Aberdeen Centre in Richmond is home to a new restaurant chain by the name of Sichuan Kungfu fish. Sichuan Kungfu Fish is located where Dinesty used to be on the second floor of the mall. From the name itself you can probably come to the conclusion that they primarily serve fish here
Sichuan Kungfu Fish interior
From the exterior we had no idea that the interior would look so nice and woodsy. They had comfy looking chairs that added a pop of colour to the neutral themed restaurant.
At the back of the restaurant they had two glass-walled private rooms for bigger parties with a cool latch door.
We liked that they put effort into continuing the fish theme right down to the chopstick holders.
Sichuan Kungfu Fish menu
We were there during their soft opening so their menu was limited. I’m not sure if this is what they’re going to have as their main menu upon having their official opening but from the looks of it, it’s a choose a combo and add things to it sort of deal.
We with Combo 4 because that way Brother Deer could have the prawns since he is not a fish lover. If you aren’t a fish lover either, this is not a restaurant for you because they only serve seafood at this restaurant. I mean I guess they serve cold chicken but I doubt it’s a specialty. Although most people would come here for the spicy soups, we went with the tomato one so Lil’ bun could have some as well.
Peanuts
First up was the spicy peanuts. They look much spicier than they actually were because I don’t think the peanuts “absorbed” the flavor of the chili peppers very well.
Garlic vermicelli
Next came the garlic vermicelli. It resembled soba noodles in that it was buckwheat noodles over a soy based dipping sauce. We thought that it wouldn’t be spicy if you didn’t mix the thai chili peppers in but boy were we wrong. The soy dipping sauce packed a punch and thank goodness it was a cold preparation because our mouths were on fire! If you have extra broth its a good idea to keep it around to dip your fish into later.
Curly fries
Curly fries. Nothing special and I wouldn’t get this if it weren’t for a combo. Not worth the original price of $7 a plate!
Cucumbers with sauce
Cold cucumbers with sweet dipping sauce. This wasn’t anything too memorable either. The dipping sauce it came with was a mix between hoisin sauce and something else we couldn’t quite put our finger on.
Chinese sausage
Then came the Chinese sausage. This was not what we expected because although it looks like a lot, the portion was actually quite small because each slice was paper thin! Definitely not worth it if you ordered it on it’s own.
Rice
This is the “kung fu rice” I don’t know why they call it that because it’s just plain white rice with black sesame seeds on top. Is it because then it resembles a panda and reminds you of KungFu panda? Okay that’s probably a far stretch so I’m sure it’s just a marketing gimmick.
Fish pot
Then came the moment we were all waiting for…the fish pot. It came with 3.5 halibut steaks and about 10-12 prawns. We chose to get it with rice cakes, broccoli, tripe and bean curd so there was a bit of that in there too but NOT enough for us to go “wow, that’s a lot of food.”
Unfortunately, the pot came to us warm and we had to wait a good 15-20 minutes before it started to bubble and heat up the food. We thought that this step should of happened in the kitchen and it would of been much more impressive if it came to the table steaming.
Tomato soup base
The tomato “soup” if you can call it that since it barely filled the pan and it was quite condensed was unexpectedly flavorful. It was tart and because it was so condensed it packed a tomato punch. The prawns really should of been de-veined before serving because no one wants to eat shrimp that hasn’t been cleaned. The halibut was seared before being placed onto the pan so the exterior was crispy and the flesh was flaky.
Crystal jelly with fruit
Last came the dessert which was a crystal jelly with fruit. Yes there’s fruit on it but I hardly count a teaspoon of diced watermelon on top fruit. The jelly it self was clear and flavorless but the brown sugar syrup sweetened everything up.
Was the food good? Yes, we all agreed that we were pretty satisfied with the taste and quality of our meal. The thing preventing us from coming back would be the value.
Our combo was came to a total of $125 with tax for a meal that’s meant for 3-4 people. At $30-40 a person for the amount of food you get, I wouldn’t say that it’s worth your money.
That’s about $35 a person for 1 halibut steak, a few shrimp, 2 pieces each of veggie/tripe/rice cake/bean curd, a bowl of rice, a few thin slices of Chinese sausage, a few cucumber sticks, a bite or two of vermicelli noodles, frozen curly fries and a bowl of jelly. You probably won’t leave feeling full if you go hungry and might end up having to spend even more. Maybe it’s just me I rather go to all-you-can-eat hot pot for that price and leave more full and satisfied that I did here. But to each their own since some would say that the experience makes it worth it.
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