Shanghai River was delicious, but I was really looking forward to the dim sum since that’s all people talk about when it comes to Vancouver. I recently had an argument with Weeners about how disappointing the dim sum was compared to my very favorite dim sum restaurant in Rosemead, Seafood Harbor. She has almost certainly lost ALL credibility with me by dissing my favorite dim sum restaurant and actually saying the stuff in Vancouver is worth the trip. The dim sum was solid for sure, but I guess I was expecting fireworks in my mouth.
Turnip Cakes
Standard far. Not as hot as I would have liked.
Chinese Brocolli
Fresh, snappy, but pretty standard.
Har Gow
I love my har gow juicy and plump with fresh shrimps. These were just that.
Chow Fun Roll shrimp
More delicious shrimps, but I was left wanting more and bigger!
Steamed Char Siu Bao
Meh, I’ve had better.
Chicken Feet
Always my brothers order, so I didn’t have any.
Sticky Rice Steamed in Lotus Leaves
More standard fare.
Pork Siu Mai
Luscious porky goodness.
Chow Fun Roll roasted duck, spring onions
An interesting take on the chow fun roll which we usually order with shrimp as you can see. The combination of duck and green onions goes well together.
Scallop Har Gow
Basically har gow topped with a meaty scallop. Good but the version at Seafood Harbor is much better in terms of quality and taste.
Pork Spareribs in Blackbean sauce
Pretty tasty and fall off the bone delicious.
Egg Tart
I wished the crust was flakier.
Kirin was good. It was solid. It wasn’t the “Wam bam thank you mam!” I was looking forward to, but maybe Vancouver was just too hyped up. There’s the lingering thought that maybe we went to the wrong Kirin since there are multiple locations, but we did go to the location with most reviews on Yelp. Vancouver isn’t much of a Yelping city unfortunately. In any case, if I were craving dim sum in Vancouver Kirin ain’t a bad option, but it doesn’t even come close to my one true love, Seafood Harbor. I mean come on, they didn’t even have milk buns!
555 W 12th Ave
Vancouver, BC V5Z 3X7
Overworked. Underfed. 