Harbour Spirit Restaurant

The review is for the service before they closed the door back in 2011ish
We went here for breakfast because the one we planned on going wasn’t open at the time. It turned out to be horrible.
We ordered the three item combo and an additional «special» dish. The three items came slowly and we waited forever for the other dish. When I asked the waitress was confused and said everything we ordered was served already. Apparently they didn’t notice the forth dish on the order sheet. So we said bring the bill. Then they said sorry checks under $ 20 have to be paid in cash. Hubby had to go to an ATM to get cash to pay. One item on the check was «open food» and was $ 0.80. No idea what this was about. Tea was supposed to be free.
The food was only so so. The ribs in the porridge were tough to eat and the other two dishes were pretty bland.
The atmosphere was poor as well. An old man sitting next to our table talked loudly nonstop the entire time.
Bottom line, stay away from this place!

I came to this gaudy establishment for some midday dim sum on a Saturday and found their dim sum to be average in almost every way. I was particularly pleased by their egg custard buns, they were runny, sweet, and generally delightful. The prepared dishes were not particularly flavourful, we ordered both noodles and congee and the consensus at the table was that they were both bland. This wouldn’t be my first choice for dim sum in the future, but it was relatively easy to get a table for a Saturday.

What a confusing place! We came here after calling them to see if they had a dim sum special for coming in early (which they said yes to). But when we got here we found out it’s really only 20% off dim sum after your first full-​priced visit. They didn’t really explain how the next one would be 20% off either — I think you bring in the receipt from your last visit? Who has time to track all that!
The dim sum here is okay, nothing special. The place still has remnants of the former restaurant, a lot of the fixtures don’t match with the ambiance, and you can see unfinished renovations with the walls and whatnot.
I didn’t taste anything that was a stand-​out though, so no winners here. We ordered the usual items (siu mai and shrimp spring rolls are my basics to gauge against other restaurants), and some of the items that we thought would be more interesting (different rice rolls, etc) but nothing was fabulous. I’d much prefer a few amazing dishes to get me to come back again, but alas it was not to be. Sorry Harbour Spirit, a revisit most likely won’t be happening.

Went here after our relatives recommended this place and though the décor was nice for a restaurant this size with the high ceilings and chandeliers, I don’t think I’ll ever be back.
Ordering off the menu didn’t took too long, it was the service and food that left my family with a bad taste. The dishes came out relatively slow and for most of what we ate from the sweet and sour ribs, fried fish to plain lettuce had either too much MSG added in or not enough flavour. Thank goodness I didn’t eat much since I wasn’t that hungry that day.
We kept asking the waitress when the fried rice will be coming. She looked confused after the three times, it finally came. The dish was good until I bit into a crab shell. I didn’t know scallop fried rice had crabs in it.
Wouldn’t recommend this if you like sub-​par service and food.

Yes, maybe a tad generous or that I’d like to give them another chance, simply it’s a nice décor resto in good location but the food and the customer service in general just wasn’t there tonight. You know they’re trying w/​undermanned staff, and the odd server/​busser tried their best but you know how they want to cut back…
Crab actually was a good size, 2 lbs, w/​the ginger/​onion sauce, a bit salty.
The cabbage was ok, but their presentation could’ve been better… just one big blob.
Better dish of the night was the beijing style pork chops, w/​mayonnaise as dipping sauce. Yes, that could be a concern to some, lol.
But like i said, i love the high ceilings, décor & table cloths, doesn’t resemble anything like Sammy J’s other than the washroom handles.
Even w/​the big parking lot, tonight was a premium, perhaps shares w/​Cactus club?
For other Unilocalers, I wouldn’t recommend unless you like trying something new, like me being the first time, and this is what i get for being nosy!

wish i read others’ comments before coming here. ordered the set menu for 4 — yuck and oily are the only words — quail meat was dry (look been sitting there a while before we ordered), crab was tasty with oil and service was bad and impolite … décor is bad too. yes those tables are packed and the chair was too heavy to move … too expensive too … if there is anything lower than one star, this place has it.

I heard the dim sum is supposed to be good, but we came for dinner.
Fail.
Under-​seasoned and over laden with MSG would be the best way to describe their dinner offerings. We had their set menu which included lobster, fried rice, some rendition of spare ribs and fried fish, tofu and vegetables, but none of which I will spend much more time detailing because none of them were good enough to warrant another visit back amidst all the other missteps.
It’s hard to imagine that the dim sum is all that good with what they offered us for dinner, but it looks like other reviewers have already confirmed that suspicion. I bet I could have gotten something more deliciously Asian at the Cactus Club right next door.

I have come here a few times and the food is decent. The 20% discount off the dim sum and no tea charge makes this place attractive. This restaurant used to be a Sammy J Peppers and there are still a few pepper logos around the restaurant. It is usually busy on the weekends so expect a bit of a wait. Service is not very good and we always have problems getting a person to bring us the bill. We end up going to pay up front to speed up the process.

This place is not destined to have a long or happy existence. One of the staff took our order, and it was obvious she had no wait experience at all. We then waited for more than 45 minutes for the first dish to arrive without explanation. The front of house is grossly understaffed and when we tortured it out of a passing waitress, we learned that there were only two cooks on staff for the evening service. When we finally got our food, the only explanation we got from our waitress was «There’s nothing that could be done»… «Sorry would have been the more appropriate answer.
Having said that, the food was not completely bad… hit and miss, but perfectly acceptable had it been another time and place.
There are still fixtures left over from when it was Sammy J Peppers… the bathroom doors still have the pepper handles. The décor is a mix of converted western restaurant with a bit of the gaudy style that you find in cheap ‘made in China’ furniture stores.
The signs of bad management are all over the place. The wait staff is surly and have the air of resentful resignation. The front of house is run chaotically and you can’t identify who is in charge or coordinating. Tables are served haphazardly and not by order in which each party arrives. And as per Chinese restaurant tradition, the bathrooms are poorly maintained, dark and dank.

Food was OK with the usual dishes as you order from the list.
Tables are packed tight and difficult to get the attention of staff.
The 20% discount would compensate for the inadequacies.

Saw the 20% off sign so stopped by with my mom for dimsum. First impressions were that this place is pretty swanky-​ily decorated for a Chinese restaurant. Plush chairs and pretty dishes — I wonder how long it’ll last! The place was packed, as it was a weekend afternoon. We were seated immediately, at an odd table squished into the corner. It was fine, since there was only the two of us. Tea came quickly, but food was slow. Don’t expect Western-​style service here (or at any Chinese restaurant for that matter). We ordered the sticky rice wrap, har gow, stuffed eggplant, egg tarts, and another dishes that I can’t remember. Everything was average, except for the egg tarts, which were above average since they arrived piping hot with a nice flakey crust. Not as good as the HML Seafood Restaurant egg tarts, but better than the Fisherman’s Terrace egg tarts. But I digress.
Anyhow, since the service was so slow, my mom went directly to the counter to pay since we didn’t want to wait for our bill. It came to ~$ 20 for 5 dishes plus tea, including tip.
One last thing, my mom complained that the lady at the counter was insistent that she type in the tip amount, but my mom wanted to do it herself (and did). We both thought that interaction was odd.
Overall, I wouldn’t come here again, because I can get similar food at similar prices elsewhere, where it’s less crazy.

Seriously disappointed — really hope it wasn’t because we weren’t Chinese but…
Arrived at 10:25am — were sat at table that was way too close to the other tables around us and were bumped by the servers and customers going back and forth constantly
by 10:45am we had no contact with a server, no questions regarding what we want to drink — I flagged down a server, handed him our order and asked for some tea. I got no eye contact, no acknowledgement what so ever
10:50am — our menu is returned to our table with a 10:48am ordered at printout & some tea
11:20am — no food, no service, no eye contact… we waited for over half an hour to get food — we saw the exact items we ordered being delivered to other tables, nothing came to us…
11:22am — we both got up and walked out. No one stopped us, asked us why we were leaving or even asked us to pay (as if they knew why we were leaving)
I have heard stories like this in Richmond, I have always thought it was ridiculous and NEVER have come across this before… seriously, this is Canada, so not impressed and really left a bad taste
Went to wendy’s down the street :(

I came here for dim sum with the parents a week ago and I don’t think we’ll be coming back. First, the tables are packed stupid close together and that already pisses me off… strike one. Food was not great but the prices were reasonable. Ordered 7 dishes to the tune of $ 32. The usual shrimp dumplings, beef rice rolls, pea shoots, BBQ pork buns were ordered, as well as bean curd rolls and some other stuff I didn’t bother having. The best dish was the beef rice rolls, generous amounts of meat, but the shrimp dumplings didn’t taste good at all.
I wouldn’t recommend this place to my fellow Unilocalers.

First timer in Richmond and was looking for some decent Chinese foods. Came across this restaurant and saw a 20% discount sign. So, we decided to eat there and ordered a 5 pound lobster, some egg plants, and a vegi dish. Food quality was all right but we noticed that the lobster is missing some major tail portions. We questioned the server and their attitude was very unpleasant. Eventhough they advertised their lobster at $ 9 dollars a pound, a big portion of the lobster is missing and their customer service is so not worth it.
Avoid this restaurant and spent your money some where else if you are looking for a decent Chinese restaurant!!!

I have never ever felt so terrible in a restaurant. This is the former location of Sammy J Peppers. Avoid this place at all costs.
First of all, the dim sum is terrible. We’ve been to dozens of restaurants for dim sum. Most in Richmond are really good. Until today, there hasn’t been a single one that has made me so unhappy. This is easily the worst in all of Richmond.
I don’t even know where to start. The ha gao had the same flavour as a can of chicken noodle soup. It was really soggy. I know, that is a bizarre surprise when you eat something and it reminds you of something else. The steamed beef tendon had absolutely no flavour to it whatsoever. This is always my favourite dish. The Chicken Bun was even worse… no flavour and really pasty.
It seems like the owners of this place have no idea about dim sum and probably get it from some factory somewhere else. Like many new restaurant start ups in Richmond with ignorant ownership, this place will be out of business pretty quickly. Richmond people don’t give second chances when it comes to yum cha. The prices are pretty high… I don’t get it.
The worst part is how tacky the restaurant is. What a disgrace.