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Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
102 E Pender StVancouver, BC V6A 1T3
Neighbourhood: Chinatown
(604) 609-2889
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
8 reviews for Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant
8 reviews in English
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Review from Leanne M.
Vancouver, BC
2/25/2011
This is honestly the best Cantonese style Chineese food restaurant in Vancouver. The old style chow mein is like nothing I've never tasted! They have so many amazing dishes on the menu and if you ask them to make a special dish for you that's not on the menu, they'll do it!
Some dishes you have to pre-order a day ahead like lettuce wrap (actually quite expensive but it's worth every penny...especially if you're with a group and you can split the dish and split the cost).
Also good is the deep fried squid with extra garlic....YUM!
Don't expect a fancy place....it's very authentic and it's right in the middle of Chinatown which adds to the authenticity.
Leanne -
Review from Herman E.
1/9/2012
I come to this restaurant for one reason only, nostalgia. Hence the three stars. Foodwise, I think it only merits 2.5 overall.
Why you wonder? I am not really into this type of cuisine because I find certain items a bit bastardized to a western palate, not that there is anything wrong with that. I kinda prefer HK style cafes. That said, there are a few dishes that I do like, such as deep fried garlic ribs, and steamed pork with radish and mushrooms, but I can make the steamed pork at home.
This is one of the original Toisan (Taishan in Mandarin) village restaurants that still remain in Vancouver. In fact, it might be the only one. This is the only restaurant I know of that serves deep fried chicken stuffed with sticky rice. I am not from Toisan, but I have had it, and it is DEEEEELISH!
K peeps, now for some history: Toisan used to be one of the predominant dialects spoken in Vancouver and San Francisco. In fact, it was so dominant at one time, it was the language of choice for communication between North American Chinese at the turn of the century 1900's. However, immigration from HK and other parts of China, is slowly weeding it out and I typically hear seniors speak it nowdays. I understand only a word or two of it. It's next to night and day compared to standard Cantonese.
Class dismissed. -
Review from Trude H.
Vancouver, BC
2/19/2011
Tasty treats here last night.
Thirty of us filled the back tables and settled in for an evening of feasting.
The best dish was the chicken with sticky rice - a whole chicken, deboned, stuffed with sticky rice and tasty spice. What a sight! This big round pancake thing - but the most amazing taste and texture! We devoured every tender morsel. You do need to order ahead, but it is so worth it. (Larry L. yelps about it as well.)
Crispy green beans with black bean sauce, succulent pineapple sweet and sour pork, mounds of fluffy rice...the food kept coming and we kept eating.
Tsingtao beer for those who like the Chinese beer - a limited but appropriate wine and beer selection at bargain prices.
Owner and staff of Ho Ho were cheerful and gracious. We were a large group, and the service of each dish was well-timed.
The smaller booths lining the walls are suitable for Chinois a deux, and the atmosphere is comfortable - customers are an eclectic assortment of lone diners and elegantly dressed folks out on the town.
Foo's Ho Ho is on the ground floor of a funky old building in Chinatown. There is a lot of metered street parking available, and the 22 bus stops close by. -
Review from Larry L.
Updated - 12/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
Somehow they are still here, and we keep coming back. It was a place my father used to go to. It was Sam the owner and chef that we would follow around from the days when he had a wuntun place down the street, then Foo's a block away and then Ho Ho.
Tonights meal was quite good. You have to pre order it, which sometimes is a good thing here.
There was a boneless chicken dish that was pan fried crispy with a bed of sticky rice underneath. Somehow the rice stuck to the chicken and the bottom of the rice was nice and crispy. Quite good. quite unique. I'm not even sure if it's on the menu.
Green bean dish.
Deep fried tofu with jalepeno
Shrimp dish,
Salty minced steamed pork :) yes!!!
and some nice veggie dishes, about three more to compliment the meat dishes.
Overall, not much meat, but enough to satisfy the meat eaters here and enough veggies, I didn't feel too guilty.
An old school Chinese meal in an old school building with lots of history with old school locals from Chinatown prepped by an old school chef.
All shared with company friends and family. I think even H and V would have liked it.
And I also got my black fungus too!
With all the changes happening in Chi-town, It's nice to know that an old joint like this still prevails in a way that most places don't know how to do these days.
And to dine here, well, you kinda have to have some grit. Only those with the will to dine will dine here and enjoy a meal.Listed in: Mojofoodies -Chinatown, OLD SKOOL CHINESE FOOD, Ham Yu (Chinese steamed pork…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/21/2010
it's a hit and a miss. If you're here on a good day, it's traditional old skool Chinese grub. If… Read more »
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Review from Edward L.
I came here on a whim after reading an article in the Vancouver Sun.
This restaurant has been around forever. I remember seeing it (with all its neon sign glory) even in the 1980s, but never dared to set food inside because of the ghetto building it was housed inside.
The restaurant really is styled (on the inside) like something you'd see from a 19th century opium den. It's got the wood paneling, vintage tables, and the lantern-like fixtures up top. The vintage 70s tables really do remind one of a bygone era, one when Richmond was all farmland. There were a couple of CRT TVs showing a hockey game.
With that said, the place is so vintage Chinese, the staff don't speak Chinese haha. I had to switch to English. The menu is very classic, with items like egg foo yung, and chow mein.
The food is classic Cantonese style, but done the old school way. We had 2 items.
Salty fish and chicken fried rice: actually not bad at all. Plenty of chunks of salty fish. Very nice balance.
Rice noodle with beef and green peppers: WAY too much sauce. I had to let the food settle and drain the sauce into a cup a couple of times. Maybe the cook measured something wrong this time. It was also too salty because of this.
Dessert was a couple of fortune cookies. Wow, haven't received these in years!
One last thing: they DO accept credit cards here. There are no stickers on the door though. Instead, there are a couple of small plastic signs by the cash register.
I'll be back to try some of their other dishes in the future, seeing as everyone else is giving 4-5 stars. -
Review from Lord K.
Burnaby, BC
5/11/2011
Prolog: Our company has just moved into this area and a co-worker friend of mine and I decided to go find some good Chinese food (which is lacking in Yaletown where we were before).
The Adventure:
We stepped out of our office building and randomly chose between walking left or right down the street. We chose right because we could see the beautiful entrance gates to Chinatown.
On our way I was able to look at a stunningly beautiful Chinese girl and step over a syringe at the same time (cause I'm skilled like that). But I digress. After our encounter with a Meth addict asking for money and smokes, we decided to bolt into the first Chinese restaurant we saw. Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant was the place.
The Experience:
Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by a very friendly lady who seated us and brought us a pot of tea. The musty smells of Chinatown were thick inside the restaurant and I could tell we were in for an authentic experience.
My friend offers to pour tea and looks at his cup... "Uhh... do you want tea? Is your cup clean?" I reached over and examined my cup. There was some red candy like substance on the rim and some grey gunk in the bottom. I had the growing excitement of a truly authentic time ahead in my tummy. We used our water glasses for tea instead. There was a black pepper like floaty in mine and my friend had some sort of algae in his. We were content and ready for food.
Our order:
BBQ Pork Fried Rice
Lemon Chicken
Sauteed Beef and Beans in Black Bean Sauce
(I ordered a Coke and prayed that it came in a can)
I could hear the sound of microwaving and deep-frying in the back kitchen and I started to salivate.
The food:
BBQ Pork Fried Rice was okay... like "meh" okay. Better than a food court but not as good as a really good Chinese place. It had an odd taste to it and I think it was the oil used to stir fry the dish.
Lemon Chicken was very good for a while. I say for a while because it started to cool down while we were eating and this weird yellow gelatin started to form out of the "lemon sauce". It started losing its flavor and also took on an odd taste. Probably the oil again.
Sauteed Beef and Beans in Black Bean Sauce was VERY good and stayed that way through the rest of the meal. Probably fried in new oil.
The Coke was tasty and refreshing as expected from a can in Chinatown.
Overall/Conclusion:
It was a fun adventure filled with druggies and food but in the end, the final objective of food was sub-par. I'll stick with the places out in Richmond/Burnaby/New West/Coq/Downtown and shy away from here. Don't get me wrong, it is now 5hrs after our excursion to Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant and I am not hallucinating or cramping up.
If you're looking for "meh" Chinese food and bring your own wet wipes with you, Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant will fill your needs just fine. -
Review from Heina D.
9/27/2010
We stumbled upon this place by accident and were not disappointed. The owner here is quite nice, conversing with us quite a bit and giving us advice on what to eat. We had the beef hot pot as well as the old-country style chow mein, and let me say that I am spoiled for non-authentic Chinese now. The hot pot was full of tender and delicious meat, and the chow mein was full of fresh bean sprouts, tender noodles, and delightfully fragrant pork. The price was right, too.
Now I can't eat this fake California Chinese stuff. *Rage* -
Review from Daniel L.
1/31/2010 1 photo
One of the oldest & original chinatown restaurant has plenty of life left. I didn't expect such a pleasant dining room, with cubical style seating on the outer walls and round tables in the middle. It was almost completely full and sort of felt a bit touristy but has plenty of local character. They specialize in old country-style Cantonese cuisine. The only sour note is the food had a slight smorgasbord look and taste. Note; open Wed-Sun.
