Nanzaro and I were out looking for a place to have lunch before my weekend groceries shopping. We ended up at Capstan Way and found out that Pho Tai Hoa‘s location had been taken over by a Chinese restaurant.
After looking at the photographs posted on the glass wall outside the restaurant, Nanzaro agreed to give it a try. It’s the Sichuan food that enticed him.
I wanted so much to try the Mala Xiang Guo but it’s for two and Nanzaro wanted to order his own dish. So, I’ll probably wait till Ben comes home to share with me.
The above are their take out menu. You can click on the menu to have a larger view.
There was just one other table other than us. Upon checking with server, I was told that this restaurant had opened since March 2012. Wow, it’s been that long that I did not visit this area.
This Beijing/Sichuan restaurant has picture menu which make it easier to order, especially for people who are not familiar with Chinese cuisine.
Nanzaro ordered his favourite Cumin Lamb with Rice from the lunch special. It is $7.95. The cumin lamb was not oily which is a good thing.
The Cumin Lamb with Rice came with a side dish of stir fried cabbage with dried chili and Sichuan pepper corns. A nice compliment and I was surprised that Nanzaro ate it. He usually shies away from vegetables. The cabbage was crunchy.
We were also given complimentary Spinach and Sea Weed soup. It was a clear vegetable broth with light taste and it’s nice to have the soup in cold winter days.
I had a Claypot Pork dish; also from the lunch special. It was $8.95. It came with a bowl of rice too.
The pork were coated with flour and deep fried but the coating lost it’s crunchiness in the broth. The claypot was loaded with tofu, bean curd sticks, suey choy and wood ears.
There were also string kelp and clear broad noodles at the bottom of the pot. It was a big serving and I had half of the leftover to go.
Fatty Hi accepts credit card.
I was wondering about this restaurant. The name is weird, I feel like its mocking me, Fatty Hi, lol, Thanks for posting, Good find for another Szechuan place for lunch in Richmond especially now that SW Pepper has closed,
LOL Joseph !
Maybe this restaurant carries a subliminal message to all of us to eat healthier and lose weight.
Dishes look good. I love lamb. Might try them out if I’m in the area. I need to start putting a list of “To Eat” places in Richmond, so that when I’m there I’m not overwhelmed by all the strip malls, gazillion restaurants and become unable to make a decision (or even remember) about what places are worthy of eating.
There must be an Android app for “Top Restaurants in Richmond” 😉
Hi Suanne,
I have enjoyed reading Chowtimes over the past few years. Thank you for sharing the adventures of your family.
I see that you frequent many Asian Richmond restaurants and the question that I have is what language do you speak when you go to these establishments. I grew up in Vancouver and have a reasonable handle speaking Cantonese yet can’t exactly read a Chinese menu. I do fine in Cantonese speaking restaurants but when it comes to Mandarin speaking restaurants, I don’t know if the staff will understand Cantonese or English and makes me a bit nervous.
What has been your experience and how do you suggest one handle a potential language barrier? (Speak English or do they all understand Cantonese??) Do you find the service level and friendliness the same whatever language is spoken by the customer?
Thanks for your good advice.
Geoff
Hi Geoff; I can speak Cantonese and Mandarin but I read very little Chinese. So, I do not have much problem eating in a Chinese restaurant unless their menu is fully in Chinese. I find that most of the servers are willing to help when I tell them I do not read Chinese. Some restaurants do have an English menu but you have to ask for it, like Lido.
Thanks Suanne, One other question:
What language do the staff typically understand these days in the Northern Style Restaurants. I’m am always a bit nervous when they try speaking to me in Mandarin. I am not sure how to respond as I don’t speak Mandarin!!
Should I try Cantonese, English or do they not speak either.
Thank you for your advice.
Geoff
Hi Geoff, the current wave of new restaurants of Northern style are usually owned/managed by new immigrants from mainland China. Hence, they speak Mandarin.
It can also pose a challenge shopping at T&T as u never know if the butcher, fishmonger or staff speak Cantonese or Mandarin. I memorize my orders in both.
I find, from my experience, that many Chinese restaurants (esp. those in Richmond) these days typically hire younger wait staff and they tend to be ESL students and such, who are more than capable of proficient English to help non-Chinese speaking/reading customers. With the local restaurant scene so hyper-competitive, they recognize the need to be as helpful to all customers as much as possible.
Having said that, some restaurants still post a lot of non-English menus or specials (on walls) that make it tough for non-Chinese reading customers to figure things out. And that even includes myself, who’s born in Asia, came to Canada as a grade schooler and who can speak decent Mandarin and slightly less-decent Cantonese, but my reading level is mainly stuck in the grade school level.
Thanks everyone for your advice. It is interesting how Vancouver has evolved over the years including the Chinese culture. It is just interesting how one needs to be multilingual to get around in this City. Part of how Vancouver is unique and a fabulous place to live.
Happy CNY,
Geoff
看墙上的图点了香辣干锅，内容因该是鸡肉，藕片。 端上来的却是午餐肉，土豆，一
点藕片，和猪肉片。 藕片有很多块是半缺，象吃过的一样，猪肉片是－－－－就在我
看墙上的图点菜的时候，服务生端过一盘前桌吃剩的满是猪肉片，我们看到还说这么浪
费－－－－给我端上来就象这个猪肉片， 顿时恶心到不行。找服务生，却说这是最流
行的一道菜，而不解释为什么和菜单上的内容不一样。 我告诉服务生不予他争辩。 我
出门时服务生有道歉，回过头两个服务生却一起窃笑。
我在外从来都照顾包容同胞。希望他们能自省，不要拿顾客当傻瓜，最后自欺欺人。