Author: Elizabeth1

Ah, New Sun Restaurant! In some respects, my re-visit of this establishment could be part of what I’ve referred to earlier as my “nostalgia tour,” but I think that would be stretching it because my (former) partner and I only ordered from here once or...twice – and that was nearly 10 years ago. As such, there really isn’t much to be nostalgic about. Thus, I’m more inclined to say my patronizing of New Sun was more for practical purposes – I was hungry after a long day and kind of had a pining for some cheap Chinese takeaway. With Confucius Says being closed for a number of years, and Hon’s on Robson going the way of the dodo in April 2019, familiar options were looking a little slim. Then the lightbulb went off: “Oh!” thought Ol’ PookyCake, “I vaguely recall New Sun being pretty decent!” Thus, the wheels were set in motion for a delivery order from New Sun for the first time in nearly a decade. The one notable difference between ordering now versus ten years ago? No more physical Yellow Pages. In some respects, I miss consulting the physical book to review restaurants and menus for delivery, but at the same time I realize that makes me sound like a dinosaur because such a method is time consuming compared to, say, reviewing social media or websites. But such is life, I suppose! In any event, I ended up consulting New Sun’s website to make my selections. Doing so was initially a little confusing – not because I struggle with the internet (far from it) – because New Sun actually has two websites. At first I thought the websites referred to different restaurants because their webpage layouts are quite dissimilar; however, they both do, in fact, refer to the same location: 2925 Cambie Street. I’m not sure why they need two websites, but it’s their choice, I guess! For your reference, the sites are: (newsunvancouver.com) and (newsunrestaurant.com). The former webpage utilizes the same generic layout I’ve seen for a number of restaurants in this city, complete with boring stock photos (I’m looking at you, Gigi’s!) while the latter webpage uses an extremely basic, but easy to follow text-based format. After perusing New Sun’s menu, I decided to order the crispy spring rolls, dry garlic chicken wings, spicy prawns (shell off) and special chow mein. The total cost of my order was about $50, which I feel is fair value given the significant amount of food you receive. It also arrived in good time, at about 35 minutes. And while I don’t remember much about the last time I had food from New Sun, I do recall ordering the spicy prawns and, well, I think the criticism I had of them back then still stands today: The dish is ultimately a missed opportunity. Because the prawns are so saturated with garlic and other spices, they end up getting very soggy and greasy. I say this is unfortunate because the few prawns I had that WEREN’T a mushy mess were actually quite flavourful and tasty. If New Sun would just cool it on the spices and garlic, this dish would be so much better. The Dry Garlic Chicken Wings were better – very flavourful and nicely cooked – but New Sun’s overzealousness with garlic made the ones on the bottom of the takeout container rather soggy and unappetizing. Now, to my mind there were a couple of standouts: My crispy spring roll was indeed nice and crispy on the outside while the vegetable filling was hot and bursting with flavour. I was actually disappointed I didn’t order more than one. Similarly, New Sun’s “Special Chow Mein,” which consists of shrimp, chicken and BBQ pork, was a pleasant surprise. It didn’t look very exciting in its white takeout box, but all of the flavours were there and I didn’t have to go searching for any ingredients, so that’s a win! FOOD: 3/5 SERVICE: 3/5 VALUE: 4/5 RECOMMENDATION: New Sun is your typical Westernized Chinese food. In Vancouver, Chinese food of this type is a dime a dozen; however, finding DECENT Westernized Chinese can be a bit of a challenge as I’ve discovered firsthand over the years. And while I wouldn’t proclaim New Sun “the best around” as some have done, I would say they definitely fit the mould of that “decent” establishment. The spring roll was good; the Special Chow Mein was a nice surprise; and the chicken wings were satisfactory. Three out of four ain’t bad! Thus, if you have a craving for Westernized Chinese, New Sun is a good option. Recommended. PS: If you found this review helpful in any way please consider hitting the "helpful" button!More