Hakkasan Bistro - Richmond

This restaurant is a bit off the path from most Richmond restaurants. But easy parking, great Hakka style food. friendly staff. Chef owned, so is consistent from visit to visit.

Not the usual upscale Chinese restaurant or family/cheap Chinese restaurants. It's more like a western style restaurant serving Chinese food. Food is OK. Some typical Hakka dishes are not on the menu, and a couple of typical Hakka dishes are only available by special order. All in all, it is not very authentic Hakka, and food quality is of average quality. We know because we are native Hakka with discerning tastes (our mother was an excellent cook). We had expected better quality for the price level, be it authentic Hakka or not. I guess most people don't know what to expect of Hakka dishes!? We did not order expensive seafood dishes, just the ordinary dishes. Service is good. Place is nice, quiet and clean. Seating is very comfortable. If we plan to entertain guests and wish to have an ambience where we can sit comfortably and chat without feeling being rushed out, we would consider coming back.

Had dinner here after reading a good review on online newspaper review for their food. Worst mistake ever. Never trusting online newspapers again, especially a review by a non-Asian newspaper.Singaporean curry beef tastes more like fast food curry beef. It was essentially 50% chunks of fat and 50% meat in an already small enough bowl, nothing special and definitely overpriced.Pork neck meat definitely not worth $20 for both quantity and taste. Tastes just like BBQ pork, except with quite a bit of fat in each slice of pork neck meat and very few slices on the place. We've had waaayyyy better at other restaurants. And the garnish was just a piece of kale and some random western vegetables...gave us a very "cheap quality" feel even just looking at it. And the taste just confirmed the looks.Their "vegan fake duck" appetizer for $7 was just 4 small fish paste balls wrapped with bean curd tofu and deep fried, and VERY cheaply paired with the thai sweet chili sauce that you can buy a whole bottle for like $2 at the grocery store. Garnish is the same as above, just a piece of kale and some other random vegetables. Again, very cheap looking and in taste too. I could get a small tub of fish paste from the supermarket and make a whole plate of my own for $4.Their pumpkin pork pot rice...pumpkin isn't expensive to begin with and I was expecting mashed pumpkin puree in the baked pot rice, like I have had at another restaurant in the past. But it was literally just small diced pieces of pumpkin (like diced carrots) very scarcely scattered on top of the rice and of course, another small bowl. This was ~$15.For the price I am paying, I can get much better Chinese food elsewhere. Tons of restaurants in Richmond to choose from. I get that they are trying to do some fusion foods, but it's not authentic Chinese and it's not good enough for Western-Chinese fusion either.And they are trying to make the restaurant "high-class" but fail miserably at both decor and presentation of food. The decor just looks trendy for the younger crowd and the plastic chandelier lamps can't fool a good eye for high-quality furniture. But their prices are very unreasonable for what they serve.Customer service was excellent, but that doesn't make up for the poor quality of food and overpriced menu. If this is what they continue to serve, they need to re-evaluate what their food is worth.

We always enjoy their set lunches or diners.Their double boil soup, sea bass, Hakka chix, not aroma garlic craps are truly to die for! Their lobster weekend special is a real treat as well. We appreciate Hakkasan's innovative approach to traditional Hakka dishes. We are fast becoming regulars!

You know what to expect if you are a fan, lived up to it's buzzy atmosphere, and excellent food. Great service friendly efficient staff.