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Hole in the Wall location. Good quality Cantonese Food. Recommended for dinner.
Our original choice, Ho Yuen Kee, was full so we took a risk and tried Koon Lock as it offered immediately seating. Place was about half full on a Monday holiday evening and there were several large tables already reserved.
Food: We ordered the set dinner menu for six, which included a bland fish maw soup, spicy fried prawns, pork cutlet, braised tofu, and black cod hot pot. Of the six dishes, I enjoyed the shrimp dish the most - properly seasoned and served piping hot. The quality of prawns was pretty good. Meal was finished with the complimentary red bean dessert soup. Overall, I would rate the food as solid but far from superior. Fairly standard casual Cantonese food.
Service was quick and servers came by when beckoned. The servers were friendly enough for a Chinese restaurant and didn't seem to give any attitude when we were indecisive about the ordering. Visa accepted too.
Value is not a solid three....the quantity was small and the ingredients (aside from the prawns) were generally cheaper, like tofu, lettuce, pork, etc. I thought that the decent taste made up for the smaller portion size, however. $90 including tip and tax for 6.
Ambiance: unmemorable and functional. I think the interior was light pink. Seating was split into two halves by a load bearing wall. Cash area was smack in the middle of the restaurant. Felt a bit disjointed but some might like the privacy that the wall offered.
Sometimes unknown entities could be a real disaster so it's a relief that everyone left satisfied. Our unplanned secondary choice for a causal Chinese meal didn't disappoint.
One of the tastiest roasted squabs can be found here. Better than just about any Chinese restaurant out there. I'd only say, possibly one of the best, while I leave room for the next up and coming new place or experience that might top this one. Their shredded chicken dish is one of the tastiest as well. Maybe just slightly tastier than the brother's restaurant. Yes, literally, Koon Lok's brother has his restaurant a couple of blocks down (Koon Bo) that's actually a lot more successful, always packed and always serving slightly larger portions than Koon Lok. The older establishment used to be a partnership between the two, but since Koon Bo opened up for business, they've been operating separately for whatever the reason. Koon Lok doesn't get anywhere near the amount of traffic going through Koon Bo, but they still manage to keep the flavours alive in those 2 items I mentioned above. As for everything else, it's about standard to my taste buds anyway, since, if I go, I'd be mostly going there for those items.
I think I have had one of my first experience of the mass exodus a restaurant experiences upon the changing of the chefs.
Returned to Koon Lock Chinese on Fraser for well over the 10th time. Food is usually outstanding,rivalling brother's location up the street. At least as tasty. But not today....we walked into a "dead" restaurant. It was 6:30 PM on a Saturday night and only 1 table of 3 to be seen. We stated that its seems quite right now. Usually the place is bulging with patrons and the place was not filling up at all.
After our first dish,we realized the flavour loss and plain taste along with the other dishes. OMG,this place has lost their chefs. Regular veteran staff were tight lipped and mentioned they didn't know why. The word must spread so quick and without mercy. I am sad that I experienced paying good prices for food that didn't match up to that standard anymore. I'm afraid we must be like the others and join the masses that leave restaurants to go back to their brothers.
Koon Lock is not as popular as in its heyday, but it is still a good place compared to a lot of places in the Lower Mainland. The food I had from it recently was from a doggie bag that my family kindly left for me when I couldn't meet them for dinner and I still think it's great! I don't have low standards either. My mom is the best Chinese cook in the world, so I know good from bad.
When I go to Koon Lock, I like their crispy skin chicken and their hot and sour soup which is always at the heat and spice level that optimizes flavour. Their honey garlic spareribs are second to none. My mom says the quantity has gone down along with some of the quality, but she's almost impossible to please, so it's hard to say whether the place has truly gone downhill at all or not. If it has, it has only gone down slightly. This will happen when you have a rival restaurant with better ambiance just two doors down competing not only for customers but also parking space!
I have found taste going down for some Chinese restaurants as they seem to follow the anti MSG movement (this is a good thing, but it comes at a terrible cost in taste). Even the best of restaurants would have troubles recovering from the loss of good taste that MSG provides (all the fast food restaurants would die immediately if they stopped).
MSG aside, the remedy for this place is just good old fashioned local support! I've been to the rival restaurant and although their quality and freshness are good, they have typical Cantonese cuisine and lack the imagination and flair in food that Koon Lock has. I really hope that Koon Lock will prosper in the near future as people realize this!
| 1. | Fraser Street Bakery & Cafe (3 m) | |
| 2. | Pizza Plus (16 m) | |
| 3. | Ho Yuen Kee (34 m) |  |
| 4. | Pita House (67 m) |  |
| 5. | Galaxy Bakery (75 m) |  |
| 6. | Fraser Barbeque & Fresh Meat (78 m) | |
| 7. | Alk-O-Bar & Restaurant (83 m) |  |
| 8. | Pho Hong (87 m) | |
| 9. | Subway (90 m) | |
| 10. | Golden Kitchen (96 m) | |
