Floata Dim Sum in Chinatown used to be an easy favorite for group lunches. Grab a couple of cars, grab a big table and then order one of everything. Beef balls, siu mai, har gow, crepes and sticky rice. A table of 6 could eat well for $15-$20 each. But then some people started dropping off and some of us started venturing farther afield to other (better, cheaper) dim sum establishments and so it’s been a while since I’ve been to Floata.
I was really hoping it would be like a return to an old favorite, but in the year or so since I’ve been there, it has gone downhill.
We ordered all the usual favorites and they were ok. The beef balls were a little greasy. The siu mai and har gow were ok. The crepes (pork and shrimp) were probably as good as they’ve always been, but in the face of such overwhelming averageness, I was disappointed.
We also ordered a couple of new dishes…at the top is an abalone and egg in sticky rice dish and pictured below was my favorite dish of the day, jellyfish and roast pork.
We ate way more than was good for us and split between 3 people, the bill ended up being almost $30 each, which is an outrageous price for mediocre dim sum. Some of the dishes like the jellyfish and the abalone were more on the expensive side ($6.75) which brought the price up, but even so the traditional “filler” dishes should have satisfied for a decent price.
I’m sure I’ll be back at some point, as Floata is still the best place I know of close to downtown (well, the best place that’s affordable and not Imperial). But I won’t be back in a hurry.
____________________________________________
Floata Dim Sum
400-180 Keefer Street, Vancouver, B.C.
Subscribe to the RSS feed so you don't miss a single bite.
