Dim Sum @ Fisherman`s Terrace

It was my mom's birthday and we decided to go for Dim Sum at Fisherman's Terrace. I haven't been there in awhile and thought it was a great idea. A great idea except that I had to venture into the great abyss of driving hell called.... RICHMOND!!! When I woke up, I prepared myself mentally for the challenge that I would face later in the day. The drive to Richmond was uneventful, up until I neared Richmond on the connector. Suddenly, a BMW (yes, aren't they all) decided to cut in front of me despite the fact there was really no room. He continued to cut people off as he drove down Alderbridge. I drove cautiously and turned right onto Hazelbridge taking the left lane. I had to stop at the crosswalk just before Aberdeen centre to let some people cross. As I started from the crosswalk, a Mazda 5 decided to cut through 3 lanes to get to the left turn bay into Aberdeen. Dude... You do know I will be parking in the same lot you are. Aren't you one bit embarrassed by your dangerous and rude driving? I guess not. Well, too bad for him, he had to park far away. I parked right at the mall entrance in the "courtesy" parking stalls... I have a young child! Karma!

Luckily for us, we had made a reservation, so we were seated right away. Last time I was here, I remembered that the seating was a bit cramped. Well, it hasn't changed, it almost seems to be more cramped. We started with some Soy Fried Noodles and they were no good. The noodles were too dry and there was a lack of flavour. Luckily, the Soy Rice Rolls were much better. They were very soft and the dish was further enhanced with the addition of "yook suong" or dried shredded pork. Despite the dark colour, it was not salty (dark soy is less salty than light soy). Next up was the Beef Tripe, Tendon, Lung and Tongue stew. Yes, Chinese people do not waste anything! This was a "light" version where the broth is not as strong. Although the tongue, tendon and lung were very tender; the tripe was grossly undercooked. It was so chewy, an elastic band would've been easier to eat.

Fortunately, the Shrimp Spring Rolls were fabulous. The crunchy exterior shell was packed with plenty of whole cold-water shrimp. However, the Blackbean Spareribs were not very good. They tasted quite good, not being overly salty; but there was too much baking soda used in the marinade. The meat was rendered textureless. If you noticed that there is a good-bad, good-bad pattern, you are right. Next was the Three Mushroom Rice Roll and it was excellent. The rice noodle was fluffy-soft and it was packed with enoki, shitake and button mushrooms. The funny thing was that we never ordered this. We actually had ordered the Beef Rice Roll. Well, it didn't matter, we still enjoyed it and yes, the Beef Rice Roll arrived too. It was just as good and the beef was not over seasoned, we could still taste the meat with a bit of cilantro.

The star of the show (any Dim Sum place has to get this dish right), the Haw Gow or Shrimp Dumpling arrived later in our meal and it was worth the wait. The skin was so thin, it was translucent. Inside, there was plenty of cold-water shrimp. It was lightly flavour and you could still taste the shrimp flavour with a hint of sesame oil. Another staple of Dim Sum is Sui Mai (pork & shrimp dumpling) and the one at Fisherman's Terrace was good. The pork was not too fatty and again, there were whole crunchy shrimp nestled within the dumpling. Flavour wise, again, it wasn't too salty.

One dish that we ordered is not usually on most Dim Sum menus. It was the Marinaded Duck. Both the appearance and taste of the duck was very good. It had excellent depth of flavour with hints of 5-spice and star anise. We ended the meal with the Egg Tarts and Steamed Mini-Sponge cakes. The tarts looked really good and they were. The crust was flaky and light, while the egg custard was soft and light tasting. However, the mini-sponge cakes were not very good. Usually, the sponge cake is steamed in a large bamboo steamer and then cut into squares for individual servings. Thus, the cake is fluffy and light. But in this case, they are formed into little muffins and then steamed. This results in a denser cake. Also, the sponge cake was very buttery (it's actually lard) and that made it even more heavy to eat.

So how does Fisherman's Terrace compare to the other high end Dim Sum restaurants (Kirin, Sea Harbour, Imperial, Victoria, Spicy Court, Red Star, Fortune House & Sun Sui Wah) in the GVRD? Well, despite some of the dishes being sub-par, on the whole Fisherman's Terrace is a solid choice for Dim Sum. Most of the important dishes (ie. Haw Gow, Sui Mai, Rice Rolls) are very well done. Although the service is hurried, it is decent. Our pot(s) of tea were always filled with hot water and our requests were always fulfilled quickly. In terms of comfort, the seating is quite cramped; but the restaurant itself is comfortable due to the abundance of natural light. In terms of my Richmond driving experience, it actually ended on a few high notes. Somebody let me into the line of cars on #3 road and again at Home Depot. Is it karma? Or is hell freezing over? Not sure, but I escaped Richmond safely and only got cutoff 3 times.

The Good:
- Most of the food is really good
- Service is hurried, yet still good
- Prices are reasonable

The Bad:
- Very cramped seating
- Everything seems a bit hurried

Fisherman's Terrace
4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond, B.C.
604-303-9739