James Snacks

My cousin recommended me to try this place, because they have the authentic Sand Pot/​Claypot Rice煲仔飯. They sure do. They do have crispy rice stuck at the bottom of the pot; that’s the best part. It is made to order so it is a 15 mins wait, so if you are in rush, you could call 604−716−1328 to pre-​order. It is only $ 8.50 a pot, must try. They have 10 different choices (mostly meats, one veggie).

James makes a good clay pot rice for a food court. They make it fresh to order, as it takes them 20 minutes to make once you place your order. I ordered the spareibs in black bean sauce and it came out pipping hot and with a smell that just makes you salivate. My only gripes are that the soy sauce that came with the rice is missing some sesame oil to add the right punch and the meat was heavy handed when it came to MSG.

How did I never review this place?
So here I am, cleaning out my desk, and deep deep deep in the back of one of my drawers was a business card for James Snacks. I came here regularly back in 2008 when I lived in Vancouver, and decided to check Unilocal to see if it was still around. Glad to see that it is.
My favorite clay pots from this place were the preserved sausage, and the spare rib in black bean sauce. I routinely went there for take out. It’s nice in that for a few dollars’ deposit, you can take the clay pot home. Then I would bring it back the next time I got take out. I’m pretty sure I never returned my last clay pot before moving out of Canada. Hopefully the deposit covered a replacement clay pot.
This was the place to go for clay pot rice. Cheap, reasonably fast, and delicious. I only wish I could find something comparable in San Francisco.

I came back for lunch, as this is my second going with this place, waking up, feeling empty, being almost 3pm, I could have starved all the way to dinner, but since I was in Richmond I had memories of some excellent claypot rice here so I allowed my stomach to guide me to my choice. Empire Centre, your not coming here just to walk around, you have a purpose, and one of those is the food court, and ‘James Snacks’ is one of those destination spots that many come to.
There is not much english at this stall, so you better know what your ordering, and just be ‘patient’, as this stuff doesn’t just come out of the kitchen. A wait time of about 15 minutes before you get to carry that hot pot to your table before you devour is in order. This time I ordered the ‘meatcake’ with sausage and the wait to eat began. For those of you who don’t want to eat, a word of advice, call in, order, and get here in 20 minutes, if timed right, this should be perfect.
When I saw my pot coming out to the front counter, I quickly walked over to identify myself and walk away with my food. The pot is covered, and on the side is a dish of soy sauce for you to pour in and allow it to bake some more to get a mix of salty saucy goodness. When I opened the pot, a puff of steam rised and I was welcomed to a sight of greens piled in the center. Along the sides were nicely cut up Chinese sausage pieces, and right in the middle was ‘meatcake’. This thing was almost the entire top surface of the pot, hiding the bright white rice lying below. Seeing all this food in it’s glory I poured in the side of soy sauce and closed the lid.
I enjoyed everything about my meal, but something wasn’t there, maybe it was the ‘meatcake’ that didn’t wow me like the first time, maybe it was the combination of the meats. I felt that it wasn’t as hot out of the pot as when I had it last time, and also elsewhere. The meat was a little over dominant to the portions of the pot, it was thick, and very hard to break apart, with the thinly plastic spoon, and hard to snap apart with the chopsticks. They have to really think about replacing their spoons, cause it does bring down the experience as you are fighting with trying to peg off the crispy bits off the pot with this flimsy utensil and your not going to carry a metal spoon everywhere you go.
If you want to take it to go… you would think why the hell would you want to, but here’s the catch, you can, and with the pot. Tacked on is a $ 3 deposit fee to take the claypot home or to the office with you and when you decide to bring it back you’ll get your $ 3, still word to the wise it to eat this thing hot off the fire. I will be back, and hopefully the pot of rice I pick that day will wow me like the first time but this is still a solid pick for your claypot (or sandpot as they call it here) bowl of rice! If you can, bring your own spoon, and just like everyone else who has eaten this thing, most people don’t even leave a piece of the rice remaining on the bottom of the pot… that says a lot.

Who would have thought that one of the best places to get clay pot rice would be at a hidden food court in Richmond? I discovered this place about 5 years ago, when my colleague was ordering food for everyone, and I had to go pick it up. What I’ve learned from James Snack is that you don’t want to order on the spot when you have arrived. Clay pot rice needs tender love and care. It takes time to get the semi brunt crust to form and for all the flavors from the ingredients to be absorbed by the rice. I think it takes them at least half an hour of prep.
I saw a lot of the other bloggers have been raving about the ostrich meat and sadly, I haven’t had the opportunity to have it yet. The two I want to introduce to you today are:
Free Range Chicken with Mushroom: The chicken is so succulent, and the mushroom adds a smoky flavour.
Minced Meat with Salt Mustard: This is amongst my go to clay pot rice flavor. I like minced meat cakes. My favorite thing to do is to use the spoon to break the cake and then pour the soy sauce into the rice.
Steps to eat clay pot rice (my way):
1.) Break apart the ingredients and the rice.
2.) Pour soy sauce into the pot.
3.) Eat =)
4.) When you’re done you’ll notice the burnt rice crusted on the side of the pot. DO NOT leave that. Try to scrape it off and eat it. This is the BEST part of the rice.
Just want you to pay attention to number 8 on this card here. It says that it’s FROG with ginger sauce. James is not joking! It is frog. What does it taste like? It tastes like Chicken but a little less smooth, a little bit more flavourful. I love it!
Always add an salty egg. It just lifts the whole rice dish up!

As a kid, I was always treated to good home cooked chinese food, especially something like what James here does best, Claypot rice. It is the main item on their menu and they are damn good at what they do. Prices are super affordable and reasonable for what you get, a big whopping claypot filled with enough rice and enough assorted toppings (of your choice, i might add) to satisfy your cravings.
I had the chance to experience this place with my brother on an excursion to find and try something new. It was always on his mind but the chance to go never came, until then. Parking is varied depending on the time you go, as it is within Empire Center. It is a simple ma & pa store that doesn’t look any different from the surround stores. The choices you are presented with are plentiful and extras like an egg/​vegi are available if a regular item isent enough for your belly. The wait is around 5 – 10 minutes but that is fine because each and every bowl is fresh and made to order from scratch.
When your order is ready, you are given a spoon, chopsticks, and a nice dish of soy sauce to pour and mix into your rice. The pot is extremely hot so do take caution and either ask them to open it for you or do it yourself. The smell was exhilarating and refreshing, a blast from the past. Crispy rice on the bottom, succulent meats and perfectly steamed vegetables on top truely deserve nothing more than a perfect 5. and to top that off, for extra 3 $ you can even take home the pot! Now that’s flexibility and cool. It is definitely a must try from me and i’ll be returning there soon.

A hidden gem found in an obscure mall, James Snacks offers delicious claypot (or sandpot) rice dishes. If you’re unsure what that is, you’re missing out on a cozy, warm favourite of mine.
Claypot rice is a meal of rice, topped with veggies and your choice of meats all nestled together in a claypot and then baked for a good amount of time to let all the flavours and ingredients merry together. Once the top of the claypot lid is opened, you’re greeted with a sensuous steam of pleasant smells. As you enjoy your dish, dig a little deeper to find caramelized rice that clings to the sides of the claypot not wanting it’s deliciousness to be eaten.
My favourite is #1 — Preserved Sausage aka Lap Chong. There’s two kinds in the claypot: 1) Preserved Pork: A lighter pink with a more subtle and light taste 2) Preserved Duck: A gamier and richer taste of meat. With these slightly salty and rich meats paired with the delicate chinese choy/​veggies and fresh rice — it’s a warm mouthful of deliciousness.
Note: If you want take-​out, put in a deposit (about $ 2?) and you get to take the claypot home, when you return you can reuse your claypot or give it back to get your deposit back.
I don’t know about the «snacks» James has but I do know they make some fabulous claypot rice!

* 4.5 star claypot rice specialist *
This unassuming stall (Photo:
) in the Empire Centre foodcourt specializes in what they call sandpot rice.
I ordered the ostrich sandpot (#9) and was told it would take 15 minutes. They had it ready exactly 15 minutes later and it was presented on a plastic foodcourt tray that was lined with thick cardboard to avoid the pot melting the tray. Photo:
Opening the claypot revealed a very generous amount of toppings. The ostrich meat was cooked perfectly — nice and tender while being very well seasoned with a little bit of heat which was a nice surprise! The mushrooms were also plentiful and had the perfect consistency while retaining a strong shiitake flavour. The greens were also tender and steamed perfectly. They served a side of higher quality thick soy sauce, but I found I didn’t need it as everything was already well seasoned. A very nice set of toppings. Photo:
The rice was steamed perfectly and had developed a nice crust on the bottom. Photo:
They also served a nice strong complimentary tea of decent quality.
The only thing holding this stall back from 5 stars is that they served it with one of those cheapo plastic spoons that made it a real chore to separate the crispy rice from the claypot. If they would just serve an appropriate metal spoon this would be a full 5 star for me. But considering that, I figured I would round up for the rating. :)
Comparing to the other claypot rice specialist I recently visited called the One Spot Soup House (
), I would say James Snacks puts out a better product.

Usually the restaurants in the food courts do not have good qualities but this one is an exception. They are just too good. You might wait about 20 – 30 minutes for an order but it is worth to charge. There is 92% of people likes it on urbanspoon too.