Dim Sum Express

I had high hopes but was disappointed. The food was hot and ready and there was no line which was good– the prices also seemed reasonable. We got shrimp and pork dumplings, bao, and sticky rice. The shrimp dumplings were edible and I enjoyed the pork dumplings even though they were a ways from good. The bao was pretty boring and the sticky rice was OK. There definitely wasn’t anything about the meal to make me recommend it but nothing horrible either.

I saw this food/​drink truck at the Richmond Night Market and had to try it out for myself. Not the best Dim Sum that I have tried, however, for the market and all other options it is the most reasonably priced for a combo at $ 8. The service was a bit slow. Perhaps some pre-​prep just to get the orders out the door in a timely manner. For what it was it was decent, however, if I want some real dim sum than I would just go to an eatery in Richmond with friends. Dim sum seems to be a dime a dozen in Richmond. Customer service was good.

I was thrilled when I discovered Dim Sum Express as I love dumplings and wontons but I don’t eat pork, and Dim Sum Express had shrimp dumplings and wontons advertised (it’s nearly impossible to find pork free dumplings and wontons). I’ve been there a few times and have clearly expressed my delight at finding pork free dumplings and wontons, and when I have ordered, I have stated that I do not eat pork. And each time, knowing that I do not eat pork, I have been served «pork free» dumplings and wontons. Since I put «pork free» in quotation marks and have given Dim Sum Express one star, I’m sure you’ve guessed the problem: THE SHRIMP DUMPLINGS AND WONTONS HAVE PORK IN THEM!!!
I went there for lunch today and wanted to order a combo. They have four combos; one of them is vegetarian (or so they claim), and the others are a mixture of pork and «shrimp» dumplings. I asked if it were possible to get a non-​vegetarian combo (the vegetarian combo had three spring rolls while the others all had two, and I don’t want to eat three bloody spring rolls) but to substitute the pork items with either shrimp or vegetarian items. The employee serving me told me that the shrimp dumplings and wontons all contain a small amount of pork.
WTF. I have ordered from Dim Sum Express several times, clearly stating my pork free status, and not once did anyone tell me that there was pork in the «shrimp» dumplings and wontons. So either they outright LIED to me, or couldn’t be bothered to learn what was in the food they were serving. Good thing pork is not something that causes anaphylactic shock (as far as I’m aware). They couldn’t get away with having a «little bit» of shrimp in supposedly non-​shrimp items and not telling people.
Flabbergasted at this revelation, I confirmed again with the employee that the «shrimp» dumplings contain pork, and she verified that yes, they DO contain pork. I’m grateful for this employee’s honesty, but disgusted that this was not brought to my attention earlier, when I had clearly stated that I do not eat pork. It is downright deceitful. Also, another employee (possibly the manager/​owner of the food cart) was pretty rude to me when I expressed my horror and disgust at finding out that I had been deceived.
Dim Sum Express, you are added to my BANNED FOREVER list.

Cool, a Dim Sum food cart! Stumbled upon it as we were making our way to Canada Place. It was just after 2 and there was no line. The menu had the common dim sum items including shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, buns, and sticky rice. They also have vegetarian items including chow mein, gai lan, and spring rolls.
I ordered the shrimp dumplings 4 for $ 4.25 and they put them in a take out container and put soy sauce on them. I would have preferred without the sauce but she didn’t ask. The dumplings were average size and taste.
I also tried the sticky rice for $ 5. She asked if I wanted soy and I declined but as I was eating, I was thinking a little soy sauce would have given it a little more flavour. It was a large square that fit the container.
I like the concept, convenience, and it fulfilled my craving for dim sum. But for the price and taste, it wasn’t anything exceptional.

Love this place — My go to for some Super Yum vegetarian Dim Sum!
My order: Veggie Dumpling, Gai Lan, Rice Roll
I think great quality and flavour for a great price — hard to beat!
Thank you Jeff, Vivian & Tommy for great service & great food.

the juicy dumplings are the BEST. the rest of the food is pretty good too and this is exactly what it looks like… dim sum in the form of a food-​truck. everything is around three or four bucks (unless you get a combo) and all the food that i’ve tried so far is pretty good.
the only reason they lost a few stars from me is because once i went around 11:30 or so and they still weren’t open for lunch! i was so disappointed, i had been looking forward to those juicy dumplings since 9 am.
also, they only take cash, which kind of blows, especially since so many other food-​trucks downtown take credit card now!

Yippy! What an awesome little cart! The dim sum here was absolutely surprising. Who would have thought you could get good dim sum from a food truck?
Potstickers — yum
BBQ Pork Bun — yum
Chow Mein — ok (ask for lots of Sirracha)
Sticky Rice Wrapped in Tea Leaf — yummy and huge!
This is a cash only spot though!

What a cool concept! I was just looking for a snack [my eyes darting literally left and right for a food truck], and stumbled upon it on the way to a conference.
Got myself a side of shrimp dumplings — all I needed was a snack, right? But they’ve got loads of other pre-​made options that vibe Chinese fast food.
For a hungry gal, my «ha gow» was tasty but definitely not what you’d consider top-​notch dim sum. The wrapped dough was on the thick side — not as translucent as it should be.
Verdict: If I’m in the area and craving some dim sum, I might try their other dumplings… the only real downside are their to-​go containers.
I wouldn’t mind paying a little extra for compostables since I ate my little snack at the convention center, and lemme tell ya, it was a real challenge to find a free-​for-​all trash bin that would accept this non-​recyclable, non-​compostable ‘atrocity’.

I had high hopes that my love for dim sum items rolling by a on a restaurant cart would be multiplied a hundred times in the form of an entire truck. This is just not what I was expecting. The choice of items are limited, quality is on par with lower end dim sum, and the prices are on the high side. The service is slow because the cashier is also doing final plating and in charge of adding sauces to your meal after it’s been packaged, which seems to hold up the queue. On the day that I went, it was cash-​only. I’m sure if it’s always this way, but be warned because this sign was only visible at the pickup end of the cart.
The sauces are quite obviously watered down. It took about 20 minutes to line-​up, order and receive my combo of har gow, siu mai, chow mein and a smidge of gai lan. Everything was basic. The chow mein was greasy, and not the kind I would ever order in a dim sum restaurant. I’m glad I gave it a try, and with that out of the way, and I’ll move on to something else next time.

Curious to see what dim sum from a food cart would look like, I recently took a trip down to the Waterfront to find this elusive little truck. It looked pretty popular with a decently line and a good menu, so I was pretty excited when it came time to order.
The servers were quick, and I was relieved to see that the dim sum was actually steamed in traditional bamboo steamers (although it may have been simply for a keep-​warm purpose). The fried food was kind of what you’d find at a buffet — done in large batches and then moved to a keep-​warm area.
I ordered the XLB ($ 3.50 for 5 pieces), the pan-​fried dumplings ($ 3.50 for 5 pieces) and the shrimp dumplings ($ 3.50 for 4 pieces). They also had combos, but I didn’t see them being very worth it and I wasn’t about to lay down money for soy sauce chow mien. Other options they had were stir-​fried rice rolls, sesame seed balls with red bean paste, pork siu mai, spring rolls and bbq pork buns. They also had a vegetarian section which included vegetarian dumplings, spring rolls, and buns.
The lines move quick because the food is pre-​made, so we were in and out of there in no time. Be sure to get whatever sauces you need when they’re handing you the food — they include sauces into the take-​out containers so if you forget it may be a bit difficult asking them to come back for some hoisin sauce when they’re helping the next customer.
A downside to the food cart is the use of styrofoam containers. And the fact that they gave us one container for each dim sum order. I felt pretty bad walking away holding three little boxes when it could’ve easily all fit into one large one. Hopefully they’ll make the upgrade soon.
Anyways, the XLB was the winner hands down. Not because they were out of this world amazing but because it had the most flavour out of all three. The shrimp dumplings had a really thick skin, and the pan fried dumplings were a soggy and not crunchy at all.
Overall it’s a decent place and good for its price point. I’d like to come back and try their vegetarian options as well as those sesame seed balls. Next time, next time.