James on Hastings Chinese Restaurant

I use to come to this restaurant for dinner with my family quite often. On several occasions, James would just tell us the amount owed and didn’t present a bill when we paid up at the counter. Finally, one day he told me the amount owed, so i decided to ask for the bill this time. It turns out he tried to overcharge me over $ 25 worth of food we didn’t order. Thinking, how long has he been doing this to us. We knew James from the time at Pelican’s Restaurant and wanted to support his business. So i decided to go back there after couple years of not going there. This time he was pouring hot tea over my lap and drops landed on me, no apologies what so ever. Food is alright nothing i couldn’t get from other chinese restaurant. Would not be going there again. Check your bill carefully!

My go to for noodles (and I’ve had my fair share of noodles all over the place). Best ever. Congee Noodle House can’t compare. I come here every weekend for the noodle lunch combo. It’s simply the best. The broth is super tasty as well. If you want HK style café noodle combos, this is your best bet.
Also — Ivy, Nancy, Ting Ting (servers) are the nicest and sweetest.

These crab claws guys, THESE CRAB CLAWS THOUGH.
Phenomenal. Was kinda scared to order because I’ve had my fare share of east van Chinese food shenanigans. But this place is pretty bomb. The bomb dig some might say.
Okay right so these crab claws. Farely big sized balls, bread crumb crust, just stuff with fresh crab meat, and a crab claw inside (with pinchers poking out). It was so damn-​delightful. So filling as well for one being $ 5.50.
Totally a must have.
I also got the veggie chow mein that was super delicious as well, I find most places just soak it in the oyster sauce, or over cooks it, leaving you with this slimy soft mess. It was seasoned so well, and not soggy what so ever, would maybe even say needed more sauce, but soy sauce sufficed.
Why I didn’t give this place a cinco,
The driver didn’t speak a lick of English and woke my landlords up.
The guy on the phone (Pretty sure it was James who owns the place) spoke perfect English, and was really helpful with info and recommendations. So I explained to him that my entrance (being the ground level suite) was on the side of the house, and was told he’d explain it to the driver as well as have him call me upon arrival.
I got the phone call and got an immediate «hi can you open the door?» I then said I’m at the door please come to the side not the front. And was pretty annoyed because its midnight and the ladys got kids n stuff.
So anyways he was pretty apologetic but still stayed at the front of the house so my partner had to walk outside and around the place to find him standing at the top steps still waiting for the front door to be opened. Pretty lame man. It was too dark and he over paid him due to it being midnight and they were on a sidewalk as opposed to our door.
Needles to say the food is good which is kinda all that matters right.
Yeah.

Always thought this place was garbage and overpriced for Chinese food. Today parents told me the idiot owner chased after them. Saying he gave them to much change lol. Told my mom… u missed the karoke night. Where the hellhole is so loud and irritating. Can’t believe they are still opened

#hotgarbage #expensivecompost
I’ve had better Chinese food at the mall.
Choked back the black bean clams which were cold and mostly empty shells. The chicken sesame salas was inedible, going straight to the compost. Ordered cuttlefish ball noodle soup that showed up as chicken slices soup and smells rancid.

Their curry crab lives up to their winning award.
Other dishes like spicy garlic rock cod is great also. Average dishes priced at $ 13 to $ 14 per dish.

Currently 2:04pm on a random Thursday afternoon and the service is insanely slow and disorganized. Its been 45 minutes and my hainan chicken on rice is still «on the way». My coworkers have already finished eating.
Should I cancel my order and go back to work hungry…

Service is quick. Chinese tea brought to the table immediately. Server spoke limited English and it’s good another server was able to help.
Ordered ala carte curried crab. Close to $ 23/​lb. Delicious! Dry rub, braised with chopped onion bits. Lots of napkins and packaged wet towelettes. You will need it.
Soup: pork bones. Very flavorful.
Would return!!!
Bathrooms are clean and not unisex. Would have been nice if I could have rinsed my hands in hot water. Seems the hot water was shut off.
Paying: was asked to pay at the counter. That’s odd they couldn’t handle that.

Unfortunately after waiting nearly an hour, our main dishes had not come out. I can understand that sometimes on a busy night things can get backed up, but delivery orders were flying out the door while we sat waiting. This is on top of the fact that we pre-​ordered our food in advance of arriving, the night before.
James was apologetic. When the food did arrive, it was excellent — the Peking duck was standout, scallops were awesome, and food was generally a step up in flavor from regular Chinese restaurants. They get seasoning right where some places over/​under do it. This is some of the better Chinese food in Vancouver, regardless of price point.
Id expect an experience like that would be enough for most Unilocalers to drop to 1 star. But (for now) I’m leaving mine at 3, because the food here is great and James seems to be honestly working out the kinks in the business. But he better get them worked out quickly or he’s going to lose his customers.

First of all, it’s open until 2AM every day. That’s close enough to the places I used to stagger into at 4 during my Toronto drinking days. Well, by Vancouver standards anyways. Everything tastes great and the way I’ve become accustomed to — solid hits on all my standards like curry beef brisket, eggplant, and deep fried spicy squid. Just remember there is a late night menu.

Came here with a friend to get dinner on a Monday night. We ordered the Steam Halibut with Black Bean Sauce and the «Pan Fried Choy Sum Veggie with Ginger and Green,» the latter partially for the reason that we were wondering what the «Green» was. Both dishes were flavorful and seemed fairly authentic, as another reviewer has suggested. (See pictures.) Servers were attentive and fast.
There is a parking lot, but it is small. However, my friend was able to park for free on the street.
This is a nice spot to eat if you feel like staying away from downtown for the night!

The James is out of control.
Let’s get the food review out of the way. The Peking duck is insanely good, best salt and pepper squid in the city and the servers are hilarious (in a sweet way).
For the real deal, James as a dude is tight, he’s always stoked to see you, his house drink is the sex machine, prices are reasonable, they’re open late and its always busy. I don’t know what else you could want in an Chinese food restaurant.
You need to check this place out.

James On Hastings was the venue chosen for lunch, during a recent visit made to the Burnaby ‘Heights’ and Vancouver ‘East Village’ areas of Hastings. We (senior couple and daughter) arrived at the restaurant about 11:20am, and fortunately, were able to find an available parking space within the small strip-mall’s lot.
Upon entering the restaurant, we were welcomed by wait staff, took a peak at the seating arrangements, and chose to sit at one of the booths. Once seated, we were immediately brought mugs of hot tea, table settings, and menus. After making our food selections and placing our order, our server returned with a large, complimentary bowl of warm chicken stock (with veggies) soup — a nice touch we thought, and enjoyed during our wait for the ordered dishes to be prepared.
The restaurant has a small footprint outside, but surprisingly, is quite a decent size inside. The seating arrangements consist of booths along one side, and several small, to rather large, round tables occupying the remaining space. The place appeared spotlessly clean and neat (and that included the washrooms).
The food — all servings were very generously-​large, came to our table piping hot, and the presentations so pleasing to the senses — they sure looked and smelled good! We ordered and shared the following dishes:
– Fried Noodles (Chow Mein): ‘House Special Fried Noodles’ — a large ‘nest’ of fried noodles, topped with selections of meat, seafood, and veggies (slices of bbq pork and beef, pieces of boneless chicken and octopus/​squid, prawns, small & large mushrooms, broccoli, and red bell pepper). A colourful presentation, and the preparation as perfect as anything I could ever have imagined — the noodles dry and crunchy, the veggies el dente — everything so fresh, and crisp. ‘The’ best chow mein I have seen and tasted in a good long while.
– Curry: ‘Curried Mixed Veggies’ — a selection of mostly green veggies (broccoli, baby bok choy, whole snap peas, green bell pepper, and celery, and small & large mushrooms), in a rich, thick & creamy, mild-​tangy, curry sauce — a true taste delight, and sure a big hit with us!
– Seafood: ‘Spicy Garlic Squid’ — breaded pieces of squid, with ample doses of salt, (red) pepper, and finely-​diced pieces of garlic, onions, and bell peppers. The squid was very tender, the preparation quite spicy ‘hot’ — a tasty yum!
– Specialty: ‘Mongolian Crispy Beef’ — dry, tender, pieces of beef, in a tasty, quite tangy sauce, with very thin slices of onion, and red & green bell peppers. It looked good, and tasted the same, and just spicy-​hot enough for our liking — another delight to the senses!
In summary: the restaurant: small, ‘in-​the-​neighbourhood’ = «our kind» of place. the service — pleasant, friendly, and accommodating. the food — very well-​prepared and presented.
We had fun, and really enjoyed our first dining experience at James On Hastings.

Prices were cheap and portions were big! Hubs and I got the Thai Style Fried Rice and Curry Beef Noodles. For under $ 20 we got a good, filling meal. It was kind of greasy but hey, that’s the charm to these little places. They open really late so this is a good spot for late night eats. Like if you’ve just gone to a party and got totally smashed up at midnight haha.
⁴⁄₅ pretty good. It’s a chill place to grab a bang for your buck, early or late.

I just come here for late night. Their pricing and portions are quite good. So far everything I’ve tried have been tasty and quality is good. It is more of a neighbourhood joint, so don’t expect it to look fancy inside. Service is normal. Limited parking spots in plaza and street parking available.

Average Chinese food. Peking duck is quite good here. Open late night with special menu. Perfect for after a night of heavy drinking. Sure beats eating fast food and owner seems like a pretty chill guy.

I’ve been here a few times already because it’s in the neighborhood I live in. I would say I’m a fan of this place cause it has decent cantonese food and it’s at walkable distance for me to get to.
When I’m here with my parents for dinner we usually order a few dishes that come with rice, soup and dessert. When I’m here with friends I usually get a noodle dish for dinner and a noodle in soup for lunch. I have to say it’s not a bad place. I know the owner use to work at the Chinese restaurants around the neighborhood. So, he knows what clientele he’s dealing with for sure.
I don’t have a default kind of dish that I would order but I have to say their soup of the day is like different each time I go. Which is nice because I hate having the same soup over and over again. It’s hard to find that at Chinese restaurants.
I would recommend it to others that are in the neighborhood. But there’s nothing super special about it. Although they did win an award for their curry crab. I’ve never tried it for myself because of my allergies.

The food is great, the hours are even better. The service is good, the servers are very friendly, though at times they can be super busy. There’s no other place for late night around the area.
However the real highlight of this place is the lemon iced tea. Especially when Nancy is the one make it.
It is the BEST lemon iced tea in town.

Had the crab this time. A bit pricey at some $ 20/​lb, but pretty decent quality.
The other dish worth mentioning is the spicy seafood hot pot with clear noodles. Nice and delicious.

We stopped by on a Friday night, and were able to get a table right away. From the outside, the restaurant doesn’t look very impressive, but once you step inside, everything looks new and clean. I like the fact that they have their own small parking lot in front of the restaurant, but there is a decent amount of street parking available in this section of Hastings. We ordered:
Curry crab: after reading the reviews before coming here, I knew that this was going to be good. However, the actual crab was even better than I thought. The curry isn’t really that spicy, just really flavorful (garlic, chilies, curry spice). I am not sure how they keep the crab meat so soft on the inside (usually, fried crab gets dried out on the inside), but it was one of the better crab dishes that I have ever had.
Deep fried tofu: nicely fried, but pretty standard.
2 courses ling cod: these two dishes took about 20 – 25 minutes to arrive (I believe they actually sent someone out to get the fish since they must have sold out of it when we ordered). While decent, in a way, I wish that they forgot about it since both cod dishes came out to $ 36. First dish was sautéed fish on gai lan, and the other one was stewed bone pieces with tofu.
Next time, I am sticking with the curry crab and getting other dishes instead of the cod.