Munchie Adventure: Dragon View Chinese Cuisine, Richmond

Since my uncle was stopping in Vancouver for a little bit to wait for his flight, we decided to bring him here, close to the airport, and not a shabby looking restaurant either! And we made the right choice, besides the service which was lacking...

Restaurant: Dragon View Chinese Cuisine
Location: 1298- 3779 Sexsmith Road, Richmond
Cuisine: Chinese, Dim Sum
Price range: $10-$15 for lunch

Date of visit: July 17, 2012
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Staff/service: 2.5/5
Food variety: 4/5
Food quality: 4/5
Buck worthy? 4/5

The first dish that got here was the Deep Fried Crispy Tofu w/ Special Sauce ($7.25). It was really fresh, the tofu was smooth and the outside was nicely golden and crispy. The garlic bits on top weren't too salty either. Well done.

Daddy loves fish, so we ordered fish for him, Stir Fried Halibut w/ Chef's Sauce ($7.25). The fish was juicy inside the still crispy-ish on the outside. It wasn't too oily, and a little spicy which made it really appetizing.

Steamed Chives Dumplings ($4.19) was well made too. The skin was chewy and not too moist, the shrimp puree inside had little chunks of shrimp, wish there were more chives though =)

This was a small fried rice dish so we decided to try it, Assorted Seafood on Rice w/ Abalone Sauce ($7.25). There was ample sauce, but the fried rice was made with fresh rice (for me, good fried rice is made with rice that has been refrigerated or cooled once first), so the rice stuck together in little chunks. Even though they say it was seafood, I noticed a lot of "land food" in it (chicken chunks), so I dunno... they kinda lied! =O Tasted really good though!

Then we got the Deep Fried Squid Tentacle ($4.99)-- don't mistake it for the Deep Fried Squid w/ Pepper and Salt (7.95)! Personally, I like the tentacles much more than the squid, just a different texture, and more fun to eat hehe! This was well done, tentacles weren't too long, and the seasoning salt wasn't overdone to the point where it was too salty. Tasted good, was fresh, and the batter wasn't too thick.

Now, their Steamed Siu Mai ($4.19) was quite special compared to other restaurants. They had a shrimp on  top of it, which made it look a lot fancier (there normally is shrimp in siu mai anyways). Pork was grounded pork, not the kind of siu mai I like; I like the ones with chopped pork, so theres still little chunks of pork. Can't complain though, different restaurants have different ways to make it. At least they didn't have lots of fat chunks in it =P

Last was Steamed Country Style Thick Rice Noodle w/ Chicken Feet and Spareribs ($4.99). This dish is oily anywhere you have it, otherwise the noodles will stick together, and this place was no exception. Despite the oil though, it was yummy. Noodles weren't over-steamed, so they were very chewy and good with the sauce. And for the price, it's a pretty good deal =)

This is more of what I would say is a high-end restaurant though, since there are places with dim sum for $2.99 per plate (or cheaper), so this is pretty pricey. Good quality doesn't come for free though-- or it's just really rare to get quality for cheap. Again, it's a nice place to come to once in a while if you want something fancier.