FIRST POST ON LOUGHEED WONTON RESTAURANT [HERE]
REVISIT POST ON LOUGHEED WONTON RESTAURANT [HERE]
This is my story of Lougheed Wonton Restaurant.
On my first visit, I never expected to return because the restaurant looks old and not very clean. As for the food, there were a couple of good dishes while most were mediocre. However, based on convenience, there is always someone who wants to come here rather than travelling far. But hello? I am supposed to drive far to have dinner here?! Although I will take partial blame because when Coquitlam Centre has something I really want and when I cannot wait a few days for a store transfer, I am in the area and agree to stop by for dinner.
As for the service, the first few visits were great. The staff was friendly, always remembered my face and there was only one issue; it is hard to get service when the restaurant is packed (like most restaurants). However, after more visits passed and despite being a regular, the staff started to neglect us and it was impossible to get plate changes … not sure why. Perhaps because the staff knows I am a regular and will always be around, so they chose to focus on other tables?
Anyways, the restaurant has plenty of seats and none of the seating arrangements are cramped. However, Lougheed Wonton Restaurant can be considered a "dirty" and older Chinese restaurant.
DAILY SOUP.
We usually go for the two item combo which includes the daily soup, steamed rice and dessert for $32.90. The price is very reasonable and there are plenty of dishes to select from.
After a few sips of soup, there was sort of a swampy flavour and a bit of sand. When we looked through the pot, turns out the restaurant uses corn husk! What the heck? Who uses corn husk? This visit was before Kam Ding and I believe both restaurants learned to use corn husk from one or the other, as a cheap ingredient for the daily soup. The restaurant never even has corn too! If we knew this was the case, we would not have went for the combo.
3 1/2LB SPICY SALT AND CHILLI CRAB ($11.95/LB).
The crab has a light crisp batter and is nicely fried, with a flavourful chilli salt seasoning and a slight spiciness. This was during the time when we were sick of eating lobster with cream and butter sauce, and started going for spicy salt and chilli crab instead. However, Lougheed Wonton does make an above average cream and butter sauce! Especially their lotus leaf wrap with fried rice.
SHANGHAI STYLE CRISPY CHICKEN.
On this visit, I was not in the mood for Chinese food, did not care what we ordered and went for something new. And am glad I did.
The Shanghai style crispy chicken is so good. The chicken is nicely fried with a crisp skin which stayed attached to the meat, and tastes moist as well as juicy (including the white meat). In addition, despite the overwhelming saucy appearance, the sauce tastes light but also flavourful and not salty at all. There are the noticeable flavours of black vinegar, sweet soy sauce and garlic. This is definitely the highlight of dinner and I could care less about the crab, which was nicely prepared too!
SAUTEED FRESH SCALLOP WITH SEASONAL VEGETABLE ($16.90).
When the plate arrived, we were a bit disappointed because the scallops are sliced up and there was not much. However, everything tastes very flavourful and the natural flavours of the scallop are there. In addition, the scallops are properly rinsed, enough heat was used and these scallops are one of the tastiest I have had. As for the vegetables, the broccoli tastes fresh with a nice crunch.
BEEF WITH DRIED LILY FLOWER AND BLACK FUNGUS HOT POT.
The hot pot includes tender slices of beef, fungus, Chinese mushroom, carrot and onion. As for the sauce, there is a light beefy soy sauce base and the consistency is not runny.
COMPLIMENTARY RED BEAN SOUP.
The dessert soup is very consistent here and there is always a slightly sweet flavour along with a hint of mandarin peel. Also, the consistency is always good and never too thick or thin.
TOTAL: $97.15 + TIP $17.85 = $115.00
As much as I did not want to revisit Lougheed Wonton, the restaurant serves above average food. The chefs are older as well as more experienced, and there are no complaints regarding the quality. However, Lougheed Wonton is one of those restaurants where only certain items taste better than others. As for the service, this was during the time when we started getting none. No extra plates or napkins were provided on the side, and it was impossible to get a staffs' attention. Also, asides from our plates filled with bones and shells, we were thirsty as heck and needed more drinks too!
Food: 3/5
Service: 2.5/5
3 1/2LB SPICY SALT AND CHILLI CRAB (10.95/LB).
This time around, none of the waitresses showed us the crab and when we requested, one of them brought it over very fast and took it away immediately. The crab does not look 3 1/2lb at all and it is upsetting to be a regular customer, and being overcharged by 1/2lb. As for the taste, the garlic, chill and peppery n' salt seasonings are there and the crab is well fried.
SLICED BEEF WITH GAI LAN.
In general, I am not a fan of beef with vegetables because I rather have plain steamed vegetables than saucy ones. Also, the beef is always "meh", despite being well executed. As for the dish, the slices of beef taste tender and the gai lan tastes fresh with a nice crunch. The dish is not too saucy or salty, and it is just a personal preference of mine that I am not a fan.
SHANGHAI STYLE CRISPY CHICKEN.
The only reason I have for being okay with visiting Lougheed Wonton is honestly because of the Shanghai style crispy chicken! That is why I did not care about ordering the beef with gai lan… hehe. The chicken is consistent with the previous visit where there is a nice crispy skin along with juicy meat, and a slightly sweet as well as garlicky sauce.
DAILY SOUP.
Due to the use of corn husk in the daily soup on a previous visit, we checked out the pot before starting... and no husks!
After all the dishes arrived, we inquired about the daily soup along with rice that is included in the combo, and received them when we finished the majority of our dishes. The soup base has a flavourful rich pork broth with vegetables, and Lougheed Wonton actually slow cooks their soup.
TOTAL: $77.05 + TIP $10.95 = $88.00.
Overall, all the dishes are above average but the overcharged crab incident got to me. If you are making a special item for a low price, then honour it. Do not use the special item to lure customers in, make customers pay and overcharge them to make up for the lower price. Especially a goddamn regular customer that tips generously? We took $5.00 off the tip to make up for the price difference this time.
Food: 3/5
Service: 2/5
I do not even remember why we were in Coquitlam this time, probably because I wanted a specific silk shirt from Aritzia and Coquitlam Centre was the only location that had it.
DAILY SOUP.
As for the soup, because on a previous visit there was the addition of corn husk, we asked specifically if there was any or not. When we asked a waitress, she said "I do not know," and passed our question to someone else. After the two of them went back and forth in front of us talking in Chinese about corn husk, the latter one said, "no you cannot use it, it is flower." So, after confirming if they are sure because we rather order a different type of soup, both of the ladies reassured us there are no corn husks and we went for the set menu again.
This time around, the soup tastes very fresh as in quickly boiled and there is not much flavour or ingredients. Usually there are a few vegetables along with meat, but the soup only had one carrot!
Furthermore, there was a freaking corn husk. Why lie to customers? A regular customer? Really? We could have ordered another soup. Literally, the kitchen scooped out some broth, removed most of the ingredients, added water and boiled the new soup. However, they forgot a freaking corn husk. This was the last straw for me. I mean, some dishes are great and my current obsession was with the Shanghai style crispy chicken, but can I really not get the dish elsewhere?
CENTURY EGG AND SALTED PORK CONGEE ($5.50).
Meh, the soup was not that big of a deal to me because we also ordered congee. But, how could I forget that Lougheed Wonton adds sesame oil in their congee?! Regardless, the congee tastes very simple and is a homestyle congee.
I requested for no additional MSG or salt for that nice bland white congee flavour and unfortunately because I forgot to omit the sesame oil, I did not get the congee that I wanted. However, the slices of pork taste tender and the preserved egg is not sliced too big. As for just the congee itself, it is pretty weak and there are separate rice grains rather than a fused consistency. Personally, I do not mind because I just wanted a simple bland congee.
3 1/2LB SPICY SALT AND CHILLI CRAB ($12.45/LB).
After ordering crab for the third time, we noticed Lougheed Wonton House seems to only have 3 1/2lb crabs… never anything more or less. Also, I believe this is the only crab we ever had here that is the closest to actually being 3 1/2lb. As for the taste, the seasonings are on point and the crab is nicely fried. The meat tastes flaky as well as loose and the chilli, salt, jalpeno as well as a hint of spiciness is all there.
SHRIMP AND SCRAMBLED EGGS.
The eggs are slightly too overcooked (personal preference) as I like mine just done, and there is a fair amount of shrimp as well as peas. If anything, the scrambled eggs are a touch too salty but the shrimp has a nice bounce. Considering the type of restaurant, there is no need to be picky but I do also prefer fluffier scrambled eggs.
DEEP FRIED CRISPY SKIN CHICKEN.
I remember trying the deep fried crispy skin chicken at Lougheed Wonton's sister restaurant (North Garden) and the meat was juicy. So, I decided to switch it up a bit… because my friend was sick of the Shanghai style chicken :(. The chicken is nicely fried where the skin tastes crispy, but the meat tastes very dry. Including the dark meat. As for the whole plate, I enjoyed the shrimp crackers the most because I rarely eat them.
COMPLIMENTARY RED BEAN SOUP.
The restaurant was sold out of red bean soup on this visit and gave us a couple of bowls from the next days batch (we assume). The soup tastes fresh, watery and there is not much flavour yet. However, the offer is appreciated and is better than nothing, because dessert should always be provided at a Chinese restaurant.
TOTAL: $82.70 + TIP $10.30 = $93.00.
All in all, I am done with Lougheed Wonton. The restaurant makes a good cream n' butter sauce as well as spicy salt and chilli seafood, and a great Shanghai style crispy chicken. However, I cannot shake off the feeling of being a regular customer and having to worry about the restaurant overcharging on their seafood. Also, what happened to the service? On the first few visits, there were plate changes as well as extra plates on the side. But as more visits went by, the staff knew we were regulars and just did not care anymore. I mean, the staff went from being friendly from the first visits to not even saying a word to us. Furthermore, the goddamn corn husks?!
POSITIVES
- Cheaper live seafood prices
- Some items are better than others
- Only Chinese seafood restaurant in Port Moody
NEGATIVES
- You gotta know what to order
- Restaurant is old and not very clean (washrooms are creepy)
- Dishonest weight regarding live seafood
LITTLE THINGS
- First post on Lougheed Wonton Restaurant [here]
- Revisit post on Lougheed Wonton Restaurant [here]
- Recommended dishes are the Shanghai style crispy chicken and cream n' butter sauce for seafood as well as the spicy salt n' chilli (it is good considering the area)
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 2/5
Here are some random photos from a visit I was not planning on blogging about. I found the three dishes average at best but not horrible.
DEEP FRIED SPICY PRAWNS.
From what I remember, the prawns tasted juicy and nicely fried. There are the usual seasoning flavours of jalapeño and garlic as well as chilli, but there was no hint of spiciness (which should be requested for those who like heat!). Also, the prawns could have tasted more salty n' peppery.
PEPPERY SALT PORK CHOP.
I remember not enjoying these very much because much of the cuts were fatty and inedible. However, there was an okay salt n' peppery seasoning and the pork chops were nicely fried. As for the meat we could eat, the pork tasted fairly tender.
BEEF WITH GINGER AND GREEN ONION HOT POT (+$1.00).
The beef actually tasted tender and was slow cooked, which seems to be hard to come by ever since I tried the whole "trying new restaurants" kind of thing. In addition, the sauce had a beefy flavour and was neither runny, salty nor too thick.
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