Want Want Hot & Spicy House

If you want some real Chinese spicy food, don’t try this one. No spicyness, food are way below average. The one in Yaohan food court Richmond is 10 times better.

Want Want Hot & Spicy House specializes in hot spot, but they’re quite well known for their lamb skewers and burgers as well1 I was pleasantly surprised by the Lamb burger! There was a substantial amount of lamb. The lamb had a very deep, robust smokey flavour and was seasoned very well. The bun was actually a chinese style bun, as opposed to a conventional burger bun. Overall, a very tasty burger, and definitely exceeded by expectations! However, I was left feeling hungry, so this wouldn’t suffice as meal.

The «hotpot» is amazingly good.
Lamb dishes are pretty good, too, but I agree with some other reviewers, they are a bit too pricy for what you get.

Located in Crystal Mall food court.
Got the lamb in a bun at $ 4.00 a piece! I thought it was expensive but wanted to try the item.
It’s basically spiced Lamd (a generous portion of meat) in a bun. the bun is spiced on either side and toasted on the griddle or pan. No sauce, no veg, no dip.
The meat is cooked and spiced well but overall it’s dry, so buy a drink.
It’s basically on of those meat skewers you get at the Night Market without the skewer, in a bun. That’s.
The best thing about this item. A good amount of meat in the bun.
** Cash only. ATM in the food court if required.
Would I go back? Yes if I had a hankering for the spiced meat skewered or in a bun… but the prices would make me think twice and look for alternatives first!

I definitely ‘Want Want’ed’ some cumin spice on this day, and the only place I could think of was here, some lamb patties in a bun was definitely a craving that needed to be fulfilled. A warning to all, the prices have gone up, compared to a year ago where 2 were for $ 6.50 I think they were closer to $ 8 (I didn’t know inflation went up that high over that time frame!) well times change but the place stays the same. This food court stall is recognizable as they don’t just serve skewered meats, but also a self serve fridge up front where (think Mongolie Grill) you pick your items and based on weight, they cook it all up and serve it to you on a plate, haven’t tried this, don’t know if I will, the real star and reason I come here, as with many other eater’s, reviewers, etc… is for the cumin lamb burger.
However you want to call this thing, Asian burger, meat slapped together between toasty buns, Asian handheld foods, meat + bread, this thing is damn good. Be prepared to wait as they whip this thing up in the back, a good 10 –15 minutes later they call out to the food court and hopefully you hear this (if you ordered) to pick up your spicy hot steamy meal. As much as this is finger food, this is also minor messy as the bun is covered with a little oil and cumin spices on top, and most likely your fingers will be touching this, and if you are using the napkins provided by them, the grease will go through it and touch your flesh! The meat is seasoned and spiced just right (some may find this hot), nice, tender, fresh, with a bit of chew (this is dependant on the portion of the meat used). If your not a bread fan, you can just order the skewers of meat on their own, but back to the ‘package’, the bun is dense and hot to order as well. There is a hint of sweetness, but that probably brings out the savouryness of the meats and spices. Combine the meat with the bread and it’s a great combination which balances the meat flavour out.
There’s another skewer, meat place in the renowned Crystal Mall food court, but for cumin lamb, don’t even bother wasting your time and money, come here get your meat, and you will be a happy camper. The burger may look tiny when you finally have it in your hands, but the thing actually is a good size, wait till after you have finished.

Lamb patty was great. Bun was deliciously doughy and I grabbed some extra lamb skewers too.

yes follow other Unilocalers, ordered the lamb burger — a bit of wait to have it cooked, but certainly worth its taste.

We made another quick overnight getaway trip up to Vancouver this weekend, and decided to escape the cold drizzle by visiting the food court at Crystal Mall — a place we’d always wanted to try. WOW this place is amazing! I think you could eat here for a year and never eat the same thing twice. We will definitely be back.
While circling the various vendors and their amazing offerings, I was specifically looking for a place which would satisfy my hot pot craving. I was quickly drawn in by Want Want’s huge display of fresh veggies, meat, and ??? some stuff that I had no idea what it was! (But hey, that’s what makes eating in these types of places fun, right?) Despite the lack of labels, I chose several itmes that looked appetizing, all of which weighed in at just over $ 5. My selection — along with a generous portion of free egg noodles — was quickly whisked into the back kitchen, where it reappeared several minutes later in a bowl of hot, spicy broth I can only describe as divine.
Now that I’ve returned to reality (boxed mac ‘n cheese for dinner), I decided to look up Want Want on Unilocal and I see I missed their true specialty: the lamb sandwich. I guess we’ll be heading back up to Vancouver soon!

Lamb Patties (2 for $ 6.50) were alright, nothing mind blowing here (sorry on ruining the slew of good reviews, sad face). It’s essentially Chinese cumin lamb skewer pieces in a grilled bun with some more cumin + chilli seasoning. The bun was sorta sweet. The lamb pieces were alright, again, not the best I’ve had and it was missing some heat. Check out Nine Dishes (
) for cheaper lamb skewers that are even more succulent and juicy.
For the price and the fact that it’s a food court stall, I was expecting massive flavour and/​or portions. Didn’t deliver on both counts. For these prices, I could’ve had 6+ lamb skewers at Nine Dishes! (It’s all comparative people…)

Hot, tasty and quick (made to order in five minutes), the lamb patty is a «lamb party» of tasty goodness.
A welcome treat in a food court!

If you are looking for cheap and tasty Chinese food (snacks or meals), Crystal Mall is the pace to go. Just remember, the abundant choices can be overwhelming because you would want to try everything.
My partner and I were hungry for some Chinese snacks on a damp Sunday afternoon. Not knowing what we wanted to eat at the time, we headed for Crystal Mall.
Our first stop was Want Want. The name is so outright tacky that I would never consider trying unless Unilocalers have nothing but good things to say. And they do — lamb sandwiches.
My curiosity gave in so I ordered a lamb sandwich and a set of lamb skewers (two sticks of lamb).
The lamb pieces, half lean and half fat, were generously covered in cumin. Every bite of the lamb was juicy, flavorful, and slightly charred. The cut of meat was the same for the skewers and the sandwich. What made the sandwich so highly raved was not only the meat, but the bun. The bun reminds me of silver threaded bun (yin si juan). The sandwich bun was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I was sold.

Brings back memories of a lamb high I experienced in Shanghai at a place called «Gone Wild». Contrary to the name, the servers weren’t crazy college girls. They had the best BBQ lamb skewers ever. I ate a ton.
Want Want’s lamb sandwich is masterfully done. Gone Wild would be proud. Made fresh to order, these are perfectly spiced with chili and cumin. The juicy, tender cubes of lamb are addicting. They are the royal ‘Timbits’ of lamb cuisine. Going lamb crazy, I also had a couple skewers of lamb. Equally delicious.
The lady working there was very pleasant. Hard to find at a food court.
Want Want lives up to its name. Lamb supremacy.

Thanks Unilocalers for the lamb patty recommendation!
Picked up a couple for the man friend for dinner last night and I ended up eating one of them. Woops!
Tender meat, soft and flavourful bread, and all together delicious. Poor little lamb.
They let me use my own container, which I appreciated. You can tell these are not pre-​made, since it took about 10 – 15 min to get my order, which I had no problem waiting for.
Very cool find.

Marc D.‘s review of Want Want inspired me to check out the lamb patties, and I’m now a big fan of what he says are «little bites of joy»!!!
The Lamb Patties are tender. They’re flavourful and perfectly spiced… and they are really reasonably priced!
Now that I know about them, I’ll definitely make a stop to pick up more whenever I’m in the neighbourhood! Thanks Marc!!!

* Photogenic (???) lamb *
I returned today to grab a «lamb patty» which is a delicious little fresh made sandwich of Chinese bread dusted in chili and cumin and stuffed with fresh grilled chili cumin lamb. These little bites of joy are a favourite of mine, and I finally took a picture of them:
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I think it tastes much better than the photo makes it look. It is one of my favourite snacks in the Crystal Mall food court by far!

Marc D. personally (as personally as you can get without meeting or talking to a person) recommended to me to try the lamb «burgers» (patties) here because I was taking my parents to Crystal Mall for the first time and they love spicy foods. My god, these were the best things ever! It will now be a new addition to my Crystal Mall food routine!
They’re made hot & fresh off the kitchen; they’re cumin-​y and spicy! The bread was nice and soft too. Like it was homemade. I need some Lamb patties now!

This place caught my eye. First it was in a sea of fast food vendors in Crystal mall, They all seemed to blend in as one to me. There was the bubble tea place and some… other Asian Chinese places… but this one caught my attention. People were gathering their own «fresh» ingredients from a display onto their tray. Weighing them out and choosing a soup of their choice. You get Hot and Spicy, vegetable etc soup options. It all goes in a hot pot for you to eat.
$ 1.95/100grams for the main ingredients plus the cost of the soup.
Not too bad. Neat idea.
Result is tasty, creative and of course, its like fast food hot pot.