village bistro 7/10
hapa 7.5/10
harveys 5/10

Unless I'm mistaken,
Isn't this the exact reason Din Tai Fung in Bellevue has such terrible reviews?

it has bad reviews because he has fucking Mexicans making my Xiao long bao

what was I thinking? garbage food there

^That + DTF was never that great to begin with.

the hong kong xiao long bao was 100x better than any ive had here in vancouver

:drunk:

I went to 4 DTF's in northern and southern Taiwan. 1000x better than the one in Bellevue.
I'm talking about the entire menu, not just the XLB.
Judging solely on the XLB though, there are some top-notch ones in Vancouver as well. Even the XLB I had at the Crystal Mall food court was explosively juicy and full of flavour.

Hands down one of the best hole in the wall place for XLB.

Anyone know the story behind the Bai Yu Lan in Crystal Mall? Just curious if he is in any way related to the owner of the Richmond location. That place use to be awesome until the daughter(?) took over.

HK DTF is better than the TW one. But they're both extremely overrated.

I'm assuming bai yu lan in crystal is the hole in the wall place for xlb you guys are talking about?

For those of you guys who don't know what DTF is, it stands for Din Tai Fung, which is an Asian chain known for its Shanghainese Xiao Long Baos (steamed dumplings.

No, it is not Down to Fuck. That would be an interesting restaurant name, however. :/

2 branches in HK each have 1 Michelin star.
While I've heard Michelin just gives out stars in Asia like candy on Halloween, the expectation from DTF is that it's supposed to be stellar.

So yeah.
Ethnic authenticity isn't always important.
But sometimes, it's a pretty good indicator of quality.

From watching the movie "Burnt", there is a HUGE disparity between 1 and 3 Michelin stars so I wouldn't call getting 1 star for DTF "like candy". The ones I went to in Taipei and Kaohsiung all had really good service and the food was fast and delicious. Not sure on what basis it would be "overrated". Obviously you can't compare a dumpling shop to Joël Robuchon but you also not paying $600 for a tasting menu.

Which food place is this?

Haven't been in awhile but I think its Shanghai Dimsum House Ltd.
The far left back corner right when you come up the escalator. You usually see the workers making the dumplings in trays behind the front counter.

On the basis that there are other local choices that could beat quality and price. Every local I talked to in Taipei called DTF a tourist trap.

Le Crocodile 9/10
Decided to give it another chance since Hondaracer was raving about it the other day. Bummed I had the same server as last time but he was alot better than last time although he was the least friendly person from the restaurant who talked to us. Food tasted better than I last remembered too. But probably only because this time I ordered the right things :badpokerface:. Quantity of the angel hair pasta dropped a lot. I guess that's what happens when prices and quality don't change for almost over a year. Something's gotta give.

West Restaurant 9.5/10

Was going to go to Le Crocodile but changed last minute and went to West which did not disappoint, this was probably one of the best meals i have ever had.

We got the Side stripe prawn and albacore tuna tataki for starters

SO had the Smoked yarrow meadows duck breast

I had the Braised Lamb neck

DAMN IT WAS FUCKING GOOD.

Shit West has braised lamb neck on the menu as well? I thought I was being original with that one.:okay:

Guu on Denman 7/10

Pink Pearl Hastings and Clark area. 8/10.

If you want dim sum without fighting line ups, this place is a gem. In fact, I'm here right now. Saturday at noon and lots of room. The food is pretty good. Servers are a little pushy, but better than most places that tend not to give customers the time of day. Pink Pearl used to be a great place ages ago, but went downhill. It looks like they're trying to make a comeback. Prices are decent and portions are large. Place is clean. Cleaner than other dim sum places I've been to.

If you want to introduce someone to dim sum for the first time, this is the best place to do so.

Mango pudding with chunks of mango, ftmfw!

Starlight Casino lunch buffet

6.5/10

BBQ chicken was moist and good. That was it. Decent food at most for $13.

I always see your food posts, and know your a chef, but which resteraunt you work at? Would love to come try your food.

I'll shoot you a PM. I make it no real secret, but I also would like to keep my RS posts limited to my personal opinions and car stuff. without bringing work too far into it.

On a related note to this thread, took my wife to Bao Bei for her birthday dinner.
Had the pork and shrimp dumplings
Fried chicken
Pork shoulder steam bun
Pork belly
Beef tartare

Food was a solid 10/10. Creative, impressive, flavourful, seasoned perfectly and a nice bit of spice.
Service was an 8/10. The woman was a great server, quite polite, but not as personable as I like when I go out for dinner. Sometimes you get a server where you genuinely enjoy their company. While she was nice, she wasn't quite there.
Price 8/10
It was about $130 with tip. 2 beers each. Left full, fair pricing, but not a bargain by any means. I'd gladly pay it again, but have a hard time spending over $100 all in on a regular basis so I wouldn't likely go unless it was for an event, like an out of town friend visiting or something like that.
Definitely go for a nice night out there if you have the chance. Probably one of the best meals I've had here in Vancouver.

^Would like a PM as well. Seeing as you are quite critical and anal about food, and since you are a chef I would assume you would serve nothing but the best.

I actually don't think I am that critical. Pretty much every review I have posted in here has been a positive one. I don't waste time posting if i go somewhere that doesn't impress me, I just don't go back.

E TEA

6/10

would be awesome to post of places you wouldn't go back too. would give us a heads up for some of us.