We had always thought that some of the worst time to go for dim sum is on a Saturday morning. Generally, Chinese breakfasts are simple affairs but if one wanted something more substantial then the only breakfast to go for is dim sum.
BTW, for those of you uninitiated to the intricacies of dim sum, I have you know that dim sums are always served in the morning. You can also get dim sums for lunch but never for dinner. I don’t know the reason why — it just is.
The Neptune Sharkfin and Seafood Restaurant is one of the known dim sum places in Richmond. You will never miss it on the No 3 Rd. It is on the Richport strip mall on Akroyd. Despite that prime location, we had only been there like once every two years.
As the name implies, it is basically a seafood restaurant serving really upscale dining options. They have $398.80 dinner for two on their menu which includes dishes like shark fin, abalone, giant prawns, bird nest and stuff. So, if you want to splurge, this is the place.
If you want to go cheap, they also have menu for six for only $128.
Neptune does not have push carts that delivers dim sum to your table. You order them and they deliver it from the kitchen. They were pretty fancy in that they have colored order forms. The English translations helped. Their specials and unique dishes are highlighted in red which makes selection easier.
For dim sum, their “happy hours” is 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM which a small selection is just $2.50 each.
Neptune is decidedly more cleaner and classier than most dim sum restaurants. I am not making this up but I swear their customers dresses better too. You know how it is in some dim sum places where the customer came without combing their hair, in shorts and looks like they just got out of bed. Well, I was looking just like that and felt immediately out of place!
The tab came just under $40 which is not too bad considering how much we ordered. We certainly will come back again someday.
The above is one of their special dishes. It is called Abalone Buddhist Delicious Dumpling which costs $3.98. It was alright … it’s just dumpling with better ingredients.
The Dried Oyster and Pork Rib Congee was good … much more better than the run of the mill congee elsewhere.
The Spare Ribs and BBQ on Rice is my favourite. It was perfectly executed … the rice was steamed just right and not soggy.
Beef Tripe in Ginger and Green Onion.
Stuffed eggplants in black bean sauce.
Bean curd rolls in oyster sauce.
Siu Mai.
Rice Flour Roll with Chicken and Shrimp.
Shrimp dumplings.
Char Siu Bau … Chinese Burgers.
Rice Rolls.
Sticky Rice Roll.
Business Hour
7 days a week
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
5:00 pm to 10:30 pm
At $2.50/dish, it is definitely cheap. Unfortunately, I have never been able to get my friends to wake up early enough to go for the early dim sum; instead, it ends up being more of a brunch/lunch than breakfast.
On a wacky side-note, is there some wakcy form of Turin test in this post?
I meant Turing test…
What an interesting blog! It will take me a while to catch up on all the postings but what I see I like! Congratulations.
oh what a coincidence, i just came back from having yum cha. I am in NY. I am curious about the tipping in yum cha restaurant. When we asked for check, the waiter came to count the stamp card and we got to bring it to cashier to pay.
Do you normally leave tips on table or cashier?? We paid with credit card and include the tips on credit card receipt. But someone paid with cash, and she kept all the change. Now I am curious if we should put tips on table?
That’s an odd situation. I mean, in yum-cha, you are not ordering (and eating) on your own… What I (or rather, my group/friends) do is, after we receive the bills, add the tips (an amount everybody can agree on – usually it ends up in a nice round number) and divide the bill evenly. Now, if your friend does not feel like tipping, unfortunately, there is not much you can do.
From what I have observed, in yum-cha, it is difficult to leave tips on the table, unless the cleaning cart has a box for tips. Another reason, in this case to include it when paying.
We were at this restaurant last Saturday before 11am. I thought the service and food was quite good. Thanks for your recommendation.
great detailed site, i luv ready about ur adventures. don’t go out as much since I have an infant. will check out neptune. just went to shi art in richmond centre for the 3rd time. again they have a before 11am special w/ 20% off. Exceptional quality & service. great for chinese rest. you should go try it. a little pricey but worth it. hubby phil & I had beef lam lo mein yummy… beef & tendon perfectly cooked. had geoduck congee pricey as it usually but thinly sliced. something different than the run of the mill. have fun in WA. great museums. looks like ur creating good fan base like iron chef.
cheers, kell
i enjoy reading your blog every day
it has inspired me to try my own
please visit @ http://offthestripdining.blogspot.com/
I like their won ton place as well. It is just around the corner from their seafood place. Great soup won ton comparable to Mak’s. Kwan
I will definitely NOT eat here until they remove SharkFin soup from their menu! I don’t care how good their Dim Sum is…..
Has their been any Vancouver-area Chinese restaurants that have taken shark fin soup off their menu(outside of Ken’s Chinese restaurant, if Sun critic Mia Stainsby is correct that they took shark fin off their menu a year ago)?
I am with Liz! For those of you who are unaware, shark finning has been almost souly resposible for the depletion of a shocking 90% of shark populations! Check out http://www.sharkwater.com or http://www.benthic.ca for more info, and for the love of God, boycott these restaurants!!!
Pingback: Chow Times » Neptune Wonton Noodle on No 3 Road, Richmond