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The Chinese Restaurant Awards are a guide to good eating

“Our Chinese restaurants represent the most beautiful cuisines of China and have become a lot more elevated." — Rae Kung, managing director of the Chinese Restaurant Awards.

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Chinese Restaurant Awards

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Critics’ Choice Awards:chineserestaurantawards.com/critics-choice-awards/

Diners’ Choice Awards:chineserestaurantawards.com/diners-choice-awards

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“It might sound funny but we eat and eat and eat,” says Lee Man. “There have been days where we have two or three lunches and try to have a dinner. Sometimes there might be a day when all we eat is pork. That could be very taxing.”

Lee Man is a founding judge for the Chinese Restaurant Awards, which recently announced the 2020 winners.

Now in its 12th year, judges are on a quest for “lean flavours, a sense of immediacy,” Man says. “Chinese dishes are really about freshness and having flavours shine through.”

Metro Vancouver pretty much offers all of China and Taiwan on a plate.

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“I think we cover every bit of regional Chinese cuisine now,” says Rae Kung, managing director of the Awards. “Our Chinese restaurants represent the most beautiful cuisines of China and have become a lot more elevated. In China, they keep refining and some restaurants even have laboratories. There’s a lot of competition there. Those trends are coming to Vancouver. We have the best Chinese food outside of China.”

Kung wishes there could be more Shanghainese and Jiangsu restaurants but ingredients are hard to get locally, she says.

This year, there’s a profundity to the awards because restaurants have suffered such a blow from the COVID-19 pandemic. The awards ceremony won’t be taking place physically but Kung says when it’s safe, winners will be honoured. They had originally planned for two Michelin-starred chefs from China to participate in dining festivities this year.

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Kung recently organized a tour for members of the media to try some of the 2020 winning dishes in Richmond. The focus was on signature dishes “because the Chinese always go to a place because of a dish. It’s just about the dish and the skill,” Kung says.

Vitasoy Cream Puffs at Little Fox Bakehouse. Photo: Mia Stainsby.
Vitasoy Cream Puffs at Little Fox Bakehouse. Photo: Mia Stainsby.  Photo by Mia Stainsby /PNG

At Little Fox Bakery, the winning dish, Vitasoy Cream Puff, is an elegant tribute to Hong Kong’s love of Vitasoy beverage.

“We’re seeing a slew of Asian bakers really use Asian flavours with Western or French technique,” said Man.

The young owner/baker Eric Hoy, a former electrical engineer, is but one of the chefs and bakers shaking things up.

“I’ve always loved baking,” Hoy says. “I asked for an immersion blender as a kid for a birthday present.”

My bottom line in a French style bakery are the croissants and his rock! His French pastry, in the Asian way, are less sweet and lighter than western counterparts.

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Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin at Emperor’s Kitchen. Photo: Mia Stainsby.
Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin at Emperor’s Kitchen. Photo: Mia Stainsby. Photo by Mia Stainsby /PNG

At Emperor’s Kitchen, chef Zhang Wei Hua, trained in Northern Chinese cuisine, won for a dish served to emperor’s in the past, a dish requiring Ninja knife skills. The sweet and sour pork tenderloin dish was deftly cut, battered and deep-fried and looked like an octopus with triple the amount of legs and arms

Critics’ choice winning dishes suggest the chef knows a thing or two about cooking and indeed, we really enjoyed his salted egg yolk spring rolls, his corn and scallops (battered, deep-fried) and beautifully presented shrimp paste Chinese doughnut balls under a sugar cage.

Some winning dishes are not necessarily at Chinese restaurants. Torofuku, a fusion Asian restaurant in Vancouver took an award for best Taiwanese beef noodle soup.

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“People were surprised but it’s superb,” says Man. “It comes with an accompaniment of various pickles and you can see some Japanese influences.”

I didn’t try this but I know chef-owner Steve Kuan knocks a lot of dishes out of the ballpark.

The Xin Jiang braised chicken and potato platter with Biang Biang noodles at Xi-an Noodle Restaurant was an unusual choice, Man says.

“It’s a great dish with chicken, potatoes, real herbs and whole spices. You can hear them banging out noodles in the back.”

The Chiu Chow Style oyster pancake is an iconic Chiu Chow dish.

“This had the right mix of bounce and super crisp and soft,” Man says.

For the past five years, the CRA included the Diners’ Choice Awards, in which diners vote in various categories. Chinese diners are keeners and this year, almost 35,000 people voted online in 24 categories.

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Sweet and Sour grouper at Geng Shi Ji restaurant. Photo: Mia Stainsby.
Sweet and Sour grouper at Geng Shi Ji restaurant. Photo: Mia Stainsby.  Photo by Mia Stainsby /PNG

Richmond’s Geng Shi Ji was voted Best Hunan Restaurant by diners this year, having also won a 2018 Critics’ Choice for their claypot chicken.

For two bangs for the buck, we visited the restaurant, which had a mid-century modern feel in shades of grey.

“Hunan has a melting pot of Chinese regional cuisines,” says Kung.

The claypot chicken, served whole, was moist with lots of flavour and no wonder, pork hock was stealthily cooked beneath it. The chef had Edward Scissorhands moves with a whole red grouper, which he deboned and fileted without cutting right through into two. The flesh was turned inside out and snipped it into bite sized pieces; he battered and wok-fried it with the head. Assembled, it looked like a fish with a popcorn body.  Served with a sweet and sour broth, it was  kind of like a second cousin to the award-winning pork tenderloin dish, above.

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Also on the table were some smoked tofu with tasty pork belly sausage.

The Chinese Restaurant Awards website is an excellent guide to Chinese and Taiwanese dining around Metro Vancouver and winners for the previous years are also posted.

Meanwhile, judges are donning bibs for the next round of Critics’ Choices. “We starting now for 2021,” says Man.

“Eat on, McDuff!” I said.

mia.stainsby@shaw.ca

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The 2020 Critics’ Choice Awards

Steamed Scallop and Pea Tip Dumpling: Dynasty Seafood, 777 West Broadway, Vancouver

Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin: Emperor’s Kitchen, 8511 Alexandra Road, Richmond

Vitasoy Cream Puff: Little Fox Bakehouse, 8181 Cambie Road, Richmond

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Kung Po Lobster/Prawn Sweetcorn and Water Chestnut Cake: Mott 32, 1161 West Georgia Street, Vancouver (closed temporarily)

Chef’s Alaska King Crab Signature Menu: New Fishport Seafood Bistro, 620 Southeast Marine Drive, Vancouver

Chiu Chow Style Oyster Pancake: New Mandarin Seafood Restaurant, 4650 Gladstone Street, Vancouver

Traditional Steamed Dumpling Sampler: Nine Dumplings, 1610 Robson Street, Vancouver

Individual Steamed Black Cod in Bamboo Leaf: Prince Seafood Restaurant, 2881 Grandview Highway, Vancouver

Exquisite Silver Soup Base: The Dolar Shop, 5300 Number 3 Road, Richmond

Torafuku Beef Noodle Soup: Torafuku, 958 Main Street, Vancouver

Xin Jian Braised Chicken and Potato Platter with Biang Biang Noodles: Xi’an Noodle Restaurant, 4351 Number 3 Road, Richmond

Shanghai Moon Cakes: Z & W Shainghainese Kitchen, 2126 West Broadway, Vancouver

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