I made another visit to Shanghai Wonderful Restaurant (map, 110 – 8380 Lansdowne Road, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone: 604-278-8829) and again was impressed by the superlative flavors and exotic tastes of the authentic, modern Chinese cuisine served by this restaurant.

The first dish that arrived was the Special Pork Chop Wuxi Style (pictured below, $13.95), and I tentatively bit into a tender, saucy piece of pork that I tenuously held in my chopsticks. Suddenly, a symphony of subtle sensations started to build up on my tongue and I thought, this is comfort food at its best. Whoever Wuxi is, he or she definitely has a walloping sense of style.

Not to be outdone was the Deep Fried Squid with Chili and Pepper ($9.98, also pictured below), a Chinese take on calamari that was crispy, salty, and delicate at the same time. The culinary concerto continued with Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns ($4.95, also pictured below) which my dining companion secretly devoured as I was munching on the marvellous pork pieces. I did manage a few nibbles of these jealously juicy buns, which if you haven’t tried, will lead you to discover that they must be eaten in a single bite.

With a can of coke, and a ration of rice, the bill came to $31.63 before tax and tip. The handy Geotip was utilized and we paid $20 each in cash (which, must be noted, is the only payment method that Shanghai Wonderful accepts).

For some more photos and info, please view Part 1.

Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns ($4.95) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

Special Pork Chop Wuxi Style ($13.95) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

Deep fried squid with Chili and Pepper ($9.98) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

My serving of the pork chops

Milestone’s Grill and Bar (map, web site, 2966 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-734-8616) is a popular casual/trendy Canadian restaurant chain with several locations in Vancouver.

Milestones is known for their steaks, rotisserie, and pasta dishes, but they also have a great brunch menu, which is available on weekends. I ordered their Grilled Shrimp California Benedict ($12.99, pictured below) which was a creative variation on the classic Eggs Benedict, served with “spicy house-made avocado salsa, double-smoked bacon, [and] large grilled shrimp.” I was really impressed by the presentation of this dish and it tasted great – the bacon, eggs, shrimp and hollandaise sauce were a nice combination.

antoni81, a revewer on Dinehere.ca (click here to read review) writes:

I always leave happy. Tonight I came by with 2 friends. I had a double hamburger and fettucini. My other friend had the Portobella chicken, and I think my other friend had a hamburger. The food here has always tasted good…

Visit Part 6 for another photo and more information about a different location (Yaletown, downtown).

California Eggs Benedict with Shrimp ($12.99) from Milestones Restaurant in Vancouver.

T and T Market (web site, map, 179 Keefer Place, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, phone: 604-899-8836, Store hours: 8:30 am – 9:30 pm) is a large Chinese/Asian grocery store with several locations in the Vancouver area (view a list of all locations). The Keefer Place location is very close to the Stadium Skytrain station, GM Place Stadium, and BC Place Stadium.

The supermarket is well known for their exotic seafood and vegetable selections. Frommers writes that Tnt Market is “where strange and ungainly comestibles lurk: fire-dragon fruit, lily root, and enoki mushrooms”. But never fear, there are plenty of palatable items lurking here, which even those with Westernized tastes can enjoy.

I especially like the steamed dim-sum and buns, such as the BBQ Pork Bun (Cha Siu Bow), as well as the egg custard tarts. I also really like their Chinese BBQ Chicken which comes pre-cooked and sliced into bite sized pieces – a tray of chicken costs around $6 and makes a great takeout item to serve at home with some steamed rice and veggies.

T&T Supermarket also sells pre-prepared sushi trays such as the one pictured below (around $5.00). The sushi is tasty, and while a dedicated sushi restaurant might do better, T&T’s sushi is quite good value for the money. (The supermarket has some eat-in tables for hungry shoppers who can’t wait till getting home to start munching away.) After around 6:30pm the sushi items start being discounted by a few dollars every hour until they’re all gone.

I also tried their Vietnamese Salad Rolls served with peanut sauce (also pictured below, around $5.00) which I thought were a little bland. The Vietnamese restaurant in the food fair at Tinseltown Mall (just across the street) serves much tastier and fresher salad rolls, at about the same price.

Take out sushi tray from T&T Market in Vancouver, $5.00 (California roll, Salmon Nigiri Sushi, and Unagi sushi)

Vietnamese Salad Rolls ($5.00) from Tnt Super market in Vancouver, BC, Canada.