2012-09-18 Dim Sum @ Chong's Restaurant 鍾記海鮮食館

2532 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC

604-431-0998

After reading a local Chinese food blog (Sunny 飲飲食食), I dragged DadE, my brother Worm and Buddha Boy along to try some cheap dim sum in our hood.  How cheap?  Well, cheap enough when there's 30+ items at only $2.75 each plus free low quality tea.  Moreover, there's no lame "must pay by" time restrictions.  The restaurant is small and tight, not very friendly for fat people like us.  Parking is very limited.

The Pan Fried Daikon Cake 煎蘿蔔糕 (left) was too firm and had very limited daikon taste.  The Steamed Spareribs on Rice 原盅排骨飯 (right) came in a small stainless steel ware with rice filled two-thirds way then topped with spareribs, chicken feet and a strand of green leafy vegetable.  It's good for the price, but the size was also small considering it's only $2.75.

The Baked BBQ Pork Buns 貴妃包 (left) had an overly sweet top with an overly sweet BBQ pork filling.  The Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸排骨 (right) was a simple yet satisfying dish.  Each piece had chunky meat, a good ratio of meat-to-bone.

The Rice Flour Rolls Wrapped w/Chinese Donut 炸兩腸粉 (left) was awful.  The doughy doughnut lacked freshness and the thick rice roll wrap lacked smoothness.  The Deep Fried Stuff Meat Dumplings 脆皮咸水角 (right) was also disappointing.  The outer coat was nicely deep-fried, however, the coat was too thick and the filling was too little.

The Steamed Meat & Veggie Rissoles 潮州蒸粉果 (left) was simply a disaster...the picture speaks for itself.  While the Rice Flour Rolls with BBQ Pork 叉燒腸粉 (right) had a good, but not ample, amount of meat, the wrap was simply too thick and lacked smoothness.

The Steamed Beef Balls 山竹牛肉球 (left) was not bad, but not great either.  According to Buddha Boy, the meat was a bit bland and used too much baking soda.  The Steamed Prawn Dumplings 水晶蝦餃皇 (right) were perhaps one of the worst we've ever had.  The wrap was thick, in fact, very thick.  The shrimp was so soft that it's close to being mushy.  Oh, and why in the world would they over-salt shrimp?  Makes you wonder...

The Steamed BBQ Pork Buns 蜜汁叉燒包 (left) were nothing noteworthy.  The Steamed Sticky Rice Wraps 糯米雞 (right) was untouched and Worm took it to work.

For $2.75, these Steamed Pork Shiu Mai Dumplings 魚子燒賣 (left) were good, only because it's cheap.  The Steamed Chicken Feet w/Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸鳳爪 was a bit salty, but not bad for the price.

Of course, Buddha Boy must have his Deep Fried Spring Rolls 香脆春卷 (left).  Again, good for $2.75, but nothing interesting to note about.  The only thing we ordered outside the cheap zone (yes, we're that cheap) was Deep-Fried Chicken Knees w/Peppery Salt 椒鹽雞膝 (right).  The knuckles were nicely deep-fried but a bit more peppery salt would help kick it up a notch.  A good portion for $3.75.

Yes, we're picky, even at restaurants with cheap dim sum...hahahaha!  We had more misses than hits, however, we do plan to return to try their cheap $3.75 lunch special of Roast Pork on Steamed Rice 燒肉飯.  Hmm...maybe we should try the cheap dinner deals too?!?!?  Didn't I say we're cheap? :p