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#1 Holden West

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 12:10 PM



Two restaurants in Chinatown are for sale: Kimbo and Foo Hong's. I loved Foo Hong's. Apparently the owner is retiring after 40 years. It can be yours for $75,000, velvety-green wallpaper included.

Also, here's an interesting story of a Richmond, BC restaurant one author has called "the world's greatest Chinese restaurant outside China" while the owner struggles with a lack of business.

What's your favourite Chinese restaurant?
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
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#2 Nparker

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 01:59 PM

What's your favourite Chinese restaurant?


That would have to be Don Mee's for dim sum. A close second is the Szechuan on Caledonia. Although they are really such different dining experiences that I don't really want to compare them.

#3 Holden West

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 02:30 PM

A close second is the Szechuan on Caledonia. Although they are really such different dining experiences that I don't really want to compare them.


That's why I started a general Chinese food thread as I see we already have a Szechuan thread. I think of Foo Hong's as classic "Canadian" Chinese food, although I haven't been there in a few years. They always seem closed when I'm hungry.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#4 Mike K.

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 03:37 PM

The only places I'll eat Chinese food (authentic or Canadian) are Raymond's (same strip mall as Future Shop) and Fountain (across from the liquor store at Blanshard/Hillside).

At Fountain you can ask for an authentic Chinese menu that is only available by special request. Ask for it and make sure to stick to your guns as the waiter will often try to insist that the menu on the table is the only one that's available (if you can't speak or don't look Chinese). Unless you can read Mandarin (I can't, but when I go someone at the table with me usually can) you won't decipher a thing, so ask the waiter to describe the dishes. Lots of very unusual but delicious surprises await. Trust me.

@ Caledonia. Last time I went there (a month or so back) I couldn't stomach half the plate and have since vowed never (or as rarely as possible) to eat at any Chinese restaurant besides the two mentioned above.

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#5 Holden West

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 04:28 PM

Geez, I didn't know Raymond's had good Chinese. I assumed it was some cheezy generic Pantry/Ricky's/ABC Country ripoff.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#6 osmich

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 04:41 PM

I must admit I do like Mings a lot. I think it is very good western style chinese food. Nice lean sweet and sour pork!

On the other hand the JJ Wonton people have excellent chinese food and exceptional sevice for a chinese restaurant. JJ Wonton can be portion deficient sometimes for the price they are charging but some of their dishes are so tasty and all of them have high quality use of ingredients.

The sibling owned restaurant to JJ Wonton is Johns Noodle Village and it has excellent food also but the service is just maddening and I refuse to go back however I am sure their food will win me over some time in the future. Two opposite ends on the service. JJ needs to train John's staff on the art of service!

I read the story about the guy in Richmond and it sounds like he is doing some very cool stuff.

http://www.mings.ca
http://www.jjnoodlehouse.com
http://johnsnoodlevillage.com

#7 Holden West

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 04:50 PM

Yep, J&J Wonton Noodle is great although the decor is rather generic.

from their website:

"From the moment you enter the door, you will know your time is going to be special."


Uh, and why would that be, exactly?

Ming's had great atmosphere but I haven't been there in ages. Ming's was the restaurant that supplied the Chinese boat people with daily catered food bought by the Canadian Government when they were interned here a few years ago.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#8 victorian fan

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Posted 07 March 2008 - 07:26 PM

Ming's was about the only restaurant to get food late at night until they built Paul's.

#9 Rorschach

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Posted 08 March 2008 - 05:08 AM

My personal favorite for Chinese is Crown Palace on Craigflower. It's just take away, but the best Chinese eats in town. And if you really want authentic in a sit down restaurant - especially Dim Sum, then the best place in town is the Jade Fountain -- the one in the basement of the Red Lion Hotel on Douglas.

Yes, these are both surprising and unusual picks but you must learn the lesson of going where the locals go. And in this case our local Chinese population has chosen these places.

I have probably tried every Chinese food place in town searching for the killer Chinese dish, so far, without success. We do not have great Chinese here in Victoira, sad to say. But the two above are as good as we have available.

#10 gumgum

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Posted 08 March 2008 - 09:24 AM

Yes, Jade Fountain has excellent dim sum.

#11 Mike K.

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Posted 08 March 2008 - 10:18 AM

Jade Fountain, word.

Palace in Vic West is hit and miss. Sometimes it's great, other times not so much.

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#12 Nparker

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Posted 08 March 2008 - 10:23 AM

I still prefer the dim sum at Don Mee's...and the locals, especially Chinese locals, seem to go there in abundance. It has as much to do with the atmosphere at DM as it does the food. I love the energy there. The one time I did dim sum at the Jade Fountain, I found it a rather sleepy environment, although the quality of the food was very good.

Some of the best (and cheapest) dim sum I have ever had, was in fact, in Calgary of all places. The secret of course is to find out where the Chinese people eat and go there. You may freak at the decor a little, be wary of the kitchen, but you will more than likely get the best food. Once when I was in New York, I went into a little hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant (in Chinatown), where I think my friend and I might have been the only non-Chinese customers. The food was amazingly good, very plentiful and cheap.

#13 LJ

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Posted 08 March 2008 - 12:21 PM

Since moving here we have tried most every place locally around Langford and Colwood and the only place we found decent food at was Sammy's at the corner of Helmecken and the Old Island Hiway. We have had some very good meals and takeout there as well as some very average ones.

#14 G-Man

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Posted 09 March 2008 - 04:02 PM

My comfort restaurant is a hole in the wall noodle house bakery in Chinatown called Wai Lai Yuen sp? It is one of the ones with the ducks hanging in the windows. Just the thought of wonton dumpling noodle soup with crispy fried pork on top makes my heart skip a beat.

Apparently the new Chinese restaurant at Cook and Pandora called Sun Wah Restaurant is excellent but I have yet to check it out.

#15 Holden West

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Posted 09 March 2008 - 08:32 PM

I had dim sum at Don Mee's today. The decor is fine and the food great. We had a lot of seafood--fried squid and shrimp dishes which bumped the price up near $25 for two, which I think is a tad pricey for lunch without beverages.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#16 davek

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Posted 10 March 2008 - 05:53 AM

We're a Wah Lai Yuen family, too. The kids still call it "Wally's" (from their elementary school days). When one of us has a cold, we get the Won Ton Soup, which is known to us as 'Chinese Penicillin'.

#17 Holden West

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Posted 07 September 2008 - 08:42 AM

For those in the Interurban area, Jack's comes recommended. It's in the Co-op gas strip mall across from the Knockanback Grill. Decent Chinese at a good price.
"Beaver, ahoy!""The bridge is like a magnet, attracting both pedestrians and over 30,000 vehicles daily who enjoy the views of Victoria's harbour. The skyline may change, but "Big Blue" as some call it, will always be there."
-City of Victoria website, 2009

#18 yodsaker

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Posted 07 September 2008 - 09:51 AM

Totally Jade Fountain. My good friend likes it best and he has more than 30 trips to China under his belt with the next one scheduled for October.
JF have remedied the service problems that came close to sinking it and its not sleepy any more, often lineups at lunch.
We ate there on Friday (every Friday, actually) and five dim sum dishes came to under $20, tax and tip included.
Shrimp with chives is a fave!
JJ Wonton is good but a tad pricey, Don Mee too greasy and pricey, IMO.

#19 Savannah

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Posted 07 September 2008 - 07:07 PM

My husband and I like Ming's and Szechuan House (?) on Caledonia. The latter has the bestest, bestest ever chicken fried rice. I could eat theirs every day of my life and never grow weary of it.

I love most of what we get from Ming's, but, and it's a big but (heh--it contributes to my big butt too) is the "meat" in the chow mien and chicken fried rice. It's very... not meaty. It's spongy strips of frightening, soft, unidentifiable... stuff. I usually pick it off the top of the dish and avoid eating it altogether. Frankly, I don't even give more than one or two pieces to the dog. They need to quit using it! Seriously, if it's stuff I don't want to even give my dog, it's not good. Yet Ming's egg rolls are like crack for me, and I experience excessive salivation just typing this sentence, and conjuring up their golden, crunchy, savoury deliciousness.

I tried Raymond's by Future Shop once a few years ago but I wasn't really impressed. Worth another shot? It's very close to the office where I work.

May Gold's in Langford is... interesting. It's very humid in there. I find it to be cheap and greasy, but with one or two things that I like. It is kind of stereotypically Langford, in a depressing way.

#20 LJ

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Posted 08 September 2008 - 10:34 AM

We always use Sammy's on the OIH, although consistency can vary.
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