DIM SUM POST ON YAN'S GARDEN [HERE]
I have mentioned before that BF has a weird obsession with Yan's Garden and always wants to come here. In August, I made his wish come true and we came here for dim sum (not very good and is pricier around $4.00-$5.00/dish). So, since he is sick, I let him choose any restaurant and he chose here. By the way, he does not even eat when he is sick so I was kind of annoyed when he ordered so much, cause who gets stuck eating? Me.
The both of us have been here for dinner two or three times before and the food never tasted bad, but the issue was the service. Not only is there no service but their faces.. hoollllllyyy, they look at you like you owe them something for being served by royal waitresses.
The restaurant's interior is quite nice in a way, I like the lighting (which I could not take a photo of) and the old school mirrored panels on the ceiling. Yan's Garden is fairly large and the seating arrangements are not too cramped. Also, I have never noticed the large windows on the side of the restaurant before until this visit.
HOT AND SOUR SOUP ($7.00).
The soup has the bare minimum ingredients of bamboo shoots, green onion, fungus and beef. However, the soup does not taste sour or spicy, and tastes rather bland. North Garden which is also located in Burquitlam, makes one of the best hot and sour soups!
2LB GINGER AND GREEN ONION SAUCE CRAB ($16.80/LB).
The crab is lightly battered and the sauce does not taste bad. The sauce tastes a bit oilier as well as saltier compared to most ginger and green onion sauces, but does not taste bland and there is a hint of a ginger flavour.
WHOLE ABALONE IN OYSTER SAUCE ($18.80).
What? I had no idea how much this was until now when I was looking for the price. This is the smallest and most expensive abalone I ever had at any restaurant. The abalone is hard, chewy, rubbery as well as tough, and has not been braised long enough. 
What is the photo on the right? The abalone is so hard as well as rubbery that when I tried to cut it, it flew off the table! I literally only had one slice, as you can see the almost full piece on the ground. I mean, I am not complaining because I wasted $18.00 but come on... for a restaurant to serve something that is so rubbery it falls off the plate? For the price you pay, the abalone should have been decent.
EGG SPECIAL FOO YUNG ($14.00).
The foo yung looks more appealing than North Garden's and I actually tried it this time. There is a good amount of bean sprout, shrimp, onion, barbecue pork and mushrooms, topped with oyster sauce and green onion. I have no idea what this should taste like but it pretty much seemed like an omelette stuffed with food. You either like it or not.
SHREDDED COD FILLET WITH ENOKI MUSHROOM AND EGG TOFU ($13.80).
Usually a dish like this is a healthier option in Chinese cuisine and tastes light as well as refreshing, but the sauce tastes very salty. In addition, the exterior of the egg tofu has a chewy and not very pleasant texture texture, but the inside tastes like soft tofu. Furthermore, the shredded cod and enoki mushroom tastes like what it is, and the broccoli does not taste overcooked.
YEUNG CHOW FRIED RICE ($10.99).
The fried rice has patchy spots and the ingredients are not properly fused together. The rice has no taste and seems rushed as well as half assed. Also, there are seven prawns on top of the rice but nothing else underneath. No one can mess up fried rice (unless it tastes too salty or mushy) unless you rush it which they did, and I do not understand why since the restaurant was empty.
COMPLIMENTARY PUMPKIN TAPIOCA SOUP AND MANGO PUDDING.
Yummmm pumpkin tapioca pudding?! Oh, it tastes watered down but hey... it is served warm. Plus, anything but the generic red bean soup shows a bit more effort. As for the mango pudding, there is a nice orange color which I prefer over the yellow coloured ones, because I believe they taste slightly better. The pudding has a subtle sweetness and a barely there mango flavour, but tastes better than some restaurants'.
POSITIVES- Service may be there if you ask
NEGATIVES
- Food is rushed for no reason
- Overpriced for what it is
- Customers are treated like peasants
LITTLE THINGS
- Dim sum post on Yan's Garden [here]
- If you must eat here, I recommend the peking duck (only if you get the three course because of the soup)
- I rather go to North Garden since it is cheaper and certain dishes may taste better
- This was the night before Lougheed Wonton Restaurant and I rather spend an extra 10 minutes driving there (Lougheed Wonton tastes a lottttt better, plus the service is friendly)
Food: 1.5/5
Service: 0.5/5
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