Oru - Fairmont Hotel Pacific Rim

(Picture taken from the VancouverSun.com)

My parents and I went to Oru Restaurant a couple of days ago, wanting to check out the new Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. The design of the hotel and the restaurant was simplistic/minimalistic, but still quite comfortable. To the people who doesn't like the more modern designs, like my mom, the restaurant looks cold, and in her words, "a well designed canteen." I don't know if I agree entirely, but the place is definitely nothing romantic or formal by any standards. So don't try to bring your girlfriend there on a romantic date or anything, but it's a nice environment for a buddies/girls' night out.

Unfortunately, I'll have to report that the food was disappointingly average. The restaurant serves Pan Asian cuisine using local ingredients. Not a very interesting concept if you ask me. Although not with local ingredients, there are too many good Asian restaurants in town to compare to. Although, David Wong, the executive chef of the hotel and restaurant have won many awards in the past, the menu was disappointingly boring. Nothing really stood out screaming, "Order Me!!!"

My mom ordered Lettuce and Pineapple Salad with apple-miso vinaigrette, which was ok, to start and a Lobster Tom Kha Talay with coconut broth. Nothing special about the broth except it's like a mild version of the Tom Kha Gai with a lobster tail dumped in it. My dad had Palm and Grapefruit Salad with coconut vinaigrette, which tasted a little weird, and Nasi Goreng, Indonesian Fried Rice, with Shrimps, that tasted an average-I-can-get-better-elsewhere. I had a little better luck with the Pork Belly Gyoza and Roasted Duck Breast. Both were a little above average, but nothing special to talk about.

I haven't studied their wine list, but it looks decent from the quick glance, and many tables ordered wine, so I'm guessing if you're a drinker, Oru might be a nice place to go to. But then right down the grand staircase, which is going to be oh-so-perfect for weddings, is a very comfy looking lobby lounge. So if drinks is what I'm going for, I'd rather go there than the restaurant.

So all-in-all, I don't recommend going to the Oru Restaurant in the Fairmont Pacific Rim, but would definitely try out the lobby lounge. And if anyone is getting married and wants a grand staircase, this new Fairmont is where to go, because the Four Seasons got rid of theirs after the renovation a couple years ago. Shame on them... But I think the Yew Restaurant in the Four Seasons is much better though. The lobby lounge is also very comfy...

Speaking of the lobby lounge... no wonder I thought the one in the new Fairmont looks familiar. It has that fireplace closely resembling the one in the Four Seasons!!! Sneaky sneaky~~

Oru Restaurant Fairmont Pacific Rim 1038 Canada Place Vancouver, B.C. Tel: 604.695.5500

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Chen's Shanghai Kitchen (Bai Yu Lan)

Out of all the different regional Chinese cuisine, my favorite had to be the Shanghai cuisine. They're super fattening and unhealthy, due to all the oil that was used, but super delicious at the same time. To me, they're absolutely irresistible. It's not difficult to find a restaurant serving Shanghai cuisine in Vancouver, but it's a different story when trying to find a good one. Luckily, there's the Chen's Shanghai Kitchen, a.k.a. Bai Yu Lan, in Richmond.

The variety of Shanghai style Dim Sum is better during lunch hours, but most of them can also be ordered during dinner time, which is wonderful, as most restaurant won't do any Dim Sum items outside of lunch time. The problem is though, if you don't read Chinese, ordering can be a bit challenging. During lunch time, they give you a Dim Sum checklist that doesn't have English on it. Now I'm sure that they have something in English, but it's usually shorter than the Chinese list. So finding a Chinese-literate to go with you for the first couple of times just to get familiar with the menu is recommended.

Some of their best Dim Sum dishes include the Xiao Long Bao, Shengjian Bao (Pan Fried Buns), Pot Stickers, and Meat and Vegetable Wonton. And in my opinion, they also have the best Green Onion Pancake in town. Those who are familiar with the dish will know that it is usually very oily, and some quite soggy, but Chen's Shanghai Kitchen's version of it is not oily at all, and much tastier than those in other restaurants. Unless you dislike green onions,this is something you must try at this restaurant. Unfortunately, their Xiao Long Bao is not the best in town, but they are a close second (the best Xiao Long Bao is actually in the food court of Aberdeen Centre). The pricing for Dim Sum items are also very reasonable, averaging to about $5 or so per dish.

Dinner-wise, I suggest having Dim Sum and a couple of noodle items like Dan Dan Noodles, Shanghai Chow Mien, or Shanghai Nian Gao (Rice Cake). Unfortunately, the other dishes aren't very impressive, so you're better off ordering the same thing anytime you go. Do keep in mind though, that although the food is excellent in this restaurant, the service and cleanliness is not the best. So now that I've got you mentally prepared, please don't come back to complain about these 2 things. You're going for the food and only the food. Nothing else here.

A word of warning, don't order too much. Remember that most of the good items are either buns or made with a lot of flour, so it's all very filling. Ordering too much will either have you extremely stuffed, having to waste food, or having to bring a lot of left overs home. Oh, and remember when you're eating the Xiao Long Bao and Sheng Jian Bao to remember not to take a big first bites. They are very hot, and super juicy that you might have juice squirting all over resulting in a stain on your shirt, and very bad table manners.

Chen's Shanghai Kitchen 8095 Park Rd. Richmond, B.C. Tel: 604.304.8288

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Shi-Art Chinese Cuisine

Being in Vancouver, we are very lucky, as there are so many choices when it comes to authentic Chinese restaurants. There are tiny ones where the maximum seating is 20 or so, and there are huge ones where you can hold a banquet for several hundred. But whatever the size, there's always quite a couple with quality food. One of the ones that I go to the most is Shi-Art Chinese Cuisine in Richmond Centre. Both their dim sum and dinner are quite good, and the best thing is, they are the only place where you can get dim sum at four in the afternoon.

One of the best thing about Shi-Art Chinese Cuisine is that you can't really go wrong no matter what you ordered. Of the many times I've been to this restaurant, there hasn't been a time when I had thought a dish was terrible. True there were times when I didn't think it was fantastic or anything, but nothing stood out as absolutely horrible.

There price could be a little higher than others in Richmond when it comes to seafood, but at least they are honest when telling you how many pounds that lobster is, as opposed to some other restaurants that will tell you it weighs more. The best thing is just to pick whatever that's on special. If you're an early riser, go to have dim sum there and finish before 11AM to get a discount. The food and quality is all the same, it's just that if not for the discount, not many will go for lunch that early.

Shi-Art Chinese Cuisine is not necessarily the best authentic Chinese restaurant in town, but it's definitely decent. Although the service can be sloppy if you don't know the managers, with the consideration of their food quality and pricing, it's really not bad of a choice when you're craving for Chinese food.

Shi-Art Chinese Cuisine 1302-6551 No. 3 Rd Richmond, B.C. Tel: 604.279.8998

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Azia

Somehow my dad heard about the Azia Restaurant in Downtown, and he's been wanting to go ever since. I never expected it to be very good, and it wasn't. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't worth going back to. I mean, what can you ask for when a restaurant serves Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian and Thai cuisine all at once? If a business is just everywhere trying to do everything at the same time, it's just impossible to be good at it.

We ordered a variety of items including sushi, Peking Duck Spring Rolls, Satay, Ebi Mayo, Velvet Cream of Corn Soup, and Hokkien Mee (stir fried noodles). The only dish that was relatively good was the Ebi Mayo, but still, it was nothing compared to the ones you can get in Japanese izakaya restaurants. The spring rolls were super oily, evident of the oil not being hot enough, and they didn't try to get rid of the oil after cooking it. The soup was ok, but it's easy to get the same result with instant soup. The Hokkien Mee was nothing like it's supposed to be, and tasted simply like stir fried noodles with soya sauce, plus some seafood.

Portions are small considering the quality and the pricing. Appetizers are anywhere from $3.95 - $9.95, curry dishes averages at about $13, rice and noodle dishes at about $12, and seafood dishes are even higher.

I won't recommend this restaurant unless your party can't decide on what to eat and would like to have a variety of different things on the menu. As much as the ambiance was good, and the service was average, the food and price really didn't make up for it. I know I certainly won't be going back.

Azia Restaurant 990 Smithe St. Vancouver, B.C. Tel: 604.682.8622

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