Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Vancouver - 2011



I love visiting Vancouver, more specifically Richmond, BC. There is a ton of great Chinese food in Richmond and it really is the next best thing to getting it from Asia. Ming and I decided to spend a weekend in Richmond and gorge our bellies silly. Mission accomplished.

Luckily our hotel was near all the restaurants (within walking distance!) so we didn't need to battle for parking. In the past we've had to deal with the parking madness and it's no fun. My tip is to try to stay at a hotel in the heart of Richmond to avoid having to circle around the parking lot.

We started off by eating a very simple BBQ lunch at HK BBQ Master. We had char siu, soy sauce chicken, roast pork (AKA siu yuk), and roast duck. Unfortunately we were so hungry that we didn't get around to taking a photo of the duck or chicken. I'd definitely go to HK BBQ Master again if we were in the mood for BBQ.



We decided to have dinner at Kirin. I had read many good things about it so decided to give it a try. Many patrons were eating Alaska King Crab since it was in season. Sadly, it was impossible for Ming and I to order one since they start at 8lbs. We had to content ourselves with eating other delicacies. Everything at Kirin was fantastic. My favorite dish of the night was probably the abalone.


Shark Fin Soup



Abalone



Duck in Taro Paste



Braised Tofu in Abalone sauce with Crab



House Special Chow Mein



Alaskan King Crab


The next day we planned to eat yum cha at one of our favorite Shanghainese restaurants: Shanghai River. We stumbled upon Shanghai River purely by chance on one trip. Once we tried it we were absolutely hooked. Ming's favorite item is the pan fried wonton. My favorite, however, is the deep fried egg puffs.

This restaurant makes the best xiao long bau. I've had the ones at Din Tai Fung and they are supposed to be the best. I have to say that I actually am more impressed by the xiao long bau at Shanghai River.


Employees making the xiao long bau



Pork xiao long bau



Crab xiao long bau



Housemade noodles with pork and chives



Pan Fried Wonton

The wonton skins are even made in the restaurant. They are slightly thicker and chewier than commerical made wonton skins.


Shao Bing



Deep Fried Egg Puffs filled with Red Bean


We had our final meal was at our favorite seafood restaurant. Sea Harbor is a very small, unassuming restaurant. It sits between several car dealerships. It doesn't look like anything special from the outside but once you get inside it looks much nicer than you'd expect.


Duck 2 ways: Peking Duck



Duck 2 ways: Duck in Lettuce Cups



Sea Cucumber Claypot



Hand Pulled Chicken


Kam Do is a bakery which specializes in Wife Cakes. I normally hate wife cakes. They're either too dry, too sweet, or just too heavy. Kam Do made me change my mind about wife cakes. They make several different kinds (with winter melon, date paste, walnut paste, and lotus paste) but my favorite one is the traditional winter melon filling.


Kam Do Box



Kam Do Wife Cakes


You may wonder if we actually ate everything since it seems like a lot of food for two people in a single weekend. Yes, we ate it *all*. ^_^ I told you that the food in Richmond is fanastic and we couldn't help but ensure we satisfied our food cravings.

BBQ Master
Master-Richmond
4651 #3 Rd
Richmond, BC V6X
(604) 272-6568

Kirin
200 Three West Centre,
7900 Westminster Highway (at No. 3 Road)
Richmond, British Columbia
Canada V6X 1A5
(604) 303-8833

Shanghai River
7831 Westminster Hwy., #110
Richmond, BC V6X4J4
(604) 233-8885

Sea Harbor
3711 No. 3 Road
Richmond, BC V6X2B8
604) 232-0816

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