It has been way too long since Wheel came back for a visit. One of the things he missed the most about Vancouver was dim sum, so last weekend we all woke up extra early to go to Empire Seafood Restaurant.

I’ve been to this place for dim sum once before, and I remembered it to be pretty decent. Our party of 7 ordered a lot of dim sum. Some of the casualties we ordered were the Sui Mai, Rice rolls, and Shrimp dumplings. They were all delicious. The Sui Mai were a little different and fancier from other places because they had shrimp and scallops on top.

Some of the more ‘adventurous’ items we got were the Deep fried Chicken knees, Tripe, and Chicken’s Feet. They probably don’t sound appetizing, but just in case you are bored with the regular dim sum items, those are worth giving a try.

The Deep fried Chicken Knees were basically deep fried cartilages, they had really crunchy texture, from the batter and the cartilages itself. They were seasoned with salt and pepper, and also deep fried onion flakes. They’re really good to eat it as is or with some steamed rice. The Chicken’s Feet were pretty good here. It tasted like they’ve been cooked for a long time, because the bones were just falling right off the meat. The sauce was sweet, and tasty.

Another highlight was the desserts. There are 2 desserts you must get here, the Egg Tarts and the Baked Tapioca. The Egg Tarts were one of the best I’ve ever had. They had really flaky and buttery crusts. The filling had a hint of coconut, and was not too sweet. Eat it while it’s still warm, it’s sooo yummy. The Baked Tapioca was also really delicious. The surprise was that it was baked with taro paste, instead of the regular red bean paste. I also liked it a lot.

Overall, this busy dim sum joint had great food. They had a good pace of getting the food to our table. The only thing strange was that they brought out the desserts before most of our food arrived, so keep in mind, order the desserts last, otherwise you’ll be eating the sweets before the savory.

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Empire Seafood Restaurant
200-7997 Westminster Hwy
Richmond, BC V6X
(604) 249-0080

Last week I finally dragged myself out to Steveston, Richmond to try Pajo’s Fish & Chips at the wharf. This was quite a busy little place even for Monday nights, with mostly local customers.

For my dinner, I got the One of Each ($13.09) fish & chips, with a side order of Crab Cakes (2 for $5.69). The One of Each fish & chips contains 1 cod, 1 salmon and 1 halibut and fries. Those were the 3 fish choices at Pajo’s. The fish & chips came in a big paper cone. The batter for the fish was pretty airy and light, and the fish were cooked perfectly. Out of all 3 fish, I enjoyed the salmon the most. The salmon was the most ‘meaty’ out of them all, the quantity of the cod and the halibut were pretty small. I wasn’t a big fan of their fries, because of the way they were packed in the paper cone, they got soggy pretty fast.

My friend suggested the Crab Cakes she said they are pretty good here. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy them too much. The Crab Cakes were pretty dry, and I didn’t find much crab meat in it at all. The patties were mostly fish, fish cakes would be a better name for them.

This would be a really good place to go and have a relaxing dinner on a really nice sunny day. They have a few picnic tables, and patio chairs out facing the water. It was actually a really nice quiet spot to eat and enjoy the view when the wharf is not super packed. Overall the sea side ambiance won me over rather than the food.

Note: Parking is limited. Avoid weekends if you dislike crowds.

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Pajo’s Fish & Chips
3500 Bayview St
Richmond, BC V7E
www.pajo’s.com