Best Chinese Food in Vancouver: 2012 Diners’ Choice Results are in

Wondering where to get the best dim sum in Metro Vancouver?  Or the best Chinese BBQ?  Or the best Szechuan cuisine?

Wonder no longer.  The diners have spoken.  Earlier this year, more than 12,521 votes were cast in the Diners’ Choice Awards component of Vancouver’s annual Chinese Restaurant Awards.  The results (see below) are a veritable road map to finding the best Chinese food in a city justly famous for its Chinese cuisine.

Looking for the best king crab dish in the Lower Mainland?  Head to Excelsior Restaurant on No. 3 Road in Richmond.  Best Chinese fine dining?  The hands-down winner is Kirin Restaurants, with multiple locations, including a convenient downtown spot on Alberni Street.  Or how about best hot pot restaurant?  That would be the lovably named Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot on Victoria Drive in Vancouver.

Photo credit: Chinese Restaurant Awards

What impresses me about the Diners’ Choice Awards is the number of people who participated.  With 12,000-plus people voting, you know that the results are going to be pretty dead on.   And the truth is that there are so many great Chinese restaurants in Vancouver and Richmond that the average diner does need something like a cheat sheet to make sense of it all.

All of the winning restaurants will be recognized at the annual Chinese Restaurant Awards, in January at the River Rock Casino.  The awards – which really don’t get enough attention – were started four years ago to highlight the best Chinese restaurants in Metro Vancouver.  In addition to the Diners’ Choice component, professional food critics select the top Chinese restaurants in multiple categories.

Below are the results of the 2012 Diners’ Choice Awards.  Is anything missing?  Do you have a favourite that’s not on the list?  Please let us know.  

Best:  


1.     Xiao Long Bao (Shanghainese Soup Dumplings)

Dinesty Chinese Restaurant

160-8111 Ackroyd Road, Richmond (604-303-7772)


2.     King Crab Dish

Excelsior Restaurant

6-6340 No. 3 Road, Richmond (604-278-2637)


3.     New Restaurant (Open less than one year)

Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant

4331 Dominion Street, Burnaby (604-432-6002


4.     Fine Dining Restaurant

Kirin Restaurants

1172 Alberni Street, Vancouver (604-682-8833)

1163 Pinetree Way, 2/F, Coquitlam (604-944-8833)

2/F 555 W. 12th Avenue, Vancouver (604-879-8038)

350 Gifford Street, New Westminster (604-528-8833)

200 Three West Centre, 7900 Westminster Hwy, Richmond (604-303-8833)


5.     Dim Sum Restaurant

The Jade Seafood Restaurant

8511 Alexandra Road, Richmond (604-249-0082)


6.     Northern Chinese / Shanghainese Restaurant

Northern Delicacy

2788-4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond (604-233-7050)


7.     Szechuan / Hunan Restaurant

Golden Szechuan Restaurant

3631 No. 3 Road, Richmond (604-288-9058)


8.     Taiwanese Restaurant/BBT Café

Pearl Castle

1128-3779 Sexsmith Road, Richmond (604-270-3939)

1380-4380 No. 3 Road, Richmond (604-270-1870)


9.     Hot Pot Restaurant

Fatty Cow Seafood Hot Pot

5108 Victoria Drive, Vancouver (604-568-6630)


10.  Congee and Noodle Restaurant

Congee Noodle House

141-143 East Broadway, Vancouver (604-879-8221)


11.  Vegetarian Restaurant

Spicy Vegetarian Cuisine

132-4200 No. 3 Road, Richmond (604-304-3538)


12.  Hong Kong-style Café


Cattle Café

1020– 8580 Alexandra Road, Richmond (604-276-2800)

4885 Kingsway, Burnaby (604-430-8686)

13.  Bakery

Maxim’s

1136-1163 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam (604-468-1337)

2226-6060 Minoru Boulevard, Richmond (604-270-8337)

516-5613 Victoria Drive, Vancouver (604-323-1551)

161-4800 Kingsway, Burnaby (604-438-2256)

152-10153 King George Highway, Surrey (604-634-0323)


14.  BBQ Shop

HK BBQ Master

145-4651 No. 3 Road, Richmond (604-272-6568)


15.  Food Court Stall

Mambo Cafe, Aberdeen Centre

3020-4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond (604-273-3669)