Asian Food Court Eats

Beef rendang and flaky roti at the Aberdeen Centre food court

A friend arrived from Toronto and I picked her up at Vancouver International Airport around 11am and she wanted to eat something Asian.

So we headed to the food court at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond.

On the weekdays this place is quiet, but this being a Sunday, it was busy! It wasn't too hard to find a table, but the vast majority of them were occupied.

We wandered around a bit to check out what was available and settled on sharing a northern Chinese set meal that included spring onion cake, some chive and pork dumplings, stir-fried thin slices of lamb in a slightly sweet soy sauce, and a small bowl of fake shark's fin soup (very thin vermicelli), with ribbons of bean curd skin, and wood ear mushroom.

For drinks we headed to a juice bar, where she had the drink equivalent of mango pomelo sago, while I had a combination of mango and papaya slush that was quite sweet.

Our set meal wasn't quite enough so I headed to a Malaysian stall and ordered the beef rendang. The server asked if I wanted rice or roti and chose the latter. We were not disappointed! The chunks of beef were so tender in the thick curry sauce that wasn't spicy at all. We dipped the flaky roti in there and it was delicious.

That was so filling we didn't need dessert!

Meanwhile there were more people queuing up for food and I was impressed to see practically all the stands doing decent business, with people of all ages dining here.

Good Value Dessert Drink

"Mango ice cream" with puree and ice in a cup

This afternoon I was in Crystal Mall, a Chinese shopping mall in Burnaby. The mall has probably seen better days, as it now looks tired, with many shop spaces closed, or those that are open don't have much business.

However, head to the food court and it's a bustling place even though it's 2.30pm. Some people are grabbing a late lunch, others a snack or dessert.

I wandered around the stalls looking for inspiration. Paradise Juice was somewhat busy, with many people ordering papaya smoothies. 

On the menu there was "mango ice cream" and in Chinese 芒果雪糕 so I inquired about it.

The woman said it was more like a drink and pointed to a picture of a red bean ice drink, but said it was mango instead of red bean.

OK why not? It was $4.95.

Several minutes later I got my drink -- the bottom filled with crushed ice, next mango puree along with small chunks of mango, and then topped with some vanilla ice cream. She gave me a thick straw that wasn't necessary, and a spoon with a long neck.

I ate a bit of the mango and ice cream before mixing the three ingredients together and it was great! Cold, refreshing, and not too sweet. When they make drinks like papaya smoothies, they use whole milk or even cream which makes it very heavy and rich.

This combination with some vanilla ice cream made it creamy, but slightly diluted by the ice. If they used coconut milk it could be a vegan dessert and probably taste even better too!

Apparently mangos are now $12/lb so this drink/dessert is a good deal!

Paradise Juice

2/F, Crystal Mall

4500 Kingsway, Burnaby

604 438 8199

Review: Long's Noodle House

Chilli wontons, beef noodles, xialongbao, spicy beef noodles

This afternoon we visited Long's Noodle House for Shanghainese food. It used to be located on Main Street and 33rd Avenue, but in May it was shut down after a terrible fire and we wondered what would happen.

But in October it was reported the mom-and-pop shop would open in the food court at Admiralty Centre in Richmond, and then a few weeks ago someone posted on social media that they had visited the stall in the food court.

This place is the only one with a long queue

Luckily traffic to Richmond was very light and we found the mall just off of Garden City Road. There is a parkade but the parking spots are a narrow fit. Nevertheless parking on the first floor means you're already on the same floor as the food court.

It's easy to find Long's Noodle House because it's the one with the queue. Waiting in line we got very hungry and ordered a lot of food -- two steamers of xiaolongbao, drunken chicken, a bowl of five spice beef noodles, a bowl of spicy beef noodles, chilli wontons, beef roll, panfried dumplings, hot and sour soup, and soy milk.

As a result it took a while for our order to come, as we waited for our buzzer to ring.

After about 15 minutes we went over to wait by the stall and saw a middle-aged woman standing next to the staff and wrapping each xiaolongbao by hand. 

Finally our order was ready, though our second steamer of xiaolongbao was not quite ready so we started eating.

The xiaolongbao seemed bigger, but tasted the same. Bite into the skin and the savoury soup spills into your mouth. It can be very hot! But so good. Also delicious was the beef roll, thin slices of beef and coriander wrapped in a fried bread.

Panfried dumplings were hearty

The panfried dumplings had a thick wrapper with juicy minced pork inside, probably better with vinegar but we were too hungry to bother dipping! Disappointing were the chilli wontons, as the chilli was hardly spicy and felt like an afterthought. 

However, the hot and sour soup hit the spot, not too spicy, and choc full of ingredients, thinly sliced tofu, carrots, wood ear fungus, finely chopped meat, and vinegar. 

The spicy beef noodles looked intimidating but was not too spicy, while the five spice beef noodle was simple and comforting to dig into. Needless to say we were so stuffed that we didn't even touch the drunken chicken, which was in its own sealed plastic container.

Perhaps the only downside of this food court is the amount of waste that is generated, from chopsticks to plastic bowls and spoons, while the bamboo steamers are returned to the stall.

It was so interesting to observe the noise level of this food court wasn't that noisy at all -- perhaps everyone was concentrating on their food? While it's not the most comfortable setting to eat at, we're just relieved to know Long's Noodle House is back in business and the queue is a testament to their loyal fan base. We paid C$91 for three adults and a child. Cash only.

Long's Noodle House

#2113 - 8700 McKim Way

Richmond, BC