Passing on dinner with my family because they always stick to a few certain Chinese restaurants (Kirin, Sun Sui Wah or Red Star), I was being cocky and gloated about going to Tin Tin Seafood. The restaurant was offering a promotion on their live lobsters for only $7.00/lb and asides from the great deal, it is also a lot cheaper than the $28.00/lb it would have been elsewhere with my parents. Who can pass?
After taking a look at the menu, we noticed the prices are expensive, as in some items are pricier than Kirin! Soups start at $18.80 including "lower" end options such as wonton soup and hot n' sour. As for some other items, the prices start at $16.80 and for dishes including prawns or scallops, $24.80. Furthermore, dishes that include geoduck and sea cucumber which range from $34.00 at higher end restaurants, starts at $46.60 here! After establishing the food is not cheap, we had high expectations of what was about to come; good food and great service to match the prices.
HOT AND SOUR THICK SOUP ($18.80).
The soup has a smooth consistency which is neither too thin nor thick. Furthermore, the hot and sour flavours are well balanced where there is a nice tangy flavour along with a light lingering spiciness. The hot and sour soup is quite light as well as refreshing. As for the ingredients, there are diced butterflied prawns, bamboo shoot and fungus. The butterflied prawns make a huge difference and taste meaty with a nice bounce. Personally, I prefer light flavours and this is it. However for those who are looking for that strong flavour in a hot n' sour soup, may be disappointed.
About that $7.00/lb lobster… Like always, there is usually a condition when Chinese restaurants offer live seafood at a promotional price; either it is on fine print or the staff will mention when customers call to inquire. However at Tin Tin Seafood, no one mentioned the condition which was a limit of 3/4lb lobster per person. LOL huh? We were planning on ordering a supreme broth along with a cream and butter sauce to try out the flavours. But, the manager mentioned in total, we can only have a 1 1/2lb lobster. Sigh, if a customer asks for the prices regarding live seafood over the phone, the staff should mention the condition along with the regular price, in case the promotional price is not wanted.
After asking if we could grab a 2 1/2lb lobster if we order the same amount of food as a table of four (since we always order so much food), the manager said no which, well, sucked. In addition, asides from the 3/4lb portion of lobster per individual, there is a minimum requirement of ordering three main course dishes! Yeah… what turned out to be a great opportunity to try two types of lobster at a great price along with a new Chinese restaurant, turned into a headache with a couple of last minute conditions. Well, things turned around for us later on because when the manager noticed we ordered a rock cod (which ain't cheap), he mentioned he would give us a 2 1/2lb lobster. Wow, what a nice guy eh?
Well, the thing is, this lobster was not 2 1/2lb! The lobster is 2lb MAX and is missing a couple pieces of the body. Furthermore, the lobster was also missing a claw! If the lobster had both claws, it may have been 2 1/4lb and I do not mind being overcharged 1/4lb, since most Chinese restaurants overcharge around the same weight. I was pretty annoyed because for this class of restaurant, are you serious? Do not offer a promotion and be cheap about it. This would never happen at any other high end Chinese restaurant. I mean, comparing the lobster to what we had just the week before at Lee Garden Seafood, Imperial Court and Congee Noodle King, those lobsters were noticeably a lot larger than this one and weighed less, if not the same.
2 1/2LB CREAM AND BUTTER SAUCE LOBSTER ($7.00/LB).
As for the taste, the lobster is nicely cooked where the meat pops easily out of the shell, and tastes bouncy with a nice snap. In addition, the cream and butter sauce tastes buttery with a stronger evaporated milk flavour. Despite the shady issue, the sauce is not bad and the lobster is nicely cooked. Also, there is a generous amount of sauce.
HOUSE SPECIAL FRIED RICE ($14.80).
Passing on the generic yeung chow fried rice, we went for the house special which costs $2.00 less than most of the other fried rice. The house special fried rice is actually pretty good; the flavour of the ingredients are fused together, there are minimal lumps or white patches, and is light on the oil as well as salt. Some of the ingredients include diced butterflied prawns, barbecue pork, red pepper and green onion. Also, similar to the hot n' sour soup, the butterflied prawns are appreciated because there is a nice bouncy snap throughout the fried rice.
Up next and similar to the lobster discrepancy, is the rock cod which was not the true weight as stated. However, being overcharged by 1/4lb is more acceptable than 1/2lb.
1 3/4LB STEAMED ROCK COD ($32.80/LB).
The rock cod is nicely deboned and the owner's wife did a perfect job, I especially liked how she placed all the meat on one side. Honest to truth, Tin Tin is the only Chinese restaurant that I have blogged about which has done that. However, before she started deboning the fish, the whole spoon fell into the soy sauce and she picked it up with her hand. Considering the class of restaurant and basic sanitary principles, I thought she would leave the spoon there or use chop sticks to pick it up. But, it was professional of her to continue deboning despite having soy sauce all over her hand.
As she continued deboning the fish and myself like a crazy OCD person, I was thinking if she would put the spoon back or take it away when she was done. Seconds later, as she was about to place the spoon back onto the dish (which of course touches the soy sauce along with the fish), my last minute scream of "oh, no need for a spoon it is fine" was too late. However, she did understand what I meant and was nice enough to remove the spoon and grab us another one, which ironically caused her to touch the fish with her hand again.
Nevertheless, the rock cod is nicely cooked and the meat tastes moist as well as flaky. In addition, the soy sauce does not taste heavy and has a slight sweetness.
FAMOUS DRIED SHRIMP AND SLICED PORK WITH CHINESE GREEN IN SOUP (16.80).
As a chef's special and a favourite of ours, we had to order this. Although unfortunately, there is only a ginger and broth flavour with no hint of dried shrimp! This is a very basic as well as simple dish to make and considering the class of restaurant, of course it is disappointing. As for the gai lan, the vegetables taste soft and lack that nice crunch. In addition because of the hot pot, the vegetables turned mushy and got overcooked very fast (which is expected). As for the slices of pork, the meat tastes a bit chewy and could have been more tender. This seems like a generic mustard green vegetable soup which was under the soup category on the menu, for the same price.
The cookies taste dry (which is honestly a first for me at a Chinese restaurant) and are not heated before serving. In a way, there is no need to heat cookies before serving but that nice extra touch goes a long way. Plus, even some average Chinese restaurants heat cookies before serving! As for the dessert soup, there is a nice condensed milk flavour along with some wild rice, and the dessert is a bit more unique than a generic red bean soup.The purpose of a promotion is to attract customers to visit for the first time or those who have not revisited in a long time, to be satisfied with their experience and tell people to go. Not by making customers feel like the promotion was a gimmick and spreading news that there are better Chinese restaurants elsewhere, especially with these high prices. The thing is, there is nothing wrong with charging high prices. But, when the food along with the service is not there, then it is not worth it.
Furthermore if speaking about the atmosphere, the interior looks like a generic "cleaner" Chinese restaurant and is not even comparable to... let us not even include Kirin and say, Empire Seafood. In addition, at least "higher" end Chinese restaurant have cloth napkins along with double plates. As for the service, there were a couple of plate changes and honestly, the highlight was the owner's wife deboning the fish nicely.
POSITIVES
- $7.00/lb lobster promotion (although we kind of paid $11.65/lb for a 1 1/2lb lobster)
- Average eats (although should be better for the price)
- Nicely deboned fish
NEGATIVES
- Shady promotion
- Food quality and service do not match the high prices
- If charging $4.00-$5.00 more than average restaurants, the table setting should not be dirty. This is not Sing Kee
- Famous dried shrimp and sliced pork (1/5)
LITTLE THINGS
- Dim sum post on Tin Tin Seafood Harbour [here]
- A table beside us ordered the peking duck and the first course looked really dry and thick. I wanted to ask if I could take a photo but was too shy lol. When the table asked the owner's wife why the peking duck was horrible, she mentioned the kitchen was trying something new and will stick to how it was before. It is nice to hear businesses listening to customers' feedback
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2.5/5 (including the whole having conditions at the last minute and being dishonest about the lobster 2/5)
here is a old review >.< same as urs
ReplyDeleteRIPPED OFF! Meal was decent until the main dish arrived...the lobster. The plate was clearly NOT the lobster shown to us at the beginning, which had 2 claws...funny how only one claw made it to the plate. There was also very few pieces of the main lobster body (2), with the rest of the dish comprised of odds and ends, likely from other lobsters. The garlic spicy topping was also cold, clearly sprinkled on top from a previously prepared spice/ingredients tray. I can live with dishes that aren't great, but being cheated is a different matter.
My advise? Stay away from this place!
Oh that really sucks. Was it your experience? I hate the idea of being cheated, hopefully there was a promotion price at that time lol
DeleteLOL sounds like something BF would say. He can accept shitty food but not being cheated
DeleteI just saw the advertisement yesterday in the newspaper for the 6.99 lobster. I was wondering what the catch was and now I know from reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteDo you know of any good Chinese restaurants in Richmond with cheap/good lobsters?
Thanks!
I cannot really think of any places in Richmond that offers cheap lobster, most of the restaurants charge around the same price and quite high. If you can make it to Vancouver, live seafood is definitely cheaper and I really recommend Shining Garden! The best thing to do is call around though and if a restaurant quotes a really low price, ask if there is a condition lol.
DeleteIf anything, maybe try Empire Chinese Cuisine on Alexandra Road.