At a Vietnamese restaurant in Esquimalt

📍 524 Admirals Rd, Victoria, BC V9A 2N5 This little Vietnamese restaurant in Esquimalt is a hidden gem—though we came for one reason: their Xinjiang-style big plate chicken! The owner is from Xinjiang, and since so many islanders love the dish, they even added a Chinese menu—smart move! The place isn’t huge, but there are plenty of takeout orders. Oh, and the walls? Covered in the owner’s son’s paintings—they’re not just decor, they’re for sale too! 🎨 ❌ Bubble Tea 💰6 You can swap the pearls for coconut jelly, but honestly—this is just sugar water. Way too sweet, no balanced tea flavor. Skip it! 🥤 ✅ Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken (mild spice) 💰25.95 Huge bowl, packed with chicken, hand-pulled noodles, and veggies. “Mild spice” here means barely any heat—great if you don’t like spicy food. The chicken is cut into small, bone-in pieces (a bit tricky to eat, but so flavorful and tender). The noodles are chewy, and while the “veggies” are just tiny onion and carrot bits (easy to ignore), there’s lots of potato—soft, fluffy, and perfectly cooked. We added extra toppings: tofu ($8), mushrooms ($6), spam ($6), and fatty beef ($9). Sadly, the owner forgot the tofu—no fixing that mid-meal, so they just refunded it. But the rest? Chef’s kiss—same delicious seasoning as the chicken, perfectly seasoned. 🐔 ❌ Lamb Soup with Hand-Pulled Noodles 💰19.95 Total miss. The lamb had a strong gamey smell, and to make it worse, it’s loaded with green onions and cilantro—both of which I hate. Nope, nope, nope. 🥣 ✅ Salt & Pepper Crispy Pork 💰17.95 Huge portion! The pork is coated in a thin layer of batter, fried crispy, and the meat inside is tender and juicy. Simple salt-and-pepper seasoning lets the pork’s natural flavor shine—so good! 🥩 🆗 Homestyle Braised Tofu 💰16.95 Decent, nothing fancy. They use firm tofu with a nice chew, and after a quick stir-fry, the sauce seeps into the tofu’s pores. The broccoli on the side soaks up the flavor too—tasty, but not memorable. 🥢 ✅ Garlic Sautéed Chinese Chives 💰17.95 So fragrant, with that perfect “wok hei” (hot wok aroma)! It’s called “garlic” chives, but there’s barely any garlic—probably just used to flavor the oil, then fished out. The leaves are slightly bitter, the stems sweet, and even though it looks oily, it’s surprisingly fresh and light. Yum! 🥬 ✅ Rice Pudding They give this dessert free per person—and it’s amazing! Plump rice grains soaked in thick coconut milk, with a light and a sprinkle of shredded coconut for texture. Cold, slightly sweet, and so refreshing—I always want more! 🍚 #Canada #CanadaFood #VancouverIsland #VancouverDayTrips #Victoria #Foodie #LifeSnippets #FoodTour