Fortune City Seafood Restaurant (Dim Sum Service)

Boy, we haven't been back to this place in quite some time.  Could it be the food isn't very good or could it be that the parking lot is prone to fist fights over parking spaces?  Maybe we just have too much choice in the GVRD?  Well, we were about to find out!  The real reason that we had Dim Sum at Fortune City is that we were meeting up with my in-laws.  Yes, that meant Dim Sum with my mother-in-law.  Guaranteed to be much screaming, yelling and all kinds of embarrassing behaviour for all to see in a public space...  sigh...

Anyways, at least we could drown our sorrows in the food right?  Almost immediately after we submitted our order sheet, the Deep Fried Taro Dumplings arrived.  Well, we knew why it showed up so quickly.  It was cold.  I don't blame them for trying to be more efficient in having items ready, but something fried like this is most optimal when it is hot.  Otherwise, the textures are not crispy enough and the mashed taro won't be as creamy (it has lard in it).  So despite it being a good version, the temperature ruined it.

So the XO Daikon Pudding Cake did arrive hot, yet that didn't make this a good dish though.  Even though the colour each strip of pudding cake was nicely browned, it was not crispy at all.  In fact, they were completely oil-logged and ate very greasy (like our lips were covered in oil).  To make things worse, the XO flavour was pretty weak.  I think they skimped on the amount of XO here.  However, the texture of the pudding cake was silky and soft.

We always get the Pork Sparerib Rice because the kids love it.  Furthermore, it is a great way to stuff them full of rice so we can order less.  LOL...  Anyways, this was decent as the rice was not mushy, being a bit chewy and nutty.  On top, we found plenty of pork spareribs with a mix of rib pieces and some cartilage/fat.  Texturally, the ribs were good having a rebound texture.  They were nicely seasoned with enough saltiness and garlickiness.

Of course we ordered the Shrimp Spring Rolls since the kids cannot do without it.  These were pretty good with a tightly wrapped exterior that yielded a crunchy texture.  Fortunately for us, this was made-to-order and came out hot and crunchy (unlike the taro dumpling).  Inside, the whole shrimp filling was moist and sweet.  There was the classic snap texture from the shrimp.

Now the excellent shrimp texture did not translate over to the Stuffed Eggplant with black bean sauce.  These were probably fried too long as the shrimp mousse filling was rubbery and somewhat dry.  It was especially tough on the outside where the it was in direct contact with the hot oil.  Strangely, the eggplant was not overly mushy and had a nice bite on the outside.  As for the sauce, it was pretty bland and watered down.

I must say in all my time blogging, the Siu Mai (Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumpling) here must be one of the worst I've ever had.  I can only remember one that was worse being the one from Grand Crystal which was all fat.  This one here featured pork that was chewy and sinewy. I could not chew through it and it was texturally very off-putting. Furthermore, the whole thing just tasted like plain pork.  It need better seasoning.

The same crappy pork was featured in the Bean Curd Skin Rolls.  My jaw was getting tired from chewy the tough pork.  Did they even try to tenderize it?  Hence, it totally diminished the excellent texture of the bean curd skin.  It had a nice chewiness but was super tender as well.  Moreover, the starch-thickened glaze on the outside was actually good as well being just enough and flavourful.  It is really too bad about the pork.

Not all was lost though as the Ha Gau (Steamed Shrimp Dumplings) were pretty decent.  These were medium-sized and featured a translucent dumpling skin that had a good elasticity without being too chewy.  I found the filling to be good with big pieces of shrimp.  Texturally, I think the shrimp was ever-so-slightly overdone, yet it wasn't too bad.  Hence, the shrimp still had a snap albeit not as juicy.  There was enough seasoning as well.

We were very aware that ordering Xiao Long Bao (Steamed Soup Dumplings) in a Cantonese restaurant would be sketch, so we had reasonable expectations.  So yes, the dumpling skin was on the thicker side, but there was a decent amount of sweet soup within.  However, since the dumplings were stuck together, all the soup leaked out when we moved them.  I thought the pork filling was not bad being tender and mild-tasting.

Of course we needed to get some offal (because I love it) in the form of Tendon & Tripe.  Now this was excellent.  The tendon was braised enough that it was super tender, yet without getting to the point it was melting away.  It took on all of the garlicky sweet flavours of the sauce.  As for the tripe, it was also perfect.  There was some chew left while being completely soft.  It also soaked up all of the delicious sauce.

Staying with the good dishes, the Phoenix Talons (Steamed Chicken Feet) were generally on point as well.  Sure, some parts had fallen off (such as the end part), but that didn't affect the eating enjoyment.  The skin was nicely textured with some bite while giving way to soft cartilage and fat underneath.  There was good spice along with equal amounts of sweetness and savouriness (as well as garlic).

The kids love their BBQ Pork Buns and we ended up getting that as well.  Fluffy and generally light, the bun was good while steamed just enough.  Loved the BBQ pork peaking out from the bun, made for great visuals and tempted us to eat them.  That we did and there was a good amount of filling inside.  Either they used lean pork or we got lucky because I didn't find a single piece of fat.  The glaze was balanced with sweetness and saltiness.

Another Dim Sum classic is the Steamed Beef Meatballs.  For those unfamiliar, the meat is whipped through either a food processor or mixer.  This adds air and in addition to the baking soda, makes the beef light and bouncy.  Well, these were exactly that and done right.  They might've been a touch pale though.  Loved they eased up on the greens and allowed the meat to stand on its own.

Lastly, we got an order each of the Salty Donut Rice Noodle Roll and the Prawn Rice Noodle Roll.  These were disappointing due to the fact the rice noodle sheet was stiff and had no elasticity.  Hence, they ate somewhat mealy and dense.  The prawn rice noodle roll was slightly better though.  Furthermore, the salty donut was stiff and dense.  At the very least, the prawns were large and had a meaty snap.  So as you can see, the meal as a whole was a disappointing.  Sure, some dishes were quite good, but when something wasn't, it was really bad. There is no excuse for that, especially in the Greater Vancouver area due to the intense competition and sophisticated diner's palates. They need to do better here.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Service was ok
- Parking available

The Bad:
- Food as a whole just not good enough for Vancouver
- Parking is available, but frustrating