(604) 303-8833
Parking: pay parking lot or mall nearby
http://www.kirinrestaurants.com/
Last Visited: July 1, 2009
Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$$
We walked into Kirin after driving in from Seattle earlier that morning. While we were unfamiliar with the area, we had no idea that we would be told that the wait would be more than an hour - about an hour and a half. The hostess was insistent that it was impossible to get a seat and that we should have made reservations. With that disappointing news, we went to use their restroom and were about to depart when she let us know that there was a sudden cancellation and now there was space for us. Sounds incredible and I still don't know how it all worked out, but God was blessing us today with some good food.
The setting is nice, but not spectacular. Maroon wallpaper with a large silver flower pattern, white tablecloths, dark brown wood chairs with cushions, and white plates with black chopsticks give a modern feel to the dining room. It was quite crowded today with lots of hustle and bustle.
Kirin is pretty well known in the area as having very good dim sum. Of the dishes we tried, here's the verdict:
The Best:- Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gao) - Nice wrapper, good flavor, served hot.
- Pork Dumpling (Siu Mai) - With shrimp on top and so steaming when it gets to the table that it fogs your camera lens, this pork dumpling is a greta example of what good pork dumplings should be.
- Deep Fried Egg Crisp - Very flaky, lightly sweetened with a honey syrup drizzle, and topped with sesame and shredded dried coconut. That's the sign of a good egg crisp - flaky without any aftertaste of yeast or baking powder.
The Good:
- Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce - Presented in a square dish (usually you see them in a round dish), these were good spareribs flavored with jalapeno and black beans. The juice from the meat runs clear and the meat had a good texture.
- Braised Chicken Feet - You can see the beautiful brown color of from the braising. The best chicken feet I've had look whole and
then when you serve them on your own plate, they are so tender that they almost fall apart. These were still good though.The Not So Great:
- Deep Fried Tofu - Oh the tofu - what happened here Kirin? The meal was going so well, until we ordered this dreadful dish. Sure, it was still edible, but if food has been circulating the room for long enough, it gets cold and the outside of the tofu loses its crisp texture. This one should have been removed from dim sum
service. Had it been hot, it could have been delightful, but alas, this dish was blah and dropped the food rating from a solid 4 stars to 3 to 4 stars.All of these items cost less than $30 before tip. Reasonably priced and fairly comparable to the San Francisco Bay Area in cost. It wasn't the absolute best overall, but many dishes were very good. Considering the wait time, I suggest calling ahead with a reservation to make sure you have a table when you arrive. Service is a bit abrupt at times, so there is room for improvement with that, but you could see from where I was sitting that they have the potential to run like a well-oiled machine.
Note also that Kirin has locations in Vancouver West, Coquitlam, Richmond and New Westminster, in addition to the original in Downtown Vancouver.
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