Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant

Don't let the outside looks fool you. Although we didn't dine here, inside is well decorated with gold and red, round tables. We got there at 2pm. It was busy! We decided to order out instead. Order took 20 minutes. Portions are huge. Prices reasonable! To go bag came with biodegradable utensils. They offered homemade soy sauce which was not salty. I wish I would have asked for chili crisp to go. There is only 3 parking spots behind building. Street parking was hard to find in the residential area.

The restaurant has split hours. They close at 3pm and open again for dinner

Highly recommend! 4.5 stars for food and take out service. Will return for sit down dining service in future

Everyone says that Vancouver's Chinese food scene is amazing so I knew I had to try it out myself during this trip. Western Lake looked pretty good so we headed over for dinner on a Sunday at around 8 (they close at 9). It was pretty packed at that time but we were still able to get a table. We ordered the seafood chow fun with gravy, garlic Chinese broccoli (because our first choice of garlic pea shoots were sold out), and chili fried squid tentacles.

Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing but the food was kind of mid. Usually when we go out to Chinese restaurants, my parents (or someone who's older and Chinese) would order. I would only know to order the basics (i.e. beef chow fun, fried rice, sweet and sour pork, walnut shrimp, etc.) but I don't really know where to begin with seafood. So that's why I ordered the seafood chow fun. I figured you can't go wrong with noodles. But it was bland and very oily (like old reused oil). I prefer the traditional non-gravy one and wish I just stuck with the beef chow fun. At least the seafood was good. They give you shrimp, scallops, and fish. The Chinese broccoli, though flavorful was also very oily. The best thing we had were the fried squid tentacles, which surprisingly tasted the least oily out of all three dishes. But, I'm used to having actual squid pieces, and not just the tentacles, which I assume are the cheap parts of the squid.

Looking back, I remember seeing a few tables order this crab fried rice, which looked amazing so I regret not asking about that. If I visit Vancouver again, I'm not opposed to trying this restaurant again - but I'll just make sure to know what to order next time.

Western Lake is known for its (relatively) great-valued dim sum, compared to those higher end and expensive spots in Vancouver.

Tbh the dim sum here are just averagely good. What makes it stand out is all the dim sum we got were PIPING HOT. Hot dim sum can add at least 10 more points.

Another selling point is the SIZE of their dim sum. All of us pulled out our phones the moment we got the shu mai and har kau -- they were unbelivably HUGE.

We don't recommend baked bbq pork pie and deep fried prawn dumpling. The former was greasy while the latter was covered with thick deep fried breading.

We came here for family dinner and lunch recently and this review is for both occasions.

Dinner

- 5 of us came here for dinner a couple of weeks ago. We ordered shredded chicken with jelly fish, fish maw soup with shredded duck, Buddha's feast with assorted vegetables, sautéed fish filets with greens, and beef with curry sauce. Dishes were all pretty good. The only annoyance was when we placed the order, the waiter/manager tried up sell 3 of the 5 dishes. We had looked at the menu before we ordered. If we had wanted what he suggested, we would have ordered them! Do not tell me another vegetarian dish would be more flavourful than the one we picked. My mother has kidney issues and we picked a blander dish intentionally. Do not tell us to substitute prawns for fish. A few of us in the party do not like shellfish.

Lunch

- My parents and I came here for lunch today. The dim sum dishes were HUGE. They easily double the portions for the same prices at comparable restaurants. There are pros and cons with their portions. If you are going with a bigger party , this is perfect because you don't have to 2 or 3 of each dish like you may need to do in other restaurants. However, if your party is small like 2 or 3, you will either have to contend with carrying takeaway or you won't be able to order a multiple of dishes.

- The 3 of us shared stir-fried bean vermicelli, siu mai, steamed beef omasum, pan-fried shims and chive dumplings, steamed beef tripes and tendons. The vermicelli dish was my favourite. The noodles were al dente and flavoured just right without being saucy. The siu mai and chive dumplings were so huge that I felt like I was eating steamed buns with starchy fillings. If I wanted buns, I would have ordered buns. I would stay away from these 2 dishes next time.

If I do come back, I would ordered the cold dessert dish of gelatin cubes with goji berries and lychee. They looked quite good on the table next to us.

The overall service of the waitstaff was very good and courteous.

The restaurant is quite compact and many tables are packed in there. It was very loud both times we were there.

This place is really hard to get a spot at so make sure you get a reservation especially on the weekends! But if you're able to get in the food is amazing. The portions are huge and prices are fair!

Tried both their banquet dinner and dim sum. Both are excellent.

The set dinner dish selection is typical for this type of restaurant (appetizer platter, soup, fish, vegetables, chicken, rice, noodles etc.) but the quality is excellent.

The dim sum dumplings here are huge. Easily twice the size of the competition. Everything is fresh. My friends and I were stuffed.

Besides the quality, the value is definitely here. Can't go wrong hosting an event here, to be honest. There is a reason this place is freaking busy.

Highly recommended.

Indulge in an exceptional dim sum experience where value meets quality. With an extensive menu featuring traditional favorites and innovative creations, every dish is a testament to culinary craftsmanship. Impeccable service ensures a memorable dining affair, while the inviting ambiance sets the stage for shared moments with loved ones. Prepare for a gastronomic journey that offers unbeatable value without compromising on taste or experience.

Every dish is huge!

I am not sure how much I can add to a restaurant that has over 470 reviews. I did notice that there weren't many recent reviews. This was from today, February 2024. Sometimes a lot can change in a restaurant in a year. Our first time back in over 15 years. The renovations to the restaurant were very nice. Service is great today, fast, courteous and efficient. Came early at about 10.30am, knowing how busy this place can be. We ordered seven items.

Should-Mei, gigantic, impressive looking but could use a touch more seasoning.
Steamed beef tripe and tendons. One of the best I have tasted, lots of flavour, perfect texture.
Steamed scallop with prawn dumplings. Good but not great.
Eggplant with shrimp. Beautiful presentation, perfectly cooked. Black bean sauce could use a little more kick!
Chive dumplings. Very impressive looking for the size. Texture was good but can use a bit more seasoning.
Lastly, Beef fried rice noodles with soya sauce. Was perfectly cooked, with good 'wok hei' good flavour and lots of beef. Just a bit pricey at $25.80.
Sum of the parts, very happy experience and enjoyable. Highly recommended.

We were searching for a good Cantonese Chinese restaurant and came upon this restaurant. Looking from the outside, it's an older building, but the food is really delicious! We ordered a beef fried flat noodle, congee soup with pork and century egg and one order of shrimp Shiu-mai to go because we had a dog. The beef in the fried noodle was lean and tender; the congee was full of traditional flavors, each of the shrimp shiu-mai was huge and filled with shrimps! The service was efficient and good.

This is the first time we have returned to Vancouver after 37 years, this restaurant has given us a good start! We would love to try the other seafood dishes before we leave town.

Had an early reservation for 4 at 5:30pm and on a Thurs evening. We were the first customers. It didn't start to get busy until 6:30pm.

It was cold inside so I recommend bringing a sweater.

They were accommodating to us and showed us the dungeoness crab before they cooked it.

We had 4 dishes and all were tasty! I chose jasmine tea and it helped counter the greasy ness a lot for me!