The Asian dining scene in Richmond is rightly recognised as offering some of the finest Asian food outside of Asia. However, to outsiders it can feel impenetrable and with such a wealth of choice on offer - where to start first? Fear no more; in no particular order may we present Eater Vancouver's first Essential Asian Restaurants map. Lovingly curated by Lee Man, Vancouver Magazine food awards judge and regular Urbandiner contributor, prepare to discover the best that Richmond has to offer.
Got a suggestion for a spot you think deserves to be added? Drop us a line or leave a comment.
Favored by super-wealthy new Chinese money, the room is unapologetically blinged out and every diner is a VIP. The roasted squab is second-to-none and the King Crab and local geoduck clams are expertly handled, with serious prices to match.
With the overwhelming influx of Chinese immigrants, it's easy to forget Richmond has traditionally had a very strong Japanese community. Sushi Hachi is run by a husband and wife team, and the menu is focused on sashimi and sushi - the daily platters shimmer with freshness and vitality. The room is hushed and serene, an oasis of civilized calm.
The latest wave of arrivals from China have brought with them a love of hot spicy food. The citrus-y bite of Szechuan peppercorns that bring numbing, sweat-inducing heat is the hallmark of authentic Szechuan. If you like real heat, make sure you the let the staff know otherwise the kitchen may lower the spice levels for fear of scaring off non-Asian diners. Prove them wrong.
This tiny roast shop (located incongruently underneath the Superstore on 3 road) produces Metro Vancouver's finest honey-glazed Chinese BBQ pork. Succulent, salty, and sweet - those in the know order their pork half fat, half lean, and extra crispy to get gloriously savory burnt ends. Have the pork over rice, or take it home sliced up and ready for your enjoyment.
Come by and watch Mrs. Chen (who, with her husband, were the original owners of Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen) hand make all the dumplings on the menu. The soup buns and pan fried buns are superlative (with lava hot soup fillings, so eat with care), with the sweet black sesame hua quio pastries providing a darkly satisfying end to the meal.
An outpost of one of the most famous wonton houses in Hong Kong, Tsim Chai Noodles excels at the big luscious wontons and perfectly snappy noodles and warm creamy bowls of congee, flashed cooked with fresh ingredients. A bowl of HK-style minced beef congee and salted peanuts with a side of deep fried donuts (a bread stick really) is complete comfort food for the expat set.
Clean, focused flavors, superlative technique - the absolute epitome of Hong Kong style private dining. The tiny room means even regulars have to elbow their way in, reservations are absolutely mandatory if you want to sample their bitter melon omelets, pan fried milk with Dungeness crab, or braised pork belly with preserved vegetables and yellow soy beans.
A family-style restaurant straight out of the streets of Shanghai - with an expansive menu and loud jostling crowds. At peak hours, you may have to share a table with other diners, all the better to spy on what others are having. The big pots of home-made soups are particularly well done, whole chicken and wonton soup will leave you warmed and cozy.
A truly modern dim sum palace - the huge, bright, room attracts throngs of Chinese families looking for classic dishes inflected with Swatow touches (a region of Guangzhou particularly famous for seafood). The rice rolls with crispy pork is a delicious mix of textures, the deep fried Bombay fish with spicy salt is meltingly tender, and the deep fried shrimp spring rolls are a treat. If you are adventurous - the pork and oyster soup with rice is a classic of family-style Swatow cuisine.
Kirin’s management will tell you that they do not serve Chinese food - but local Vancouver food. It's a philosophy that informs the menu that is more deeply focused on seasonality and local ingredients and a service style that is a cut above most other Chinese restaurants even in the hyper competitive Richmond market. With a true formal Chinese kitchen that produces just about every morsel of food in-house, a monthly fresh sheet is prepared for both dim sum and dinner service (so ignore the giant standard menu) - they are particularly adept with local spot prawns and Dungeness crab.
French baking with an Asian twist may sound troubling but in this case it really works. The net effect is to lighten and cut back on the sugariness of traditional pâtisserie while not sacrificing any of the pleasures; the croissants are epically flakey, the pastries are luscious, and the macarons have an intense fruitiness.
A gem of a room; dim sum is hand-made by the owner, and focused on Hong Kong classics - the crab and pork dumplings, sticky rice, and the deep fried wontons are must orders. Dinner stand outs include salt-baked free-range chicken, the city's best sweet and sour pork, and briny sweet pan fried oysters.
This powerhouse restaurant exists as a sort of speakeasy – its drab exterior harkens to its days as a greasy spoon take-out joint, but its interior reflects its current incarnation under owner David Jue as a supremely ambitious Cantonese restaurant with one of the most staggering wine selections around (and sky high prices to match). Tiger prawns with eggplant and pork has serious wok sear, the pork stomach soup sharp with white pepper is legendary, and the black vinegar spare ribs balance sweetness against sour and bitter. Cultivating a friendly relationship with David improves the meal immeasurably.
Another gem of a sashimi restaurant, where the knife work will leave you speechless. Squid (ika) are scored with scales to maximize tenderness and flavor, fish is sliced with an eye to best showcase sweetness and mouth feel, and the rice provides just the right amount of contrasting bite.
Tokyo-style western food is a wonderfully eccentric sub genre of fusion cuisine. What we would think as lo-brow food, is given heightened attention and care. A burger patty is turned into a tender Hamburg steak, dressed in demi glace and mushrooms, perfectly al dente spaghetti is dressed in creamy salty Japanese cod roe, and an absolutely luscious yuzu milk pudding will banish all thoughts of rubbery boxed puddings. Prices are a tad high – but the quality of ingredients and execution is undeniable.
Favored by super-wealthy new Chinese money, the room is unapologetically blinged out and every diner is a VIP. The roasted squab is second-to-none and the King Crab and local geoduck clams are expertly handled, with serious prices to match.
With the overwhelming influx of Chinese immigrants, it's easy to forget Richmond has traditionally had a very strong Japanese community. Sushi Hachi is run by a husband and wife team, and the menu is focused on sashimi and sushi - the daily platters shimmer with freshness and vitality. The room is hushed and serene, an oasis of civilized calm.
The latest wave of arrivals from China have brought with them a love of hot spicy food. The citrus-y bite of Szechuan peppercorns that bring numbing, sweat-inducing heat is the hallmark of authentic Szechuan. If you like real heat, make sure you the let the staff know otherwise the kitchen may lower the spice levels for fear of scaring off non-Asian diners. Prove them wrong.
This tiny roast shop (located incongruently underneath the Superstore on 3 road) produces Metro Vancouver's finest honey-glazed Chinese BBQ pork. Succulent, salty, and sweet - those in the know order their pork half fat, half lean, and extra crispy to get gloriously savory burnt ends. Have the pork over rice, or take it home sliced up and ready for your enjoyment.
Come by and watch Mrs. Chen (who, with her husband, were the original owners of Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen) hand make all the dumplings on the menu. The soup buns and pan fried buns are superlative (with lava hot soup fillings, so eat with care), with the sweet black sesame hua quio pastries providing a darkly satisfying end to the meal.
An outpost of one of the most famous wonton houses in Hong Kong, Tsim Chai Noodles excels at the big luscious wontons and perfectly snappy noodles and warm creamy bowls of congee, flashed cooked with fresh ingredients. A bowl of HK-style minced beef congee and salted peanuts with a side of deep fried donuts (a bread stick really) is complete comfort food for the expat set.
Clean, focused flavors, superlative technique - the absolute epitome of Hong Kong style private dining. The tiny room means even regulars have to elbow their way in, reservations are absolutely mandatory if you want to sample their bitter melon omelets, pan fried milk with Dungeness crab, or braised pork belly with preserved vegetables and yellow soy beans.
A family-style restaurant straight out of the streets of Shanghai - with an expansive menu and loud jostling crowds. At peak hours, you may have to share a table with other diners, all the better to spy on what others are having. The big pots of home-made soups are particularly well done, whole chicken and wonton soup will leave you warmed and cozy.
A truly modern dim sum palace - the huge, bright, room attracts throngs of Chinese families looking for classic dishes inflected with Swatow touches (a region of Guangzhou particularly famous for seafood). The rice rolls with crispy pork is a delicious mix of textures, the deep fried Bombay fish with spicy salt is meltingly tender, and the deep fried shrimp spring rolls are a treat. If you are adventurous - the pork and oyster soup with rice is a classic of family-style Swatow cuisine.
Kirin’s management will tell you that they do not serve Chinese food - but local Vancouver food. It's a philosophy that informs the menu that is more deeply focused on seasonality and local ingredients and a service style that is a cut above most other Chinese restaurants even in the hyper competitive Richmond market. With a true formal Chinese kitchen that produces just about every morsel of food in-house, a monthly fresh sheet is prepared for both dim sum and dinner service (so ignore the giant standard menu) - they are particularly adept with local spot prawns and Dungeness crab.
French baking with an Asian twist may sound troubling but in this case it really works. The net effect is to lighten and cut back on the sugariness of traditional pâtisserie while not sacrificing any of the pleasures; the croissants are epically flakey, the pastries are luscious, and the macarons have an intense fruitiness.
A gem of a room; dim sum is hand-made by the owner, and focused on Hong Kong classics - the crab and pork dumplings, sticky rice, and the deep fried wontons are must orders. Dinner stand outs include salt-baked free-range chicken, the city's best sweet and sour pork, and briny sweet pan fried oysters.
This powerhouse restaurant exists as a sort of speakeasy – its drab exterior harkens to its days as a greasy spoon take-out joint, but its interior reflects its current incarnation under owner David Jue as a supremely ambitious Cantonese restaurant with one of the most staggering wine selections around (and sky high prices to match). Tiger prawns with eggplant and pork has serious wok sear, the pork stomach soup sharp with white pepper is legendary, and the black vinegar spare ribs balance sweetness against sour and bitter. Cultivating a friendly relationship with David improves the meal immeasurably.
Another gem of a sashimi restaurant, where the knife work will leave you speechless. Squid (ika) are scored with scales to maximize tenderness and flavor, fish is sliced with an eye to best showcase sweetness and mouth feel, and the rice provides just the right amount of contrasting bite.
Tokyo-style western food is a wonderfully eccentric sub genre of fusion cuisine. What we would think as lo-brow food, is given heightened attention and care. A burger patty is turned into a tender Hamburg steak, dressed in demi glace and mushrooms, perfectly al dente spaghetti is dressed in creamy salty Japanese cod roe, and an absolutely luscious yuzu milk pudding will banish all thoughts of rubbery boxed puddings. Prices are a tad high – but the quality of ingredients and execution is undeniable.
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