Ming Dynasty Cuisine - W Vancouver

This restaurant (on the northwest corner of Nanaimo and Broadway) is less than 1 mile from the Broadway & Commercial skytrain station in East Vancouver. If you’re on the skytrain system, get off at Broadway and Commercial and take the east bound bus on Broadway to Broadway & Nanaimo.My spouse’s co-worker invited us out for dinner on this Wednesday night. The restaurant has 3 dining areas – the main dining area and 2 more separate small rooms each holding maybe 3 or 4 tables.There were 7 of us and way too much food was ordered. Lots of leftovers!We had the following:• Peking Duck (2 courses) – Crispy skin with crepes & lettuce wrap• Alaska King Crab (3 courses) – crab legs in garlic sauce, deep fried knuckles with garlic chips and sliced jalapenos, noodles with leftover garlic sauce from the crab legs • Sliced asparagus with sea cucumber• Garlic stems with pork belly• Steamed minced pork with salted fish• Crispy skin chicken baked in salt crust?• DessertI was getting full after the first 4 courses. We had crab left over for take-out.The Peking duck was sliced on a side table and then served with the crepes, scallions, shrimp chips and hoisin sauce. The second course consisted of the diced duck meat served with iceberg lettuce leaves and hoisin sauce. Both courses are some of my favourites.The friend also pre-ordered a 13-14 pound Alaska King Crab that the server showed us before preparing it for dinner. I was told that the King Crab season was just starting and that the crab maybe not be as tasty as later on in the short season.First of all, let me say that this is the first time I have had crab prepared this way. In the past, I would just have steamed crab legs with garlic butter.The first course came with 2 platters of legs in a garlic sauce (plenty of minced garlic). The legs were incorrectly sliced according to our friend. The legs should have been completely split lengthwise exposing all the meat. The restaurant had split the legs but not both sides making it difficult to extract the meat even with the two-pronged forks.Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the crab as it was juicy and tasty.The garlic sauce from this course was reserved for a vegetarian noodle dish served at the end of the meal before dessert.The second course consisted of deep fried body pieces (including knuckles) with lots of deep fried garlic chips and sliced jalapenos. It was very good. The deep fried garlic and jalapenos, by itself, would have been a good condiment for a bowl of steamed rice or noodles.The price of a large crab is prohibitive, in my opinion, if you don’t go with a party of 8 or more people; I’m guessing somewhere between $15-20 per pound (in season) or more depending on supply & demand. I have also read that if you’re to order a smaller crab that you get “less bang for the buck” because there are more inedible parts in relation to the crab leg meat and knuckles.The 5th dish was a pan fried asparagus with sea cucumber. This dish was also tasty.The next dish was a pan fried garlic stems with thin sliced marinated pork belly (same cut of meat as side bacon). I would order this dish again.The steamed minced pork with minced salted fish was okay.The crispy chicken (I believe was baked in a salt crust?) was juicy and tender. Notwithstanding the fact it was baked in salt, it was not too salty.The second to last dish was the noodles made with the reserved garlic sauce.For dessert, we had ginger infused white custard. The taste was unusual as it was sweet with a gingery flavour.The service was good as the dirty dishes were taken away on an as-needed basis and the teapot was regularly refilled. The food was above averageOverall, I would rate the food and service 3½ - 4 out of 5.

My spouse's coworker invited us to dinner on a Wednesday night at this establishment, which offers a main dining area as well as separate smaller rooms for more intimate dining experiences. We ordered a lot of food and there were many different dishes to enjoy. Some of the highlights included Peking duck with crispy skin and lettuce wraps, Alaska king crab prepared in various ways, and a delicious garlic stem dish with marinated pork belly. The service was good, with dirty dishes being promptly cleared away and our teapots refilled regularly. Overall, the dining experience was above average and I would definitely return for another meal.

My husband's friends chose Shining Garden for our dinner gathering this time.

I would definitely come back! This restaurant is a casual spot with tasty Cantonese dishes at affordable prices.

My family is always rotating different Chinese restaurants when we have our 4 dishes.