Kirin Mandarin Restaurant Review, Vancouver, BC
Posted by Foodnut.com
|
Reviewer: Foodnut.com Kirin Mandarin 1172 Alberni Street Vancouver, BC V6E 3Z3 (604) 682-8833 |
Kirin Mandarin is a well-respected Chinese restaurant in downtown Vancouver, which is named after a mythical dragon like monster. They have five locations in the greater Vancouver area. This particular location focuses on Northern Chinese cuisine and opened in 1987. Sherman recommended we visit this restaurant. Dim Sum Lunch is covered separately.
Decor, Vibe – Kirin Mandarin is located in any atrium of an office building. The decor is modern and corporate with elegant seating and lighting. The majority of folks were Asians, but there was a healthy mix of other races. We noted how much nicer people dress here than in the San Francisco Bay Area!
Menu (Click to zoom into any picture)
Kirin Mandarin Menu has an extensive menu with a wide variety of items. We ordered a super good value Special set menu that was only in Chinese.
Picks:
$45 per person Set Menu included the following items:
Appetizers (preserved vegetables / Shredded Chicken with Jelly Fish / Smoked Salmon) was a nice starter cold dish of salt sea vegetables balanced out with the tame jellyfish.
Shark Fin with Fish Maw and Crab Meat Soup was a solid version. At this price level we could not expect the best. Lots of crabmeat, slightly salty broth, vinegar helped offset the flavor. Hong Kong had better versions.
Steamed Fresh Scallop in Black Bean Sauce was excellent. We scraped off most the heavy duty sauce which still left enough flavor to contrast the sweet scallop flavor.
Shrimp in Mandarin Style Brown Sauce was not too spicy, but more on the tomatoee side. Very nice shrimp that didn’t need this level of thick sauces.
Ginger Green Onion Live BC Crab had a good and strong sauce, along with very tender meat. Very fresh and super messy, but worth it. If you have enough people try their expensive King crab special.
Assorted Seafood Fried Rice was almost like a seafood dish of a little bit of rice. Tons of calamari, egg, chicken, scallops. We’ve never seen a dish like this.
Stir Fried Beef with Snap Peas with mushrooms was a great dish. The sauce was incredibly balanced and not salty. The beef was of decent quality too.
Roasted Squab ($16.80) was hot of the kitchen and had excellent flavor, crispy skin, juicy meat in the inside. Definitely one of the better ones.
Double boiled birds nest soup ($24.80 per cup) is an expensive dessert, but a must to test the kitchen! This version came on a heated platform and was fairly subdued flavor wise. A very good version, well balanced without the coconut not dominating. Not as good as Hong Kong though.
OK:
Almond Jello with Fruit Cocktail was decidedly average but included in the set meal.
Pans:
None
Kirin Mandarin had excellent service. Servers are constantly scanning hall tables, so everything was taken care of quickly including refills. The food here is sort of like a fusion of Cantonese and Mandarin cuisine. We can’t think of a Chinese restaurant in the San Francisco bay area with this level of service. We have encountered this level of service in Hong Kong and China. We have no problem recommending this restaurant. The food quality meets or exceeds the top places in the SF bay area like Koi Palace, and the prices are reasonable. You would have to fly to Hong Kong to find better Chinese food.
Also at:
201 City Square, 555 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V5Z 3X7
(604) 879-8038
(604) 879-0128 fax
200 Three West Centre,
7900 Westminster Highway (at No. 3 Road)
Richmond, British Columbia
Canada V6X 1A5
(604) 303-8833
(604) 303-8669 fax
2001 Henderson Place
1163 Pinetree Way
Coquitlam, British Columbia
Canada V3B 8A9
(604) 944-8833
(604) 944-8565 fax
350 Gifford Street
New Westminster, British Columbia
Canada V3M 7A3
(604) 528-8833
(604) 527-3838 fax
Kirin Mandarin Overall Rating: 
(Excellent
Come Back? 
| Food Rating: | (Excellent) |
| Service Rating: | (Excellent) |
| Atmosphere Rating: | (Excellent) |
| Value Rating: | (Good) |
Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary
| Alcohol: | Full Bar |
| Attire: | Casual |
| Hours: | Weekdays 11am-2:30pm, 5pm-10:30pm; Weekends 10am-2:30pm, 5pm-10:30pm |
| Parking: | Paid Lot |
| Reservations: | Yes |
| Prices: | $3.80 - $235 |
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed.
8 Responses to “Kirin Mandarin Restaurant Review, Vancouver, BC”
Leave a Reply
Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name.
May 20th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Glad you enjoyed it! The Chinese food in Vancouver is indeed very good. I have relatives in San Fran and visit quite often. At first, the Chinese food in San Fran lagged behind quite badly. But I must admit it is getting better.
May 20th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Kirin has to be my favourite dim sum place in Vancouver. The salty spicy squid is a must-have if you ever come back to town!
May 20th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Kirin has got to be my favourite dim sum place in Vancouver. Make sure to try the Spicy Salty Squid if you ever make it back to town!
May 23rd, 2010 at 12:03 am
[...] Kirin Mandarin is a well-respected Chinese restaurant in downtown Vancouver, which is named after a mythical dragon like monster. They have five locations in the greater Vancouver area. This particular location focuses on Northern Chinese cuisine and opened in 1987. Sherman recommended we visit this restaurant. We came for dinner in a previous review. [...]
May 24th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
[...] version of a classic Cantonese dish. Juicy and cooked just right. We had better squab in Vancouver, but we distill the difference to the birds themselves, not the cooking [...]
August 18th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
[...] to a Chinese restaurant of this caliber in the US, the closest are located in Vancouver, BC like Kirin. Be sure to check out our Hong Kong reviews of Lei Garden IFC , Chuen Kee Seafood, and Yung Kee. [...]
September 6th, 2010 at 10:39 am
[...] the same high end fine dining realm and hence do not focus on service. Even Chinese restaurants in Vancouver, BC had higher end service and better food. The breath of items was excellent, more extensive and more [...]
January 7th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
[...] Kirin Mandarin, Vancouver, BC – Top-notch Chinese food, better than the Bay Area [...]
April 25th, 2012 at 2:45 pm
[...] be sure to check out this restaurant, it is worth the trip from downtown Vancouver, otherwise hit Kirin. Across the street is a big shopping mall full of Chinese stores, something you see all over Hong [...]