The Soup House

Checked this place out for family dinner. I think it’s fairly new, their specialty is the claypot rice bowls. I ended up doing a lunch special the deals are quite good you can add a cold drink or bubble tea for a surcharge. Food wasn’t too salty, my noodles with chicken substitute for beef were good. I’m surprised they were so pleasant about accommodatinf my meat substitution.
It’s cash only, that’s the only part of my experience i wasn’t fond of but this is kind of the standard for asian restaurants in the city. The place isn’t fancy, but clean and well lit. There are booths and tables for 2 or 4. The only larger tables they had were by the window and they probably seat 6. Wouldn’t recommend this place for large events or groups but definitely a go-​to for quick lunch or dinner.

Set lunches are ranging from $ 8.95−9.5. They have a variety of selections and each lunch include a bowl of soup and a drink. Their BBQ items are very good. Roast pork on rice is extremely crispy. The bowl of soup is big for its price.
Service is s bit slow though. Non-​BBQ/​roast items usually take a bit longer to be served. It’s a not bad choice for lunch. Will try their famous claypot rice next time.
Specialty: claypot rice, roast pork on rice

Last time I came here, one year ago, I had their clay pot rice. I wasn’t wowed by it at all. The rice to stuff ratio was off — too much rice, not enough stuff. It was mostly plain white rice about ½ way. Plus the rice on the bottom wasn’t even crispy.
I came here again tonight because I was wanting some Guilin vermicelli and the resto came up in my google search. The first time I had this dish was at a 24 hour noodle stall across the street from my hotel in Xi An. The noodles are not thin like vermicelli found here, more the thickness of spaghetti than angel hair. The broth had so much flavour, I’m sure it was cooking all night & day. I loved all the pickled veggies, fresh chillies & tender meats that topped the noodles. I ate it everyday, sometimes twice :)
Enough reminiscing. Today’s noodles was very disappointing. It lacked flavour and was stingy on ingredients. It’s more of a watered Hong Kong café version… not authentic at all. So, I’m still searching for a good bowl of Guilin vermicelli in Metro Vancouver.

This place is known for their claypot rice and rice noodles. I came for a visit with my mom and we ordered one of each. The rice takes 20 additional minutes since they make it right in the clay pot when you order and the best parts are the crispy/​burnt edges that you get to pry off afterwards. For our pot, we went with a classic chicken and fungus that came topped with some cooked greens. There was actually quite a bit of topping and the aroma of chinese chicken (yes thats a thing!) was evident and tasty. I love the fungus and it was also done very well! We also got the rice noodle where you pick two meats and we chose roast duck (not too fatty or too bony) and beef tendon (the pieces were strangely cut…). This came with half a boiled egg but the small touches of fried beans gave it a real authentic flavour. The soup was not too salty and the noodles were not mushy either Overall, this place is great for a cheap eat with large portions that is both authentic and delicious!

Great home-​style comfort food.
Parking is available along Victoria, as well as the side streets.
The interior is relatively worn down — it looks like the new owners (this place used to be a Vietnamese phở place) didn’t renovate too much.
Staff were friendly.
The place sells bubble teas as well, though I personally didn’t have one. There’s a large drink menu taped to the window as well.
This place is famous for their claypot rice dishes. Sure enough, the dishes are similar to what one would find at a dim sum place. Nice ingredients, and easy on the flavourings. Someone with a Western-​style palate may find the dish a bit bland, but those who are more traditional will find the flavouring spot on. The bowls are served in nice little baskets to help reduce the chance of getting burned. A nice little touch. The salted fish bits are worth a mention, but these are an acquired taste. Special mention for their salted fish and pork neck bowl. This is my go-​to dish. Really can’t go wrong here. This place gives the other awesome claypot place in town (Ah Wai in Richmond) a run for its money.
The dish also came with a bowl of home-​style vegetable soup, and a small dish of pickled vegetables. Some of my (Westernized) friends thought the soup was bland, but it honestly reminded me of my mother’s cooking. I thought it was great.
I also tried their deep fried wings. They’re great, and served piping hot. My friends and I burned ourselves trying to pick them up.
The place could be a bit cheaper by maybe $ 1 – 2, but that’s a very minor complaint. I will definitely be back. Recommended.

This place must have one of the strangest names in Vancouver:
, or translated into
.
That said, they don’t serve just soup. They have a full menu similar to a noodle house, and then some. I noticed that the prices have gone up significantly when I read some of the reviews from 2012. Prices for 煲仔飯, aka claypot rice, is now anywhere from $ 9-​$ 12 depending on what you choose.
This was another one of those elderly Chinese parent excursions, and I knew they would approve. They did. Canto food for the Cantophilic food grandad. They wouldn’t mind coming back again.
I don’t eat much of this type of food much more, but it was pretty decent. I used to eat this as a kid all the time with fatty cuts of meat, in a traditional claypot.
I had a curried beef finger meat 牛坑腩 claypot. The meat was braised tender and was perfect to the bite. If I had one criticism, it would be not enough curry sauce, but that’s just me.
All other claypots for the family were enjoyed (spare ribs in black bean sauce, Chinese sausage and Chinese bacon, and chicken and mushroom claypots)
If you have that 飯焦 crispy rice base craving from a claypot, this is for you.
Cash only. Parking on side streets.

Eugh, I hate it when my fav places go downhill. Claypot rice is perfect for a cold wintery day. They’ve bumped up their prices a bit, and their claypot meals now comes with soup, but no dish of greens, they’ve knocked that off. Everything was disappointing to me that night.
We ordered the rice + BBQ pork and roast pork belly. BBQ pork and roast pork belly were dry as hell, and the BBQ pork was bland. I’ve had better pork from T&T.
We also got their salt & pepper deep fried tofu — this was essentially deep fried tofu with a bit of salt. No pepper, no other aromatics. FAIL.

This place was a rip-​off.
I ordered a clay pot with lamb and rice. It was $ 12.
Basically, I paid $ 12 and ate rice.
A bowl of rice only cost $ 2 in Vancouver.

I ordered the 3 kinds combination with soup, the soup was good, with spare ribs, bbq pork, and chicken. The chasiu were cut super thin and small nickel size. Spare ribs were a bit bigger than a quarter cut were decent but not consistent, chicken were rather dry and boney. Definitely not coming back. It’s just hard to find a place with decent 叉燒飯 (bbq pork on rice).

This place has been on my list FOREVER. Ever since it was where Aji Kura now is on Victoria, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it’s claypots, though I decided to try their noodle soups today. The portions are HUGE! Although the soup itself was a bit on the saltier side, I did immensely enjoy their BBQ meats! The BBQ pork was very lean and lightly sweetened while the roast pork was incredibly crunchy and well seasoned. I’m thankful that they have those BBQ meats on rice dishes here too (~7.50 I think). Definitely going to come back to try those out!

It was very authentic, but not sure if my taste-​buds were adventurous enough for this place. Cash-​only.

The food here was really good. not too pricey … BUT the service was the killer. There were 7 of us … I had to go up to order our clay pots because I knew it would take 20 minutes for it. Then I had to go up and order our noodles and soup. I requested that the noodles and soup come first but nope, they all came at once. Then we had to ask for two more cups of tea … there was 7 of us.
One person ordered a coke and asked for a cup. Nope, had to go up and get it.
Not once did the lady come and ask how our food was. She was too busy watching the Chinese soap opera on the TV. And that, by the way, was blaring so that she could hear what they were saying!!!
When we were finished and ready to go, we had to go up and ask for the take out containers. Now you would think that was a clue that we were ready to leave. Nope, we still had to ask for the bill.
Loved the concept and the flavour of the clay pot cooking. Did not like the service. Don’t know if I will go back.

The current name on the store front is
(Tom pronounced as soup in Cantonese). I don’t know if they have changed owners or same group with different names… Anyway, it’s real hot pot rice a la carte type with many choices in a fusion style. But don’t expect any high end service with Michelin starred restaurants. Very family style, no deco, no fancy cutlery…
For sure I will go back for more!

I had been waiting to try One Spot Soup House for ages, but went when I was too hungry.
I had read about their claypot rice, but knowing it takes over 20 minutes to prepare, I decided to go with Ramen in regular broth with chicken and fish bean curd pieces. What was lame is the fact that it still took 28 minutes to get the food out. I should have just ordered the claypot rice!
At least the noodles were good and the portions were huge. I’ll be back again to try the claypot rice next time. Grrr…

So, after reading the name of this place on my Unilocal app, we went looking for this little joint on Victoria. We walked up and down the street looking for this restaurant thinking it was easy to see, but it wasn’t. I looked again for the address and realized it was across the street. «Oh there it is… wait, did it close down? It’s some kind of computer repair… wait, it is it!»
I should have taken a pictures of it on my way in, but I still wasn’t sure if it was the same spot. So the signage outside is actually a Chinese character (Soup = «tong») plus «.com» I don’t know if they changed their name recently and most search for this restaurant comes up the same, but what makes sense would have to rename this place to «
.» I’m getting the feeling it was never called that because the Google search for «Soup​.com» would bring you to Knorr’s website.
The menu may be a little difficult to decipher at first, however there are some broken English translations that will hope… some what lol. So if you haven’t figured it out by now, this place is a claypot rice joint! It will take about 20 mins, as stated on the menu, to whip up one of these delicious bowl of claypot rice and it is well worth the wait!
I order the Pork jowl with shrimp paste claypot rice which did take about 20 minutes, but they do give you a bowl of lotus root soup and pickled daikon & carrots as you waited. Good soup but I was actually confused whether to put the pickles in the soup or was it meant to be eaten as a side dish… to the soup… which has never happened to me. I was not adventurous and did not try it with the soup and had it separately. Also, I has some stomach issues and didn’t want to chance it just in case I need to… well, get acquainted with the toilet seat. Oh, I also got a thing with using washrooms in restaurants… I just don’t use them especially Chinese places, bad experiences!
When our meals came it was of course in claypots sizzling and sitting inside wicker baskets so you don’t end up burning yourself and the table. YES, THE BOWL IS HOT! Now here’s the magic about these that people seem to not thing about, the best part is to crispy & crunch rice that browns on the bottom of the bowl. Be patience and don’t go stirring the shit out of your rice thinking it’s all sticking to the pot. I poured a little soy sauce and started to dig in, leaving the bottom undisturbed for the time being, and boy is this good! Tender pieces of pork that oozes of delicious shrimp paste flavour. I love shrimp paste! Tender pieces of veggies and crunch rice mmmmmmm yummy! Oh yeah, now would be the time to stir the crap outta this sucka! Scrape, scrape, scrape, leaving no rice behind on that claypot!
I really enjoyed my dish and after reading a few of the reviews, the chicken seems like the better bet for this joint. I’ll be back for it!

The first warning for all of you eating souls: «If your starving! Don’t come here!» Why you ask would I say such a thing given my 4-​star, cause you will be waiting if your ordering any of their rice pots. Time will practically stand still for you while you stare at your paper cup that is filled with tea (or the tea would have been gone, and you would have thought of eating the cup as a filler before the pot was carried to you!).
Another food expedition with my partner, and my mom, brought us to this place, which we have crossed by many times, but have not had the chance to sit and try, and to see, what the fuss is all about. You won’t even see an english name on the door, just look for the chinese character (if you know how to read, it’s soup, but in Chinese) and a «.COM» (yes DOT COM), there is no tech in here as well, the highest tech thing is that big screen tv hanging in the back wall playing Chinese soaps (well the time we were there, that’s what was playing).
We came just after 8 PM, didn’t notice this place only opens till 9 PM, and don’t expect to just pop in at 8:55, cause one of the workers is already flipping the sign saying CLOSED (tough luck sucker!). The place was pretty filled the time we got there, and we had to sit at their only big table (there is only one, and it’s at the window, and you could seat about 6 — 8 of your peeps…) the waitress said that there might be a chance we would have to share the table, as we were only 3 people, but all the 4 seater tables were taken. The menu actually had a few pages, and wasn’t as basic as the placed looked, and after we made our order (2 pots — 3 people, this evil dish will sneak up on your stomach!) my mom made a comment saying, «wow, not even a picture hanging on the wall, yeah, not even a cheap poster hanging on the wall. There is only one thing hung on the wall, the tv, and this is probably to distract your starving mind, while the food takes it’s sweet ass time cooking in their very own individual pots! The other thing that would be considered hanging, is the sign on the door stating opened or closed, and with the times showing. The other thing that we noticed, was above the entrance doorway, tapped up cardboard, where an air conditioner would be placed, the cheapskates, and rightfully so, this is a bare basics restaurant, there is no flash, nothing on the walls, and no color either, just white!
When there is not much to do, and all you can think of is the food that your ordered, 20 minutes can feel like an eternity. When we were sitting, waiting patiently, I noticed one major thing, every table was waiting for food, and everyone was silent, like a tomb. The tv wasn’t on that loud. and we were sitting in the front of the restaurant, and the tv was in the back, and you could still hear it. It was like being in at the passport office, and waiting for your number to pop up on the digital screen. Everytime food came out of the back, and because most of everyone just ordered the rice pots you didn’t know if it was yours or not cause the covers do not get removed till they arrive at the table. Your eyes would watch the food, while floating to the correct table, and you felt like some vulture on a perch, ready to peck at it’s food! The worst trick (in my mind) is when the server brought our extra eating bowls, and your like. the foods coming. they gave us the utensils… wrong!
Pork and salty fish with ginger on top, as one pot, and chicken, Chinese sausage and mushroom, the other. Both were quite different, with the second pot being more moist than the first. The table has two bottles of sweet soy sauce (maybe cause they didn’t want to refill the bottles, cause you’ll be using it on your rice!) I can say the rice is good, all the individual grains in your mouth, with the flavor of whatever your mixture of veggies and meats are. You have to watch how much you eat, cause you may eat the whole pot, and that may not be due to hunger, but how mesmorizing this is, and how long you have waited for this thing to hit your table!
The place is fairly cheap, dishes from $ 6.50 and up, the menu is in broken English at best, but way more descriptive if you know how to read Chinese. They give you some soup to start, a styrofoam cup with some tea, and a small dish of pickled veggies to start (and what a long start it is!). I’d come back again, but I now know, don’t come starving, your just tourturing yourself. Also don’t come with impatient people, sent them to McDonald’s down the street! They have other items, like noodles, which we saw some tables order, they were a fair size. I also noticed takeout orders, I hope those people aren’t ordering the rice, cause it should be enjoyed in it’s entirety, which means eating out of the POT!

I find this review extremely hard to write because even though I enjoy claypot rice, due to my lack of cultural understanding of Hong Kong, I have little appreciation for the art of claypot rice. I hope my trip to Hong Kong this summer can help me change the way I see/​understand this dish; hence, truly and gratefully indulge every grain of rice.
Meanwhile, I am going to work with what I know so here is my experience at The One Spot Soup House.
I came here with my partner and his mother after Trilussa on Main St. When I walked in I saw the restaurant 85% occupied. Every patron in there was Asian. Tables and chairs were as cheap as they can possibly be. Walls were bare. No pictures, photos, décor — nothing. I went to the washroom and it was small and very run down. The faucet was half hanging and with extra force I am sure I can yank it off the sink. I got back to the table and saw my water was served in Styrofoam cups. This place is even more grungy than a hole in the wall.
We read the menu quickly and settled on two rice pots: salty fish with pork pancake and Chinese mushroom with chicken and Asian sausage. On the menu it clearly prints please be patient as the claypot rice takes 20 minutes to make. Well, we ordered at 8:15pm and it wasn’t until 8:45pm did we finally see our order. 5 minutes prior to our orders arriving, we were given complementary chopped Daikon as appetizer and watercress soup (which tasted very diluted).
The claypot rice were both good. On top of each rice pot there were 4 – 5 stems of yuu choi (Asian vegetable).The rice was flavorful and the crusted rice at the bottom of the pot was aromatic and this is considered an affordable delicacy for many Hong Kongers. My partner, being one, is mesmerized by that stuff. I am okay with it because I am too lazy to chew hardened crusty rice. The dried fish, pork pancakes, chicken were all good and flavorful.
The total bill came to around $ 15 and we got to pack our leftovers. If you are reading my review, I here now direct you to Johnson C’s epic review of this place. You’ll have a good laugh. Here it is

«You can catch me at the One Spot, I fox, I plots
At the back y’all, all night, I (clay)pots»
Alright — Marc D. and Janice sold me as soon as they mentioned «claypot rice». I’ve had a hankering for ‘bo jai faan’ (BJF) for a while — so it was an instant bookmark.
So… claypot rice… it’s relatively hard to find (even in Vancouver) and it’s very time-​consuming. But it’s a thing of simple beauty — rice with toppings cooked in a claypot over charcoal — which gives the cloud of rice a unique flavour and the charred ‘rice crust’ (a.k.a. ‘faan jeew’) is one of most glorious things in existence. It’s comfort food. ‘Bo jai faan’… (grunt) If you don’t know, now you know…
So — there are no English signs on the storefront. The HLP and I are both illiterate Chinese men — so look for the sign with Chinese character with a «.com» attached to it. It’s a small operation and a bit of a hole-​in-​the-​wall (most of the utensils are disposable) and I’m not sure why it’s called ‘One Spot’… maybe the owner is a basketball fan? The menu does have some (poorly) translated descriptions. I was pretty surprised to see all the hardcore Chinese soups on offer (i.e. turtle, rabbit, etc.). and there were about 15 claypot options for about $ 6 — $ 8.
I’m a baked pork chop on rice fiend and was really tempted by the Pork Chop & Ketchup option. I had a spectacularly profitable week and was actually tempted order both for myself. But I went with a more traditional choice — pork jowl & salted fish and I added Chinese sausage (extra $ 1 — ya, I’m a baller). As far as I’m concerned, if you don’t order salted fish on your BJF, you’re not eating it right. And the HLP got one of the chicken BJFs.
The menu says there’s a 20 minute wait. So we’re sipping tea, drinking our complimentary soup and shooting the shit in our cozy table-​for-​two in the back. I’ve been busy and this was a few days after Valentine’s Day so my HLP (heterosexual life partner) wanted me promise him I would bring him here next February 14^th. The BJFs are finally brought to us as I’m jokingly telling him as I pretend to reach for his hand, «Work’s been crazy, you know? I’m working hard for you and me. I’m sorry we missed Valentine’s. I promise to spend more time together…»
… and then Janice ninjas us — she was also in the house. I fight the urge to blurt out, «WE’RE NOT GAY… not that there’s anything wrong with that!» It’s always great to run into Janice — but not while I’m acting ‘fake-​gay’ to the Jay to my Silent Bob. The Ghostface to my Raekwon. The Costanza to my Seinfeld. The Stockton to my Malone. The Banky to my Holden… wait… scratch the last one.
We ordered some soup dumplings as appetizers and they were kinda ‘Meh’. Janice: You were right. The chicken is far better than the pork here — way tender. And no — I took a bit off my HLP’s bowl — he didn’t spoonfeed me while holding my chin. And the extra dollar for adding the Chinese sausage (ahem… no homo) was totally worth it — they mounded it up and the stuff isn’t exactly cheap either. I didn’t find a lot of salted fish in my BJF, but it added a nice flavour to the rice. And yes, the rice crust was great — slight crunch and was browned the entire way. There’s also a side cup of pickled daikon and carrots they give you with each BJF.
The only knock on this place is that I wished they would let you keep the claypot lid for a while. They come served in a wicker holder and they immediately take the lid away. Sorry — I’m one of ‘those guys’ that likes to add a bit of soya sauce and seasoning before relidding the pot and letting it steam a bit.
The best part about this place — they give you the tea in styrofoam cups (again, it’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall). I’m all for being green — but getting a last refill of tea and walking out the door with tea in your hand as you light up… that shit is BOSS.
Anyways — would definitely be back to try the duck offerings and the strangely alluring «Pork Chop & Ketchup» option. Since I was sitting in the back, I noticed some people called in with their orders to save on the 20 minute wait time. But if you’re a romantic like me and taking your heterosexual life partner or dates for an intimate dinner of claypot rice and disposable cups — use the 20 minutes as ‘baby time’ — just make sure no one you know is watching.

Thanks, Marc D for a great find! This place is solid! So many varieties and combinations of bo jai fan!
Not many seats for more than 2 people in this restaurant, look for the sign that has the Chinese symbol .com for the restaurant. It takes 20 minutes for the claypots, so peruse the menu and place your order and hopefully your table will be ready right when the food arrives!
$ 7.50 for the Tender Chicken with Chinese Sausage & Black Fungus (it’s just a mushroom, relax). The chicken was really flavourful and tender. Would definitely order this again. I like laying on the sweet soy sauce over the rice, as there is a LOT of rice that comes in this bowl and it can get a little bland.
The pork spare ribs with black bean sauce was good too, but not as good as the chicken claypot.
The dried duck (salty duck) came with lots of Chinese sausage layered around the bowl.
The menu must have been revamped because there’s English on all the items now along with a few pictures (with Chinese characters that you can match up to on the menu).
They’ve also got some scary hardcore Chinese soups on the menu — soft shell turtle soup, longan rabbit soup. I’ll just be flipping over to the clay pot pages!

* Claypot rice specialist *
Ok, this restaurant did not have an English name anywhere on its signage or menus that I could find. Looking into business registration records they have translated it as «The One Spot Soup House.» Although you won’t find that name if you are looking for it!
The menu is also primarily in Chinese with a little bit of English on a few pages.
I ordered the «Tender chicken with red dates and dried wolfberries» version of the claypot rice. They had about 15 different options with a wide range of toppings including eel, dried duck, pork jowl, salted fish, chinese sausage, oysters, dried mushrooms, wood fungus, etc.
The friendly server brought a complimentary soup to help tide things over during the 20 minute preparation time (which they thoughtfully warn you about on the menu). The soup was clear with intense rich flavours. Delicious! Photo:
There was also a small side of lightly pickled daikon and carrots which were refreshing. Photo:
The claypot was brought on a wicker pot holder, and was uncovered at the table to keep the heat until the very last minute. What a beautiful bounty inside. The chicken was amazingly tender and well seasoned. The wolfberries and dates added a pleasant sweetness. There was also some Chinese sausage thinly sliced which rounded out the flavours beautifully. Some yu choy was perfectly steamed on top, and there were random slices of ginger throughout the rice. Since the claypot was nice and hot the rice developed into a crispy crust all around the edges. This was truly a wonderfully comforting dish overall. Photo:
and of the crust:
I’ll definitely be back to sample some of their other claypots!