Chinese Archives | Foodgressing

Peninsula Seafood Restaurant Dinner Reception

August 24, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I was recently hired by a friend to shoot his relative’s wedding reception dinner held at Peninsula Seafood Restaurant. Located at Oakridge Mall, Peninsula opened up just a few years ago and is an upscale restaurant specializing in elevated Cantonese dishes. It is also known as a hot spot for the nouveau riche immigrants from Mainland China who now live in the Shaughnessy area (perhaps Crazy Rich Asians?)

I was graciously offered a seat at the dinner as a guest so I had the opportunity to try what Peninsula had to offer. I had noticed that the restaurant received low ratings on Yelp (2.5/5) and Zomato (3/5) so I was interested to see why that might be the case. In the end, I found the dinner to be quite excellent from the flavours to presentation as well as the service. I had heard that the dinner was priced at $150 per guest (definitely on the higher end for Chinese banquets) and that seemed reasonable to me.

Service

Before I present the dishes of the evening, I’d like to say that the service exceeded my expectations for the banquet. All the dishes came out in a timely matter where the server presented the full dish to the table and then took it away to separate it into individual servings. The pace of the dinner was on point and everything went smoothly.

12-Course Dinner

Course 1: Crispy Piglet Platter | 鴻運當頭：脆皮乳豬大拼盤

I particularly enjoyed the presentation of this appetizer platter. The skin of the pork was nicely crispy.

Course 2: Peninsula Speciality Soup | 喜氣洋洋：半島精品工夫湯

I found the soup to be very hearty and comforting.

Course 3: Sweet Green Beans, Fried Shrimp, Scallops | 甜甜蜜蜜：碧綠甜豆炒蝦球帶子

The green beans were sweet and crispy, the shrimp was bouncy and the scallops were tender.

Course 4: French Foie Gras with Abalone | 幸福美滿：法國鹅肝拼鲍魚

This dish was rich, flavourful, and tender.

Course 5: Lobster Duo | 縱横四海：墓葸煽雙龍蝦

Good things come in pairs, right? This exquisite dish featured two lobsters with juicy, sweet and succulent meat. Bravo.

Course 6: Braised Pigeon | 龍鳳呈祥：紅燒三喜鸽

I enjoyed the tender meat and crispy skin.

Course 7: Steamed Fish | 魚跃龍門：清蒸海上鮮

A nicely presented steam fish where the meat was light, flaky and slightly sweet.

Course 8: Vegetarian Bowl | 海誓山盟：法海蒲團

Course 9: Peninsula Speciality Fried Rice | 福星高照：半島特色炒飯

Wow, I have never seen fried rice presented so beautifully. Shaped like a fish which is a symbol of good fortune.

Course 10: Fried Noodles | 長長久久：干燒伊麵

Course 11: Cookies with Goji Berries and Sesame Balls | 心心相印：美點雙輝

How cute are those heart-shaped cookies with goji berries on top? The sesame balls were crunchy, chewy, sticky and sweet.

Course 12: Red Bean Soup with Lotus Seed | 百年好合：蓮子百合紅豆沙

To finish off the dinner, a comforting bowl of red bean soup with lotus seeds.

Overall Impression

I was really impressed with Peninsula’s execution for the banquet dinner. The dishes were flavourful though not overly salty and greasy and there were some really nicely presented dishes. I can’t understand why they would garner such a low rating on Yelp and Zomato, perhaps their dim sum is not what people expected. At $150 per person, their Chinese banquet seems fairly valued and I’m a fan of what they have to offer. Rating: 4.5/5

Peninsula Seafood Restaurant
Address: 650 W 41st Ave, Vancouver, BC
Website: www.bandao.ca/‎

Liuyishou Hot Pot Robson 2nd Anniversary

April 21, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

One of the largest hot pot chains in the world, Liuyishou Hot Pot, just celebrated the 2nd anniversary of their Robson Street location (1542 Robson Street). I attended the celebration party at the restaurant this past week and tried a few new Spring items on the menu.

Disclosure: I was invited to the media event by Vancouver Gourmet Club. All food and drinks in this review were complimentary. Opinions are my own.

New Spring Menu Items

I have covered some of the existing menu items at Liuyishou in my previous posts (Robson and Burnaby). New to the menu are Braised Beef Roll with Cilantro; Fried Bean Curd Sticks with Sugar; Shrimp Paste on Donut; and Braised Fish Pot with Pickled Cabbage and Chili. These have special promotional pricing at the moment.

What We Tried

Our party of four enjoyed the following:

Two-Flavour Soup Base ($9.95 based on the higher priced soup base)
- Original Spicy Soup Base
- Braised Fish Pot with Pickled Cabbage and Chili
Layered Beef Tripes ($13.95)
Shrimp Paste on Donut ($9.95)
Fried Bean Curd Sticks with Sugar ($7.95)
Sliced Beef ($9.95)
Spicy Deep Fried Pork ($8.95)
Sliced Angus Beef ($21.95)
Marbled Beef Slices ($13.95)
Supreme Lamb ($14.95)
Mushroom Platter ($15.95)
Tong Ho ($4.95)
Spinach ($4.95)
Watercress ($4.95)

Braised Fish Pot with Pickled Cabbage and Chili

This braised fish pot is meant to be eaten as is prior to adding other ingredients. It was so delicious, comforting, and flavourful. I absolutely loved the tender, braised fish and the size of the fish pieces were very generous. After eating up the fish slices, the soup can then be used as a base for the hot pot. I would love to have this again.

Shrimp Paste on Donut

The Shrimp Paste on Donut is meant to be cooked in the hot pot, preferably in the non-spicy soup base. It’s pretty tasty with a bit of shrimp flavour mixed with Chinese donut. After being in the hot pot, it does not retain its chewy texture however but becomes rather “mushy.” I would order this again.

Beef Tripes

It was my first time trying beef tripe with hot pot and it was better than expected. Dense, chewy and not too rubbery.

Sliced Lamb Rolls

The sliced lamb rolls were beautifully presented on a wooden board.

Marbled Beef Slices

The beautifully marbled beef slices are a must-have at Liuyishou hot pot.

Marinated Sliced Beef

The marinated sliced beef are my absolute favourite at Liuyishou. I absolutely recommend ordering it. They are just wonderfully tender after being in the hot pot.

Birthday Cake

What’s a celebration without a birthday cake? A delicious, chestnut cake by St. Germain Bakery was brought in for the celebrations.

Can’t finish all of it?

Liuyishou is not all you can eat so it is perfectly acceptable to take home whatever you can’t finish. That would include the raw meats as well as the soup bases should you want to enjoy the hot pot at home for the next meal.

Liuyishou Hotpot Robson
Address: 1542 Robson St, Vancouver, BC
Website: liuyishouna.com

Vancouver Hotpot: Liuyishou Hotpot Robson

April 18, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Liuyishou Hot Pot Week 2018 took place this past Chinese New Year where the renowned restaurant chain collaborated with Vancouver Gourmet Tours to offer a special celebration hot pot menu for customers. I had attended a media preview of the menu at Liuyishou‘s location in Burnaby and had enjoyed it so much that I decided to purchase the deal to experience it again. This time, I decided to visit the Liuyishou location closest to me which is on Robson in Downtown Vancouver.

Note: One of the items in this review was gifted to me. Opinions are my own.

WHAT IS HOT POT?

For the uninitiated, hot pot is known as a Chinese soup consisting of various raw meats, vegetables, noodles, tofu, seafood and dumplings. These are dipped into a shared pot with a simmering pot of soup stock and eaten with dipping sauce.

CHOOSE A SOUP BASE

The experience starts with choosing a soup base. Liuyishou’s traditional Chongqing style soup base is prepared with special butter, red hot chili, Sichuan peppercorn, and other exotic herbs and spices. It’s meant to astonish all your senses with the spiciness, umami flavours and aromas. If spicy is not for you, Liuyishou also has other bases like Wild Mushroom, Special Pork Rib or Tomato Soup.

PRO TIP: There is an order to cooking raw food in your pot! The order is meat, seafood, mushroom, vegetables and noodles.

MAKE YOURSELF A PERFECT SAUCE

Mix your favourite sauces from the Liuyishou’s sauce bar featuring 20+ sauces, fresh herbs and spices. Cooked food is eaten with your own sauce mix.

What We Tried

I bought the Dinner for 2 deal ($72) which included 2 soup bases, 1 specialty dish, 2 proteins, 1 veggie, 1 starch, 2 drinks and dessert. Beer pairing by Red Truck Brewery is also included in the price.

Soup Base

For the soup bases, we went with the house spicy soup base and special pork rib. Both were very flavourful and satisfying soup bases.

Specialty Dish

We selected a deep-fried pork which had a nice golden exterior and had tender, slightly chewy pork meat on the inside.

Protein

For meats, we had the supreme lamb and beef slices.

Veggies

The mixed mushroom platter at Liuyishou included enoki, oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, brown and white mushrooms.

Starch

I loved these deep fried buns from the media event and had to have them again. The buns had a perfect golden exterior and light, fluffy texture. Dip them with condensed milk for maximal enjoyment!

Dessert

For dessert, we enjoyed the bing fen – a cold dessert jelly which soothed the palate wonderfully from the spicy soup base.

And we received some sweet, glutinous rice balls as well (though not noted on the menu).

Meat Barbie

Thanks to Vancouver Gourmet Club, I received a gift order of Meat Barbie. Meat Barbie is wrapped up in strips of meat and diners need to “strip” off the layers to cook the meat in the hot pot. At Liuyishou, the Barbie comes standalone with beef for $25 or as a seafood and meat combo for $50. For my full review on Meat Barbie, visit here.

Liuyishou Hotpot Robson Interior

The interior of Liuyishou’s Robson location is modern with mostly booth seating and a few dining tables.

Service

The Robson location of Liuyishou seemed much busier than the Burnaby one. The restaurant was pretty much full while I was there and I noticed a lot of people had to put down their name on the waitlist. Service was a bit slow for the ordering part, but the food arrived in a timely manner.

Overall Impression of Liuyishou Hotpot Robson

We enjoyed our experience at Liuyishou Hotpot Robson and thought the Chinese New Year deal was of great value. The hot pot ingredients were of a good quality and quantity. I would be interested in enjoying hotpot at Liyishou again in the future. Rating: 4/5

Liuyishou Hotpot Robson
Address: 1542 Robson St, Vancouver, BC
Website: liuyishouna.com

San Francisco Teochew Hot Pot: Teo Restaurant

April 10, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Most of us are familiar with the spicy, Sichuan-style of hot pot, but one restaurant in San Francisco brings a rather, unique hot pot experience to the dining scene. Teo Restaurant at The Good Hotel (7th and Mission) in SoMa specializes in Teochew-style (aka Chiuchow, Chaochow, Chaozhou) hot pot. Teochew is a region of Southern China’s Guangdong province and is known for a style of Chinese cooking which is healthier, lighter and more natural. During my visit to San Francisco recently, I had the opportunity to dine at Teo Restaurant and experience their Teochew hot pot. Here’s a look at this style of hot pot and why you need to try it when you visit San Francisco.

Disclosure: I attended a media tasting at Teo Restaurant where all food and drinks were complimentary. Opinions are my own.

Fresh Beef

Compared to other hot pot styles, Teochew hot pot uses only beef but not just any kind of beef – in fact, only fresh beef. You might be used to dropping in slices of frozen meat into your hot pot but that is not the case at Teo Restaurant. They source fresh beef (never frozen or aged) from grass-fed and pasture-raised cows raised on farms in Sonoma, California. Furthermore, the beef they use is certified humane, antibiotic free, hormone free, and is sustainably raised.

Superior Bone Broth

Teochew cooking is considered to be one of the healthier, lighter and natural styles of Chinese cooking as the use of oil is modest. Teochew cuisine is known for fresh ingredients, vegetable carving, and superior bone broth. Teo Restaurant’s Chef, Zhang Zongwen, personally hand-selects and hand-cuts the local beef to be placed into the soup.

What We Tried

How it works is that you choose a broth (regular or spicy) and wait for it to boil. You then select the beef, vegetable or noodles to cook in the broth. For some added flavours, Teo Restaurant offers house-made dipping sauces. The hot pots come as individual sizes so you can cooking however you like and adjust the hot plate heat settings yourself.

We tried the Beef Short Rib ($10.98), Beef Flank ($6.98), and Beef Tongue ($10.98). The Beef Short Rib is a must-try being ultra tender and juicy. The Beef Tongue was more a delicacy being tender and crunchy. Not to be missed are Teo Restaurant’s handcrafted beef meatballs which were very bouncy, flavourful and oh-so-delicious. We also enjoyed vegetables like napa cabbage, lotus root and mushrooms. The suggested cooking times for the meats are written on the labels.

Teo Restaurant’s regular, non-spicy broth was just perfect for me. I loved how hearty it was and it was very drinkable.

Interior

I quite enjoyed the contemporary, industrial-chic interior of Teo Restaurant. Bright windows, cozy banquettes, a bar and a mix of small and larger dining tables. They also have VIP rooms to accomodate events and larger parties.

Other Menu Items

If you’re not in the mood for hot pot, Teo Restaurant also offers other dishes like claypots, soups, rice & noodle, vegetables and desserts.

Overall Impression of Teo Restaurant

I love the concept of having fresh beef in hot pot and the delicious broth prepared by Teo Restaurant. I’d recommend others to try Teochew-style hot pot which was nicely light but still satisfying. Teo Restaurant is certainly one place I want to revisit on my next trip to San Francisco.

Teo Restaurant
Address: 1111 Mission St, San Francisco, CA
Website: www.teosf.com

Meet Hot Pot Meat Barbie: Barbie in a Meat Dress

March 3, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

In China, hot pot restaurants have been serving a novelty item in recent years that seems to have become a trend. Meet “Meat Barbie” which comes dressed in a red-and-white-marbled “gown.” Meat Barbie is actually wrapped up in strips of meat and diners need to “strip” off the layers to cook the meat in the hot pot.

The item has been controversial in the past as people’s reaction have been mixed. Some might find Meat Barbie adds some fun to the hot pot experience while others have questioned the hygiene aspect or have noted it to be sexist or gimmicky.

If the concept of a meat dress sounds familiar, it’s because Lady Gaga once wore a dress made of raw beef to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. The dress drew criticism from animal rights groups but was also named by Time as a top fashion statement for 2010.

I experienced the Meat Barbie at Liuyishou Hot Pot in Vancouver. Liuyishou is a hot pot restaurant chain which specializes in Chongqing style (spicy) hot pot and has over 1,000 locations worldwide. At Liuyishou, the Barbie comes standalone with beef for $25 or as a seafood and meat combo for $50.

As for my personal take on Meat Barbie, I was certainly intrigued by it. I’m interested in weird foods and the novelty aspect of Meat Barbie appealed to me.

And what’s really underneath it all? Well, it’s not as bad as you think. Barbie is dressed tastefully in a one-piece pink swimsuit with a floral print underneath all that meat and the bottom “lining” of her gown is made with lettuce. Watch my video below to see it all unravel.

This is what happens when you order “Meat Barbie” at a hot pot restaurant. Meat Barbie is dressed in a “red and white marbled gown” made of strips of beef. If the concept of a meat dress sounds familiar, it’s because Lady Gaga once wore a dress made of raw beef to the MTV Video Music Awards. And what’s really underneath it all? Watch the video to find out. . @liuyishouhotpot @pickydiner #foodvideo #hotpot #igvid #videography #chinesefood #barbie #Foodgressing #instagramvideo #videoinstagram #videodiaries #bestvideooftheday #videograms #instavideos #food52 #eater #ladygaga #meatdress #videogram #igvideo #instavid #vancouver #china #igvancouver #instafood #buzzfeast #eeeeeats #feedfeed #vid #hungry #instafood

A post shared by Food•Travel•Lifestyle Blogger (@foodgressing) on Mar 3, 2018 at 4:05pm PST

What are your thoughts on Meat Barbie? Would you try it?

Chinese New Year Dining at Peaceful Restaurant

February 17, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Hope you are having a delicious Chinese New Year weekend. If you’re looking to celebrate the new year by dining out, Peaceful Restaurant has a wide selection of traditional Chinese New Year foods including noodles, dumplings, fish and nian gao (glutinous rice cake). They symbolize happiness, longevity, an increase in wealth and prosperity. I recently attended a media event where we had the opportunity to taste many auspicious and culinary dishes created by owner and Master Chef Charlie Huang. Here’s a recap of the event and a look at what dishes you might want to order.

Disclosure: All food and drinks in this post were complimentary. Opinions are my own.

Owner-chef Charlie Huang

Peaceful Restaurant first opened its doors to much fanfare in 1997 and is the leading choice for authentic Northern Chinese cuisine in Vancouver now with 7 locations. Owner and Master Chef, Charlie Huang, derived culinary inspiration from his upbringing in Xi’an, an ancient Silk-Road city in North-Western China. The cuisine there reflects the fusion of various cultures over the course of several thousand years, which Charlie has sought to bring to Vancouver and share with others. His culinary training consists of intergenerational teachings from his father, who worked at Shanghai’s Peace Hotel and to which the restaurant name pays homage, and the various local culinary establishments Charlie has immersed himself, including non-ethnic cuisines and bakeries. The cumulation of his various experiences and the desire to spread the experience and diversity of Chinese cuisine – he calls ‘homecooked comfort food’ – has led to the creation of Peaceful Restaurant.

Hand-pulled Noodles

Peaceful Restaurant specializes in hand-pulled noodles and the event featured a demonstration. The process begins when a piece of dough is repeatedly stretched and folded onto itself in order to align the glutens and warm up the dough for stretching. This dough is then pulled to about an arm span’s length. The puller then makes a loop with the dough, joining the two ends into one clump of dough, and inserts his fingers into the loop to keep the strand from sticking to itself. Doing this, the pull has doubled the length of the dough while fractioning its thickness. This process is repeated several times until the desired thickness and quantity is achieved.

What We Tried

Our tasting menu consisted of the following:

Sichuan Cucumbers 麻辣黃瓜
Woodear Mushroom Salad 涼拌木耳
Xi’an White Lamb Soup 羊肉泡饃
Sichuan Broth Braised Fish 水煮魚片
Xing-Jiang Cumin Lamb with Sesame Flatbread 孜然羊肉加燒餅
Mu-Shu Stir-fried Noodles 木須肉炒面
Chinese Rice Cakes 炒年糕
Sichuan Thousand Chilli Chicken 四川辣子雞
Sichuan String Beans 干煸四季豆
Dan-Dan Noodles 擔擔面
Sizzled Hot-Chilli Noodles 油潑辣子面
Xi’an Cold Steamed Noodles 陝西凉皮
Northern Pork Dumplings 北方水餃
Xiao-Long Bao Steamed Buns 小籠包
Peaceful Beef Rolls 牛肉卷餅
Pan-Fried Vegetable Dumplings 素菜鍋貼
Sweet Rice Ball 黑芝麻湯圓

Sichuan Cucumbers 麻辣黃瓜 & Woodear Mushroom Salad 涼拌木耳

To stimulate the appetite, we enjoyed fresh cucumbers tossed in a spicy Sichuan peppercorn dressing and garlic as well as a woodear mushroom salad in a light tangy dressing with cilantro and green onion.

Xi’an White Lamb Soup 羊肉泡饃

One of my all-time favourite dishes from Peaceful Restaurant is the Xi’an White Lamb Stew. It’s so warm, comforting and perfect to enjoy in the winter. This soup features lamb, diced flat-bread, napa cabbage, woodear mushroom and cilantro.

Sichuan Broth Braised Fish 水煮魚片

This is a popular, traditional Sichuan dish where the braised fish is served on a bed of greens surrounded by spicy mouth tingling broth. Fish dish is “nian nian you yu,” which means “may the year bring prosperity.” “Yu” sounds like ‘surplus’. Chinese people always like to have a surplus at the end of the year, because this signifies the prosperity will overflow.

Xing-Jiang Cumin Lamb with Sesame Flatbread 孜然羊肉加燒餅

Another one of my favourite dishes from Peaceful Restaurant. The spring lamb is prepared via dry stir-fry with green peppers, crushed cumin, and chili flakes.

Chinese Rice Cakes 炒年糕

Soft and chewy, stir-fried with pork and leafy greens or napa cabbage. R ice cake symbolizes 年年高 (niánnián gāo): ‘Getting higher year-after-year by year’. It can imply children’s height, rise in business success, better grades in study or promotions at work.

Xi’an Cold Steamed Noodles 陝西凉皮

Noodles symbolize a wish for longevity. Chinese people believe long noodles are symbolic of a long life, so try not to bite or break the noodles when eating. Slurping encouraged!

Sichuan String Beans 干煸四季豆

These stir-fried string beans with a bit of pork, garlic, crushed chilies and soy sauce packed a spicy kick and a nice crunchy texture.

Northern Pork Dumplings 北方水餃

These dumplings are boiled and filled with pork, chives, cabbage, and green onions.

Peaceful Beef Rolls 牛肉卷餅

The beef rolls at Peaceful restaurant are a must-try. Five-spiced beef rolls in a crispy green onion flat-bread and sweet hoisin sauce.

Xiao-Long Bao Steamed Buns 小籠包

Who doesn’t love a dumpling filled with minced pork, ginger and a rich, savoury soup?

Pan-Fried Vegetable Dumplings 素菜鍋貼

These dumplings are filled with vermicelli, bokchoy, tofu, mushroom and carrot. Chinese dumplings look like Chinese silver ingots. Legend has it that the more dumplings you eat during the New Year celebrations, the more money you can make in the New Year.

Sweet Rice Ball 黑芝麻湯圓

The pronunciation and round shape of “tangyuan” (rice ball in Chinese) are associated with reunion and being together. The roundness of the rice balls signifies a complete circle of harmony and unity within the family.

Recommendations

There are so many dishes on the menu at Peaceful Restaurant that there is something for everyone. My favourite dishes from the tasting were Sichuan Broth Braised Fish 水煮魚片; Xing-Jiang Cumin Lamb with Sesame Flatbread 孜然羊肉加燒餅; Mu-Shu Stir-fried Noodles 木須肉炒面; Chinese Rice Cakes 炒年糕; Sichuan String Beans 干煸四季豆; Dan-Dan Noodles 擔擔面; Northern Pork Dumplings 北方水餃; Xiao-Long Bao Steamed Buns 小籠包; Peaceful Beef Rolls 牛肉卷餅; Pan-Fried Vegetable Dumplings 素菜鍋貼; and Sweet Rice Ball 黑芝麻湯圓.

For more information and the menu, visit www.peacefulrestaurant.ca

Christmas Dinner 2017 at Continental Restaurant

January 31, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

This past Christmas, my family and I attended the AM1320 CHMB Christmas Dinner again at the Continental Restaurant in Richmond. My Dad enjoyed the event so much from previous years that he thought it would be a good idea to go to their event again. It was a ticketed event priced at $55 per person or $499 for a table of 10. The evening also included entertainment by the station’s radio hosts, singing performances, a photo booth, appearances by Santa as well as a raffle draw with an impressive number of prizes.

The restaurant interior seemed a bit dated but it’s spacious and can handle a dance floor, stage, etc. I’d say there were about 600 people in attendance.

In general, I thought the food by the restaurant was better than the previous year. For our table of 10, portions were reasonable and we left the dinner feeling like we ate our money’s worth.

These fried tofu puffs were nicely crispy on the outside.

The scallops and veggies were nicely tender.

The hoisin shrimp and broccoli dish was my favourite for the evening. The shrimp tasted very good as they were quite snappy.

Service

The service was reasonably friendly and smooth considering the number of diners. The food was sent to our tables in a timely manner and I could see the staff working hard. The staff seemed very accustomed to catering to a full restaurant.

Overall Impression of Continental Restaurant

The multi-course Christmas dinner I had at Continental Restaurant was OK in terms of the food but props to the staff for good service. Rating: 3.5/5

Continental Seafood Restaurant
Address: 11700 Cambie Rd, Richmond, BC

Celebrate Chinese New Year at Liuyishou Hot Pot

January 29, 2018 by foodgressing 1 Comment

With the Chinese New Year happening next month, one renowned hot pot chain is celebrating by offering special Chinese New Year menus. In collaboration with Vancouver Gourmet Tours, Liuyishou Hot Pot is presenting Liuyishou Hot Pot Week 2018 from February 26 – March 2 at locations in Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Richmond Hill, Toronto, Ottawa, and Edmonton. Originating from Chongqing, China, Liuyishou Hot Pot specializes in Chongqing style (spicy) hot pot and has over 1,000 locations worldwide. I was recently invited to a media preview of the Chinese New Year menus. Here’s a look at what you can expect.

Disclosure: All food and drinks in this review were complimentary. Opinions are my own.

What is Hot Pot?

Choose a Soup Base

Make Yourself A Perfect Sauce

Mix your favourite sauces from the Liuyishou’s sauce bar featuring 20+ sauces, fresh herbs and spices. Cooked food is eaten with your own sauces.

Select your Hot Pot Items

For Liuyishou Hot Pot Week 2018, menus differ by location so please check the website for details. The Hot Pot Week Dinner for 2 set is $68 (up to 20% savings) and for 4 is $120 (up to 25% savings). Beer Pairing by Red Truck Brewery is included in the price at all 3 locations in BC. Choices include Red Truck Lager, Dark Lager or IPA. Here’s a look at what you might want to get at your Liuyishou Hot Pot experience.

Marbled Beef

I was impressed with the beautifully marbled beef which was arranged nicely on a platter.

Sliced Tender Beef

The tender beef was oh-so-good because of how wonderfully tender it was. I would love to have this again.

Luncheon Meat

Seafood

We tried some assorted seafood including oysters, mussels, cuttlefish, and sole fillets.

PRO TIP: There is an order to cooking raw food in your pot! The order is meat, seafood, mushroom, vegetables and noodles.

House Special Shrimp Paste

I liked how the attention to detail in forming these heart-shaped shrimp paste topped with masago.

Mixed Mushrooms

Some mushroom options at Liuyishou include enoki, oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, brown and white mushrooms.

Country Deep Fried Pork

These pork pieces has a nice crisp exterior and moist interior.

Kung Fu Potato

The thin potato slices absorb the soup base wonderfully. Immerse in the soup base for a bit longer for the flavours to infuse.

Glutinous Rice Cake

The rice cake pieces had a beautiful crispy exterior and a tender, glutinous interior.

Hand-made Noodles

Noodle lovers can rejoice as Liuyishou offers handmade noodles. These need to be cooked for 5 minutes for a perfect al dente texture.

Bing Fen

This special cold dessert jelly was very soothing after a nicely numbing hot pot experience.

Deep Fried Golden Buns

Everyone loved these deep fried buns which had the perfect golden exterior and light, fluffy texture. Dip them with condensed milk for maximal enjoyment!

Overall Impression

In general, I quite enjoyed the quality and wide selection of items offered by Liuyishou Hot Pot. My top items to reorder are the Marbled Beef, Tender Beef, Mushroom Platter, Deep Fried Golden Buns and Glutinous Rice Cake. To get tickets for Hot Pot Week 2018, visit www.vangourmettours.com/events/chinese-new-year-events/liuyishou-2018

Xinjiang Halal Uyghur Cuisine: Beijiang Restaurant

January 14, 2018 by foodgressing 2 Comments

Alexandra Road, also known as “Food Street,” in Richmond seems to have an endless number of choices for Asian cuisine. One longstanding restaurant in the area, Beijiang Restaurant, has been open since 2009 and specializes in Halal Xinjiang Ugyhur-style dishes. Beijiang was formerly located at Venezia Place on Alexandra Road but moved to neighboring block Leslie Road about 6 months ago. I was invited to a media tasting at Beijiang restaurant last week by way of Foodology.ca. Here’s a look at what the restaurant has to offer.

Disclosure: All food and drinks in this review were complimentary. Opinions are my own.

Uyghur Cuisine

For the uninitiated, Uyghur is pronounced “WEE-grr” and is the name of one of the 55 officially recognized ethnic minority groups on Chinese. The population of Uyghur is around 10 million and most Uyghurs live in the Northwestern province of Xinjiang. The Silk Road ran through Xinjiang as it borders Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. While most are familiar with the majority Han Chinese culture, Uyghurs are Muslim and speak their own Turkic language, also called Uyghur. Uyghur dishes have Middle Eastern and Central Asian influences and are meat-centric and can be oily. Cumin is a favorite spice that is used in Ugyhur cusine. Signature Ugyghur dishes are Dapanji (Chicken) and Cumin Lamb while rice pilaf and naan are common as well.

Beijiang Restaurant Background / Free Parking

The original owners of Beijiang Restaurant sold the place to Richard Li three years ago. Li had a hospitality background from Ontario and had owned and operated a Japanese restaurant in California. After moving to Vancouver to support his daugher’s education at UBC, he took ownership of Beijiang Restaurant. Diners who do not speak Chinese will have no problem at Beijiang Restaurant as he is fluent in English. Furthemore, the chefs at Beijiang have expertise in making hand-pulled noodles, BBQ skewers and naan bread.

As many people who have ventured to Alexandra Road would know, finding parking is difficult. One of the appeals of Beijiang’s new location is complimentary on-site parking.

Dark Green & Gold

The interior of Beijiang Restaurant is decorated using colors common to Uyghur culture: dark green and gold. The dessert mural, overhanging lights and oil lamps also add to the decor. The restaurant is spacious with a variety of round dining tables. A private VIP room with karaoke is also available for parties and events.

What We Tried

Dapangji

The first dish of our tasting was Dapangji, one of the most common dishes of Xinjiang cuisine. Dapangji emerged as popular dish in the midmid-to-late 1990s. It is said to have been invented in by a migrant from Sichuan who mixed hot chili peppers with chicken and potatoes to mimic the spicy Sichuan taste. The dish was served on a big plate at roadside restaurants along the Xinjiang highways as a quick fix for hungry truck drivers who often arrived at odd ours.

Beijang’s version of Dapangji was rich, hearty in flavour, and had a nice spicy kick though not fiery hot. I loved the tender braised chicken cubes and the hand-pulled housemade noodles. At Beijiang Restaurant, you can get this in different sizes: large ($31.90), medium ($26.90) and small ($22.90).

Lauan Twigs Lamb Kabobs

No visit to a Xinjiang restaurant would be complete without enjoying some lamb skewers. The ones at Beijiang Restaurant are presented using Lauan twigs – that is, a type of wood species from South East Asia. Priced at $3.75 each, these lamb kabobs had a very nice meaty flavour and were seasoned with cumin.

Lamb Bone Pot

The Lamb Bone Pot was another hearty dish that is great for communal sharing. Diners can order a small ($33.99) or large ($45.99). Watch the video below to see the meat fall off the bone oh-so-easily!

At @beijiangrestaurant in Richmond, it’s all about Halal Xinjiang cuisine. They are one of the first Chinese Halal restaurants in Metro Vancouver but they moved to this new location on Leslie Road about 6 months ago. Here is their Lamb Bone Pot featuring ultra tender meat that fell off the bone oh-so-easily! Stayed tuned for Part 2 where housemade noodles are added. @foodologyca #media #Foodgressing | Hand models: @pickydiner @noshandnibble . #video #videogram #videooftheday #videoclip #videograms #videostar #videoinstagram #instagramvideo #igvid #vid #foodvideo #richmond #richmondbc #yvreats #eater #xinjiang #halal #Uyghur #lamb #foodblogger #cooking #culinary #chinesefood #vancouvereats #vancouverfood #homemade #onmytable

A post shared by FOODGRESSING.COM | Areta (@foodgressing) on Jan 12, 2018 at 4:42pm PST

Hand-pulled, housemade noodles in raw dough form are added to the Lamb Bone Pot. The noodles are cooked for 10 minutes in order to infuse the flavours of the broth. The length of the noodles is impressive as the goal is to have just “one noodle” to fill the entire plate. The longer the unbroken noodle, the more talented the chef!

@beijiangrestaurant hand-pulled, housemade noodles in raw dough form are added to the Lamb Bone Pot. The noodles are cooked for 10 minutes in order to infuse the flavours of the broth. The length of the noodles is impressive as the goal is to have just “one noodle” to fill the entire plate. The longer the unbroken noodle, the more talented the chef! @foodologyca #Media #Foodgressing . #noodle #noodles #asianfood #chinesefood #麺 #xinjiang #videography #uyghur #richmond #richmondbc #video #foodvideo #cooking #videogram #videoclip #instagramvideo #videodiaries #igvid #videostar #vancouverfood #vancouverfoodie #yvreats #spicy #hotpot #lamb #culinary #noodlepull #zeiss

A post shared by FOODGRESSING.COM | Areta (@foodgressing) on Jan 14, 2018 at 4:40pm PST

Stir-fried slices of lamb served with steamed buns

One of my favourite dishes of the evening was lamb slices in steamed buns ($26.99). The flavourful and spicy lamb was contrasted by the crispy and sweet steamed buns. I would love to have this again.

Xinjiang style lamb leg shanks

We also tried lamb leg shanks ($11.99) which were OK but not as memorable in terms of flavour, presentation as the other dishes mentioned above.

Lamb Puff Pastry

The lamb puff pastry was tasty but more of an indulgent nature due to its oiliness.

Sweet corn pancake

For dessert, we had a rather interesting dessert – a sweet corn pancake. It may seem a bit different from your Taiwanese or Hong Kong dessert. Considering that naans are quite common in Xinjiang cuisine, it’s not surprising that this could translate to a dessert dish. The pancake was loaded with corn kernels and topped with sugar. I’m not sure this is quite the dessert that I would personally find satisfying as I would prefer something of a “smooth and silky” nature. But I did appreciate the restaurant’s commitment to offering a traditional Xinjiang Uyghur dessert.

Overall Impression of Beijiang Restaurant

The dining experience at Beijiang Restaurant was overall very enjoyable and the dishes were well-executed. My favourite dishes of the evening were the stir-fried slices of lamb served with steamed buns, lamb kabobs and dapanji. Definitely a place worth checking out and with the owner’s inviting demeanor, non-Chinese speaking individuals would certainly feel welcome. I’d be interested in revisiting as well as trying out their other location on Kingsway. Rating: 4/5

Beijiang Restaurant
Address: 8111 Leslie Rd, Richmond, BC
Website: www.beijiangrestaurant.ca‎

Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant

February 26, 2017 by foodgressing 1 Comment

One of the most popular places for dim sum in Metro Vancouver is Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant on Victoria Drive. This restaurant has been open for nearly a decade with dim sum from 9 am – 3 pm every day and it continues to attract line-ups outside the door. I had previously posted about my experience at the media tasting organized by Chinesebites where I named my top 10 dishes from Western Lake (see post here). Today, I want to share with you some thoughts on a weekend dim sum experience at Western Lake with my family.

What We Tried

Small ($4.25)
- Green Tea Coconut Milk Gelatin
Medium ($4.75)
- Steam BBQ Pork Buns
- Steam Shanghai Style Pork Buns
Large ($5.25)
- Steam Prawn Dumplings
- Pan Fried Eggplant with Shrimp Paste
- Steam Rice Flour Roll with Beef & Cilantro
Special ($5.95)
- Steam Scallop with Prawn Dumplings
Kitchen Specialties
- Western Lake Chef’s Specialty Stir-Fried Bean Vermicelli ($15.80)

One of my favourites at Western Lake is the Green Tea Coconut Milk Gelatin. I love the firm yet still gelatinous texture. The predominant flavour is coconut and less so of the green tea, but I still enjoy it very much.

The Steamed BBQ buns were soft and fluffy on the outside and had a nice sweet savoury pork filling.

The Steam Shanghai Style Pork Buns didn’t have the most thin wrapper but the pork filling was nicely seasoned and the broth was rich and flavourful.

The Steam Prawn Dumpling were perfectly bouncy and snappy. They had the right, thin, and stretchy, translucent wrappers.

The Pan Fried Eggplant with Shrimp Paste is another favourite of mine at Western Lake. The eggplant had a very nice, melt-in-your-mouth texture that is held up by the shrimp paste. Top it all off with a flavourful black bean sauce and you’ve got one amazing dim sum dish.

I quite enjoyed the soft, springy texture of the Steam Rice Flour Roll with Beef & Cilantro. The beef filling was nicely seasoned and tender.

The Steam Scallop with Prawn Dumplings had snappy shrimp as well as tender scallop.

The Western Lake Chef’s Specialty Stir-Fried Bean Vermicelli was one of my favourite dishes of the meal. This was the first time that I tried it. It was packed with flavour mostly from the sweet and savoury Chinese sausage. These were also fried egg, prawns, and chicken in the dish. I highly recommend it.

Overall Impression of Western Lake

Western Lake delivers a solid dim sum service with decent portions, taste and the price. I continue to be a fan of Western Lake and would recommend them. Rating: 4.5/5

Website: westernlake.ca