PHOTO CREDIT: TARA LEE

Visiting Union Square Shopping Centre (8300-8388 Capstan Way) is overwhelming–in a good way. The strip mall contains so many restaurants and food-related businesses that it can be difficult to narrow down where to go.

Should you start by going grocery shopping at Supermarket 2000, or get succulent barbecue pork, barbecue spareribs, soy free range chicken, or Peking duck at Cantonese BBQ Restaurant?

PHOTO CREDIT: TARA LEE

After those purchases, should you stock up on curry beef buns and coconut buns at Angela’s Bakery, or buy osmanthus lychee mousse cake and flaky mung bean pastries at Janice Cake Shop?

JANICE CAKE SHOP, PHOTO CREDIT: TARA LEE

To add to your indecision, there’s also Yavis Club Cheesecake Café where you’ll find a wide variety of cheesecakes, like mango, Kahlua cappuccino, and green tea red bean. And of course, who doesn’t want a refreshing milky coconut slush from Bubble World? Decisions. Decisions.

If you’re craving dim sum, you can get your fill of dumplings at China House Seafood, as well as Top Chiu Chow Cuisine. You could also stuff yourself with California rolls, chicken teriyaki, and oyster motoyaki from Richmond Sushi’s extensive all-you-can eat menu. Alternatively, you could dine at Tsubaki for stand-out sushi and Japanense small plates, like grilled beef sirloin skewers and fried oysters.

In short, you’ll want to try everything when you go to Union Square! To help you navigate all the options, the following are five more places for food adventuring at Union Square:

Pho Queen

A Richmond strip mall isn’t complete without an excellent pho joint, and Pho Queen definitely fits the bill. The room itself is unassuming, save for a rather impressive chandelier, and service is polite and helpful. Start with appetizers, like ground pork spring rolls and grilled shrimp paste on sugar cane, before moving onto the main events.

GRILLED SHRIMP PASTE ON SUGAR CANE, PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY ANDERSON

Besides the usual pho options, like the works with rare steak, well done flank, tendon, tripe, and meatballs, Pho Queen also features other noodle soup selections, like egg noodle soup with liver, heart, shrimp, squid, pork, and deep fried shimp crêpe; and duck leg with vermicelli and bamboo shoots in soup.

EGG NOODLE SOUP, PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY ANDERSON

Beef and chicken curries and stews, vermicelli bowls (eg. grilled minced pork), and steamed rice dishes (eg. grilled lemon grass pork chop) round out the menu.

Coco Hut Singapore Restaurant

This ode to Singaporean cuisine offers traditional fare at reasonable prices. The room itself is modestly sized, and the service is efficient. The menu begins with appetizers, such as deep fried chicken wings, green onion pancakes, and grilled roti with curry dipping sauce.

ROTI, PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY ANDERSON

Main dishes include Singaporean fried rice vermicelli; an aromatic laksa chock full of noodles, chicken, prawns, fish cake, and a boiled egg; and beef and chicken curries. The flavours here are lip-smackingly complex and you won’t leave disappointed.

PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY ANDERSON

Deer Garden Signatures

This popular chain has won best Hong Kong-style café numerous times for the prestigious Chinese Restaurant Awards. Based on the packed quarters at the Union Square location, diners clearly can’t get enough of their casual bites and cheerful, modern decor. The restaurant is best known for their signature build-your-own-noodle-soup menu. You receive a paper slip then proceed to choose your soup base (eg. Szechuan spicy soup, gingko and pepper fish soup), toppings (eg. beef tendon, pork stomach), noodles (eg. flat rice noodles, egg noodles, penne or other types), and drink (eg. coffee or tea).

PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY ANDERSON

Other menu items include typical HK Style Cafe fare, such as Thai grilled chicken with Caesar salad, teriyaki pork chop with egg on rice, and pan-fried white turnip in XO sauce.

PAN FRIED TURNIP CAKE, PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY ANDEROSN

Yah Yah Ya Ramen

The ramen craze in Richmond keeps on growing. Yah Yah Ya is particularly proud of their ie-kei (pork soy sauce) soup, which involves simmering pork and chicken bones, kombu, and veggies for a dozen hours or more. Then, the resulting soup is flavoured with soy, green onion, garlic, and chicken oil for even more depth. Soup options include shoyu, shio, miso, and spicy miso. The restaurant also allows you to customize the doneness of noodles (hard, normal, soft), the taste level (heavy, normal, light), and the oil level (more, normal, less).

MISO RAMEN, PHOTO CREDIT: TARA LEE

Cold ramen selections are also available during the summer. Supplement your slurping with appetizers like gyoza, kimchi, and seaweed salad.

Hanppy Tofu Pot House

If you like your food spicy, you’ll love Hanppy, which specializes in fiery Korean hot pots. The heat options range from ‘non spicy,’ to ‘extreme spicy.’ There’s also a blazing spicy pot, which is bound to set the tongue on fire. The menu includes an original fish soup hot pot, a vegetarian hot pot, as well as their signature kimchi hot pot. You can also choose from a variety of noodle options, like green bean noodles, udon, and rice cakes.

KIMCHI HOT POT, PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY ANDERSON

Other dishes on the menu include additional quintessential Korean comfort food, like Korean-style rice cakes with kimchi, and seared and steamed marinated pork belly. Your belly will thank you for visiting.

Overall, the list of fabulous eateries at Union Square goes on and on. But no matter which one you pick, you’ll leave full and satisfied!