At a Vietnamese restaurant in Esquimalt
đ 524 Admirals Rd, Victoria, BC V9A 2N5 This little Vietnamese restaurant in Esquimalt is a hidden gemâthough 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 menuâsmart move! The place isnât huge, but there are plenty of takeout orders. Oh, and the walls? Covered in the ownerâs sonâs paintingsâtheyâre not just decor, theyâre for sale too! đš â Bubble Tea đ°6 You can swap the pearls for coconut jelly, but honestlyâthis is just sugar water. Way too sweet, no balanced tea flavor. Skip it! đ„€ â Xinjiang Big Plate Chicken (mild spice) đ°25.95 Huge bowl, packed with chicken, hand-pulled noodles, and veggies. âMild spiceâ here means barely any heatâgreat if you donât 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 âveggiesâ are just tiny onion and carrot bits (easy to ignore), thereâs lots of potatoâsoft, fluffy, and perfectly cooked. We added extra toppings: tofu ($8), mushrooms ($6), spam ($6), and fatty beef ($9). Sadly, the owner forgot the tofuâno fixing that mid-meal, so they just refunded it. But the rest? Chefâs kissâsame delicious seasoning as the chicken, perfectly seasoned. đ â Lamb Soup with Hand-Pulled Noodles đ°19.95 Total miss. The lamb had a strong gamey smell, and to make it worse, itâs loaded with green onions and cilantroâboth of which I hate. Nope, nope, nope. đ„Ł â Salt & Pepper Crispy Pork đ°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 porkâs natural flavor shineâso good! đ„© đ Homestyle Braised Tofu đ°16.95 Decent, nothing fancy. They use firm tofu with a nice chew, and after a quick stir-fry, the sauce seeps into the tofuâs pores. The broccoli on the side soaks up the flavor tooâtasty, but not memorable. đ„ą â Garlic SautĂ©ed Chinese Chives đ°17.95 So fragrant, with that perfect âwok heiâ (hot wok aroma)! Itâs called âgarlicâ chives, but thereâs barely any garlicâprobably just used to flavor the oil, then fished out. The leaves are slightly bitter, the stems sweet, and even though it looks oily, itâs surprisingly fresh and light. Yum! đ„Ź â Rice Pudding They give this dessert free per personâand itâs 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 refreshingâI always want more! đ #Canada #CanadaFood #VancouverIsland #VancouverDayTrips #Victoria #Foodie #LifeSnippets #FoodTour