chen's shanghai kitchen: xiao long baos at their best

shanghainese food in richmond is on every street corner and honestly, theyre all pretty dang good. trying to try every single one, my mom and i went to chen's shanghai kitchen near richmond center.

the parking here is horrendous BUT the food is awesome. good prices and delicious food without being too oily and tastes homemade in the best way...

xiao long bao ($4.50): juicy steamed pork buns  - these were AMAZING. the skin: not so thin that it would pop but also not thick in a way that it gets in the way of enjoying the little dumpling. the juice: PERFECT. steaming hot and tasty without being too salty and its filled to the brim with it. the meat: VERY GOOD, good flavour, not too fat. everything i look for in a xlb is right here.

5/5

black vinegar spare ribs ($~13): deep fried and then tossed in a very very tasty sauce, this dish was quite good! there were a long of bone parts but thats what spare ribs are so i cant complain. it was very tasty and did not feel too heavy since there was no real batter like in sweet and sour pork. 

this is now my go to dish when eating at chinese restaurants. delicious! :D 

4.45/5

sichuan style beef noodles ($~7): beef in spicy soup with noodles: this dish was really spicy but very good too! there was plenty of beef and the noodles were a good texture. the only thing i wish they had was a piece or two of vegetable but for the price, this was beyond my expectations! 

4.75/5

overall: chen's is a small little place that serves delicious shanghainese food. their menu is pretty big and their flavours are all on point. the xlb was very soupy and delicious and i would come back anytime! 

shanghai morning: the kind of dim sum i love

continuing the shanghai adventures in richmond, my mom and i visited shanghai morning in a tiny plaza with limited parking. 

focusing mostly on dimsum dishes this meal...

wine chicken ($5.50): chilled chicken soaked in a wine sauce, a huge portion for cheap with not many bones! deliciously moist chicken and a strong wine flavour, this was a delicious appetizer! 

4.5/5

green onion pancake ($3.50): supposed to be panfried but came out deep fried making it quite oily meaning i could only have one piece despite it being quite good.

3.5/5

xiao long bao ($4.95): of course the pork soup dumplings! what meal is complete without this?! filled to the brim with soup, these had a thin skin and delicious flavour although a bit lighter than others. one of my favourite xlb's to date!!

5/5

spicy wontons ($5.95): LOTS of delicious wontons in a spicy chili oil. perfectly spicy and one of my favourite dim sum dishes. nothing bad to say at all...so good.

5/5

overall: shanghai morning is one of my FAVOURITE shanghai stops in richmond now. it has a lot of small dishes perfect for sharing and i love dumplings so this is like heaven. the total was just at $20 with tax and i was quite filled up! 

shanghai house: another visit of many

yes, my mom and i still come to shanghai house even though there's better in richmond BUT it is convenient and not too busy! we now order some different things and i honestly think they're pretty dang good. 

salted duck ($6.98) - cold duck that is actually delicious and probably my favourite place for it. a lot of breast meat, not overly salty and not filled with those splinter bones. you can taste the natural duck flavours which is the best. 

4.25/5

spicy beef noodle in soup ($6.98) - this is my new favourite dish here. it is quite spicy but very flavourful at the same time. they give quite a bit of meat which is not too fatty. the only thing i dont love is the noodles which are very "normal" compared to hand pulled noodles.

4.5/5 

xiao long bao ($4.98) - better than visit one: skin wasnt as chewy and was thinner. as you can see in the picture these were FILLED with soup but the pork texture is still not the best.

3.75/5

better choice of dishes makes for a better experience but overall, still a solid choice for shanghainese eats! 

shanghai house: no-wait shanghai food

before my recent desire to try every shanghainese restaurant in richmond, shanghai house was my staple for xlbs. the place is pretty spacious and we never had to wait for a table plus its super close to richmond centre so my mom and i would go here all the time. 

xiao long bao ($4.95) - the classic shanghainese dumpling filled with hot soup and pork. the skin is a bit thicker but i dont really mind since i love carbs. the filling is a bit chunkier than i prefer but solid xlbs. 

3.75/5

deep fried spareribs with peppery salt ($13.98) - a nice deep fry to them without dripping oil but there are quite a few chunks of just fat. also this dish is inconsistent as we've ordered it multiple times but sometimes it is spicy, sometimes it is hard, sometimes there's a lot of fat, sometimes the dish is smaller. this makes us not want to order it again.  

due to inconsistency: 3.5/5

i have now found better in richmond but prices are not high (dinner dishes are a bit more expensive) and the food is good.