I was invited by Tourism Richmond for this great dinner, so my meal was paid for, however all opinions are my own.
One of the most entertaining parts of the meal is when they come to display the Alaskan King Crab (which I’m going to refer to as AKC from now on), I guess its mostly for ‘proof’ that it’s what we’re getting and so that we can inspect it. However, if you live in Dee town (ie my crazy mind), I imagine it more so as, here is the sacrifice for this evening! It was a delicious sacrifice.
This meal was a little modified, and with any AKC dinner you go to – there will be slight variations in what is served. Our first dish was the Mushroom Dumpling – typically the first dish at an AKC or any set meal would be a Cold Appetizer platter, but this was an interesting change.
The mushroom dumpling is definitely a delicious alternative, the skin is fresh and not too bouncy and the multitude of mushrooms inside made for a satisfying flavour.
Our next course is the Shredded Chicken and Fish Maw soup – this is becoming more and more popular as the replacement of Shark Fin soup.
This is one of my favourite courses when I go out for set meals – the best way to enjoy it is with the red vinegar and a little bit of white pepper.
Our first AKC dish arrived – steamed crab legs with garlic and scallion. Quite possibly the best way to enjoy AKC is when it’s unadulterated with different flavours but complimented with delicious garlic. It was very fragrant and the meat was nice, soft but bouncy. It’s hard to choose which AKC dish I enjoyed the most because all of them were heavy hitters, but in terms of simplicity this one takes the cake.
Our next AKC dish is the Deep Fried King Crab. Again, what an enjoyable dish. It has a slight heat to it but the crunchy exterior and soft, meaty interior just makes this dish so great, I could eat the entire plate.
The next course is the Smoked Soy Chicken. I was a little confused when it was referred to as Grandpa Chicken – but it is better known as the soy chicken. A popular dish that’s served in set meals – perfect with it’s ginger and green onion oil. This dish replaced the Peking Duck that is usually served with this set menu (I love Peking duck, so if you go, definitely try it out! It’s so delicious).
Up next, is the Minced Beef with Lettuce Wrap. If you were going to order this set meal, this would be served as Minced Duck (from the Peking Duck portion of the meal). Either way, Chinese lettuce wraps are one of my favourite dishes.
Gotta love the ingenuity of using a nice, crisp leaf of lettuce to contain a mix of minced meat, water chestnut and green onions to give this dish an overall huge crunch! Don’t forget to add the hoisin to (slightly) sweeten this dish.
The next course: braised bean curd with baby bok choy in a milky fish soup broth. Again, another popular staple in Chinese cuisine. A healthier choice to the meal.
Braised Halibut with Green onion and ginger was our next dish. I’m going to be honest and say I am not a huge fan of cooked fish (I could eat sashimi for days!) but this dish was so delicious – there was no weak links! The braised halibut was nice and crispy on the outside but extremely tender and meaty on the inside. The ginger and green onion adds well to the flavour, but seriously, you could serve me this fish on it’s own and I’d be a happy camper.
Our last AKC dish is the Baked Rice in Portuguese Sauce. They incorporate good chunks of the AKC into the baked rice, so its a marvelous finish to dinner. The Portuguese sauce consists of coconut milk and curry – it makes for a fragrant and creamy dish.
Our dessert is something I’ve never had before, it’s a brown sugar rice cake. The consistency is kind of spongy and elastic – similar to eating a steamed rice cake but less bready. It had a slightly burnt sugary taste to it that was very enjoyable and not too sweet.
We were also given Lotus pastries and almond cookies to finish off our meal.
I had a fantastic time eating and more importantly with food lovers that enjoy new experiences and take photos (there is no judgement here!).
Again, I would like to thank Tourism Richmond for inviting me to this dinner. They have a lot of great initiatives coming up including their Travel Writer Contest – you can enter stories about Richmond from April 1st 2014 – March 31st 2015 for your chance to win one of four $1000 cash prizes. Check out the website here for more details.
Happy Alaskan King Crab season!
