Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant - Vancouver, British Columbia

Western Lake is known for its (relatively) great-valued dim sum, compared to those higher end and expensive spots in Vancouver. Tbh the dim sum here are just averagely good. What makes it stand out is all the dim sum we got were PIPING HOT. Hot dim sum can add at least ... 10 more points. Another selling point is the SIZE of their dim sum. All of us pulled out our phones the moment we got the shu mai (燒賣) and har kau (蝦餃) -- they were unbelievably HUGE. We don't recommend baked bbq pork pie (焗叉燒酥) and deep fried prawn dumpling (沙律明蝦角). The former was greasy while the latter was covered with thick deep fried breading. Read more

We came here for family dinner and lunch recently and this review is for both occasions. Dinner - 5 of us came here for dinner a couple of weeks ago. We ordered shredded chicken with jelly fish, fish maw soup with shredded duck, Buddha’s feast with assorted vegetables, sautéed fish filets ... with greens, and beef with curry sauce. Dishes were all pretty good. The only annoyance was when we placed the order, the waiter/manager tried up sell 3 of the 5 dishes. We had looked at the menu before we ordered. If we had wanted what he suggested, we would have ordered them! Do not tell me another vegetarian dish would be more flavourful than the one we picked. My mother has kidney issues and we picked a blander dish intentionally. Do not tell us to substitute prawns for fish. A few of us in the party do not like shellfish. Lunch - My parents and I came here for lunch today. The dim sum dishes were HUGE. They easily double the portions for the same prices at comparable restaurants. There are pros and cons with their portions. If you are going with a bigger party , this is perfect because you don’t have to 2 or 3 of each dish like you may need to do in other restaurants. However, if your party is small like 2 or 3, you will either have to contend with carrying takeaway or you won’t be able to order a multiple of dishes. - The 3 of us shared stir-fried bean vermicelli, siu mai, steamed beef omasum, pan-fried shims and chive dumplings, steamed beef tripes and tendons. The vermicelli dish was my favourite. The noodles were al dente and flavoured just right without being saucy. The siu mai and chive dumplings were so huge that I felt like I was eating steamed buns with starchy fillings. If I wanted buns, I would have ordered buns. I would stay away from these 2 dishes next time. If I do come back, I would ordered the cold dessert dish of gelatin cubes with goji berries and lychee. They looked quite good on the table next to us. The overall service of the waitstaff was very good and courteous. The restaurant is quite compact and many tables are packed in there. It was very loud both times we were there. Read more

Must do this if you are a crab lover! We did the king crab dinner for 6. Market price was very reasonable for the set meal considering the size of the crab and the portion sizes of each of the dishes. Obviously the king crab legs steamed in garlic were ... delicious. Crab was fresh and sweet. The surprise hit was the spicy crab on vermicelli. It was not too spicy, but full of flavour. The crab pieces were coated and delicious. The baked rice was hot and creamy. Perfect ending was the baked tapioca with a pineapple bao topping. Not too sweet with bits of taro and also fresh out of the oven. The service was unprecedented in a chinese restaurant. All of our servers were attentive, efficient and so friendly. We will be adding this to our list every time we are in Vancouver. Don’t miss it! Read more

This is my second time to come in for dinner with my big family. The appetizer very delicious enough to serve my family 16 member and I like the barbecue duck also the mushroom with vegetable. I think the price are reasonable because I see a lot of ... people come all the time either lunch or dinner. I don't like the chicken and lobster crab because they have no taste. One more thing is important. It's no parking there. You have to be there early to find a parking. I do recommend to come here for lunch and dinner. Read more

I went there last night with a bunch of coworkers for King Crab 🦀 dinner. The price for the amount of food was pretty reasonable. The food was pretty good for the price. Staff were very friendly and attentive. This place is usually packed with customers ... because of the price and the amount of food you get. It is not a super posh place, but it looks relatively clean. Recommend this place for casual dining with friends and family. Read more