Empire Seafood Restaurant

Reviews

• Willie F.

  star star star star star_border 13 June 2026

  Came here with the family and we are from the USA. Compared to Seattle dim sum, this place definitely hit the spot and reminds me more of the good stuff I used to get in San Francisco. Service was okay, and they forgot some stuff that we had to ask for. Anyways, to the food!
  
  The dishes came out in kind of a weird order. I think they just drop it out when they make it instead of actually thinking of when it'll suit best. Our fried rice came before dim sum for example, and our sui mai came out a couple of minutes after the dessert.
  
  We had "ying yang" fried rice. It's a fried rice with two different sauces... so good!

• Olivia R.

  star star star star_border star_border 9 June 2026

  4 Star food with 1 star service and decent pricing.
  
  Walking in it was busy so I expected great things. We put our name down, no reservation. My mom was catching a flight so we let the hostess know we had to get to the airport. Shortly after a group of 5 came in with no reservation and we asked if they are ok with only 1 hour to eat and got sat down right away. I asked the hostess what that was about and she said we are the next table - we were not the next table.
  
  Anyways, the food! We filled out the sheet before we even sat down because we knew we had a time crunch. The food came out in a timely manner and was pretty good. I've definitely had better but it was above average. I really liked the sticky rice and shrimp dumplings. I love that the shrimp dumplings (har gao) had a very thin skin, often its too thick for my liking. The siu mai (pork and shrimp) was average. Everything else was good but not above and beyond like some of the reviews.
  
  Lastly, when the server brought our last dish I asked for the bill as we were in a bit of a rush...she turned around, ignored me, looked at me over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. I don't remember the last time I was treated so rudely by a service, but also they were very pushy about getting people out yet they roll their eyes when I ask for a bill? I may come back for the food but I know to have zero expectation on being treated well here.

• Michelle K.

  star star star star_border star_border 28 May 2026

  Visited:  June 15 2019
  
  Parents wanted to eat here since we haven't been back in awhile.  The last time I was here for dim sum, their service left a lot to be desired so I personally didn't have the urge to come back.  More on that later.
  
  I really have no complaints about the food and the prices are on par with other the dim sum restaurants in Richmond.  Their dim sum menu has an extensive and creative selection, more so than other restaurants.
  
  What they lack is in their service.  We wanted to place our order and we kept trying to flag people down for 5-8 minutes.  All the servers are either trying not to make eye contact or scurrying to the kitchen.  In the end, we walked our order sheet directly to a server.  Even after that, the server was carrying our order sheet for another 5 minutes before handling off to someone else.  On top of that, it also took awhile for the food to arrive.  
  
  The last time I was here, I didn't even make it to the dining room.  I waited for 45 minutes for a table of 2 and someone waltzed in (who is a regular customer) and he was seated right away.  I inquired with the hostess as to why he was seated immediately when we have been waiting for nearly an hour.  Her response was that he had a reservation.  With that said, we decided to give our business somewhere else.
  
  So in a nutshell, food is good, service subpar.  3.5 stars. Honestly I prefer their sister restaurant (Parklane) in the same mall.
  
  Ordered:
  
  Siu Mai
  Steamed beef balls
  Chiu chow fun gor (pork/peanut/chives steamed dumpling)
  Steamed red rice rolls with minced pork
  Deep fried minced pork dumplings
  Steamed BBQ pork buns
  Jellyfish with shredded chicken (cold)

• Amy T.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 21 May 2026

  I grew up eating dim sum in San Francisco, CA, USA so it's safe to say that I've been spoiled. When I had the chance to visit Vancouver, I knew I had to try their dim sum to see if it was comparable if not better than San Francisco's. Initially we tried to get into Kirin, but unfortunately couldn't snag reservations there. Second on our list was Empire.
  
  We were happy to have made it to Empire after the lunch rush hour and were seated right away. Our favorite dish was the Phoenix claws which were oh so tasty. Unfortunately, all the other dishes were bland and lacked flavor. I was quite disappointed after hearing raving reviews about dim sum in van-city. Maybe I came on an off-day?
  
  Service was five stars. The waitresses left us alone for the most part. It wasn't difficult flagging them down for to-go boxes and the bill. Space is pretty big with ample lighting throughout.

• Michelle N.

  star star star star star_border 16 May 2026

  Hidden restaurant right above a complex with other stores and restaurants.  Thankfully the garage for this place was free unlike most other restaurants.  The place was pretty packed but we didn't have to wait for a table, but there was this rude lately that waltzed in and started speaking to the hostess in their language.  Instead of the hostess seating us, they had a full blown conversation for 3-5 minutes, while we stood there.
  Finally seated, we received some hot tea, paper, pencil, and a menu.  They did not have most things I've had at other dim sum places back in the states.  Most of the waiters didn't know any English and I believe it was the manager that had to assist us throughout our meal.
  
  Typically we eat dim sum with soy sauce.  Here you have to request for it, because I guess they don't eat it that way over here.  They don't have sate, so don't bother asking.  That was a super downfall for us!
  The menu was pretty simple, just check whatever you want and hand it to them.  Simple!
  
  --Har Gao (5/5) - I loved the starch, tasted like it was made to order along with the shrimp.  It tasted very very fresh made with top of the line shrimps.  Lol.  No, but really.  The texture in this was all amazing all in one bite.
  --Sui Mai (5/5) - Meat on this was very fresh as well.  I loved how they topped this was caviar, not many places do this. The caviar made the Sui mai crunch and it wasn't fishy at all.  It doesn't have the old meat smell you would have like other places.  Most places are overcooked, old, or frozen.
  --Steamed Wild Mushroom Dumplings w/ Black Truffle (3/5) - I loved the inside of the dumpling, which was the black mushroom with truffle.  I hated the glutinous starchy flour to this.  If you've ever had a Vietnamese thing called Banh Bot Loc, the starch is almost made the same except this was wayyyy more stretchy and chewy.
  --Steamed Chicken Feet w/ Chuhou Sauce (4/5) - Flavoring was not too bad, a little savory, and a small hint of sweetness.  They steamed this to wear the skin falls off which is always best.  I prefer my chicken feet a little more sweeter, but it was still good.
  --Deep Fried Beancurd Sheet Puff w/ Wild Mushroom in Abalone Sauce (3/5) - I requested fried tofu and the guy recommended this.  Technically this wasn't the tofu I was looking for, but it was still good.  Came with delicious vegetables and the sauce on here was a little thick and went great as a stir fry!  The beancurd has a thick skin fried all around with soy bean inside soaked in all of the ingredients.
  --Stir Fried Turnip Cake (3/5) - Usually turnip has a bit tougher texture, but this had a very mushy texture inside like taro cakes.  Unique dish, had a hint of spice, bell peppers,  bean sprouts, and small fried egg strip along with this.  I was looking for "pan fried turnip cake", but this was as close as I could get to one of my favorite dish.
  
  This was a different experience for some dim sum, from some of the dishes I'm use to, requesting soy sauce and sate, to waiters that can't really understand you or speak to you.  During the meal, waiters didn't come by which had some pros and cons with that.  I've heard Vancouver had some great dim sum places and I am glad I got to try it.  Everything was really fresh to my palate!