Top Chiu Chow Cuisine

This place was okay, I wouldn’t say spectacular by any means. It has a nice ambience and seating, but it’s too bad the food was mediocre and service so so.
The fish was probably the best part. Other than that, the oyster pancake was bland, the fried noodles reminded me of instant noodles, the fried rice noodles also bland, the duck/​tofu was small, the gai lan and beef was small portions, and the sweet taro root dessert was rancid. Everyone at our table ate one spoonful and couldn’t eat anymore. The server forgot to input one dish and instead of cancelling it like we had asked, he avoided our table and ended up bringing the dish when we almost were about to leave. How rude for them to make an error but not admit to it, they were too money hungry I guess. I even saw a 20% off stamp at the register when I went to pay, but they didn’t offer. That dish took one hour and 10 minutes to come out, it was just a stir fry, clearly they forgot to input it as we were the 2^nd table to come in for dinner.
Tea was barely refilled and prices were a bit high for the portion size. Even with new owner and chef as stated in Unilocal,I don’t see myself or my family going back. It’s too bad they couldn’t offer service recovery, we would have came back just for the fish, but never again.

first visit, clean place, good atmosphere, evening dimsum after 9pm,
pork spare ribs were good, spicy!
rice noodle beef, awesome!
shrimp steamed dumplings, huge but kinda meh.
will be back to try more.

Might be a 3 to 3.5 star, typically. I’m being generous because I appreciated the service we got tonight.
This is Chiu Chow or Teochew cuisine. It’s a bit different from most other chinese cuisines, so it might not hit your taste buds quite the same way as other regional cuisines. I liked it, because it reminded me a bit of Hakka cuisine which is relatively rare. I know there are a few Hakka restaurants in metro Vancouver, but I haven’t been to them yet.
I liked the amuse bouche with the pickled celery. Teochew cuisine emphasizes different spices, herbs, and flavor combinations than what I’m used to, which I found refreshing.
We had a version of drunken crab. This was a boiled or steamed crab that had been lightly marinated after and served cold. It was interesting. Different flavor profile compared to being served hot or fried. I probably prefer it served freshly steamed.
Next up, a combination plate of braised duck and pork over tofu. The duck was a bit dry. The pork and tofu were quite good.
The chiu chow fried rice was delicious. The egg and pork worked well together in the rice. The lemon duck soup was a bit weird, but it was supposed to make my sore throat feel better (which it did). I was wondering if there was a french influence to this soup.
I liked the red bean dessert. Not a fan of the taro soup dessert though.
The ambience was nice. The interiors seemed like it had been renovated not too long ago. Table service was good. We had our tea refilled often without our asking. Our plates were replaced every few minutes before they had even filled with crab shells. Prices were in line with expectations. This is basically fine dining Teochew style.

At the far corner of Union Square, you’d find Top Chiu Chow Cuisine next to the every so busy Deer Garden. We came around 6pm on remembrance day and it was pretty empty. Once we got seated, the restaurant filled up and had only 1 table unused.
This was my first time at this place but it was the second for my family. They came here a month or two ago and had some delicious food and wanted me to try. What a disappointment it was!
We ordered:
Marinated Duck and Beef Shank (³⁄₅): The duck was moist and juicy but it didn’t taste like the marinated duck I’m used to. Perhaps different herbs and sauces used? The beef shank was dry and tasteless. Definitely had to use the vinegar that it came with. The tofu was ok.
Lamb belly stew (2.5÷5): It was almost like lamb soup and could do with a bit more salt. Did you add too much water?
Green beans with minced meat and olive (²⁄₅): The green beans were too soft and soggy. It definitely overcooked. The minced meat was too salty but it went well with the no-​flavored beans as it balances out. Points for creativity of adding olives, though it didn’t really do it for me because I don’t like olives.
Deep fried oysters (²⁄₅): Huge oysters! You get eight of them. No taste whatsoever. The little dish of sweet and sour sauce is barely enough for 2 oysters.
Satay Beef with Gai Lan (³⁄₅): The best dish out of all. The presentation was terrible. My family told me this was a disappointing dish compared to what they had before. They said there wasn’t enough peanutty flavor from the satay sauce and that they changed the recipe entirely.
Overall, the dishes for that night required more salt and flavor, except for the minced meat. The service was a bit slow but considering it being so busy, it wasn’t too bad.

The food was overpriced and bland. The service was good however he recommended extremely tasteless food and a platter of blood pudding that sat to waste in a pile of thick sauce. The stir fry noodles were nothing more than ramen in a thick chicken broth, the highly prized chicken with vegetable was nothing more than chicken in again the same thick chicken sauce and the beef platter tastes like unseasoned slices of tender beef… the only thing that was edible was the fried rice which shouldn’t be called fried rice but more like yellow rice. If you like eating at pricey places that lacks flavor … I would highly recommend this place!

The best quality of steam fish even compare to HK. My mom and sister rated the steam fish was the best so far. Even through the price may not be too cheap, but the dishes worth the price. My family came from the Bay Area, and only stay in Vancouver for 2 days. We went there for lunch and dinner within those 2 days stay in town. Will cone back to this place next time when i come back to Vancouver^^

I came here on New Year’s Eve with family and I have to say, I wasn’t all that impressed. Although the staff was nice and friendly, I will have to say the food was nothing special, and not that tasty.
We had oysters and green onion claypot, that were a bit over seasoned, and also didn’t seem to harmonize the onions. We had the platter of duck, tofu, pork and egg, again a bit over seasoned. We had the scallops with crispy spinach and shredded taro, which was the only redeeming dish in my opinion, a steamed fish that didn’t leave me wanting more, rice congee and finally fish ball soup with noodles, that my brother said was quite good.
I can probably do without a second visit but having said that maybe it’s a generational thing and I just don’t appreciate it as much because my Mom seems to like it here.

Once in a while, we like to go out for some Chiu Chow cuisine, just to change things up a bit from the more common Cantonese, Shanghainese, and Taiwanese. While pleasant and adequate, this restaurant does not live up to its self-​proclaimed status. Since we were a large group, we decided to forego dim sum items and ordered from the main menu instead.
We started with a platter of duck, tofu, pork, and pork stomach. While tasty, some found it too salty. The pan fried chicken strips with fried celery leaves was fairly tasty, although I thought it needed something more, either more pepper or heat or sweetness. The fried taro and duck — a favorite dish of my family’s — was all right and not excessively greasy, but it was also somewhat bland. The manager’s highly recommend gailan dish (Chinese broccoli) was interesting: thin diagonal slices of the vegetable, quickly sautéed with what I thought at first were bits of fried ham, but turned out to be some kind of dried fish — and interesting twist; but I wouldn’t liked the vegetable to be cooked just a little more. The fried rice with preserved olive greens was quite nice, but the chiu chow pan-​fried noodles — our other perennial favourite — was deeply disappointing: anemic, bland, undercooked in the middle. Fortunately, the sugar-​coated fried taro sticks for dessert were fairly good.
In my family, we have a long memory of particular dishes are particular restaurants that, decades later, we will talk about. I can’t say that I would return to TCCC for any of the dishes we tried.

I haven’t had Chiu Chow food in years. I had a bunch of traditional dishes recommended by their captain (fried crab & prawn pieces, seafood & meat platter, chicken with Chinese celery leaves, Chiu Chow sharks fin soup, fried oyster pancake, stewed fish with veggies, traditional fried noodle pancake, sugar coated taro …) — a lot of fried food in this style of cuisine. It’s a little pricey, but service is very good here.

A different style of chinese cuisine than I am used to.
The marinated duck, fried rice, tofu chicken and taro dessert were all good but I could not «stomach» the pig stomach soup, it was quite strong and a bit too pungent for my taste buds. My wife quite enjoyed the oyster pancakes. I’m not a fan of oysters so we will take her word for it.
The service was excellent, with waiters coming often to refresh our beverages and serving certain dishes directly to each guest.
The décor was very modern and clean. The dining area was a bit on the small side but for me that was hard to notice as aside from our group there were no other customers (surprising for a Saturday evening).
Pricing was slightly expensive but I would try again for entertaining guests.

Please. Please please please, do you and your dining companions’ taste buds and wallets a favor and exhaust many other options before coming here. My family has get-​togethers in Vancouver BC a couple times a year and we’ve been doing this for the past two decades. We go out to eat in Richmond each time and usually have a few yummy, decently priced favorites that we stick to but during this last trip, my uncle decided to try Top Chiu Chow after seeing an enticing ad for it in the newspaper.
The whole experience was a bust. Sure, you walk in, and the place is really nicely decorated, complete with waitstaff in suits, but the compliments end there. The front door let in a huge draft every time it opened, which wouldn’t be a problem in a larger restaurant but since Top Chiu Chow is just one small, well-​decorated room, the place was freezing. Half your customers should not be wearing their overcoats just to eat dinner.
The entire menu was overpriced for what they served and when it came time to order, the waitstaff was pushy and led us to order things that were «customer favorites» and «very well priced» but the dishes that came out were anything but. For example, we ordered a pork dish that was supposedly the talk of the town but it was literally a platter of slices of pork fat. When we waved our waiter over and asked why the dish was literally 100% fat, 0% edible meat, he nodded thoughtfully and agreed that it was a little fattier than usual and offered us free desserts to make up for it, when we had already indicated that we did not want dessert. After more questioning, he finally conceded that we shouldn’t have had to pay for something that was entirely inedible. Another dish that was heartily recommended was essentially a $ 20-​$ 25 tasteless omelette that disappointed everyone in our party. We ordered ten dishes and every one was uniformly oversalted… though probably for good reason since the actual food lacked flavor.
We don’t mind paying more for good food, but not when it comes with crappy food, hyperactive-​overeager waitstaff, and a freezing dining room. Never again.

the quality of the food is good. it is also unique and different.

I am a fan of good Chao Zhou cuisine. Top Chiu Chow has been on my to-​try list for some time due to their fairly prominent location in Union Square adjacent to Hazelbridge Way. I have been to Top Chiu Chow a couple of times for lunch and have not been disappointed.
The restaurant décor is fairly upclass and modern. The staff is friendly but is a bit slow at service. Parking could be a challenge particularly at lunch time on weekends.
The food quality is pretty good (compared to several other Chao Zhou restaurants I have tried). Some of the dishes took a bit long to be served. The cost is a tad bit on the high side by Vancouver Chinese food standards but not unreasonable. I had really enjoyed most of the dishes particularly the fried taro dessert.
If you are tired of the typical Cantonese dim sum lunches, try Top Chiu Chow for a different experience. Just be careful of the slippery floors.

In every Chinese province, you will find different types of cooking technique based on the various elements such as ingredients, climate, and people’s eating preferences. Teochew cuisine focuses a lot on braising, poaching, and stir frying. The one thing they are superior to other provinces is their emphasis on broth production. They use the best ingredients to extract taste into soup form. Today we’ll introduce a sample of the most popular Teochew dim sum and dishes.
The restaurant we are visiting today is Top Chiu Chow Cuisine (). It’s been a long time since I remembered a restaurant announcing that they are a Teochew restaurant. There might be hints of Teochew inspired dishes, but never one to dare announce they are full flag Teochew. I miss it dearly, and I have vivid memories of a Teochew restaurant that used to be located where Jade Seafood Restaurant is now. Sadly, that restaurant is no longer to be found.
Before you actually start eating, you’ll find a small plate of salted preserved vegetable and flash fried peanuts. Don’t assume it’s for something you put in your dishes later. Pick up your chopsticks and start eating. This is considered a starter in Teochew Cuisine. I personally like to eat a lot of this with a nice cold beer during the summer.
Let’s start off with some dim sum. The first is Chew Zhao Fun Guo ((). The usual ingredients are dried radish, garlic chives, ground pork, dried shrimp, Shiitake mushrooms and p dried radish, garlic chives, ground pork, dried shrimp, Shiitake mushrooms and peanuts. The most difficult part to get perfect is the wrapper. It has to be semi sticky, and thin enough to house all the ingredients. When picking up with chop sticks, it can’t fall apart. It takes years of practice in the kitchen to master this skill set.
Teochew Fish and Oyster Congee: Just to clarify, this is not the usual congee you are used to. It’s actually rice in a flavorful fish broth. Out of the usual stocks, I feel strongly that Chinese style fish broth will take any Chinese dish to another level. The formula in this dish is quite simple. You put the freshest fish and oyster in deeply flavoured fish broth, paired with mushrooms, dried shrimp and green onions to lift the taste, you have a winning combination.
Braised Geese Slices: Thinly sliced geese, braised in strong Teochew broth. Just a short note on the sauce it’s dipped in. It includes pepper, star anise, dried tangerine peel, cinnamon, licorice, ginger, onions, soy sauce and sugar. Restaurants usually have a pot of this sauce cooking continuously, and it’s know that there are restaurants that kept cooking this sauce for other 10 years continuously, while adding fresh ingredients every day. The quality of this dish comes from the fact that the geese are not tough, and the sauce is flavorful. It seems like an easy dish to execute on the surface, but it’s not an easy task.
Beef and fish balls in thick soup noodles: Similar to the congee above but the star of this dish is the beef and fish balls. The fish balls are worth mentioning because in terms of texture, it has to have a bouncy bite, much like how the Italians call their noodles al dente. The taste is quite subtle, and freshness is key. The base of the dish is identical to the congee with fried shrimp and green onions on fish broth.
Finally we had Teochew Sugared Deep Fried Taro. Crunchy texture outside with sugar. You get a subtle sense of sweetness. A perfect way to finish off lunch on a workday.
I am extremely excited for the return in Teochew cuisine in Vancouver. Hopefully there will be a continuous growth in Teochew eateries. I will plan my return to Top Chou Chow Cuisine and hopefully there will be better service where the staff doesn’t just stand around looking up at the ceiling. The only fortunate thing when were came here was for my friend who knew the sr waiter from another place — otherwise I don’t think we’d ever be seated and were able to order some food.
3 stars along for food, 2 if you include services.

Agree with previous customer who left a review on this restaurant complaining about how slippery the floor can be. We asked the server to recommend some famous dishes and he basically read through the entire menu –_​-​” HELLO? Like I can read myself too… we asked for famous dishes!!! Started with the soup and I’ve had much better «Pepper Pig Stomach Soup». Nothing sparked from the restaurant :(I don’t think I’ll be returning to this restaurant.

I gave them 3.5 star instead.
We got another Chiu Chow restaurant in Richmond, lovely! It located at Union Square and newly renovated. The interior is very upscale and very cozy between each table.
It was so busy on Jan 1 evening. The service was horrible and the dishes served slow too, the food was better than I expected.
I went for dinner with my in-​laws and they never had Chiu Chow cuisine in their life. Therefore, I ordered something more like Canton dishes rather than chiu chow cuisine.
Marinated duck (sliced) — Must try, it was fantastic!
Chinese cabbage with fish balls in pot — It was good and tasty.
Stir fried chicken with pepper leaves — It was delicious but a bit greasy.
Chiu chow style of congee — was a bit disappointed! They used a big oyster to chop in dice and put in the congee. The ingredient should be a pearl oyster with minced pork for congee.
Well… be fair for the review I will go back to try other traditional dishes and update it later.