Richmond’s Food Street, Alexandra Road, fondly referred to as Wai Sek Gai by the Cantonese community, is full of hidden gems.

Exploring this street is a true culinary adventure. Here, you can discover and indulge in authentic cuisines from a vast array of cultural backgrounds. From Chinese hotpot to Korean barbecue, to Japanese bento lunches and Taiwanese beef noodles.

This time, we had the pleasure of satiating our spot prawn (and seafood) cravings at The Fishman. It’s the perfect name for this restaurant tucked inside a strip mall located on Alexandra Road. A small patio outside provides leisurely spring and summer dining outdoors in the shade of young trees.

Inside, the fish tanks are packed with seafood, ready to serve up a scrumptious seafood feast. And indeed, the chef had prepared a mouth-watering 8-course meal.

SAVOUR THE SIMPLE SWEETNESS

Since we are heavy into spot prawn season, the chef decided to let us savour these fresh ingredients in the best way possible - as simple sashimi so we can savour the delightful sweetness of the ocean.

The geoduck was also cooked using a simple method, with soy sauce and topped with diced chives, highlighting the texture of fresh geoduck by slicing it thinly into sashimi. The texture is slightly chewy yet crisp — you’ll find yourself smiling at every bite.

AWAKEN YOUR TASTE BUDS

There were also plenty of spicy dishes to awaken our taste buds, such as the stir-fried spicy clams, large grilled catfish on a bed of chilli, and pickled cauliflower cod.

The chef brought out the large live cod before going into the kitchen to prepare the meal. The size of the cod was impressive, measuring the length of my arm. The cod was used to prepare the pickled cauliflower cod soup.

The presentation of the catfish is stunning. Sitting in a bed of red chilli and herbs, the aroma wafting from the dish will make your mouth water. The texture is slightly flaky, and the texture of the fish retains the spicy flavours well without the herbs soaking through the meat.

The pickled cauliflower cod is a famous delicacy in Chong Qing, a sprawling municipality in Southwestern China. Known for its scorching temperatures and also scorching spicy hot pot, the pickled cauliflower cod dish also dials up the temperature for your palate.

PLEASANT SURPRISES

Just when we thought the feast was coming to an end, the chef unveiled a surprise, juicy raw oysters from renowned international brand Gillardeau in France.

Raw oysters from France are almost a guaranteed highlight item for guests, but for me, a surprise contender for the highlight of my meal was the large, live-baked oysters. If you recall, the last time you ordered Oyster Motoyaki, the restaurant likely used a frozen oyster; to conceal the frozen taste, the restaurant may have topped the oyster with an abundance of mayonnaise and onions.

What was surprising about The Fish Man’s live-baked large oysters is that they didn’t need any supplemental ingredients to mask the taste. In fact, because the seafood is so fresh, just a bit of mayonnaise baked on top was sufficient to bring out the rich flavours of the oyster and add a touch of creaminess to it. I found the large baked oyster very tasty — and this is coming from a person who does not regularly eat oysters.

As if an 8-course meal was not enough to satiate our appetites, the chef prepared a steamed lobster with glutinous rice. The lobster is done to perfection; if overcooked, the meat becomes tough and hard to chew. The lobster bites from this baked lobster were large and juicy and sat atop a bed of delicious glutinous rice.

As a self-proclaimed carnivore, my usual meals include a heavy portion of red meat, but the flavourful and thoughtfully prepared dishes at The Fish Man actually flipped a switch and turned me on to seafood. I guess that’s the difference between real, fresh seafood, which tastes fantastic even when prepared and cooked.

I would recommend that you pay The Fish Man a visit to try it for yourself. The must-try items we would return to enjoy again would be the geoduck, grilled catfish and baked oysters. Even now as I’m writing my mind has wandered back to the taste of the baked oyster. We’ll be back again!

Visit

The Fish Man

(604) 284-5393

8391 Alexandra Rd #1170, Richmond, BC

Photography by Florence Leung