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Pelican Seafood Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Seafood Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Seafood, Dim Sum
1895 Hastings Street EVancouver, BC V5L 1T3
Neighbourhood: Grandview-Woodlands
(604) 251-3395
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
30 reviews for Pelican Seafood Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"They are perfect for dim sum and a casual dinner." In 15 reviews -
"How about the sticky rice wrap filled with pork." In 2 reviews -
"Then came the crunchy black sesame balls." In 2 reviews
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30 reviews in English
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Review from Cory B.
Vancouver, BC
5/24/2012
Whenever I mention Pelican to my asian friends and coworkers, they're always impressed that I know of this restaurant... must be a local institution. It is quite a ways east from where the tourists are... which is too bad, because I always have a great time here!
I've only been for Dim Sum on Friday or Saturday mornings, and half the time I've been hungover. There's no carts whirling around, but efficient waiter service.
I recommend the eggplant with shrimp paste on it... best item I've had on the menu. The fried rice and steamed vegetables are on par with other restaurants (there's only way to steam it, right?) -
Review from Elton R.
5/14/2012
The food quality here is relatively decent and for the most part reliable. So is the service - unfortunately what you get is rude, unprofessional, unknowledgeable and pushy waiters and waitresses without a fail each visit.
My most recent visit was for the spot prawns, which we wanted butterflied and steamed with garlic. The waiter told us that we cannot order that option because they were slammed in the kitchen. He told us that if we want it we need to get it steamed and served with soy sauce. Hmmmm. Why would I do something like that when I can spend less money, eat more and just as easily prepare it in the comfort of my own home?
I did end up ordering it because the sole purpose of the visit was for the prawns. They arrived overcooked and definitely seemed less than a pound-and-a-half we ordered. On that point, why do these restaurants come out with the prawns show it to you? It's not like you give us a chance to weigh it ourselves to confirm the actual weight served. The waiter returned to ask how was everything. I told him that it was overcooked - he looked stunned and never returned. Why bother coming by to ask if you are not going to rectify the problem in the first place?
I would probably return for dim sum every now and then because they're of decent value but I am so sick and tired of how busy the place is and the attidue of the people who work here. Definitely never returning for dinner though. -
Review from Michael P.
Burnaby, BC
4/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
Pelican Seafood Restaurant used to be the go-to place for my friends and I when we craved dim sum early Saturday mornings..
.. that was until the food we ordered came back to us undercooked. I can (but won't) list off several health concerns surrounding the consumption of undercooked meat and seafood. I'm sure we can all agree that it's bad.
Recently, however, myself and a group of foodies gave this place another try - redemption, if you will.
Here's the summary:
- Okay food with variable portion sizes.
- Rude and unprofessional waiters/waitresses.
- Quality and taste of food was mediocre (only distinguishable if you eat out at various dim sum restaurants A LOT).
- Dim sum menus with colourful photos for people who can't read Chinese.
All-in-all, there are better dim sum places around town. I'll try to avoid Pelican Seafood Restaurant if I can, however, that doesn't necessarily mean I'd never return. -
Review from john m.
5/5/2012
This could be close to, if not the worst meal I've ever had in a Chinese restaurant.
Absolutely nothing was worth eating and my wife is Chinese, so no language barrier.
Yikes, I'm glad we both didn't toss afterwords. -
Review from Travis B.
Vancouver, BC
4/1/2012
This place was wonderful with its previous owner Paul who moved downtown China town and retired as far as I know?
It is still very good and I love the food and location! -
Review from Ramon V.
2/13/2012 6 Check-ins Here
Done deal. This is my new go-to place for dim sum. Sure, I say something like this every year, but after Shanghai Bistro closed last year, I have been struggling to find a new favourite. One rule for the weekend: Go early. Before 11:30 if you can. The quality is best then, and can start fading a bit after 1pm. On our last visit, at 10am, a table for eight was immediately available. After 11am, prepare to wait about 30 minutes. They have their own parking lot too.
The food is really fresh, hot, and portions are quite big for cheap dim sum. Most of the menu is either $3.95 or $4.95, and it's easy for a group of people to leave spending under $15 for a decent-sized dim sum lunch.
Favourites: Prawn and pea stalk dumplings, really big and good siu mai, radish cakes fried in crispy cubes, pumpkin dumplings, fried tofu is a bigger than expected portion, and both varieties of bean curd skin rolls are crowd pleasers. -
Review from Jenn C.
Downtown, Vancouver, BC
3/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've been here before for dinner and wasn't very impressed with the food selection. I came here again yesterday for Dim Sum and the food was pretty average - like most dim sum places i would say. They had "Kung Fu Panda" playing on their TV's, which I personally thought was a funny choice for a Chinese Restaurant.
Overall, I think the food was just average, not sure if i would make my way back to Pelican -
Review from Paulina L.
3/26/2012
So far, this is the best place in Vancouver, B.C. to have some dimsum. I really like the hagau ( a steam bun with prawn in it) , the siu may, and the chicken feet, :p Thinking about it makes me hungry. Try other menu, maybe the seafoods and veggies.
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Review from Michelle P.
Vancouver, BC
1/12/2012 1 Check-in Here
I was all geared up to enjoy a good dim sum feast and was sadly disappointed by the cuisine. We went on a Sunday and were promptly seated the service seemed quick and efficient the food however seemed to be lacking in freshness. One dish in particular that stood out was the deep-fried stuffed taroroot. My mother and I both turned to each other after tasting the dish and commented that they tasted "spoiled"!
I realize this next comment sounds or rather is a bit nit-picky but... we also tried their deep fried black & white sesame baos usually when you cut them open the filling is thick paste like consistency these ones were runny and well... to be honest I have had tastier sesame baos.
I would like to have given a higher rating because the service was really good and efficient. If it weren't for the lack of freshness of the food I would have given a 3 or 4 star rating. -
Review from Edward L.
Came here for some late night munchies, on the recommendation of some Yelp Elite(s).
This place is open late. Excellent.
Parking is very ample out front at such a random hour. Also excellent.
Even on a Friday morning, there were actually a few tables occupied. Another good sign.
We went for the "da lang" (late nite) dishes. Classics included pig intestine, and congee with toppings.
Pig intestine - very fresh and crunchy (deep fried). Ooh yeah. I also especially like the pickled turnips underneath.
Congee - actually had some flavour (guess they added MSG), which is a pleasant change compared to most other places where it tastes like water.
Deep fried baby fish - poor little guys never had a chance at life. My stomach thanks them though. Also fresh and crispy, and the jalapenos add just the right amount of kick.
Honey garlic spare ribs - can't go wrong with this. Just enough sweetness, but not covered with honey goo like most other places. Very good.
Garlic with vegetables - done well. Delicious.
Stir-fried vegetable mix with baby corn and seafood - also quite good.
Vancouver needs more places like this. Recommended.Listed in: 2011 Cheap & Tasty, Open Late
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Review from Megan S.
This is our go-to for dim sum - the food is fresh and well-prepared, the staff are friendly and very professional and the place is always packed to the gills (a good sign).
Our typical order is standard dim sum fare - har gow, siu-mai, steamed bbq pork buns, baked bbq pork buns, eggplant with shrimp puree (my fav!), stuffed bean curd in oyster sauce, deep fried meat dumplings, sticky rice with scallops, gai lan and egg tarts - all of these dishes are consistently delicious and I highly recommend them.
The only things I've tried that didn't quite hit the mark for me were the spare ribs (too fatty, not enough meat), the chicken feet in ginger sauce (sauce was bland and watery) and the pumpkin and pine nut dumplings (filling was too thick and sticky, hard to swallow). I'm also not happy that Pelican serves shark fin soup - I've obviously never ordered it, but it bothers me just to see it on the menu...gah!
We've only ordered for dinner a handful of times, but always enjoyed everything very much. You won't find too many standard Canadian-Chinese dishes here, most items are on the exotic-side of the seafood spectrum but if you have an open mind and a big appetite, you've gotta give this place a try.
*Tip - I suggest coming around 10:30 to get a table for dim sum, 11 is when the rush starts and waits can easily be half an hour or more after that. -
Review from Theresa W.
Vancouver, BC
8/10/2011 7 photos
While riding the 135 bus a few months back, I looked out the window and saw a group of elderly Chinese people heading into this restaurant around noon. And you know when the elderly people go here to party it up at lunch, it's got to be worth a try.
So, despite the fact that there is no dim sum discount, we strolled here in last week (behind a large group of elderly Chinese people who were also taking the bus there) and were quickly seated amongst the busy diners. Husband and I stared hungrily at the menu sheet, not sure which options to tick off. In fact, we probably waited 20 minutes before submitting it just to see what all the other tables were being served.
The steamed shrimp paste on tofu was the clear winner of the lunch. We thought it'd be a small dish, but it came out so much larger than we were expecting (the shrimp paste was actually a giant shrimp ball on top). The sesame ball dessert was the runner up, only because I love me some black sesame paste - I could eat a whole can full of that stuff, and then get sick, and then eat some more if it was available. We also had the shrimp stuffed eggplant, which was a pretty popular dish. The siu mai was not as good as I was expecting (I've been spoiled by Western Lake), but the shrimp rice rolls were decent.
The service was good, they didn't rush us out despite the fact that we were done and just chatting for quite some time. Overall it's a pretty good place with a decent price ($36 for the two of us, incl tip). I'll come back when I have a craving for the shrimp & tofu dish again!Listed in: Dim Sum!
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Review from tee a.
10/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
Love dim sum and late night at Pelican. Always fresh and tasty with a huge array of selection. The quality of food here is better than many places around this area. Open very late and seems to have it's steady late night crowd.
Whenever I come here I always think of this song... http://www.youtube.com... (dim sum girl.. notorious msg)
Manager James is fun and use to work at Gourmet Castle.. He will try to convince you to order beer. Say hi next time :) -
Review from Vonnie C.
Burnaby, BC
10/25/2011
Wow 1st time to pelican for dim sum and my friend and I were both impressed. Met a friend in the area and felt like having dim sum so thought i'd check for reviews as there was another one close by his work but reviews were only ok, nothing outstanding.
Went on a tuesday at 1pm so it wasn't terribly busy that we had to wait.
We ordered about 5 dishes and stuffed ourselves.
1) Stuffed eggplant with prawn paste - HUGE and tasty. Eggplant was cooked just right.
2) rice roll with prawns - standard size and taste
3) spareribs - tasty
4) ha gow (shrimp dumplings) - 4 decent sized per basket, pretty good
5) tripe and tendon - sauce was tasty but only complaint was tendon seemed to be overcooked as it was quite mushy. Never had tendon that texture before.
Portions were good and everything was fresh and tasty. Will definitely go back again!
Dim sum isn't super cheap as it's not all one set price but it wasn't terribly expensive neither. I'd say it's mid-priced. We spent $23 after taxes before tip. -
Review from Clayton H.
Vancouver, BC
10/5/2011
Shark fin soup was the first thing I saw on the menu. I would have left then and there but we were starving and exhausted. The service was fine but our tablecloth was dirty and the atmosphere was a mixture of insanely bright lights mixed with the sounds of crying babies and loud patrons. No music. No drink menu. It just felt uncomfortable.
We ordered two beef dishes with noodles and were pretty disgusted with both. Some of these reviews mention other dishes that might be better but I certainly won't be back to try them.
And I really can't believe that the sale of shark fins is still legal in Canada. AVOID!!! -
Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
3/11/2011 3 Check-ins Here
Second home of my bday for this year.
The Yums:
Roast squab, good, tasty, but a little dry. 3 stars
Peking Duck 2 courses, juicy, crispy skin. Thinking about it is making me hungry again! 4 stars!
Crab claw/ball thingy, best one I had this year so far ;) 4 stars!
The rest, everything was pretty good and if was a very satisfying Chinese meal, flavour wise. I don't remember much more cause I was pretty buzzed lol
The Minions:
Anyone remember James from Gourmet Castle??? (http://www.yelp.ca/biz...) Well, he works here now!! hahaha Excellent! Very attentive server that kept checking up on us in our room. Very friendly staff.
The Elbowroom:
They have a private room that fits about 20ish people if you are interested in holding a party there. Got a nice big screen to watch the game in there also and a couple others in the main room.
Parking might be limited, but there is plenty of street parking around.Listed in: GAME TIME BABY!!!!
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Review from Alice A.
7/1/2011
Yay! Finally, there's hope for a decent dim-sum place in Vancouver.
I was a little skeptical after reading the last review, but I'm happy to report that this place is legit and still rocking!
To me, a good dim-sum restaurant is defined by their tan-tat, har-gow and siu-mai. Their egg tarts were just as good as the ones from my world favourite egg tarts in Perth, WA - warm, custardy and flaky. And OMG, they have a durian paste pastry that's perfectly sweet, creamy and flaky. In fact, everything was pretty darn good. Perfect size, meaty without being too chunky. Dumplings all held together quite well.
If I were to nitpick, I'd say the green kai-lan was a bit too salty and oily, and I didn't care for the nut dumplings.
Would I return and wait half an hour in line again? Probably, especially if no comparable dim-sum restaurants turn up. -
Review from Annie W.
9/25/2010
Dim Sum is pretty good here. Parking is suffice but on the weekends you might want to go earlier.
There is a spot at the far corner (by the dumpster) that you might want to avoid. The restaurant's vans tend to park in front of the dumpster blocking that corner parking spot.
The service is above average and the food is quite delicious. They are perfect for dim sum and a casual dinner. They can also hold banquets and parties. Enjoy! -
Review from Kayla S.
Vancouver, BC
5/5/2011
Usually, Pelican is always packed because the food is good however, this isn't true anymore. We assume they changed chefs and cooks.
My family and I have not been at Pelican for over a year.. reason is because my dad hates waiting in line with hunger pain.
However, we came late and it was still empty. So we thought there was something fishy...
And in the end.. we figured out the issue. The food sucks. We were all baffled at the 360 change of poor quality food they now serve. Yes, they even did a bad job at the usual ha gao, sui mai, foong jiao. Pelican is now ultimate fail. -
Review from Claudia L.
Burnaby, BC
Updated - 12/22/2008 4 photos
Went here for dinner service and I was disappointed in the lack of seasoning in the Fish Maw Soup and Baked Tapioca :(
Maybe it was an anomaly, just like the weather *hopeful teary eyes*?
I need good Chinese food within a 10 km radius of my house -_-
I will be back!Listed in: Do Da Dim Sum La
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/8/2008 First to Review
Quick dim sum in a nice place at a fair price.
Food: Some unique twists on dim sum and less saltier… Read more »
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Review from Raymond O.
Vancouver, BC
10/3/2009 5 photos
I ate here on recommendation from a colleague who assessed my love for Kirin, dislike for Sun Sui Wah, and proposed this was a better value in between the two.
First bonus point is for the private parking lot. It's not big and gets full pretty quick. However, the restaurant isn't big either. And being located along busy East Hastings where street parking is the norm, it's definitely convenient.
Another bonus point for the attentive service. Quick tea refills without the need to ask. Efficiency in bringing requested condiments and water unlike most dim sum places where you have to ask each and every waiter that passes by and nod their head while continuing their momentum of walking away without no intention of ever coming back. (And if they did come your way again, they have amnesia). Not here at Pelican. You only need to ask once. They listen. Then come back with exactly what you asked for.
The dim sum items vary from 3 to 4 stars in taste and quality.
- Fresh baked pork buns served straight from the oven with a little bit of crunch and chewy texture.
- Then came the crunchy black sesame balls. No run of the mill red bean or lotus paste filling here.
- The wow factor kept on building up with the rice rolls wrapped with Chinese donuts topped with shredded pork and served with a side of peanut and Hoisin sauce.
- The sticky rice with Chinese sausage was another winner.
- Not enough sticky rice on the table? How about the sticky rice wrap filled with pork.
- The fried taro dumplings with it's delicate crispy shell was another winner. The taste is light despite the gooey looking filling. Line it with soy sauce and yellow mustard and that's that.
Sadly, it was downhill from there.
- The steamed pork buns and steamed chicken buns had great filling, but were already over-steamed that the buns itself were falling apart from taking in too much water at this point. You peel off the paper lining and the bottom layer goes with it. Sigh.
- The final item we had was the classic siu mai this time served in gigantic portions. Now everytime I see a large dumpling, I can assure you the plentiful filling is due to the abundant pork fat. This is no exception. Fresh? Yes. Pork fat? Double chin, err, double yes.
It's definitely no Kirin with it's fancy ambience and long wait. But then it also isn't one of those regular dim sum places with the typical crowded lines by the entrance coupled with dim sum carts and unkept interior. You sit down. You check the items and quantity from a piece of paper then wait for your order to arrive.
It is what it is and for that it deserves 4 pork fat stars from me. -
Review from Silvia C.
Vancouver, BC
5/24/2010
I've been here for dim sum a few times. Fellow 4-star yelpers have summed up my lunch experience here fairly well.
I wanted to mention the dinner menu. Tonight I was lucky to try BC Spot prawns cooked 2 different ways. Like all good seafood restaurants, "your catch" will be brought to the table to size up for freshness. At this point our table of guests are salivating. The first prawn dish was parboiled, served whole with soy sauce infused with ginger slivers and jalapenos. Then the second dish of prawns were stir fried in a dry mixture of salt/pepper/xo sauce. DELICIOUSLY SWEET!
The chefs know how to brilliantly prepare crab dishes too. Choose from any 4 preparation methods....you can't go wrong. But my fave is stir fried salt'n pepper or sweet onion sauce. -
Review from Cameron M.
Toronto, ON
12/24/2008
The Pelican is well known by east van kids and hipsters alike for one simple reason: It's open late. Very late. Maybe even 24 hours, I've never really read the signage.
All I know is along east Hastings when you're pouring out of one of the many dive bars The Pelican is one of the few places open to grab a bite.
What's the food like? Greasy, kind of gross seafood. But, I personally judge all my midnight seafood based on one category: Did it make me throw up. And the answer is no. It may have been greasy but it definitely hits the spot when you've had a few drinks and are looking for just anything to fill your belly between busses.
The Pelican is also huge so I'd assume if you had a big party it would be a great place to head. They have the standard massive menus and the wait staff was capable of dealing with us in our various states of intoxication.
So yes, functional drunk food in a location otherwise devoid of life in the wee hours. Consider that next time you stumble down Hastings. -
Review from karen c.
Vancouver, BC
7/12/2010
Pelican's dimsum and dinner food is quite yummy. Their dimsum is big and it actually tastes good! Dinner - better to eat seafood at home. I had their crab and lobster with yee mein and they totally ripped us off on our lobster! The lobster and the crab were really big when I saw it...and when the dish comes out, it's pretty much all crab and hardly any lobster. It tasted good, but what happened to my lobster?! Overall - you gotta try this place! I've never been disappointed with their food - well except for my lobster - but otherwise, they've maintained their standard.
Atmosphere - pleasant
Price - reasonable for the quality of food
Food - yummy!
Service - hit and miss - managers are really rude
Parking - their parking lot really sucks! I always park on the street. -
Review from Andy H.
Vancouver, BC
3/11/2010
Only been here for dim sum, 4-5 times. It's basically huge dim sum with subtle differences from what you get in all the typical dim sum restaurants. Like for example: their shrimp and rice noodle (dont know the proper name of it) has a strand of green onion in it. You dont see it but after you bite into it, then you'll notice something different. It's kind of nice, in my opinion.
Another perk about this place is Value Village is right across the street! Found a great old man cardigan sweater, made in Italy, for 4 dollars! -
Review from Elizabeth H.
3/1/2010 1 photo
Pelican Seafood was the recommendation we got when we asked a couple of Westin employees for THEIR dim sum recommendations...not where they'd send the white people staying at the Westin.
It was awesome and I'd totally go back, but my first trip to Pelican taught me a lesson: Vancouver dim sum is bigger than San Francisco dim sum.
See, we didn't know that going in so we accidentally ordered enough food for five people.
The dim sum I've had in California tends to be three or four pieces of bite-sized dumplings per order. I knew we ordered more than we could probably eat, but I had NO IDEA each order was going to come out with dumplings three times the size of the ones in CA.
My boyfriend gave up early but the thought of all those delicious shrimp dumplings going to waste HURT MY SOUL so I did my best to pack in as much as possible but alas, it was not meant to be...so if you happened to be at Pelican Seafood that day and saw two wasteful, gluttonous Americans, we didn't mean it. It was an accident. We were plenty embarrassed. -
Review from Helena C.
Vancouver, BC
6/7/2010
Pelican Seafood Restaurant has had a long history in Vancouver and it was renovated about three or four years ago. Since the renovation, my family has been regular customers for lunch and dinner. This place is very busy at lunch because their dim sums are delicious and reasonably sized.
Its location is not as great because it is located in the industrial area with a funeral home next door. Otherwise, this place is very clean and the service is very attentive. -
Review from Eva B.
Updated - 3/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Well all I have to say is the shiny happy feeling has worn off a bit. We went at 2pm and hour before dim sum ends. I am sorry to say that we could tell that the food had been out for a while and they were just trying to get rid. The quality definitely goes down at this time. If you are going to go for dim sum here go early.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/10/2011
A friend suggested we go here for Dim Sum on Saturday and I am glad that we did. We were seated… Read more »
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Review from JJ L.
Vancouver, BC
10/16/2011
We frequent here often. The price is very decent and the food is good, both dinner and dim sum. Our grandma absolutely loves this place and is a regular to the point everyone knows her :) so sweet. And the workers are very kind to her. It can get very busy during dim sum with long line ups. The parking lot is usually full but there is street parking.
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Review from Gladys M.
10/7/2009
Great Dim Sum!! If that's what you come here for. The dim sum came hot and tasty and uses fresh ingredients. Their price is totally reasonable. Parking is limited and could be tight... Seatings... they sometimes let their frequent group patrons cut in and seat them first. But that's not uncommon for a good Chinese restaurant which I have learned to accept. But we get our table quickly nonetheless, so Yes, I am a fan. Will definitely go back when I crave for dim sum!
