Long's Noodle House 小龍記麵家

Long's Noodle House is a small family operated restaurant along Main Street, specializing in Shanghainese cuisine. Reservations are recommended regardless of the day of week and because the restaurant is always busy, being turned down should be no surprise. 

We arrived on a Friday evening with no reservations and were fortunate enough to not have to wait. There are a couple of large tables in the restaurant and for those in small groups, may have to share tables. Fortunately in our case though, we were offered a seat at the back of the restaurant which seats four people! This was perfect for us because we tend to order a lot of food.

The Fish Counter

Located on Main Street in Vancouver is a business that focuses on sustainable seafood, The Fish Counter. The shop has a fish market along with a kitchen that offers fresh and made to order food, and C'est la vie a Maggi and I came for the food. When we walked up to the front doors, we did not know which door to go through and chose the one that leads to the restaurant side. As we entered, there were open cupboards blocking the entrance and a cashier staring at us without saying a word, so I felt guilty because I thought we walked through the wrong door.

Fortunately, Maggi confirmed if we could enter and the cashier responded with a "yes" before walking to close the cupboards, so I did not feel bad. After looking around, we noticed the menu posted on the wall and proceeded to the cashier.

The atmosphere was a bit awkward and not inviting because the cashier was not friendly, but we did not mind since The Fish Counter can be considered a fast food joint. As for the interior, it looks fairly nice and the shop is well ventilated. The fish market side of the shop does not have an overwhelming smell too.

The menu is posted on the unfinished wooden walls and looks very playful. There are cute ocean creatures and an easy to read but playful font. As for the selection of food, The Fish Counter offers fish n' chips, sandwiches, tacos, soup and one kind of salad. We arrived during a slow period so the seating arrangements were not an issue, but the seats are quite limited. There is only one table and a bar, along with a couple of benches.

Always Seafood 常來海鮮酒家

Being around Main Street, the only options for a late night dinner at a Chinese restaurant is Kwong Chow Congee (na, never again), Congee Noodle House (I prefer Congee Noodle King, the restaurant is more clean) and Always Seafood. Always Seafood has never been my first choice and is a restaurant I was stubborn on not revisiting, since the first visit was not so great. On the first visit, the food tasted average and overly greasy, and the bill was miscalculated by $20.00. Not only was the bill miscalculated but the manager kept insisting it was correct. Sometimes when you deal with an arrogant person, the best argument is to be arrogant as well and say, "if it is right, of course I will pay but double check again". The arrogantness seemed to work, got him to double check and he apologized.

The interior of the restaurant is spacious, has comfortable seating and looks more nice than what I remembered. The restaurant has a good amount of tables to accommodate larger parties of eight to ten, as well as tables for two to six. When we walked in, the waitress was finishing up dinner and promptly seated us. The owner was also at the restaurant which I think greatly affected the service and food quality on this visit.

STEAMED ROCK COD, DEEP FRIED PRAWNS WITH PEPPERY SALT, PLAIN CONGEE, DEEP FRIED TOFU WITH PEPPERY SALT, SAUTEED GAI LAN WITH DRIED FISH, AND CRAB IN SUPREME BROTH.

Sun Sui Wah 新瑞華海鮮酒家 : Vancouver location

With Koon Bo as the first choice for dinner, we ended up at Sun Sui Wah because the cook at Koon Bo left an hour and half before closing. Sun Sui Wah is a favourite for my family and family friends (more than Red Star) for dim sum as well as dinner. As for myself, I prefer dinner over dim sum because the service for dim sum is horrible at both locations, unless I am with my family or at least eight to ten people in a room. Furthermore, the restaurant was also my friend's choice for a wedding dinner which was quite nice. 

The restaurant's foyer has two sets of stairs that join in the middle leading to the restaurant. The interior is spacious, comfortable and clean, but not as "fancy" as Kirin's. COCA COLA ($2.50) AND FRESH ORANGE JUICE ($6.50). The orange juice is $2.00 pricier than Kirin's and $1.00 pricier than Sun Sui Wah's Richmond location.

Kwong Chow Congee & Noodle House 廣州粥麵小厨

I am behind on my posts because the restaurants I have recently visited were not so great, hence the procrastination. However, Kwong Chow Congee gets bumped to the top of the list and coming back from dinner just now, I had to write about the restaurant. This is my third visit here since the beginning of the year and generally the food tastes average or slightly below average. The seating arrangements are not too cramped and the interior resembles a "dirty" Chinese restaurant; meaning plates, cups, bowls and chopsticks have a high chance of being dirty. Fortunately we had a friendly waitress who realized our plates were dirty and changed them without us asking.