Mott 32 is a contemporary Chinese restaurant located in the heart of Vancouver. The restaurant uses organic and sustainable ingredients whenever possible and they have recently partnered up with Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program. The food served is primarily Cantonese, but with some Beijing and Sichuan influences.
I had the opportunity to try out their new spring and summer menu featuring seafood from their new partnership with the Ocean Wise program.
I started the meal with this drink, and it was very refreshing! There was a very concentrated Jasmine tea flavour which I adored. This is definitely one of those cocktails that can sneak up on you because it goes down so easy!
The simple presentation was elevated by the use of gold flakes. The most noteworthy part of this pastry (besides how incredibly flaky and buttery it was) was the use of pomelo. It added bursts of freshness to an otherwise very rich dim sum dish.
The colour on this dumpling is stunning. The bright green definitely caught my eye, but for me this was the weakest dish I tried on the menu. I’m not a fan of bitter melon, and there was an odd sweetness in addition to bitterness that just didn’t work for me.
This was another classic dim sum dish elevated with luxurious ingredients. The Matsutake mushroom added a lovely earthiness to the dish and the rice wrapper was thin but not falling apart.
This was another stand out for me. The smokiness of this dish worked well with the natural fattiness of the cod. It was perfectly fried – the inside was moist and flaky and the outside was light and crisp.
I rarely have fish in my dumplings, and now I’m starting to question why. This was another stand out dish for me. The dumpling skin was perfect and the Garoupa had a nice texture.
This was definitely more sweet than spicy, unless you bit into one of the very large chilies in this dish! As with all the other fried dishes, the fry on the chicken was very good. The batter was heavier on this dish, but didn’t overwhelm the chicken.
This was a well executed dish with lots of wok hei. The black fungus was a bit lost to me, but the pâté was springy and delicious.
I was worried that the black bean sauce would overwhelm the delicate halibut and tofu, but it was used in a restrained fashion and worked to accent the natural flavours of the halibut. The tofu was silky smooth and the perfect vessel to let the halibut shine. A very delicious dish.
The egg tarts signaled the end of a very luxurious meal. I generally prefer a cookie crust on my tarts, so I was surprised that I enjoyed this version so much. The egg custard was so smooth and creamy and contrasted with the flaky crust, it really was the perfect ending.
Mott 32 is not your everyday Chinese restaurant. A premium is definitely charged for all the luxurious ingredients that they use, as well as for the ambiance. I would highly recommend you try it out at least once because beyond the fanciness is excellently executed Chinese dishes that you cannot find anywhere else in Vancouver.