350 Gifford Street, New Westminster, BC
604-528-8833
MomM's students and I met up for a seasonal get-together. To make things easier for everyone, we agreed to meet at mid-point (well, almost), in this case, Kirin Seafood Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家 at Starlight Casino had the best location.
Whether it's Chicken feet, goose feet or pork hocks...I love them all! So when I spotted Boneless Duck Web in Spicy Sauce 麻辣鮮掌, or simply, duck feet, I knew I had to get it. Light hints of spiciness with springy but chewable texture, simple but satisfying.
The Deep Fried Crispy Tofu 脆皮金沙豆腐 had a very crispy outer texture, but that was pretty much it.
The Rice Noodle Stir Fried with Celery, Bean Sprout and Shredded Chinese Mushroom in XO Spicy Sauce XO醬炒米粉 was a small dish for the price but it had very good wok-hei 鑊氣 (or 火候 in Mandarin). The XO sauce was incomparable to TG J&C.
Yes, I love eating feet, except for the dish of Steamed Chicken Feet and Gluten in Black Bean Sauce 豆豉生根風爪. I prefer chewing on something Q or springy...when steamed, the feet tend to get all soggy and sometimes, too salty...and that's exactly what happened here.
The Prawn and Pineapple Spring Roll 風梨鮮蝦春卷 was not too impressive. Chopped canned pineapple with poor quality shrimps...you get the picture.
The Steamed Dried Shrimp, Green Onion and Chinese Donut Rice Roll 蔥花蝦米炸兩腸粉 was HORRIBLE!!! The donut was stale and hard to chew. The rice skin looked thin, but it wasn't. The green onion had a weird taste...like it's starting to change...yuck!
Don't be fooled by the look of these Steamed Crab Meat, Prawn and Preserved Vegetable Dumpling 雪菜蟹肉水晶包...this was just another way of cheat your money by wrapping har-gow in a fancier method. Honestly, I couldn't see nor taste any crab meat. Yes, the preserved vegetable was visible, but tasteless. Shrimp was not the greatest quality. Don't even get me started with the skin.
Nothing special about the Sparerib Steamed with Chopped Garlic 金蒜蒸排骨, just a simple dish that satisfied a simple craving.
Another disappointment was the Deep Fried Squid in Spicy Peppery Salt 椒鹽脆鮮魷. First, the squid was so "chewy" that I had to pull it with my fingers to break it off. Next, what "peppery"? I only tasted salt. And finally, bad oil.
AuntF's in-laws recently return from a trip to HK/Taiwan and they brought back a box of pineapple cakes (pineapple pastries) for her. AuntF shared a couple individual packs with me. While I appreciate the gesture, these pastries were a disgrace to be a called "pineapple cakes (pineapple pastries) from Taiwan"...very little pineapple filling with thick pastry crusts...a major fail.
