Tele: (604) 685-0871

Neighbourhood: West End

Website: http://www.hons.ca

Chinese dishes:

Fresh Pork Potstickers

Roasted Duck & wonton noodle soup

Restaurant Reservations: Yes

Home Food Delivery Service: Yes

Food Take Away: Yes

Waiter Service: Yes

Wheelchair Accessible: Yes

Outdoor Seating: No

Good for: Lunch, Dinner

Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only

Accepts Credit Cards: Yes

Parking: Street

Attire: Casual

Good for Groups: Yes

Good for Kids: Yes

Review:

Found this place after realizing how expensive Kirin was! Cheap prices for large portions. Very casual, everyday type of place. Different kitchens (which are labeled with a sign) are located throughout the restaurant, focusing on different foods. They even have a vegetarian kitchen, to avoid cross-contamination with meat. The potstickers are a must – not doughy, very fresh and totally worth the sale price of $3.37! Open late, until midnight and they offer delivery!

I just went there for lunch today and I think the quality of the food has indeed gone down. To me, the true testament of a Cantonese noodle restaurant is the quality of its congee. We ordered a sliced chicken congee and a century egg congee with sliced pork, along with Chinese doughnuts (yu tiao / yao tiu).

Unless the restaurant specializes in Chiuchow / Swatow / Teochew cuisine (which Hon’s doesn’t), the congee should be thick and creamy. Both of our congees were watery. Besides, the flavour was overpowered by citrus peels which should only be used sparingly in beef or seafood dishes. Even my partner noticed it and he grew up on a farm in Michigan where pasta is considered ethnic food for most people in his community. We were not expecting fresh Chinese doughnuts because they are usually made fresh in the morning. However, our Chinese doughnuts were very doughy instead of airy. It was like chomping on a Tim Horton’s doughnut.

The service continues to be friendly although I’ve always had to flag down a wait staff to place our orders. Once you have their attention, they are always nice.

I will return to Hon’s just because it’s convenient and inexpensive but my visits will likely be less frequent. Congee Noodle House at 141 E Broadway will be my alternative since it is only a 10 minute drive for us and it has much better congee.

Address: 102-1166 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6E 3Z3

Tele: (604) 682-8833

Website: www.kirinrestaurant.com

Accepts Credit Cards: Yes

Attire: Dressy

Restaurant Reservations: Yes

Chinese Takeaway, Waiter Service, Wheelchair Accessible

Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only

Review:

The caliber of dim sum in Vancouver is relatively high (due to all the Canton peeps). So competition for dim sum locally is pretty fierce. Kirin is definitely known to be “up there” in the Chinese food area. It’s definitely no Hons! So if you eat here, you won’t expect to see rowdy dim sum ladies pushing their carts and dan tat in your face. Every server is in some tux uniform and are rather snooty, actually. Quality of food however, is superb. Not bad for the money, this is definitely good food. And the siu long bao is awesome! Must have.