Crab Hot Lau (Kingsway) — Restaurant in Vancouver

I just have to say, as a Vietnamese person, I feel sad leaving this review but I'm going to be honest. This was our first time trying Northern Vietnamese cuisine, my partner and I are mostly used to Southern Vietnamese cuisine so I've never heard of or had any of the dishes that Crab Hot Lau offers.

What we ordered: #A6 Nem Cua Bien HP - Square Crab Spring Rolls #1 Banh Da Cua Dong Crab Noodle Soup #1B Banh Da Cua Bien BC Crab Noodle Soup

Food: (A6) Crab Spring Rolls [Rating: 3/5] - This dish came highly recommended on Google reviews, which is why we decided to order it. The spring roll was huge, so it was worth the $19 price tag. The filling was very generous and the spring roll wrapper was flakey and crispy on the outside. But the overall taste was not doing it for me. Even with a generous helping of fish sauce, I found the flavour to be overall quite bland. It's definitely missing something. Even though the filling was very generous, I personally did not like that it was so huge and in a square shape, because not all bites taken included the spring roll wrapper (which I thought was the best part) so some bites tasted like nothing and the texture just wasn't there without the wrapper.

(#1) Variation of Crab Noodle Soup [Rating: 2/5] - Sadly, again, I found their broth to be quite bland, the crab flavour was EXTREMELY light and not what I'm used to when I think of crab soup. I'm not sure if this is the way it is supposed be, but it was noted that they use a special rice field crab from Vietnam so maybe the flavour it just lighter in general? I had the same feelings toward their ground pork wrapper in piper leaf. It was also very very bland and was missing any kind of flavour overall. The fish cakes served with this dish were only slightly better, you could tell they weren't store-bought. The flavour wasn't overly fishy and the texture was soft/chewy similar to rice cake. The only thing I enjoyed about this dish were the noodles. They were non-traditional, wide and flat. The texture was nice and different than noodles you usually find elsewhere across any cuisine.

I did not have a taste of my partners dish (#1B) but he noted that it was also pretty bland. I'm assuming the two dishes use the same ingredients tho but have different toppings so my review would've likely remained the same as above.

Ambience + Pricing: [Rating: 3/5] The restaurant felt like a regular Vietnamese restaurant but with a little extre flair, it was also very bright inside but thats not an issue for me.

I have mixed feelings about the pricing of the dishes at the restaurant because the portions were very generous but the price for the items were too high for the neighbourhood, but basically every dish has crab so I totally understand the price point being where it's at currently. And because I didn't enjoy the meal very much, I thought that the price tag was too high (but thats just me) and don't get me wrong, I understand that its normal nowadays for noodle dishes to be around the $20 mark.

Service: [Rating: 2/5] The service felt like other traditional Vietnamese restaurants (not great but no bad experiences), we waited quite a while to be able to order, ask for our bill and get more tea, but they did have a HUGE group in at the same time as us, so maybe thats why. I would've expected more service-wise given that the price point for this restaurant is so high.

Overall: Personally, I do not think I will be back, I was quite disappointed in almost all of the items, although their Crab Hot Pot does interest me, if the same broth in #1 + #1B are used in the hot pot, I feel as though I would still find it quite bland. They provide 20% off your entire bill on Mondays for 'Happy Monday' which is really nice! The entire bill came up to about $55 with the discount (before tip). I am glad that we came in on a Monday because without the discount I probably would've been upset that our meal wasn't that great and it was too expensive. This is probably the only reason why I'm rating this restaurant a 3/5...

Reluctant to post this review but we feel we need to give the restaurant some feedback to improve their operation. We have been dining regularly at Crab Hot Lau since they first opened because we like that their flavours are lighter and not over seasoned like some other Vietnamese restaurants. They have gotten a lot more popular in the recent months and I feel their service and quality has really suffered. We went there one Friday evening. Because we had 2 people the staff refused to let us sit at a 4-5 seat table closer to the front. They insisted that the only table available for us was underneath the tv. We agreed to sit there but realized the music was much too loud as we were directly below the speakers. We asked the staff to lower the music a bit. At first they agreed but after about 15 minutes, while we were still waiting for our food the staff member came back said they needed to turn the volume louder. Luckily a booth became available and we were able to move there. The food came, I ordered the chicken mung bean noodle soup and my husband ordered the fish paste soup. Both tastes fine but my husband started noticing long sticks of fish bone in his broth. There were at least 3. Luckily he was able to avoid them otherwise he could have hurt himself or choked. 2 days later we came back for lunch with a group of 5, we should not have. We ordered 4 grilled pork vermicellis and one serving of crab spring roll. The crab spring rolls and one serving of grilled pork vermicelli came out first. My husband started eating his pork vermicelli. The other 3 pork vermicelli dishes did not come out until 30 minutes later. My husband was done when the rest of the family’s dishes came out. To make matters worse while we were waiting one of the servers spilled fish dipping sauce onto my sons jacket. Later I told a female staff member about the spill and the ridiculous wait and uneven service of food. She just looked at me without even a simple apology. Needless to say I will not be spending my money here. As they have gotten more popular this restaurant has become more disorganized and sloppy. While the food tasted decent their customer service was...

Today, my family went to dine at Crab Hot Lau on Kingsway Street. I ordered the Hai Phong Fish Vermicelli Soup.

Regarding the fish noodle soup at Crab Hot Lau, I rate it 9.5/10.

Broth: The flavor is lightly sweet and refreshing, without any fishy smell. I’m not sure if the restaurant uses MSG, but if they do, it’s very minimal and doesn’t cause any discomfort.

Vegetables: The vegetables in the bowl are very fresh and of high quality. The water celery and taro stem retain their crunchiness without becoming mushy. The tomatoes are cooked just right, maintaining their fresh crispness. A moderate amount of dill is added, which helps to eliminate any fishy smell without being overpowering.

Fish cakes: They are delightfully chewy with a balanced flavor. Made from featherback fish, the fish cakes complement the dish perfectly.

Tilapia: The fish is fried to a crisp before being added to the bowl. The highlight is that the pieces of fish remain crunchy and aromatic even after being soaked in the broth.

Minor drawback: The tilapia has bones, which might make it difficult for Western customers or young Vietnamese living in Canada who aren’t used to it to fully enjoy the dish. Be cautious of fish bones while eating.

My family was very satisfied with the food at the restaurant. My younger sibling, visiting from California, was especially impressed with the Bún Nem Cua Bể Thịt Nướng (Crab Spring Roll and Grilled Pork Noodle). They said they’ve tried this dish in many places, both in the U.S. and Vietnam, but nowhere else has matched the taste here.

The Pho at the restaurant doesn’t align with the Southern Vietnamese palate, but this could be due to the restaurant’s Northern-style cooking approach.

I hope to explore more Vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver in the future and share reviews...