Another month, another family dinner. This time, it was at Shi Art Chinese restaurant in Richmond. Why it was called that, I’m not too sure… Shi Art Chinese restaurant offers a wide variety of “high end” Chinese cuisine.
Shi Art appetizer plate
As usual our meal started off with an appetizer plate with an assortment of meats. This one came with bbq duck, chicken, jelly fish and cold cuts. Nothing special here but it was different that they had duck here because usually it’s served with red meats and at least one vegetarian option.
“Shark fin” soup
Next was the soup. It didn’t have much flavor to it and it was a thicker consistency and more similar to a roux than a broth. This is pretty typical though for Chinese soups served at restaurants.
Braised abalone and mushroom
Perhaps there is art in stacking broccoli into a dome shape? This plate of braised abalone and mushrooms was coated in a thick soy based sauce. Some of the abalone was sandy which wasn’t a fun experience so we stuck to the mushrooms instead.
Fried lobster
The fried lobster is Brother Deer’s favorite item when it comes to family dinners and he’s usually one of the last ones still eating it because he likes it so much. Even though this was two lobsters, there wasn’t very much meat to it so Brother deer had to dive in for the claws right when he got a chance because those are the easiest pieces to eat!
Pan fried prawns with geoduck
Now this pan fried prawn and sliced geoduck dish is one that we usually go for because we aren’t huge fans of having to do work before getting to the meat of our dish. The snap peas could have been a little greener but overall, pretty average.
Pan-fried beef
I was surprised that pan-fried beef was an option on the menu because we don’t usually order red meat but there it was. There were a few pieces of bell pepper amidst the cubes of beef but not enough to call the dish “well balanced” by any means. Brother deer said the beef was sauteed well for the most part with an exception of a few pieces that were overcooked and chewy.
Chicken
Even though this chicken didn’t look fried, it was done to a nice golden brown. The skin wasn’t crispy by any means but the meat remained tender and juicy because of the quick cook in high heat. I much prefer this way of cooking chicken compared to steaming for that reason.
Fish
Usually by the time the fish comes everyone is pretty full so that usually means I get to have most of the steamed fish which I don’t mind because I don’t really eat much of everything else. Fish is prepared pretty simply at Chinese restaurants no matter where you go. It’s either fried or steamed then topped with sweet soy sauce, scallions and ginger. This one was done well and the meat flaked nicely and wasn’t tough.
