Vitality Steam Seafood, enjoying OceanWise Seafood at its finest

Steam seafood has been popular in Asia for a while, because you can enjoy the seafood at its fullest. The fresh seafood is steamed with no additional seasonings. The juice from the fresh seafood will fall through the steamer and into the congee at the bottom. At the end of the meal, the aromatic congee will be ready. About half year ago, a restaurant with similar concept, Vitality Steam Seafood, finally arrives to Vancouver.

The restaurant is spacious, with comfortable couch seating. Simple decoration and warm lighting creates a relaxing ambiance. Each table has a built-in steamer on the table. There are multiple combos to choose from, ranged from $100 to $400. I think the combos are much worth than order individually, as it comes with more varieties of seafood, with drinks, desserts, and appetizers. Therefore, I would recommend to at least come with a group of 4 (maybe a double date?) to enjoy more varieties.

We ordered a seasonal menu, called “Poseidon’s Dinner”. It is $198 and recommended for 4 people. It features varieties of Ocean Wise seafood – snow crab, clams, shrimp, lobster, abalone, and oysters. It also comes with a Japanese Style Seafood Salad and a drink, Atlantic Special.

The server first placed the abalone, rice, and all other ingredients at the bottom of the steamer. This is to prepare the Live Abalone Congee at the end.

The Japanese Style Seafood Salad is simple and refreshing, with imitation crab and surf clams.

We love the Atlantic Special. I am not sure what’s inside the drink, but it has fresh blueberries and tastes like aloe vera.

We started our meal with clams, mussels, and assorted shrimps. The seafood is fresh, and the clams are enormous! There is no seasoning in the seafood, but there is a sauce bar, where you can mix your own dipping sauce. One of the clam was dead, and the waiter kindly gave us two more to replace that one.

Our combo also comes with a Mentaiko Lobster Fried Rice, which I am surprised by the portion. I believe this fried rice actually comes with one whole meaty lobster. The fried rice is on a moist side, but I can’t taste much of the mentaiko.

The Steam Live Oysters with Garlic is a classic, and Ethan enjoys it! I personally prefer raw oysters, but the oyster is huge.

Time for our feature of the night – Steam Wild Snow Crab. One thing I love about steam seafood is that everything is prepared in front of you. The moment of waiting for the seafood to be cooked makes me want it even more. The snow crab is fresh and meaty. I like to dip them in sauces, so it won’t be as bland.

After finishing all the main courses, it is time to savour our Abalone Congee. It is very light and quite bland. You can taste a subtle sweetness from the corn and chenpi (aka sun dried tangerine peel). Salt and pepper are prepared on the side, so customers can personalized flavours. I chose to add a drop or two of my spicy dipping sauce, which makes the congee taste more flavourful.

Overall Impression

This is my first time trying steam seafood, and it is definitely not what I expected. Maybe I am used to seafood dish with lots of seasoning, steam seafood is relatively bland and flavourless. Conversely, it is also an excellent way to fully experience the freshness of the seafood. I would recommend to come in a group of 4 and order their combos. Otherwise, it can get quite pricey. I love how they set a timer when steaming the seafood, so they are not overcooked. Service is exceptional as well. I will return, but maybe only for special occasions.

Taste : 4/5 • Service: 5/5 • Ambiance: 4.5/5 • Quality-Price: 4/5

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Address: 8500 Alexandra Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 3L4

Hours: Mon to Sun: 11:30 AM – 2 PM, 5 PM – 11 PM