Kirin - Vancouver

Delicious restaurant. The best Chinese I've had in a long time. The restaurant is very unique, set up in what looks to be an old hotel lobby. Aside from that, the prices were very steep: but the food was very good. I got the beef brisket with black bean sauce, which I would strongly recommend for anyone who wants a good hearty meal!

Came here with a tour and enjoyed the sampling of dim sum that we received.  It is a huge restaurant but it is also incredibly busy so make a reservation.  The history of this restaurant is also worth inquiring about.  While you won't get the old school push cart you will still get to enjoy a lot of authentic traditions.

Our guests stayed downtown, so we decided to try Kirin in downtown. We arrived early so there was plenty of space. Ordered the usual Chinese dim sum, but also tried a few that are slightly different. The onion pancake was ruled into something like a cream puff, but it was surprisingly good. It was flaky on the outside, and juicy and savory inside. The abalone and chicken buns were also pretty good.

I am pretty bold in giving this 5/5 but please keep in mind that I was raised in HK and now I live in Edmonton where the dim sum sucks.  I'm usually starved of dim sum by the time I get to Vancouver/HK.  <br/ <br/ Among Vancouver though, comparing this place to Western Lake (all portion, not a lot of taste and Come Along Restaurant (no longer good after a change of ownership I heard , this is really my third dim sum place and the third time is a charm!  I usually visit one dim sum place per visit so this is my third time in Vancouver in the past 3 years!<br/ <br/ I walked in without knowing this was a high end place.  I was mentally preparing myself to get gouged.  But knowing the quality of the food I had after.  I once again forgot about the price tags and enjoyed myself away because I knew that even in HK it'd be hard to find such high end dim sum place with excellent service (I sat by the kitchen area where it was intrusive but still it was good service .  <br/ <br/ The dim sum is good for the most part but it is not without its flaws.  Let's just say everything was excellent in every way except for the long rice roll, chicken feet, and the duck eggs congee.  I'd call it Edmonton/Calgary dim sum quality without thinking twice about it.  Everything else was done to perfection and you have to come here and see what perfection is all about ;

Long waits for a dim sum lunch during the week says a lot wide menu, not bad value for what you get when compared to other dim sum places near by. Service is the weak link