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Chen's Shanghai Restaurant
- Hours:
Mon-Tue, Thu-Sun 11 am - 3 pm
Mon-Tue, Thu-Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
21 reviews for Chen's Shanghai Restaurant
Review Highlights
-
"Xiao long bao - one of the best in this town." In 8 reviews -
"Noodle in bean sauce - only $5.25 - sweet deal & delicious." In 2 reviews -
"The XLB was very well made, and full of soup." In 6 reviews
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21 reviews in English
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Review from Theresa W.
Vancouver, BC
1/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
I can't say they're the best in the city, but Chen's has some seriously good XLBs. When they're fresh to your table, they're big and swelled up with delicious soupy filling. For $4.50, they're certainly a bargain!
Came here for lunch with the mister, and we left full and happy (and with plenty leftovers to cover dinner) at just over $20 bucks. On our table:
- XLB. This was a given
- Beef Roll. This is not up to par in comparison to several other Shanghai places, so I'm definitely skipping this option next time.
- Noodle in Bean Sauce. Not very "bean"-like, which is a bonus for me. It was much sweeter than we anticipated though, so it's more of a preference thing. I liked it, husband didn't.
- Dan Dan Noodles. Pretty authentic to what I remember, these have the perfect amount of sauce / soup and have a great spicy kick to them.
The place is your typical hole-in-the-wall, and people don't stay here long: it's an eat-and-run sorta deal. Staff is always busy, so be patient when you need to remind them for stuff - they're usually just overwhelmed, and apologized a great deal when I asked for my take-out containers the second time around.
They're got both an English and Chinese ordering sheet, but no pictures.
In conclusion, get the XLB. You can thank me later.Listed in: Richmond!
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Review from Simon K.
You have come back onto my list as a place I will come back to eat Xiao Long Bao, which is saying alot as there has been an abundance of places in Richmond that serve the infamous XLB! Chen's has always been a place where the family used to take me to have lunch, a place that has been around before all the 'high-end' Shanghainese restaurants decided to show up and dominate in their craft.
The one thing that makes me consistantly return time and time again to this place is one dish that no-one, and I say no-one, else serves in the lower mainland.... chi-fan-gao. If you know the translation, you will know what it is, and if you don't, here is what it is: deep fried sticky rice, in the form of a patty or cake. Think of it like a McDonald's hashbrown, but made entirely of rice, crispy on the outside, and soft and gooey, but not mushy, on the inside. This item, in this day and age, is hard to find in Shanghai, let alone here. I've searched long and hard for this plate, and occasionally my grandma would send us to come get this as a take out dish for her. I have true love for this snack, through childhood and beyond!
Chen's has been non-consistant for awhile, which makes me sometimes cringe when coming here, but on this day, I had the craving for the above treat, and with my significant other in check, decided to snack on some food. Their hours have changed, and now they are open throughout the day, where there is no break between 3:30PM to 5:30PM, and they serve their 'dim-sum' menu throughout the day (yay!). The two things we ordered were the chi-fan gao and the XLB just to see where it stands based on all the XLB's we have had over this last little while.
The XLB came out pretty quick, and the first thing I noticed was the change of using steam paper as the liner in the bamboo steamer, instead of their old bamboo steaming mat where they laid out the XLB's before heating them up, that is a change from before. The other thing that really caught my eye was the thin skin on each of the XLB's. Just by looking at each one of them, you could see through them, filled with soup and piping hot. There is one knock here, and that is with placement of each individual XLB, because the skin of each are now so thin, tender care is needed or a quick escape of soup due to ripping will happen. Because they were close together to eachother, some of them stuck together, and when grabbing for one, they would drag, and then the explosion/burst of soup would come.
The place seems to have been renovated a little, but the food quality has gone back to what I remembered it when I first came here. I know I will be coming back again, and hoping that there will be consistancy moving forward. Parking is always difficult in this plaza, as there are a bunch of restaurants lined up, side by side to eachother. -
Review from Pia W.
6/25/2011
It's one thing to observe disgruntled behaviour from servers, it's another (called rudeness) when the server comes to my table, looking impatient to get away, and talks back to me after I asked her a question about the menu, saying that I better hurry up and tell her what I want because she has a lot of other things to do.
Oh and did I mention that when I asked her what the ingredients were in a particular dumpling, she first said "I don't know I have never eaten it before." and then following that up with, "Meat."
Meat? Gee thanks, I sure could not have arrived to that conclusion myself Sherlock.
Eaten the regular xiao long bao, dan dan noodles, wontons and dumplings -- of all those things I would say that the xiao long baos were ok. The others? Well I have had better Shanghai-style food elsewhere.
In addition to the service (or lack of), I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon. -
Review from Andrea P.
Why I love this place- DELICIOUS FOOD, cheap prices. I don't really need to say much but I will highlight my favorites:
1. XLB - shanghai style steamed soup buns - absolutely DELICIOUS. they should be served with a caution sign reading: EXTREMELY JUICY. be prepared to drink up the delicious soup in addition to inhaling the pork inside :)
2. Shanghai pan fried pork dumplings - similar to the above ingredients wise but larger buns and pan fried with a thicker dough skin. also EXTREMELY JUICY. don't say I didn't warn you...
3. Noodle in bean sauce - only $5.25 - sweet deal & delicious
4. Shanghai style spicy beef noodle soup - very large bowl and flavorful! it comes with skinny noodles and is just the right amount of spicy!
They have a shanghai style fried red bean bun dessert that is ORGASMIC. But it comes with like 6 servings do order it when you're with a big group.
I can't say these are the BEST xlb i've ever had... if any of you have had Ding Tai Feng from Taiwan... you will know that nothing can beat that :P but these xlb are definitely runner up.
Also, if you are not Chinese, try to go with someone who can understand the Chinese menu. They offer both Dnglish and Chinese menus but I don't find the English translation to be super accurate and some delicious dishes aren't translated to their full potential... you may read the English and go... wtf?
Don't forget your cash!
-1 star for typical, not-fancy-chinese-restaurant yucky bathroom. -
Review from Kim L.
Vancouver, BC
12/30/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I only come for two dishes: XLB, and their stir fried rice cake. I've been here a few times and have tried other dishes that were just "meh". Service ranges from average to just passable. Parking is awful...especially when people who are leaving tend to take their sweet time dropping their bags, warming the car, checking their hair, adjusting their seatbelts, ensuring their toosh is comfortably situated, and then the kicker is....they still sit there. really??!? i have no idea why people in this particular parking lot are like that--whatever happened to common courtesy? hopefully, you'll have better luck.
-
Review from Edward L.
Chen's is probably the best local ghetto-Shanghai place I can think of. Located in the middle of a beaten-up strip mall on a side street, it's probably one of the last places that come to mind when you think of good food. Of course, the locals all know about this place, so there's always a lineup here. I've been here a handful of times, and everything here is freaking AWESOME.
Parking here does exist, but is insufficient for the sheer numbers of customers here. There are other restaurants in this strip mall, so coming at night doesn't make things easier. I would recommend taking the Canada Line to get here.
Mixed Malantou - served cold. Looks almost like sand. It was pretty well done, with a neutral taste (most of it was tofu)
Boiling Fish Slices - a bit of a misnomer since the English title makes no mention of the fact that the fish is served drenched in oil. It's spicy but also way too salty. I would recommend a bowl or two of white rice (they don't serve rice containers here) to wash down the sauce.
Gluten puff with beans - texture is like a wet sponge, for lack of a better description. I wasn't a huge fan of this but the beans and sauce weren't bad.
Beef roll - nice doughy wrap. Has the same sauce as what you'd find when eating Peking Duck. It's wrapped better than I normally do myself.
Xiao long bao - one of the best in this town. The skin isn't the thinnest you can get (it's probably the 2nd or 3rd thinnest I know of in Vancouver) but the buns here have the most soup. Mmm..
Deep fried duck - this was a pleasant surprise. Everything is definitely fried, but it's surprisingly not oily at all.
Deep-fried rice with soup - looks like a plate Rice Crispie squares served with a bowl of piping. Yes, it snaps, crackles, and pops when you pour the soup onto it. The soup is very tasty, with bits of shrimp, mushrooms, chicken, and ham.
Service is not the world's best, but it's decent.
Recommended.Listed in: 2011 Ed's Picks
-
Review from Larry L.
3/25/2011 6 photos
Ken wanted spicy and koto wanted XLB's but the only thing that I noticed that was the same was the Shanghai steamed buns that we affectionatley call XLB's.
We tried the boiling fish. It had a thicker sauce and wasn't spicy like it used to be.
We tried the Schecuan beef and it too was not spicy at all. Not like it used to be.
We tried the fish in wine sauce and it had a thicker sauce and a bit saltier than usual. We found a piece of gelatin sheet that hadn't fully disolved.
I had not idea that they used gelatin sheets in Chinese food now.
Overall everything was different. The food wasn't the same and we were wondering if there was a new chef in town. Did the old one leave? This does usually happen and we're supposed to be none the wiser, but we are.
It seemed that on this night there was no more Chen and it was just Shanghai Restaurant.
I came tonight wanting to impress guests from out of town. The Japanese community always raved about their XLB's and my friend from Shanghai loved their boiling beef and dumplings.
The XLB's were still good, but they forgot about our order and quickly made a batch for our last dish. A retribution that came just in time for this was what we had come for.
I was hoping for the older style Chen's food, but maybe next time.
Maybe. -
Review from Melissa C.
Richmond, BC
This place has the BEST siu long bao's (XLB) I've ever tasted! Not only is the dumpling skin chewy and just the right thickness, the inside meat is tender and delicious. But the pièce de résistance is the juice inside... warm, comforting meat broth with bits of coagulated meat fat. yum! A majority of their dumpling have tons of juice inside. One time a friend bit into one and the juices squirt entirely across the table and hit my other friend in the face!
Another fave of mine is the 'Noodle in bean sauce' dish ($5.25). But it's so much more than that: Soft rice noodle in a savoury minced meat sauce with julienned cucumbers = yummy combo!
All in all, good, cheap food. Take-out is a fast and efficient way to get the food without the line-ups too. *Remember: Cash only! -
Review from Helena J.
Vancouver, BC
1/10/2011
When I first landed (think immigrant) in Vancouver Canada, I was home sick for the good 'ole San Francisco Bay Area filled with Chinese food, friends and family.
A foodie friend insisted I had to go to Chen's Shanghai Restaurant as the first stop in my food recovery plan towards loving my new home...
Unlike most chinese restaurants in my old home, the bay area, there are English menus that are just as helpful as the Chinese ones and no one looks down their noses in disgust at your not-being-able-to-read-chinese-even-if-you-look-Ch inese, so go ahead!
The decor is not what you'd expect of the place with the best xiao long bao for miles around, but indeed, they were delicious, and I felt a little less homesick after eating them.
Sadly, this establishment is cash only. I was worried we might leave hungry, but fear not! For the two of us we were able to get a full delicious meal of a basket of Chen's dumplings (don't look for xiao long bao on the menu or you'll be sad), a veggie side and pot stickers for my lone 20 bucks.
It is in a nondescript street mall so I had some trouble finding it again amidst the millions of Chinese restaurants in Richmond. -
Review from Nicolb T.
3/2/2011
Like many others, I went to Chen's on a recommendation that it had the best XLB in the GVRD. Majority of my extended family is from Shanghai, and I have been lucky enough to visit often enough to try my fair share of authentic Shanghainese cuisine. While I never have really high hopes in finding proper Shanghainese food in Vancouver, I was hoping this was the place to prove me wrong!
We got there around 9pm, and there was no line-up. One of my biggest pet peeves are restaurants that don't post "CASH ONLY" at the door. Sure, this should be expected in Richmond, but it's still good practice for those who are unfamiliar with the area.
We only ordered 3 dishes: XLB, pan-fried pork dumplings, and rice cake & pork stirfry - arguably, the ultimate 3 dishes to test for proper Shanghainese food.
The XLB was very well made, and full of soup. A mark of a well-made XLB is in its soup: the soup should be hot, but not oily and it should never burn your tongue. This was just that. I could drink the soup without having to worry! +1
My disappointment with Chen's lies in the other dishes. The pan-fried dumplings were unusually thick, and smelled and tasted of "old" oil. The stirfry was also oily, and really bland. The pork was pretty minimal, and the veggies made me feel like they gave me scraps.
I'm hoping the other dishes' quality is an one-off, because the XLB is definitely worth going back for. -
Review from Dave Y.
Vancouver, BC
2/14/2011
Maybe I went on a day when someone accidentally tripled up on the MSG. The Xiao Long Bao caused my mouth to dry up and my teeth to tingle. Maybe it was the soup. Whatever dish it was tipped the scale into way too much MSG.
Although the food was tasty I don't think I will be in a great rush to eat here again as I don't want to experience the MSG hangover. -
Review from J K.
2/8/2009
Chen's is my favorite for Shanghainese food in the GVA. Their xiao long baos are excellent. The pork chop noodles are fantastic. Their pan fried buns are so juicy with soup so hot it's an accident waiting to happen (they're fried, not steamed!!!).
I've been to Chen's many times -- it's sooo worth the drive from downtown Van -- and have tried many dishes there, and have yet to be disappointed.
And the price is extremely reasonable. At least by downtown standards.
If you go on a weekend during lunch, expect a wait. Or better yet, wait until after 2pm (they close at 3pm). Give yourself an extra few minutes to park, as they're lot is always full. -
Review from Joanne L.
Richmond, BC
4/20/2010
This Shanghai restaurant is more cozy and home-style than the others in Richmond. It's a smaller restaurant that appears to be ran by a family. Their lunch and dinner menu all have a wide variety of selection. Parking outside is often full with a few eateries sharing the same lot.
The lunch menu has authentic Shanghai breakfast type dishes, such as salty or sweet stickty rice wrap, salt or sweet soy milk, several cold appetizers, different noodle bowls, meats, etc. The dinner menu expands on the above but some items (hence breakfast) are not offered at night.
This place is often packed during peak hours and the servers are always running around yet giving great service to each table. They move fast and always accommodate those waiting for a table. We had to wait a little bit for our table and one server always came by to tell us it'll be quick, just a little bit longer, or we're cleaning the table now.
The food is good and fresh with balanced flavours. I like this place! -
Review from C C.
Coquitlam, BC
2/4/2010
Amazing, if not the best, xiao long bao. Unlike other xlb's I've had (and I've had many in my day), theirs had a lot more soup then usual. Their Shanghai-style dim sum is different and I don't even remember seeing the usual har-gow and siu mai on the list but regardless, everything we ordered was great (fried tofu, cold shrimp?, shanghai-style noodles, xlb)
My only regret? Not trying the fried xiao long baos... :(
There was no line-up when I went but I heard this place gets pretty packed, make a reservation. -
Review from Lan T.
Toronto, ON
6/6/2009
Loved this restaurant. There is a lady making the xiao long baos at the back behind a window so you can see that these are made fresh.
I'm a vegetarian and this restaurant offers a great selection . -
Review from Odette C.
Vancouver, BC
10/4/2009
Lost some market share after several relocations. Good basic Shanghai food like their juicy xlb or braised meatball. Cash only.
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Review from Erick P.
12/29/2010
Ever since Din Tai Fung opened up in Bellevue, WA, we've been on a quest for the best Xiao Long Bao and Shanghai food in general. We heard great things about Chen's and their XLBs and were not disappointed. When other Yelpers say these puppies are juicy, they weren't kidding! This has got to be the most juice I've had in a XLB and I've been trying them all. Beware to get your shirts wet from biting into these XLBs!
Unfortunately, the rest of the food was just OK. We ordered salted soybean milk, sweet soybean milk, Shanghai fried noodles, drunken chicken, green onion pancakes, hot and sour soup, and fried dough with condensed milk (man tou). Nothing really wowed us.
I feel Shanghai River has better execution in the kitchen for the food we ordered. The big plus for Chen's is their reasonable prices.
Are Chen's XLBs better than Shanghai River...I can honestly say it's a tossup. Chen's XLBs has a more thicker skin, but a lot more soup. I think another visit to Shanghai River is in order to make the comparison. For sure, both Chen's and Shanghai River are better than our Din Tai Fung. -
Review from Spencer W.
Surrey, BC
In my search for the perfect xiao long bao, I came here under the recommendation of a friend of mine. That was a couple years ago. I haven't stopped coming here since. I'm here roughly once, maybe twice every two weeks. I've only had trouble grabbing a table once or twice but we're there early, just before 6:00pm. On peak nights, I can see line ups at the door.
Anyway, the food. It rocks. Xiao long bao is perfectly soupy and very thin skinned. Reasonably priced as well. Other tasty dishes Sheng jian bao (I had to google the name as I don't speak a lick of Chinese), Tai chin chicken - which is chicken with peppers, onions and whole red chilli peppers. It's spicy and wonderfully flavourful and served in a clay hotpot. The server also recommended to me to try the beef and broccoli. Typically, it's not something I would order but I tried it once and then a few dozen more times after that - just to make sure that it was indeed the best beef and broccoli I've ever had. I need to try it again to confirm but I'm pretty sure it kicks ass. The beef is so tender it scares me to think how they made it...so I don't think about it. They have rice cake with preserved vegetable and pork which is also tasty.
If we're not dining in, I'll pick something up from there after work to take home. Normally when I'm running late and don't feel like cooking.
Parking can be a pain but that's typically because a lot of people don't know how to drive. The place is cash only and their bathrooms need a serious makeover. Also, if you head there and it's busy, be prepared to share a table if your party is small. Also, if you speak English, ask for the English menu - the one with the check boxes or have your wife order for you (like I do :)
Anyway, well worth the trip. I think we'll go tomorrow. -
Review from Marc D.
Vancouver, BC
11/7/2008
This place came highly recommended as being one of the better Shanghai style restaurants in the area. I had a decent meal the first time I was there - nothing that blew my socks off. But it was decent. So I figured I might have come on a bad day. I returned. The first meal was better. Go figure. I much prefer the Place restaurant on Granville across the bridge. They have the best xiao long bao in my book.
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Review from C. L.
7/5/2010
The xiao long bao's were very juicy and tasty. The skin was fairly thin. I wish they would've put a bit more ginger in their black vinegar for dipping, but that is getting real picky I suppose. Anyway, our visit to Chen's was strictly to try their "soup dumplings," and it did not disappoint.
We also tried a number of other dishes. The shanghai noodles, drunken chicken appetizer, cold fish appetizer, and pot stickers were quite good. The onion pancake was bit too fried and dry for my taste and the cold noodles were downright horrible. The noodles were far too doughy for my liking. It was almost like chewing a paste.
Anyway, all in all a 4-star review here. But if it were strictly for xiao long bao's, then it gets a 5-star rating! -
Review from katz l.
Vancouver, BC
12/15/2009
Great shanghainese food. Excellent steamed pork dumplings, wonton soup and cold chicken noodles in peanut sauce. Prices are very reasonable but they take cash only. Their service could be better and sometimes the line is very long.
