Itineraries

Silkway Halal

HUI CHINESE

Silkway is a Chinese Muslim restaurant. Its owners are Hui Chinese, from the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northcentral China.  The Hui, representing nearly 10 million people, is one of China’s largest and most widely distributed ethnic minorities. They are the descendants of Arab traders who entered China 1,500 years ago. The Hui have intermingled with the Han (China’s ethnic majority) and thoroughly assimilated into Chinese society. Unlike the Uighurs, the Hui do not have a distinct language and predominantly speak Mandarin.

HALAL

The food at Silkway is all halal. This means: there are no pork dishes on the menu or dishes that contain pork by-products; the meat (largely lamb and chicken) comes from animals that have been fed a natural diet and slaughtered under strict Islamic guidelines; and the food is not prepared with forbidden ingredients such as alcohol, blood, animal shortening or rennet.

NORTHERN CUISINE

Silkway is a great place to explore and discover something new. The menu includes hearty, spicy dishes from all across northwestern China, including stewed goat rib, cabbage hot pots, braised Xingiang-style chicken and cumin lamb skewers.

4 Stone Vegetarian

BEST VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT

Voted Best Vegetarian Restaurant by the 2022 Chinese Restaurant Awards, 4 Stones offers Taiwanese cuisine rooted in the Buddhist tradition. In Taiwan, Buddhism and Taoism are the two major religions.

BEFORE THE BEYOND BURGER

Buddhist faux meats have existed for centuries, making the Beyond Burger look like a baby.  These plant-based meats were originally intended for people making the transition to vegetarianism. It also gives people something to offer (in place of chicken or fish) when going to the temple for special holidays. The 4 Stones’ vegan meat alternative, used in their dumplings, is made from soy protein, gluten, tofu and bean curd.

NO ALLIUMS ALLOWED

Buddhist cuisine shuns the “five pungent vegetables” (wuhun), which includes onion, garlic, scallions, shallots, leeks and chives. They are considered harmful aphrodisiacs that could inflame the carnal passions of Buddhist monks.

Tsim Chai Noodle

CANTONESE COMFORT SOUP

Ramen, pho, matzo ball, borscht – every culinary tradition has a favourite comfort soup that warms the belly and nourishes the soul. In Cantonese cuisine, it’s wonton noodle soup. Tsim Chai is widely known for serving one of the best versions in Richmond. And its owners are related to the famous Hong Kong chain with the same name.

WONTONS TWO-WAYS

There are two types of dumplings in wonton noodle soup. The wontons at Tsim Chai are as big as golf balls. They’re tightly stuffed with shrimp and pork in a yellow wrapper made with eggs. Shui kau (sui gow) is a different type of wonton. It’s generally and longer or oblong-shaped, and filled with shrimp, pork, bamboo shoots and wood ear (black fungus) mushrooms. You usually have to choose one or the other, but you can try them both in Tsim Chai’s Noodle Soup #1.

BAMBOO POLE NOODLES

The noodles in wonton noodle soup are a long, thin, vermicelli-like noodles made with duck egg. Duck egg is an extremely dense protein that is difficult to incorporate into flour. Before the invention of food processors and electric stand mixers, the dough for these jook sing main noodles were made with bamboo poles. The cook would attach one end of the pole to a work bench, straddle the other end and bounce up and down – as if riding a see-saw. This heavy bouncing action would press the ingredients together and give the noodles a springy texture. Bamboo noodle-making is a dying art. Today, there are only a handful of restaurants in Hong Kong that use this traditional technique.

Szechuan House

CHILIS ALL DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

Sichuanese cuisine (often anglicized as Szechuanese) is world-renowned for being hot and spicy. The fiery diet can be attributed to Sichuan’s wet, misty climate. The landlocked province is surrounded by mountain ranges and gets a lot of rain. In traditional Chinese medicine, pungent spices like chili and cayenne are warming foods that stimulate blood circulation, drive dampness from the body and help prevent colds. Maybe this explains why spicy food is so popular in Richmond!

SICHUAN PEPPERCORNS: A GIFT FOR GLUTTONS

In Sichuan cuisine, the heat of red chilies is balanced by Sichuan peppercorns, which have a tingly, numbing quality on the lips and tongue. According to legend, Sichuan peppercorn is used liberally in Sichuan cooking because the numbing effects allow you to eat more chilies than would otherwise be humanly possible.

MALA: HOT AND NUMBING      

The Chinese word for numbing is MA (麻) and the word for hot is LA (辣). The unique hot-numbing characteristic of Sichuan cooking is called MALA (麻辣).

Jade Seafood Restaurant

A DUMPLING FOR GLOWING SKIN

The Jade, founded in 2004, is an innovative Cantonese restaurant that has won numerous Chinese Restaurant Awards. Owner David Chung, who is also a real estate developer and long-time president of the BC Asian Restaurant of Café Owners Association, recommends the new Steamed Wasabi Fish Maw and Seafood Dumpling. Fish maw is the dried swim bladder of large fishes, such as sturgeon. An expensive delicacy, it’s chock full of collagen and great for the skin.

DIM SUM: EARLY BIRD SPECIALS

Dim Sum is the ultimate brunch that can be eaten for breakfast or lunch. Most restaurants open at 10 am and offer incentives for early birds. At Jade Seafood Restaurant, diners who order before 11 am receive a 20 per cent discount.

DOUBLE CHOPSTICKS

At Jade Seafood and most Cantonese banquet restaurants in Richmond, the tables are set with two pairs of chopsticks in different colours (usually black and white). One pair is meant to be used for collecting food from shared dishes; the other pair is for eating. It doesn’t matter which colour you use, as long as you’re consistent. But it’s easier if everyone around the table agrees on the same colour code.

Empire Seafood Restaurant

CLASSIC HAR GOW: THE DIM SUM LITMUS TEST

Har gow is one of the most common – and popular – dim sum dumplings. It’s also the litmus test of a good kitchen. Ideally, the har gow skin should be thin, translucent, stretchy and slightly sticky. The dumpling should be stuffed tight with filling, not saggy. The shrimp should be plump, juicy, slightly crunchy and whole (if small) or hand-chopped (if large), but never minced.

ORDER LIKE A PRO

The dim sum rule of thumb is two baskets or dishes per person and one more for the table. Four people = nine dishes. Textural variety is important in Chinese cuisine so try to include a mix of fried, baked and steamed items. For a properly balanced lunch, pare the dim sum back to one basket per person, add stir-fried greens and a main meat or seafood dish. Still hungry? Order fried noodles or rice at the end.

DON’T SAVE DESSERT FOR LAST

There is no set order to eating dim sum. The dishes come out of the kitchen as soon as they’re ready. If you prefer to finish with something sweet, hold off on ordering all those delicious egg custard tarts and brown sugar sponge cakes.

Parkhill Seafood Restaurant

PETITE AND BOUTIQUE

Parkhill (previously called Parklane) is Empire’s smaller, high-end sister restaurant. Both specialize in Cantonese cuisine, but Parkhill offers more labour-intensive, specialty dishes. At dim sum, try the signature Seafood Dumpling Trio – a colourful set of open-faced shrimp dumplings topped with scallop, crab and lobster.

GO FOR THE CHIU CHOW FUN GOR

Teochew (or Chiu Chow) cuisine is rare to find in Richmond, or anywhere in North America for that matter. Before being renovated in 2020, Parkhill Seafood was a full-fledged Teochew restaurant that served the light and brothy, seafood-rich specialties from the coastal Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong. Parkhill and its sibling restaurant, Empire Seafood, still serve Chiu Chow dumplings, sometimes called Teochew or Fun Guo. Here, it’s called Steamed Minced Pork and Peanut Dumpling.

WHERE’S THE BEEF?

Traditionally, beef has not been a big part of the non-Muslim (Han) Chinese diet.  The taboo goes back to ancient times, when oxen-pulled plows were essential to agriculture and the slaughter of cattle without government permission was a serious crime. Beef was mostly eaten by the nobility and the Muslim (Hui) Chinese population. In recent years, as the Chinese middle class has flourished, beef has become a more sought-after luxury. Parkhill offers a large variety of beef dishes on its dinner menu. At dim sum, try the pan-fried beef buns if available.

Dinesty Dumpling House

SOUP DUMPLINGS: TAIWANESE OR SHANGHAINESE?

Dinesty Dumpling House is a local restaurant chain that serves a mix of Shanghainese and Taiwanese dishes. Its best-selling steamed soup dumplings have a claim to fame in both regions. Although no one knows for sure where the first soup dumplings were made, it is widely believed that they originated in Nan Xiang, a country town in the outskirts of Shanghai. But their global popularity, some say, can be attributed to Taiwan’s Din Tai Fung. The Michelin-starred restaurant chain is world-renowned for its obsessively detailed xiao long bao – pleated precisely 18 times and weighing exactly 21 grams before steaming.

CORRECT WAY TO EAT XIAO LONG BAO?

1. Use your chopsticks to gently lift the dumpling by its top knot and place it on it a soup spoon.
2. The soup will be scalding hot so give it a few minutes to cool. If you absolutely can’t wait, nibble off the top or poke a hole in the side to create a release valve for the steam.
3. Drizzle a bit of black vinegar (usually served with thin strands of ginger) onto the spoon or into the top.
4. Slurp through the top or, as some prefer, put the whole dumpling in your mouth and pop it like a balloon. Your call.

FREE DUMPLINGS

Dinesty Dumpling House offers many types of dumplings, but the xiao long bao is the most popular by far. And loyalty has its rewards. Every time you order a basket of soup dumplings, you can receive a stamp on Dinesty’s dumpling points card: 10 stamps = 1 free basket.

R&H Chinese Food

HOW DO THEY GET THE SOUP INSIDE THE DUMPLING?

Xiao Long Bao’s are a marvel of culinary engineering. At this popular food-court gem, operated by the Sun family since 2009, you can watch the assembly in action. No, the soup is not injected. The wrappers are pleated around small porky meatballs and intensely flavoured gelatin cubes, which melt into hot liquid when steamed.

LUCKY DUMPLINGS

Jiaozi (gaau ji in Cantonese) are crescent-shaped dumplings that are said to bring good fortune. The curved shape symbolizes prosperity because it resembles sycee, gold and silver ingots that were used as an ancient form of Chinese currency. Many different types of dumplings fall under this category, including guo tie (pan-fried) and shui jiao (water boiled). They’re all lucky and are often eaten at the Lunar New Year to bring riches in the coming year.

PRO TIP

Put 1 cup of water in a pot large enough for four cups and bring to a boil. Add frozen dumplings, stir once to prevent them from sticking and let the water return to a boil. Add another cup of cold water and bring it to a boil again. Repeat the cold-water process two more times – three times in total. This technique, known as Dian Shui (add water), keeps the dough tight and prevents the wrappers from falling apart. “That’s how my grandma cooked dumplings,” says R&H’s Michael Sun. “It’s the Chinese way.”

Suhang Restaurant

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER

Xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and sheng jian bao (pan-fried buns) are traditionally eaten for breakfast. But here in Richmond, you’ll find them on the dinner menu at most Shanghainese restaurants – Suhang included. Cantonese dim sum, on the other hand, is usually only available during the day.

LIGHT AS CLOUDS

The word wonton comes from a Chinese phrase that means “swallowing clouds.” Shanghainese wontons, which are made with thin, white wrappers, have long, silky tails and are often served floating in a milky, pork-bone broth, are the dreamiest.

STILL HUNGRY?

Try Suhang’s ambrosial dong po pork — a thick slab of belly that is slowly braised in soy sauce, rock sugar and rice wine until meltingly tender. It was a Critics’ Choice Signature Dish winner for the 2021 Chinese Restaurant Awards. In 2022, Suhang was voted Best Shanghainese Restaurant.

Bánh Mì Très Bon

LABOUR OF LOVE

Owner Lan Do gave up a successful corporate career in high-tech marketing and publishing to open Banh Mi Tres Bon, her first restaurant, in 2016. To prepare, she spent five months travelling across Vietnam, taking private cooking classes with top chefs and learning about regional cuisines.

DON’T MISS THE BANH KHOT

Not quite a dumpling, but just as delicious! These miniature cup-crêpes are made to order and served in a sizzling cast-iron aebleskiver pan for an elevated version of the popular street food. The rice batter is gluten-free, tinged yellow with turmeric and topped with crispy shallots and sautéed greens.

FRESH HANDMADE BAGUETTES

The banh mi sandwiches are stuffed inside fresh French baguettes that aren’t just handmade, they’re hand-kneaded. Do says this labour-intensive process – rare to find nowadays, even in Vietnam – gives the bread its crispy crust and soft, airy crumb.

Pepper Lunch

GYOZA VS JIAOZI

Japanese gyoza, like Chinese jiaozi, are folded, crescent-shaped dumplings filled with pork or vegetables. The main difference is that gyoza wrappers are thinner. This is because they are commonly pan-fried and the thin wrapper makes it easier to achieve a crispy, golden-brown bottom.

DIY DINING

Pepper Lunch is a huge Japanese “fast-steak” restaurant franchise with more than 600 locations around the world. It was founded by chef Kunio Ichinose, who wanted to serve chef-less food that customers could prepare for themselves on hot metal plates, quickly heated to 260 C on induction burners.

MODERN ISHIYAKI

The Pepper Lunch hot-plate concept is a modern spin on Ishiyaki, the ancient Japanese art of cooking on hot volcanic stones.