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Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Seafood Restaurants Chinese Dim Sum Seafood, Dim Sum [Edit]
102-4940 No 3 RdRichmond, BC V6X 3A5
Neighbourhood: Golden Village
(604) 273-8208
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- 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
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Classy
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
96 reviews for Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"One of my favorites in the Vancouver area." In 24 reviews -
"was quite good and the roasted squab alone was worth the..." In 5 reviews -
"Har Gow - by far the largest shrimp dumplings I've had." In 9 reviews
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96 reviews in English
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Review from Nick L.
4/18/2012
Amazing dim sum.
This restaurant is bright and clean. This is not your usual dim sum place as visited by me in other parts of the world.
Superlatives are not enough for this place.
Every dish we ordered, be it beef balls to siu mai to sticky rice to glass noodles were really good. We went overboard and ordered way too much. I wanted to feast till I exploded and nearly did.
I would recommend this place in an instant if you are in the area. Shame I don't live close, but next time I'm in the area, I'll look this place up for sure! -
Review from Kenneth E.
Vancouver, BC
4/28/2012
Find this a little bit overrated for all the hoop la la. sure it's good food but to say to want to come here often, it's more of a special occasion. Clearly one of the elegant Chinese restaurants with its expansive 'lobby' area, with seats. and one of the best, cleanest washrooms in the city ;) Almost like a hotel feel lol.
Generally come here for the dim sum, and due to its huge size, the wait's not too bad, but the Main St. a bit shorter.
Best dim sum dessert are their deep fried balls with its sweet sesame puree.
Plenty of parking. -
Review from check p.
4/13/2012
Came for dim sum, at 10:30, so it's just coming alive. Plenty of space, not crowded; very beautiful room and very clean. fun to see King Crabs in the tanks- it was the start of the fresh king crab season, apparently, and according to the ads, this is the cheapest and best place to get the crabs.
We ordered dim sum from a menu, so it's a little harder to figure out your favorites, but we got familiar, and not so, and everything was hot (that was supposed to be). The soup dumplings were not really soupy enough for us, but everything else was really superlative. Very clean tasting, no MSG (you can really tell, initially it seems underseasoned, but then you realize- no MSG). Service was great. Price was right between more divey, and Koi Palace, about $13 a person. -
Review from Christine T.
5/18/2012
Oh YUM! Yes, very, very good indeed. Can't say it was the best dim sum ever but yeah, I'd definitely go back... when I'm in town...
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Review from Rudi T.
5/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came in for dim sum towards the end of dim sum hour. No waiting line at all. They still had a good number of selections left, only a couple of our items were sold out. They have one of the best Siumaai I've ever had, staffs are great and helpful. Their shrimp Fun Rolls are kind of bland but that's maybe because they don't mix the sauce with it. They put it on the side for you. All in all great dining experience. Fast credit card check out with their portable device.
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Review from Andrea L.
Vancouver, BC
3/11/2012
First thing's first, I dont particularly enjoy Chinese food to begin with.
Sun Sui Wah is one of the few places I find tolerable when I don't have much of a choice.
Like most chinese restaurants, you will come out smelling and tasting of heavy MSG.
Maybe it's just me, but I found this one was worse than the one located on Main street.
I can skip most dishes (yes, really, thats how much I don't like to nomnom on Chinese food), but theres the darn Peking Duck that is delish in 2 courses.
That and my old fave as a kid, their trademark Fire Roasted Squab (cutting back on all that meat, so I haven't had it in a while) and ginormous platter of steamed giant prawns with soy sauce.
If you order at least 2/3 dishes I mentioned, you'll have lunch & dinner for one, for at least 2 days. MMMMM!! -
Review from Kevin W.
1/2/2012 11 photos
There are thousands of restaurants in Metro Vancouver, but I always find myself coming back to this one. This is probably my favorite restaurant in all of Canada, even though I've been to similar restaurants that were better in the United States. It's like a silly little guilty pleasure I have. When visiting from Seattle, the first place I ever want to stop at after crossing the border is Sun Sui Wah. It's a bright, clean, and spacious dim sum restaurant that offers high quality food and a unique dining experience.
Probably the most obvious difference of this place from other restaurants is that you order using scantrons similar to the ones you filled out with number two pencils in school. Well here, you use them to tell the staff what you want. The scantron sheet lists the menu items and you use the pencil to fill in the bubble (it's more like a rectangle) that corresponds to the quantity of the item you want. If you want three shumais, you find shumai on the scantron and darken the space for "3." I have never seen any other restaurant do this, but if these people want to run their business this way, I can't say I have a problem with it.
Prices are pretty straightforward. "Small" dishes go for $3.20 each, "medium" ones are priced at $3.75, and "large" ones are $4.20. Like many other dim sum restaurants, you don't have any control over the size of the dishes. The sizes are all predetermined and the scantron tells you what size each one is. I'm not aware of any size here that's inaccurately labeled, but the prices are a little high, Canadian or U.S. For the food here, though, it's a fair tradeoff, and the hordes of people that pack this place during lunchtime seem to suggest that the Canadians feel the same way.
One of my personal favorites here is the steamed tofu skin roll. It's apparently tofu skin wrapped around meat, dripping with juice, and very flavorful. Chicken feet are similarly juicy and the tendon inside them is delicious. The shumai is rich and exquisite, and topped with bright orange fish roe. Another excellent dish is the har gow (shrimp bonnets), steamed shrimp wrapped inside starch. They don't do anything unusual or special with these, but they taste so good anyway that it's hard to care about how they could be made less plain. These are all very familiar dim sum dishes that, while a tad expensive, surpass much of what you could find elsewhere.
Among the less well-known dishes is the fried taro croquette, basically just taro inside a wispy intricate outer breading (I actually don't know exactly what it is). I like that dish, along with roasted barbecue pork pastries covered with sesame seeds, because they sort of blur the line between the meal and dessert. There is a hint of sweetness to them and they go great toward the end of the meal. Actual dessert items like egg tarts are here, too. There's so much good stuff here that if you order right, you'll likely be full before you get to the desserts. For any kind of restaurant, this is a great sign. The prices could reasonably be a little lower, but the food is almost as good as it gets. -
Review from C C.
Nanaimo, BC
4/10/2012
OMG.. Probably the best dim sum had ...and I've had dim sum in HK. Fast,efficient service, food was excellent , not greasy at all, and the chicken feet were awesome. $34 for 2 very decent price. Highly recommended.
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Review from Paul Z.
3/12/2012
Highly recommended. Came for dinner for fresh live King Crab and was not disappointed. Legit Chinese, but a knowledge of the cuisine is needed if you are not familiar on how or what to order.
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Review from Hubert Y.
10/12/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Late dimsum with the wife and kids. Got seated in less than 5 minutes.
Dim sum are not push carts anymore, it's fill in the scantron sheet (just like taking exams back in the day). The scantron sheets come in Chinese and English forms. Sorry, no version Français. If you look Chinese but can't speak a word of it, make sure you ask for the English form when the hostess is about to show you to your table.
Dimsum is good. Everything is very tasty and appetizing. Food came out pretty fast, and served nice and hot.
Service is good. Servers are friendly. The tea's always full.
This place is accommodating in terms of family with kids or bigger parties.
Just like any dimsum place out there, expect to wait during high times.
High chairs, yes.
Booster seats, yes.Listed in: Family Friendly Places
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Review from Patricia L.
Vancouver, BC
9/28/2011
We just had my Mother-In-Law's 60th Surprise birthday party here - Chinese Banquet Styles, 10 course meal. Both service and food were great. All 80 of our guests were rolling themselves out of the restaurant by the end of the evening because they were so full from all the food and everyone had leftovers to bring home as well.
I've had dim sum here as well and it is one of the better places in the city to go to. If you are looking to throw a banquet style dinner at the Richmond location then ask for Kennex - he was friendly, efficient and really helpful. He made sure the party went off without a hitch and he was more than helpful, which is a rare find in a Chinese restaurant!Listed in: I HEART Food!
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Review from Bon H.
3/5/2012
This place is one of the best dim sum restaurants in Richmond :)... my friends and I came up here a couple weeks ago and it's definitely my "go to" dim sum places around. Aside from the quick service, the dim sum here is quite delectable...it's fresh, well made, and absolutely delicious! I like the fact that there are no carts coming around, there are endless choices to pick from on the scantron sheet. Everything comes out hot! Yes! I did think it was a little odd that each table had just one menu to share unless you ask the server otherwise. Aside from that it's a great place to go with friends or family.
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Review from Addie L.
2/2/2012
The quality of food is good to ok. Expect more than $20 per person for dim sum which is on the high end. Service is fast and attentive, the place is very clean. This is not the place if you looking for value. 100% agree with the other reviews regarding the price you pay for food.
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Review from Holly L.
7/12/2011
BEST DIM SUM I'VE EVER HAD....
well it better be!! each order is about $5 bucks... but i can guarantee that it's worth every penny! ha gow and siu mai are the best!!!! went there once on vacation but i'd definitely visit again when i come back to vancouver! richmond is where all the good asian spots are at! -
Review from Daisy L.
2/12/2012
The dim sum here taste fresh and good. There wasn't a line when we went probably because it was a weekday. The building is pretty old looking, but clean from what i notice. When we were done eating it was hard to get a waiter's attention to pay, so if your in a rush i would recommend walking up the counter and pay.
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Review from Jonas T.
6/27/2011 2 photos
I've been to this dim sum restaurant and I've been to Fisherman's Terrace back-to-back. Judging by the basics alone (siu mai and ha gow), this place wins. They lose in parking, though.
JONASAPPROVED! -
Review from Cody S.
4/28/2011
There are numbers and numbers of places to eat Dim Sum. This isn't always at the top of our list on a Saturday morning....it's always a great possibility, though.
Dim Sum here is pretty good. The quality is good and the selection is ok. I've certainly seen alot more choices on other menus. This one is good, though.
I really like the interior of the restaurant. It is decorated pretty nicely. It is clean and updated. The service is pretty quick. Number one, though, is the parking. You never really have to worry about fighting other dim sum drivers for a parking space.Listed in: Saturday Morning Food in…
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Review from Linda L.
5/29/2011
Overall: Yummy yummy in my tummy!
It's just been soooo long that I've had good dim sum.... so, so very long (I think about four years).
This place is quick, efficient, civilized, clean and tasty. Although they don't have as many choices as other restaurants, nor do they have the dim sum carts going around, we like it. They have small "order forms" where you tick off what you want, and there's a photo book for dim sum beginners.
We sampled the prawn dumplings (har gow), pork/prawn sui mai, beef sui mai, chicken feet (fung jow) in black bean, pork pot stickers, beef rice rolls (cheung fan), char sui rice rolls, steamed bbq pork buns, egg tarts, sesame balls with black sesame filling, fresh mango pancake over two visits.
The dumplings were HUGE. Everything is delicately seasoned and far-more refined than the dim sum you get in Seattle. It was so good here, we had to make another visit on the way back to Seattle. In fact, J is even considering just to cross the border to eat here! (I think he's become addicted).
Each time, we had about 9-10 items... yes, we're greedy... and finished them all. Both times were around 40-45 dollar, which to us isn't bad. We left comfortably full and satisfied both times.
Parking is far easier during the week than it is during the weekend, but it's still not that difficult... you just have to stalk the people who have just finished eating. Being seated is also a lot easier during the weekdays than the weekends. However, on Saturday around 12:30, we only had to wait about 5 minutes, and were given an "order form" whilst we were waiting (to save time).
PS - Bathrooms/washrooms are clean and service is good! They also have huge tanks of seafood for you to choose from... me, I just couldn't condemn one to death like that. -
Review from Randy F.
3/26/2011 4 photos
With an abundance of dim sum choices in Richmond, I wasn't sure which
to go to. In the end, we chose Sun Sui Wah.
The dish and specialty that made my choice easy was their offering
roasted squab. A small, but succulent, fowl that if cooked properly
will have a great crispy skin and tender dark meat is a favorite.
At 11 am, we didn't have to wait long for a seat and it's perhaps a
reflection of all the food choices in the area. But by 1 pm, all the
seats we could see were filled and we were glad to have chosen an
early dining time.
The menu is presented in English and Chinese and you mark a paper
sheet with your choices. A few standouts:
Roasted Squab - enormous and meaty squab that tasted fantastic. Each
(we ordered two) was cut into four pieces and served with a special
dipping salt. Home run.
Har Gow - by far the largest shrimp dumplings I've had. Nicely filled
with great quality prawns.
Sugarcane shrimp - a novel dim sum item for me. Tasty deep fried
shrimp served wrapped around a sugarcane. Well done.
Pork and Vegetable Pan fried Dumplings - light and nicely fried
without being too oily.
Egg custard tarts - I liked the smaller size for dessert.
Overall, I was quite happy with dim sum at Sun Sui Wah. Everything
was quite good and the roasted squab alone was worth the trip.
Sun Sui Wah accepts credit cards. -
Review from Edward L.
Came here for some king crab.
Parking is quite ample, but boy are those speed bumps high. Grounded out my car a few times on several different bumps. Just a warning.
Interior was very classy and nice. This is definitely upscale.
Melon soup with shredded pork - very flavourful.
King crab with garlic + butter - oh wow this was freaking good. Nice big pieces, and the butter + garlic was just right.
Deep fried king crab with jalapenos - a bit overcooked as the meat got dried a bit. But the batter was nice.
Peking duck - nice big slices. Skins were a bit dry. Fresh and crispy. Presentation definitely wasn't anywhere close to when I had it in Beijing, but.. oh never mind.
Steamed rock cod in soy sauce - cooked just right. Meat was tight and came off the bones easily.
Fried noodles with seafood + mushrooms - light and crispy. Excellent toppings. Nice large pieces.
Lettuce wraps - duck filling was good, but the head of lettuce was too small. The last few pieces were basically useless.
Service was very prompt. Almost overbearing. They swapped our plates a bit too often, but this is not bad thing. I feel sorry for the dishwashers. But the staff were very professional (both in dress and service) and courteous.
The place cleared out by 10pm surprisingly. -
Review from Jackie H.
1/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's places like this that really make me consider moving to Vancouver, BC.
Most recently my family stopped here on our way back from Whistler for some Sunday dim sum. As is usually the case with dim sum in Richmond, it is far superior to anything you'll find in Seattle, tasty, delicate and not too oily. The selection is good and the service is even better.
While the dim sum was solid, it's really the dinner that stands out in my mind. Squab, steamed fish, crab...lobster with salted duck egg yolk...*sigh* so amazing. -
Review from Lynn H.
Vancouver, BC
11/12/2010 1 Check-in Here
Brought my friend here for her 1st dim sum meal and last meal in Vancouver. On both accounts we were satisfied.
The service was quick (though it was initially a bit awkward getting a table when there was no hostess at the front desk) and the food was nice and hot. I suppose the latter is the advantage of not wheeling around the food on trollys... but still... I felt a bit of nostalgia for the point and gorge days of dim sum dining.
Top Picks: Shrimp Dumplings (lrg), Shrimp and Chive Dumplings (pan fried, crispy on the outside and goey on the inside) and Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli... perfectly steamed so that it's bright in colour and delightfully crispy.)
Heads Up: The whole meal was about 20 dollars a person (including tip, for a
Highlight: No after-meal tingles/nausea! (I loathe MSG)
Bottom Line: I would definetly come back and bring friends. TON of food). -
Review from Sandy L.
4/5/2011
Choice of dim sum is good but not comprehensive enough considering it is located in Richmond.
Some dim sum like BBQ pastry, steamed shrimp dumpling are excellent while siu mai, chicken feet are average.
Anyway the restaurant is nicer and cleaner than average chinese restaurants. Service is quick and attentive. -
Review from Giselle K.
11/29/2011
Food was okay good... But definetly not worth the price. We were two ppl for dim sum and it costs us $78... It was bit too pricy for lunch ;(
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Review from Jaye L.
Vancouver, BC
3/14/2011
One of my favorite places to go to for Chinese food!
Wait staff is a hit or miss. Highly recommend the yummy roasted squab/small pigeon & 3 way alaskan king crab. It can get expensive especially if you order the king crab (when its in season). They also have these HUGE scallops & oysters in the half shell the size of my mobile phone!
The ambiance/interior is above average, your typical high end Chinese restaurant. with banquet round tables and a busy and noisy atmosphere.
Will definitely come back! -
Review from Angela F.
1/26/2011
I had a great dinner experience here. The customer service is superb. The staff is very attentive and friendly. The restaurant is clean, spacious, and modern.
What we ordered:
-Quail (delicious! you must try this dish...especially since this is what they're infamous for. the skin was crispy and the meat was so juicy! the quail was also very meaty.)
-Tofu and mixed vegetables (good dish)
-Garlic honey spareribs (highly recommended dish! this was delicious! the spareribs were crispy and the honey garlic sauce was so good!)
This is a very authentic Cantonese restaurant. I would definitely come back to eat here if I'm ever back in Richmond! -
Review from Bill H.
7/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was taken to Sun Sui Wah as a part of a wedding party. Never, in a million years, would I have found Sun Sui Wah by myself on a trip to Vancouver. it's pretty far into Richmond, but the service and food are worth it. The staff was unbelievably accommodating to our wedding party, and each of our dishes was delicious. The deep fried crab and the squab were particular favorites.
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Review from Andrew N.
1/9/2011
Their roasted quail is delicious and what they are known for...juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, with good flavor.
I came here for dinner and the rest of the entrees they served were average, but nothing else really stood out.
5 stars for the quail. 3 stars for everything else. -
Review from Jennifer W.
3/31/2010
The food here is pretty damn good, but you are definitely paying for it because this place is definitely not cheap. We came here for dim sum and the place was packed. Luckily, they started opening up the side rooms. I was sad there weren't any food carts, but we got to pick anything we wanted to from the list. So here's what we had, some we had multiple of:
egg tart 3.20
baked tapioca pudding 3.75
deep fried taro dumpling 4.20
shrimp dumpling 4.20
crab and chive dumpling 4.20
chicken feet 4.20
chang fun with shrimp 4.75
chang fun with crab and pea sprouts 4.75
chang fun with fried donut 4.20
mustard greens with oyster sauce 5.50
pork with preserved egg congee 4.20
sui gao 4.75
The sui gao was so, so good and big, but it only comes one per bowl! I would not normally even think to order mustard greens, but these were so tender. All the chang fun were silky smooth. I'm glad the sauce was served on the side so it wasn't drenched in it. The chicken feet and other dumplings were pretty standard. The taro dumpling wasn't the traditional kind, but it was the same kind of lovely flakiness and it included a scallop! Most things come in three pieces aside aside from the obvious and aforementioned, but the egg tart came was four little ones. Anyways, the bill came out to 67.75 before tip and we were bloated, I tell you. -
Review from Katie F.
11/12/2008 ROTD 5/25/2009
Love the dim sum here.
It's always packed and the foodis fresh and authentic. Serves up Cantonese style dim sum and the quality is excellent. Nice selection of my favorites - shrimp dumplings, rice rolls, chicken feet, curried cuttlefish, sticky rice, pan fried turnip cake, eggs tarts... You order with a little card where youmark off your selections... I still miss the old-fashioned style where the carts get pushed around, but I suppose the benefit is much fresher food.
One of my favorites in the Vancouver area.Listed in: Top Restaurants
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Review from Eric K.
2/11/2010
There was a time when I thought the dim sum at Jing Fong or Go-Go (both in NY) was good. But after my g/f and I savored the dim sum at Sun Sui Wah, my perspective on dim sum changed forever. Not to say that either of those NY restaurants is bad, but SSW was just in another league. If I were a Canadian, along with hockey, poutine, and the city of Montreal, I would be crying tears of pride for the dim sum in Richmond near Vancouver. It is, hands down, the best dim sum I have ever eaten and may ever eat in my life.
The difference is in the freshness, particularly in the seafood items. For example, har gow (shrimp dumplings) seems like a simple dish but at SSW, such simplicity was elevated due to the dumpling's size and freshness. In one order were 4 of the plumpest har gow I'd ever seen (almost double the size of a normal one), and bundled within each dumpling were colossal pieces of succulent, fresh-out-of-the-water tasting shrimp.
Just to show how good it was, when my g/f and I go out for dim sum, we'll eat maybe 3-5 dishes and then we're satisfied. At SSW, we honestly lost track of how many dishes we got, and I think we ordered at least 7-9 dishes because we realized there that we were eating something special. The pork and shrimp shumai were huge, fresh and tasty. Ditto with the flat noodle shrimp rolls.
And it's not like SSW only does seafood well: Steamed pork buns were fluffy, hot, and the bbq pork center was a perfect blend of sweet and salty. Flat noodle beef rolls were just as good as the shrimp kind, and the small spring rolls were freshly out of the fryer and addictive. Even after all of that, we managed to sample the crispy and flaky egg custards.
If we ever come down No. 3 road aka Chinatown in Richmond, we will be sure to pay our respects to SSW. -
Review from Lori K.
11/22/2010
Definitely some of the best dim sum I've had in a while. The place was absolutely packed when we got there around lunch time, which was already a great sign it was going to be good.
It's a bit on the pricey side, but honestly, it's worth it! This is one of the few places where you get both quality and quantity. The food is great and the portions are larger than most dim sum restaurants I've been to. Everything seemed to be less greasy than most dim sum I've had.
Although the service is fast and efficient, you may need to flag someone down for things like water and additional orders.
Instead of ordering from carts, you order off a menu. After my experience here, it seems to me as if this method is their sneaky way of getting you to order and eat WAY more than you should. We ended up with TONS of food left over. And we definitely tried our hardest to eat as much as we could. Let's just say that the trip to the car was a very slow and painful process. -
Review from Steve W.
7/31/2010
Bostonian visiting Vancouver for friend's wedding. Yelp'd this place and it had good ratings for dimsum. This place did not disappoint. You order off a menu, no rolling carts with dimsum girls. The dimsum was tasty and fresh. The tables had tablecloth and nice settings. Service was very good, attentive, water refilled, plates cleared/replaced.
We got the siu mai, sticky rice, pork spareribs with black bean, clams with black bean....all yum. Would definitely come back and try dinner too...the fish tanks had lots of fresh and big looking crabs.Listed in: Yummy Asian
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Review from cherie T.
4/24/2009
it's been a long time since i've been here, but from what i remember, i loved this place. I remember coming here for dinner w/ my relatives...good food. The squabs are good here, crispy skin and juicy meat - i believe it's their famous dish here.
i dont think i have tried their dim sum. But i cannot wait to go back to Vancouver and dine at this place again.Listed in: DIM SUM (chinese version of…
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Review from Derrick V.
12/16/2008
We had dim sum here in Richmond, BC before heading back to Seattle. We didn't have anything out of the ordinary and stuck with the basics. They do it right here and let you order off a checklist, so the steamed goodies don't get tepid before serving.
We had:
Siu Mai - Good and compact, nice and dense with good porky flavor and sweet shrimp
Har Gow - Sweet shrimp with very nice thin skin, best version I've had in a while
Rice noodle with dried shrimp and chives - Okay, this one surprisingly came out lukewarm. I actually crossed this one off in favor of the Har Gow but they threw it on our order anyway.
Pot stickers - This one was surprisingly good, served with a red vinegar dipping sauce, crispy on the outside and moist and meaty on the inside.
Pork spareribs with black bean sauce - This along with the rice noodles were the only misses of our brunch. Not much of a black bean sauce and mostly oily, the thick cut ribs were on the fatty side.
I liked how they served sauces with most everything, and especially liked the house sauce that was slightly spicy and smoky. Service is nice and tea is complimentary oolong. Surprisingly inexpensive for the quality. -
Review from Jando S.
4/28/2010
There is no dispute, Sun Sui Wah is some of the best Dim Sum I've ever had. It's on par with the standard I've had in Hong Kong and is no doubt one of the best in Richmond.
I've always made an effort to come here during my every visit to Richmond. The lines can be a bit maddening on the weekend, however, this is something all patrons are willing to endure for the sake of good food. Be sure to arrive here before noon for a shot at the quality batches of the food and it's likely they'll have whatever available (until after 2PM when the good stuff runs out).
Service is quick here and like most Chinese joints, be prepared to really grab the wait staff's attention for water / tea refills, special requests, and general service. They're polite here and very efficient for the most part. During the madness that is the weekends, don't expect service to be constantly at the table side.
No carts here, making the likelihood of the food even more fresh. Just pencil in the order and they'll come within a reasonably decent time. All of my food has been stellar from the fried dishes like Ham Sui Gok (Fried Pork Dumplings), Cha Siu So (Baked BBQ Pork Pastry) to the steamed specialities like the Ha Cheung (Shrimp Crepe), Ha Gao (Shrimp Dumplings), Jing Lo Bak Go (Steamed Turnip Cake), etc. I can safely say I haven't gone wrong with any dish on the menu and even the Wu Tou Go (Taro Dumplings) tasted good. I usually HATE them at most places.
Prices are typical of what one would expect in the area, but it would be considered cheaper than what could be found in the states for the same quality. Seattle, Portland, and even San Francisco have nothing on this place and as bold as that may sound, its places like Sam Sui Wah that make Vancouver the Dim Sum capital of North America.Listed in: Yum Cha Time (VAN)
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Review from Sam H.
6/8/2009 1 Check-in Here
This is a sea food restaurant that is outstanding!!! Service to take your order is superb!!! (but... kinda goes down after you get your food) but there are plenty of waitresses walking around so you should be able to find some body to fill your water or what not.
Pros
Good sea food and fresh (they bring out the fish they are about to cook to see if it meets your approval
The food taste good and relatively quickly prepared.
Cons: always packed but still feel like you don't have to wake too long
Thing you must know: If you order shrimp , crabs or anything you might need to use your finger.. they will bring this bowl with tea colored liquid with a lemon in it. Apparently it's not sauce but... a bowl used to wash your hands after you eat the shrimp. So... that's what it is!!! don't dip the shrimp in it. -
Review from R M.
6/20/2011
IMHO, this place serves some of the BEST dim-sum in North America. Sun Sui Wah is another one of our stops when we are up in Richmond. The Har-Gao (shrimp dumplings) are the size of golf balls! We always leave this place full and happy.
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Review from Dontcallmeafoodblogger D.
West Vancouver, BC
12/12/2011
2.5 stars. The dim sum here was mediocre. None of the items we ordered stood out. The soup dumpling had bland tasting soup and the egg tart's shell had a doughy texture. The server has mastered the art of non-verbal restaurant service as he did not speak one word to us during our entire meal. He responded with various grunts, facial expressions, and hand signals as we spoke to him - and we totally understood what he was trying to convey. If I were a casting director, I would definitely take his number down and put him in the next silent movie I was casting. He has potential to be the next great silent film actor (I did hear him speak both Cantonese and English to other customers so I know that he is capable of speech).
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Review from Duke D.
8/5/2010 3 photos
We had dinner at this place and I find that it's okay, not excellent. Kirin is still better than this place , but Kirin is more expensive (well worth it though). This place is clean and bright and filled up quickly for dinner. We ordered crab meat w/ fish maw soup (not as much crab nor flavorful like Kirin), the squab was excellent without the gamey taste, the fries shrimp was fried in chili oil instead of salt and pepper (tasted well) and the seafood in vermicelli noodle clay pot was too spicy.
Parking - free
Cleanliness - good
Pros - cheap, quick, clean, decent food
Cons - seafood not as flavorful as expected.
Recommendation - go here if it's convenient for you, but there are better places for seafood. The squab was excellent. Steer clear of the crab soup as I believe they were premade and lack flavor. The food is cheap so can't go wrong. I give this place 3 good stars.
