Nine Dumplings Nine Dishes — Restaurant in Vancouver

This can be an amazing spot if you know what to order. Huge vegan menu too which is always fantastic. It's on the second floor of Robson Public Market. Not a lot of seats unfortunately and when I went yesterday afternoon at around 1pm the tables were all full. Food is cooked on the spot but be prepared to wait a little bit since there's only two people doing everything. They bring the dishes to your table one by one as they finish cooking, so the food is always piping hot.

I ordered the spicy peanut butter cabbage salad (vegan) which was pretty good but it is quite spicy. The peanut butter flavour is prominent as they don't skimp on the peanut butter. They give you a side of vinegar should you wish to add some (I didn't).

The fried vegetable balls (vegan) was one of my favourite dishes. They are deep fried to perfection and the batter is light and crisp without being overly oily. They are super flavourful and you can really taste the mild sweetness of the vegetables which is perfect.

The eggplant dish (vegan) was also really delicious. The eggplant was tender and the garlic and soy sauce complements it perfectly. My parents loved this dish and said it was one of the best eggplant dishes they've ever had. Note that it doesn't come with any rice though.

The sesame paste pancakes (vegan) were pretty good too. Although a little more dense than flaky, there is a generous amount of sesame paste filling. The sesame paste was aromatic and not overly sweet, which I really liked.

My parents loved the dumpling sampler. According to them, the dumplings were super juicy and flavourful. I thought the vegan dumplings were just okay. The dumpling wrapper was a bit too thick and the flavour of the filling wasn't my favourite. Unlike the meat dumplings, there isn't really any soup component to make it juicy, so they were a tad bland.

The bbq corn (vegan) was pretty much the only fail of the day. The texture was super weird and hard to chew, though the flavour was alright. It was the only dish where we took one bite and immediately gave up on eating it.

The deep fried mantou (vegan) was another of my favourite dishes. There is the option of sweet or savoury, and I chose the sweet. They are the perfect dessert to end off the meal. They are little bites of pillowy, sugary goodness. Not too sweet, since the mantou itself isn't and the sweetness comes from the sprinkled sugar on top.

Overall, it was a fantastic meal. Definitely on the pricier side, but the portions are pretty decent. I'd recommend the deep fried veggie balls as an appetiser, the eggplant as a main (add rice if needed) and the sweet...

Contrary to its name, you should definitely order more than Nine Dumplings at this hidden gem in Robson Public Market.

The Pork and Cilantro Dumplings with Butterfly Pea (猪肉香菜饺子) and Scallop and Fish Dumplings with Squid Ink (鱼肉带子饺子) were honestly some of the best and most creative dumplings I have ever had. The Vegan Szechwan Dan Dan Noodles with Veggies (担担面(素)) was also a showstopper.

The dumplings at Nine Dumplings are generously packed with fresh ingredients to offer quite the bite (or two). The cilantro was bright in flavour and the pork was ever so succulent. The fish was delicate and tender, and the scallops were plump and present in each dumpling. For a more fulsome experience, do try different cooking methods for your dumplings. I ordered mine boiled and Shanghai soup style, both of which come with black vinegar sauce and a pop.

Again, the dan dan noodles were delightful. Being a dish typically made with minced pork, I was surprised by how bold in flavour the vegan version was. The noodles were supple and coated in a spicy peanut butter sauce. Overall, it was a well balanced and executed dish.

Finally, I would recommend visiting the stall itself to not only meet the owners/chefs, but to also save yourself the UberEats premium (~30%). For example, the above dishes were $9.99, $10.99, and $15.99, but at the stall, they are $5.99, $6.99, and $11.99 (though the dumplings do not come with pop), respectively. Either way, I hope business flourishes at Nine Dumplings because it is a mom 'n' pop shop and easy to miss despite being on Robson Street. It truly deserves front and centre attention for the sheer quality of...

UPDATE: went in again this week, had the same great experience. Such good dumplings! Will have to try some other items one of these times, but I can't resist these perfect dumplings! :) Haven't been in this building for the long time. It was pretty cool when it was new, in the 90's, but looks like it didn't succeed. Still has a butcher and a wine-shop, but the rest just looks like luggage storage... kinda sad.

Fortunately we were just out wandering around, and took a look upstairs only to find this unbelievable dumpling shop. It in not much bigger that a food truck, one woman working in it, surrounded by food awards. Best Chinese, Best Dumplings, etc, etc. And food delivery guys coming every 2 minutes. We were only an hour away from our lunch reso, so we just wanted a small bite... We had the scallop/fish in squid ink wrapper. One of the best dumplings I have ever had! Perfectly thin wrapper, delicious vinegar based sauce, super savory filling. A Masterpiece!

Being a dumpling guy, I seek them out wherever I go, so was shocked that I had never heard of this place. If you are reading this, you should go. It is fantastic.

Next trip to Vancouver, it is the first place I will go. Maybe the...