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Kam Wai Dim Sum
Category: Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Dim Sum [Edit]
249 E Pender StVancouver, BC V6A 1T7
Neighbourhood: Chinatown
(604) 568-6692
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am - 6 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
12 reviews for Kam Wai Dim Sum
12 reviews in English
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Review from linda t.
2/24/2011
Delicious DimSum...totally hit the spot. I was just walking around Chinatown and was getting hungry. Saw this spot and I had to stop because of the delish smell....it is a hole in a wall place so you could of easily walked passed it and not notice. Once inside you see them steaming the food and you get to choose what you like right there and either take with you or eat there.
I ended up eating there because hard to eat, take pictures and walk...I got their Shrimp Rice Roll and their Hai Gaw (sp) and it was delish. It cost me about $5.40 which was not too bad considering it was good and fast.
For those who want to take things home for another time...they had a lot of their items and then some for sale frozen. -
Review from K P.
5/21/2012
3 solid stars. Sticky rice was the best I have ever had. Su-Mai was good, little big. Har gao was delish! Pork buns were ok. We could see them before we purchased so knew what we were getting, but I really like the super fresh ones that are fluffy rather than compacted. The shrimp rice noodle was standard.
Great customer service though! Love the ambiance, this place has it right, get in, get fed, leave happy.
Small seating area in the back but you order up front and pay first. -
Review from Theresa W.
Vancouver, BC
2/10/2011
I stopped by here once last year when Thu recommended it. It felt like stepping into a Chinese restaurant from the 90s with the plastic sheets over the table! But when I stopped by on the weekend for a dim sum fix, it had completed converted itself into something ... much stranger.
The restaurant is now a take-out dim sum counter (think T&T where you order the food and then sit down in a small area if you want to stay and eat it). Since they make all their own dim sum, it makes sense that they would take this approach. It works out well for me too, since you know that the food they steam will be fresh when it comes out.
It was a really busy day for them too, since it was the CNY parade. For $8, I got a plate of scallop dumplings, siu mai, meatballs, a bowl of congee.
You can also buy their frozen dim sum to take home and make on your own (I believe that used to be a separate store front). They sell everything from dumplings to dim sum with a huge variety inbetween (siu mai, jumbo siu mai, with the shrimp on top, made from beef, made from pork, etc.).
The tea is pour yourself, and it's cash only. The only negative I have is that everything is disposable - from the chopsticks to the containers. It'd be great if they would at least invest in plastic chopsticks like pho restaurants and dishes they could reuse.Listed in: Dim Sum!
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Review from Thu N.
10/11/2010
Ok I was about to write off chinatown as having terrible dim sum until we checked out this hole in the wall today! Some fellow foodies recommended this place so we had to try! I think I found a hidden chinatown gem and contemplated whether or not to share it with my fellow yelpers :) Of course I'd want to tell you guys about it!
The restaurant is barebones, just plastic table tops, small and simple. Looking around you see old chinese women and lots of people just dining alone. We didn't have to wait at all and eagerly checked off 9 things on the menu! Dishes starting at $2.75 is a great great price!!!!
I would say the siu mai, har gow, chicken feet, spare ribs are nothing to write home about but for $2.75-$3 they're pretty solid and decent. Our favourite dish there was the fried shrimp dumplings. They are these half moon shaped batter with shrimp inside and oh so delicious!! We were tempted to order 2 or 3 more of these but at last, we had way too many dishes coming already! Oh, I really liked the onion pancake here (they're not round, but more like donuts). And also the wonton in spicy sauce was so good!
The best dish on the menu would have to be the super fresh egg tarts. We were stuffed to our limit at this point but the egg tarts just melted in your mouth with the perfect pastry crust too!
The only dish we didn't finish off was the bean curd with veggies - this was deepfried and just way too oily. There's a lot more I'd like to try off the menu so I'll try to get more people to come next time!
Service was quick, tea was refilled quickly, overall awesome experience.
So for ~$10 each we had way more than we could eat and enjoyed it so much. The sign says 20% off M-F from 9-11am too! Definitely check this place out if you want to have decent dim sum in chinatown. We're definitely planning on making trips here regularly! -
Review from Adelina W.
Richmond, BC
9/21/2010
I left after my meal here underwhelmed. The whole meal was just meh. The menu is fairly small for dim sum and were mostly variations of the same thing (congee and dumplings). It had some interesting combos too (ie. beef brisket in tangerine sauce) which I elected not to try.
I ordered the shrimp roll, ha gow, sui mai, chicken feet, xiao long bao (against my better judgment, but my friend wanted it) and sticky rice. I felt like everything was either cooked from a frozen state or was purchased elsewhere and reheated. Everything lacked flavour and the shrimp in the roll tasted off.
For a city with so many choices for dim sum, I would skip this place and try another location in Chinatown. -
Review from Sally S.
Vancouver, BC
7/18/2011
FYI this is not a restaurant where you sit down and order dim sum. It's mainly a retail shop for FROZEN dim sum.
There's a small display case at the front by the cashier where you pick what you want and take it back to a table in the corner. The options are small...and quite frankly, the place made me depressed just being in it - perhaps cuz I was expecting a regular restaurant? We went else where in Chinatown for dim sum (which turned out wasn't any better!).
Go elsewhere if you want the full dim sum experience. -
Review from Mary A. W.
Vancouver, BC
10/29/2010 2 Check-ins Here
*9-11am is 20% off. takeout is 10% off. *
this is the place where i take my grandmother for dimsum. The richness of fried and oilier items in dimsum fare are getting hard for her to handle, so Kam wai's mostly steamed items, noodles and rice are great. They are a small mom-n pop business so the selection is fairly small.
Shrimp with eggplant are HUGE. hargow and siumai are decent. whole shrimp and shrimp paste with some solid snap in the dumpling. the rice rolls are their one meh item, being too thick and floury. the rice with chicken and mushroom is CHEAP and very filling.
*there's an entire vegetarian section. (yes, REALLY vegetarian). the son of the owners is vegetarian and pushed for items to be included on the menu.
For the price, the quality and value are high for this part of town. They make their own dim sum in another storefront a block away. There you can catch a glimpse of them making it and buy their dumplings frozen for you to make at home.
It IS a hole in the wall. there are thin plastic sheets on each table that are removed after each diner leaves to reveal...another thin plastic sheet. As far as no-frills, simple, solid, inexpensive lunch goes, this is a winner.Listed in: Cheap n Cheerful eats
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Review from Mary N.
2/11/2011 2 photos
Has been craving for some Dim Sum for awhile. Went to Kam Wai thinking that it was a restaurant, but unfortunately it's not. It's basically a store with some Dim Sum. They don't have many selections of dim sum, but they have other pastries. Basically, walk in, pick your dim sum and either sit down and eat or take it home with you. Or you can pick up some frozen dim sum, if you would like. The dim sum was really good and would definitely returning there when I'm in town. And of course, you can't go wrong with the cheap price.
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Review from Doug M.
Victoria, BC
12/15/2010
Friend took me here for the first time and I have to say this place was amazing. For real 5 of us at for under $60 after that I was hooked on this place like 2 times a week. I took a break to save the world for about a month then decided to take my BF for a bite to eat there. Sad to say the place is no longer a sit down kind of place. They have converted back into a place where you can walk in and buy there frozen foods. I am going to miss this place for the price, quality and the funny girl at the front desk. Does anyone want to come over and show me how to cook them dumplings frozen lol
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Review from Joshua T.
8/24/2010
I missed out on Sun Sui Wah one day by arriving just after 3pm and then headed to Chinatown in search of dim sum. Kam Wai totally fit the bill with fresh, yummy, all day dim sum. The shrimp and chive dumplings are great! This is order off the menu dim sum, not off the cart so everything is made fresh to order. I would happily eat here any time.
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Review from Norman Y.
7/10/2010
We got here about 2 pm and found out they have discounted prices ($2.50 per dish) from 2 pm - 5 pm. We tried a bunch of different dishes. The steamed pork and vegetable dumplings were great. The spareribs and pumpkin was very good. The beef rice roll was ok, skin was a bit thick. The pan fried fried shrimp and chives dumplings were our least favorite; the shrimp was not fully cooked. We pointed out the undercooked shrimp to the waitress and she took it back to the kitchen to get it refried. The dish came back oily from refrying it. Minus one star for that.
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Review from Jack D.
Vancouver, BC
8/7/2010
I have only gone here one time, but it is all day dim sum, inexpensive, and good value. Friendly staff. Recommended.
