Bobby Chao’s
The porridge(congee) is: Lukewarm. Average dim sum, super close location,… go for the zhaliang!
Bobby Chao’s or as I like to refer to as, Bobby Chaos, is a Chinese restaurant in a little strip mall in the NW. We dropped by for takeout at around 3pm because everyone had work to do at home. I took some pictures before hungrily chowing down on a late lunch so excuse all the containers and hands in the backgrounds. I was told this wasn’t really “blog worthy”… but hey, everyone needs takeout every once in a while right?
Zhaliang (Fried Chinese Donut in Rice Noodles)
You just can’t have dim sum without ordering some zhaliang, it’s like eating a sandwich without bread. I was shocked when I opened this container. This was huge! We only made one order but there were two stacks of these! (Imagine what you see here.. only double that.) It came with sweet soy sauce and peanut dipping sauce. The donut was nice and crispy. Very filling!
Vegetable Steamed Dumplings
I was sad to see there were only three of these but they were pretty big. Lots of shredded veggies in them. I needed to dip them in soy sauce and hot sauce for more flavour though. I probably wouldn’t order these again.
Steamed Shrimp Dumplings
Ah, another classic. I don’t remember a dim sum gathering without some shrimp dumplings. I found these wrappers to be slightly too chewy, like they had been re-steamed? I guess that’s inevitable when all the restaurants are just steaming frozen dim-sum. Not too bad though. There were at least three whole shrimp in each dumpling.
Beef Tripe
I love tripe. Actually, I was scared of tripe up until a few years ago when I finally tried it at dim sum. (I blame peer pressure… “What? You don’t like to chew on chicken feet? Okay, have some tripe then.”) This was rich in flavour but did get a bit greasy towards the bottom. I find this happens with most of the tripe dishes at dim sum restaurants.
Sliced Fish Congee (Medium size)
Yes, I got one of these containers all to myself. No, I couldn’t finish it. Many slices of fish in this! (Aptly named.) I found the fish to be very soft and fresh but watch out because there were bones too! Good thing the bones did not separate from the fish or else I would have had to watch each bite. There was a slight ginger flavour to this.
There seems to be a lot of negative reviews on Bobby Chao’s on the internet but I can only speak from my own experience. I found the food to be average with good portions. The server was also fast and polite although slightly abrupt. Would I go out of my way to eat here? Probably not. But as it is only a 10 minute drive away for me, Bobby Chao’s offers a fast and easy way to get some Chinese food.
Bobby Chao’s
34 Edgedale Drive NW
(403) 207-7840
