Favored by super-wealthy new Chinese money, the room is unapologetically blinged out and every diner is a VIP.  The roasted squab is second-to-none and the King Crab and local geoduck clams are expertly handled, with serious prices to match. 

With the overwhelming influx of Chinese immigrants, it's easy to forget Richmond has traditionally had a very strong Japanese community.  Sushi Hachi is run by a husband and wife team, and the menu is focused on sashimi and sushi - the daily platters shimmer with freshness and vitality.  The room is hushed and serene, an oasis of civilized calm.

The latest wave of arrivals from China have brought with them a love of hot spicy food. The citrus-y bite of Szechuan peppercorns that bring numbing, sweat-inducing heat is the hallmark of authentic Szechuan. If you like real heat, make sure you the let the staff know otherwise the kitchen may lower the spice levels for fear of scaring off non-Asian diners. Prove them wrong.

Come by and watch Mrs. Chen (who, with her husband, were the original owners of Chen’s Shanghai Kitchen) hand make all the dumplings on the menu.  The soup buns and pan fried buns are superlative (with lava hot soup fillings, so eat with care), with the sweet black sesame hua quio pastries providing a darkly satisfying end to the meal.

An outpost of one of the most famous wonton houses in Hong Kong, Tsim Chai Noodles excels at the big luscious wontons and perfectly snappy noodles and warm creamy bowls of congee, flashed cooked with fresh ingredients.  A bowl of HK-style minced beef congee and salted peanuts with a side of deep fried donuts (a bread stick really) is complete comfort food for the expat set.

A family-style restaurant straight out of the streets of Shanghai - with an expansive menu and loud jostling crowds.  At peak hours, you may have to share a table with other diners, all the better to spy on what others are having.  The big pots of home-made soups are particularly well done, whole chicken and wonton soup will leave you warmed and cozy.

A truly modern dim sum palace - the huge, bright, room attracts throngs of Chinese families looking for classic dishes inflected with Swatow touches (a region of Guangzhou particularly famous for seafood). The rice rolls with crispy pork is a delicious mix of textures, the deep fried Bombay fish with spicy salt is meltingly tender, and the deep fried shrimp spring rolls are a treat.  If you are adventurous - the pork and oyster soup with rice is a classic of family-style Swatow cuisine.

Kirin’s management will tell you that they do not serve Chinese food - but local Vancouver food.  It's a philosophy that informs the menu that is more deeply focused on seasonality and local ingredients and a service style that is a cut above most other Chinese restaurants even in the hyper competitive Richmond market. With a true formal Chinese kitchen that produces just about every morsel of food in-house, a monthly fresh sheet is prepared for both dim sum and dinner service (so ignore the giant standard menu) - they are particularly adept with local spot prawns and Dungeness crab.

A gem of a room; dim sum is hand-made by the owner, and focused on Hong Kong classics - the crab and pork dumplings, sticky rice, and the deep fried wontons are must orders.  Dinner stand outs include salt-baked free-range chicken, the city's best sweet and sour pork, and briny sweet pan fried oysters.

This powerhouse restaurant exists as a sort of speakeasy – its drab exterior harkens to its days as a greasy spoon take-out joint, but its interior reflects its current incarnation under owner David Jue as a supremely ambitious Cantonese restaurant with one of the most staggering wine selections around (and sky high prices to match).  Tiger prawns with eggplant and pork has serious wok sear, the pork stomach soup sharp with white pepper is legendary, and the black vinegar spare ribs balance sweetness against sour and bitter.  Cultivating a friendly relationship with David improves the meal immeasurably.

Another gem of a sashimi restaurant, where the knife work will leave you speechless.  Squid (ika) are scored with scales to maximize tenderness and flavor, fish is sliced with an eye to best showcase sweetness and mouth feel, and the rice provides just the right amount of contrasting bite.