I was unreasonably excited to recently find good dim sum on the North Shore.
I fear that over time I had bought into the idea that to find a true expression of the traditional Chinese small-plate meal service, I needed to cross one of the bridges into town.
To be fair, this idea was partially supported by a string of not-so-hot local experiences I had searching for good, homemade Siu Mai, the small pork- and shrimp-filled dumplings that have become iconic expressions of the meal. Additionally, personal memories of great dim sum linger from my childhood and had perhaps contributed to a certain geographical bias.
As a kid, my father would take me to a bustling restaurant named Ming’s on East Pender Street in Chinatown following early morning ski lessons on Grouse Mountain. This was circa 1982, maybe 1983.
The restaurant occupied a massive footprint on the second floor of an old brick building. Ascending the stairs, the din of conversation, clanging plates and shouts from the service staff identifying what they had on their trolleys, grew gradually louder at each landing. I can still feel the flutter of anticipatory butterflies in my stomach when I think about that ascent and the outstanding meals that invariably followed.
Reflecting on these experiences now I can see that the odds have been stacked against any restaurant offering me pedestrian dim sum today.
It was with conservative expectations that I paid a visit to Westview Oriental Restaurant, an establishment that has always seemed to me to pursue a counter-intuitive program of isolation, with its curiously anachronistic handle, persistently drawn window blinds and generic awning. Happily, on my visit, the restaurant defied these superficial obstacles and served good food to a surprising volume of people.
On a rare, work-free Monday I visited the restaurant just before midday with The Boy in tow, hoping to inspire in my own son the same love of dim sum that my father fostered in me. I admit that I’m a sucker for a bit of nostalgia. I felt a swell of wistful pride as The Boy fumbled with his long, plastic chopsticks, launching the odd slippery sparerib across the table or impaling a dumpling harpoon-style with a self-satisfied grin.
Westview Oriental Restaurant does not serve dim sum via roving carts, but rather with a numbered checklist accompanied by a photographic menu that showcases each dish.
For those well initiated in dim sum, you’ll be pleased to learn that Westview offers nearly 60 dishes covering the gamut of traditional small plates, including the usual repertoire of dumplings, bean curd rolls, spareribs, steamed buns, sticky rice dishes and soups.
There was a notable absence of any tripe preparations, which I often enjoy at dim sum, but this could hardly be said to mar the extensive selection here; by my estimation it would take at least a half-dozen visits for a couple to make their way through the entire menu.
The Boy and I began our meal with an order of Sesame Shrimp Toast, crispy triangles of sliced bread topped with a dense layer of minced prawns and a generous veneer of toasted sesame seeds.
The juxtaposition of soft, tender prawns with crispy bread and sesame seeds was a winner and a fitting introduction to dim sum for The Boy.
Next up were two bamboo steamer baskets of dumplings, one containing Har Gow, shrimp dumplings in translucent noodle wrappers, and Siu Mai, the aforementioned pork and shrimp dumplings.
I consider myself a Siu Mai aficionado and have easily eaten a few hog’s worth of this delicious dish in my lifetime. Westview did a very nice job of them, crafting the densely packed dumplings into a manageable size and decorating them nicely with bright orange fish roe.
For my taste, the Har Gow wrappers were too dense and sticky, overwhelming the comparatively small amount of steamed shrimp filling inside; tasty, but not texturally balanced.
An order of pork spareribs in black bean sauce was my hands-down favourite dish of the meal, served here piping hot in a garlicky, pleasantly salty sauce.
Pork spareribs are so flavourful on their own that this subtle preparation is a perfect platform to showcase them. The meat is steamed, rather than grilled or broiled, preserving its moisture and characteristic pork flavour.
Vegetable spring rolls and soft chow mein in soy sauce followed, both nicely seasoned and packed with fresh vegetables, including shredded cabbage, carrot and onion.
Our final dish, which The Boy almost single-handedly devoured, was a generous plate of deep fried white fish tossed in garlic salt and hot green chilies. The crispy morsels of fish packed just the right degree of heat and saltiness and were complemented by a pot of good jasmine tea.
Our meal of eight dishes and tea came to $47 before gratuity. Westview Oriental Restaurant is located at 2609 Westview Dr. in North Vancouver. westviewchinese.com
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
