms. Everything was really well done.

Had virtually the same menu at SSW Main St - and the Richmond branch so much better. I was chatting with Richmond branch Manager and was suprised to learn that there is very little cross pollination between the two branches. They take guidance from the ownership, but each team is free to run things as they see fit.

I think the crazy competitive Richmond market keeps things at SSW Richmond at a higher standard.

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A few of you recommended Silver Palace on Main Street (orginal Sun Sui Wah location) - and thanks for steering me right. Had dim sum there today and it was very good! 10 dim sum items - avg price was about 3.25 - pretty good sized portions too. Had two dishes I've never tried before - braised duck tongue (good!) and braised duck feet (bad!). Ha!

Edited by canucklehead (log)
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I just came back from my first visit to Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodle House in Burnaby. Pure awesomeness in a bowl!!!

Thanks for the tip, we checked out this place on Saturday. We ended up ordering the braised beef flank w/noodle in soup, and the "dry noodle w/special beef sauce/spicy." The soup came with generous portions of beef flank, and the large size looked enormous. Possibly even a better deal (volume-wise) than your typical large bowl of pho.

Of the two, we both preferred the dry noodle. (This was our first experience with Taiwan noodle soups.) Sides were also reasonably priced and a perfect size to order a bunch of different items. We'll definitely go back again, on our way back from shopping at Crystal Mall, T&T, etc.

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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  • 1 month later...

Well, it's here. Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot opened earlier this month in Lansdowne opposite Gingeri. Walked by last week on our way to Gingeri for lunch. Very quiet. Apparently, they already have three locations in the Scarborough/Thornhill area, one in Montreal, and one in California as mentioned.

A mildly interesting Dining column by Tim Pawsy in today's Courier (July 12) about a sponsored trip to China and dinner he really enjoyed in large chain restaurant called Little Sheep.

Apparently there is a branch in San Fran (canucklehead do you know it?) and the possiblility of opening one here exists as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Went to the Sun Sui Wah in Richmond for dim sum last week to find that they had changed the format from carts to direct orders (a change that seemed to portend well), but everything coming from the kitchen seemed off the mark, bland. Clearly more than the style of service has changed. Anyone have insight?

By way of contrast, the dim sum sampled at Fortune on two trip were excellent (especially the steamed dim sum) and our dim sum at the Sun Sui Wah on Main Street were successful. Fortune is underrated, we think.

We also had dinner at Chen's (wonderful), lunch at The Place (great xiao long bow and pot stickers) and tried the new Shanghai Wonderful. The last was quite a contrast to the former Shanghai Wind in terms of ambience, but the food seemed familiar, as were the staff. If pushed, we would rate Chen's over Wonderful, however.

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Hi northern friends... here's a Seattle newspaper's perspective on your Chinese food scene:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outd...nesevan142.html

Any reactions to their recommendations?

I think the comment about Ho Yuen Kee having bad service is really not true. I go there frequently and it is very rare to get bad service. They generally are extremely friendly, quick, and accurate.

Perhaps the writer just brought out "the best" in them by expecting "the worst."

Cheers!

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Hi northern friends... here's a Seattle newspaper's perspective on your Chinese food scene:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/outd...nesevan142.html

Any reactions to their recommendations?

Some good picks - Fisherman's Terrace is good for dim sum and a good shout out to Ho Yuen Kee. And even though SSW is good, the article completely overlooks Kirin and Sea Harbour. That being said - the King Crab I had at SSW Richmond was the best I had this year.

Though Congee House remains popular - I really find that cleanliness is a real issue. And it does'nt have to be that way - look at Mak's and Tsim Jai Kee.

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Hello.

I have couple of questions...

I have a family dim sum coming up and we haven't been to Silver Palace or Ho Yuen Kee. Which one would you experts pick?

Secondly, Lee, where is Tsim Jai Kee?

Thanks, guys!

Quentina

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