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In the past 8 years, I've tried to hit up all the possible Dim Sum spots. Sometimes, it has involved re-visits and multiple name changes of the same location. However, there are a few left in Richmond that I just never have got around to. Yes, I've visited those as part of the Chinese Restaurant Awards, but never a regular sit down visit. As much as I make fun of Richmond and its traffic hell (which is actually true), there is no escaping that the best Chinese eats are located there. So with that in mind, we braved the land of poorly driven luxury vehicles for a visit to Yue Delicacy.
The first plate to arrive was the Baked BBQ Pork Pastries. I wasn't a big fan of this one as the actual pastry was dense and not very flaky. It almost seemed underbaked on the inside and/or there was not enough lard added. On the positive side, the BBQ pork filling was lean and well-balanced being not too sweet. Next was the one offal dish, Tripe with Satay Sauce of the meal (as only Marley expressed interest in sharing it). This was well-prepared with tender slices of tripe that retained a slight chewiness. The satay notes were rather mild, yet at the same time, the dish was far from being underseasoned. I enjoyed both the crunch and aromatics from the fried garlic on top.
Last year, I helped vote in the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) at Yue Delicacy as the best in Metro Vancouver. This time around, I found them to be good, but slightly overdone. Hence, the skin was wet and falling apart on contact. However, the filling was on point with buttery and almost juicy whole shrimp. There was the desired cold-water snap to go along with just the right amount of balanced seasoning including a hint of sesame oil. Doubling up on the BBQ pork, we also had the BBQ Pork Buns. Seeing how they employed the same balanced filling from the pastries, there were no complaints about the lean pork inside. As for the bun itself, it was fairly light and fluffy with a bit of resistance.
Continuing the trend of using black truffle in Chinese cooking, their Truffle Sui Mai looked rather similar to the ones at Chef Tony. They were not exactly the same, but at the same time, they were good in their own right. Consisting of bouncy chunks of pork combined with cold-water shrimp, the dumpling itself was subjected to balanced seasoning. The extra hit of woodsy truffle on top worked in my opinion. Hey what is Dim Sum without the dessert showing up midway through the meal? Yes, we dug into the Egg Tarts as an interlude before more savoury items. These were quite sweet but the textures were on point. The tart shell was buttery and flaky while the egg custard filling was silky and just the right consistency.
By virtue of dried scallop on top, the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) was elevated from the usual version. Add in some wild rice and the textures were varied between chewy and soft & glutinous. A generous amount of lean sliced pork inhabited the middle as well as salted duck egg yolk. Add up all the components and there was no lack of varied flavours. Although the Beef Meatballs arrived with a considerable amount of green onion, it didn't overwhelm as expected. Rather, there was some meatiness to the flavour as well as texturally. The meat was not overprocessed to the point where it no longer could be classified as beef. It did exhibit a nice bounce though.
Okay, back to dessert... We had the Brown Sugar Sponge Cake to cut through the saltiness of the other dishes so far. Oh this was money, as the cake was soft, fluffy and yes full of lard goodness. The best part was the rich and deep toffee notes as well as the aromatics. However, the cake itself was not overly sweet. Interestingly, the Fried Eggplant stuffed with shrimp was not served with the typical black bean sauce. Hence, the flavours were reliant on the shrimp. It more or less did the job, but texturally the shrimp were rubbery. On the other hand, the eggplant was on point being soft while not mushy.
Something that did have black bean was the Steamed Pork Spareribs. It was also topped with the crunchy fried garlic. We found there was a mixed between cartilage and rib pieces where the meat around the cartilage was a bit difficult to eat. That was because the meat was on the chewier side. Not a problem with the rib portions though. The dish was definitely garlicky and salty enough. Our last item was the Salmon and Shrimp Spring Rolls. I don't recall ever having salmon in a spring roll before, but this one worked. The salmon was cooked just enough and added an extra sweetness to the already sweet shrimp. Predictably, the final bill was not exactly cheap given the nice decor and attentive service. However, if you want to splurge, Yue Delicacy offers up a more sophisticated Dim Sum experience.
The Good:
- Carefully made eats
- Excellent service
- Classy dining space
The Bad:
- Pricey
- Small dining room (hence a wait)
- Limited menu items
As much as I bravely visit Richmond often for eats with many different eating companions, Viv never gets much of the action. It is not intentional I swear. She just has no real interest in heading out to Richmond, other than when we meet up with friends or go as a family. However, after watching a movie at the new Marine Crossing location, it wasn't much of a stretch to cross the Oak Street Bridge. Hence, we made the quick hop into Richmond for some rare late-night eats.
We ended up ordering a few items to share with the first to arrive being the Ebi Mayo. It was doused in enough chili mayo that would make a Triple O's burger jealous. With that being said, it did taste good and it wasn't as heavy as it appeared. That was probably due to the large prawns that were cold-water crunchy. Furthermore, the batter was fairly light where it was crispy and not overbearing. Next, we had the Miso Eggplant Teppanyaki which was served piping hot on an cast iron plate. Texturally, it was nice being soft while not mushy. The dish as overly sweet though as the syrupy sauce was too dominant.
Although the Salmon Salad didn't look like much, it was actually quite appetizing. This was due mostly in part to the tangy and acidic dressing. It brightened up an already light and refreshing dish. We liked how the greens were fresh and super crunchy. As for the slices of salmon, they were good texturally, but since the dressing was so potent, we couldn't taste much of the fish. Steaming hot, the Chicken Gizzards in garlic butter were flavourful and a bit salty. It had a nice rebound texture without being too chewy nor overcooked. There was a considerable garlic kick but it wasn't very buttery.
Onto some grilled items, we had the Beef Short Ribs, which were nicely caramelized and charred. They were sufficiently tender while retaining its natural meatiness. We liked how each piece had plenty of meat attached. The marinade was a bit too sweet though. Next was the Pork Cheek and Smelt. We thought the smelt was a bit salty, but nicely fishy. It was a touch chewy, but okay. As for the pork cheek, it was appealingly chewy with a nice rebound texture. It was properly salted where no other seasoning was required. So from the items we tried at Manzo, it was definitely serviceable and in some sense, better than average. Considering the options in Richmond, Manzo fits the bill for late night Izakaya.
The Good:
- Okay pricing
- Decent eats
The Bad:
- A little too sweet
- Not unique to Manzo, but seating is tight
With any opinion on food, it can be highly subjective due to personal tastes. So we could technically argue what is the "best of" and never come to a consensus. However, I've noticed that when the topic of the best Greek restaurant in the GVRD comes up, it is always a crap shoot. I seemingly never get the same answer, even from my Greek friends! I've heard everything from Stepho's (why???) to Double DD (funniest name ever!) to Dallas (for the roast lamb only). But little known to many is a little place in Ladner called Taverna Gorgona. After an ownership change 7 years ago, the food has been pretty solid. Since we were in the village already, Zamboni Guy, Hot Mama and DD (ironic..) joined me for some Greek eats.
As soon as the Calamari hit the table, we were pretty sure it would be good. Yes, sometimes appearances are deceiving (like that tasty plastic food in the display windows of some Japanese restaurants), but this was actually good. Sporting large pieces of squid that were fried beautifully, the textures were on point. The batter was light, crispy and well-seasoned while the squid was tender with a bite. I normally do not like dry herbs on my food, but the oregano worked here. Airy and light, the tzatziki wasn't texturally my thing, but it was garlicky with a touch of acidity.
For my entree, I had the Roast Lamb as usual. This was a healthy portion of food, especially for lunch. I found the lamb to be a mix of tender portions and dry chewy parts. It was well-marinated as I could taste some acidity to go with garlic and salt. As much as the rice is just rice, this was excellent as it was still chewy while still being cooked through. Equally good was the lemon roast potato with lots of tang and spot on in texture being soft while retaining its potatoness. Zamboni Guy didn't stray from being boring and got the Chicken Souvlaki again (3rd time eating with him at a Greek restaurant!). I think my son is more adventurous than he is... Whatever the case, this was a good choice as the chicken skewer was large and appealingly charred. Even with that, the meat inside was still only a touch dry and well-seasoned.
Hot Mama really wanted balls... er... and had the Keftedes with cumin tomato sauce. She remarked that the balls were a bit small while she could really taste the cumin. It was able to shine despite the tartness of the tomato sauce. Despite their size, the meatballs were still tender. DD went off the board and went for a pasta in the Shrimp and Chicken Linguine. This was a rather creamy concoction. Hence, the pasta was a touch past al dente, but hardly mushy. The cream sauce was rich and well-seasoned while the seafood was on point. However, the prawns were a bit salty. Now if we considered the fact Taverna Gorgona is hidden away in Ladner Village, it could be classified as a hidden gem. Sure, some will argue that there is better Greek food in the GVRD (and they are not wrong), but we felt that Taverna Gorgona is above average.
The Good:
- Generous portions
- Decent service
- Above average eats
The Bad:
- On the pricier end of the Greek food spectrum
- Meats could be a bit more moist
In general, I try to be pretty fair and reasonable when I share my thoughts about my dining experiences. So if many of my posts seem rather wishy-washy and/or too "kind", it is intentional. Restaurants, much like any other business, is there to make a profit to pay its employees and if it is family-owned, to put bread on the table. Hence, I do not believe in completely tearing a restaurant apart unless it is truly warranted. One of my earliest experiences that led to such a tirade was Kawawa Japanese. The all-u-can-eat there was so darn awful, we could barely get it down. Around 2 years ago, I did a return visit but decided not to blog about it (since it was only marginally better). Now with a 3rd visit, it is only fair to report if anything has changed since my nightmarish meal 7 years ago.
One thing that was completely the same as in all 3 visits was that the food came out extraordinarily fast. That was not a good sign as most, if not, all of the items were not served hot. Of course the Ebi Sunomono was supposed to be cold and it was okay being a little on the sweeter side. We weren't really enjoying the Gyoza as they were lukewarm while sporting nary a sear. Hence, the dumpling skin was soft and somewhat chewy in spots. Yep, even the Yam Tempura was not served hot. Naturally, it was marginally crispy while being rather dense due to the temperature. Next set of dishes were not any better with the Fried Squid being stone cold and not crispy. On the other hand, the Tonkatsu was acceptable with a noted crunch while the meat wasn't that dry. Interestingly and ironically (well, not really as it is not an authentic Japanese restaurant anyways), the Lemon Chicken was the best thing so far being crunchy and succulent (but still not hot).
Okay, so it was pretty obvious that they weren't going to serve us anything made-to-order (thus stuff was cold), except for the sushi (as least we hoped so). Despite being relatively thin, the Nigiri at least appeared to be decent. Well, in terms of the fish quality, it was average (that is an achievement really!). The fact that the rice was rather dry and bland wasn't a surprise though. Onto a selection of maki rolls, we had the California, Dynamite, House, Salmon and BC Rolls. Okay, as evidenced in the picture, they weren't the prettiest things, but to be honest, our expectations were reasonable considering the venue and that it was all-you-can-eat. So overlooking the same crappy rice, the rolls were actually serviceable. They could've overloaded them with excess rice, but they didn't, so I'll give them kudos for that at least.
Fortunately for us, the Chicken Karaage was decently warm so the exterior was crunchy. However, they must've fried them too long and/or didn't marinate them properly as the meat inside was dry and rather unappealing. Furthermore, they were not very flavourful either. Also lukewarm, the Beef and Chicken Teriyaki were typical to AYCE meals. The thinly sliced beef was tender enough while not doused in too much sweet sauce. The chicken wasn't dry per se, but it was far from succulent. It was fairly bland and we actually could've used more sauce in this case. Now there were a few more items we had tried, but I won't even bother talking about them. Although this experience was better than my first visit, it appears nothing drastic has changed. That means the AYCE menu still sucks at Kawawa due to things not being served hot and also the general lack of finesse. Maybe their regular menu is better?
The Good:
- I guess conveniently located in the mall
- Service was actually acceptable
The Bad:
- Hot food not served hot
- Sub par in general
There are times when the only person, other than myself, who feels the need to grab some nutrition after hockey is Milhouse. Ah yes, ever-so-dependable or maybe he is just constantly hungry? Well whatever the case, this was the situation as we had just finished up hockey and no one else wanted food. Aren't they hungry??? So we decided to hit up The Ramenman, just to find out they were closed for renos (they are open now). So we did the next best thing and grabbed some Vietnamese at Pho Goodness.
We shared the Grilled Pork Banh Mi to start and even before taking one bite, we knew the bread would be subpar. It ate every bit as chewy and stiff as it appeared. In fact, the texture of the bread overshadowed the nicely charred pork. The fatty slices were well-marinated being sweet with some saltiness. For his main, Milhouse had the Bo Kho with rice. Again, the visuals didn't instill a lot of confidence as colour was very light and lacked depth. Yep, the flavours were indeed weak with only the sweetness of sugar as the dominant seasoning. The chunks of beef shank ranged from tender to downright chewy.
For myself, I had the Pho Dac Biet which was pretty sweet as well. In fact, other than a background star anise flavour, the broth was overly flavourful from the sodium. On a positive note, the meats were plentiful, sliced thin and tender. Noodles were good too in terms of portion and being chewy and not clumpy. I also got the Lemongrass Chicken with rice and this dish was the best of the bunch. It featured 2 large pieces of well-charred dark meat that was super juicy and well-marinated. The rice was dry and chewy. From the 4 dishes we tried, it was a bit hit and miss. Okay considering the location, but then again, there are more and more choices for Vietnamese food in the Downtown core (Pho Central only a few stores down).
The Good:
- Well-priced for Downtown
- Okay eats
The Bad:
- Hit and miss
Posts
The first plate to arrive was the Baked BBQ Pork Pastries. I wasn't a big fan of this one as the actual pastry was dense and not very flaky. It almost seemed underbaked on the inside and/or there was not enough lard added. On the positive side, the BBQ pork filling was lean and well-balanced being not too sweet. Next was the one offal dish, Tripe with Satay Sauce of the meal (as only Marley expressed interest in sharing it). This was well-prepared with tender slices of tripe that retained a slight chewiness. The satay notes were rather mild, yet at the same time, the dish was far from being underseasoned. I enjoyed both the crunch and aromatics from the fried garlic on top.
Last year, I helped vote in the Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) at Yue Delicacy as the best in Metro Vancouver. This time around, I found them to be good, but slightly overdone. Hence, the skin was wet and falling apart on contact. However, the filling was on point with buttery and almost juicy whole shrimp. There was the desired cold-water snap to go along with just the right amount of balanced seasoning including a hint of sesame oil. Doubling up on the BBQ pork, we also had the BBQ Pork Buns. Seeing how they employed the same balanced filling from the pastries, there were no complaints about the lean pork inside. As for the bun itself, it was fairly light and fluffy with a bit of resistance.
Continuing the trend of using black truffle in Chinese cooking, their Truffle Sui Mai looked rather similar to the ones at Chef Tony. They were not exactly the same, but at the same time, they were good in their own right. Consisting of bouncy chunks of pork combined with cold-water shrimp, the dumpling itself was subjected to balanced seasoning. The extra hit of woodsy truffle on top worked in my opinion. Hey what is Dim Sum without the dessert showing up midway through the meal? Yes, we dug into the Egg Tarts as an interlude before more savoury items. These were quite sweet but the textures were on point. The tart shell was buttery and flaky while the egg custard filling was silky and just the right consistency.
By virtue of dried scallop on top, the Lo Mei Gai (Sticky Rice) was elevated from the usual version. Add in some wild rice and the textures were varied between chewy and soft & glutinous. A generous amount of lean sliced pork inhabited the middle as well as salted duck egg yolk. Add up all the components and there was no lack of varied flavours. Although the Beef Meatballs arrived with a considerable amount of green onion, it didn't overwhelm as expected. Rather, there was some meatiness to the flavour as well as texturally. The meat was not overprocessed to the point where it no longer could be classified as beef. It did exhibit a nice bounce though.
Okay, back to dessert... We had the Brown Sugar Sponge Cake to cut through the saltiness of the other dishes so far. Oh this was money, as the cake was soft, fluffy and yes full of lard goodness. The best part was the rich and deep toffee notes as well as the aromatics. However, the cake itself was not overly sweet. Interestingly, the Fried Eggplant stuffed with shrimp was not served with the typical black bean sauce. Hence, the flavours were reliant on the shrimp. It more or less did the job, but texturally the shrimp were rubbery. On the other hand, the eggplant was on point being soft while not mushy.
Something that did have black bean was the Steamed Pork Spareribs. It was also topped with the crunchy fried garlic. We found there was a mixed between cartilage and rib pieces where the meat around the cartilage was a bit difficult to eat. That was because the meat was on the chewier side. Not a problem with the rib portions though. The dish was definitely garlicky and salty enough. Our last item was the Salmon and Shrimp Spring Rolls. I don't recall ever having salmon in a spring roll before, but this one worked. The salmon was cooked just enough and added an extra sweetness to the already sweet shrimp. Predictably, the final bill was not exactly cheap given the nice decor and attentive service. However, if you want to splurge, Yue Delicacy offers up a more sophisticated Dim Sum experience.
