VANCOUVER – CONTINENTAL SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

During our flight to Maui back in April, The Fiance and I had a stopover in Vancouver for 6 hours. Instead of sitting around the airport for all that time, we met up with a friend who was wonderful enough to pick us up from the airport and take us on a quick tour of the island. A tour that had to include a dim sum meal.

Atmosphere: From the large array of dim sum restaurants in Vancouver, we chose Continental Seafood Restaurant based on reviews and mainly how early they opened (10am). We were on a tight schedule and actually arrived a good 20 minutes before the doors opened. The dining space inside is spacious, each table was covered with a white linen tablecloth and I could easily picture the restaurant hosting a dinner banquet. While we were the first customers in line, the restaurant filled up quickly and by the time we left there was a queue for tables.

Service: When it comes to dimsum, I love the rolling service carts. I like being able to see dishes as I order them, discover new ones and be enticed by the sights and smells in front of me. The Fiance prefers to order from a menu, it’s boring but more efficient and you don’t have to longingly stare as a cart of har gow is pushed down the other side of the restaurant. The first half of the meal, all the carts served our section of the restaurant first, amazing, and then half way they rotated to serve the other side of the restaurant; fair, but sad. At one point, The Fiance was ready to get up and chase down a cart, but one of the other cart ladies was kind enough to flag it down for us and direct them to our table. Our tea was refilled constantly and it was quick to get the bill.

Food: This was our first meal after being up for about 8 hours so we were hungry and our friend has a healthy appetite. The amount of food we ordered would have easily fed 4 people and we could have skipped two or three.

• Shrimp rice roll – Good, I liked the consistency of the rice roll, not too thick a good texture
• Pork and Century Egg Congee – The congee was really flavourful, the rice grains had broken down and there was a generous portion of pork and century egg
• Zongzi – I liked the consistency of the glutinous rice and the taste of the filling, The Fiance would’ve liked to see more meat inside
• Shrimp and Shrimp and Chive Dumplings – The dumplings were cooked well and stuffed with shrimp, but had very thin wrappers which made them stick to the wax paper
• Braised Chicken Feet – Pretty standard, the skin was really soft and easy to eat
• Braised Tripe – I was expecting this dish to be the typical steamed tripe, it was a pleasant surprise and the flavour’s very similar to the chicken feet
• Shumai – One of the best shumai I’ve ever had, great light flavour and balanced between the mushroom and pork
• BBQ Pork Rolls – These were only ok, I would’ve liked the pastry to be more flaky
• Egg Tarts – Again, I wasn’t wowed by the egg tarts. The custard was lighter than what I prefer
• Sesame Rice Balls with Red Bean Filling – Of all the “desserts”, the sesame rice balls hit the spot, exactly what I was hoping for