China House Seafood

Yet another name change for this establishment. It is now called China House, which kinda explains the presence of a blingy chandelier right above our table for 14. Unfortunately, the grub didn’t match the grandeur of the setting. Not by a long shot. We tried an assortment of meat, seafood (crabs and fish), fried rice and chow mein dishes. Everything was mediocre at best. Even the red bean soup dessert was watered down. No wonder the place was only ¹⁄₃ occupied on a Sat evening.

We asked the staff, verified that there was a change in ownership.
Went with family around 10:00am, service was alright.
Food was not fresh. Duck feet had fishy smell, beef tendons was rancid. No amount of seasoning can cover up the taste… unfortunately. Told them and they cancelled those two orders but the manager Terry kinda gave us attitude.
He was handing the bill, in the little black folder, to my dad. As my dad reached for it, Terry let go and dropped it got dropped on his lap instead. Terry’s turned his head and looked elsewhere.
Definitely won’t be coming back.
This place is a joke.

Kalok Seafood Restauant
Review 2015-​12-​27
Went for dinner there and opted for their lobster special for $ 138 which includes a pick of 4 other dishes from a subset of menu items. I felt robbed. Some of the dishes were below mall food court quality. And some of the dishes were so small, the photos look like it was taken after we had eaten most of the food and the waiter moved it onto a smaller plate to save space on the table.
The menu mentions 3 lb live lobster. From the texture of the meat and the shrinkage, it was not a live lobster. The lobster was no where near 3 lb and I think some pieces were missing.
We ordered the crispy chicken which was probably a little more then a quarter chicken. I am guessing half a chicken with a lot of the meatier pieces taken away. The dish was not hot and looked a bit air dried.
The spicy salt pork chop. The seasoning was acceptable but the meat quality was very strange. The texture was off. I am sure it was pork but there is something funny about it.
The honey garlic spare ribs. Not much meat and the flavor was average. I would say this dish and the pork chop were at or below mall food court levels.
The fish maw and crab meat soup. I think the crab meat was under witness protection because I couldn’t find any. The taste was okay.
The brocolli stir fried squid was okay. A little bland. The brocolli was a little hard but both a preference thing. The squid was tender and not chewy.
I ate at this place a couple of years ago and it was okay. Acceptable for the price but this time it was way below. I am surprised it is still in business. I hope I caught them on a bad day, or else their days are numbered.

They have some good discounts for dim sum. 25% off from 9 – 11 and 20% off from 11 – 15. I’d say their dim sum is average or below average. Portion size is normal, nothing huge or fancy looking. Service is what you’d expect in a Chinese restaurant in Richmond. What bothered me the most was how old the chinaware was and that the cover of the teapot was not for the right teapot. There were tea/​sauce stains on the bowls and teacups and I’d much rather them looking clean and replaced. The cover of the teapot was clearly not for that particular teapot as the tea kept on spilling whenever I poured tea. There’s enough dim sum places in Richmond and won’t be going back to this one.

Worst experience ever, 40m waiting, finished first teapot and almost second teapot. No food served. Asked the waiter, he just about to enter our order. He said it is not his job. The hostess said do you want to order now? Wow, what a bummer.

Service definitely can be better.
Food is average. There is long wait for dim sum even not busy hours. Siu mai & Ha gow is 5.75 each which i think is expensive even if you end up getting 20% off
The veggie beancurd was just nasty and I don’t even think they steamed it long enough as the sauce was still in a gelatin like substance.

If you must have dim sum and nothing else is open then maybe come here. Food was overly salty and the service was way below acceptable (it made Hon’s a fine dining, fine service place) … Horrible!

I thought our server, Alex, was obnoxious, loud, and kinda douchey all throughout the meal. He was probably drunk because I caught him drinking booze during his shift.

Omg, food just so so… Service is horrible… I don’t blame the staff, I blame the management !

I rarely travel to restaurants that aren’t close to the skytrain line, but I felt compelled to try this place from a friend referral. So on a rainy Saturday morning, husband and I got off at Aberdeen Skytrain station and walked over to Kalok in the pouring Vancouver rain. It was a miserable trek.
But we got there in ten minutes time, and were seated right away at 10:30am. And despite the 90s Chinese décor feel of this place (it probably needs a makeover, but then they might up all their prices), I was feeling more and more impressed.
1. Free Tea. Most place charge some amount of money per person for tea costs. This place doesn’t. And their tea was really good quality — the leaves stayed full of flavour the entire time.
2. LIVER. If you like liver, you should head here for dim sum. Their liver rice roll and liver dim sum are heavenly — the liver the most amazing texture (bouncy, not dried out) and flavour that I’ve had at any restaurant around.
3. Portions. The cooked food dishes are large and well-​cooked (the vermicelli stirfry and the eggplant e-​fu noodles are what we ordered and it’s enough to last another meal on their own).
4. Service. The people here are really nice — no one rushes you out, they constantly keep your tea full, and they’re always around when you’re trying to find someone.
5. Price. You may do a double take when you see the prices are between $ 4 and $ 6 per dim sum, but if you get your order in before 11am, it’s 25% off. And afterwards, it’s 20% off. I’m not sure why places do this, as opposed to just making things cheaper in general on their menu, but it ends up being decently priced.
The lack of a star is due to the fact that the other dim sum we ordered wasn’t stellar. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t awesome, youknowwhatimean? It’ll take a few more trips for me to see if there’s anything else worthy of ordering on the menu.

On two occasions had I been invited here for a banquet-​style dinner, and on both occasions I have left disappointed and disgusted.
Beginning with the famous Peking duck, Kalok Seafood Restaurant seems to find it acceptable to serve its diners with sticky, undercooked wraps. Nobody was able to fold the wrap in their hands, because the pastry would either stick to our fingers, or disintegrate in our palms.
Our soup was excessively starchy and absolutely flavourless. The only taste anyone was able to extract from it was a hint of spice. It’s a bad sign when there are six bowls of untouched soup at a table of ten.
Service is nothing to brag about. Our pitchers of coke and sprite were flat as if they mixed the soda with water, then added more ice to dilute the flavour. The ‘clean’ bowls used for our rice were stained with dried, unwashed food, and never once did the servers offer to replace our dirty plates with new ones. I should also note that some servers have attitude. My girlfriend’s red bean dessert soup was thrown onto the table and spilled right in front of her.
The first visit I had to Kalok was poor enough, and I was hoping the second would be its redemption. I was wrong to have hoped. Never again will I return on my own will.

Other than the extra star for its amazing high ceiling/​dome w/​its chandelier, dim sum’s alright, just not enough oomph factor to return anytime soon.
Still quite the wait at 1pm on a Sunday.
Ordered the eggplant w/​shrimp paste, the best of the bunch as pics indicate. BBQ pork bun, egg noodles w/​shrimp, and sticky rice pretty well as expected.
Good service and clean.
Prob. a good place for a wedding.
Parking’s impossible in this side of the plaza.

A name change from Gala to Kalok, at least the English name. The Chinese name remains the same as Gala’s.
I find the food to be only ok. Nothing really stood out from the norm.
The service was pretty good. The tea is always filled. Empty dishes cleared pretty quick despite how busy they are.
Like most Dim Sum places, it’s kid friendly. White plastic high chairs are available upon request. Some of them are missing the belt to secure a child. This would only be a problem if you have Taz as a kid.
NO charge for tea — Yay! 25% off if you submit your order form before 11a. Between 11a and 3p is 20% off.