We loved this restaurant so much, we went twice during our trip! Although the soup dumplings a close second to Shanghai River’s, we liked every thing we tried here and would rate it best overall Chinese restaurant in Vancouver. The decor is also very modern and clean, and the service fast and efficient.
Here’s what we enjoyed (by row, left to right):
1) Shanghai noodles. These were greasy, but so good. Chewy and tasty with the standard cabbage and pork, we had to try them and were glad we did!
2) Chicken and corn soup. Because we were travelling with our daughter, we had to choose some baby-friendly dishes that we normally wouldn’t order. This is a standard Chinese soup, but it was done so well. It was sweet, hearty and satisfying – and a perfect complement to some of the heavier dishes we were eating.
3) Soup dumplings (steamed pork dumplings on menu). I had done my homework on Urbanspoon, and there were many places that people said had the best soup dumplings. I also had a friend who had recommended this restaurant, even though she couldn’t remember the name of it at the time. These were very, very good – a close second to Shanghai River’s. The skin was even a bit thinner, but I think we enjoyed the broth and texture of Shanghai River’s dumpling better. Give both a try – and let me know what you think!
4) Pork and shrimp siu mai. This is a steamed dumpling with pork and shrimp. They were done very well, almost like mini soup dumplings in themselves, but with less soup and a tasty shrimp on top.
5) Pan fried pork dumplings. The word “dumpling” is used very loosely here, these are more like pan fried buns with pork inside. Heavy, but 0h-so-delicious. I would eat a bunch of these if they weren’t so obviously unhealthy.
Note: The menu has a picture for each item, so you know exactly what you’ll be getting. Great if you’re not familiar with the names or if the descriptions are somewhat confusing.
On our second visit, we ordered the soup dumplings and chicken and corn soup again, and tried these two additional dishes:
6) Stir fried seafood and vegetables and spicy green beans with pork. The seafood was fresh and fried lightly. We were craving vegetables by the end of our trip, so we also tried the spicy green beans with pork. These were so flavourful compared to the somewhat subdued seafood dish. But both were very good – I don’t think we could complain about any of the dishes we tried at Dinesty.
During both visits we used the restaurant’s high chair, which was very convenient. The second time we came, the waitress brought our daughter a cute Hello Kitty plate and cutlery – something they didn’t have to do, but was a nice, friendly touch.
WHAT TO GET: I would definitely get the soup dumplings, corn soup if you want something lighter to cut the grease, the pan fried pork dumplings, and if you’re having rice, the spicy green beans are delish.
