Hong Kong-Style Comfort Food Draws Crowds to Richmond's Empire Centre
On weekday and weekend mornings, small crowds gather around two specific food stalls inside the mall at Richmond's Empire Centre on No. 3 Road. The recent arrival of the popular Cha Don and One Cafe has significantly increased customer traffic to this slightly rundown mini-mall over the past year or two.
A Taste of Home for Diverse Patrons
Retirees, students, families, and old friends are coming for the kind of comfort food long served at Hong Kong-style diners known in Cantonese as "cha chaan tengs." These establishments offer soup noodle sets with eggs, toast and tea, baked rice dishes, and pineapple buns with generous slabs of butter.
Ella Lim, who lived in Hong Kong as a child, was on her fifth trip to the mall with her good friend Amarlin Battur, who visited Hong Kong last summer. Lim's uncle introduced her to the stalls at Empire Centre when she moved from Toronto to Vancouver for school. "We've been talking about coming out here," said Battur, enjoying pork cartilage in Swiss sauce while Lim savored instant noodles with beef satay and Swiss sauce.
More Than Just Food Stalls
The Empire Centre complex includes storefronts over three buildings forming a U-shape with more than 15 restaurants, bubble-tea sellers, a dumpling maker, and a high-end fruit salad place. These are intermingled with chiropractors, beauty spas, a supermarket, nail salons, and acupuncture practices.
Within the indoor mall food court at 4540 No. 3 Rd., there are only eight food stalls alongside hair salons, a jewelry store, an optical shop, a tailor, a ginseng trader, and a computer repair business. The seating isn't as expansive as at some of Richmond's fancier malls with large atriums.
Empire Centre is one of several older mini-malls with smaller food courts in Richmond, including Admiralty Centre and Pacific Plaza. University of B.C. history professor Henry Yu teaches a summer course called "Let's Eat: How the Restaurants and Food Courts of Richmond Reflect Half a Century of Migration and Historical Change."
Family Businesses and Newcomers
Crystal Ma's father-in-law previously ran the Prata-Man Singapore Cuisine restaurant on Capstan Way for years before selling the business. Seeking a slower pace of life, he decided to set up a food stall at Empire Centre where the family again makes their longtime specialty dishes, including Hainan chicken rice with broth boiled for almost 10 hours, rich curry beef brisket, and freshly made hot, crispy roti.
"There are pros and cons," said Ma about the increased traffic from Cha Don and One Cafe, both of which have strong social media presences. "There are a lot more people coming here and they get to know about our place too. Unfortunately, the crowds can sometimes work to keep customers away if it's too much of a hassle."
At Cloud 9 Delicacy, co-owner Lorma Lin opens later in the morning but was busy prepping side dishes like marinated tofu, soy eggs, and sauteed Taiwanese cauliflower. She's known for serving heaping meal boxes filled with these items, rice, and salt-and-pepper chicken for $14.99.
Local Patrons Appreciate Value and Convenience
Michael Zhang, a software developer who lives a 10-minute walk away near Lansdowne Centre, appreciates the value. "The portions are pretty good. Some people can't eat the whole meal in one sitting. I can," he said. While he could go to Alexandra Road (nicknamed Eat Street for its 70-plus restaurants over three blocks), Zhang prefers getting a quick, generous, and delicious meal at the Empire Centre food court without having to tip for service.
"The prices are really good so I don't really care that much about not being able to use a credit card," he added.
Longstanding Traditions and New Ventures
Stalls like Lai Leung Kee Delicatessen have been in the mini-mall for more than 20 years, serving hard-to-find specialties such as braised snake soup and pork trotters in broth. Some establishments, like Chef Tony (which has won many restaurant awards for its dim sum), have been around for years.
There are also newer, quirky places like Egg Lab Bubble Waffle, which sells black sesame, coconut, and other waffle shells custom-filled with flavors like red bean, chocolate chips, Portuguese egg tart, or seaweed and pork fluff.
At the Hazelbridge Way end of the centre, posters still advertise The North Bistro (KSquared Mansion) and its northeastern Chinese style all-you-can-eat buffet, even though it closed at the end of last year. However, demolition activity is visible inside the space, with new signs indicating Loon Fong Hot Pot will take over the large area. The Toronto-area chain is adding neon signs and shop windows to recreate the feeling of being on a busy Hong Kong street.
Location and Practical Information
The Empire Centre complex is located at 4540 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, with two additional buildings at 4580 and 4600 No. 3 Rd. It's situated near Bridgeport Station (Canada Line) and backs onto Hazelbridge Way, where there's also an entrance and exit.
Parking options include many stalls between the buildings (some with 30-minute or 90-minute time limits) and a parkade with free parking for three hours closer to the Hazelbridge Way side of the complex.
This article is part of a series highlighting Metro Vancouver's must-visit Eat Streets, celebrating stretches of community around the region with notable concentrations of local food businesses.
