Chef Tian’s: Spicy Chinese food in Richmond

I am usually a mild kind of girlie but recently I was invited to try some of Chef Tian’s new dishes.

Chef Tian’s is a Chinese restaurant in Richmond that specializes in Hunan cuisine. If you don’t know what Hunan cuisine is, just know that it is a region in China that loves spice 🌶! We came here for lunch on a weekend and here was our experience + all the dishes we got to try.

Disclaimer: We were invited here as part of an Instagram collab, so everything featured in this post was free.

Chef Tian’s
4711 McClelland Rd #1010, Richmond, BC V6X 1C3

The vibe

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon for lunch and it was actually busier than I expected. There were a few folks/tables waiting in the lobby area and almost all of the people I could see dining here were Asian and majority Chinese or Mandarin-speaking. Speaks to the authenticity!

The interior of Chef Tian’s is large. When you first walk in, there is an area where you can look through a window into the kitchen and see the kitchen staff preparing the food.

The dining room has very high ceilings and lots of natural light coming in through the windows. Tables are spacious and very comfortable. They also have private dining rooms available. Also, free parking is available in this complex.

Food review

I have included regular al le carte pricing for transparency. Prices are listed in CAD and rounded to the nearest dollar for simplicity.

Black pork and baby abalone ($26)

I was a little nervous to eat here because I can’t handle that much spice, but the first dish that came was this and it smelled really good! It came with its own little wok and fire underneath to keep it hot 🔥.

This stir fry uses black pork (think Jejudo black pork belly!) with chilis and baby abalone. I usually only eat abalone on special Chinese occasions and I can’t say I love it, but I actually really liked this baby abalone. It was cut up into thin strips, making it easier to eat and less chewy than if you were to eat a whole abalone. It paired well with the black pork and the slightly spicy chili and bell peppers. Overall, this dish was not that spicy and I could eat it fine.

Spicy pork ribs dry pot ($35)

This is one of Chef Tian’s newest dishes – the spicy dry pot. It came in a giant bowl! For the price point, I think this is a pretty generous portion of food.

The pork ribs were soft and easy to eat despite having that chunk of bone. Inside they have a lot of other ingredients that is also marinated and cooked in this mala spicy seasoning – fried tofu, celery, mushroom, Chinese cauliflower and also randomly, french fries (but I love french fries so this was a nice surprise).

This dry pot was definitely spicier than the pork and abalone dish, and the spice also builds up the more you eat. It has that kind of mala numbing spice, which I am not a big fan of, but in here I found it to be ok (just spicy for me! 🥵).

Chinese donut ($8)

My jaw dropped when I saw the size of this Chinese donut 🤯. Chef Tian is actually known for having this gigantic Chinese donut, but it was still a sight when it arrived at our table.

The donut is easy to eat – they provide you with scissors to cut it up yourself. The inside is fluffy and the outside is crispy – a very well made Chinese donut!

I am used to eating Chinese donuts with congee so I wasn’t really sure how to eat this. Apparently, you are supposed to pair it with the spicy meat and eat it kind of like a hot dog. If you have a bad time with spicy food, you can also dip this donut in soy milk.

Final thoughts

Loewe’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We had a spicy lunch at Chef Tian’s in Richmond and definitely had leftovers to take home because the portions were big.

Despite my concerns on handling spice, I was able to eat everything relatively fine. What would have helped for sure is a bowl of rice to pair with the spicy meats (good for lunch the next day too!). Out of the dishes we tried, I liked the Chinese donut the most because it was fun and one of the best Chinese donuts I’ve had. I also really liked the black pork and abalone dish.

As for the dry pot, I don’t love the mala numbing taste in general, but if you do, you will certainly like all of their dry pot series. You can even ask them to go heavy on the spice!

Sincerely, Loewe