Heritage Asian Eatery is a new Chinese BBQ restaurant providing traditional Chinese comfort food with high quality and price. Unlike Chinese BBQ places where the dirtier space gets the better their food tastes. Heritage Asian Eatery doesn’t give customers that oily atmosphere. The restaurant dining area feels clean and modern. We have visited Heritage Asian eatery’s second location located on Broadway near Yukon Street in Vancouver.
Strength: Good food quality
Weakness: More expensive than traditional BBQ places
Other Cantonese Restaurants
- 41 noodle & rice pot house (3.5 Stars)
- Good Food Lekoufu (4 Stars)
Storefront of Heritage
Heritage Asian Eatery is located right next door to Sushi California. They share the same alcove for their front door. In contrast to the Korean sushi place next door, Heritage has a clean and transparent storefront where passerby can see inside. I have been afraid to walk in because it simply looks like an expensive restaurant.
Sandwich board sign
Beside the front door, they have placed a colorful sandwich board sign to capture customer’s attention. The logo uses organic calligraphy strokes to reminds me of a bowl and chopstick.
The interior of Heritage
I walked into Heritage and was immediately confused. There was no clear indication of whether someone is coming to lead me to my seat, or if I should order at the front counter. Eventually, I smartened up and walked up to the left side of the counter where one of the head chefs was standing. He told me to go to the right side to order.
The Right Side of the counter
Right after I talked to the head chef, I turned to the right to see the large menu that was hidden from the entrance. Besides the ordering counter is their BBQ display. I was surprised to see no BBQ pork on display. It seems like the only 3 types of BBQ meat are duck, chicken, and honey glazed pork. The difference between normal pork and premium pork is fat content in the meat.
Utensil and condiment station at the table
I grabbed an empty seat and waited for my order to be delivered to my table. There is a simple station to hold all the essentials to dining here.
Choose 3 BBQ for $18
My order arrived, and they look very beautiful. This is like the ultimate Cantonese BBQ experience ever. The amount of meat in my dish was insane. Normally when I order the 3 BBQ option, I get a reduction in the amount of meat in total. I almost could not finish my dish. There are also two sauce on the side. I have the salty green onion oil sauce for the chicken on the left, and the store-made plum sauce on the right.
High-quality meat in every aspect
I really enjoyed the meat quality here. The pork has evenly distributed fat and lean meat. It’s what the Cantonese called “Half Fat Lean” pork. When I enjoyed the dense lean meat, I am also biting into the fatty portion of the meat to make the meat tastier. The chicken meat was tender and juicy. There were some broken bones but they are generally large enough to not interfere with the eating experience. The duck meat was full of flavour but a bit on the dry side. I really enjoyed eating it with the house-made plum sauce. Compared to 90% of the Cantonese BBQ places who give out a packet of pre-made plum sauce that just taste bland, the ones at Heritage Asian Eatery has sharp acidity and becomes an explosion in my mouth
604 Food Critic Assessment
Funny story, I walked up to a guy looking like the authority figure in the store after my meal to pay my compliment towards the awesome plum sauce. He seemed defensive and asked if there is anything wrong with the meal, and it turned out he is one of the head chefs. Perhaps not many people compliment, the moment I gave my compliment there was an awkward moment of silence and he said: “I’m glad you enjoyed it”. That head chef must be under a lot of stress, and I’m glad I shared my pleasant experience with him.
Yes, I agree paying $20 for a plate of Cantonese is expensive. We also know that serving traditional Cantonese comfort food that should’ve been available to everyone at a premium price is going to be met with a lot of resistance. Does that mean this type of dish does not deserve to be made with high-quality ingredients and strong culinary skills? I think the opposite. Cantonese comfort food is an old tradition that should be celebrated. They deserve to be announced to the world as much as Italian or any other cuisines.
Menu
How to get in touch
- Phone: (604) 559-6058
- Address: 382 W Broadway, Vancouver
- Hours: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm Everyday
