Newly opened at Kensington Gardens in East Vancouver (Kingsway and Victoria) is New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant, offering dim sum and dinner service. I came across the restaurant when I went shopping at the new T&T Kingsway which is located in the same building.
Curious about what they have to offer, I decided to give their dim sum service a try. Here’s a look at my experience.
Elegant Interior
The restaurant has two neighbouring units: one main dining area for dim sum and another VIP area (which serves as overflow for dim sum). The interior seems very grand and opulent with floor-to-ceiling windows, marble walls and flooring, velvet banquet chairs, and overhanging chandeliers.
The main dining area was full so we were asked to go to the VIP unit for dim sum. The two units are not connected and have separate entrances. We were seated in a VIP room which had several dining tables.
New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant Dim Sum Menu
The pricing at New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant for dim sum is based on t their category: small ($4.98), medium ($5.98), large ($6.98), special ($7.98) and premium ($8.98).
I have taken photos of the dim sum menu and compiled it into a pdf which you can download below.
What We Tried
The tea charge is $1.50 per person and we were presented with a clear glass teapot on a warmer.
Steamed Prawn Dumplings (001)
The prawn dumplings were pretty good with a nicely thin, translucent wrapper and bouncy filling. The filling had a decent prawn flavour and not an overt amount of filler.
Steamed Black Garlic with Quail Egg Shu Mai (004)
An elevated shu mai version with a quail egg inside and topped with black garlic.
Steamed Beef Tripe in Special Sauce (006)
Slightly rubbery and chewy beef tripe (as dim sum versions should be) marinated in a sweet and sour sauce.
Steamed Special Hot & Sour Meat Soup Dumpling (007)
I enjoyed the rich, flavourful hot and sour soup inside the dumplings. The presentation was nice as each dumpling had its own holder.
Rose Honey Sweet Potato Swan Crispy (028)
I enjoyed the light, crispy exterior with the sweet, purple yam filling.
Rice Roll with Prawn and Crispy Vermicelli (031)
The rice roll filling was very good and was made of a very crispy vermicelli and bouncy prawn combination.
Baked Special Crisps Egg White Milk Tarts (040)
The egg tarts were nicely warm, buttery and flaky. As the filling was made with just egg whites, it had a lighter flavour than a classic egg tart.
Souffle Topped with Almond Flakes (043)
The light and airy souffle tasted mostly of egg whites. One interesting part was that it had a blueberry compote on the inside. The server cut it up with scissors at our table.
Moon Rabbits (047)
The moon rabbits were essentially coconut puddings shaped into cute rabbits. I love coconut puddings but I ordered this mainly for the presentation.
Our bill for two people after tax was $73 which seemed more or less reasonable considering the quality, taste and presentation of the items.
Service
I was a bit concerned about the service as we were tucked inside a room rather than an open area where lots of staff could see you. However, it turned out OK even though we needed to flag the server a few times. Food was brought to the table in a timely manner.
Overall Impression
I thought the dishes tasted pretty good overall and some had really cute presentation like the rabbits and the swan. New Mandarin seems like an upscale restaurant (though not quite fine dining) with elevated dim sum options that are approachable. Service could be more refined but perhaps they are still working out their operations. Rating: 3.5/5
New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant 時代文華海鮮酒家
4650 Gladstone St, Vancouver, BC
www.newmandarinseafoodrestaurant.com/
Foodgressing is a blog that highlights the food adventures of one hungry Vancouverite.