After a year and a half of not dining in for Dim Sum, I've been on somewhat of a tear lately. I guess making up for lost time is not only a cliché, it is really a mantra that many people are living by these days. What else could explain all the bars in and around Kits fully packed on a Monday night? We've been needing to wait for table after softball on a Monday night! Anyways, the latest Dim Sum spot we hit was Kam Tou Seafood Restaurant, located in the Continental Shopping Centre in Richmond. For those who feel this location is familiar, it is the former spot of Dragon View Chinese. We ended up making a reservation and thank goodness we did, the place was packed for lunch... on a Tuesday!
My daughter really wanted the Seafood Congee and well, she usually gets what she wants... Not a bad choice really as it was filled with enough fish, squid, scallops and prawns for it to be hearty. They were all cooked beautifully so that their optimum texture was achieved (ie. crunchy prawns, flaky fish, tender squid and buttery scallops). The congee was quite silky and had an appealing viscosity but we felt they were a bit heavy-handed with the MSG.
Loved how they numbered their dumplings by 5's rather than 4's so it felt like we were getting more. In reality, they were smaller, so probably the same amount of ingredients as 4 dumplings. So the Ha Gau (Shrimp Dumplings) were decent with a medium-thick skin that had some elasticity. Inside, the shrimp were buttery and had some snap. I found the seasoning on the sweeter side with hints of natural shrimp sweetness and bamboo shoots.
As for the Truffle Siu Mai, I thought these were also strangely on the sweeter side, but at the same time, they were still good. Texturally, I got the bounciness of the pork as well as the snap from the shrimp. We were still able to pick out the pork and shrimp flavours, so that dumpling wasn't overseasoned despite being sweet. The amount of truffle was balanced where it added woodsiness while not overwhelming.
Numbering 3 and being quite large, the Beef Meatballs had the classic bounce texture from the processed meat. It was slightly on the denser side, but didn't eat heavy due to the bounciness. Loved how they didn't overdo it with the cilantro/green onion as some places really load up and we can't really taste the meat anymore. Despite the processed beef, we could taste the natural flavours. Underneath, I was delighted to find bean curd skin as it is one of my favourite things to eat.
For me, I had to order the usual offal in the Steamed Tripe and Tendon. I thought this dish was excellent with large slices of tripe that had been braised long enough for it to be tender, yet retaining a chew as well. There was actually more tripe than tendon, however, for the pieces underneath, they were soft and maybe just a bit overdone. However, they didn't melt away, so there was some texture left. Again, this was rather sweet.
Another solid dish was the Steamed Bean Curd Skin Rolls stuffed with pork and shrimp. As mentioned, I love the texture of fried bean curd skin. Anyways, I found the soft chewiness of the bean curd skin to be on point where it held everything together and was also soft to chew at the same time. The filling was juicy and had the requisite bounce texture. Yes, once again, it was slightly on the sweeter side, but it still tasted great.
One of the least successful dishes was the Phoenix Talons (Chicken Feet) because it was overcooked. Most, if not all, of the skin on the chicken feet was detached at the base. Furthermore, the cartilage and tendon underneath was mostly melted away. Now with that being said, the skin was still tender and well-seasoned by the sauce (which was yes, sweet). So it wasn't all bad, but could've been better with plumpness rather than what we got.
As for the BBQ Pork Buns, it was expected to be sweet, so I am going to say it was on point. The glaze had rich sweetness while balanced off by a complimentary amount of saltiness. It also had the proper viscosity. I found the sliced BBQ Pork to be meaty and lean, but not dry. The actual steamed bun itself was fairly fluffy and had a good ratio to the amount of meat.
To change this up a bit, we decided on the Crispy Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll over the usual ones we normally have. It was a great decision as this was excellent. First of all, the rice noodle was delicate with medium thickness. It was soft while still exhibiting elasticity. Inside, the crispy coating was light and consistent. The ample amount of shrimp was buttery with a sweet snap. There was a good textural contrast between the 3 ingredients.
Staying with shrimp and fried, we had the Shrimp Spring Rolls with a layer of nori inside. This was also very good. It was served hot and crunchy without being greasy. Inside, the sheet of nori was not chewy at all, which can happen sometimes. The shrimp filling was as good as the previous dish being well-seasoned and buttery with a snap.
For dessert, we didn't do anything special, but did go with the classic Baked Egg Tarts. Okay, this was far too sweet. They could've done with half the amount of sugar. As for the custard texture, it was good being silky and light. I found the tart shell to be not as flaky as I expected it to be, but it wasn't bad still. So this dessert did highlight the main issue with the food - the overuse of sugar. Now, that didn't mean it wasn't good, but if you prefer things more savoury or have diabetes, you might want to be careful. With that being said, we enjoyed the Dim Sum and would come back.
The Good:
- Generally well-prepared food
- Service was decent
The Bad:
- Things were on the sweeter side
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