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New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant 時代文華海鮮酒家 [Dim Sum Review]

June 16, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

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.

New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant 時代文華海鮮酒家 Dim Sum Vancouver Kingsway

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.

New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant Vancouver Dim Sum Menu Download

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/

Shoom Chinese Restaurant Vancouver [Review]

April 22, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Shoom is a popular and busy Cantonese-style Chinese restaurant located at Fraser and 49th. The restaurant is only open for dinner service starting from 5 pm until 2 am.

Shoom Chinese Restaurant Vancouver | Fraser 49th

This past weekend, I visited Shoom for the first time with friends and family for dinner. My friend had made a reservation for Friday night at 6 pm. Here’s a look at our very *interesting* experience.

Online Reviews

Before visiting Shoom, I did my research by looking at a few food blogs and online reviews. The ratings were generally noted to be around average. Shoom seemed to be known for their salted egg yolk seafood dishes and many reviews mentioned the restaurant to be pricey but portions were reasonable.

Catered towards large groups

As soon as I stepped into the restaurant, I immediately noticed many large groups dining together. Most of their tables have lazy susans and there are very few 2 to 4 people dining tables.

The restaurant is has a main dining area as well as a two separate dining spaces which you get to by walking past the kitchen.

CASH ONLY

Shoom is CASH ONLY. I only know this because of online reviews. But seriously, what kind of sit-down Chinese dinner restaurant accepts cash only? It’s not like a mom-and-pop restaurant where you have a bowl of noodles for $10. What if you had to pay for the entire table? I guess you would need to bring a stack of cash to the restaurant.

Shoom Menu [Discrepencies, Shady Pricing]

Since many reviewers mentioned that Shoom was on the pricier side, I wanted to look at the menu to check out how much things cost. Shoom’s website only noted the items they serve but no pricing and photos of the menu from customers seemed to be lacking.

After our party of 5 got seated, I decided to take photos of the menu binder. You can download my photos of the menu in a compiled pdf format here.

The menu seemed a bit sketchy at first look because the prices were handwritten on round labels. I can understand a few price corrections requiring labels but all the menu prices were handwritten. Furthermore, the handwriting was not very clear and I couldn’t make it out the last digit of the price for many items ending in .95, .97 or 99?

We had two copies of the menu and I noticed that there were price discrepancies. Take for example the House Famous Peking Duck which was priced as $53.95 on one menu and $58.99(?) in the other.

The half-portion Truffle Chicken is priced $30.95 on one menu and $33.99(?) in another.

When I asked the server about the price discrepancies, she said that it was the HIGHER PRICE. Of course, it is.

Shark Fin on the Menu

I also found out that they serve Shark Fin on the menu.

What We Tried

To start, we were presented with complimentary seaweed soup served at tableside.

Our next dish was the Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk ($26.95). The prawns were reasonably sized, bouncy and had a good amount of salted egg yolk coating. Buttery and aromatic, this was a very good dish.

Next up, we had the 2-course House Famous Peking Duck ($58.99?). The first course featured duck skin pieces on a bed of shrimp chips. The golden brown duck skin pieces were reasonably crispy. We made wraps with the crepes and condiments (scallions, cucumber, Hoisin sauce).

The second course was the stir-fried meat dish with lettuce wrap. The duck meat was moist, flavourful but perhaps could be more tender.

There was also the House Special Egg Foo-Young ($18.99?). It was a Chinese-style egg omelet filled with small shrimp, purple and green onions, and bean sprouts. It was a saucy dish that was pretty flavourful. The server portioned it out for us at tableside.

We were then served complimentary desserts which were choice of red bean soup or mango pudding.

The Bill

Just like the menu, the bill was also handwritten and barely legible. It was CASH ONLY. We paid around 30 per person and there were 4 adults plus a child.

Service

The service was more-or-less reasonable. Dishes can to our table in a timely manner and we didn’t really need to flag our server down for attention.

Loud Atmosphere

Our tables was located in a room that is past the main dining area. At first, the area wasn’t too busy and we enjoyed a nice ambiance. However, as the evening progressed and our area started filling up, the noise level got pretty high.

Overall Impression of Shoom

The Good:

Prawns with salted egg yolk
Price to portions were reasonable
Complimentary soup and desserts
Generally well-executed dishes

The Bad:

Shady pricing & menu discrepancies
CASH only for a place where you could be spending a lot. It’s not like a $20 pp dinner.
THEY HAVE SHARK FIN ON THE MENU

In general, I wasn’t a big fan of the shady pricing stemming from the poorly handwritten menu prices and receipt and CASH only payment form. Despite presenting the price discrepancy for the Peking Duck to the server, I still had to pay the higher price. All in all, these potentially leave room for the restaurant to “cook their books” so to speak.

While the dishes were fine, I don’t see myself ever returning to dine at Shoom nor would I recommend it.

Rating: 2.5/5

Shoom Chinese Restaurant
6555 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC
www.shoom.ca

Dinesty Dumpling House Gilbert in Richmond [Review]

April 20, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I’ve been a fan of Dinesty Dumpling House for their good Chinese food that is affordable and generally consistent in terms of quality and taste. They’re one of the largest Chinese restaurant chains in Metro Vancouver with 5 locations.

Dinesty Dumpling House Gilbert Road Richmond

Their newest location which opened last winter on Gilbert Road in the Richmond Olympic Oval district. I recently ventured to check out the new location.

Bright and Airy Space

Dinesty’s newest restaurant features a clean, elegant contemporary design with floor-to-ceiling windows. In this bright and airy space, you’ll find charming booth seating, tables for larger groups and smaller dining tables.

There are also two open-concept kitchens: one that appears to be dedicated for making dumplings and the other for preparing fried-type of entrees.

Dinesty Dumpling House Gilbert Menu

The menu and pricing can be found online here. They offer a vast array of dishes including dumplings, delicacies, rice and noodle entrees, soups and so forth.

This Dinesty location is neighbours with YiFang Taiwan Fruit Tea. They have a partnership where you can order YiFang drinks to accompany your meal at Dinesty. It is nice that Dinesty’s YiFang menu is the same price as the regular YiFang menu. See photo below.

What We Tried

We ordered the following for lunch:

Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings x 2 ($7.95 each)
Shrimp & Pork Shaomai ($8.50)
Deep Fried Crab with Basil in Triple Sauce ($16.95)
Stewed Eggplant with Shredded Pork in Hot Sauce ($13.95)
Stir-Fried Scallop with Asparagus ($17.95)
Steamed Red Bean Paste Buns ($4.25)
YiFang Signature Fruit Tea ($6.50)

Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings

A must-try at Dinesty are their xiao long baos ($7.95 each) (or Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings). These housemade dumplings had thin, delicate wrappers that held together all of the contents. The broth was hot and flavourful and not too salty while the filling was bouncy and tender.

Shrimp & Pork Shaomai

The Shrimp and Pork Shaomai ($8.50) was quite good with a thin wrapper and bouncy filling. I thought the filling had a good proportion of shrimp and pork.

Deep Fried Crab with Basil in Triple Sauce

The Deep Fried Crab ($16.95) had a flavourful savoury sauce but the size of the crab was small (although in line with what you are paying for the dish at $16.95). It takes a lot of patience to work for the meat! I personally would not order this again as it is a bit impractical to enjoy at a restaurant.

Stewed Eggplant with Shredded Pork in Hot Sauce

The Stewed Eggplant ($13.95) was had bold, sweet and sour flavours. I think it would have tasted better if the sweetness was toned down a bit.

Stir-Fried Scallops with Asparagus

The stir-fried scallops ($17.95) were OK with crisp vegetables and tender scallops.

Steamed Red Bean Paste Buns

The Steamed Red Bean Paste Buns ($4.25) were absolutely delicious being light and fluffy and having a red bean filling with a good level of sweetness.

YiFang Signature Fruit Tea

I ordered the Signature YiFang Fruit Tea ($6.50) which has fruit slices (apple, oranges, passionfruit) and pineapple jam. The featured tea is Songbailing jade tea, which supposedly brings out the sweet and sour flavours of the fruits. It’s a super refreshing drink which went well with my meal at Dinesty.

Service

Service at Dinesty was a bit spotty during my visit and I had to flag servers down to take my order and bring the bill. It seems like they don’t have enough servers to cater to the number of diners in the restaurant. My friend and fellow food blogger, David at pickydiners.com, also experienced this during his meal at Dinesty Gilbert (see his post here).

Parking

Underground parking is free for first 90 minutes.

Overall Impression of Dinesty Gilbert

I really enjoyed the modern, clean space at the new Dinesty location on Gilbert Road. I would have the Steamed Pork Soup Dumplings, Shrimp & Pork Shaomai, and Steamed Red Bean Paste Buns again. It was nice to be able to enjoy YiFang Fruit Tea with my meal. The restaurant seemed a bit understaffed. I would still gladly return to try more dishes from their large menu. Rating: 4/5

Yuan’s Hot Pot | Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang 袁记串串香

April 13, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

While there is no shortage of hot pot restaurants in Metro Vancouver, there is one restaurant in Richmond that offers a unique experience. Founded in 1996, Yuan’s Chuan Chaun Xiang (or Yuan’s Hot Pot) is a Chinese-based hot pot chain with over 400 locations in China and specializes in Chengdu-style (the capital of Sichuan) cuisine. What is different about their style of hot pot is that the food comes in bamboo skewers which are then immersed into the simmering hot pot.

Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang 袁记串串香温哥华店 Yuan's Hot Pot Richmond Aberdeen Centre

Aberdeen Centre Location

Yuan’s Hot Pot opened their first international location at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond in 2016, followed by two other overseas restaurants in Sydney, Australia and Amsterdam, Holland – both in 2018.

The Aberdeen Centre location is in the corner of the second floor of the mall away from the atrium. You’ll be greeted at the entrance with several of their panda mascots.

Spacious, Modern Interior

The interior of Yuan’s Hot Pot is very spacious with a mix of booths and table seating. They also have VIP rooms to cater to groups. The restaurant has lots of natural lighting and has a clean, modern aesthetic.

Yuan’s Hot Pot Menu

Yuan’s Hot Pot menu is available online at their website. Below are my photos of the menu and you can click on them for the full-size photo.

For the communal hot pot soup base, the options include House special spicy or non-spicy, half and half, extra-spicy and so forth.

The options for the bamboo skewers seem almost endless with meat, seafood, vegetables, and tofu varieties. They are priced at $0.90 per skewer or $4.50 for 5 skewers. With this pricing, you can try 10 different items for around $10.

Meat skewers include items like numbing spicy beef, pork tenderloin, chicken knuckle, beef tripes and so forth. For vegetables and mushrooms, you can order platters or individualized items like Chinese cabbage, kelp, enoki mushrooms and more. Tofu choices include fish tofu, round dried tofu, bean curd skin and so forth. For seafood, you’ll find staples like oysters and mussels as well as more exotic choices like Phoenix-tailed shrimp and frog legs. Some specialty dishes include duck gizzards, sliced pork kidneys, beef tongue and more. You can also find rice and noodle dishes to round out your meal.

The self-service dipping sauce bar is priced at $2.45 per person and features condiments like garlic, coriander, green onion and chili.

What We Tried

I was invited for a media tasting and here’s a look at our feast for two people at Yuan’s Hot Pot.

Yuan’s Hot Pot Soup Base

Yuan’s Hot Pot signature soup base is made with premium pork and chicken and simmered with other ingredients like goji berries, cucumber, green onion, mushrooms for a richer flavour.

The spicy soup base is made with their brand of spicy mixture which is premade and comes in a packet that is imported from Chengdu.

Dipping Sauce

We were presented with the Classical Sesame Oil Dipping Sauce which had sesame oil, garlic, green onion and cilantro. The sesame oil comes in a small can.

Skewers

We tried a variety of skewers which had were of excellent quality. For items that were spicy, the spicy flavours were on point.

For meat skewers, we enjoyed the numbing spicy beef, spiced beef, spicy chicken wings, spicy chicken breast, spicky chicken knuckles, and non-spicy chicken breast.

For bean products, there was square dried tofu, frozen bean curd, and Yunan-style bean curd skin.

The vegetable and mushroom skewers we had were pumpkin, spinach, lotus root, corn, Pleurotus eryngi mushroom (aka King Oyster), and Oyster mushroom.

Other Non-Hot Pot Dish

There was also the deep-fried pork crisps which we dipped into dry pepper powder for extra spiciness. The pork crisps were wonderfully crispy on the outside and crunchy on the inside.

Well-Ventilated Interior

One thing I noticed about dining at Yuan’s Hot Pot is that it is very ventilated. You definitely won’t come out smelling like hot pot and spices.

How did I enjoy skewered-style hot pot?

It was my first time trying skewered-style hot pot and immediately saw the benefits of this style of hot pot. The items are cleanly placed into the hot pot and you don’t need to fish around for them after they are done being cooked.

The aftermath…our finished bamboo skewers placed in a bamboo container.

Dessert

To finish off our fantastic meal (and to soothe ourselves from the spiciness), we were presented with bing fen made with konjac jelly topped with peanuts, jellies, and grapes.

Overall Impression of Yuan’s Hot Pot

I really enjoyed the dining experience at Yuan’s Hot Pot from the quality of the food to their house spicy flavours. The manager tells me that the average cost per person is approximately $35 – $40 per person. If you wait beyond 30 minutes for table, you can discounts off your bill. I would recommend others to try Yuan’s Hot Pot to satisfy their spicy cravings.

Yuan’s Chuan Chuan Xiang 袁记串串香温哥华店
Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way #2792, #2F, Richmond, BC
www.yuanhotpot.ca

Suhang Restaurant: Richmond Top Xiao Long Bao

March 13, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I came to know about Suhang Restaurant in Richmond as they are recommended in Tourism Richmond’s Dumpling Trail itinerary. Suhang is best known for their xiao long baos also known as pork soup dumplings.

Richmond Top Xiao Long Bao Restaurant: Suhang Restaurant

Strip Mall Restaurant with Relaxed Ambiance

Located on in a strip mall on Ackroyd Road, the restaurant doesn’t seem like much from the outside with all the blinds down. On the inside, the restaurant has a modest decor and seems like a cozy, casual place to enjoy a comforting meal.

We came in on a Sunday morning and were seated right away. The restaurant is small but the ambiance was quite nice being not noisy and chaotic.

Suhang Restaurant Menu

Suhang focuses on Shanghai-style cuisine. Their menu features Dim Sum (non-vegetarian and vegetarian), Cold Dishes, Soups, Morning Market Soups, Noodle Dishes, Rice Dishes. Most of their Dim Sum seem to run around $8 – $10. I have put together a pdf of their menu which you can download here (10 MB).

What We Tried

On this particular Sunday morning, we tried a few of their dishes.

Xiao Long Bao (6 pieces for $7.95)

The xiao long baos did not disappoint. The thin, delicate wrappers were on point and held together all of the contents. The broth was hot and flavourful and not too salty while the filling was bouncy and tender. I would love to have this again at Suhang.

Xiao Long Bao with Crab Meat and Pork Filling (6 pieces for $13.95)

For an elevated xiao long bao experience, we ordered ones with crab meat and pork filling. The filling texture is more light fluffy than the classic xiao long bao which suggests that there is a reasonable amount of crab meat incorporated. The filling definitely had a taste of crab in it.

These premium xiao long baos are $6 more than the classic version. While they are good, the classic ones are just as satisfying. You could just order two rounds of the classic for pretty much the same price as one crab and pork one.

Sichuan style pig ear salad ($9.95)

The spicy pig ears had a good spicy kick to them from the Sichuan red oil and peppercorns. I like this delicacy because of the chewy texture from the gristle.

Fried Dumplings with Red Bean Paste (4 pieces for $10.95)

For sweets, we had the deep fried dumplings with red bean paste topped with sugar. I enjoyed the very light, crispy and fluffy texture of the dough but the small amount of red bean paste filling left much to be desired. I would not order this again.

Complimentary Coconut Pudding

We also received complimentary orders (one per person) of coconut pudding at the end of the meal. It had a nice gelatinous texture and good coconut flavour without being too sweet.

Service

I usually don’t expect much in terms of service at Chinese restaurants except places where I pay $$$ (like at Chang’an). However, I was pleasantly surprised at the excellent service at Suhang which was attentive, timely and with a smile.

Overall Impression

I would love to revisit Suhang Restaurant again the future to try more of their dishes and to enjoy their Xiao Long Baos again. Not a super fancy place in terms of decor (like Shiang Restaurant) but I enjoyed the comfortable ambiance. Service was terrific. Rating: 4/5

Su Hang Restaurant
100-8291 Ackroyd Road, Richmond BC
suhang.ca

Doraemon, Penguin, Bee, Rubber Ducky Steamed Yolk Custard Buns

March 8, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

I found these adorable character steamed custard buns at T&T the other day featuring doraemon, a penguin, a bee and a rubber ducky. These come as a pack of 8 for $5.99 and have salted egg yolk custard fillings.

Doraemon, Penguin, Bee, Rubber Ducky Steamed Yolk Custard Buns T&T Supermarket

The buns were found in the refrigerated premade section not the frozen section. I bought them for the novelty factor as they are very basic buns. T&T also offers other character buns like piggy.

Related posts:

New T&T Supermarket at Lansdowne Centre

Chinese New Year Mango “Cheese Cake” by T&T Review

[Product Review] T&T Supermarket Cheese Tarts

Best Peking Duck in Vancouver: Chang’an

January 5, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

It had been a few years since I last visited Chang’An (品味長安) (see post here) and they continue to be named one of the best Chinese Fine Dining restaurants in Vancouver. Aside from that, they have also received awards and accolades for serving the Best Peking Duck in the city. Located right on the waterfront of False Creek North, Chang’an offers customers Northern Chinese style cuisine from the Shaanxi province.

Best Vancouver Chinese Fine Dining and Best Peking Duck: Chang'An

Mainly Mainland Chinese Clientele

Chang’an is owned and operated by the China Folks Restaurant Group. While they own and run several fine dining restaurants in China, Chang’an was their first foray into the International market.

Over the years, I have noticed that the restaurant doesn’t spend very much on local advertising. Their clientele is typically the wealthy from Mainland China.

Reserve Peking Duck Ahead

A few weeks ago, I decided to have dinner at Chang’an and indulge in their delicious Peking Duck again. I made my reservation via Opentable and here are a few terms and conditions posted in regards to reserving the Peking Duck ahead of time:

Due to limited availability, all Roast Peking Ducks are available only for dinner and must be pre-ordered, no later than 3:30pm the evening of your reservation. Maximum 1 duck per table, until sold out. Our staff will confirm all Peking Duck orders on that day at about 3:30pm, by phone or text. Please response to the call or reply text message to reserve the Peking Duck. Peking Duck order maybe cancelled if no response is received.

I found it a bit odd that the confirmation for a Peking Duck would be so late – that is, the same day of the reservation. What if you had a special occasion and really wanted to have the Peking Duck? I guess you should consider a backup plan just in case. For me, the confirmation call came exactly at 3:30 pm on the day of the reservation.

AN ELEGANT DINING EXPERIENCE

With magnificient waterfront views of Granville Island and False Creek, Chang’an is truly unique in its location. The Asian-themed decor is elegant and charming and at night the dim lighting sets a cozy and romantic ambiance.

Clay sculptures are placed throughout the restaurant and they portray local customs and traditions of the Qinchuan region.

Roasted Peking Duck | 长安炙鸭

At Chang’an, the ducks are roasted in-house in a custom stone oven built into the wall. The restaurant does not take shortcuts compared to most restaurants that purchase their ducks from BBQ shops and just re-fry them prior to serving; this is obviously reflected in the price. Apparently, the restaurant schedules the cooking process according to the time of reservation to ensure optimal tenderness of the meat and crispiness of the skin.

When I was in Beijing many years ago, one of my most memorable experiences is a tableside carving of Peking Duck. Since then, I only know of Chang’an to offer this type of service in Vancouver. 1886 at Parq Vancouver did at one point but is now closed for private events only.

Chefs in tall white hats carve the duck by your table. Check out my video below:

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With a Peking Duck, I just love a tableside carving service. – At @tastechangan, the ducks are roasted in-house in a custom stone oven built into the wall. – Chefs in tall white hats carve the duck at your table. We enjoyed the slices with hoisin, cucumbers, scallions, Asian pear and even strawberry jam. – @tastechangan is a top place to get Peking Duck in Vancouver and has received many awards for it. – #video #pekingduck #videography #cheflife #igvideo #sonya7iii #a7iii # #instavid #truecooks#lifeandthyme #welltravelled #theglobewanderer #tastemade #foodandwine #verilymoment #beautifulcuisines #f52grams #darlingweekend #zagat #vancouver #vancityhype #yvreats #changan #videograms #instagramvideo #huffposttaste #forkyeah #feedfeed #buzzfeast #foodgressing

A post shared by Areta | Food & Travel Blogger (@foodgressing) on Dec 22, 2018 at 3:42pm PST

Priced at $98, the Chang’an Roasted Duck features two courses. During the first course, the duck skin is eaten with brown sugar while the duck meat is eaten with hand-made flour wrappers and sides like hoisin sauce with cucumbers, strawberry sauce with pears. The skin is perfectly crispy while the skin is moist and tender.

For the second course, you get choice of duck soup (no extra charge) or the deep-fried duck with salt and pepper (+$15). We went with the latter and it was OK, just not as amazing as the first course. The deep-fried meat was tougher and chewier compared to the sliced version.

Other Dishes We Tried

We also had the Assorted Vegetable in Hot Pot (长安大烩菜) ($32) featuring Napa cabbage, shredded carrot ball, wood ear mushrooms, Chinese mushrooms, broccoli, soft tofu, and glass noodles. It was a very hearty, warming soup that felt very nourishing. I like it so much that I’m trying to replicate it at home.

One staff member divided the hot pot with equal proportions of the ingredients into each bowl.

There was also the Stir-Fried Lychee Prawns with Sweet Sour and Spicy Sauce (貴妃荔枝虾球) ($28). The sauce was more sweet and sour while the spiciness was more subtle. The lychee offered bursts of floral juiciness while the prawns were nicely bouncy.

Service

The service was excellent and the staff were fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. The dishes were brought to us in a timely manner. Tableside service was efficient. I also noticed that the staff wore LED digital scrolling name tags.

When they called me for a reservation confirmation, they also made note of the 2-hour seating. The staff were quite on top of that and seemed to make sure that everything went as smoothly as possible so that we would be out by 2 hours.

Overall Impression

I really enjoyed the dinner at Chang’an from the delicious food, presentation of the dishes to the stellar service. I’d be interested in trying more of their dishes and of course having the Peking Duck again. Rating: 4.5/5

Chang ‘an
1/F, 1661 Granville St, Vancouver, BC
www.tastechangan.com

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