Delicious Cuisine - Richmond, BC

Place: Richmond
Time: 1:00 pm
Day: Saturday
Scene: packed parking lot of Delicious Cuisine
We're going to have to wait for lunch, aren't we? Argh. Why do I ask a rhetorical question??? Mr. Piglet and I take a deep breath and prepare to queue up to eat. We walk in and...

It's empty??? Weird since Delicious Cuisine is the sister cafe to both Zephyr Cafe and Tri-Pot Cafe and you'd think it'd be busy... DC is situated right next door to Zephyr but it's a Taiwanese joint that ISN'T a bubble tea house!?!?! Shocking, no? Anyways, back to the scene.


Piglet and I are quickly pointed to one of the empty tables and the server hands us 2 menus and says "HKJYBDH DHKDHUKIBJDK HDUKIHDUKBNDJK". My response? "Huh?". I don't speak Mandarin and she doesn't speak a lot of English. Hm, hopefully the language of food will prevail. I finally figure out there's a special on noodles for $3.88 but Piglet and I kindly decline and we flip through the thick menu of food (in English and Chinese but the specials are only in Chinese... hmph). We discuss the lunch menu that is displayed at the front door and Piglet goes up to take a better look but the server informs us that it's only available Mon-Fri (then why display it on the weekends?). She quickly comes over and gives us a third menu and it's chock full of choices! Why weren't we handed this to begin with?? We quickly decide on a few dishes and wait...

Crystal Icy Egg - $4.95

Soy/tea infused hardboiled egg with runny/gel-like sweet centre
This dish has won Chinese Restaurant Awards, Critics Choice Awards, raves from foodies, etc so the Piglets had to try it. Verdict? Indifference from me and memories for Mr. Piglet. I tasted the soy but couldn't detect any tea and the sweet gel yolk is something I wasn't accustomed to. I personally wouldn't order it again since I didn't care for it. Mr. Piglet on the other hand really enjoyed it since it brought back memories of his grandmother who made a similar dish. I suppose if it were present in your past, then this is definitely the dish for you. If not, beware of the hype.

Taiwan Style Burger (Pork) - $4.25

We were intrigued with "Taiwan-style" and when the dish arrived, we were quite surprised. White fluffy steamed bun, deep fried pork belly, peanuts, pickled Chinese cabbage and parsley? I'm excited! And the Piglets were not disappointed, this thing was something interesting and special. Flavor was great, the addition of peanuts and cabbage were the right balance of sweet, tart and nutty. The only thing this Piggie didn't like was the fat running through it (I just picked the fat out to make it PERFECT for me) but Mr. Piglet loved it just the way it was.

House Special Spicy Beef Noodle - $7.95

Noodles were cooked al dente, beef was lean and tender but the broth was SPICY! If you're looking for a spicy noodle, this is the one for you. If you're looking for a deeper beef taste, skip this one as the spice takes center stage.

3 Spice Chicken (small) - $12

Perhaps THE BEST 3 spice chicken I've ever had at a Taiwanese restaurant. Real pieces of chicken in a subtle balance of tangy, savory and sweet notes. It's not really 3 spices as the 3 denotes soy sauce, sesame oil and wine used in equal proportions for the sauce. DC sets it apart here by adding basil leaves and ginger, which takes the dish to the next level.

Tangerine Black Tea with Coconut Jelly - $3.75 + $0.50

Turns out DC is kind of a bubble tea house since it serves all of the drinks available at Zephyr - there's even a door connecting the two restaurants as Piglet took a wrong turn from the bathroom. Either way, the noodles were getting spicy and we needed a cool down and this drink was just perfect. Refreshingly tart with a hint of sweetness. I regret the tangy coconut jelly as it does nothing for this already tangy drink. Pearls or nothing next time!


Overall: Not bad - some good, some blah.


Pros:
Best 3 spice chicken
Free parking
Wifi available
Take-out available


Cons:
Predominately Mandarin spoken with broken English
Dreary atmosphere - not vibrant like next door
Specials only in Chinese