I’ve been writing so many dim sum posts lately! I went from writing 3 dim sum posts in the past 5 years of my blogging life…. to 5 dim sum posts in the past 5 months!

This time for dim sum, my mom suggested trying Lucky Plus. We’ve been here for dinner a few times with relatives, and enjoyed the dinner because the prices were reasonable and food was alright.

This was our first time trying their dim sum. I have mixed thoughts because it was pretty cheap and they don’t charge for tea, but the quality was not as good.

Rice roll with fish paste: There could have been more fish paste inside the roll. I only had fish paste every other bite, and it was spread pretty thinly.

Rice roll with prawn: There was more prawn in here, but the prawns weren’t fresh at all! The prawns did not have a fresh snap to it, so that was a bit disappointing.

Prawn dumpling: The prawn dumplings were a nice and plump size! The prawns in this dish were a lot more fresh than the rice flour roll ones. There was a nice snap to the prawns.

Sticky rice wrap: The sticky rice was delicious as well. The rice was fragrant from the leaves, and there was a good amount of meat inside.

Beef omasum: Sadly, the beef omasum here did not taste super fresh either. It was also really oily which made it more soggy.

Egg tarts: I didn’t have any because of the dairy, but my parents enjoyed the egg tarts. The crust was nice and flaky while the custard was flavourful and creamy.

The prices here are cheaper than other dim sum restaurants, but some dishes are a miss. Most places charge a tea fee, but Lucky Plus doesn’t.

If I wanted some cheap dim sum, I would come back. I wasn’t as disappointed because the prices were cheap. But keep in mind – you get what you pay for!

Jin Jiang is a restaurant located close to Metrotown, underneath the Best Western Hotel. My family recently had dinner here to celebrate my dad and aunt’s birthdays!

Although Jin Jiang is located in the same building as the hotel, parking is separate. The restaurant has reserved parking underground, while the hotel parking is located on the ground level outside.

The layout of the restaurant was quite awkward. There was a giant wall in the middle of the restaurant. The restaurant also felt quite cramped as many tables were jammed close to each other, and also due to the random wall in the middle.

Braised bean curd with mushroom: The braised bean curd was a chilled dish that also had some wood ear mushroom. There was no complaints about it.

Deep fried chilled fish: I have no idea what the official name for this dish was, I couldn’t find it on the menu. Anyways, it was quite unique. The fish is deep fried first, and then marinated and chilled in sauce.

Since it was marinated afterwards, it wasn’t crunchy anymore but it was still good. The pieces of fish were pretty big too, although some of the meat wasn’t fully marinated.

Spinach & peanut: ? I’m not too sure what the exact name of this was… When I looked up the menu for the review, it was described as “wild beg as bean curd” ??? which was definitely not what we ordered! It was definitely crushed peanuts!

Anyways, this was a refreshing and clean dish to start off our dinner. The spinach was minced too. I ended up adding this to my rice after and it was yummy.

Cuttlefish with salted vegetables: This was the most disappointing dish of that evening! No one enjoyed it. The picture on the menu was completely different than what was served.

The cuttlefish was very bland, like they just boiled it. The salted vegetables did not pair nicely with the cuttlefish and it was just odd. I don’t think we ended up finishing it because no one wanted to eat it, LOL! A bad case of expectation vs. reality.

Stewed mix meat with pork blood hot pot: This hot pot came with an assorted mix of organs and intestines. They do not mess with spice here! The hot pot packed a lot of fiery spice. We ended up getting some bowls of rice to eat the spicy sauce with.

Dried cauliflower with sausage: This dish packed a lot of heat due to the Sichuan peppers, which numb your mouth.

Braised pork knuckle: The braised pork knuckle ended up being my favourite dish of the night. There was a lot of tender braised meat, which was very flavourful.

There was also some spinach underneath. I haven’t tried a dish like this but would order it again.

Shanghai thick noodle: The Shanghai noodles were alright, nothing much to complain about. We ordered this for the monkeys who couldn’t eat the spicy dishes. They were on the oily side though.

Xiao long bao: The XLB here were alright, not the best but still passable. The skin was thicker, usually a thin skin is more desirable. The broth was strangely sweet. There was a good amount of meat inside.

Overall, the dishes were hit or miss. I wanted to have some Shanghai noodle soup, but sadly they don’t offer their noodle soup dishes at dinnertime. I wish that was stated on the menu because I was excited for it.

I wouldn’t come back here willingly and definitely not my first choice… but if someone else wanted to, I would reluctantly. I’d definitely pick Shanghai River or Wang’s over Jin Jiang for Shanghai food.

Nay…

Although I have been to this plaza many times, I never noticed Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine quietly tucked in the back until Maki recommended. This place has been on my to-try list for quite awhile, so the boyfriend and I finally went one weekend afternoon! 

Wang’s looks bigger than it is from the outside. The inside is quite cramped. It has the mom and pop run feel to it which was nice! Although cramped, the service was really friendly and fast. 

One thing I recommend is to come early or be prepared to wait.

Just to give you an idea, we came on a Saturday at 10:50am which was 10 minutes before they officially opened. 

But… Most of the seats were taken and we got the last seat, 10 minutes before opening! How crazy. A steady line was forming by 11 so we took that as a sign of a good restaurant.  

Xiao Long Bao: The XLB were reasonably priced, about $7 I believe? Pretty cheap compared to other places in 2019. (I mention the year because food prices increase every year, and I don’t want someone reading this 3 years from now thinking they’re the same price. Cause Curiously Carmen is here to stay if things go as planned!)

Anyways, the XLB were so good. There was a small glass window where you could see 2 staff making them from scratch. The portion of pork was very generous and filling. The broth was very flavourful. I would order these again in a heartbeat. 

Sliced beef with noodles in soup: I was having a hard time deciding between this and their pork noodle soup. In the end, I had no regrets picking the beef one because it was so good. 

The sliced beef was so incredibly tender and flavourful. From the online photos, it looked like the beef wouldn’t be that tender but the slices almost melted in my mouth.

In addition to the delicious beef, the broth was really good too! Although the broth was on the clear side, it was full of comforting sesame flavour. I would imagine this bowl would taste good if one added the chili oil on the table into this too. 

Dan Dan noodles: The boyfriend enjoyed his Dan Dan noodles too. There was a good amount of spiciness to it.

His only complaint was that it didn’t come with any meat, so he was a bit hungry after still. 

The food came out very quickly, and since it was such a busy place, we finished our meal in under 20 minutes!

The turnover is quite quick, which is needed due to the line ups. So glad we finally tried Wang’s! 

I would definitely come back in a heartbeat… But only if I came before 11 because I don’t like lining up for meals!

Yay!

About a year ago, the boyfriend and I found Shanghai River on Yelp and it has become one of our go-to places whenever in Richmond. We started practicing archery nearby which is great because we can come here for dinner afterwards!

Since we have been here multiple times since my first post, I thought I would write a revisit on it.

This place is a bit upscale but we usually just order the XLB and some noodles, so it’s not that expensive. The set menus and larger dishes are the expensive ones.

Parking has usually been pretty easy. There is an underground parking lot with many reserved spots for the restaurant.

Pan fried pork soft buns: The pork buns are delightfully crispy on the outside. The pork inside was flavourful and juicy. An order comes with 5 buns so it is great to share.

Shanghai fried noodles: The noodles here were decent. There was a good amount of wok hei in the noodles. I’m not really sure how to translate wok hei but the literal translation is ‘pan air’.

When a dish is cooked in a wok pan, you should be able to taste the smokiness/grilled taste in the dish. They were a bit oily so I only had a few bites.

Mapo tofu: The mapo tofu was absolutely delicious! It packed a good amount of heat. There was a good amount of minced pork and tofu in there too. I shouldn’t be having spicy food but I couldn’t resist and had a couple bites!

Shanghai wonton soup: After seeing the staff make the wonton behind the clear glass, I decided to give their wontons a try and was not disappointed!

The soup was a bit bland and probably just a canned chicken broth, but the wontons made up for it. The skin was silky smooth and the inside was filled with meat. I would recommend this if you’re wanting something clear and light but still yummy.

Dan dan noodles: The boyfriend’s must order when coming here. The dan dan noodles here are more soupy rather than saucy. It packed a good amount of spice.

Xiao long bao: Saving the best for last, the xiao long bao! The skin is thin except for the dough twist on top. There was a good amount of flavourful broth inside, as well as pork. Just writing about this is making me hungry.

Prince Seafood Restaurant is located in East Van, just off Renfrew St. While looking for a place to have Mother’s Day dim sum with my parents, I suggested this place since we haven’t gone here for many years!

It was quite busy when we first arrived, but that wasn’t a surprise since it was Mother’s Day weekend. We didn’t have to wait long though, maybe about 5 minutes which was nice!

Prince is a bit more upscale than other dim sum places, and the prices reflect that.

Prawn dumpling: When they first arrived, they were a disappointing sight because of how small they were! Taste-wise, they were pretty good though. The prawn was fresh and snappy. There was also some garlic inside that gave it more flavour.

Steamed beef ball: The steamed beef ball came with cilantro and some other vegetables. I didn’t try it but everyone else found it tasty, albeit small.

Steamed meat and dried shrimp dumpling: I didn’t try this either, but no one had complaints about them.

Black truffle and wild mushroom: This was a new dish that I haven’t tried before! This was a vegetarian steamed dumpling, which I quite enjoyed.

The mushrooms instead were soft and creamy. Meanwhile, the truffle made the dumpling very fragrant and exciting. I don’t think this is a standard dim sum dish but I’d definitely order it again if I see it.

Sticky wild rice dry & dry scallop with lotus leaf: Again with the small portion! We were a bit shocked to see how small the portion inside was.

The way that the lotus leaf was wrapped made it seem like there was more. The taste was nothing special, although the wild rice gave it a bit more of a crunchy texture.

Rice roll with fish paste: I didn’t try this, but everyone didn’t have complaints about it. The servers didn’t give any dipping sauce and it was too much hassle to try to waive someone down because it was busy that afternoon.

Rice flour roll with prawns: Once again, the portion size here was smaller which was disappointing. The taste was good, but I would have hoped there was another roll as it usually comes with 4 rolls.

BBQ bun: We weren’t planning on ordering this, but someone was bringing the buns around and advertising that they were freshly baked, so my dad got a plate! I sound like a broken record now about the small portion size, but that’s the truth! I didn’t have any, but no one had any complaints about the taste.

It seemed like the reoccurring theme of dim sum that afternoon was the small portions. For that reason, Prince wouldn’t be my top pick because I didn’t find the sizing worth the price.

Especially in a city like Vancouver where dim sum is very popular, I’d rather go somewhere else with bigger portion sizes. However, the quality is there and the unique truffle mushroom is a must try!