Coquitlam BC
I have been thinking for some time now that Chinese food in Vancouver is a lost cause.
Every Chinese food restaurant I’ve tried over the last number of years has been mediocre at best.
And it’s not a small list.
Han Lin noodle house, Chan’s Garden, ChongQing, Pink Pearl, KW Gardens, Jade Valley, Lee Yuen, Rickshaw, Golden Palace, Lee’s Express, Green Lettuce. Happiness Seafood, Sun Star, New Ruby, Asian Jazz, On On, and a couple that have since gone out of business and were not memorable enough to recall their name.
Ok so it’s not every Chinese restaurant in the GVA, but it’s a good enough representation to form the opinion that the quality of Chinese restaurants has declined in the last few years.
So when my buddy Tom said he wanted to try out Neptune Seafood I was a little hesitant.
Turns out I did not need to be.
Well perhaps a bit. Emanating from the other side of a Convention Centre type of movable wall came the worst Karaoke I’ve ever had the displeasure to hear.
But the food turned out to be excellent!
As did the beer.
First time I’ve had Chinese beer. It was great. The number one selling beer in China. Light bodied with hints of green apple. Very pleasant tasting. Would be easy to drink a lot.
Now after seeing some of the other dishes that passed us by on their way to other tables I wish we had been a little more adventurous. The suckling pig looked incredible.
As it was though we did pretty well with our selections.
Up first: prawns and scallops with peas.
Both the prawns and scallops were cooked to absolute perfection. I’m not exactly sure what the sauce was. It was mild and flavourful though. I’m sure glad Tom picked this dish.
Let’s kick things up a little with some Kung Pao.
Oodles of peanuts which is awesome. I didn’t taste any Sichuan peppercorns in it, like I do at home. They didn’t chintz out on the peppers though. Get me another beer already would ya?
And lastly, Chicken Chow Mein with crispy noodle and black bean sauce.
I sure do like the crispy noodle version, and the black bean sauce worked perfectly with the abundance of chicken and veggies.
Every dish we had was excellent. Now it is pricey, though what Chinese food isn’t these days? But it’s on the higher end of the price range. Each dish averaged around $28. I’d hate to see the price tag on that suckling pig.
But you know it was worth it. I was very happy with the quality of everything.
We even had a good laugh when they brought us “Whitey’s” forks. (I am quite good with chopsticks)
Now if they can just do away with the Karaoke.
Food 9/10
Value 7/10
Ambiance 8/10 (I won’t count the terrible singing)
I will be going back.