Dynasty Seafood Restaurant Finally Gets its Due

Claypot filled with large oysters and beef tendons

Last week Vancouver Magazine named Dynasty Seafood Restaurant as Restaurant of the Year, and last year was named Best Chinese Restaurant in Canada by the Chinese Restaurant Awards.

In 1992, the Cantonese restaurant originally in the West Broadway location was called East Ocean and then it changed hands in 2009 to become Dynasty Seafood Restaurant. 

Mini minced pork patties with lotus

For Vancouverites who have discerning taste, Dynasty is the one to beat, as each successive chef cooks up creative delicious dishes built from solid culinary foundations. And then there's the presentation: many years ago I remember as decoration a basket was woven out of stalks of green chives. 

Perhaps the only challenge about this restaurant is that it is hard to book a table, or the noise level in the dining room can get to raucous levels. 

We went here a few days after Dynasty was crowned the top restaurant in the city, and surprised to find they didn't have our reservation, but that they happened to have an extra table for us.

For dinner we didn't go too fancy, but some highlights were the claypot filled with gelatinous hot beef tendon paired with large oysters, succulent sauteed diced beef with eggplant, and mini pan-fried minced pork patties with lotus for added texture. 

While these dishes were delicious, they had quite a bit of MSG in them; I was quite thirsty afterwards!

Stir-fried diced beef with eggplant

It was quite the shock to see Dynasty FINALLY get its due from Vancouver Magazine... a long time ago for many years, the publication's perception of good Chinese food was Pink Pearl Chinese Seafood Restaurant, a place that seems frozen in time in the early 1980s and hasn't evolved much since.

We're glad to see Chinese cuisine finally get more praise from mainstream media. But there are many other great restaurants too other than Dynasty. 

Here's to hoping more Chinese places get recognised by the tastemakers who are beginning to learn what good Chinese food is!

Chinese Restaurant Awards Expands Across Canada and Asia

Winners of the Chinese Restaurant Awards in Canada

Last night the 16th Chinese Restaurant Awards handed out 69 awards, not only celebrating top restaurants in Metro Vancouver, but for the first time also across Canada, and in Asia.

Held at the prestigious Vancouver Club, the awards aim to shine a spotlight on chefs focused on Chinese cuisine, not only those preserving the heritage, but also those keen on modernising dishes through produce and cooking techniques.

There was a lot of excitement in the ballroom as the names were read out, lots of clapping for chefs who are usually in their kitchens working, and rarely praised in such a high profile manner.

Chef Garley Leung of Dynasty

Four top awards were given out, three of which were to chefs:

Rising Star Chef of the Year to Andersen Lee of Oncle Lee and Oncle Lee Kao in Montreal

Dim Sum Chef of the Year to Garley Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver

Master Chef of the Year to Samuel Su of Flavourful House in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

The Cultural Ambassador of the Year was awarded to Carol Lee of Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, who started Chinatown BBQ and has had a big hand in reviving the neighbourhood.

When it comes to the Elite 30 restaurants across Canada, Dynasty Seafood Restaurant took top spot, followed by Chang'An, also in Vancouver. Landmark Hotpot House came in fourth, followed by Mott 32, and Sea Harbour Restaurant, which is across from River Rock Casino in Richmond. Rounding out the top 10 at No. 9 is The Fish Man, focused on seafood.

1. Dynasty Seafood Restaurant – Vancouver, B.C. | Cantonese 
2. Chang’ An – Vancouver, B.C. | Shaanxi / Northern Chinese
3. Flavourful House – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese
4. Landmark Hotpot House – Vancouver, B.C. | Hong Kong Style Hotpot
5. MOTT 32 – Vancouver, B.C.  & Toronto, Ontario | Peking Duck / Modern Chinese
6. Sea Harbour Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
7. Jumbo Lobster Restaurant – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood
8. Bamboo Grove Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
9. The Fish Man – Richmond, B.C. | Sichuan / Cantonese Seafood
10. aKin – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Asian
11. Jiangnan Wok – Richmond, B.C. | Jiangnan
12. Mimi Chinese – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Chinese
13. R&D – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Canadian Asian
14. Golden Paramount Seafood Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese / Shunde
15. iDen & Quan Ju De Beijing Duck House – Vancouver, B.C. | Peking Duck / Northern Chinese
16. Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant – Scarborough, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood
17. Miss Qu Barbecue & Restaurant – Markham / Scarborough, Ontario | Sichuan
18. Din Tai Fung – Vancouver, B.C. | Taiwanese / Shanghainese Dim Sum
19. Osmanthus Chinese Fusion Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Jiangnan
20. Max Noodle House – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese Noodles & Congee
21. Lanxuan Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
22. The Jade Seafood Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
23. Nian Yi Kuai Zi – Markham / Scarborough, Ontario | Sichuan
24. Oncle Lee Kǎo – Montreal, Quebec | Modern Chinese
25. Kalvin’s Szechuan Restaurant – Vancouver, B.C. | Taiwanese / Sichuan
26. Loon Fong Hot Pot – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Hong Kong Style Hotpot
27. Xi’An Flavour – Richmond, B.C. | Shaanxi / Xi’an
28. Chinatown BBQ – Vancouver, B.C. | Cantonese BBQ
29. HK BBQ Master – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese BBQ
30. Nouilles de Lan Zhou – Montreal, Quebec | Lanzhou Beef Noodles

Across the Pacific, there were awards for restaurants in Asia, which can be difficult to decide and rank since there are so many outstanding places in cities like Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.

Chef Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant

Rising Star Chef of the Year went to Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant in the JW Marriott Hong Kong and Henry Zhang of Drunken Fish in Macau

Dim Sum Chef of the Year was Zeng Xianxin of De Chu in Guangzhou.

Master Chef of the Year was Fu Yue Liang of Ru Yuan in Hangzhou

Probably not surprising that The Chairman in Hong Kong took top spot in the Elite 15 Asia Awards, followed by Wing Restaurant. 

1.          The Chairman — Hong Kong ｜ Modern Cantonese

2.          WING Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Modern Chinese

3.          Ru Yuan — Hangzhou ｜ Hangzhou (Hangbang Cai)

4.          Meet the Bund — Shanghai ｜ Min Cai

5.          Seventh Son Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Cantonese

6.          102 House — Shanghai ｜ Refined Cantonese Banquet Cuisine

7.          Lingnan House — Guangzhou ｜ Cantonese

8.          Xin Rong Ji — Hong Kong ｜ Taizhou

9.          Yong Fu — Hong Kong ｜ Ningbo

10.       Chef Tam's Season — Macau ｜ Cantonese

11.       1996 Si Chuan Cuisine — Beijing ｜ Modern Si Chuanese

12.       Jie Xiang Lou — Hangzhou ｜ Jiangnan

13.       Man Ho Chinese Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Cantonese

14.       The House of Dynasties — Beijing ｜ Imperial court, Cantonese

15.       Silks House — Taipei ｜ Cantonese

The famous flower crab dish at The Chairman