Dim Sum at HKYK Seafood Hotpot Restaurant in Richmond

Updated: 6th Feb 2012; This restaurant had closed.

The Richmond Community Kitchen gathered for a Chinese New Year celebration at HKYK Seafood Hotpot Restaurant which serves dim sum in the morning.
HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-24-600x400

One of the reason we picked HKYK is it’s wheel chair. There is a parking lot adjacent to this building and there are lots allocated for HKYK but you must register your license plate number in a register book at the reception.

HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-1-600x400

There were fourteen members (old and new) from various kitchens who attended this event.

HKYK-Menu-1HKYK-Menu-2

Another reason we picked HKYK is their prices are really cheap; $1.99 for most of the regular dim sum items. Click on the order sheets above for the enlarge view. HKYK uses a computerized order sheet where you shade the required quantity. It reminds of the multiple choices test in schools.

HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-2-600x400

HKYK has been in Richmond for a long time. I remembered we had dim sum here way back in 2002. It is a big restaurant with many seating. I’ve seen reviews that service is not that good here but for the price that you pay, you cant expect much. We are quite ok with the slow service as that gives us more time to chit chat and catch up with one another.

HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-19-600x400

We ordered a total of 21 different items to try. The Steamed Glutinous Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf was the only Special item we ordered. This huge dumpling costs $5.50. It came with sugar and soy sauce for dipping.

Other than the above special, we ordered pretty regular dim sum items for those who are not familiar with this Cantonese cuisine to be on the safe side. Moreover, we do have one member who is gluten intolerant.

HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-21-150x150HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-17-150x150HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-12-150x150HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-10-150x150

Pork Dumplings, Shrimp Dumplings, Steamed Dumpling Chiu Chou Style and Steamed BBQ Buns are very common items in dim sum place.

HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-18-150x150HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-16-150x150HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-15-150x150HKYK-Seafood-Hotpot-13-150x150

Wonton in Chili Oil and Peanut Sauce, Steamed Pork Ribs in Black Bean Sauce, Steamed Beef Ribs in Black Pepper Sauce and Steamed Pork Liver Rice Rolls with Ginger are more for the … (more…)

Continue ReadingDim Sum at HKYK Seafood Hotpot Restaurant in Richmond

Office Potluck — October 2009

At work we have a social committee which is pretty active. They organizes various events to build relationships at work. Some of the events that they organizes very well is the hockey pool and the office potluck.

We do this once every quarter and it is always a success no matter how many times we do it. This is one event that has the most participation of all events.

P1000233

The way we do it is to randomly split the office into two groups. Each of the two groups will be contributing to one potluck. So there are two potlucks held on different dates and everyone contributes on one of the potluck but gets to eat on both potlucks.

Everyone can contribute to the potluck by bringing a homemade dish. For anyone who doesn’t want to bring a homemade dish, they can buy them or pay $20 so that the committee can use the money to buy on their part.

At the end of the potluck, the Social Committee will put up an online poll to gather votes for the best of categories.

Office-Potluck-2-600x400

My contribution this time is Baked Char Siu Bau. Actually, it was Suanne who made it. You guys know I don’t cook. Suanne makes really moist Char Siu Bau and am glad to say it was one of the favourites. This is not gonna win any prizes this time — that much I can tell you though.

If you want the recipe to this, you can find it here:

I used the dough recipe from here: https://chowtimes.com/2006/03/15/cinnamon-buns/
and the char siu filing from here: https://chowtimes.com/2006/03/28/char-siu-bao-part-1-of-2/
After the buns are made, let rest for 30 minutes and brush with beaten egg (egg wash).
Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

After the buns are made, let rest for 30 minutes and brush with beaten egg (egg wash). Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

Office-Potluck-3-600x400

This dish above looks set to be the winner this time. This is called Russian Sushi!

Office-Potluck-4-600x400

I don’t know if this is a made-up name or what. But it sure looked the prettiest.

Office-Potluck-10-600x400

This is another pretty unique dish. I wanted so much to try it but when it got to my turn, they were all gone. This is … (more…)

Continue ReadingOffice Potluck — October 2009

9-Course Chinese Dinner in Richmond Mandarin Restaurant

Updated: 6th Jan 2015; This restaurant is closed.

Some of you know me very well as an organizer of events. It’s just me … it’s just who I am. I simply enjoy putting together ideas, make a plan and see to it the plans work. Nothing gives me greater joy than to see people enjoying themselves.

When I was in my early twenties, I remember vividly that one camp that I had been part of organizing. It was a national camp of over 800 participants and I had played a huge part of organizing a city tour … 20 buses in all. Logistically it was a nightmare but I had such a kick seeing everyone single boys and girls coming back to camp happy, tired and late … no one missing and everyone had a great 10 hours away. Ah … those were the days … I’ll talk about those some other time.

For the past few years, I had also enjoyed organizing gatherings among friends … the biggest of which was a picnic the past summer which was attended by a whopping 50 people in all. Just two weeks ago, I initiated another idea for a gathering of my “lah speaking” friends (mainly ex-Singaporeans and ex-Malaysians). Since it is colder and wetter these days, outdoor events are out of the question. So, I initiated a Chinese Dinner for the same group of friends. Well, I said I initiated it because I did not organize it this time … WB offered to do it and she did it so marvelously well. I think WB will make an excellent project manager! [No, seriously WB.]

After narrowing it down from three restaurants, WB finally settled down on the Richmond Mandarin Restaurant which is located in the same building as T&T on Cambie. WB, with the help from Polly, did a great job in haggling a 9-course menu for just $168 (for a table of 10). This is amazing considering that Richmond Mandarin has a “Menu A” which costs $928 and their cheapest “Menu D” which costs $298. Moreover, WB managed to get the use of their VIP Room … for free!

IMG_1395

We had a total of 30 people who came to the Richmond Mandarin Restaurant that night, about 20 adults and 10 kids. WB decided to create a separate cheaper menu for the kids while the adults go for the whole-shebang. Anyway, she figured that the kids would not care much for Peking Duck … the kids will actually be happier with fried rice and noodles … and the parent happier too because we don’t have to pay the full $168 for them.

IMG_1399

Let’s start with the kids’ menu … first off … Fried Rice Noodles with Beef.

IMG_1400

Then the kids had Deep Fried Chicken Wings. The kids started eating first … we wanted to make sure that the kids are all eaten and finished before we start our feast. But I was sooo hungry looking at the chicken wings. You see, I hardly had anything to eat that day in anticipation of this meal.

IMG_1407

And the kids’ favourites … Fried Rice!! They looked so good and smell so good. (more…)

Continue Reading9-Course Chinese Dinner in Richmond Mandarin Restaurant

Picnic at Riverfront Park

I organized a picnic among friends on Saturday last weekend at the Riverfront Park in south Vancouver. Seeing that it was the last weekend before the start of another school year, I wanted to make this picnic to end the summer with a bit of a bang. There were about 9 families in all.

_MG_7925_edited-1

The Riverfront Park is a little known park located on E Kent Ave S, just south of SE Marine Drive at the turn off in Jellicoe. The park had a great view of the Fraser River and is very well maintained. It’s a great place for a quiet picnic.

As usual, the picnic is centered around food. Janice brought her peanut satay sauce marinated chicken wings. Bernie did all the barbequeing. The wings were very well grilled — and very juicy. He kept the supplies going for quite sometime.

IMG_7901_edited-1

Eric is the master chef among all of us. He always try making something new for us each time we met. This time he made Briyani Chicken Rice. The Briyani Rice were flavourful and reeked with spices. It was awesome. Sabrina is such a lucky girl to have a husband who loves to cook!

IMG_7903_edited-1

Wai Bing brought her homemade Vietnamese Rolls. She told us she learnt this from her sister just before she came to Vancouver. It was very nice, especially when it goes with sweet chilli sauce.

IMG_7906_edited-1 (more…)

Continue ReadingPicnic at Riverfront Park

Picnic in Whistler

Polly invited us to join them for a day trip to Whistler last weekend. Since we had nothing particularly planned for the weekend, we tagged along. We have actually never been to Whistler in summer before.

Whistler is world famous for snow skiing in winter having been voted many times as the premier ski destination in North America. Whistler will be hosting many of the events of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

We have always enjoyed the drive on Highway 99 (known as the Sea-to-Sky Highway) from Vancouver to Whistler. The scenery was spectacular to say to the least.

IMG_7773_edited-1

When we got to Whistler we headed straight for the Lost Lake and set ourselves up for a picnic. It was a perfect day for a picnic.

_MG_7803_edited-1

For once, we decided to bring along chinese style picnic stuff. Polly bought some siew yoke (roast pork) from Parker Place in Richmond. The roast pork from Parker Place seems to be the best around. There are people queueing up to buy them pretty much throughout the day. The roast pork were great.

IMG_7782_edited-1

Polly also brought along some instant noodles. The one below costs $1.79 per pack. I am surprised this costs so much. I wouldn’t pay $1.79 for instant noodles, no siree.

IMG_7783_edited-1 (more…)

Continue ReadingPicnic in Whistler

Picnic at Boundary Bay Regional Park

Polly initiated a get together among a few of families this weekend. We have been getting together for a gathering the past couple of summers. The amazing thing is that we had only gotten to know each other through a mailing list I created in 2000.

This summer we met at the Boundary Bay Regional Park, just south of Richmond and near the US border. We took a spot on the beach.

As always, our gathering has been centered around food! Each of the families brought a dish or two to share. Suanne brought the spinach dip and baguette.

_MG_6504

Suanne also made chicken curry, Malaysian style. For this she used the famous Malaysian Baba’s Meat Curry Powder. Malaysian curry are rich because of the coconut milk used. She also cooked Basmati rice to go along with the curry. Basmati rice is perfect as it has a drier texture and goes great with the curry.

IMG_6496

CJ and his family brought marinated drumsticks and chicken wings. I am not sure what marinade they used. They also brought some corns.

IMG_6494 (more…)

Continue ReadingPicnic at Boundary Bay Regional Park

Deluxe Lunch from The Hub

Saying goodbye doesn’t mean anything. It’s the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it.
~ Trey Parker and Matt Stone

Today is my last day of work and I have one last lunch — this time with the folks of my Genco project. We normally celebrate project closeouts by eating out but opted this time to have the food catered from our cafeteria, The Hub. See that handsome chap below? He’s the employee of the month because of his effort on the Genco project — helped the company eliminated a bunch of unproductive work. This guy is a genius, I kid you not.

_MG_2806_edited-1

Jackson (our Iron Chef) specially prepared Asian food because most of the team members are Asians. Jackson and his team prepared what he called the Deluxe Lunch with an Asian Twist. The costs were just $11.95 per head. (more…)

Continue ReadingDeluxe Lunch from The Hub

Farewell Merienda and Balut

A brave man will face a situation no matter how dreadful.
~ Filipino Proverb

I learn new things everyday. Today, I learn of two new words – merienda and balut.

Merienda

Some of the folks in IT threw a little merienda for Alex and I. Our last day at work is tomorrow. I have never heard of the word merienda before. Well, I was enlightened that merienda is a spanish word that means snacks. I like the Spanish — they did give the world the idea of siesta, right? Isn’t it nice — having a siesta after a meal and then waking up to a merienda? Anyway here are the folks who threw a farewell merienda for Alex and I at The Hub (the company cafetaria).

_MG_2788_edited-1

Balut (Duck Egg)

Balut is a Filipino delicacy. Zimrie made them for brave souls in the farewell merienda. This is how Balut tastes like … gross!

_MG_2783_edited-1

Balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in a shell. He he he … it is considered aphrodisiac and considered a hearty snack. The filipino and filipinas in the group educated me on how to eat this: (more…)

Continue ReadingFarewell Merienda and Balut