Kirin Mandarin Restaurant @ Alberni Street, Vancouver

Barbecue Pork Pastries

Vancouver is an amazing city, I can't believe that it took us this long to get there!  I mean, it's got great architecture, beautiful natural scenery, the nicest people and some of the best food available on the Pacific Northwest (Okay.......so the weather ain't great.....)

It's well known that Vancouver has an incredibly large Asian contingent, and we wanted to dive into it and get ourselves immersed in a delectable Far East food coma.....

Now, it's been a while since we've had Dim Sum, (in Vegas, you go to Ping Pang Pong or the New East Ocean Dim Sum & Seafood) and it is a real treat to go, (how does everyone eat so much and stay so frickin thin?).


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Located on the very chic Alberni St, Kirin's entrance is actually quite modern if not subdued....if not for the Chinese character signage one would hesitate, mistaking it for a high-end boutique or the entrance of a modern office.  Pass through the glass doors, and you have a beautiful Host Stand with tall flower displays accentuating the height of the space.  Walk up a gentle ramp, and you are hit with a large, open air atrium; reaching multiple floors that reveal office spaces above (imagine working there, having savory wafts of soy and chili filling your nostrils-I would be ravenous for Chinese food every day!)

Only when you acclimate your eyes to the surroundings that you recognize hints regarding the restaurant's origins; the giant mural of a dragon playing with a ball, red lanterns falling from the ceiling like fireballs in the sky, and large elegantly dressed tables and chairs with lazy Susans centered in attendance, waiting for their destiny to come to fruition.

Kirin Restaurant has received multiple distinctions for their Dim Sum as well as their regular menu, but not to go solely on accolades alone, it was a must on the list to try for ourselves what we were missing by ignoring this beautiful city.

The Dim Sum regimen is usually a bustling, harried experience, but Kirin decides to take on a more elegant approach.  Quiet and unhurried, it's adopted a waiter/menu driven service that gives, at least to the customer, an overall luxurious, well timed meal.

Barbecue Pork Pastry Puffs

The first and most favorite Dim Sum dish is the one I want to start and end all my meals with: the Barbecue Pork Pastry Puffs (Char Siu So).  I don't know exactly what it is about this dish, but I'll try to explain: it begins with the succulent, fatty barbecue pork that the Chinese have mastered, unnaturally red in color and just as deep in flavor, it's close to a creamy texture as meat can get. Wrap that delicious pork in a buttery, flakey, pastry pie and you have a most excellent combination; harmoniously decadent and satiable to a fault....Three is the average serving size in Dim Sum, here they serve three larger portions and cut them in half to provide six, which for some reason in my mind, makes me feel that I have scored two for the price of one..(yes, yes, it's an illusion but the stomach feels so much better)!

Taro Puffs

Another supreme delicacy is the Taro Puff: Taro Yam Dough stuffed with pork and fried into a deep golden state of crunch filled perfection.  The crispy outer texture immediately followed by the gooey, sweet mush of Taro, finally reaching the center of pork filled treasures-it's an oral exploration of textures that cannot be otherwise explained but....sublime..

Sticky Rice with Pork and Dried Scallop Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

To have Dim Sum and not eat this dish, is akin to having afternoon tea without the scones.  Layers of Sticky Rice with Pork and Dry Scallop steamed in a Lotus leaf-you are bombarded with the fragrance of Lotus infused in the chewy, sticky rice morsels, the slightly briny flavor of dried scallop integrating with the savory sweetness of pork-these bite size portions are evidence of an old tradition of tea time snacks to be consumed with lighthearted gossip and a voracious appetite.

Xiao Long Bao Shanghai Soup Dumplings

It's been just a laundry list of favorites during this lunch; the next is the Xiao Long Bao-Shanghai Soup Dumplings.  These miraculous dumpling pouches houses a hot soup, to be teared opened in a spoon dabbled with red vinegar and ginger slivers in one fell slurp!

The carrot slice is an ingenious little trick, oftentimes during the steaming process, the dumpling skin sticks to the paper underneath, which upon trying to pick the dumpling up, tears the skin, thus losing the precious liquid.  But with the carrot, the dumpling easily slides off the paper, and you have the shell in tact, and even a vegetable accompaniment! (plus visually,the orange dot looks pretty cute)

Pork Spareribs in Black Bean Sauce (Pai Gwut) over Rice Rolls en Casserole

Normally, we order just the Pork Spareribs in Black Bean Sauce (Pai Gwut) which comes in a small dish, and in my mind, I thought that the rice roles were somehow more incorporated like a fried noodle. What ended up on our table was the same Pork Spareribs over plain Rice Rolls in a casserole....Oh well, no matter, the Spareribs are really good in any case, and who couldn't use a couple more carbs?  These tiny half inch cuts of rib are stewed in a black bean sauce and Chinese Herbs.

Deep Leather Jacket Fish with Chili

And just to keep ourselves abreast of new and unique Dim Sum items, I wanted to try a fish dish, the
Deep Leather Jacket Fish with Chili sounded pretty exotic, so we tried it.  Let me tell you, this is not for beginners!  It was a pretty pungent fish, (almost tasted like a dried fish that was reconstituted) deep fried and sprinkled generously with chili salt and scallions.  This dish wasn't small, and trying to finish it between to two of us was a task, but we thoroughly enjoyed trying something new!!

Fried Crispy Rice with Minced Duck Egg Yolk

Continuing the adventurous chain, an item on the menu looked very unique; Crispy Rice with Duck Yolk.  I had no idea what it was-it had to be ordered. I would place this dim sum dish under a 'snack' category; crispy clumps of buttery rice coated in a protein rich Duck Egg Yolk-it's both light and surprisingly heavy at the same time.  I would say it's better to start off the meal with this dish, with maybe some strong tea to balance out the heaviness and to coat your palate before venturing off to your other items....

Service is pretty impeccable, apart that it is sometimes hard to flag down a waiter/waitress (which has been a common occurrence for me in Dim Sum Restaurants - they are running around doing twenty things at once.  But when I did, they were extremely polite, followed through with expedient service and had a pleasant demeanor (can be rare....believe me).

It was an incredible treat to have had one of first Canadian food experiences at Kirin, and I just can't wait to go back to Vancouver and spend more time, eating Dim Sum and spending a leisurely afternoon in this bustling, elegant venue!!


Ratings (Out of Five Stars)

Food:            4

Ambience:     4

Service:         3.5