Kirin Seafood Restaurant 玉麒麟海鮮酒家 : City Square location Dinner

Kirin Seafood Restaurant used to be known as the Chinese restaurant for fine dining, before restaurants like Peninsula at Oakridge Centre and Chef Tony in Richmond surfaced. Apart from being known as a fine dining establishment, the Kirin chain is known for their peking duck (or should I say used to be...) so when my sister and her friend had a craving, I suggested to come here. Let me get this straight however, I suggested Kirin not because their peking duck is amazing... but because everyone should try Kirin's just to say they have.

The most convenient Kirin restaurant for us to try would have been the one on Alberni Street in Downtown Vancouver, but that is the worst location I have been to - service and food wise, on multiple visits! So this brings us to Kirin on West 12th, which is another location I do not prefer because of their lack of service unless you are here with your family and the food is just not that good. The best Kirin I have been to is the location in Richmond, from the atmosphere and service to the food quality.

Zhao's Soup House 趙記湯館 (2nd visit)

FIRST POST ON ZHAO'S SOUP HOUSE [HERE]

I was given the option to have dinner at three restaurants in Richmond which included Nu Shanghainese Bistro, Top Gun J&C or Zhao's Soup House. My first choice was Top Gun J&C but the restaurant is closed on Mondays! Following my first choice was Nu Shanghainese Bistro. However, I am saving the restaurant for an "emergency" early dinner between 4:00-5:00pm because most restaurants do not open until 5:30pm. So, I guess Zhao's Soup House it was. I was hesitant on revisiting Zhao's Soup House because from what I remember, only the peking duck tasted great. But considering the nice atmosphere along with a very friendly owner and an ongoing 15% promotion, I did not mind trying the restaurant again.

As we browsed through the menu, I forgot how pricey the dishes are. Even the live seafood is expensive, where lobster costs $28.80/lb and crab $19.00/lb which are fine dining prices. Moreover, the atmosphere is different. There are no more cloth napkins or hot towels provided upon seating and the restaurant does not offer candles with orders of tea/hot water anymore. I still like enjoy the cosmetics though.

Rainflower Restaurant 粵之醉海鮮酒家

Rainflower Restaurant is located right next to Yao Han in Richmond. We have considered coming here a few times before but because I never knew of anyone who has been to the restaurant or heard much about it, I always assumed it was nothing special. I even thought perhaps the restaurant was a typical "ghetto" Chinese restaurant, like South Ocean Seafood. But since we were in the area after a trip to Osaka Supermarket, we decided to make a visit. Okay, fine, after shopping I did not want to go to Rainflower because of the aforementioned reasons. However, BF called to inquire about the seafood prices and when I heard the lobster was only $1.00… obviously I agreed LOL.

After we walked in, I was amazed! The interior looks amazing and I really like the Victorian style design. The seating arrangements are also comfortable as well as spacious, and I am a sucker for double plates and cloth napkins at a Chinese restaurant. In addition, there is a huge chandelier hanging in the middle of the restaurant.

The soft and bouncy cushioned chairs are very comfortable and Rainflower offers a few private rooms. Every table is also set with a white mini vase of faux flowers. I pretty much like everything about the interior including the empty restaurant. And classical as well as piano music was playing the background.

After seating, the service was very professional too. A waiter came by to remove the chopstick covers and a captain recommended a set menu for two. Personally, I do not like set menus because sometimes only $10.00-$15.00 dollars are being saved and I do not like the selection of dishes or usually the live seafood (if included) is smaller.

Ningbo Seafood Restaurant 寧波海鮮酒家

Ningbo Seafood is located in Richmond at Parker Place and serves Shanghainese as well as Cantonese Chinese cuisine. I had high expectations for the restaurant because a friend of mine was telling me how his friend in Shanghai has tried the restaurant in Ningbo. Apparently, the owners have a similar restaurant in Ningbo which is a city near Shanghai. In addition, I read Doofnik's blog post on the restaurant and the peking duck looked great; crispy skin with no fat or meat. But nothing was good about our dinner, neither the food nor the service.

We walked in on a Friday at 6:00pm and the restaurant had only one seated table. Similar to Le Crocodile where I had lunch earlier, we were asked if we had reservations and a few of the staff talked amongst each other "no reservations". The two of us were seated beside the counter (table touching) where the staff walks up to frequently and when we requested for a different seat, they were all reserved! Really now? At first I thought wow, perhaps the food is really good and I got excited about what was about to come.

Imperial Court Beijing Cuisine 王府井京川粵名菜

How do people look for a Chinese restaurant to try out? Asides from selecting randomly, through word of mouth or an advertisement from a newspaper, perhaps some people call Chinese restaurants regarding the prices for live seafood? Well, that was the case for me. There are a few restaurants in Richmond that I want to try such as Fisherman's Terrace, Top Gun J&C (since I have a Top Gun membership card), Dragon View and Shiang Garden. But, since Imperial Court was offering lobster at $9.99/lb, we headed here.

Imperial Court is a very clean restaurant and has a bit of an European touch; theme, color and detail wise. The restaurant is fairly large and the seating arrangements are not cramped. Also, there is a private room at the back of the restaurant. As for the food, Imperial Court is a higher end restaurant that serves shark's fin, abalone and sea cucumber. Furthermore, quality abalone and sea cucumber where prices range from $45.00-$80.00

Zhao's Soup House 趙記湯館

REVISIT POST ON ZHAO'S SOUP HOUSE [HERE]

Zhao's Soup House is a new Chinese restaurant which is located underneath Jade Seafood along Alexandra Road, in Richmond. Having passed by the restaurant numerous times, I never really thought much of them. However, when CrispyLechon posted some photos on Instagram, I knew I had to make a visit because 1. the restaurant offers slow cooked soups and 2. the interior looks amazing.

The interior looks like a house or a room in China, and there are protective and longevity patterns which are often found at palaces. Furthermore, the ceiling has a mandala flower pattern and there is a poster print of Chinese art along the wall, of a palace during the Song Dynasty. As for the seating arrangements, the replicas of old wooden carved tables with a glass top, are spaced evenly apart and not cramped. If anything, I wonder how the restaurant plans to keep the floor clean. The flooring looks nice and is laminated wood with deep grooves in the pattern, where dirt can get trapped.

Come Along Seafood Restaurant 金龍船海鮮酒家 : Dinner (2nd visit)

FIRST POST ON DINNER AT COME ALONG [HERE]

Having experienced more negative than positive experiences for dim sum at Come Along and only one undocumented horrible dinner, I decided to give the restaurant another try, half a year ago. On my last visit for dinner at Come Along, the food was surprisingly not bad! The two memorable items were the cream and butter sauce crab as well as the taro fried rice. Furthermore, Come Along frequently offers promotional prices on their live seafood and peking duck.

The peking duck special seems to be always available and is priced at $28.99. So, with two pretty good dishes from the last visit and a great peking duck value, we decided to head to Come along. Throughout the dinner, the service was great. The staff was friendly and attentive! Was it my birthday? Furthermore, the staff provided plenty of plate changes (not too excessively) without having to ask, which is a first for us here.

Szechuan Chongqing 重慶大飯店 : Commercial Drive location

Yeah… not going to bother taking another photo of the restaurant's exterior LOL, this photo is good enough. Around 9:00pm on a Sunday, where is there to go for Chinese food? Other than the usual late night restaurants on Kingsway, Fraser or Main Street, apparently Szechuan Chongqing is open until 10:30pm (not really late night but it was useful in my situation)!

I have been trying to come here for a while now and well, I just do not bother. Possibly because my family has never been here, or family friends… or hey, even my own friends! Meaning, there must be a reason right? Plus, when I tried visiting the location in Burnaby, their seafood was $5.00/lb higher than Kirin! As for the interior, the restaurant looks quite nice. The interior follows a neutral color scheme, has a high ceiling, chandeliers, and is fairy big as well as spacious.

Koon Bo Restaurant 冠寶美食之家

The fourth attempt to visit Koon Bo was finally successful! On the first attempt, the cook left at 8:30pm, on the second, the restaurant was closed (Monday), and on the third, I think the restaurant was too busy. Koon Bo is nothing special to be honest and I do not think I enjoyed their food before. My family and family friends do not like the restaurant, and I am not sure if I know of anyone that does. The only reason for my desire to revisit is to try the peking duck.

Coming on a Sunday evening, the restaurant was packed. The only available table was near the entrance, where there was a constant cold draft whenever the door opened. Surprisingly right next to us (more like behind me, back to back and if we both turned around at the same time, we could smell each other's breath) there was a table of six people seated at a table suitable for only four. I found that odd considering there was a proper table size available for them. After ordering, the owner came out to let us know that we should change tables since we ordered too much food, moved the table of six to the proper sized table, and us to theirs. 

Empire Seafood Restaurant 帝苑皇宴海鮮酒家

So… attempt #3 for dining at Koon Bo failed and we ended up at Empire Seafood in Richmond. Empire Seafood can be considered a higher end Chinese restaurant with higher prices as well as above average service, for dinner. I have been here for dim sum a few times and the restaurant is a favourite for some of my friends. However, even though I consider the dim sum here slightly above average with not so great service (as expected at most Chinese restaurants regardless of the class), it is not my first choice. Dinner on the other hand, is different. I do not mind coming here for dinner, although again, not a first choice.

Empire Seafood is located on the second floor of London Plaza. The restaurant has a high ceiling, nice chandeliers, large windows, and the interior follows a neutral colour scheme of brown and ivory. The seating arrangements are spacious and comfortable, and the staff is attentive as well as professional during dinner services (not so much for dim sum, depending on who you get). For a Monday evening, there were two company Christmas parties and one private birthday party.

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.

Red Star Seafood 鴻星海鮮酒家 : Vancouver location

Red Star Seafood is a Chinese restaurant located in Marpole, and is a favourite for my family as well as family friends. In addition, the restaurant can be categorized as a higher end Chinese restaurant, next to Kirin and Sun Sui Wah. A lot of people enjoy dim sum here and claim it is worth the drive for those who live far, but I find the dim sum average and not worth the busyness as well as crowds. Having mentioned that, the reason I am here is for peking duck.

On a Monday evening, the restaurant has an average amount of seated tables. The interior of the restaurant is clean as well as spacious (when empty but gets cramped during dim sum or weekend dinners) and I like the layout. If I wanted to be picky and sound crazy... a higher ceiling would be better for air quality. As for the table setting, every table has a mini vase with faux flowers and has two plates along with a folded napkin. 

Red Star plays instrumental music in the background but like any Chinese restaurant regardless of the class (maybe with the exception of restaurants in China), the loud sounds of clinking and clanking are very well heard due to the staff cleaning and setting up tables. As for the staff, the managers wear a black suit with a white button up, and the waiters wear a gold coloured vest, white button up and black pants. From what I wrote, the restaurant may or may not seem like a higher end Chinese restaurant; either way, walk in wearing sweats and you will receive the same service as anyone else (none to mediocre during dim sum, mediocre to good during weeknight dinners, and decent to good during weeknight dinners).

Shanghai River 滬江海派料理

Shanghai River is the only upscale and "high end" Shanghai cuisine restaurant in Richmond. To me, their popularity started due to being the first restaurant in Richmond to make xiao long bao and wontons open for the public to see. Furthermore, people (well, larger groups of four to eight) come to Shanghai River to celebrate a birthday or for a nice "atmosphere" dinner, since on a Monday evening there were a few birthday dinners.

Shanghai River is also quite large but the seating arrangements are a bit tight and not very comfortable when the restaurant gets busy.

James on Hasting

For those who read my blog will know that I love Pelican Seafood, and was obsessed with constantly going there for their spot prawns this season. However, before this year, BF and I have never been to Pelican together except for a few times. In addition, I have always explained to BF who my favourite waiter was at the restaurant and described him as, the "manager in a suit with glasses, a stocky build and tanned skin". Furthermore, in the last couple of years, I wondered where he has been! He was honestly my favourite waiter - attentive, knew my exact order every time, and was apologetic when I received koi fish mango pudding instead of Hello Kitty. He was perfect.

Well, turns out I FOUND him unintentionally, and his name is James.

Last night BF and I wanted to go to Hy's Encore but since I wanted to use my Opentable account, the restaurant was booked for the whole night (something about how certain restaurants block reservations on Opentable because it costs them money). Then, we decided to go to Salmon House on the Hill but because he was running late, we settled for Shizen Ya on West Broadway. However, the restaurant closes at 10:00pm and we arrived around 9:30pm. So, I caved and we headed to Pelican, despite being sick of Chinese food. When we arrived at the parking lot, I thought to myself, if I am going to eat Chinese food, I might as well try a new restaurant so I can blog about it. So, this is how we ended up at James on Hasting.

James on Hasting is a small restaurant and has a homey vibe. Furthermore, James tries to make everyone feel welcomed. When we walked in, my first thoughts were ohhh so this is where he has been! Second, wow, he really tries to talk to his customers and gets to know them on a first name basis, especially with non-Asians. The restaurant has a few large tables as well as booth seating along the wall.