Love Chinese food? Here’s our guide to Vancouver’s best dim sum.
Vancouver is known for having some of the best Chinese food outside of China. One of the easiest ways to sample this Asian bounty is at dim sum, or Chinese “tea lunch,” where a parade of small dishes, from dumplings and buns to custard-filled tarts, graces your table. Most of Vancouver’s finest dim sum parlors are outside the city center, so gather up the gang and plan an eating expedition to try out Vancouver’s best dim sum.
Where to Eat: Vancouver
Vancouver’s largest dim sum dining room is Floata Seafood (180 Keefer St.), a Chinatown mega-hall that has been drawing Chinese families and tourists for years. All the classics are here, from har gow (delicate shrimp dumplings) to siu mai (steamed pork dumplings), and while nothing may knock your socks off, it’s a convenient starting point for dim sum novices.
You’ll find more sophisticated fare at Dynasty Seafood (777 W. Broadway), a bustling second-floor dining room with views of downtown and the North Shore mountains. Among the distinctive dishes here, don’t miss the unusual lemony baked BBQ pork buns, the steamed black truffle dumplings, and the sweet sago pudding (a tapioca dessert; just trust us and try it). Dynasty is easy to reach from downtown; it’s a short walk west from the Broadway/City Hall stop on the Canada Line.
In the south Vancouver neighborhood of Marpole, Red Star Seafood (8298 Granville St., at W. 65th Ave.) is popular for traditional Hong Kong-style dim sum along with newer creations. Try classics like char siu bao (puffy barbecued pork buns) or rice rolls, as well as dishes like bean curd sheets with fresh greens and dried scallops, Chiu Chow-style marinated tofu, or any number of stir-fried noodle dishes. Red Star has a second location at 8181 Cambie Road, #2200, Richmond, near Aberdeen Station on the Canada Line.
Where to Eat: Richmond
The Vancouver suburb of Richmond, where the airport is located, is also the best place to get a true feel for the region’s Asian culture; roughly half of Richmond residents are of Chinese ancestry. The Canada Line from downtown Vancouver can take you directly to Richmond.
Make a reservation to dine at the Golden Paramount Seafood Restaurant (8071 Park Rd.), a compact eatery in a non-descript strip mall that serves first-rate dim sum creations. Some dishes to try include steamed dumplings with crab and pork, pan-fried oysters, several varieties of congee (a comforting rice porridge), or fried noodles with chicken and chives. To find the restaurant, take the Canada Line to Richmond/Brighouse Station, then walk one block south and turn left onto Park Road.
Part of the River Rock hotel and casino complex, adjacent to the Canada Line’s Bridgeport Station, Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant (8888 River Rd., Richmond) is an upscale destination for a dim sum lunch. You’ll find Cantonese standards — baked BBQ pork buns, eggplant stuffed with shrimp paste, steamed shrimp and chive dumplings – alongside innovations you don’t see everywhere, like pea sprouts and fish cake in a rice roll or sweet lotus root with black glutinous rice. There’s lots to explore on the large menu here.
Richmond’s Alexandra Road has so many restaurants that it’s known locally as “Food Street.” And of course, Food Street has destinations for fine dim sum. Jade Seafood Restaurant (8511 Alexandra Rd., Richmond) regularly wins awards for its dim sum (and other fare), including their wild mushroom dumplings and “Grandpa’s Chicken” (a smoked chicken dish). Also look for small plates like fried radish cakes, spare ribs with olives, or pan-fried chive dumplings. You can walk to Jade Seafood from the Canada Line’s Aberdeen Station in about 15-20 minutes.
A relative newcomer to Richmond’s dim sum scene, Chef Tony (Empire Centre, 4600 No. 3 Road, #101, Richmond), which opened in early 2014, adds some unique twists to its dim sum in a large room bedecked with chandeliers. The shrimp dumplings include matsutake (a variety of mushroom), the siu mai are topped with black truffle, and rice noodles might be wrapped around shredded chicken and bitter melon. Make a reservation, then take the Canada Line to Aberdeen Station and walk south along No. 3 Road.
Many of Vancouver’s dim sum parlors serve Hong Kong or Cantonese-style dishes, but if you’d like a variation on the dim sum theme, try Top Shanghai (8100 Ackroyd Rd., #120, Richmond), a Shanghai-style dining room in a Richmond strip mall. Among the dishes to sample are the xiao long bao (steamed dumplings that burst with soup when you nibble off their delicate tops), doughy pan-fried pork buns, and pan-fried turnip cakes. The thick Shanghai noodles are yummy, too. From the Canada Line’s Lansdowne Station, walk south one block to Ackroyd Road; Top Shanghai is in the same shopping center as the large PriceSmart supermarket.
Dim Sum Details
Most Vancouver and Richmond dim sum restaurants serve daily from about 10am until 2 or 3pm. Some offer discounted prices for coming early (perhaps 10 percent off all dishes before 11am), and you’ll have a shorter wait than if you show up at noon. Restaurants are busiest on weekends, but especially in Richmond, you’ll find crowds nearly every day.
Few Vancouver-area restaurants serve from the traditional push carts that circle many Hong Kong dining rooms. Instead, you order from a menu (often by checking off the dishes you want). The downside of this process is that you can’t see what you’re ordering (and the English names can be cryptic), but the benefit is that your dishes are prepared fresh from the kitchen.
Want to Learn More?
If you’d like a guide to explore Vancouver’s dim sum scene, consider one of these tours: A Chinatown Food Tour in Vancouver or the Small-Group Gourmet Lunch Tour in Vancouver; the latter includes a stop for dim sum among its several delicious destinations.
A Guide to Vancouver’s Best Dim Sum from Vancouver Things to Do
