Whether it’s the festive Lunar New Year season or any day of the week, the opportunities to enjoy Asian cuisine in Vancouver are nearly limitless. This is especially true in the epicenter of the Asian dining scene – the Vancouver suburb of Richmond. With over 800 restaurants, more than 80% of which offer Asian cuisine of every description and price point, Richmond’s a culinary and foodie paradise. In this round up of our favorite Asian eateries, we’ve done the heavy eating for you with our guide to the best Richmond restaurants for families.
The best Richmond restaurants for families
If you’re not familiar with Asian cuisine, or couldn’t possibly know where to begin in choosing where or what to eat, let us be your curated dining guide to where to eat in Richmond with or without kids. Don’t be afraid – let’s take a quick trip to Shanghai, Tokyo and Mumbai!
Banh Mi Tres Bon
Bánh Mì Très Bon is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant specializing in freshly made in-house traditional Banh Mi, richly simmered pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and the fabulous dumpling, banh bot loc.
These thin tapioca-skinned dumplings must be eaten fresh, and with homemade sweet chili fish sauce. Filled with shrimp and pork belly, they’re the perfect appetizer to any meal. The restaurant also offers a vegetarian version of its delicious dumpling.
4720 McClelland Rd, Suite 1840
Use the map below to search for hotel and short-term rental options
Chef Tony
This higher-end, atypical Chinese restaurant offers Cantonese cuisine in new and delicious ways. Many of Chef Tony’s signature dishes are upscale riffs on traditional dishes, like the Siu Mai with Black Truffle (pictured), the Marinated Chicken with Truffle Flakes, and the light-as-air, deep-fried taro and abalone.
This is one of the best Richmond restaurants for any occasion. The room is modern, with splashy purple neon lighting, jellyfish chandeliers and private dining rooms for business or pleasure. The menu and large in-house video screen show the food options in picture form, which makes ordering for non-Chinese speakers easy peasy. Just point and choose what looks delicious. 101-4600 No. 3 Rd. (within the Golden Village shopping mall)
Dinesty Dumpling House
One of the mouthwatering spots on Richmond’s Dumpling Trail, Dinesty Dumpling House (Gilbert) offers a modern, sophisticated room located near the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Dinesty serves classic Chinese delicacies, including signature soup dumplings, shui jiao, pot stickers (guo tie), classic siu mai, appetizers, and special main courses. 5555 Gilbert Rd #150, Richmond
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Parker Place Meat & BBQ
Prepare to wait in line, but don’t worry, it will be worth it. This hidden gem at Parker Place Mall sells a variety of ready-to-go takeaway BBQ goods, specializing in roasted pork, BBQ duck, BBQ pork and soya chicken.
There’s no dining area, but the mall’s food court is a perfect place to sit and enjoy your fresh crispy duck skin or BBQ pork crackling. Or pop over to a local park or Richmond dike bench. Step around the corner to the Hong Kong-style Lido Bakery for a pineapple bun dessert chaser with a slab of salted butter inside. Seriously amazing. 4380 No. 3 Road, Parker Place Mall
Prata-Man
This divine chicken house with the funny name sits in a nondescript strip-mall on a Richmond thoroughfare. Don’t be fooled by its plain interior and hole-in-the-wall vibe! Prata-Man specializes in marinated Hainanese chicken done in Singapore-style, served cold with oil rice (made with chicken stock, fat and lots of ginger) and a chicken broth consommé.
Add some hot chilis and onions and you’ll be in serious dining heaven. This is incredibly delicious comfort food at a budget price. 9060 Capstan Way, Richmond
Read more: Where to dine in Vancouver with kids
R&H Chinese Restaurant
Lovely soupy dumplings? The best Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings are made at R&H Chinese Food, a humble mom and pop dumpling shop. It’s located in the neon-bathed food court of Lansdowne Centre, one of the two large shopping malls in Richmond.
The food stall may look plain, but note that massive bowl of homemade minced pork, aspic, salt and spices? It’s about to be formed into delicate, piping hot xiao long bao dumplings that require enthusiastic slurping, then chewing. Order them fresh in a bamboo steamer and eat them on the spot for maximum enjoyment.
R&H also offers a fabulous wonton in spicy chili broth that will make your mouth burn with love. 5300 No. 3 Road, Landsdowne Mall
Globe@YVR
Let’s take a trip to Mumbai! The Globe@YVR Restaurant at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel offers a spicy tiffin lunch that will whisk you away to the Indian subcontinent. Chef Karan Suri employs his mother’s recipe for a wonderful comfort dish of butter chicken.
That dish, along with savory samosas are packed into unique tiffin containers that keep everything in its place. If you’re in-transit and feeling the effects of jet lag, pair your dinner with the Globe@YVR’s jetsetter tea, a low caffeine beverage reputed to help with fatigue.
Deer Garden Signatures
Soup lovers rejoice, you’ve reached nirvana. Deer Garden is a Chinese noodle house serving up an overwhelming choice of noodle soups, as well as curries and Hong Kong-style a la carte items (think seared pork chop with red wine demi glaze).
The soup menu reads like a dim sum list. First, choose a soup base (choose the Malay laksa fish soup, please!), then your noodle choice (ramen, udon, egg, rice, yam), followed by meat and vegetarian topping options. The portions are huge and fit for two meals. Meals include hot drinks or a cold milk tea for a dollar extra. Cash only. 2015-8580 Alexandra Road, Venezia Place
Note: With more than 200 restaurants in three short blocks, Alexandra Road is Richmond’s Food Street. The in-migration from across Asia means that Richmond has developed a wide diversity of Asian cuisines – Cantonese, Szechuan, Shanghainese, Northern Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Malaysian) making it more like international cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore in terms of variety, which is unique in North America.
Seto Japanese Restaurant
A humble Japanese sushi house, also on Food Street. Owned by a Japanese family for over 20 years (a rarity these days), Seto serves up all forms of sashimi, sushi, donburi, hot noodles, ramen bowls, and hot pot, as well as handmade Japanese desserts. Reservations are recommended. 155-8460 Alexandra Road
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Photo Credits: C. Laroye
Disclosure: The Travelling Mom thanks Tourism Richmond for its hospitality. As always, our opinions are honest and our own.
Have you eaten in Richmond? Did we miss any of your favorite dining spots? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section!
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