Fortune Terrace Chinese Cuisine

As told by a Vancouver local, I heard that Vancouver is known for really good dim sum. Being from San Francisco, I have had my share of delicious dim sum, especially from hole-in-the-wall joints and sit-down experiences. I was excited while doing research within Vancouver that there are a bunch of Chinese restaurants that do elevated dim sum, and this place seemed to have unique dishes that aren't your typical dim sum offerings.

I think the main draw here is their cute character buns / novelty items. My mom, sister and I came around 1:30 pm and got seated right away on a Thursday. I am unsure how crowded this place can get normally, but it was nice to not have to wait and go on an off-day and time. We got a bunch of their novelty dim sum dishes (wagyu pineapple bun in the shape of a turtle, scallop/cuttlefish dumplings in the shape of a squid, matcha/black sesame glutinous rice ball in the shape of a pear, durian puff pastry in the shape of purses) along with their beef chow fun and shrimp rice rolls. The dim sum dishes were good and fun to eat / share. Everything was delicious; surprisingly their beef chow fun was really good for a dish so simple and a staple in Chinese cuisine.

The menu here is VERY extensive and they have a lot of dishes I never heard of or have even tried before. They are set up banquet style and have a large menu of pre-fixe items. As other people have mentioned, this place is an elevated dim sum experience which can be on the more pricier side. Come here if you want that unique experience, otherwise I think you can find as good dim sum elsewhere!

Very innovative dimsum selection with great presentation, but it's not cheap.

My party of 4 came for dimsum this past Saturday around 12:15. We called in a couple days beforehand for a reservation, so we were seated immediately.

It's a nice space, but it definitely felt a bit cramped as the tables were placed close together. They have multiple seating areas, and we were seated in the back area that I assume can be reserved for private events.

The dimsum menu is huge and felt quite overwhelming. They have all the typical dimsum items, but a lot of them are a slightly fancy take on the item, such pineapple chasiu bao with wagyu beef pastry. They also offer some new items I've never seen before. We didn't get any, but there are many items on the menu made in cute animal shapes. Like I said, presentation here is really good.

We tried (* marks my favorites):

A6 steamed abalone siu mai ($11.80)
* A19 steamed cuttlefish with satay vermicelli ($9.80)
B1 grilled eel and bbq pork crisps ($10.80)
B12 fried purple yam with cheese and milk ($10.80)
E3 fish paste and seaweed rice noodle roll ($12.80)
* C6 deep fried tofu in Hong Kong style ($11.80)
C10 pan fried choy sum ($19.80)
R20 baked e-fu noodles with eggplant and scallops ($28.80)
* D1 mango sticky rice ($8.80)

As we were leaving, we saw a sign at the front with pictures of some of their unique items. I wish I had seen this earlier so we could've tried more of these items. Oh well, there's always next time!

Like I said, it's not cheap to eat here. Our total came close to $40 pp after tax and tip.

Parking in the garage is paid but the restaurant validates $2.50.

Eight months ago, we went to this dim sum place near the Olympic Oval in Richmond.

The restaurant had an extensive menu for dim sum. They had fusion dim sum with cute designs. We ordered the egg yolk father's bun, durian ladies handbag crisp, pineapple barbecued bun with wagyu beef, salted fish chicken hedgehog buns, deep fried fish fillet rice rolls, and deep fried scallops taro wedge,

The fish rice rolls were a bit fishy. I didn't really care for it.

The fried taro wedges were good but a bit dry.

The pineapple buns were good but I wish it was piping hot instead of lukewarm.

The egg york buns were on par but the hedgehog buns were a disappointment. The latter had too little filling.

The handbag shaped durian crisp was cute and good if you like durian.

It's a nice place to take pictures of the cute dim sum but the food quality is not a wow for me.

Vancouver dimsum is elite! And this place does not disappoint. Sure, it's on the pricier side, but the dimsum pieces here are very cute And I think the quality is good as well. I like the lobster rice roll and the salted egg yolk bun.

Free parking in the garage!

A bit of an interesting menu. I liked that they try to inject some interesting twists to the classics. Would like to see some classics done better without having to have a 'flair' attached to them. Sometimes you just want the classics because they're classic for a reason.

Noise levels could get high on a busy weekend, but nothing too crazy compared to another chinese restaurant

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE
Unique dim sum coming in different shapes in a nice environment?
Absolutely, but it will cost you!

=== 2. FOOD
We've been here a few times and food has been solid every time. On this trip, we enjoyed:

- Shrimp & Crab Meat Dumpling
- The crab is a nice touch! Three dumplings included.

- Abalone Sui Mai
- Another unique dish - the five comes with truffle.

- Fish Paste & Seaweed Rice Roll
- Eight of these good-tasting things, covered in seaweed!

- Black Cod with Ginger & Green Onion
- Chunks of fried fish with ginger, onions, and celery.

- Pig Egg Young Bun
- Why do they have two look so cute?! :)

- Wild Mushroom E-Fu Noodle
- Big shiitake mushrooms and snap peas come with this!

=== 3. SERVICE
It's good and works in English most of the time, Cantonese, and Mandarin all of the time. The staff are relatively attentive, and for other than one visit, the food came out in a reasonable amount of time.

=== 4. ENVIRONMENT
It's new/modern and glittery - those familiar with how nice restaurants in China look will find the atmosphere familiar. It's also relatively spacious not just in high ceiling but also in ways to accommodate your party of virtually any size, as well as wheelchairs and baby strollers. It gets busy on weekends for dim sum and that impacts your ability to find covered parking in the parking garage on the top floor - though there is plenty of uncovered parking available also.

Egg yolk bun: This tasted just like a normal bun. It was hot so be careful when eating!
Pine apple bun: Nothing too special, wasn't a fan of the base bread to be honest...
Turnip: Theres curry in the middle and it was crispy and yum! (the white things are plastic)
Mango: fake mango flavour, not too good wouldn't order again
Egg tart: Good dim sum egg tart, buffalo milk flavour not prominent just tasted regular. (not in photo)

Dim sum with a creative twist! Very photogenic.

The items were solid and not overly expensive considering how they look.

Dim sum looked pretty particularly the baked bbq buns that resembled tortoises. That was the highlight - it was downhill from there. The truffles/mushrooms dumplings were off. The beef and bitter melon rice wrap skimped on ingredients and looked like a mess.

Service seems to focus on regulars/VIPs. Restaurant was half full but will not seat you in the main dining area. We got some secluded non-window room with the "others". No spoons, no bowls, no service overall.

I usually give a restaurant a chance but this one seems non-redeemable. What an unpleasant experience - should have just stayed at home.

First time eating here that was for dinner and not a lunch dim sum. We had a bounty for 8 people. Food came out quicker than we could stuff our faces. We had to finish specific dishes in order to make room for new ones that came out and we had to move some onto smaller plates as well. Definitely impressed with how fast everything came out. But that made it harder for me to join the great food that they bring out. I just end up being more focused on trying to finish what I can to make room which just causes me to get stuffed real fast. I did try to manage to eat a little bit of everything, but man was it a struggle. We either need more mouths or just need to order less.

Restaurant is what you would expect from a Chinese seafood restaurant. They go for that high class look with the fancy decor and high ceilings. I like it like that for these kind of restaurants. You just know the food is going to be plentiful and great. And it was. We had the traditional peking duck, king crab 3 ways, chicken, pea vine and portobello mushrooms. It was a great family feast. Always end up full and overly satisfied.

Lots of hype about this place so one sunny Sunday, u thought to myself...time to head over and see what its all about.

Im giving 4 starts because of its artistic presentation and its taste.

As the saying goes...you first feed your senses visually...then the taste buds take over. The presentation here is top notch. Onky a few places in vancouver will present Dimsum such a manner that you feel guilty eating the Dimsum entrees. Even the yang chow fried rice is served fish shaped.

Next is the taste. Each entree tasted very superior. The truffle siu mai is excellent. Majority of the stuff we got tasted very very good. If they say it had this ingredient in it, you will surely taste it. All except for the wagyu beef pastry in pineapple bun. Dont get me wrong. It still tasted very good. But to discern the wagyu in it, is next to impossible. It wasnt as tender as expected, and whatever wagyu qualities it had, already had been overwhelmed by the bbq sauce. Lol. Such a tragedy for wagyu.

Another plus factor is that this place doesnt skimp out on the premium ingredients like shrimp,
Truffle, roe etc. they made sure to put enough for you to notice.

As with everything else, you get what you pay for. Yes, the place is extremely pricey for dimsum. Its like having a 6 course chinese dinner. Very high end. The place feels very high end too. The service is top notch and the ambiance classy.

But hey, you only live once. Worth to try for sure.

Cheers! Happy eating!