Good Eat Seafood Restaurant

A couple of weeks back I was asking for recommendations for a good go-to, unfussy dim sum place in Richmond.  Our previous go-to Gala has been replaced by Jubilee Restaurant.  I think we caught Jubilee with opening day jitters. See previous post here.

Well, thanks to Crispy Lechon, I think we may have found our new go-to place.

8111 Leslie Road

Richmond, BC

Good Eat Seafood Restaurant was pretty spot on for us. We didn’t really plan on “lunching” on this day as we were running around taking care of chores and family things…….but then both of our tummies got growly and needed to be satisfied. We were in the neighborhood of Good Eat so decided to give them a try.

The restaurant is fairly spacious, the service is quite good and most important, we really enjoyed the dim sum that we ordered.  All their regular dim sum is $2.50

You can tell that this is a restaurant that has many regulars.  As we arrived I noticed a lady racing me to the front door. 

I was secretly hoping that she was just being polite and wanted to get to the door ahead of me so that she could hold it open for me…..

I think she was a regular because she must have known what the place is like.

Good Eat is not a really big restaurant and to accommodate more people it seems they have put in larger tables and try to encourage groups of 2 or 3 to dap toi or table share.  BR is definitely not a fan of this, so we usually just wait for a smaller table. 

Back to the “lady”….well she managed to let the door slam in my face and jump in front of me to speak to the hostess before me….so yes, they were ahead of us and also wanted a table for two and also did not want to dap toi.

The lady started giving the hostess some attitude. The hostess saw how this crazy lady forced her way  in ahead of me.   Eventually the flustered hostess gave this lady and her dining companion a table for 6.

BR and I were finding this quite amusing.  Yeah we were a bit rushed and had a lot of things to do, but sometimes you must stop and smell the roses....sometimes the roses have thorns! The hostess did her best and was extremely pleasant with us and explained we would have to wait if we didn’t want to dap toi.  No big deal, lots of people looked like they were just about finishing.

Then, almost like the food gods were smiling down on us, a nice elderly gentleman sitting alone by the window, jumps up, moves towards the  crazy lady and her dining companion at the table for 6.  He politely gestures to BR and I that we should take his table for 2. He joined the  crazy lady and her companion.
Forced dap toi action …too funny. A thorny rose and prince...priceless!

How’s that for Karma?

OK onto the food…….

Good Eat has a pretty standard dim sum menu with some specials.  Their English menu is nicely laid out, so you won’t mistakenly order something you weren’t expecting.  They have a holder on the table with their specialty items as well.  This day we just needed to fill our stomachs so we just ordered quickly ……actually I didn’t even notice the Specials Menu until after we ordered. 

Steamed Shrimp Dumpling:

Nice skin, not too thick, a bit softer than I like, but not mushy.  The shrimp filling was very tasty, nice big,     poop-free shrimp, crisp texture and good balance of flavor, just a slight hint of pork fat….. excellent!

Steamed Pork Dumpling with Roe (Sui Mai):

Yummy and satisfying….hand chopped and perfectly seasoned.  Everything in balance, pork, shrimp and shitake mushrooms.  The roe was good... nice size and not too overpowering.

Deep Fried Bean Curd sheets and Shrimp:

We both really enjoyed this.  The shrimp filling was plentiful, not skimpy and had just a hint of cilantro.  The bean curd sheets were very well cooked…crispy and not overly greasy.  This was our favorite item this day.  So much so, I tried to make these at home a few days later.  They turned out pretty good, but are a bit tricky to fry.  The first batch stuck together in the oil….took me a bit of time to figure out the knack of frying them.  Post to come soon about this cooking adventure.

Stewed Beef Tripe:

Nicely cooked, texture was spot on. The perfect combination of chew and softness.  The sauce was a just a tad sweet for me…a bit too much red soy bean paste for my taste….however the offal flavor still came through. Mmmm…..offal married with garlic and savory spices is one of my favorite things. BR was tempted to try this version. He got really close, even picked up a piece with his chopsticks.  In the end, he couldn’t quite do it, maybe next time.

Pan Fried Eggplant Stuffed with Shrimp Paste:

Delicious!  Nice amount of filling.  Good sized pieces of eggplant.  Served nice and hot, not greasy and the perfect amount of sauce. Enough to add a nice contrast of flavor, but not drowning and slimy. We loved the springy shrimp paste texture in contrast to the soft eggplant…a winner!

Steamed Rice Roll with Mince Beef:

One of the better versions of this we’ve had for a while.  I really liked that it was hot and fresh.  I think they must make this to order.  The rice rolls have that comforting soft texture.  The mince beef filling was a really good texture, soft but not mushy.  The flavor of the filling was really good as well.  A hint of dried tangerine peel and a tiny bit of texture from minced water chestnuts.  I liked that they used finely chopped scallions in the filling too, nice change from cilantro.  On the days you need a good food hug…….this would certainly fit the bill.

Whew, what a long post for simple dim sum.  Sometimes the simple things are the best things, don’t you agree?  We need to slow down sometimes and linger in "simple."

So, no fuss, no muss, just darn good, uncomplicated dim sum…
just be on the look out for the crazy lady and don't let her ruin your day!

Good Eat serves very decent dim sum. Great quality and value, fresh and hot.  Very good service….please don’t be a misery to the nice ladies who work there.  

Parking can be a challenge.  It’s true….Good Eats parking lot is really awful and people double park.  There were several announcements for people to move their cars while we were there.  Look at it this way though, if you are seated by the window, you will have the front row seats for some very entertaining parking lot antics.

We don’t mind paying for parking, especially when in a hurry.  We parked directly in front of the restaurant on the street.  I guess we are the anomalies to the paid street-parking concept………we were the only car parked on the street this day.

$2.00 for 50 minutes.  We had a tasty quick lunch with entertainment and still had 4 minutes to spare before our parking ticket expired.  Best $2.00 we’ve spent in a long time.  

Thanks Crispy for the recommendation.  We certainly plan on re-visiting Good Eat!  If any of you happen to arrive at the same time, I will happily hold the door open for you!