I have fond memories of visiting Michi’s downtown location, so when looking for our latest family dinner we convened at Michi’s original Kingsway location. Admittedly it is not as well decorated as the newer downtown branch. Less seating, and really more of a hole in the wall for take out and delivery orders. And as a result, a lot of what we wanted to order was sold out and what we were forced to order we actually didn’t like. Spoilers: this visit made me not like the chain all that much.
Known for their stuffed wings, we had to order a few. Each wing is sold separately, and fairly pricy at just under $7 a wing. You are definitely paying for the specialty. Although each wing is pretty substantial after being deboned, so that its cavity can be stuffed with an assortment of ingredients. Not available at Kingsway, but the downtown location also gives diners the option to have each stuffed wing additional topped with select ingredients, for an extra indulgence.
The Original Fried Rice Michi was sweetened with honey and lemon and stuffed with ham and corn. It was like eating your main and rice all in one compact bite.
The Spicy Cumin Lamb Michi included peas. It was spicy, but I didn’t taste much outside of that.
The Chinese style Sausage Egg Yolk with
Sticky rice stuffed wing was the one I liked the most (out of the three we had). The dry and crispy chicken meat was a nice contrast to the chewy rice.
Michi is also know for their House Special Hong-Kong Style Iced Milk Tea with Bear. It is the standard HK style milk tea but served with frozen milk tea ice cubes in the form of a teddy bear. That way while your tea is iced, it won’t be diluted with ice. The pageantry was much appreciated here.
The Omelette Rice with Curry Chicken was the typical Hong Kong style curry topped with whipped egg. The egg was expertly prepared as a swirl over plain steamed rice. A very creative presentation, and the reason why I choose it off the menu in the first place. Although taste-wise this was pretty basic. We all agreed that we could have used more pieces of meat from the curry, and that the rice was dry.
As the squid ink pasta was not available, we went for the only other pasta option: the Green Sauce Spaghetti with Lemongrass Chicken. The lemongrass was in competition with the citrus from the pesto. This didn’t read as Asian fusion and I found the two elements missed-matched. Alone the chicken was tender and well seasoned, and the pine nuts in the pesto really made the pasta.
As the only other entree available we also ordered to Aburi Pork Rib Rice Bowl, just to ensure we would walk away full, with enough to eat. The giant rib ate as dry as it looked. I don’t know why they referred to this being aburi, as I didn’t get any char from a good flame searing. The mustard over lettuce felt like a lazy salad, hardly constitutes as dressing. And the dry rice needed a sauce, as there was not enough to spare from the rib.
In conclusion this visit left me with a sour impression. There were so many items sold out on their small menu at 7pm. Everything (outside of the stuffed wings) we had felt bare bones basic, not well prepared, and not hot throughout, so maybe even reheated. The wings were the best thing, but pricey and there are better ones out there for less. I currently have no reason to return. My parents were just as disappointed in this one.
Michi Craft Kitchen
180-3665 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC V5R 5W2
(604) 336-9968
