Peaceful Restaurant - Vancouver, BC

"You know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation" - Seinfeld.


I made a reservation at Peaceful for 1:00 on a Sunday but at 12:00 they called and said they were so busy they weren't able to seat us at 1:00 if we arrived. She said if we arrived, we'd have to wait for a table just like the tons of people outside. Mr. and I quickly peeled ourselves off our couch and headed over to stand in line as we had made plans to meet Lil Sis Piggy and Porker there.

The lineup wasn't bad but it was full of people who had just seen an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri and couldn't stop talking about the dishes he tried. Argh. It's one of those family-owned and operated places that we love to visit so we waited. We ended up waiting for about 40 minutes and whilst in line, we were told we could order so when we were seated, food would arrive quicker to our table. We were also informed that we could order only once in one go. Ok... Ordering in advance didn't really help since the last dish didn't arrive until the end of our meal. Methinks this restaurant is a victim of its own popularity... Anyways, on to the food!

Peaceful Beef Rolls - $6.95

Crispy flatbread rolled with shredded potato, scallions & sweet hoisin sauce

Guy Fieri raved about these and they also won a Chinese Restaurant Award for best Dim Sum (Northern/Shanghai-style) in 2011. Of course the Piggies had to try these and they was not disappointing! Crispy and flaky on the outside with a nice hit of hoisin sauce and perfectly seasoned tender beef on the inside. I expected it to be greasy but it was surprisingly not so. Lil Sis Piggy and I also appreciated that the green onions were sliced so when you take a bite, the whole big stalk of green onion doesn't come out with it. Although you can find these at many Shanghainese and Taiwanese places, the roll here beats them all out.

Pan-fried Pork Buns - $6.95

Filled with pork and scallions, soft bun, crispy bottom

This dish is normally a favorite of Lil Sis Piggy but I have to admit we were all quite disappointed with it. There was a lot of bun, soft bun yes but A LOT of it, and not much meat. The bottom was not crispy enough (needed a few more minutes in the pan) and we all agreed we've had it better elsewhere and wouldn't order it here again.

Sichuan Cucumbers - $6.95

Fresh cucumbers tossed in a spicy Szechuan peppercorn dressing & garlic

The surprising hit of this meal - the cucumbers were rough cut, crispy and cool but then the spice hits the back of your throat. I just love the contrast of cold and spicy! Order this, order this, order this. You're welcome.

Xin-Jiang Cumin Lamb - $10.95

Spring lamb dry stir with green peppers, crushed cumin & chili flakes

I thought we'd be getting lamb pieces but it turned out to be shredded and it was quite good, very cumin-y and would be excellent with rice but since we ordered noodles, it just didn't really fit with our meal. LIGHT BULB: this inside a scallion pancake taco-styles would be HEAVEN.

Chili-Garlic Eggplant - $10.95

Sauteed with shredded pork, bamboo, woodear mushroom & chili paste

A very good dish as it had a nice level of spice, the sauce had an umami-taste and the eggplant was not cooked to a mushy mess - you know it's still eggplant. We also enjoyed the nice shreds of tender pork that were scattered throughout and this Piggy just knows that this will be EXCELLENT as leftovers for lunch.

Dan-Dan Noodles - $7.50

Spicy, tangy peanut sauce, minced pork & spinach

Finally! We get to what Peaceful is also famous for - in-house handmade noodles! This is a favorite of Porker and he thoroughly enjoyed these noodles. The peanut sauce was thick with a bit of spice and the veggies were a nice break from the dense sauce.

Peaceful House Stir-Fried Noodles - $10.95

Served with seafood, pork, vegetables and chili garlic sauce

Mr. Piglet was disappointed with this dish as it was just average. After several tastebud popping dishes, the seasonings for these noodles were completely unremarkable. The pork was too fatty and there wasn't much seafood - 2 small slivers of fish and maybe 2 prawns. The noodles themselves however were quite good - they had a nice bite and were irregular sizes and shapes which I enjoyed.

Shan-Xi Spicy and Tangy Soup Noodles - $7.95

Diced pork, garlic stems, mushroom, carrots & potatoes

Another Lil Sis Piggy pick since she wanted to try the Blade-Sheared noodle (wide, flat and chewy). We really liked the chewy, uneven, bias-cut noodles - they just had a nice bite to them and in a world where everything is machine manufactured, this was a pleasant refreshing change. The soup, however, was more "tangy" (aka sour) than spicy and so sour that we couldn't drink it. The soup needed the noodle in order to be consumed.  The vegetables were fresh, rather than the frozen reconstituted kind, and the potatoes were a weird addition but they were cooked through and tasty. I also liked the squares of tofu since they were quite muted in flavor - a nice contrast to the overwhelming soup.

Pan-fried Pork Dumplings - $7.50

Filled with pork and cabbage - 8 pcs

This arrived 1.5 hours after our seating with apologies from the server (forgotten/lost order?). Mr. Piglet was super excited for this dish but it ended up being a bit disappointing for all of us. Like the pan fried buns, there was entirely too much dough - so much so that the taste of the meat filling was lost. The only saving grace was the dipping sauce that was a nice balance of vinegar, garlic and soy sauce.


Overall, the Hungry Piglets would come back for the beef roll, cucumbers and noodles but sadly, the majority of other dishes were a bit disappointing.  So come for the beef roll, stay for the cucumbers, enjoy the noodles but forget the rest!  Bon appetite!


Pros:

• Take out available
• Some stand out dishes - order the cucumbers and beef roll!
• Cheap to moderate prices
• Moderate portions
• English and Mandarin available
• Very friendly service
• Vegan options available

Cons:

• Reservations taken but NOT held
• Long waits (approx 45 min) during prime dining hours
• Disorganized service
• Too much dough in the dim sum dishes