Restaurant review: Peninsula Seafood Restaurant

By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

When I was kid, I remembered we would go for Dim Sum every weekend. It was something that I looked forward to, but was an expensive treat. With the expansion of Chinese restaurants in the late 1980s and into the 90s, Dim Sum became more accessible in terms of options and pricing. Since then, we have seen several "higher-class" establishments offering nicer decor, better service, and more refined food.
I recently visited one of those higher-class restaurants. Peninsula Seafood Restaurant featured attentive and courteous service, and the ambiance, decor, napkins, and even toothpicks were top-notch.  
The first dish to arrive was the Pea Tips simmered with gingko nuts and fried garlic. This was a well-prepared dish, with tender pea shoots that still had a bit of crunch. The flavours were mild, with the bitterness of the gingko and aromatics of the garlic coming through. Next, we had the Prawn Rice Noodle Roll with flowering chives, which wasn't particularly good. The rice noodle itself was too soft and broke when we tried to pick it up. As for the shrimp, it was overcooked, rubbery and dense. Except for one extremely salty shrimp, the rest were quite bland.
Despite its name, the Braised Beef Tendon Korean Style didn't taste particularly Korean. The texture was soft, while still maintaining a slight chew. However, there was one piece that was a little underdone. As for taste, the dish was more sweet than salty. The Steamed Chicken Feet in abalone sauce were not very attractive. Nearly every piece had detached skin and the cartilage underneath was far too soft. The essence of abalone was evident, although the dish was on the milder side.
When the Haw Gow showed up, there were six dumplings rather than the usual four. These dumplings were decent with a thin chewy skin. The filling included whole shrimp that were well cooked and sweet, with a significant sesame oil aroma. The Sui Mai dumplings were a bit too firm for my tastes, as the pork was packed in tight with the shrimp. The meat was chewy and somewhat dry, while the shrimp still had a sweet snap. I found that it tasted too much like pork – some shiitake would've helped add depth of flavour.
The Pan-Fried Shredded Taro and Daikon Radish Cake had an interesting presentation with a dollop of whipped cream and a cherry on top. The uniform sear on both sides of each slice ensured there was nice caramelization as well as a light crunch for texture. The cake was soft, yet not mushy and benefited from good seasoning, including Chinese sausage. However, I found that the shredded taro dried out too much from the cooking process. The Dried Scallop with Red & White Sticky Rice was presented in an unconventional way, sitting atop a leaf while in a hot pot. I found the rice to be dry and chewy, which wasn't too bad. The addition of dried scallop added another layer of aromatics in addition to the Chinese sausage and ground pork.
The Steamed Spareribs in garlic black bean sauce was an impactful dish. There was a meaty bounce to the rib pieces, but there was too much cartilage. The garlic and salty black beans really came through, and the flavour from the diced peppers on top seeped into the meat below.
Initially, we wondered why the Seafood E-Fu Noodle was $21.80. When it arrived, it was presented in a large hot pot filled with diced scallop, shrimp and dungeness crab. In fact, one taste and we really didn't mind the price at all. The noodles soaked up the flavours of soy, sugar, sesame oil, and perfectly cooked seafood. The crunch from the carrots, green beans, and flowering chives added a textural contrast to the soft noodles.
Our last dish should have been classified as dessert because it was very sweet. The filling in the BBQ Pork Buns tasted like the chef forgot it was supposed to be a savoury dish. The only good thing was that the steamed bun was fluffy and the pork itself was lean.
For dessert, we ordered the Mango Pudding, which was served in a glass with a dollop of whipped cream. We thought the texture was good. The texture was more pudding-like and tasted like actual mangos.
Our meal came in at $113.00 before tip. The food at Peninsula wasn't great, but it was better than average. The service was very good, but was it worth the price? Yes and no. If you consider the operating costs, the location and the food, it isn't completely out-of-line. My recent visit to Shi-Art yielded nearly the same prices and the food wasn't as good. But from a value standpoint, Peninsula is an expensive place for lunch with the family.

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.

Peninsula Seafood Restaurant
140 – 650 West 41st Avenue, Vancouver
(604) 428-9999

The Good:
• Decent food, despite some issues
• Attentive service
• Nice attention to detail

The Bad:
• It is pricey, no matter how you look at it
• If we look at the food and price together, there are lots of other places to choose

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