Vivacity 名都
I think I've visited Vivacity years ago, but the place had been long forgotten until I found out about their 20% off discount for dim sum on weekdays and weekend mornings. We went on Monday at around 12:30 pm and the place was relatively full. The ambiance was alright and just like most other Chinese restaurants, service was prompt but not very friendly. We started with an item not shown on the dim sum menu: the baked BBQ pork buns (貴妃包) ($4.50). Unfortunately the buns were not fresh from the oven, so the bread was dry and stale. Otherwise it probably would have tasted ok.
I usually like to choose less common items when I go for dim sum. That means usually no har gow or siu mai for me. And that's why I chose the pan fried 5 grain cake (五穀雜糧角) ($4.50) which was a vegetarian dish. There were 5 different grains and beans inside, and I really liked the contrasting textures and savoury flavours.
The steamed traditional rice noodles with sliced meats (荷葉籠仔三絲蒸陳村粉) ($8.75) was not that great. I found the noodles quite bland apart from the saltiness of the soy sauce. I also think the texture could have been a bit softer. The toppings were ok, but they didn't blend well with the noodles.
I had the chef's special double steamed milk with ginger sauce (金牌薑汁燉鮮奶) ($4.25) for dessert. It was one of the best I've had in Vancouver. The consistency was just right — neither too runny nor too firm. The milk pudding was creamy and silky smooth with ginger juice on the bottom.
Overall this was not a bad dim sum experience. I really enjoyed the 5 grain cake and the double steamed milk. The other 2 items were not that great in my opinion, but I'll give the place the benefit of the doubt.
I usually like to choose less common items when I go for dim sum. That means usually no har gow or siu mai for me. And that's why I chose the pan fried 5 grain cake (五穀雜糧角) ($4.50) which was a vegetarian dish. There were 5 different grains and beans inside, and I really liked the contrasting textures and savoury flavours.
The steamed traditional rice noodles with sliced meats (荷葉籠仔三絲蒸陳村粉) ($8.75) was not that great. I found the noodles quite bland apart from the saltiness of the soy sauce. I also think the texture could have been a bit softer. The toppings were ok, but they didn't blend well with the noodles.
I had the chef's special double steamed milk with ginger sauce (金牌薑汁燉鮮奶) ($4.25) for dessert. It was one of the best I've had in Vancouver. The consistency was just right — neither too runny nor too firm. The milk pudding was creamy and silky smooth with ginger juice on the bottom.
Overall this was not a bad dim sum experience. I really enjoyed the 5 grain cake and the double steamed milk. The other 2 items were not that great in my opinion, but I'll give the place the benefit of the doubt.
No comments: