Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Huang’s Beef Noodle House on South Vancouver’s Victoria Drive is a small Taiwanese hole in wall. The dining area holds no more than twenty people at a time, but their beef noodle soup manages to keeps the restaurant bustling.

The space is tiny and awkward. It looks more like the kitchen in someone’s home, rather than a restaurant. A regular looking, old fridge sits behind the counter holding water and canned drinks, which some customers help themselves to while waiting for their order.

(Above: Pan fried pork pot stickers whose date with the pan was over stayed.)

The menu is short and simple, boasting less than a dozen items. For Tre, spicy beef noodle soup was in order: somewhat thick noodles that tasted homemade arrived bathing in a slightly spicy beef broth. Fresh, bright green vegetables added a nice pop of colour contrasting the broth’s reddish tint. The soup’s flavouring was decent, but odd pieces of beef brisket were tender while others dry.

(Above: Shredded pork and salted cabbage with bean thread noodle soup and a generous amount of sesame oil.)

I had the shredded pork with salted cabbage and bean thread noodle soup. The clear noodles were cooked perfectly and complimented the generous helping of salted cabbage, shredded pork and green onions. The overwhelming aroma of sesame oil was initially too much, but the flavour had me finishing off my soup.

As a side dish we had the pan fried pork dumplings which were disappointingly nothing special — dried and overcooked and lacking the pungent garlic aroma we’ve grown accustomed to expect.

(Above: Apple Sidra, Taiwan’s own curiously sparkling apple soda — a beef noodle meal wouldn’t be complete without it.)

Our bill including a can of Apple Sidra, taxes and tips came to just under $20 — a nice comforting meal that’s easy on the coin. Huang’s wouldn’t be our first choice for beef noodle soup, but if we happen to be in the area, we might make a pit stop.

Perfect For: homemade beef noodle soup that feels like you’re eating in someone’s home.

The Details

6940 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
604.324.8884

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Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Angkor is a restaurant, so named for a historically significant region in Cambodia, which echoes the origin of the cuisine they serve. It sits in the middle of a lonely plaza on the corner of 33rd and Victoria sandwiched between an aging laundromat and a relatively new Chinese restaurant.

(Above: Cambodian Seafood Noodle Soup.)

Inside, the family operation is minimal; a well kept hole in the wall. We peer inside the menu to review our options. Case and I each ordered the seafood noodle soup — mine with rice noodles, Cases’ with egg noodles. The broth at Angkor is distinctively sweeter, but clear and flavourful. The noodles are well cooked and the dish is generously garnished with chunks of prawns, liver, pork and fried garlic. A jar of pickled peppers sits at the table, awaiting daring patrons to partake.

(Above: The infamous fried chicken.)

We couldn’t pass up the fried chicken: wings and drumettes coated in a sweet, salty and garlicky batter and served with a side of lime and pepper dipping sauce. The flavour was certainly spot on, but it was difficult to overlook the sheer density of the batter.

For dessert, we had a banana, tapioca dessert: chunks of fried banana bathed in a light coconut milk with tiny pearls of tapioca. The crumbled peanuts provided a nice textural counterbalance — a nice surprise.

(Above: Banana, Tapioca dessert swimming in coconut milk and sprinkled with a dusting of peanuts.)

Our meal came to just over $30 with taxes and tips — which felt a bit pricey. The menu at Angkor is very similar to, so comparisons with Chinatown’s Phnom Penh will be inevitable. But Angkor has its own thing going on, and will ultimately survive on its own merits.

Perfect for: an alternative to Phnom Penh.

The Details

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Li Garden Seafood Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant located in a busy Victoria Drive neighborhood. It was a random choice for dim sum.

Li Garden is small. Upon entering, anxiously waiting patrons cram into an already tiny space to await a table. There is a complete lack of decor: drab plain white painted walls are peeling off, and a long mirror running down each side of the room  helps make the space feel bigger than it is. But people aren’t here for the ambience. They’re here for the food, and clearly, it’s what holding the attention of the diners at Li Garden.

(Top, beef rice rolls. Bottom, pan fried chive dumplings)

We selected six dishes off an order sheet: beef rice roll, pan fried chive dumplings, steamed beef tendons with tripe, Chiu Chow dumplings, steamed shrimp, chive dumplings, and of course, egg tarts.

The beef rice rolls had a nice, thin and delicate layer of rice roll stuffed with steamed minced beef. Next, the beef tendons with tripe was well seasoned with a good amount of ginger. The Chiu Chow dumplings were stuffed with minced pork, chives and dried shrimp. The outer skin was uncharacteristically thick, but luckily tasted a lot better than it looked. However, the peanuts seemed to be missing in action. The steamed shrimp and chive dumplings were well made and were one of the better ones we’ve had. And lastly, our brightly fluorescent egg tarts were lightly flaky with a warm custard center. Not a bad way to end breakfast.

(Top, steamed beef tendons and tripe. Bottom left to right, egg tarts and
chiu chow dumplings)

Our bill including taxes and tips came to just under $23 (with an early bird discount of 10%) — a pretty good deal for six dishes. The service was decent and the host and servers were surprisingly polite. I didn’t need to put on my boxing gloves this time, which makes having dim sum much more pleasant. Although the dishes tasted much better than they looked, Li Garden isn’t one of those places we’d plan a trip around.

Perfect for: slumming it with tasty dim sum.

The Details

5822 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
604.325.0783

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant is situated in East Vancouver on Victoria Drive. It sits across from a busy Chinese market which can make parking a bit difficult. Despite that, people continue to flock through the hustle and bustle of traffic and pedestrians to Western Lake to enjoy dim sum.

(Clockwise: 1. Beef trip and tendon.  2. Har Gow, Shrimp Dumplings — a dim sum staple.  3. Chicken Feet in special house sauce.)

Tre and I have been here eons ago when it was still On Lok’s Restaurant. We couldn’t recall if it was good or bad, but knew the establishment had changed hands many times since then.

Western Lake is smaller then what we remembered, but has been updated with a modern decor. Red and gold accents warm up the room. The place was already buzzing, even at 9:30 in the morning.

The crowd here seems to lean more towards the older side, doesn’t look like a lot of people under 30 dine here. We check off our order on a menu sheet:  steamed shrimp dumplings, chicken feet in sauce, beef tripe and tendons, steamed rice with pork belly and fish, deep fried pork dumplings, and egg tarts.

(Clockwise: 1. Deep Fried Pork Dumpling 2. Egg Tarts 3. Pork Belly with steamed rice.)

The portions at Western Lake are generous. The steamed shrimp dumplings are filled with huge chunks of shrimps, but the outer skin is thick rather than thin and delicate. The beef tripe and tendons weren’t seasoned evenly, some pieces saltier than others. The deep fried pork dumplings had nice flavours, but was very glutinous with an extra thick skin. And the steam rice with pork and fish was okay. The rice was nice and fluffy but the pork didn’t have much flavour.

The chicken feet, on the other hand, were awesome! Well seasoned with skin falling off the bones. And the egg tarts were well made and flaky. The custard could have been a touch sweeter, though.

Our bill including taxes and tips came to just under $27. The service wasn’t anything special, although we couldn’t understand why our waiter rolled his eyes when we asked for a container to take our egg tart home. Besides that, the food was a little heavy to our liking, but the flavours are decent and the prices reasonable.

Perfect for: A really early morning dim sum break in East Van.

The Details

4989 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
604.321.6862

Rating / 3 out of 5 stars

When the summer heat kicks in, we attempt to seek out the most refreshing meal possible. Often, that summer heat brings us back to Takarabune — a Japanese restaurant located in a Victoria Drive strip mall, sandwiched between a Church’s Chicken and a Value Village. I’m on the hunt for the seasonal and rather difficult to find dish: Hiyashi Ramen (cold Ramen noodles). Takarabune is one of the few restaurants that serves it.

(Clockwise: 1. Arnold & Gordo: The California & BC Roll. 2. Dipping the Soba noodles. 3. Soy, the essential condiment.)

We used to frequent Takarabune years ago whenever we found ourselves in South Vancouver. The setup is simple, no frills; but the service can be a bit dodgy. Not much has changed, including the same friendly chef behind the sushi bar for the past few years.

Case ordered California Rolls and BC Rolls (grilled salmon skin with Teriyaki sauce). Disappointed they no longer had Hiyashi Ramen on the menu, I ordered the next best thing: Ten Zaru Soba — cold Soba (buckwheat) noodles with a side of Tempura. Case’s California Rolls and BC rolls were tasty; the ingredients were fresh and the portions were substantial. The only complaint was the sushi wasn’t tightly rolled which resulted in the rolls falling apart whenever we took a bite.

The Soba noodles were extremely refreshing. It was perfectly cooked and chilled and the dipping sauce provided just the right amount of flavour. The tempura batter was restrained and crispy with minimal grease. It was a good, solid lunch in an unpretentious atmosphere. Our bill came in under $20 including tax and tip.

Perfect for:

The best Japanese cuisine a strip mall has to offer.

The Details

6459 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
604.321.0036