Kam's Place

1043 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC V6E1M5
Tel: (604) 669-3389
Neighbourhood: West End
2.5
  • Food3
  • Service2.5
  • Value3.5
  • Ambiance2.5
  • Reviews58

Reviews

Displaying 1 - 20 of 58 Reviews Found
Kam is gone, the Place is his in name only
By botsauce of vancouver (1 Review)
Submitted Monday, July 26, 2010 - 5:09pm

I went to one of my all time favourite restaurants last night and found myself in a bit of a Twilight Zone. Where was our favourite bubbly always laughing and cheerful singaporean-cuisine-slinging Kam? Who were these new waitresses? Why were they so glum? Who was that man in the cash area? Something was definitely up.

Then came the food. The pineapple fried rice was dry, the curries less creamy, the chicken more processed and not cut as nicely. On the whole, the food was quite a disappointment from the usual to which I had grown accustomed. I even passed on dessert because I didn't want another disappointment. It's possibly still a good value. I haven't reconciled that one in my mind yet.

Anyway, it's obvious the place has changed hands. Goodwill can only go so far. If you start messing with recipes and your staff can't keep up the positive vibe that the place had previous, then people will stop coming. And that goodwill the new owners paid for will have dried up like the crummy fried rice I had last night.

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Love it!
By carrie Close of Vancouver (Hastings-Sunrise) (1 Review)
Submitted Tuesday, July 6, 2010 - 5:44pm

First of all, Kam the owner is so nice and welcoming. The food is well made they have large portions. You can always find a 2 for 1 coupon in the Georgia Straight. I feel it's the best singaporean restaurant in Vancoouver. I love this restaurant and will go back again and again.

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Too Dark to Know
By Sir Eatalot of Vancouver (1 Review)
Submitted Thursday, July 1, 2010 - 4:09pm

This restaurant is too dark and dingy to know what you are eating. We think we tried pad thai and mixed vegetables. We did order them from a surly old man. They sort of tasted what I used to have in Singapore, but not really. More of a watered-down version. In Singapore people were so friendly. At Kam's the hospitality was peppered with sarcastic quips meant to hurry us out of the restaurant. In all honesty, I think the owner gives Singapore a bad name.

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Alright I guess
By A Fatty of North Burnaby, BC (69 Reviews)
Submitted Monday, April 26, 2010 - 2:34am

The food here is alright, it tastes pretty good. But for it's price, it is not worth it. This place is only worth if you can find a buy one get one free coupon (a long time ago in the Geogia Strait, not sure if they still have it now). And yes, they were voted the best Thai food in some years I believe. However, I wouldn't go back until I find that coupon.

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$1.25 for hot water?
By jpk of Vancouver (downtown) (1 Review)
Submitted Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 10:41am

I'm pretty sure that this is the first time I've ever been charged for hot water. And all leftovers were put in the same container. Thanks Kam. You're lucky they tasted good together :P OH and guy who brought our appetizers? We ordered hot and sour soup, not waiter's thumb soup. thanks again.

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gotta love Kam's!
By alynchcanada of winnipeg, manitoba (1 Review)
Submitted Friday, October 16, 2009 - 8:48am

I am from Winnipeg, and everytime we are in Vancouver, Kam's is a must! All the food is so tasty (although I have to admit I have a few favourites, and when you can only get there a few times a year, I find it hard to deviate...). Kam, the man, is very pleasant, always welcoming at the door and treats you like an old friend. The pad thai is to die for, and cannot find anything similar here in Winnipeg, and I have tried!! We tend to take out alot, just because we have small children, but htere is always plenty of food for lunch the next day! No complaints here...Kam's is a tasty treat!

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Best Oriental I've had in Vancouver
By whoelius of Vancouver (22 Reviews)
Submitted Monday, October 12, 2009 - 11:16pm

My fiancée and I have had takeaway delivered to us from Kam's many times and have always been impressed with the consistent quality of the food; the portion sizes, the spices and the flavours are great.

After a Friday stroll through Vancouver, we stopped at Kam's for the first time and we were seated immediately. For a drink, the lady chose the Kam's Special Cocktail, which was a piña colada with a particularly nutty flavour, and she said it was the best piña colada she'd ever had. My Singapore Sling was pretty good too.

After I'd started with the hot and spicy soup, namely suar lang la tang, which was wonderful and brilliantly spicy, we chose the lemon chicken, the rock salt chili pork and the pineapple fried coconut rice with beef. It was consistently eight-out-of-ten stuff, save for the rice, which was even better. Everything just tasted right and we were very happy, even the next day when we fried up what we couldn't finish.

The place feels authentically oriental and the service for us was fine, even when the manager saw my camera and called me Mr. Nikon for the rest of the night.

We'll certainly be back and I'd recommend Kam's to anybody.

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Delicious
By LauraVan of Vancouver (1 Review)
Submitted Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 2:39pm

I went to Kam's on September 26th for dinner with 2 friends visiting from England. They are only here for 8 days but loved this place so much they are itching to go back. The food was wonderful and the service very friendly.

We ordered the Ginger Beef which was amazing. We are going back tomorrow and ordering that again. We also ordered the Pad Thai and Green Chicken Curry. Everything was amazing, but order the Ginger Beef!!!!!

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Kam's
By ChristopherJames of West End (1 Review)
Submitted Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 8:27pm

I do a lot of travelling and I have been to a lot of resteraunts and I can honestly say that Kam's is in the top 5 of my favorite resteraunts world wide. The food is wonderful and always consisitant, and the staff are friendly and helpful. I'm always made to feel at home and missed when I walk through the doors.

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Friendly, good food
By shao100 of Vancouver (3 Reviews)
Submitted Saturday, June 13, 2009 - 7:24pm

We've been going to Kam's Place for a couple of years regularly, and it never fails to please. Dishes are tasty and very generous in their portions. Lots to take home! The level of spice varies a lot, and the server was helpful in pointing this out to us. The owner even gave us a set of ceramic bowls for our new baby, which was unexpected since we don't know him at all! Recommended.

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Another Davie Institution
By frederation105 of Yaletown (11 Reviews)
Submitted Monday, May 4, 2009 - 3:00pm

A great place for a fill up. Not unlike Stephos, another Davie Street institution that offers moderate quality food at affordable prices and high volume. Service is excellent. This was our first visit here and the server was quite helpful in suggesting good choices with a smile. If you find yourself very hungry with little time this is a good choice. Ambiance was nothing great, but clean and offering a good view of the Davie Street.

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all hype
By jakz0rz of Vancouver (4 Reviews)
Submitted Monday, April 27, 2009 - 3:07am

Read many ads and a couple of recommendations from acquaintances. Decided to give it a try. I called for reservations and was answered by a Very Rude man (Kam?) He asked how many, and when I mentioned two he said "no reservations, just come down" and hung up. I had to call back. I was already pretty cheesed off, but I promised I would take my girlfriend here to try it.

When we got there, we were greeted by the same man on the phone, but in a rather surprisingly friendly manner. The place is too dark. The food is seriously over rated. We ordered the pad thai, green beans, some kind of kams special brocolli and beef dish and something else which I've forgetten already. The pad thai was sub-par along with the beans. Every other thai or malaysian restaurant I've been to is FAR FAR FAR better for these two classic dishes. The brocolli thing with beef was absolutely nasty. It looked and tasted like gravy poured over some slices of beef on a bed of brocolli. I had about 3-4 pieces (only because I hate wasting food). The food doesn't taste authentic malay or thai; it taste like low class chinese food. We finished everything else but left that brocolli dish. Nobody asked how our meal was. Nobody cleared our table.
The owner gives gifts to certain tables, I haven't quite figured that part out, but I don't intend on finding out anyway. First and last visit for SURE.

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In toady's world outstanding value
By Segismundo of Vancouver (6 Reviews)
Submitted Saturday, March 7, 2009 - 11:18pm

We dine at KAM'S at least once a week and this for more than 5 years already. When reading many of the reviews here I can't even believe that people went to the same restaurant. Mr. Kam's is certainly an expert in the hospitality industry. Prices are rising every month and he still puts so much food on your plate that most patrons can't even finish it. His lunch specials are so cheap one who is familiar with food process must certainly raise the question 'how can he do it?"

His employees are the most friendly and kind individuals you can imagine. It is absolutely wrong to call Mr. Kam's unique personalty "pathetic" or to call him other names. That's the way he is, that's what made him famous and that's the Mr. Kam's hundreds of guests like.

Kam's food is not 5 Star, however is tasty. We I have never experienced watered down peanut butter sauce or ketchup sauce like other guys described it here. For some people to consider: Once you picked a table and the first orders are served the number of your table is assigned to your orders. Cancelling this during rush time requires some work. Deleting all orders and entering them again with a new table number / code.

Kam's place delivers in today's world an outstanding value. And just to be clear: No, I don't have any shares in this company. I just think people should be honest, since the service is friendly and the restaurant is clean. Have you ever seen another restaurant with so many beautiful orchids and fresh flowers on almost each table?

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what happen?
By brandongreen of vancouver (1 Review)
Submitted Wednesday, December 24, 2008 - 8:28pm

I believe my girlfriend wrote a comment here yesterday.. its suddenly dissapeared! what happened? Can restaurants delete their poor comments? that's brutal.

We ordered some food and it never came. The guy who picked up the phone was extremly rude by refusing saying a simple "sorry"

This place is not wirth trying.. the service is rude adn phony. food? We know there are other better place in Vancouver. C'mon.

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Go back with the 2-for-1 Coupon!
By yumyumlu of Vancouver (22 Reviews)
Submitted Monday, December 15, 2008 - 5:13pm

The value for a meal here is great with the 2-for-1 menu that can be found in the georgia straight. I highly recommend using one of these coupons and trying out this restaurant if you have never been here before.

The portions are large and the food is great. The singaporean style is a mix of thai and chinese really. The ginger beef was amazing. I've been here twice and I would definitely go back!

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Some people deserve presents some people dont...
By sarafina53 of Vancity (1 Review)
Submitted Friday, November 14, 2008 - 7:46pm

Ok so I have been going here for over 3 years. The quality of the food varies and if they did not have the coupon I will for sure be going somewhere else. Anyways, we went in there a couple of times and we noticed that guests around us where receiving "presents" from the owner and we wondered why we did not get any we let it slide the first time. The second time we went in again and everytable around our table excepts ours got presents again. So we asked the owner how come we did not get any presents and he lied and said "oh they paid for it" seriously we saw you giving them out we saw and heard people saw 'oh wow thanks for the gift."
Bottom line food= is so so depending on the day I guess
Portions= are amazing, you get more than you pay for
service-FAKE
so I will only order Kams for Takeout cuz that way I would not have to see or deal with the fake owner but chances of me ordering from there are pretty slim...

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Solid all around
By applepie of Burnaby (102 Reviews)
Submitted Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - 4:25pm

I have been to Kam's a few times because it is conveniently located for me. The food is not bad, but not wonderful either - and I have tried a number of different dishes here. Their lunch menu has some good selections. Service is prompt and pleasant. As long as it does not move away, I think I will be back once in a while.

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i was positive going in...
By strawberriblondi of west end (2 Reviews)
Submitted Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 8:27pm

one of my best friends raves about this place all the time.. so we had her birthday dinner there... the restaurant only had about 4 other tables and there was 10 of us...

we only had 2 opportunities to order; so we ordered appies first then mains; i ordered a drink when i sat down and it took half an hour and 3 inquiries to get it

i ordered the chicken satay and seriously questioned if i was eating chicken; watered down peanut butter would have been better satay sauce than this

for a main course i had the pad thai; soggy noodles in a watered down spicy ketchup sauce...

ya... and my bill came to around $30.... i sent my friends home with all my food after i had 2 bites of each of the above mentioned dish...

overall, for all the servers that were running around, the service was awful - not remembering, they brought us a dish we didn't order and didn't seem to care, taking too long for drinks, food was totally not good...

but kam was very nice - he gave my friend a birthday present...

poor service &poor food ; i was hoping it would be good...

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Ok
By Rayzach of West End, Vancouver (49 Reviews)
Submitted Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - 6:53pm

Having read the reviews we decided to check out Kam's as we have visited Singapore many times and love the food. Ordered the goong pad, green curry with veggies and a few other dishes and they were just ok. The service was friendly and Kam was pleasant to us and the other patrons.

Maybe they were just having a bad day or something as we left satisfied but unimpressed...

Perhaps would be considered "earth-shattering" and special if you have never left Vancouver and don't really know what great, authentic Singaporean tastes like...

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I loved it!
By Mecca-nism of Port Moody (18 Reviews)
Submitted Monday, August 4, 2008 - 10:40am

I usually keep my reviews short and to the point, but I’m going to make this one a little long winded. I’m so surprised Kam’s is only rating at 2.5 stars! I went for dinner at Kam’s the other night and left so excited to come back and post an excellent review. My fiancé has been coming to Kam’s for years, and he was quite excited to take me there. Granted I have only been there once, but what a great experience. First, we were met at the door by Kam himself with a friendly, up-beat “hello my-friends” greeting. Second, we pulled a 2 for 1 coupon out of the paper, and we didn’t even know it was off the table until the discount appeared on the bill. The server gave us absolutely no attitude or gruff about the coupon. The server was friendly and polite, we never once felt rushed. Third, the décor—orchids, colours, fabrics....I loved it! The restaurant itself was very clean. Fourth, the drinks and food were SUPERB. 9/10. We ordered several dishes including Tom Kah seafood soup, long bean spicy chicken, ginger beef, and goong pad. All of the dishes were perfectly cooked, the meat was incredibly tender and flavourful, the veggies were crisp, and the combinations of sweet, salty, and spicy were excellent. At the end of the meal Kam came over and gave me a little gift of a cute Singapore style tea cup. A perfect ending to a perfect dining experience. We will definitely be going back. I have to chuckle when I read about people getting “kicked out” of Kam’s. My impression of Kam is a “like it or lump it” attitude and isn’t going to cater to a fussy customer. I’m sure this would freak out a lot of people. But he can get away with it!

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2.Subway (8 m)
3.Joe's Grill (25 m)
4.Donair King (29 m)
5.Fountainhead Pub, The (37 m)
6.Kadoya Japanese (41 m)
7.Vera's Burger Shack (42 m)
8.Urban Burger (50 m)
9.Mr. Paris Bakery (50 m)
10.Dish, The (54 m)