I've already been to Bing Sheng for Dim Sum a couple of times and I thought it would be a good idea to try out their dinner service. Tonight, we gathered up the kiddies and made our way out there. It's nice to see that they have replaced their awning. Let's just say the old one looked like it had been through a hurricane. It's funny how you see this happen sometimes. I guess going for the lowest priced awning company didn't work out for them! One thing I like about Bing Sheng is the decor. It's pretty decent for a restaurant of this class. Although, during Dim Sum, it is not as comfortable as it looks.
We started out with the Snake Soup. Yes, you heard me right. Trust me, it tastes like chicken! No joke! Combined with wood ear mushrooms, lemon grass and fish maw, the broth was a bit on the bland side. It could've used more seasoning and colour. Overall, it was still decent and the table presentation on a chafing tray was nice. The next dish was a failure of epic proportions. It was supposed to be Fish and Roast Pork Hot Pot. What we got was more like mystery bones and salty pork. The little fish meat that clung to the bones were so overcooked, you would swear it was not fish. Think of the texture similar to overcooked pork tenderloin. We barely touched this dish.
Compounding the problem was the Pea Shoots with Bean Curd Stick and Gingko Nuts. Flavour wise it was fine; but look at the colour of the pea shoots! It was no longer bright green, rather it was paler than a Vancouverite after 3 months of winter. Predictably, it was overcooked and not really all that pleasant to eat. We did like the abundance of soft bean curd stick though. Finally, the 8 Treasures Braised Duck arrived and that would be the best dish of the meal. A tender boneless half duck hid beneath a bevy of shrimp, scallops, chicken, mushrooms, squid, BBQ pork, carrots and sui choy. Flavour wise, it could have used a bit more salt; otherwise, it was a dish we'd order again.
Now, when a restaurant boasts about a particular dish because it has some unique feature, it'd better deliver. The dish here is the Fish Intestines Egg Casserole. Yes, yes, I know, intestines, not really an attractive food to many people. Well, don't knock it until you try it. I guess I should eat my own words because I did try it and it wasn't very good. The reason? It was very fishy. I know, it comes from a fish; but really fresh intestines shouldn't be that fishy, it should be sweet. Every bite felt like I was licking a salmon from Granville Island Market. Bing Sheng boasts that they fly it in every Friday. Sorry, it wasn't good and to top it off, the egg was grossly overcooked, thus making it kinda stiff.
Overall, a pretty disappointing dinner. With high expectations, especially from their excellent Dim Sum, we were surprised that dinner was so poor. We do realize that usually there is a separate Dim Sum and Dinner chef. That could be the reason for the big discrepancy in execution between Dim Sum and Dinner. Furthermore, that probably accounts for the substantially fewer customers during dinner. One thing I have to mention is one of the managers seems to be quite forgetful. Everything we requested from him was acknowledged; yet he never followed through. This was 5 requests ranging from more tea to helping us pack up leftovers. I think we'll stick to Dim Sum when we visit Bing Sheng from now on.
The Good:
- Prices are reasonable
- Service is generally good (despite the forgetfulness)
- Dining room is nice
The Bad:
- Execution of food is poor
- When you can't get your signature dish right, there is a problem
1 comments:
Good to know that their strength is dim sum, not dinner as we've been thinking of trying this place out.
Thanks for being the guinea pig.
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