Cherry’s Food House

There are certain places where restaurants have a difficult time thriving, particularly in the competitive corridor of Alexandra Road in Richmond. Cherry’s Food House has a more modern aesthetic to complement their versions of homestyle Korean food. Perusing their menu there was a decent selection of stews and soups such as Seafood tofu hot pot, Army stew, a small assortment of bulgogi and grilled ribs, stone bowl rice and other classics, relatively standard fare. Something I would like to come back and try on a warm day is their naengmyeon in a slushy broth.

An assortment of banchan was served prior to the mains, a bit of a weak offering of appetizers. I haven’t come across a kimchi that was this saucy, in my pictures it looks as if it’s soaked in ketchup. The salad of lettuce, cucumber and bean sprouts was drizzled gochujang for some sweet heat. The bean sprouts could be softer and more marinated, same goes for the potatoes.

I ordered a classic in the Pork bone hot pot (Gamjatang) in a small size ($19.95). The pot comes piled high with 2 large pork bones with the onions, perilla leaves and enoki mushrooms piled high. The simmering pot contains a spicy, rich broth with tender meat and few potatoes. Their version is decent, but would have been nice to have a few more potatoes and another bowl of rice as only one was given.

The Japchae ($16.95) , sweet potato noodles with vegetables and beef was a generous portion. The dish was fairly peppery and well flavoured with sesame oil with beef sliced thinly and quite tender.

Smart n Save Cafe

I’m intrigued by restaurants that are located in unconventional locations, Smart N Save Cafe fits the bill as it is nestled on the second floor of a business complex along a sleepy stretch of River Road in Richmond. An offshoot of their snack store in Lansdowne mall, my initial thoughts were how can a restaurant serving instant noodles possibly survive in this location. The cafe has continued to operate for quite a few years serving up Hong Kong style snack foods and the menu has evolved so I finally paid a visit and was pleasantly surprised.

The menu differs from that of the conventional Hong Kong style cafe, instead of baked rice/spaghetti, chow mein, fried rice or mixed grill sets, they serve more traditional street foods.

The Chiu Chow Dumplings were a good start, these were plump and packed with pork, water chestnut, peanuts and cilantro giving a crunch which contrasts with the softer skin which holds up to the contents.

The Mozzarella Fried Shrimp Balls were fried up well with a crunchy golden crust and a meaty shrimp ball with the warm gooey cheese oozing out.

The Home-Made Shrimp Egg Lo Mein is absolutely loaded with shrimp egg. The noodles have a nice bite and the shrimp egg brings the salty, briny flavour without being overpowering. It is a generous portion, especially for a dish that is usually a lot smaller at other restaurants.

Curry Fishballs are a Hong Kong street food staple and these did not disappoint with the typical bounciness of the fishball accompanied with the curry sauce which brought the heat.

I have never had the Assorted Wheat Gluten which is served cold and comes in curry and sweet and sour flavour, but my Dad grew up with this snack so he wanted to give it a try. I always laugh when I see gluten on menus at Chinese restaurants, considering how gluten free food has become a trend lately.

The curry flavour is pretty similar to the fishballs with a bit less of a kick since it didn’t have the hot oil. The sweet and sour version was a bit strange to me, veering more towards the sour side. The texture of the red ones was just off, quite chewy and tough compared to the curry ones which had a nice bite.

I was excited to try the Deep Fried Prawn Paste Toast. The prawn paste was pretty similar to the prawn balls with a similar bounce and it sat on top of a soft bread which was fried up with a golden panko crust. The dollop of mayo helps to cut through the greasiness of the fried bread.

The Mixed Sauce Plain Rice Roll with Fish Siu Mai is served with skewers, used to pick up the saucy concoction. They are a bit heavy handed with the Hoisin sauce and sesame paste but I thought it was delicious. The fish siu mai taste like the typical frozen ones, nothing wrong with that, as they have the familiar bounce and taste.

The Fresh Beef and Egg Sandwich is a delight, the fluffy egg is perfectly layered, swaddling thin slices of tender beef. The egg has a slight runny-ness to it and is sandwiched between two slices of very soft buttered white bread.

It’s interesting how the menu has changed over time, when I first heard of Smart n Save I scoffed at the long list of instant noodle items they had on the menu. I’m no stranger to ordering instant noodles at a restaurant but thought they would be in tough if that was their main offering.

Fast forward to present and I was stoked to try their photogenic Luncheon Meat, Egg and Sausage Nissin Sesame Oil Noodle which resembles Ultraman. Despite the simplicity of such a dish, they managed to nail every element to make it a winning bowl. The noodles are cooked to al dente, somehow it doesn’t become soggy in the hot broth.  The luncheon meat is fried up into the egg white while the egg itself has a beautiful crust.

Although the drinks are not included, I was again surprised by the cold drinks. Here they provide the usual assortment of HK cafe drinks on the menu but the cold beverages are served in a iced mug. This forms a slushy consistency on the sides and bottom, a nice touch as the drink doesn’t become watered down over time and allows you to finish the drink like a slurpee.

Kitcho Izakaya

To me, an izakaya is a gastropub: a place to pair alcohol with small bites. Kitcho Izakaya doesn’t quite resemble my notions of that, but they do offer a rather expansive menu with Japanese food that is generally executed fairly well.

Barbeque

I believe this was thin slices of Gyu Tan (Beef tongue), there was a good sear, fairly tender and well seasoned.

The BBQ scallops were quite interesting, they were quite meaty and tender. They had a sweetness to them, really reminded me of dried scallop snack

The Mochi was quite sweet and chewy, almost a bit mushy, brushed with a soy sauce. For me I preferred the grilled rice cake at Cocoru as their version was firmer giving it more of a bite and allowing it to hold up against the sauce.

I hadn’t seen this presentation for Tsukune (Chicken meatball) before. The meatball was formed around a skewer, there was an aggressive char on the outside which gave a nice crust. The meatball stayed fairly moist but was a bit one-note, some acidity through a sauce may have helped.

BBQ chicken wings were fairly juicy and seasoned well.

Sushi

Most of the comments I read about Kitcho Izakaya mentioned to try the foie gras which was served in a toast or in nigiri form.

I have only had foie gras on a scant few occasions so it’s difficult for me to make a good assessment on this dish. I found the Foie gras nigiri, to not be overly rich, it didn’t quite melt in the mouth as I expected to. As a novelty, for 6$, it’s definitely worth a try.

Anytime I seen oshi sushi I’m compelled to order it and see how it stacks up against the competition.

Salmon Oshi had a good sear on the top bringing out the butteriness of the salmon and a kick from the jalapeno.

I haven’t seen Unagi Oshi before, this version differs from the usual nigiri with a small piece in the centre as well as a light torching of the top to bring out a bit more smokiness.

The oshi sushi doesn’t quite reach the top tiers but the taste is close. To me the drawback is in the rice, it is a bit on the mushier side so it takes away from the fish.

To complete the feast, we had the Assorted Sashimi. The set comprised of salmon, hokkigai, hamachi and a white fish I have not seen before. The fish was fresh and presented beautifully.

I was really curious about this white fish, it was quite soft and buttery in texture. From what I could determine it appears to be escolar, also known as snake mackerel and sometimes presented as white tuna. Interestingly this fish is known to cause stomach issues due to wax ester content leading it to be banned in certain countries!

(Canadian recommendation is to limit portion size to 170g or less)

The final dish was the Assorted Sushi – 7 Pc . Again the cuts were solid with a generous ratio of fish to rice.

Kitcho Izakaya offers a slightly more elevated version of Japanese food. The presentation is good and though the prices are a bit higher, they were a fair reflection of the quality.

Hainan Kitchen

With a name like Hainan Kitchen, chicken is expected to be the highlight and this place delivers on the promise. The restaurant is set up like a food court stall with ordering done at the front with an offering of 3 dishes: Hainanese chicken, curry beef and curry chicken as well as an assortment of drinks.

The Hainan Chicken Single Order ($10.48) was a decent portion and the boneless chicken was juicy and flavourful. The temperature of the chicken was on point, just slightly warm. This went well with the chicken flavoured rice and was served with the usual side of ginger and garlic as well as chili sauce which adds a nice kick. The meal is also accompanied with their house salad, mixed green tossed with strips of carrots and beets.

I also tried the Beef Brisket Curry ($11.95). The curry leaned towards the more watery side, it had a gentle kick of heat veering towards a milder spice. The cut of brisket was tender, just wish there was a bit more of it. There were a few chunks of nicely stewed potato as well.

 

Hainan Kitchen

485 – 9100 Blundell Rd, Richmond, BC V6Y 3X9

Mama’s Dumpling & Coffee

Xiao long bao and cappuccinos, not a combination I’m used to seeing but this unassuming restaurant located in a business park seems to make it work. Mama’s Dumpling & Coffee is a small family run place that serves up a fairly expansive menu of Shanghainese style dishes which include dim sum favourites, noodles and of course dumplings.

We started off with the Sour and Spicy Soup ($7.99) which was well-balanced, not too acidic with the decent amount of heat. This was a vegetarian version with the typical bamboo, wood ear fungus and tofu. It would be nice if there was an option to add some shrimp for a little protein.

The next dish was the Shanghai-Style Noodle Soup ($8.99) which appeared quite plain but was a pleasant surprise. We were expecting a heavier, soy sauce based broth but this was a light but flavourful chicken based broth which was a bit creamy and went well with the toothsome rice noodles.

For an appetizer we had the Julienned Tofu Skin Salad ($7.99) which were thin slivers of tofu skin along with carrots and celery in a chili based dressing that provided a good amount of heat to the salad.

Onto the main event, the Boiled Pork & Cilantro Dumplings (12 dumplings for $10.90) arrived. These homemade dumplings were a decent size and had a nice porky flavour. They offer a sizeable selection of dumplings which can be ordered pan fried for an additional $1.50.

The true test of the restaurant would be the Nanxiang-style Xiao Long Bao ($6.99). These were an excellent version, the skin was thin but held up to the plump and juicy meat. They definitely hold their own compared to some of the more posh Shanghainese restaurants in town.

Lastly we had the Crispy Dumpling Pockets ($6.99) which were filled with thin strands of vermicelli and minced beef. The dumpling is aptly named as it had a crispy fried dough on the top with the bottom having a slightly different flakier texture.

The restaurant was fairly comfortable despite it being self serve café style where you order and pay up front and the food is brought out when ready. The food particularly the dumplings were quite good, but it is a bit of a distance from Central Richmond where most of the competition is situated.

 

John 3:16 Malaysian Delights

John 3:16 Malaysian Delights finally reopened in Richmond in a much larger venue after relocating from their tiny space on Anderson Road. Back in their previous location they offered up a variety of Malaysian dishes, particularly some less common items that aren’t regularly seen on menus in Vancouver. I initially went during their grand opening week, the food was solid but at the time service was quite slow so I came back a few months later to see if things had changed.

We started with the Satay Chicken Skewers ($6.95) which arrive in sets of 4, also available as beef. The chicken was very nicely caramelized and stayed juicy. It was served with a peanut sauce and garnished with some cucumber and onion.

Next was the Curry Chicken Puff ($4.95), this had a mild heat and was packed with potatoes and chicken, the taste somewhat resembles a samosa. I do wish the pastry was a bit more flaky though, I think these ones may have been baked rather than deep fried as it wasn’t oily at all.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Hokkien Char Mee ($12.95), an egg noodle with squid, fish cake, shrimp, pork, onions and bean sprouts stir fried with dark soy sauce. The noodles were the star of the dish as they had a great chew to them. The downside of this dish is it quite oily.

The Beef Rendang ($12.95) was excellent, the beef was tender and the I really enjoyed the heat from the curry. The beef soaked up all the flavour and there was a nice acidity, perhaps lime, that brightens up the dish.

We tried Lor Bak ($14.95) which is is minced pork meat wrapped in crispy deep fried bean curd. The meat is marinated in five spice and isn’t too dry, though I found the dish didn’t have a standout flavour. The sweet chili sauce helps to cut some of the fattiness of the meat.

On my first visit I tried the Hainanese Chicken ($12.95). The chicken was moist and juicy, a solid version of the dish.

I was curious to try the Pulut Panggang ($6.95) which is glutinous rice around sambal dried shrimp, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. The rice is infused with sweet coconut milk which makes for a nice contrast with the spicy and salty dried shrimp.

John 3:16 shows a lot of promise with their wide ranging menu of Malaysian specialities. The portions are on the smaller side, but if they can improve the speed of service they can really grab a foothold in Richmond.

 

Kongee Dinesty

Growing up in Richmond, I remember there being more options for congee but it seems like those restaurants have gradually faded away. Kongee Dinesty provides a choose your own toppings version, à la Deer Garden, giving a personalized spin on the classic comfort food.

There is a choice of 3 congee bases (plain, seasoned, black pepper), an assortment of garnishes and 2 toppings (among the choices are various meats, seafood, egg) for $9.85. We ordered Pork and salted egg in black pepper base and Minced beef and preserved egg in seasoned base.

I haven’t seen a black pepper congee base elsewhere, I found it gave the congee a well seasoned flavour without being too overpowering. There was a generous amount of pork slices though some were a bit on the tough side. The salted egg lived up to its name, making this particular congee flavour packed but a bit heavy on the salt.

The seasoned base was solid as well, I enjoyed this bowl a bit more as the minced beef was easier to eat and the flavour was more balanced without the salted egg. The texture of the congee were on point, not too runny and not too thick.

We also ordered the Handmade Sweet Chinese Donut ($3.95), the cousin to the more common salty donut. This arrived just before the congee and was fried up crispy with a layer of sugar. It was a nice change from the usual salty donut, but not so sweet you would confuse it with dessert.

The BBQ pork rice roll ($5.95) didn’t stand out, the pork was fine but the rice wrapper was nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve had more memorable versions elsewhere.

To end the carbohydrate party we also had Soy Sauce Chow Mein ($8.95). This is one of those dishes we always seem to order at congee places and it did the job. The heaping pile of noodles were coated in the soy sauce and mixed in with some bean sprouts for the crunch.

One of the highlights of Kongee Dinesty are the beverages. The tea they serve is an earl gray which is very smooth and stands out from the usual standard watered down tea you get at most places. With the congee set, a hot or cold soy beverage of regular, light or black sesame. I had the regular hot soy drink and it was lightly sweetened.

Cocoru

Cocoru fills a niche in Richmond, serving up delicious Korean fried chicken and beer. Their menu has gradually evolved since opening but the star continues to be the juicy and tender fried chicken.

We started with Deep Fried Rice Cake ($5). Pictured is two orders of the rice cake which are fried to a crisp on the outside but remaining chewy on the inside. They are topped with a spicy Korean sauce and sesame seeds. The sauce has a mild heat and is quite sweet.

The Cheese Buldak ($19) , also known as fire chicken arrives on a sizzling pan and lives up to its name. The gooey melted cheese smothers the chunks of tender pan fried chicken which are bathed in a very spicy sauce topped with green onion.

The main attraction, half and half of the boneless fried chicken Soy Garlic and Yangnyeom ($24) were the most popular dishes at the table The soy garlic has a sweetness which permeates the chicken while the yangnyeom adds the heat. The skin retains a crispness even with the sauce. Boneless chicken is great for sharing, less messy than the bone in counterpart and it still retained the juiciness. We also tried the original, I found this one was a bit dry in comparison to the other options.

One of the more unique dishes is the Snowfall Chicken ($25), deep fried boneless chicken accompanied by a bechamel sauce and covered in an avalanche of grana padano cheese. The bechamel adds a richness and creaminess to the fried chicken while the sharpness of the cheese brings the whole dish together.

This type of food goes well with drinks and Cocoru has a decent selection of beer along with Korean favourites like soju and makgeolli. The service was another standout as a manager stopped by to entertain the table and show off different ways of mixing drinks which was a nice touch.

Max Noodle House

When I think of wonton noodles, Max Noodle House is the go to place in Richmond. This place has been around for so long and it feels like things have not changed much as they specialize in preparing noodles and congee in the traditional Hong Kong style. It was a bit surprising that on a weekday night around 7pm, they were sold out of congee and were unable to prepare any rice dishes as one of the chefs was not working that evening.

The noodles really reminded me of the little shops in Hong Kong, they have a good chew to them which soak up the fragrant, nicely salted broth. The wonton are not the jumbo kind you often see. This bowl comes with about five bite sized bundles of plump and juicy shrimp. Perhaps I’m too used to North American serving sizes but Max Noodle bowls are on the smaller end of the spectrum.

The upside of smaller main dishes is that you can sample more of the menu. The soy sauced beef shank and spiced jelly fish resembles the cold appetizer plates you often see on set menus at Chinese seafood restaurants. The beef shank was thinly sliced and there was enough soy sauce to keep the meat moist. I really enjoyed the jellyfish, it was bathed in sesame oil and the texture was quite crunchy.

The deep fried tofu was golden and crispy on the outside and had a little bit of heat from the seasoning. This dish doesn’t come off as too greasy, although I do prefer versions with chili peppers that give off some more spiciness.

The taro and pork spring roll was surprisingly well done. I really enjoyed the taro, the texture was on point, not too mushy and was really well seasoned with a hint of the star anise flavour. You barely even notice there is pork as the taro really shines in this dish.

The food at Max Noodle House is classic Hong Kong fare and it’s executed well. My main gripe is the portion size, it’s difficult to justify regular visits as the prices have creeped up over the years and I don’t feel full on just a bowl of noodles here.

Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen

When I think of Shanghainese food, xiao long bao (XLB) are the first thing to come to mind.

As with most of the food here, the XLBs were good but don’t really stand out too much from the pack. The pork filling was meaty and there were plenty of soup packed inside. The skin was the right consistency, strong enough to hold up to my inferior chopstick skills but delicate enough it required a minimal chew.

The shredded pork noodles were fried up very similar to Shanghai noodles but they used a thinner version for this. This was again nothing too special, cabbage and shredded pork tossed together with the noodles and was a bit oily but did well as a filler dish.

I was pleasantly surprised with the sweet rice dumplings, this was packed full of flavour. There were bits of minced pork throughout the glutinous rice which was sweet with a hint of the licorice flavour possibly from star anise. The thin wrapper again had a delicateness that required just a bite but held up the contents of the dumpling.

The hot and sour soup with noodles was the most disappointing dish. There was the usual tang and sourness from the starchy broth but there wasn’t enough heat from the chili oil. The typical assortment of bamboo shoots, carrots and fungus gave a nice crunch. The shrimp exhibited a good snap but there simply wasn’t enough, just 3 in the whole bowl.

The pan fried chive pocket dumplings were a bit overfried compared to the ones I prefer. This made the skin harder than they usually are. The filling of chives, egg, dried shrimp and vermicelli were quite flavorful if a bit salty.

The pan fried dumplings ended the dumpling feast with a strong finish as they were surprisingly very juicy and the skin was nicely fried with a bit of a crust on the bottom. Overall the food was about average for a Shanghainese place, nothing stood out from the glut of similar restaurants.

Since the Park Road strip mall is being torn down, they are moving to a new location soon.