Sai Woo - Vancouver

I recently visited Sai Woo for the second time, this time with a dinner reservation. Unfortunately, my experience was not great. Despite the restaurant being moderately busy, we had to wait around 10 minutes for someone to come to our table. We were not greeted or given physical menus, and there was no QR code to access the menu online. The website was also not working. The servers who eventually came to our table were not very attentive, and we had to ask for the menu and place our order ourselves. The food took longer than expected to arrive, and there seemed to be no consistency in service as different staff members attended to us each time. The dishes were okay, with the duck breast being the standout. However, the Dan Dan Noodles were a letdown - it was not the traditional spicy noodle dish we were expecting. The lack of serving utensils made it difficult to eat. The ambiance was also affected by a crackling audio system and being seated in a high traffic area where the table would shake every time someone walked by. Overall, my dining experience at Sai Woo was disappointing, with the food only slightly better than the service.

A lovely longstanding restaurant in Chinatown with a rich history in entertainment. I'm not too familiar with the story behind the restaurant. The server had pointed out the two figure paintings on the exposed brick but nothing beyond that.It's easy to get a seat here and the dim lighting is attractive.The food was okay at best. It was much too salty overall, especially the batter on the prawns. The prawns under the batter was hard and probably overcooked. Similar with the chicken wings, not juicy as I thought it would be. The exterior is very saucy with a thick salty batter (fermented shrimp paste). The short ribs were tough, tough. The fries were inconsistent, with some pieces crispy and some soggy. Overall the food really was subpar.The drinks on the otherhand were well made and balanced. All the specialty mixed drinks we had were to our liking!3 3.5 stars overall I think they can improve on their food.Street parking in downtown Chinatown.

Always woo 'd dining at Sai Woo In historic Chinatown lies a unique Vancouver inspired Asian fusion restaurant, Sai Woo Stemming from a reflection of Vancouver 's multicultural society, chef Seung-min has currated a menu serving a variety of small and large sharing plates, with a focus on pairing local bounty and global techniques with familiar Korean, Japanese and Chinese flavors · Bang Bang Chicken Salad · Beef Tartare · Beef Broccoli · Dan Dan Noodles · Chinese Herb Brined Duck Breasts · Dongpo Lettuce Wraps · Chinatown Monarch My favorite dishes were the dongpo lettuce wraps and Dan Dan noodles The pork belly was super tender, flavorful and I really enjoyed the cut of the pork as it had a nice balance of lean meat to fat Oftentimes I find 'dongpo yook ' too rich due to the ratio, but Sai woo did a great job at balancing that aspect I also loved the addition of cinnamon to the dish and the sauce as it gave it a nice kick to this dish! The Dan Dan noodles seemed moreso like a bowl of ramen, but it was packed with flavor and I loved the texture of the noodles The spice and peanut flavor were subtle but just enough to shine through and not take away from other aspects of the dish itself. Their housemade cha siu was torched to perfect and their runny egg really enhanced the richness and flavors of the soup.

We (4 of us) arrived for our reservation, were promptly seated, with our server immediately providing us with water and a cheerful I 'll be back to take your drink orders . We settled in, taking in the marvellous decor and energy and waited. And waited. And waited as servers continuously walked past us without acknowledging us. Not a word. After a full 25 minutes, I got up and asked one of the servers if we could please place our order. We received an apology for the wait with the explanation that one of their bartenders didn 't show up. I opted to not point out the reality was that the lack of service or even acknowledging our existence had nothing to do with the bar. Service improved from there but was still erratic. Food was wonderful but not quite enough to offset the shoddy experience that (like in many unavoidable circumstances these days) was not due to being short staffed. Will not return. Too many other great restaurants in Van to go to.

I was here recently for a work function and had a great time.