Chinese in Vancouver 2007 -

[Kentan]

In Richmond: Sea Harbour, Shanghai River, Kirin and Sun Sui Wah are solid choices. Shanghai River looks the fanciest of the lot IMO.

I would love to find a place that does Beijing Imperial Cuisine here (eg Tan Jia). I don't know of any, personally.

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Thanks fmed - I'll have to try Sun Sui Wah again. It's an old standby but I haven't been there for ages.

I second the call for a place that serves tanjiacai!

[canucklehead]

Make sure it is SSW Richmond that you go to - NOT the one on Main St. In Richmond - there is also Jade Seafood - the service is impeccable and their "Great Grandfather's Chicken" quite excellent.

Otherwise - there are Shanghainese places like Shanghai River (mentioned above), and Shanghai Wonderful - both in Richmond with reasonably nice rooms. There are also Tawainese places like Dinesty and Vogue with clean modern spaces.

[fud]

Otherwise - there are Shanghainese places like Shanghai River (mentioned above), and Shanghai Wonderful - both in Richmond with reasonably nice rooms.  There are also Tawainese places like Dinesty and Vogue with clean modern spaces.

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I'm a fan of Shanghai Wonderful. The soup dumplings (Xiao long bao) are highly soupy and packed with flavour. They also do one of the better hot and sour soups out there (with actual chunks of seafood). Try it there and redefine what hot and sour soup is supposed to be like

Cunucklehead is right about Jade, it's a bit of an unsung hero in most cases. When you go there for Dim Sum, it's woefully underpacked compared to many other joints in the area and I find the price premium is well worth the jump in food quality (plus easy/free parking).

[canucklehead]

Through this weekend at least - 13.80 per pound live king crab at many Chinese restaurants throughout the city. I think that SSW in Richmond, does it particularly well.

You cannot get this anywhere else in the world for this price.

[mangez]

We discovered a very good Chinese restaurant on Renfrew at East 2nd called Bing Sheng.

It's quite authentic serving local dishes you expect to see in southern parts of China.

In fact, it's so good that we offered to help them do up menu translations into English.

Reasonable prices, they even let you weigh your king crab before ordering. But then, I guess one can never be 100% certain if the weighted crab is the same as the cooked one..

[canucklehead]

Bing Sheng is a famous restuarant from Guandong Province - and this is their first foray into Vancouver. I've heard very good things and I am keen to try it out.

[fmed]

Did you happen to notice Peking Duck being carved tableside? (Renfrew Dim Sum at this location used to do it.)

[mangez]

Did you happen to notice Peking Duck being carved tableside? (Renfrew Dim Sum at this location used to do it.)

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Yes, we like this version with the meat and skin together!

The ox tail is also good, so is their soup and their "jer jer vegetables" in a sizzling hot pot.

[prasantrin]

Is there any place in YVR that does tableside-carved Peking duck with skin only? It really shouldn't have meat, but it's getting harder and harder to find it without (even in Hong Kong, where I thought I'd be able to get it without meat!).

[Country Cook]

When I had Beiing koaya they carved up the whole bird at the table and even chopped up the bones (we took the left over meat and bones as take away and had it with our morning meal).

The skin is the best part though .

Does any place in YVR do this?

Edited March 3, 2009 by Country Cook (log)

[fmed]

When I had Beiing koaya they carved up the whole bird at the table and even chopped up the bones (we took the left over meat and bones as take away and had it with our morning meal).

...

The skin is the best part though  .

Does any place in YVR do this?

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Do you mean a duck carved tableside then served multi-course?...I guess Beng Sheng discussed above (which used to be Renfrew Dim Sum where the did this) and Luxe (in Langely). I'd love to know of any others.

[Knightafter]

The Bing Sheng at Renfrew and 2nd is actually an offshot of the one in Richmond

After several weeks of growing pains they are now almost up to speed

Prices are reasonable due to the competition from East #1 across the street

[canucklehead]

The same management team runs Schezawn restaurant on Saba road - but the food is very very different. Bing Sheng is a famous restaurant in Guandong - and the manager was talking to us about what they could recreate here vs what they serve in China - but it may be a bit of name borrowing.

I went tonight and the food was outstanding. The farmhouse rustic dishes are very different from most other HK influenced Cantonese restaurants in Vancouver. The place is packed most nights - I think they are the best Eastside Chinese restaurant right now.

Edited March 5, 2009 by canucklehead (log)

[Knightafter]

Qhite a compliment coming from you Lee

[Hestia]

What's with the re-emergence of MSG at Chinese restaurants? Kirin dim sum has left me dizzy and thirsty last few visits. Something has changed in their recipes.

[brokentelephone]

The same management team runs Schezawn restaurant on Saba road - but the food is very very different. Bing Sheng is a famous restaurant in Guandong - and the manager was talking to us about what they could recreate here vs what they serve in China - but it may be a bit of name borrowing.

I went tonight and the food was outstanding. The farmhouse rustic dishes are very different from most other HK influenced Cantonese restaurants in Vancouver.  The place is packed most nights  - I think they are the best Eastside Chinese restaurant right now.

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I went to Bing Sheng a few nights ago. We ordered a tofu & mushrooms dish, beef with ginger in a clay dish, and a fried noodles dish -- only the tofu was good. Perhaps I didn't order correctly, but I was very disappointed, as were my Shanghainese friends!

[Beebs]

A friend of mine says that the S&W Restaurant in Kerrisdale (right below Golden Ocean) now serves Hunan food.  Her parents (who are Cantonese) went - but were warned away from anything too spice, and so ended ordering very blandly - but they saw plates piled high with chili's served to other tables.  And they knew that they had been steered wrong.  Has anyone been?

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S&W looks like they've closed. Either that, or they've undergone a name change. It's now called Szechuan something or other (sorry, can't remember the name). Noticed the change a month or two ago. Anyone been since then?

[Hestia]

I went to Bing Sheng a few nights ago.  We ordered a tofu & mushrooms dish, beef with ginger in a clay dish, and a fried noodles dish -- only the tofu was good.  Perhaps I didn't order correctly, but I was very disappointed, as were my Shanghainese friends!

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Isn't that always the case with Chinese places? You have some great meals and get excited about a new restaurant. But then, inexplicably, it all goes downhill very quickly.

Say what you will about places like Sun Sui Wah and Kirin, but they are reliable and consistent.

Edited August 4, 2009 by Hestia (log)

[prasantrin]

I went to Bing Sheng a few nights ago.  We ordered a tofu & mushrooms dish, beef with ginger in a clay dish, and a fried noodles dish -- only the tofu was good.  Perhaps I didn't order correctly, but I was very disappointed, as were my Shanghainese friends!

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Isn't that always the case with Chinese places? You have some great meals and get excited about a new restaurant. But then, inexplicably, it all goes downhill very quickly.

Say what you will about places like Sun Sui Wah and Kirin, but they are reliable and consistent.

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A lot of Chinese restaurants go through chefs like they go through shirts. You can always tell if there's a new cook if the food has changed.

For larger restaurants, they could also have multiple cooks and the cook who made your dishes one time, won't be the one who makes them the next time.

[Hestia]

Right now, I am enjoying Jade Seafood in Richmond. They have a smoked free range chicken dish that is superb. Service is very good too - but it helps to dine with a Chinese speaker.

[Ruth]

Several years ago my husband and I had an incredible meal at Grand King Seafood on West Broadway. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, we ate there twice. It was amazingly good. We shall be in Vancouver again in September and can find no trace of Chef Lam Kam Shing. Does anyone know if he is still in Vancouver and, if so, at which restaurant?

[fmed]

Several years ago my husband and I had an incredible meal at Grand King Seafood on West Broadway. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, we ate there twice. It was amazingly good. We shall  be in Vancouver again in September and can find no trace of Chef Lam Kam Shing. Does anyone know if he is still in Vancouver and, if so, at which restaurant?

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I would love to know where is cooking now too.

[canucklehead]

I've been going to the S&W Restaurants for some good old Northern Chinese food, nice and spicy, so it's perfect winter dining for me. One dish to check out for sure is the peanut and cilantro salad. It is completely delicous. Brightly vinegared with preserved veggies, savory peanuts, and fresh herbal cilantro. Totally addictive.

[fmed]

I must try this dish. I go the the S&W Pepper House on the lower level of Crystal Mall and I always end up over-stuffing myself ('cause I go to Wang's upstairs for an order of XLB as well.)

[canucklehead]

I have my list of Cantonese places that I like tremendously - but I wanted to get a guage of where people are going for their fix of spicy Sichuan and Hunan.

I continue to really like Alvin Garden, who also do a very good smoked duck. I like Golden Sichuan in Richmond, and S&W Pepper House in Richmond for their cilantro peanut salad (but not over tilapia, which is inedibly muddy tasting). I've been told Szechuan Restaurant on Cambie is good - but I went to their sister restaurant in Burnaby a while ago and was not super impressed. I really like the buzz of Sichuan peppercorn - but I find many places are a little light handed with it.

Is there anywhere I should be checking out?