Forget about dumpling hunting in San Francisco. Cancel that pilgrimage to
Flushing, Queens, for fish ball soup. If it's Chinese food you're after, pack
your chopsticks for Vancouver. It was 1997's repatriation of Hong Kong that
began the mass influx of Chinese to British Columbia's lower mainland, a
migration which continues to this day, fueled in part by Canada's
immigrant-friendly policies. Today, almost one in five of Vancouver's two
million residents is ethnically Chinese.
Combine those demographics with the city's legendary seafood and you have the
recipe for an outsize number of extremely good Cantonese, Shanghainese, and
Szechuan restaurants. According to local Chinese food critic and writer
Stephanie Yuen—who was born in Hong Kong and has eaten extensively there, in
mainland China, and in Taiwan—Vancouver is home to the best Chinese food in the
world. Period. Perhaps that explains why visitors from Beijing, Shanghai, and
Guangzhou have started showing up in Vancouver just to eat the food they so
love. Maybe it's time you did likewise.
Best Chinese Restaurant Awards 2010
Jade Seafood Restaurant
Mushroom Dumpling
8511 Alexandra Road,
Richmond
604-249-0082
Empire Chinese Cuisine
Deep-fried Seafood Dumpling
8251 Alexandra Road,
Richmond
604-303-9780
Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House
Chicken Fenpi Salad
1537 West Broadway,
Vancouver
604-733-9696
Shanghai Wonderful Restaurant
Daikon Pastry
#110 - 8380 Lansdowne
Road, Richmond
604-278-8829
Bamboo Grove Chinese Restaurant
Pork Stomach & Gingko Long-boiled
Soup
6920 No.3 Road,
Richmond
604-278-9585
Long’s Noodle House
Tofu Skin & Bamboo Shoot Soup
4853 Main Street,
Vancouver
604-879-7879
Alvin Garden
Five Spice Pork Heart
4850 Imperial Street,
Burnaby
604-437-0828
Delicious Cuisine
Icy Crystal Eggs
7911 Alderbridge Way,
Richmond
604-207-1388
Wonton Noodle Soup
#50 – 8251 Westminster
Highway, Richmond
604-273-6288
Jubilant Restaurant
Vermicelli in Fish Broth with Fish
Balls & Squid Balls
#190 – 4299 No.3 Road
Richmond
604-278-3555
Lamb & Hand-pulled Noodles in Soup
2 locations:
#1 – 4191 Main Street,
Vancouver
1074 Denman Street,
Vancouver
604-879-8758
604-669-8551
Lucky Gate Chinese Restaurant
Hand-sliced Noodles with Xingiang
Spicy Chicken
1139 Austin Avenue
Coquitlam
778-217-0024
Pidan, Pork & Dried Oyster Congee
#141 – 143 E. Broadway,
Vancouver
604-879-8221
Congee
Kwong Chow Congee & Noodle
House
Hong Kong Style Beef Congee
3163 Main Street,
Vancouver
604-876-8520
BBQ Master
Barbeque Pork
#145-4651 No. 3 Rd,
Richmond
604-272-6568
Chinese Barbeque
Dollar Meat Store
Barbeque Spareribs
66 E. Pender Street,
Vancouver
604-681-1052
Golden Sichuan Restaurant
Steamed Chicken with Chili & Fagara
3631 No. 3 Road,
Richmond
604-288-9058
Chicken
Jade Seafood Restaurant
Grandpa’s Smoked Chicken
8511 Alexandra Road,
Richmond
604-249-0082
Red Star Seafood Restaurant
Barbeque Duck
2 locations:
8298 Granville Street,
Vancouver
#2200 – 8181Cambie
Road, Richmond
604-261-8389
604-270-3003
Duck
Alvin Garden
Tea-smoked Duck
4850 Imperial Street,
Burnaby
604-437-0828
Koon Bo Restaurant
Roasted Squab
5682 Fraser Street,
Vancouver
604-323-1218
Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
Roasted Squab
3711 No. 3 Road,
Richmond
604-232-0816
Lulu Café
Ginger, Onion & Beef Hotpot
501B North Road,
Coquitlam
604-931-5255
Delicious Cuisine
Sir-fried Beef with Kimchi
7911 Alderbridge Way,
Richmond
604-207-1388
Kirin Restaurant
Roast Suckling Pig
Various locations
604-303-8833
Dragon Palace Chinese Restaurant
Shanghai Style Braised Pork
45 8th Street,
New Westminster
604-528-8839
Grand Honour Restaurant
Stir-fried Spiced Lamb
#110 – 5701 Granville St.,
Vancouver
604-263-3983
Excelsior Chinese Restaurant
Lamb Hotpot
#6 – 6340 No. 3 Road,
Richmond
604278-2637
Negative Space Restaurant
House Special Crab
#1030-8888 Odlin Cres.,
Richmond
604-821-0755
Ningtu Restaurant
Rice Cake Crab
2130 Kingsway,
Vancouver
604-438-6669
Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
Alaska King Crab Three Ways
2 locations:
3888 Main Street,
Vancouver
#102 - 4940 No. 3 Road,
Richmond
604-872-8822
604-273-8208
Alaska King Crab & Lobster
Ken’s Chinese Restaurant
Braised Lobster & Taro Noodle Hotpot
1097 Kingsway,
Vancouver
604-873-6338
Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
Pan-fried Prawns with Soy
3711 No. 3 Road,
Richmond
604-232-0816
Prawns Northern Dynasty
Sautéed Kung Pao Prawns
#1180-8391 Alexandra
Road, Richmond
604-303-1192
S&W Pepper House
Fresh Tilapia with Peanuts, Cilantro &
Chili
6820 No. 3 Road,
Richmond
604-304-0118
Fish
Empire Seafood Restaurant
Sliced Cod Steamed with Ham & Mushrooms
7997 Westminster Hwy.,
Richmond
604-249-0080
Ken’s Chinese Restaurant
Baked Live Pink Scallops
1097 Kingsway,
Vancouver
604-873-6338
Clams, Oysters and Scallops
Jade Dynasty Chinese Restaurant
BC Scallops Stuffed with Ham
137 E. Pender Street,
Vancouver
604-683-8816
Yan’s Garden Restaurant
Sautéed Geoduck with Mushrooms
9948 Lougheed Highway,
Burnaby
604-421-8823
Geoduck
Shiang Garden Restaurant
Gold and Silver Geoduck
4540 No.3 Road,
Richmond
604-273-8858
James Snack Sandpot Rice, Empire
Centre
Claypot Ostrich Rice
#1160- 4600 No.3 Road,
Richmond
604-716-1328
Best Food Court
Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine, Crystal Mall
Xiao Long Bao
#2110-4500 Kingsway,
Burnaby
604-909-6688
Landmark Hotpot House
Congee Hotpot with Yu Fu (Fish Tofu)
4023 Cambie Street,
Vancouver
604-872-2868
Sun Tung Kee Hot Pot Restaurant
Fish Meatballs
#1060 – 8580 Alexandra
Road, Richmond
604-207-0386
Nanhua Tofu
#2788-4151 Hazelbridge
Way, Richmond
604-233-7050
Overman Chen Restaurant
Sautéed Vegetables
6616 Buswell Street,
Richmond
604-278-1860
Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House
Eight Treasure Sweet Rice
1537 West Broadway,
Vancouver
604-733-9696
Jade Dynasty Chinese Restaurant
Nutty Taro Roll
137 E. Pender Street,
Vancouver
604-683-8816
Shanghai Village
Stir-fried Fish Noodle with Enoki
Mushroom
3250 Cambie Street,
Vancouver
604-872-3618
Northern Delicacy
Sizhi Tofu Dumpling
#2788-4151 Hazelbridge
Way, Richmond
604-233-7050
Critics' Choice Service Award - Award of Excellence
Wine and Spirit Service
Kirin Restaurant
Best Seafood
The Golden Dungeness Crab at Ken's Chinese Restaurant gets top honors
here. The sweetness of the crab's delicate flesh comes through loud and clear,
thanks to a lightly spiced egg-white sauce that takes hours to make. You'll find
Golden Dungeness Crab prepared this way in other restaurants, but it was
invented right here by Ken himself, and no one does it better (1097 Kingsway;
604-873-6338).
Best Dumpling
The award goes to the Xiao Long Bao at Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House
(1537 W. Broadway; 604-733-9696), where diners can watch as the dough for
Shanghai-style soup dumplings is rolled out and packed with ground pork. The
secret to Lin's win is the inclusion of tiny cubes of jellied pork stock—they
melt in the steamer and give each bite a mouth-bursting pop of savoury juiciness
For a genteel, high-end dim sum feast, head to Sun Sui Wah (3888 Main St.;
604-872-8822; dumplings, or Kirin Restaurant (201 City Square Mall, 555
W. 12th Ave.; 604-879-8038.
Best Only in Vancouver
We have a tie—both dishes from Yan's Garden Chinese Restaurant (see Best
Chinese Dessert ): the Sautéed Geoduck with Stir-Fried Mushrooms—a sweet giant
burrowing clam paired with king oyster mushrooms and asparagus —and the 3 Red
Chili Pepper Steamed Eel, a European and Asian delicacy that's at its briny best
right here .
Best Noodle Dish
The Preserved Vegetable and Pork Soup at Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House
wins this category. The supple noodles are made in-house and arrive floating in
a homemade chicken broth adulterated with pork bone for extra umami. Pair it
with a light green tea called sau mei (1537 W. Broadway; 604-733-9696).
Need a fried noodle fix? Skip the chow mein and get the 5 Vermicelli with Pork,
Chicken, and Shrimp at Ken's Chinese Restaurant (1097 Kingsway;
604-873-6338). According to Stephanie Yuen, this dish has serious wok energy
—you'll understand once you try it .
Chen's Shanghai Restaurant
Vancouver's central Chinatown has fallen on hard times. But out in suburban
Richmond, places like Chen's Shanghai — a charmless-looking little soup-dumpling
shop in the middle of a mini-mall — are thriving. It is for the restaurant's
steamed soup buns that most visitors come, dumplings with delicate skin and a
soft pork interior, surrounded by a powerfully delicious broth
8095 Park Road
Richmond, BC
(604) 304-8288
East Ocean
108-777 West Broadway St., Vancouver
604-876-8388
Floata Seafood Restaurant
Chinese cuisine, caters to large groups, private rooms are available for those
booking meetings. Located in Chinatown with over 1000 seats and loads of
parking.
400-180 Keefer Street, Vancouver, BC
Phone: 604.602.0368
www.floata.com
Fortune Restaurant
(Oakridge Shopping Center)
650 W. 41ST #608
604-266-7728 South Vancouver
Fortune House Seafood Restaurant
The restaurant is located inside the largest and most vibrant shopping centre in
the city of Burnaby with convenient Skytrain and bus service access very close
by. Restaurant access can be either from within the mall or through the Central
Boulevard entrance at
4700 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC.
www.fortunehouserestaurant.com
"We're very lucky that here that we have some of
the best Chinese food outside of China, outside of Hong Kong. I've eaten
in Chinese food places in New York and San Francisco, San Jose, which
also has a great Chinatown, and I think ours is world class. It's the
same with lots of ethinic food. We're very lucky we have a very diverse
city. You can go out on any night and try different cuisines from pretty
much anywhere in the world that you'd like"
Robert Belcham
Chef, Fuel |
Golden Great Wall Szechuan Restaurant
705 West Broadway
604-872-0328
Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant
2008 W 41st Ave, Vancouver
(604) 263-8886 Kerrisdale
Good View Seafood Restaurant
4148 Main, Vancouver
604-876-1268
Hon's Wun-Tun House
Serving Vancouver for over 26 years with numerous locations, featuring
Potsticker, Wun-Tun Soup, BBQ Meats, cantonese cuisine, homemade noodles,
dimsums and vegetarian specialties. Fast and friendly service.
5 Locations
Vancouver, Chinatown, New Westminster and Coquitlam
604.685.0871
www.hons.ca
Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant
The Imperial has received numerous awards, including the DiRoNa for
Distinguished Restaurant of North America for the past 11 years. Come for the
most imaginative Dim Sum Lunch and Seafood. Or plan a gala for as many as 225
people.
355 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC
604.688.8191
www.imperialrest.com
King Fortune
#217 - 755 Burrard, Vancouver
604.656.1198
Kirin Mandarin Restaurant (Downtown)
Well known for choice Mandarin creations. Honoured by the Litt Report and New
York Travel & Holiday Magazine. Freshly-made Dim-Sum served at Lunch. Free
Parking (Lunch 1 hour).
1166 Alberni Street, Vancouver, BC
604.682.8833
www.kirinrestaurant.com/
Locations
Alberni
l
Cambie
l
Richmond
l
Coquitlam
l
Pink Pearl
Choose from live seafood tanks for your favourite Cantonese or Szechuan dish in
this award-winning restaurant. Free parking
1132 East Hastings Street
604-253-4316 East Vancouver
www.pinkpearl.com
Red Star Seafood Restaurant
8298 Granville Street
604-261-8389 South Vancouver
Shanghai 1949
1215 Davie street, Vancouver
604-669-8878
Shanghai River
Shanghai River, a magnificent Shanghainese restaurant on the ground floor of an
office building, is in suburban Richmond, where a vast Asian enclave is growing.
The dining room is filled with families from midmorning until well after dark.
Soup dumplings bring many of them here. But the restaurant's black vinegar spare
ribs with pine nuts are reason to swoon, jet-black nuggets of fried sweet and
sour porkiness.
110-7831 Westminster Highway, Richmond
(604) 233-8885
Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
Come morning, visitors to Vancouver may discover that dim sum is at the center
of many residents' plans. Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant at the base of the
downtown peninsula serves superior food from 10 a.m. onward, and rewards the
short drive, cab ride or (long) walk from the downtown center.
www.sunsuiwah.com
(604) 872-8822
Szechuan Chongqing
2808 Commercial Dr., Vancouver
604-254-7434 Commercial
Szechuan Chongqing Seafood
Serving Vancouver for 24 years, Szechuan Chongqing Seafood Restaurant offers
authentic Szechuan cuisine that has been prepared with special care to satisfy
your appetite. We prepare each dish from the freshest ingredients and are
dedicated to providing our diners with hospitality. At Szechuan Chongqing
Seafood Restaurant, we believe that the customers' satisfaction is worth more
than a thousand words. Dine in or carry out is available, along with a full
menu. Come in today to enjoy our delicious low priced Dim Sum lunch items.
1668 West Broadway, Vancouver
604-734-1668
www.szechuanchongqing.com
Top Cantonese Cuisine
2752 Kingsway, Vancouver
604-436-1623
Wild Rice
Located on the edge of Chinatown, this vibrant bistro serves up modern versions
of ancient Chinese classics, accompanied by a globe-trotting wine list and cool
martinis. Definitely a hip place to see and be seen.
117 W. Pender, Vancouver
604-642-2882
www.wildricevancouver.com
Jade Seafood Restaurant
8511 Alexandra Road
604-249-0082 Richmond
Lucky Tao Restaurant
101-8077 Alexandra Road
604-233-1219
Richmond Mandarin Restaurant
8181 Cambie St.
604-270-3003 Richmond
Szechwan Restaurant
8188 Saba Road #110
604-278-6788
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