Mott 32 (Vancouver) – High Class Dim Sum inside Trump Tower

It’s been almost two years since the Trump Tower opened in the heart of downtown Vancouver and I can’t believe it’s the first time I’ve stepped foot inside. I chose Mott 32 for my birthday meal with my family because I heard a lot of hype about this fine dining dim sum restaurant and I wanted to see how great it was for myself.

Upon arriving, I could instantly tell we stepped foot inside a five star dining establishment. From the gold plated decor to the beyond exceptional customer service, it was unlike any dim sum restaurant I’ve ever visited.

They have an open kitchen concept which was very cool to see as you can see baskets upon baskets of dim sum steaming in all its glory.

I couldn’t for the life of me find a single photo of the dim sum menu with prices on it before I went so I decided to take some so you can know in advance how much some of these items are.

This Deep Fried Prawn Cheung Fun Rice Roll ($12) dish may look very typical but it was absolutely scrumptious. The deep fried prawn was perfectly fried, and delivered an incredible crunch inside the soft rice roll. The soy sauce was not overly salty which I really appreciated.

These BBQ Pork Buns ($15) were the most average tasting of everything we tried. It would not be a dish I’d be dying to order again if I came here.

These on the other hand, I would come back for. This is a Beetroot, Shrimp, and Scallop Dumpling ($18 +$4.50) and it tastes as pretty as it looks. Because we had five people in our group and the dim sum usually comes in fours, they allowed all of our dishes to add one extra piece so all of us gets one each. This particular extra piece costed $4.50.

These Hot and Sour Iberico Pork Shanghainese Soup Dumplings ($20 + $5) are all the rage on Instagram so I had to give them a try for myself. If you enjoy hot and sour soup, you would absolutely go nuts for these. I thought the flavours were on point and the buns were incredibly soupy, but my dad thought the flavours were too intense for him. To each their own.

No matter how you look at it, it’s a feast for the eyes and the mouth. I think that’s part of the fine dining experience though, don’t you think? Food always tastes better when its presented in a beautiful manner.

This may look average but these Wild Mushroom + Water Chestnut Dumplings ($16 + $4) were fantastic! I’m pretty sure they added truffle oil to the filling too because it was just bursting with flavour. I alone can finish the entire basket and call it a day.

The famous Siu Mai with Quail Egg, Truffle, Iberico Pork, and Prawn ($21 + $7). Coming in at $7 a piece, this is not for the faint of heart. However if you plan to try it, just know that it’ll be unlike any other siu mai you’ve ever tasted.

The precision of getting the quail egg perfectly running without oversteaming the pork is truly a work of art (or science haha). It’s a decadent two biter and I would definitely recommend giving this a try if your wallet can handle it.

To round everything off, we finished with an Alaskan King Crab Meat Fried Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ($42). I don’t think I’ve ever paid $42 for fried rice in my life, but this has got to be one of the best tasting fried rice I’ve ever had.

Imagine steaming Alaskan king crab, taking all of its meat, combining it with additional seafood like shrimp, scallops, and pouring all of the delicious juices over perfectly cooked rice. That’s what this tasted like.

Last but not least, we got the Mango Roll with Coconut ($12 + $3) since this was highly recommended by people on social media. They were right. This was amazing. It’s hard to fail when you have such a beautiful combination like mango and coconut, am I right? I would gladly get this again and again.

At the end of the day, this was an incredible fine dining experience. I have never had such an elegant dim sum experience before so if you want to impress your out of town guests or a loved one, Mott 32 can’t be beat. However, make sure you go in knowing that the prices are double if not triple some of the other restaurants in the Lower Mainland, but you’re getting what you pay for… ambiance, service, high quality ingredients, and masterfully crafted dim sum.

Service Rating: 5/5

Food Rating: 4/5

Price: $$$$$+

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

 

Happy Eating!