Good Eat Seafood Restaurant - Richmond, BC

"We're going for hot pot.  I'm in the mood" - Monkey
Are you kidding me???  It's super sunny and over 20C and you wanna go eat hot pot??  No.  So we decide on Chinese BBQ but as we're driving there, Monkey suddenly develops a hankering for dim sum instead.  Ok, I can handle dim sum - as long as it's not hot pot on a hot day, I'm ok.  U-TURN!  Lead me to dim sum Monkey!

Where am I?  What is this place?  I've driven by this place so many times before and never even noticed it was there.  Nothing fancy here - just chopsticks, tea and white linen table clothes.  It's 2 in the afternoon on a weekday so the place is empty save for 3 tables of older folks.  We're quickly seated and given menus (available in both Chinese and English - yay!).  Um, all of the dim sum is $2.50???  That's amazing!  Over 30 dishes are cheaply priced at $2.50 while chef's specialty items (congee, baked rice, etc) go up to $5.95.  SCORE!  After squabbling over what to order like old people, we await patiently...

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling -- $2.50

Your normal run of the mill steamed dumplings with seafood - tasty.  A smaller size but what did you expect for $2.50?

Steamed Fresh Squid with Prawn Sauce - $2.50

Readers, do not be afraid.  I know it looks bad but just close your eyes and imagine some really tender squid that tastes like prawns and you'll know what I experienced.  I honestly thought "WTF" when Monkey ordered this and it arrived looking like it did but believe me, this dish tastes WAY better than it looks and I'd actually order this again as well.  The squid is super tender and not at all chewy and the prawn sauce can't be seen but it definitely hits the taste buds.  Oh squid, how you trick me so...  

Pan-fried Eggplant Stuffed with Shrimp Paste - $2.50

The eggplant was cooked perfectly and the shrimp paste is delicious but the only thing is that the eggplant isn't stuffed - it's just on top.  Which is good except you can't eat the two together without the shrimp paste just falling right off.  So it's not as advertised and eating the two separately is ok with me since they're both tasty.  I do love the brown sauce that this dish comes with - I started dipping everything in it!

Sticky Rice and Dried Pork Wrapped with Lotus Leaves - $2.50

Nice and sweet sticky rice with some Chinese sausage and minced pork.  It's not the best I've had but it's not that bad and again, at that price point, you can't lose.


They've run out of egg tarts.  RUE MY LIFE! The waitress instead offers us this:

Baked Seafood with Portuguese Sauce - $2.50

Um, don't really understand the substitution but ok!  I guess we'll try it.  MMmmmm...  Straight out of the oven...  Light flaky pastry on top - sweet and exactly like the topping on a Chinese pineapple bun.  The inside?  Curry flavored sauce with mushrooms and seafood.  Monkey really likes it and I think it's ok.  Not bad...  Not an egg tart, but not bad.

Pan-fried White Radish Cake - $2.50

I love this dish and the version at Good Eats is just ok.  It could've used a few more minutes on the pan for a nice crispy crust but the inside is moist and fluffy with lots of pieces of radish.  I also think it could've done with a satay sauce, some dried shrimp or more Chinese sausage for some extra kick because it was a bit bland.

Deep Fried Salad Rolls with Seafood - $2.50

It's the traditional seafood salad but deep fried in a spring roll.  If you've ever been to a Chinese dining event at a restaurant, you'll know what salad I'm talking about.  If you haven't, then imagine this: fruits and seafood in sweet mayo.  That's rolled up in a spring roll wrapper and then deep fried.  The sweet mayo is warm and runny making the inner wrapper soft and a bit chewy while the outside is still crunchy.  If you like the seafood salad, then you might like this dish like Monkey but I hate mayo and now that it's warm and sweet, it's even more off-putting for me.  I would never ever in a million years order this again but Monkey doesn't find it nearly as objectionable.

Steamed Rice Roll with Chinese Donut - $2.50

Soft rice roll, a few scallions for a bit of flavor and crunchy Chinese donut with a sesame sauce and hoisin sauce on the side.  A tad greasy but still yum yum yum.  

Coconut Mango Pudding - $2.50

How do they make it gradient (aka fade into one another) like that???  What a nice way to end the meal with a refreshing jelly dessert.  I really enjoyed this dish, however simple it may be.  Tons of coconut flavor, the mango is a bit lost but there's enough of the mango pudding around at all the other dim sum places so this was nice change.  DELISH!

Our bill at the end?  $30 with tax and tip!  The Hungry Piglets will definitely be back.  The food ranged from ok to very good and at $2.50 a pop, we can live with that.  Bon appetite my little piggy readers!


Pros:

• Cheap prices
• Dishes were generally on the good side - nothing was inedible (except the spring rolls for me but that's just my mayo hatin self)
• Fast and efficient service

Cons:

• Absolutely THE WORST parking lot in the world - it makes no sense at all
• Cash only
• Busy during prime dining hours