Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant

Restaurant: Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant

Cuisine: Chinese/Dim Sum

Last visited: February 21, 2010
Area: Richmond, BC

Unit 1425, 4380 No.3 Road (Parker Place)
Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 2.5

Service: 3

Ambiance: 3

Overall: 2.5

Additional comments:

• Specializes in Cantonese Chinese cuisine
• Popular for banquets/weddings/events
• Focuses on seafood
• Moderately priced: mid-high end
• Set menus available
• Big screen televisions
• Private rooms
• Spacious, lots of seating
• Hit and miss service
• Dim Sum/Lunch/Dinner
• 20% off dim sum before 11:30am
• Parking available

**Recommendation: Winter Melon stuffed with Dried Scallop & “Fat Choy”, Barbeque Beef Ribs, Sticky Fried Rice

I’ve been to this restaurant several times (I don’t even know if it was Shun Feng Restaurant all the times I came) but every time it’s always been for a private function or banquet. It’s not a place I come to for dim sum or regular dinners. I’ve never been too impressed with the food to come on a regular day/night so unless it’s a “forced to go” thing…I’d opt for something else.

The food isn’t bad, but it’s also not that good…it’s very mediocre. I would go back to try their dim sum, but I'm also in no rush. They’ve changed owners on a couple occasions so the quality varies, although I can’t say for better or worse because I don’t come regularly enough to really notice.

On this occasion I came here for a Chinese New Year dinner. We ordered from a set menu especially made for Chinese New Year so all the items were traditional and quite standard for the occasion. It was about $38/person with taxes and gratuities so the meal was not cheap (for a Chinese restaurant), but it also wasn’t really expensive or as gourmet as Kirin Seafood Restaurant. I don’t know the actual names of any of the dishes or the individual prices – so bare with me…I’ll do my best!

Overall everything was very mediocre compared to other Chinese restaurants that do the same/similar thing. The rating doesn’t speak for the dish itself because I’ve basically have had better of everything…the dishes they did do really well are under my recommendations. (See above)

On the table:

4 Kinds – Cold Appetizer 4/6

• Jellyfish, surf clam, chili prawns, pork hock slices. Served chilled.
• This dish varies at every Chinese restaurant and the more expensive it is the more gourmet the items get. The jellyfish is standard every time and the pork hock slices is usually standard as well.
• The surf clam and chili prawns are more gourmet items.
• Jellyfish wasn’t flavourful enough. Sometimes they marinate it in a little chili oil, but these ones didn’t have anything. They were very lightly marinated in a little sugar and barely any soy sauce/vinegar if any at all. It was crunchy and chewy so the texture was good though.
• If there’s surf clam they need to serve it with Japanese soy sauce and wasabi – they didn’t.
• The chili prawns were excellent. Juicy, flavourful and perfectly spicy, but also very savoury.
  

**Winter Melon stuffed with Dried Scallop & “Fat Choy” 5/6

• This is a very traditional dish to have on Chinese New Year. It’s a must. This one was served with broccoli too, which was perfectly tender.
• If you get it more “gourmet” it comes with abalone (for twice the price).
• The winter melon is almost like a steamed zucchini, but much more neutral in flavour and not as crunchy or fibrous.
• The scallop was too chewy, but that’s because it was huge so I expected it – but it was annoying because I was chewing for ages.
• The “Fat Choy” is the must. “Gong Hay Fat Choy” – hence why “Fat Choy” or “black moss” is a must. It represents wealth. It’s fungus that looks like black human hair. I know it looks and sounds creepy but don’t let that throw you off! It’s not crunchy at all or have the texture of hair…at all! It’s very soft and almost melts in your mouth. It’s similar to seaweed when it gets wet, but it’s not chewy. It’s almost like very very fine strands of noodles. I love it. They hold a lot of sauce and you barely need to chew them.

Deep Fried Shrimp Balls 3/6

• This is a pretty typical appetizer.
• Served with sweet and sour sauce. Some people eat it with red vinegar, but traditionally it’s with sweet and sour sauce.
• These were good here, but usually the shrimp ball will be wrapped around a crab claw – those are awesome! Maybe they serve them here, but you just need to pay more…?
• It’s pretty much a ball made of shrimp past and battered in bread crumbs and deep fried.

Sautéed Garlic Crab 2.5/6

• This was good, but I’ve had better. The crab meat wasn’t dry but they just weren’t flavourful enough. There was minced garlic, but just not enough of it and the flavour didn’t absorb.
• They sautéed it with green onions which were really crunchy, but I like it when they sauté it with green onions AND leeks. That’s really good!

Shark’s Fin with Shredded Chicken Soup

• Another standard and traditional item.
• I didn’t have any because I don’t eat shark’s fin for personal reasons – but there were no “oh it’s really good” comments so I’m guessing it was quite average.
• It looked quite hearty and there were lots of ingredients in it though.

Steamed Rock Cod 3/6

• Standard with any banquet menu.
• This was not bad, but just really small.
• It was fresh and not fishy tasting so that was good.
• The sauce wasn’t too salty or oily too…if the fish is fresh with lots of cilantro then this dish is almost always good.
• Served with the head; fish has to be served whole…Chinese tradition.

**Barbeque Beef Ribs 5.5/6

• This dish doesn’t come up often for set menu, but I’m glad it did at this one. It was unexpected and everyone enjoyed it. It’s served with a Chinese vegetable that’s likely in the mustard green family.
• The beef ribs were big and quite tender but not shred away easily tender…you still had to pull at the meat. There was some fat on it but it was very little and in between so it kept the meat very juicy and moist.
• It was so saucy and the sauce was sweet but not sticky or thick although it looks like it is. I could definitely taste some honey and Hoisin sauce although the Hoisin wasn’t overpowering or too strong. It was sweet, savoury and had a slight kick to it that caught up near the end. I’m pretty sure the spice was Sriracha sauce that they added to the barbeque marinade.

Baby Bok Choy in Supreme Soup 2.5/6

• This is just sautéed baby bok choy. The vegetable can vary and it's quite a common dish. It’s very healthy, simple and they serve it in this in house broth made of seafood and maybe even some chicken flavorings
• People like to drink the soup. I like the one at Kirin better – although they may use more MSG. This one wasn’t salty and I don’t think they used much or any MSG.

Fried Chicken with Prawn Crackers 4/6

• This was actually really good! The prawn crackers sucked because they weren’t very fresh, but the fried chicken part was great.
• The skin was crispy and the chicken was very juicy, tender and flavourful. They had a really nice sauce to them that was very subtle but very tasty!

**Fried Sticky Rice 6/6

• Fried with Chinese sausage, mushrooms and topped with scrambled egg shreds.
• This was surprisingly good! Everyone at the table raved about it – separately too.
• It looks very normal, but they did a great job. The rice was separate yet still sticky, but not clumpy.
• They fried it with some dried scallops and shrimp so there was so much flavour. There’s no seafood taste, but it does wonders in terms of adding aromatics to the dish. It definitely gives that “what is that?” flavour. In a good way!
• The Chinese sausage was very fresh and almost bacon like. It was borderline jerky-like or dry cured/smoked. It had a wonderful slowly cooked/prepared flavour.
• There’s always a rice dish with every set menu, but it’s not always sticky rice and it’s not always this good even if it is.

Braised Yee-Mien 1.5/6

• This was sautéed with mushrooms and bean sprouts.
• This is a standard for all set menus. A must – the noodles represent long life… so you can’t cut them.
• No matter how full you are you have to eat these, especially if it’s a birthday or special occasion. It’s bad luck if you don’t and older Chinese people will think you’re rude.
• It’s such a shame because I was quite full and I look forward to these noodles…but they weren’t even good. They were extremely bland. They forgot the MSG…or salt. Actually I found that they don’t use much MSG here, which is a good thing…but everything needs a little salt.

Dessert

Red Bean

• The most traditional and standard Chinese dessert…and I hate it. It's barely a dessert! It a hot soup made of beans...how is that a dessert? I really want to like it...maybe it's a acquired taste...or something I'll "mature" into...?
• This was very average even for people that do like it.

Top Gun J&C Restaurant

Restaurant: Top Gun J&C Restaurant

Cuisine: Chinese/Asian/Dim Sum

Last visited: February 11, 2010
Area: Richmond, BC

Unit 2020 Excel Centre, 8766 McKim Way (2^nd floor)
Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5

Service: 4

Ambiance: 5

Overall: 4.5

Additional comments:

• Part of Top Gun Group
• Considered a high end dim sum restaurant
• Traditional and creative dim sum dishes (mostly traditional)
• Japanese sushi and sashimi available
• Cantonese cuisine
• Discount if you arrive before 11am
• Ordering form service
• Busy, but plenty of seating
• Fancy set up
• Private room available
• Breakfast/Lunch 9:30am-3pm
• Dinner 5:30pm-10pm
• Closed Wednesday
• Reservations recommended
• Some parking available

**Recommendation: Steamed Diced Pork & Shrimp Dumpling, Baked BBQ Pork Bun, Deep Fried Fish Ball w/Clam Sauce, Steamed Beef Ball, Fried Vermicelli in Homemade Style, Pan-fried Stuffed Tofu

Top Gun J&C Restaurant is part of the Top Gun Group so it is considered a higher end dim sum restaurant. It competes at the level of Kirin Restaurant and Rainflower Chinese Restaurant.

Besides owning Chinese restaurants, The Top Gun Group also owns Japanese restaurants, one being the infamous Richmond Sushi. Maybe this is why they decided to include Japanese food at their Chinese restaurants? Top Gun J&C Restaurant doesn’t only serve traditional Cantonese dim sum, but they also serve a significant amount of Japanese dishes such as sushi, some cones and sashimi. Personally, I rarely order Japanese food here because I think it’s over priced. I actually did on this occasion and based on one of their most popular roll, it was very mediocre. I would rather go to a Japanese restaurant and it would be better and more affordable.

I’ve been coming to Top Gun for years now and it’s one of my family’s go-to dim sum places. The food is excellent, they accept reservations, service is great and atmosphere is nice…what more could I ask for? I also like the fact that I can choose my own tea, it is extra ($1.20/person), but it’s worth it. For this occasion I was here for my 1^st pre-Chinese New Year brunch.

The dessert portion of this post: Top Gun J&C Restaurant - Desserts..

My Chamomile Tea - individual servings $1.20/person.

Top Gun's XO Chili Sauce.

On the table:

**Steamed Diced Pork & Shrimp Dumpling 5/6

• $4.75
• This is a nice change from the classic shrimp dumplings or “har gow”
• These are stuffed with celery, minced pork, ham, mushrooms, parsley, carrots, shrimp and maybe some water chestnuts. There are no nuts in them…the ones with nuts are another kind of dumpling.
• I liked the ones at Dragon’s View better, but that’s another kind.
• These are good, but the skin was a little dry although nice and thin. There was lots of stuffing and it was crunchy, juicy and nicely prepared.
• The flavour of the stuffing was a very dominant parsley flavour that was overpowering though. It’s also expensive for only 3.

**Baked BBQ Pork Bun 6/6

• The picture shows them cut, but they’re served uncut $4.75
• This is one of my favourite dim sum items. I LOVE these buns. You may already know from my posts about it at Rainflower Restaurant.
• These are better than Rainflower’s. They’re pretty famous here.
• The topping is a sugar and butter topping. It’s baked so it’s nice and crispy and crumbly and tastes like streusel. The bun part is good here as well and it’s nice and soft with lots of salty and sweet barbeque pork stuffing. The barbque pork was nice and lean too.
  

**Deep Fried Fish Ball w/Clam Sauce 4/6

• Deep fried fish ball wrapped in tofu skin with clam sauce $5.25
• This was my 1^st time seeing and trying this dish. I liked it!
• The clam sauce is definitely exotic. It’s very potent and it’s preserved so it has that strong salty flavour. It’s slimy and not meat because the clams are small. It has a strong seafood flavour and it was so unique.
• I wasn’t a fan of the fish ball because they put orange peel into the mixture so it had that slightly bitter flavour that I didn’t like.
• I like the fish ball with the clam sauce and I loved the crispy tofu skin wrapped too.

Steamed Chicken Bun 2/6

• $4.50
• There was too much bun, and not enough meat and stuffing. The stuffing was chicken, mushrooms, ginger and I think some ham.
• I like steamed chicken bun, but I did not like these because the ginger taste was very strong. They had pretty big pieces of ginger in them too and I think they should have minced it up more. They were big enough to bite into and even pull out of the meat.

**Steamed Beef Ball 6/6

• Steamed beef ball with tofu skin. Served with Worcestershire sauce $4.75
• I rarely eat these because usually they put orange peel in them as well and I hate that. These ones don’t have any, so I liked them!
• They did not look good (relative to other places they didn't). They looked really hard and they shouldn't, but they actually surprised everyone! They were really tender! It was very soft and juicy and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

Steamed Rice Roll with Shrimp & Chives 5.5/6

• Served with Hoisin and peanut sesame sauce $5.95
• You may know already, but this is one of my favourite dim sum dishes. I still like the one at Ocean King Congee & Noodle best.
• The rice rolls are excellent! Made in house, great texture and very thin, fresh and delicious, however I wasn’t a fan of the massive dried shrimps. A lot of people may LOVE this because they’re more expensive, but I found them distracting. It took away from the rice roll and made it not as delicate.

Pan-fried Stuffed Tofu 5/6

• Pan-fried stuffed tofu with black bean sauce $4.95
• This was deep-fried, not pan-fried.
• The tofu was nice and crispy although some thicker parts dried out in the frying process. I loved the texture of the crispy outside and soft tofu on the inside.
• It was “stuffed” with shrimp on top that was cooked perfectly.
• There was lots of flavour because the sauce was a black bean and onion sauce. It help onto the tofu very well.

Pan Fried Shredded White Turnip 4/6

• Pan fried shredded white turnip with fish cake $9.25
• I’ve never had this dish so it was interesting to try. It’s one of their in house dim sum dishes.
• The fish cakes were rough in texture and I wasn’t really a fan of them.
• You have to like turnips and celery to like this dish. There’s a very strong celery flavour and they use the delicate parts of the celery stalk to make it.
• The sauce tastes like a soy based sauce infused with celery and turnip flavours.
• There’s also slice of juicy mushrooms in it, but I wish there were more.

Steamed Spare Ribs 3.5/6

• Steamed spare ribs in black bean sauce $4.25
• The ribs were quite tender and juicy, but they were also very oily and so was the sauce they were sitting in.
• The flavour was great with lots of garlic, but it just very oily. They could have used more black bean sauce too – it tasted like garlic sauce.

Sticky Rice with Diced Pork 4/6

• $4.95
• This came with 2 larger sticky rice rolls except for the standard 3.
• It was stuffed with ground pork, mushrooms and maybe ham…and there was no egg – which I missed.
• It was saucy, not dry, and very flavourful.

Pan Fried Vegetable (Yue Choy) 3/6

• Your choice of Baby Chai Choy, Yue Choy, Chinese broccoli, baby Bok Choy, A Vegetable, Green Lettuce, Spinach, Broccoli $8.50
• I’m not sure what “A Vegetable” is…but we choice You Choy.
• It tastes like spinach but crispier, firmer and juicier. It’s also has a slight mustard taste.
• I think this is expensive and it was actually quite oily.

Chicken Feet & Chinese Herbs Soup 3/6

• Chicken feet and Chinese herbs soup in hot pot $8.95
• This does not look so good, but it’s a very “Chinese-y” dish older people would order. They love soup…and chicken feet.
• It’s basically a chicken soup that’s slightly bitter. There’s definitely some ginseng in it. It tastes like it’s “good for you” soup.
• It’s also a little bit sweet because there’s gogi berries in it.
• I only like the soup part.

**Fried Vermicelli in Homemade Style 5/6

• Stir-fried vermicelli noodles with shredded barbeque pork, prawns, bell peppers, eggs, onions and bean sprouts $14.80
• This tastes better than it looks. It was sweet from the ingredients, savoury and tangy. I think they used ketchup or sweet and sour sauce in it because it had a great flavour that surprised everyone.
• It wasn’t oily, but the scrambled eggs were a bit overcooked and dry.

Peter Roll 2.5/6

• Prawn tempura, cucumber, avocado and tobiko $10.95
• This is one of their most popular items and rolls. A lot of table ordered it.
• I could get something much better at a Japanese restaurant and for the price it isn’t worth it.
• The roll is very bland and almost too dry. There isn’t enough sauce and there’s nothing unique about it.
• The prawn tempura was freshly fried and crunchy, but they gave so little of it and they used the rice to make the roll look bigger.
• The only good part is the presentation.

The dessert portion of this post: Top Gun J&C Restaurant - Desserts.