Lido Restaurant in Richmond

We found a gem of a place during the Christmas holidays last year. Nanzaro and Arkensen had to do Tag Day duties at the mall at 9:00AM in the morning. Normally, we would eat out for lunch or dinner but since the boys will not be done until after 1:00PM, we decided to go out for breakfast for a change.

We did not want to go to Kam Do or the #9 Restaurant. So we drove around for a bit and came upon the small strip mall between the Aberdeen Mall and Parker Place along Hazelbridge Way.

The Lido Restaurant is a HK-Style Restaurant. Unless you already know this place, chances are that you will likely drive past without really realizing it’s there. Since we first went to Lido, we had been returning to this restaurant a couple of times already. We like it that much.

The first time we were there, there were hardly any people since it was about 7:30AM in the morning. But on other days, the place was absolutely packed with people having to wait outside the door for a table. The turn around time for a table was fast though.

In these place, you really need to be more assertive and don’t wait for them to ask you. You really got to leave your name with them and make sure they hear you correct or you will be in for a long. long wait.

Forget about ambiance, it is the food that matters here. Menus were pasted all over the place. Those were the specials — too bad Suanne and I can’t read them. Oh, we don’t even bother asking them about it because they are so busy, they really don’t have the patience for a chat. That’s service for you in such Chinese restaurants. Once you can look past that, you’ll be alright.

Being a HK-Style Cafe, Lido serves Cantonese food … like the one below.

They have some of the best rice noodle roll (chee cheong fun) that we had ever tried. Though I could not see them making it in the kitchen, I really think they make it on site. The sweet soya sauce were poured over the rice noodles when served. It is bland with no filling but absolutely is delicious.

I know the rice noodle roll above and the food below came in a combo set but I can’t remember what came with which combo set.

The milk tea was served in cup and saucer, not in tall glasses like other HK-style Cafes. Hey, err … does anyone know how these thick milk tea are made? We bought ready made ones but never knew how they make it so good. Like … do they need some kind of tea making machine to achieve such consistency?

The Preserved Vegetable and Pork Noodle Soup was equally up to par too. They uses instant noodles which in Hongkong they call it Gong Jai Min. Gong Jai Mein is literally translated as “Doll Noodles” after the popular instant noodle brand in HK many years ago.

Then there is the Congee we ordered. I can’t remember anymore what type of congee we had. With a couple of dashes of white pepper and lots of soya sauce, this bowl alone is more than enough for a hearty breakfast.

I had later learned from my friends that Lido’s specialty is their oven freshly baked Pineapple Bun. Despite the name, the Pineapple Bun does NOT have pineapple as an ingredient and neither does it had any semblance in taste to pineapples. The reason it is called the Pineapple Bun is because it looked like a pineapple. I tried to look at it from all angles, but as much as I tried, I can’t see where this looked like a pineapple.

But whatever it looked like, the Pineapple Bun is a very popular sweet pastry from Hongkong. It is a very light bun and is best eaten fresh from the oven. Lido’s pineapple buns are so good that they need to be ordered ahead of time. So, when you go to Lido (especially at meal times), not only must you leave your name to get table, you must ALSO leave your order for Pineapple Buns on a separate waiting list. We had to wait 15 minutes for 2 pieces of the buns AFTER we were seated. You MUST try their Pineapple Bun.

The kicker is this … the above costs just $15 including taxes and tips. You can’t beat the value for money. Time your visit to Lido outside of peak meal times and come with lots of patience. I think it is worth the hassle.