Update 07-Apr-2011: Please note that this review is from Jul-2008. We have a newer review of this same restaurant in Apr-2011. Here is the link to the newer blog post: https://chowtimes.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/the-place-on-granville-vancouver/
The other day, a foodie friend commented about this place called “The Place” where he claims that they have the best spicy beef noodle soup, we simply had to check it out for ourselves.
The Place is located at about 63rd on Granville in the southern part of Vancouver. It is such a nondescript place that most people would not have noticed it let alone giving it a second glance. But I tell you … it’s a gem of a place.
The Place is a no-frill smallish Chinese restaurant. I don’t know how to categorize it … maybe the best way to describe it is it’s Mainland Chinese restaurant. They serve both Shanghai and Sichuan dishes.
Service is excellent and I like the sweet and polite server which sometimes I find so wanting in many such restaurants. She was so helpful in helping us choose the dishes as we could not read Chinese. Although there were English translations on the menu, it does not do justice to the type of dishes they have.
The Place have very unique dishes and does seem very authentic. The server recommended the Family Hot Pot (Chien Gar Fook in Cantonese). It was great. It is a clear and flavourful broth with lots of stuff in it … fishballs, vermicelli, sliced pork, and suey choy. They also have stuffed bean curd skin and egg wrapped minced pork. This is so good and excellent with rice — a real comfort food.
It came in a large pot that is more than enough for the four of us. Although it’s pricey at $13.25, it is worth it. You should try this.
The second dish recommended was the Boiled Spicy Fish. It is a Sichuan style “Sui Gee Yee” — very, very spicy — very, very nice. It is a big serving of fish filet with bean sprouts. Suanne said that it is too salty for her. I can’t say it’s salty for me as I was just dealing with the heat of this really spicy dish.
This dish costs $13.25. You should order this if you like spicy Sichuan food. It has a thick film of oil which may put some people off.
The Braised Pork Hand came served in a wooden bucket. This is a Shanghainese dish, I believe. The sauce at the bottom of the bucket is sweet and one must never waste this … it is very good with plain rice. It’s so good I could just eat rice with the sweet sauce alone as a meal.
Again, this is not exactly very healthy food. The best part of the meat is the thick fat layer of skin. Yummy.
For $47, including taxes and tips, I find this value for money. There were so much food left over we had them to go — we have enough left over for lunch the next day. BTW, they only accepts cash.
I like The Place and will definitely go back again to check out their other dishes. I know they are not very healthy food but they are really delish. I highly recommend this place. You MUST go.
BUSINESS HOUR
11:00AM to 11:00PM
Closed on Monday
(Except Holidays)
chowtimes.wordpress.com 
We had dinner there about two weeks ago. They did a makeover sometime in mid-2010, nothing major, but the room is a bit easier on the eyes. Not sure if the owner and chef are same or different (mind you their very original chef went over to Lin’s several years ago).
We had a v. nice meal consisting of: XLB, Dandan noodles, Szechuan dried greenbeans stirfried with shallots and chilis, stewed beef noodles soup, panfried pork buns, ma-lan-tou, and pumpkin-filled panfried pancakes. The parents were quite pleased with their low prices and good value for the buck (total for 4 adults + 1 child just under $50).
Oh really, Lotus? We were also there about two weeks ago. The place is neater and the food is good. Am surprised they are not busier. If and when I get the time, I’ll blog about it. Ben
Maybe that whole thing about their ex-chef having gone to Lin’s was an urban myth, now that I re-read your original write-up where you asked their waitress about it.
What did you eat this recent time ? Same/worse/better than the previous time ?
Hi LotusRapper: We enjoyed this latest meal just as much as we did the last time. We ordered a slightly different version of the Family Hot Pot, something we always liked at The Place. Ben
I forgot, we also ordered the Family Hot Pot in our meal.
Hey hey, I waited for you to call me ……. [grin]
Glad you guys enjoyed it. I’m now sending this thread to friends hoping to invite them to go there and order up a storm !
Ease: Peaceful is also very good, authentic and great value for money. We go there about once a month. Service is very good and attentive.
I actually would not “recommend” Peaceful’s lunch specials as they seem to be catered for the office crowd and stray away from the authentic, hardcore dishes. But go for dinner and you’ll find real Northern and Szechuan dishes.
Ben, thanks for the review. I do note that you tipped around 10%. Percentage wise, it is ok. But in terms of the number of people, it is a little low. Well, just my thoughts.
Have you tried ‘Peaceful Restaurant?’ Look up their website http://www.peacefulrestaurant.com .It’s a Mandarin cuisine with very reasonable prices & great food. Many good reviews on it.
This place is just a stone’s throw away from us but we’ve never tried it. It used to be a beef noodle place, whose beef noodles we tried — and found to be pretty good — just a few months before they closed. Hopefully, we’ll get to The Place before they close. 😉