Richmond is an Asian-American restaurant hub just south of Vancouver. The city is easy to reach by The Canada Line from the city or airport, with several train stops accessing the sea of food-filled strip malls. Richmond houses 210,000 people, 65% Asian, with a whopping 800 restaurants, meaning you can eat really well if you know where to look. Learn about nine of my favorite places to eat and drink in Richmond, based on epic 2016 and 2025 restaurant crawls, listed alphabetically.

UPDATES SINCE NOVEMBER 18, 2016
Additions: Little Pisces, Paragon Tea Room, Parker Place Aberdeen Meat & BBQ, Shanghai Lao Wei Dao
Subtractions: Chen’s Shanghai Restaurant (CLOSED), Vivacity (CLOSED)

Fisherman’s Terrace ↓
MUST ORDER: Baked BBQ Pork Pastry, Pork Dumplings w/Tobiko, Fresh Shrimp Dumplings, Mini Sticky Rice, Baked Egg Tarts

Fisherman’s Terrace debuted in 1996 and relocated to nearby Aberdeen Centre’s third floor in 2004. Deluxe dim sum included flaky rectangular baked pork buns lined with sesame seeds; har gow with translucent skins, plump shrimp and ginger; pork spare ribs with black beans; juicy siu mai topped with tobiko (flying fish roe); and Mini Sticky Rice in Bamboo Leaves packed with shrimp, chicken, pork and mushrooms. To finish, Fisherman’s Terrace serves baked egg tarts warm, with flaky, buttery layers and melt-in-your-mouth custard.

Hong Kong BBQ Master ↓
MUST ORDER: BBQ Pork, Roasted Pork, Cold Drink

Chef Eric Leung’s tiny restaurant specializes in Hong Kong style roast meats. Roast pork has crisp skin, firm, meaty centers, and melting layers of fat. BBQ pork is red rimmed and tender from the marinade and masterful roasting. Request a bottle of dark sauce made with pan-drippings to boost matters. Invest an extra buck if you prefer to eat a certain part. Green vegetables like gai lan help with balance, as does “cold drink,” aka lemon tea.

Lido Restaurant ↓
MUST ORDER: Pineapple Bun with Butter

Look for the red sign in Central Square strip mall to find Lido Restaurant, which features a glass front lined with event posters. A dining room touts white walls lined with menu listings and dull green booths. I understand that Lido Restaurant has a full menu of Kong Kong-style comfort food, but they’re certainly most famous for their bolo bao, pineapple buns. It’s hard to imagine a better bite than Lido Restaurant’s warm bolo bao with butter. These fluffy buns are exceptional, topped with a toasty crust crafted with sugar and eggs that supposedly resembles a pineapple’s skin. In this case, the bun’s served warm, sliced, and crammed with pats of butter, which quickly melt into the delectable dough.

Little Pisces Taiyaki & Soft Serve ↓
MUST ORDER: Hojicha Taro Latte, Soft Serve (Ube & Rose Lychee Swirl)

Paragon Tea Room ↓
MUST ORDER: Mango Hojicha Oat, Matcha Black Sesame Oat

Parker Place Aberdeen Meat & BBQ ↓
MUST ORDER: BBQ Duck, BBQ Pork Sausage, Honey Sauce BBQ Pork Jowl

R&H Chinese Food ↓
MUST ORDER: Xiao Long Bao

The advantages to bamboo baskets are pretty clear, and every place I visited in Richmond that serves xiao long bao uses them, but who serves the best version? I’d vote for R&H Chinese Food, a family-run stall located in the lowkey Lansdowne Mall food court. The R apparently stands for Richard, meaning his wife must be H. Apparently they’re from Beijing, as opposed to Shanghai. The ratio separates R&H’s Xiao Long Bao from rivals, with thin skins that stand up to the torrent of pork juice. The filling starred rosy, juicy pork meat. I bit off the dumpling tops and spooned soy sauce and vinegar into each cavity, resulting in a savory flavor rush.

Shanghai Lao Wei Dao ↓
MUST ORDER: Pan-Fried Buns, Pan-Fried Dumplings, Pork & Soup Buns

Shanghai River ↓
MUST ORDER: Steamed Pork Dumplings, Pan Fried Pork Dumplings, Braised Tien-Tsin Cabbage w/Ham

The more xiao long bao, the better. Shanghai River Restaurant joins the bamboo steamed fray. One of Richmond’s fanciest Shanghai-style restaurants features a glass kitchen stacked with bamboo steamers and dumpling makers. They devote considerable resources to dumpling production and clearly take dough-wrapped flavor packets seriously. I’d recommend steamed pork dumplings, xiao long bao, which sport thin skins and juicy, slightly sweet fillings. Pan-fried pork dumplings display moderate caramelization on pleasantly chewy wrappers and firm pork centers flecked with scallions. Braised Tien-Tsin cabbage is a deluxe vegetable dish, with tender slabs sporting savory ham tiles.

Thanks to Visit Richmond for their support during my 2016 experience.