Street Auntie is a new Chinese restaurant in Vancouver’s “Entertainment District” (Granville St.). The restaurant offers a tasting menu. The night I went for dinner, it was a special Chinese New Year of the Ox theme.
The restaurant is small with a table at the front which can seat maybe 4-6 people, and then bar counter seating (where we sat) for another 7-8.
Here was the menu:
The first course of ox tongue had lots of umami but the spice level was a bit overpowering.
The second course was a trio of dumplings. The flavors were not bad but not comparable to a traditional dim sum place. The XLB for example, had overly thick skin and mine was pierced so the soup leaked.
The Tiger Prawn with Golden Butter was VERY good. If you have ever had duck egg potato chips, this is what the coating tasted like (and if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?). The prawn it self was succulent.
The next course of abalone and sun dried oyster. I was not a fan of the oyster prepared this way. The abalone was very tender, but I don’t get abalone. Its very expensive and every time I have had it, to me, its tasteless. Its like fugu, no taste but lots of hype.
The next dish was halibut with a curry sauce. The sauce was good, as was the sambal on top.
Unlike Italians, Chinese serve carbs at the end. This was a unique sticky fried rice. It was good.
For the first dessert course, a tray of baiju chocolates, almond milk and rice dumplings were served. I liked the presentation and the desserts themselves were pretty good.
The final dessert was very creative and fun. A red date mousse cake in the form of a fortune cookie. The dessert came out as a large fortune cookie; it was well balanced and delicate.
I should also mention that this place does not serve alcohol (I believe they are waiting for their license), but will give you unlimited tea in nice cups.
Overall, service was very good and friendly. Chinese modern/tasting menu format, is difficult to do well because the traditional Chinese food is so good and well priced. I thought this was well done, and is an experience. I would probably return if I saw an interesting tasting menu in the future. The atmosphere is modern.