Posts Tagged ‘richmond’

Dinesty Restaurant Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 24th, 2009

“We handcraft food for your tastebuds.”

Simple but that is Dinesty’s motto and that is the reason why my friend and I frequent this restaurant. They handcraft foods that suits our tastebuds(for the most part). We weren’t especially hungry on this visit so we only ordered 3 items: hot & sour soup, steamed shanghai pork dumplings, and 3 spiced chicken. Everytime we order the hot & sour soup here, they load it with so much pepper that you’re basically sipping one spoonful of soup then washing it down with one gulp of tea or ice water. We’ve ordered it and asked for less pepper but that doesn’t seem to work. However, we like hot & sour soup so we keep on ordering it and giving them another chance. This time they didn’t put much pepper in but substituted it with hot chili oil. It was so hot that my friend and I just had one bowl and saved the rest to take home. Unfortunately this dish, they weren’t handcrafting food for our tastebuds but rather handcrafting food to kill our tastebuds. » More: Dinesty Restaurant Review – Vancouver, Richmond

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Excellent Tofu & Snacks Ltd. Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 20th, 2009

Surprisingly Vancouver is extremely limited when it comes to going out for dessert. Something that I’m hoping will change quickly. Who can say no to desserts? I was given the difficult task of choosing a place for dessert. After some lengthy thinking, I was unsuccessful. I spent too much time pondering on cakes and ice cream. I totally forgot about chinese dessert! We went for one of my most favourite food items: TOFU!

Now if you haven’t tried it before, you may think it’s a pretty gross idea to have tofu for dessert but it’s completely not. We went to Excellent Tofu & Snacks Ltd. in Richmond. The moment you walk in, you will see that decor is not a priority but it’s not ugly enough to make you run. If you’ve been to Hong Kong, this place sort of has a Hong Kong feel. Their point is to not serve you decor but yummy treats.  They have many choices of toppings that you can have on the tofu plus you can choose to have it hot or cold. I prefer the plain one hot then load it with brown sugar and ginger syrup which is exactly what I ordered. When you think of tofu, you might think of eating a huge block of tofu but that’s not how it is. They have a huge pot of velvety soft smooth tofu and when you order, they use their specially designed scoop to “slice” thin layers of tofu into a bowl for you. On the days where you have a little extra room for dessert after dinner, definitely think of this as an option. Each generously sized bowl is only $2.75! That’s cheaper than going for cake or ice cream if you’re on a budget! I give this place 7/10 stars. Service is prompt but not over the top, and the quality and value is excellent.

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Lam Chu Kee Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 19th, 2009

Lam Chu Kee is similar to the cuisine offered at Spicy Szechuan Restaurant which is family style Cantonese food. The decor isn’t the best but it’s not horrid either. I don’t have much memory of the first time I ate at this restaurant but I’m about to refresh my memory. We were running a little late so my brother and his wife took charge of ordering. We had sweet & sour pork, ginger & green onion chicken, fish & tofu claypot, mini plate of veggies(豆苗), mini plate of squid & veggie stir-fry, and dessert was on the house again. The sweet & sour pork tasted average to me. The chicken was tender but had a weird boiled aftertaste and they used too much starch for the sauce which coagulated quickly. I only ate two pieces of chicken due to the aftertaste. The fish & tofu claypot was good though. The fish was very smooth and tender. It had a good amount of fish, tofu, veggies, bbq pork. The squid was tender as well. I expected it to be rubbery. I think my favourite of the night was the mini plate of veggies. I didn’t really liked the dessert. It was some sort of chinese dessert soup which had tapioca and egg swirls in there. I love tapiocaand eggs but I didn’t enjoy the flavour of it too much. It was the yolk flavour to be exact. I may be wrong but most of the time when I have them, it’s just the egg white and not the yolk in there.

The bill came to approximately $70. The food was just okay, service was prompt and they even added more tea leaves to our teapot of weakened tea. Although we had 5 dishes, 2 of them were mini sized so I didn’t think $70 was a good value for the dinner. I would give this restaurant 5/10 stars.

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Spicy Szechuan Restaurant 川味館 Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 19th, 2009

This restaurant in Richmond is one of the usual dinner spots when my family visits. Although they say they specialize in Cantonese, Szechuan and Shanghai cuisine, by the menu offerings, it seems that it’s mainly Cantonese. They have a specials sheet which we usually order from then share the plates of food. We ordered one plate of stir-fried veggies, sweet & sour fish, deep-fried spiced chicken, shrimp & cashew stir-fry, and chinese meatballs in a claypot. Other than the plate of veggie, the portions seemed a little less than usual. The shrimp & cashew stir-fry was tasty and had a lot of crunchy texture. The crunchiness from the celery, cashews, baby corn, and shrimp created a well-rounded crunchy texture. The chicken looked dry but was actually tender and not dried out. I do not know the exact English name for the veggies but it is one of my most favourite kinds. Although the sweet & sour sauce for the fish was good, it wasn’t anything special. The fish was still smooth and perfectly deep-fried. At the end of the meal, we were served chinese dessert(red bean soup) which was on the house. It was bland, watered down, and thin in consistency. I finished it anyway. When I was eating, I noticed the food cooled down fairly fast shortly after it was brought to our table. It was not even really lukewarm. » More: Spicy Szechuan Restaurant 川味館 Review – Vancouver, Richmond

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Dragon View Restaurant Review – Vancouver, Richmond

July 16th, 2009

Recently renovated and renamed, this restaurant is a popular dim sum destination in Richmond. On Saturdays and Sundays, if you don’t have a reservation, you will most likely not get a table unless you are willing to wait crazy lengths of time. This is one of my top picks for dim sum if that is what you are looking for. Although busy, the service is reasonably good, the dim sum selection is plenty, the quality of the food is excellent, and the prices are very affordable. On the weekdays, if you’re an early riser, there’s discount too! If you finish dining and leave before 12 noon, a 10% discount applies. How great is that? Two people average to about $18 with the discount already applied and you leave extremely full. With the quality, value and service this restaurant provides, it deserves a rating of 8/10 stars.

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