12 tasty Chinese and Taiwanese dumpling restaurants in Metro Vancouver
Taiwan export Din Tai Fung, with its lauded xiao long bao dumplings, recently splashed down in Vancouver, its 165th location. The service is fantastic and the room, quite impressive but let’s remember if it’s Asian dumplings you crave, Metro Vancouver is ground zero for Chinese and Taiwanese food and dumplings.
I love that some of the best can be found in food courts like Lansdowne Mall and Aberdeen Centre in Richmond, and my all-time favourite, Crystal Mall in Burnaby, which is like an authentic hawker’s centre in Singapore. Or, you’ll find them in hole-in-the-wall mom and pops like Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine where the bathroom is across a parking lot. Modest, yes, but when Wang’s opens each day, bang! the seats are gone and a lineup appears. But best of all, shhh! These places are inflation-proof — there’s unbelievably good value in some cases. They’re humble, independent establishments, mostly with minimal service.
Truth be told, I’m not a xiao long bao fan. I like a tidier package of chili wonton dumpling or pan-fried dumpling and always, shrimp har gow.
Blnd Tger Dumplings
251 East Georgia St., Vancouver
The funkiest dumpling joint ever that doubles as a “front” for the celebrated, award-gathering speakeasy, Laowai. Order from six dumplings with post-modern fillings, such as pork and scotch-infused soup or Two Rivers bison turmeric, peppercorn soy, house-made sepen (ouch-level chili sauce). The seventh dumpling is password for passage into Laowai. Blind tiger was code for an illegal bar during Prohibition. But why name it blnd tger? Because the tiger has no “i’s.”
Chef of Dumplings
Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond
Located in Aberdeen Centre’s gem of a food court, I found the menu and ordering process confusing with its assorted “combo” plates. But the pork-chive and chicken-veggie dumplings (steamed, boiled, or fried, your choice) proved worthy of our fingers-crossed ordering. They’re filled and pleated at the counter. Some heady sauces kick it up.
Dinesty Dumpling House
1719 Robson St., Vancouver | 4501 Kingsway, Burnaby | 5555 Gilbert Rd., Richmond | 3779 Sexsmith Rd., Richmond
You’ll find more than dumplings at these places but they do take the “Dumpling” in their name seriously with a variety of signature xiao long baos in ultra-thin hand-kneaded wrappers, plus other styles of dumplings. The XLB list includes a black truffle and pork version. The Sexsmith Road location is a retail store and dumpling production facility.
Jingle Bao
774 Denman St., Vancouver
These dumplings have personality. Sometimes colourful, like the Magnificent Seven with seven flavours in seven colours. Sometimes extreme and abnormal, like in the case of the supersized xiao long bao, as big as a burger, and served with a straw to suck out all the soup. Not the dainty refinement expected, but fun.
Kam Wai Dim Sum
249 East Pender St., Vancouver
Heartwarming story: The son of the founder dropped his opera training to carry on the family business when his father faced a medical issue. After all, he’d been making dumplings since he was a boy. The pork siu mai and har gow are bestsellers in a long menu of items. There’s xiao long bao but only frozen. They make 8,000 to 9,000 dumplings a day. And good news: There’s another to open in the Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood in late summer — bigger and with more tables.
Nine Dumplings
1610 Robson St., Vancouver
Upstairs, in this underwhelming public market, you’ll find a lonely dumpling stall offering nine tempting dumplings in nine colours and nine fillings. The colours are natural (butterfly pea flower, squid ink, ginger, etc.) and fillings include pork and kimchi, pork and cabbage, vegan, lamb and zucchini, and scallop. Do go with the sampler plate with all nine. When I last visited, they cost about a buck a piece.
R & H Chinese Food
5300 No. 3 Rd., Richmond
Xiao long baos don’t often hang out in food courts but at R & H in Lansdowne Mall, they do, and they’re very good. Worth repeating — very good! Fingers blur as women fold dough around pork and gelatin cubes creating the sculpted edibles, and when you get your steamed XLBs, just giddy up and eat them while they’re hot. Their pan-fried dumplings won’t disappoint, either.
Shanghai Dimsum House
Crystal Mall,
4500 Kingsway, Burnaby
Huzzahs for my favourite local food court, where several stalls offer dumplings and baos. This stall is known for xiao long bao but on the menu board, it’s referred to as Shanghai Style Steamed Mini Pork Buns. I enjoyed the pan-fried dumplings and won ton dumplings in soup. Or not.
Shanghai Dumpling King
3490 Kingsway, Vancouver | 3675 Westminster Hwy., Richmond
Both spots are in a shopping plaza. Prepare for a wait. Even at 2 p.m. one Sunday, we put names on a waiting list. Weirdly, it’s known for dumplings but the signature dish is the dry noodles. The “secret stuffing” wonton dumpling is served in a hot broth. Fried dumplings are large, plump and crispy on one side.
Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine
3328 Kingsway, Burnaby
Get there early to get a jump on a table. The xiao long baus (called steamed pork buns on the menu) are finely wrapped and plump with soup and pork. I give them a thumb — make that two — thumbs up. Ditto the wontons in chili sauce and the pan-fried dumplings. The noodles are excellent, too.
Yummy Bao
Crystal Mall food court, 4500 Kingsway, Burnaby
A small menu of steamed bun and wraped dumplings, including xiao long bao. I mean, come on, they come in sets of four to eight pieces for $7 and $8.
Yummy Dumpling
3779 Sexsmith Rd., Richmond
Yup, the dumplings are certified yummy. The restaurant contains its river of customers with a self-ordering machine at the front. I’m especially drawn to the dumplings fried, not boiled, because they have lacy, crispy crinolines. Don’t miss the freezer by the door, filled with frozen dumplings to cook for your midnight snack.
Side Dishes
I’ve had a vacuum sealer for food for a long time. Yet, when I need to freeze or sous vide something, I typically resort to the less-perfect Ziploc-bag-and-straw method (manually sucking air out of the bag) rather than hauling down my large vacuum sealer from a high cabinet.
Recently, I tested the FoodSaver Handheld+ 2-in-1 Vacuum Sealing System (
).
The cordless device features a rechargeable battery and is compact enough for me to grab with one hand. Bonus, it doesn’t take up as much space in the cabinet.
The unit came with a vacuum marinator that efficiently marinates foods in minutes.
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Source: vancouversun.com