- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Spicy Court Chinese Restaurant - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
5638 Cambie RdSte 101
Vancouver, BC V5Z 3A5
Neighbourhoods: South Cambie, Riley Park
(604) 325-0320
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
11 reviews for Spicy Court Chinese Restaurant
11 reviews in English
-
Review from Kristina C.
Vancouver, BC
2/7/2011
My family and I were loyal to Spicy Court even during the Canada Line construction, so we're glad this place has managed to stay open despite the lack of business during that time.
This restaurant is higher in quality compared to other Chinese restaurants in terms of service, ambiance, and the food. The servers are fairly prompt, friendly, and attentive. The restaurant is brightly lit and is modestly decorated.
Portions are fairly decent, and the food is very tasty. We ordered fish maw soup, moo shu pork, fresh scallops and gai lan, spicy diced chicken served over vermicelli noodles, spicy prawns with cashew nuts, and chicken and taro hot pot. All the dishes were delicious: the scallops were huge, and the vermicelli was a nice addition to the dish. I was a bit apprehensive of the taro hot pot at first as it was the colour of papier mache, but it was actually really tasty and the sauce tasted great with rice.
They have an awesome chili sauce, which I believe is homemade. On an earlier visit, the manager even allowed my mom to buy a small take out container of the sauce!
Menu: not an extremely extensive menu, but the dishes have a bit more originality than most restaurants, pairing unlikely ingredients together and making it work. About 5-8 dish options per category.
Price: Spicy Court is more expensive than your average Chinese restaurant, with prices averaging about $15 per dish.
Service: as noted before, fairly prompt, fairly friendly. Some hovering action occurs if the restaurant is empty, which is a bit unsettling.
Ambiance: clean, well-lit, minimal decor. Separate back room for private parties. -
Review from Larry L.
Updated - 2/3/2012
It's too bad they are closed. I heard it was closed Oct 30 of 2011.
Simon K can vouch for that I'm sure. He happened to post something up about them taking out the chairs in November.
It was a great place for dimsum. It will be missed. We even had our company Christmas dinner there once.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
5/23/2011
We eat sum dim sum here with the guys. Before I would dine here for the occasional dinner, but… Read more »
-
-
Review from Johnson C.
Vancouver, BC
3/17/2011
Kick in the door, waving [Review Two] Four Four!
It's a problem when people know you like writing food reviews and your line of work is completely irrelevant to the real world. My mechanic buddy gets car questions. My lawyer buddy gets 'How do I ____ without going to jail?" questions. And so on. Me? In their eyes, I'm the fat guy you ask about food and drink.
But I'm not a foodie and my palate is pretty much limited to 6 degrees: 'bitter', 'sweet', 'sour', 'salty', 'spicy' and 'tastes like chicken'. I just like getting on a soapbox and ranting about stupid bullshit and hope don't kill too many readers brain cells in the process with my drivel (if you are reading this, please reconsider your priorities).
So it's a bit awkward and stressful when someone who knows their food asks me for a restaurant recommendation, especially if it's for a large group gathering - I found it best to evade the question: "Hmm - I don't know - what do you like? I'll like to try somewhere new." So - Spicy Court was suggested and I snap-called. Sweet - if the place sucks, it's not on my head. You know that feeling when everyone's eyes around the Lazy Susan is glaring at you? Well - that's what I want to avoid.
So I drove out to Oakridge - passing by my beloved Victoria dim sum strip. First surprise, there's plenty of free parking in their underground garage. Second surprise, there's no line-up on a Saturday morning. Third surprise, this place is surprisingly quiet for a dim sum joint. Spacious parking is great since Chinese drivers are as bad as the stereotype. But the lack of dim sum lineups usually means either (a) the place sucks or (b) it's very expensive. After scanning some of the reviews though - I now know why it was dead: we rolled in at 11:30AM - right after their 20% off 'happy hour.' And I actually like loud dim sum restaurants - my salty crew likes dick and fart jokes which is more at home drowned in a constant yum cha roar.
Ordering is via tick-sheet style and most of the dishes are about $4 - $5 which is more expensive than most other places in the city. Service was a tad friendlier than your usual dim sum joint - but still undeniably Chinese.
Most of the dim sum staples were here and were on par in quality and portions. The highlights for me were the fried radish cake and potstickers. I didn't understand the appeal of the spicy wontons or the house XO hot sauce they had - it was alright, but I didn't understand why it was on/in every dish they could get away with. And some of my friends felt the need to drench everything else in the house hot sauce. I am convinced they would have eaten a cardboard box if it was doused with enough special hot sauce.
The low light - xiao long bao. See, I've going to dim sum since before I could walk and I know the first rule of dim sum: 'You *never* order xiao long bao from a dim sum joint". Unfortunately, my buddy thought he would tempt fate (guess the hot sauce addled his brain into thinking this place was unique) and ordered two dishes of XLB. We got dry, soupless and thick-skinned dumplings they had the audacity to call 'xiao long bao'. I was ready to flip the Lazy Susan over in rage and shriek "What hath thou wrought?!" at my foolish friend.
Point of annoyance when the bill came: They charged us 'tea fee' for 13 people. I did a quick head count... I see 12 adults. I count again... 12 adults still. Then I realized they felt a 2-year old infant needs to be charged for tee as well. Seriously - that's not very Chinese - I thought we were supposed to love kids.
Overall, it's a bit pricey but it's largely solid dim sum - even with the 20% off special, it'll just be in the same tier in quality and value as some of the joints in East Van if you're in the know. Oh well - just the area, I suppose.Listed in: Yum Cha
-
Review from Edward L.
Spicy Court is your typical Chinese restaurant. They are decent, but with that said, it is also nothing special.
Parking is available after 6pm along Cambie, and also along certain side streets.
The interior does look a bit beaten up, but hey, we're not here for the award-winning decor.
Service is nice and prompt, just the way I like it.
There were several good dishes that stuck out.
Fried shrimp with salad dressing - this is like crack. Just the right amount of flavour and zing.
Sweet and Sour Pork - they got the vegetables right. Nice and crispy. Not too much sauce (common mistake with other places). This ain't no lunch special at the mall.
Steamed cod with soy sauce - not every place can do it right, but this is one of them. The meat holds together in clumps, but still breaks off cleanly when cut with a spoon.
Peking duck - nice fresh crispy skin. Green onions were not that fresh though. And of course, the awesome awesome crispy shrimp chips!
The price is fairly reasonable for the amount of food you get.
Overall, a decent place for a no-frills banquet dinner. -
Review from Simon K.
Working in the Oakridge area definitely has it's perks, and one of them is this restaurant. Practically less than a block away from my home away from home, this is usually a work lunch hang out. They are not as busy as the dim sum across the street, but that does not mean they are bad at all. They have all the regular items that you would normally expect when you come to a lunch like this, but they also have all the special dishes that you also would expect from a quality restaurant.
The seating in here is nice and spacious, a restaurant that definitely has much elbow room. The ordering for the dim sum portion is done on a sheet, that is double sided, there are many items, that are nice and seperated from rice rolls, to steamed, to desserts, to deep fried (you know the good stuff is here). I was impressed at the quality of each dish, as the taste really shines here. I strayed away from the normal 'har-gow' and 'sui'mai' dishes, and went with the eggplant and shrimp paste, and the pan-fried soy sauce rice roll. I will definitely return, to also tempt my mouth into their dim sum desserts.
There is good parking around the area, as most of it is 1 to 2 hours parking. They also offer underground parking in the back, for many who do not know. Just be prepared to shell out a few bucks, as this is not your $2.75 everything place.Listed in: Great Dim Sum Joints in the…
-
Review from Theresa W.
Vancouver, BC
3/14/2011 6 photos
I'm always happy when I can find a new dim sum restaurant that is transit friendly. When I mapped this one out, I was delighted to find out it's located right outside Oakridge-41st on the Canada Line. So a 20 minutes later, I was walking into the doors of this restaurant on a rainy Sunday.
It's a small place but it totally reminds me of the dim sum restaurants I grew up with back in Toronto. While the place offers 20% off their dim sum if you get your bill before 11:30am, the menu doesn't actually list which items are dim sum (no indicators of small, medium, large) and which items are specials (which don't fall under the 20% discount).
Some of the winners include the scallop shrimp dumplings and the deep-fried shrimp and crab seaweed roll. Another winner that wasn't included in the 20% off deal but was totally worth it was the peppery black cod neck pieces. If you're a lover of black cod / sablefish, this is a winner!
The spicy wontons were good, but VERY spicy. I had to pass on them, which gave me a big sad face, but I really like being able to taste my food. Overall, a decent place to come for some simple dim sum. The portion sizes were good, and the service was decent. :) -
Review from Michael C.
Vancouver, BC
1/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Dim Sum before work? What a way to start the new year for me!
Ok, lets get down to it. When I rate dim sum places, I base things on the staples (ie: siu mai, ha gao, lo mai gai, dan tat, and so on..). It's the best way to compare all dim sum joints cause they all carry these common staple items and dim sum wouldn't be dim sum without them. Spicy Court, on my scale of quality/quantity over price, I give you........... 3.5 Stars! "But wait Michael, why is it 4 stars up there?" The chili oil/sauce thingy that they have there is awesome. They serve it with the Spicy Wontons. Soooooo goood!!! I saw the same sauce being reused in other dishes... I guess it's the heart of their cooking lol The only problem with this oil is that it makes everything so greasy. No a pretty sight considering it's the new year and I'm sure most of you have some kind of diet plan in your mind.
Service: Typical Asian service lol!
Heads up. There is free underground parking apparently. I had to park 2 blocks away!! :( And I believe they take reso -
Review from Amary N.
8/16/2008
This is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Vancouver, BC.
The name Spicy has nothing to do with Sichuanese cuisine.
Notable dishes: Peking Duck rather than serving it with steamed buns. They serve is the traditional way with thin crepe. Their signature is "Mui Choi Kau Yook" Pork belly with preserved veggies. It's as good as my awesome Hakka aunt's dish. No sand, tender pork.
It may not be a fanciful place like other Chinese restaurant in Richmond. But food is good here. You'll see a lot of Chinese seniors and family dining here.
They also serve dim sum. I rate it 4/5 for dim sum. Service isn't so good during dim sum hour.
Parking...turn right on 40th Ave W and right on Albert. You'll see a sign "Spicy Court Restaurant" go into the building. And park on
the assigned space of the restaurant. You'll have to take an elevator to the restaurant. Parking space is tight, SUVs are not recommended. Unless you've good parking skills. -
Review from Melody M.
9/8/2010
I couldn't remember why I liked this restaurant until I bit into the best deep fried shripm wonton. They were huge and crispy and light, but not oily.
Fast and efficient service. Reasonably priced dim sum that range around $5.00 an item. Not a lot of dim sum variety but worth coming back for those fried won tons. -
Review from Raymond O.
Vancouver, BC
Spicy Court is alive and bustling again now that the Canada Line construction in their area is done.
The Cantonese-style dim sum dishes are relatively inexpensive. Service was above par and efficient. When you need the staff, they give you their attention not like other typical Chinese restaurants where they go about their own way. (I guess I'm talking about LA standards versus Vancouver with it's friendly disposition).
The restaurant is bright and spacious enough to maneuver around to your table. Like most dim sum places these days, there are no carts here so food can be cooked to order. You are given a checklist-style menu and a pencil so you can indicate your order and quantity.
This place deserves three stars for the following reasons:
- The food is okay with the taste being average.
- Menu selection is normal. No special concoction that you can only find in the restaurant.
- If the food is cooked to order, then there is a failure in some quality because the Cha Siu Bao was soggy from over-steaming.
- XO sauce is an extra $2.50.
Highlights:
- Pan Fried Radish Cake with dried shrimps
- Black Sesame Seed Balls
Call ahead for reservations. Make plans with your tummy. -
Review from David L.
11/29/2009
Great quality dim sum with a lot of variety of different dishes to choose from. There are no carts, so you'll have to order from the menu. There is a reason to arrive early - If you order your dim sum dishes before 11:00pm, you'll get a 20% discount for all of the dishes. I find the quality of their dim sum is better than Sun Sui Wah on Main St. and Spicy Court has lower prices too. This is one of the better value dim sum restaurants on the West Side.
