Richmond, Canada: Dim Sum and Then Some!

by Sheila Sobell ©

Do you know the difference between a bun and a dumpling or how many ways to stuff a dim sum? Visit Richmond, British Columbia, home to Canada's largest enclave of oriental restaurants and shops, and you'll leave with a bellyful of knowledge.

Never heard of Richmond? The Gateway to British Columbia, Richmond is surrounded by the Frazer River on three sides and situated mostly on Lulu and Sea Islands, two of the 17 islands in the mouth of the river. In driving time, it's about 30 minutes from Vancouver,

Lured first by the opportunity to work on the Canada Pacific railroad, then by the emerging fishing and canning industries, Richmond has been a magnet for Chinese immigrants since the early 1900s. In the 1980s, the increasing urbanization of the city's farmland, its proximity to regional ingredients from Pacific Rim countries, a surge in local production of Asian greens, and a heightened demand for ethnic restaurants attracted top-notch chefs to set up shop in Richmond.

"By the time Richmond became the most Asian-populated community on the West Coast, the Asian food scene had flourished more than a hundred-fold," says Tourism Richmond's Asian Dining Guide. Today, 65 percent of its180 residents are Asian, and for most of them, sharing a dim sum lunch with family, friends or business associates in one of the area's crowded 350 oriental restaurants is as much a fixture as a Starbucks latte is to the Dockers crowd. The majority of these cavernous restaurants can be found in the Golden Village, an area stretching from Capstan Way between No. 3 and Garden City Roads to Alder bridge Way, housing Parker Place and the Aberdeen and Yaohan Centres which showcase specialty Eastern goods.

Bite-size or golf ball-size, this Cantonese specialty has as many variations as a dumpling has folds. Some are filled with meat, others with seafood; some are suitable for vegetarians and others perfect for dessert. Meaning "touch your heart," these dumplings are handmade into beautiful shapes and steamed, often in large glassed-in kitchens where customers can watch their food prepared. The Shanghai River Restaurant specializes in Northern Chinese cuisine, spicier, more heavily flavored and colorful. Here the dim sum is accompanied by dipping sauces with a rice vinegar and wine base, which can be a tad acidic to some palates. Twenty different types of delectable dim sum are featured at the Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant, a more formal Cantonese venue decorated with copies of classical European paintings. Specialties include rabbit dim sum sweetened with egg yolk cream; shrimp with pea tips and scallops, abalone, and mushroom wrapped with winter melon. On Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. you can toss back your dim sum with karaoke and dancing in a private dining room open to the public.

For a good sampling of dim sum, most restaurants suggest ordering about one family-style dish for every two people at about a cost of about $14-$19. While each restaurant will have its signature items, most menus feature a similar range of dim sum. Interestingly, few establishments are franchises; most are individually owned neighborhood fixtures.

If this is your first foray into dim sum dining, or if you've never mastered the proper technique of maneuvering the dumpling from serving plate to your own plate, listen up. Dim sum is served family style (or tapas style), so your first challenge is to gently lift one off the communal plate onto your own dish, using the "serving" or "communal" chopsticks, which are a different color, or a set placed in the middle of the table. In the case of the Shanghai Dumpling (Pork Soup Dumpling or Dragon Dumpling), you need to use both your chopsticks and a spoon. Fill your spoon with some dipping sauce, a vinegary soy sauce with slices of ginger. Next, use your chopsticks to carefully transfer your Shanghai dumpling from serving plate to your spoon in preparation for eating it; be careful — this dumpling is filled with soup.

The trick is to avoid puncturing the dumpling wrapper and letting the soup escape — be very, very gentle, and keep the spoon close to your lips. Now you're ready to take a tiny bite of the soupy dumpling, allowing the hot liquid to burst out of the wrapping into your spoon. Once the Shanghai dumpling has cooled sufficiently, devour the rest — normally in just one bite!

After you have mastered the Shanghai Dumpling, using the correct technique to eat other types of tasty dumplings will be a breeze. Just add a bit of soy sauce or hot sauce or both. Yum, yum, dim sum!

Don't sweat the technique; remember, it's taken the Chinese centuries to polish their skills.

The best way to eat other dishes like noodles and rice is to employ the same technique of holding your bowel close to your mouth, and use chopsticks to transport food from dish to your mouth.

Dim summed out? All of Asia is represented in Richmond's restaurants. Expand your knowledge of exotic cuisines with Taiwanese dishes like braised pork on rice, cuttlefish soup and marinated meat seasoned with soy, bean pastes, peanuts, and chili-flakes. Highly spiced Southeast Asian dishes like randang beef and chicken curry from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are also on offer, along with Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Hong Kong cooking.

Watch a flower blossom in a cup of Li Chi jasmine tea; learn how to brew the perfect cuppa in an authentic tea ceremony, and taste authentic Chinese tea snacks at the Ten Fu Tea & Ginseng Co. Ltd. in Aberdeen Centre. This shop offers a breathtaking variety of teas, which staff will actually brew for you to taste prior to purchasing.

Even if you know little about Buddhism, a visit to Richmond's Buddhist Kuan Yin Temple on Steveston Highway offers a tantalizing nibble into the possibility of inner peace. Set in exquisite grounds planted with bonsai to recreate Deer Park, the original site of Buddha's first sermon to his disciples, the second largest Buddhist temple in North America is filled with ingenious floral arrangements, lotus ponds, sculpture, paintings, and calligraphy. Though tours in English are reserved for groups of 15 or larger, you can deepen your understanding of the culture just wandering through the grounds yourself and reading the signs.

IF YOU GO

Shanghai River Restaurant: 110-7831 Westminster Hwy.; 604-233-8885; www.tourismrichmond.com.

Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant: 2200-4540 N. 3 Road; 604-273-8858; www.shiangarden.com.

Ten Fu Tea & Ginseng Co. Ltd.; 1930-4151 Hazelbridge Way; 604-270-2278, www.tourismrichmond.com.

Buddhist Kuan Yin Temple;, 9160 Steveston Highway; 604-274-2822; www.buddhisttemple.ca.

The Executive Airport Plaza Hotel & Conference Centre Richmond: 7311 Westiminster Hwy.; 888-388-3932; www.executivehotels.net. This four-star property has excellent service and offers easy access to attractions.

For information of accommodations, dining, attractions and other Richmond information, contact the Richmond Visitor Centre,11980 Deas Thruway, Richmond, British Columbia V6W 1L1; 877-247-0777; www.tourismrichmond.com.

Sheila Sobell and Richard N. Every are professional worldwide travel photojournalists. Visit them at www.writersobell.com