Shanghai-style offerings at Lin Chinese Cuisine garnered a Chinese Signature Dish award
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Diners enjoy lunch at the Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House on Broadway. Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun
LIN CHINESE CUISINE AND TEA HOUSE
1537 West Broadway, 604-733-9696
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When the Chinese Signature Dish Awards were announced recently Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House was named for its Shanghai-style juicy dumplings. They’re made from scratch with each order. The dumplings are filled with pork, then steamed and it comes with a vinegar and ginger sauce for dipping. Six of them costs $4.99.
Dishes average about $10 and most are well-prepared and fresh tasting. What’s not to like? Moreover, most of the servers are cheerful and dishes are fresh and nicely prepared.
One of the more expensive dishes, honey prawns, featured large fresh prawns with a crispy sweet coating. Chicken in wine sauce, a cold dish, comes with a warning from the server. “Do you mind skin on?” the server asked as westerners aren’t accustomed to skin that’s not crisped up. We found the Szechuan spicy beef left a funny tingle on our tongues. It was a pepper I’m not familiar with.
I’m not sure what marinated “groton” curds are but found it listed under appetizers. But other dishes include ones that appeal to the western palate, like orange peel chicken, tan tan noodle soup, a variety of noodles to ones that probably wouldn’t — like sauteed shredded eel and jelly fish with shredded radish.
Lunch specials top off at $8 and that mid-day menu includes a smaller portion of the honey prawns at half the cost.
Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone.
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