Chef Tian's — Restaurant in Richmond

Chef Tian’s is tucked away at the corner in the Richmond McClelland Plaza.

Decor and dining area is nice and big. Nothing super fancy. Upscale casual if I had to phrase it.

Their Chinese dishes are mainly traditional, and I could tell my dishes were made with care and attention. Some of the dishes are seasonal to mix it up.

Salted Egg Spot Prawns - Since it was spot prawn season, these shrimp were very large and fresh. The salted egg sauce was delicious. This really catered to my palate. Very crispy.

Mussel Delight - Tons of baby mussels stir fried with veggies and Szechuan peppers. A great spicy and balanced dish.

Sweet & Sour Pork - This is not like fast food sweet and sour pork. You can taste the difference and the batter ratio was perfect.

Chinese Donut w/Spinach - I’ve never had a homemade Chinese donut before. This was the best I’ve had. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. The dough is green since it’s kneaded with real spinach.

The creamy ice cream at the end was very good.

Service was not just waving down the waiter or waitress like most Chinese restaurants. They come by everyone dining at least once asking if everything was good and if anything was needed!

We were very full off of the four dishes. Lots of leftovers. Rice and tea is included.

Chef Tian’s is definitely above average in terms of quality compared to some other Chinese restaurants in Richmond...

Their Changsa stinky tofu is definitely one of the best I ever had (even compared to the ones I had in China). It is not only crunchy on the outside, but delicate and silky on the inside. Most importantly it was actually STINKY! most stinky tofu in Vancouver are not authentic because its not stinky enough due to the lack of fermentation process, so its just really a piece of fried tofu. But here, you can smell the fermentation when the tofu is served on the table (Very authentic). The spice level wasn’t too bad since we requested less spicy, and the flavor was just like the one I had in Changsa, full of richness of garlic, fermented bean paste, and peppers! My other favorite was the pork with green peppers, we used to order this for lunch everyday because it’s so addictive, perfect combination and not spicy at all. Their chili ice cream is also to die for, it’s topped with crunchy & sweet sesame seeds and a hint of chili powder, the ice cream itself is very creamy, not icy like the free ice cream at some hot pot place, and I would come here just for this ice cream! You can view the kitchen from the dining area, it looks very clean unlike the other Chef Tian I went to. I am going to bring a friend here next time because I had such a satisfying meal. Definitely come here if you are a...

if you don't speak Mandarin you may have some issues with ordering and service for modification or questions. they do not understand English and Cantonese is very limited which I even had struggles like requesting not too 🔥🔥🔥 and removing cilantro etc... After that it was hard to get the servers‘ attention.

If you have reservation you will need to approach the counter because it is not where you expected near the entrance to locate names by phone number. The entry is off McClelland and not in the plaza itself.

All dishes look grand and great flavors with acceptable standard portions.

The restaurant has modern decor with some old style tea pot and plating.

Scan menu from QR code on the table place order quick service.

The huge Chinese donut presentation gimick was interesting came out light and puffy but as they short staffed understandably waited for server to cut it was not as crispy but still decent.

Dont know the names in English but here is a short review of some items ordered: 沸腾桂花鱼 was a tad spicy for mother ♨️ 焦式炖大鹅 stewed goose 👍was perfect 永州血鸭 duck was not available 😢 卤猪脸 🐷 face brasied super tender 木桶酸汤肥牛 sour beef 🍲 more salty than sour 野生大甲鱼 🐢 required reservation so next time 蒜蓉粉丝娃娃菜 the best 😊 I had...