By Sherman Chan,
Special to The Post

We began with the Japanese-Style Chicken Feet and the Chef's Specialty Shredded Chicken. Completely gelatinized with generally crunchy tendons underneath, the chicken feet were flavourful. Everything was texturally on point.

In the kitchen specialties, we had the Rice Flour Rolls & Beef Offal Hot Pot as well as the Rice Flour Rolls with Steamed Spareribs Hot Pot. The rice flour rolls were soft and elastic. The offal hot pot was rich and gamey. The offal pieces were tender and chewy. The sparerib hot had a lot of black bean sauce.

The Chicken and Cured Sausage Rice came with a lot of meat. With sweetened soy, this was a solid version of the dish. The other rice hot pot was the Pork Jowl and Salted Fish which was also rather mild. However, the little flakes of the salted fish added enough flavour.

Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) were large with a buttery and sweet shrimp filing. There was a natural shrimp flavour, but the skin was slightly doughy. The siu mai was better than the haw gow. The pork fat was mixed well. Moreover, the amount of shiitake was impactful adding that strong Earthy taste.

The Steamed Beef Tripe and Tendon’s plate was overflowing with tripe which made me happy. These were tender with a bite while being penetrated fully by the sweet garlicky sauce.

For dessert, I wasn't so fond of the Deep Fried Yam Balls topped with syrup. They were crispy and sweet, but they were also very glutinous and dense.

There weren't many things to complain about here since Western Lake has the perfect combination of good eats, large portions and reasonable prices. There is a reason why one cannot get a table without advance reservations.

Western Lake Chinese Seafood Restaurant

4989 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, BC

The Good:

• Large portions

• Consistent eats

• Reasonable prices

The Bad:

• Trying to get a table is tough

• Tight seating

• Hurried service

Sherman Chan is the #1 ranked food blogger on the Vancouver portal of Urbanspoon.com. Read more of his reviews at www.shermansfoodadventures.com.