The Change Dining & Bar

This is a beautiful restaurant with water views and *excellent* Chinese food. Fresh as can be tree fungus in a light marinade; spicy hot and sour soup, a really cool take on Peking Duck that foregrounded the crispy skin, juicy and crunchy lotus root, dessert soups with floating rice dumplings filled with sweet black sesame, flaming seafood packets, oh my god, it just goes on and on.
Easy to order with clear iPad menus. The wait staff is very knowledgeable. As soon as I said one of us had celiac, they changed out all of the chopsticks just in case there was cross contamination. Polite service, quick and easy.
This is *good*, folks. I took my husband and in-​laws here and they couldn’t stop raving. Earn yourself some brownie points while having a fantastic meal.

As others have pointed out, this place is unusual because it’s a Chinese restaurant where celiac’s can eat. I had to completely give up on Chinese food when I was diagnosed and missed eating it. The deep fried tofu is delicious, ginger beef was good although maybe a tad too sweet for my taste. Ate there on a Saturday night, and place was almost empty. Seems like a shame. I hope it survives.

I would say it’s better than three stars, but not quite at four-​star level. It is tucked away in a beautiful waterfront location at the foot of Denman Street (in the former location of Crime Lab, Six Degrees and Sol). The patio is a fun for people watching, as it is right on a busy stretch of the seawall.
Service was very good. The server at times struggled to understand our English, and there was one error with an order as a result, but she was very apologetic about the mistake, and was on the whole very friendly and attentive. Some might find this language barrier frustrating, which is why I mention it, but it’s something that I generally accept as being part of the experience of dining in a culturally diverse city.
The menu is fairly extensive, which is not something one would normally expect in a more upscale restaurant. I read some complaints about paper menus vs iPad menus. We were initially given paper menus, which I found to be perfectly adequate (there are clear, accurate descriptions of all dishes), and then later offered an iPad menu, when we were taking a long time to decide on our food — I assume the waitress thought we were struggling with the menu :). I can’t speak to the iPad menu experience, as the paper menu was just fine and we did not need the iPad.
The food was very good, though maybe not quite up to the level we were expecting. We were certainly not going into this expecting an «authentic» Chinese food experience, but more «high end fusion Chinese food for white people.» We started off with the steamed buns, which are not really buns (here is where I reveal my ignorance, I guess), but dumplings. Unfortunately they all seemed to develop holes in the bottom as we picked them up with our chopsticks, and most of the broth leaked out. They were tasty, thought there was a funny flavour to them that reminded me of an air freshener smell that you might find in a restaurant washroom. Sorry I don’t have a better descriptor than that. It may have been a herb or spice that I am unfamiliar with, and that other people find delicious, but that is what it invoked for me.
We also had the gyoza, the cumin spiced lamb, and the ginger beef. The latter were very good, and my partner enjoyed the ginger beef, while I found it cloyingly sweet, to the point of being dessert-​like.
Wine list ranged from el cheapo patio sipping wines, to $ 20+ for a 9 oz pour! Overall, the price point is high for this restaurant, but not unreasonably high given its location.

We stopped here on our trip to Vancouver mainly because the timing was right — everyone was hungry and a beautiful patio appeared in front of us!
They menu is large, and after some time the server suggested the iPad menu instead — we were obviously struggling. It was very helpful because they have photos of every dish! I don’t really know why they would even bother with paper menus.
One great thing about the menu is that they were really accommodating on dietary restrictions (not that I have any), I noticed many items were marked as gf.
When the food came out it was hot and pretty good. My general opinion is that the value wasn’t quite right — it was pretty expensive (and maybe it’s location, I don’t know Vancouver!) but it wasn’t a great meal for the price. Portions were also on the smaller side.
I had so many great meals in the Vancouver area, I don’t think I would bother coming back to The Change.

Only been here once (today), so I can’t comment on consistency — but I am definitely going back! Had the ginger beef, steamed rice and gyoza. The ginger beef was amazing, both taste and quality. Portion size was very generous. The 6 pc gyoza was very tasty as well, no need to dip or season anything.
Took another order of ginger beef and steamed rice home with me for later. Total bill was $ 60 with tip, so not bad, but some of the other dishes can get pretty pricey.
I can’t think of many high end Chinese food options in the area, so I am excited by finding this place. The location is perfect too, overlooking the water at the foot of Denman, with a concrete pond from the Bayshore on the other side.

This place is the only Asian place I’ve seen that has a wide selection of GF dishes. It’s a bit on the pricey side being where the location is and the style of restaurant. But the food was great. Everything we ordered had a bit of Sweet and Sour sauce on it but I didn’t mind. I wonder if it was because we ordered everything GF and that was the only sauce perhaps that was GF. Anyway, Very stylist place, great food, again, very pricey but if you want Asian food that is GF, then this is the place for you.

Pretty authentic Chinese cuisine, even it is a bit pricy, but there not a lot of Chinese restaurants offer that great food around the area

Had Dinner there with two good friends a while ago. The ambiente and the view on to the Seawall is very nice! The food and the Service was excellent. We had the xialongbao (steam buns) and the deep fried tofu as appetizer. Wow, biting in these juicy tasty handmade steambuns is an experience itself! Diping those in the vinegar that is Served with it is amazing! The Tofu was also very delicious, also perfect for vegetarians.
For maincourse we had the Ginger beef (my absolute favorite), the shanghai bok-​choi for vegies and the diced chicken with peppers!
For dessert we had the chocolat– truffle –steam buns. It’s almost like the chinese version of crêpe. Definetely worth a try!
The food and the Service is Great and worth the Price. Would recomend!

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to eat out at the Change & Dining Bar located at the corner of Denman & W. Georgia in Vancouver, BC. The restaurant is in the most beautiful location, right on the waterfront, looking out at the ocean and the pier. It was a gloomy and rainy day when we ate here, but I could only imagine how gorgeous it would be on a sunny afternoon!
When I arrived, they greeted me nicely. We were the only couple with a dining reservation. We sat next to the window, looking out at the ocean and the nice man-​made pond. The menus were on tablets (how fancy is that?).
We ordered off the dine out menu. We each had the Seafood on Fire as an entrée and Chocolate Xiao Long Baos (dumplings) for dessert. For an appetizer, we ordered one beef roll and one salted duck. The appetizers came promptly. My favourite was the beef roll. It was a big serving and we would have been satisfied with just the one appetizer. The beef roll was warm on my mouth and savoury; however, I thought it was slightly too salty. The duck was nothing special. It was severed cold in think slices. I found it much too salty, but I believe the appetizer was called «salted duck» so I should have been prepared for that.
Before we finished the appetizers, out entrees came out. I wish they had waited for our appetizers to finish before coming out with the main courses. The seafood on fire was phenomenal. The seafood was wrapped in tin foil with a delicious butter sauce and was served on a bed of salt that was lit on fire in front of us! Our very friendly waiter offered to open the tin foil for us, but we decided to open it ourselves. We were very delighted with this entrée. It was jammed full of seafood such as giant scallops, prawns, and mussels with asparagus and cantaloupe (maybe squash?). I loved the medley and so did my mother.
When we finished our entrees, our waiter surprised us with an order of Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings). By this time, my mother and I were reaching full capacity, but we forced ourselves to eat these delicious dumplings. Xiao Long Baos are one of my favourite foods and I absolutely enjoyed them.
Lastly, our chocolate dumplings were served. Our waitress did not mention how hot these little guys were and my mom burnt her mouth on the molten chocolate :$! It was not too bad, but I feel that our waitress should have warned us at least. Nevertheless, this dessert was one of my top desserts of my life. The chocolate was smooth, rich, and dark (my favourite). I loved the combination of the hot dark chocolate mixed with the chewy texture of the dumplings! Yes… I wanted more :)! We could only finish a third of our dessert, so we took the rest home and I am eating some now as I type this review –omnomnom– !!
I had a wonderful night here. I wish they were getting more business! I thought the food was a ⁴⁄₅. The service was ALMOST perfect except for the few things that I mentioned above, nothing major 4.5÷5. The ambiance was perfect ⁵⁄₅. Come here on a sunny day — you will not be disappointed.

crispy tofu $ 6 ²⁄₅ — This dish is totally not hard at all. It was warm and not sure how long it had been sitting in the kitchen. Therefore, the crispy skin was missing.
squirrel fish $ 26 3.5÷5 — This dish is totally not hard at all. It was warm and not sure how long it had been sitting in the kitchen. Therefore, the crispy skin was missing.
sautéed green beans $ 14 ²⁄₅ — It was greasy and oily with a salty sauce. Most of the restaurants could do a better job than this.
shredded pork in chili, garlic and spinach $ 13 ²⁄₅ — The ingredient were shredded finely. I felt like I was paying for the prep work rather than the flavours. I couldn’t remember if there was any spinach.
sauteer scallops with lily bulbs, dragon fruits, and avocado $ 26 2.5÷5 — It was a regular sautéed scallops with celery and lily bulbs. The avocado and dragon fruit did not match with the rest of the ingredients.
yuxiang shredded pork sauteed in spicy garlic sauce $ 16 ²⁄₅ –the ingredient were shredded finely. I felt like I was paying for the prep work not for the flavours
peking duck (two ways) $ 24 — at most ½ of a peking duck. You can get a whole peking duck at this price at many Chinese restaurants.
1. Sushi roll cucumber with wasabi and roast duck skin ²⁄₅ — the rice was way too thick — –the skin did not come with any meat. I didn’t mind too much but I know some people would. I also don’t understand the use of the wasabi. It looked like a piece of sushi but it does not need to taste like it. I would also prefer to have a sauce over wasabi for sushi too.
2. Fry duck meat salad with lettuce 2.5÷5 — There were 6 pieces of lettuce. The duck meat also came with bones. The duck meat was watery rather than sauces.
*We informed our server that the peking duck did not come with the hoisin sauce. Our server had no idea what sauce we were looking for. We told her to ask the kitchen for the brown hoisin sauce. She came back and told us that the kitchen normally does not serve this until you ask for it. It was drizzled on top according to the menu.
The server had no idea
Chocolate truffle xiao long bao $ 8 ²⁄₅ — the skin was way too thick. The milk chocolate also tasted cheap. It was not smooth enough. All I could tasted was sugar. The manager explained that it needed to be double layered in order to avoid the chocolate burst. I wish he told me before I ordered.
Service ⁴⁄₅ — Our server and the manager came and checked on us a few times. Service was okay while we needed to ask for a few more extra items (sharing spoons, condensed milk for the man tou, and. The ipad menu was also a big gimmick for this restaurant. The restaurant needs to update a description for most of the dishes especially if it is targeting to non-​Chinese customers. We asked our server for a description but she had to ask the kitchen. Too bad I was disappointed by the flavours. It might be a big thing for someone who has celiac. It comes with gluten free soya sauce. The kitchen also has a separate set of utencils to avoid cross contamination. It was just another overrated Chinese fusion restaurant to me.

The Change is very special for Chinese-​food lovers who are coeliac because about 70% of their menu is gluten free. In a «typical» Chinese restaurant, wheat-​intolerant persons can’t even have items that use soy sauce because your «normal» soy sauce has wheat or trace amounts of gluten. The Change uses gluten-​free soy sauce, so you don’t have to compromise on how the dish is prepared.
Also, they have separate kitchen utensils for gluten-​free cooking to prevent cross-​contamination. Those who are extremely sensitive to wheat can certainly feel much safer there.
Menu looks like it is still evolving a bit so some items may not be exactly the same as you remember.
This time around I went for lunch and standout items were Shredded Pork in Chili, Garlic and Spinach, and Peking Duck two ways.
Really tasty paper-​thin skin on the Peking duck. Don’t overdo it with the hoisin sauce.
Really interesting sweet + chili flavour to the shredded pork.
Entrée prices look daunting but portions are large and if you go in a small group the price will come out okay. We were four persons, tried lots of 5 entrees, 1 appy, 1 dessert. No rice. Still stuffed and had a bit of leftovers for takeout. Bill came to $ 34 per person after tax before tip.

We’ve all been to many Chinese restaurants in Vancouver, Richmond etc, but honestly, most of them have bad environment and terrible service. Guess «The Change» really means a Chinese restaurant with amazing service and environment, and they did it.
As for the food itself, I’ve chatted with the owner Jennifer, the chief has actually worked in many other well-​known Chinese restaurants in Vancouver and In China and I absolutely love their food, both the taste and the wonderful presentation. It also has a dope wine bar, allows u to pick whatever you would like to drink.
Last but least, just show some respect to their huge investment on this restaurant, best location, best view, and ordering food from an iPad, what more can u ask for? It’s really worth the price.
I’ll say, it’s a perfect spot for group event, anniversaries and birthdays.
If u really want to say no to this restaurant, I’ll suggest it to provide more menu options and add some western dishes just to satisfy a broader range of customers.

Fusion confusion. Let me try to correct their inaccurate 4.5* average.
I’ll start with the positives, because there are some. I don’t know what was in this space before but the location and interior don’t look like (or feel like) any Chinese restaurant I’ve ever been to. As it’s right by the marina, you can people watch. Metered parking was easy to find.
All the servers spoke good English and were friendly. Not something you get often at Chinese places. Now onto the critiques:
The place was nearly empty and we were seated by the window beside a fountain/​pond outside. It was noticeably cold throughout the whole space but even more so with slight draft coming from the windows so we moved. Advice: set your thermostat well before you open ensuring room temperature is reached when guests walk in.
Moving to a different table we are given iPad menus. In every instance I’ve encountered iPads at a restaurant everyone experiences 5 seconds of ‘cool!’ factor followed by ‘well this makes ordering more complicated’. Technology doesn’t always win. I can’t imagine they bought enough iPads to supply a packed house. Advice: if you really want to go tech-​crazy, maybe only have your servers use them to take orders, just like I’ve seen at sushi places. Stick to standard, printed menus to avoid way too many questions.
Now onto the important stuff, food:
Drunken chicken — They used chicken breast instead of bone-​in dark meat. Why on earth? I guess if they are only aiming to please the non-​Chinese crowd but it just tastes wrong. I found a hair on my piece. They comp’ed it but still.
Gyoza — it was on the house due to messing up some dishes. They were not bad, but oily
XLB — 1^st order arrived over-​steamed with all the soup juice MIA. How can chef let this go? 2^nd order had juice but wrapper too thick and insides below average. Was comp’ed.
Shanghai wonton soup — dumplings were not the traditional, taste was alright
Mapo tofu — Tofu wasn’t silky like it should be, otherwise edible
Peking duck (2 ways) — So the fusion take on this was to not include any wrappers. Instead the duck skin was the ‘fish’ on sushi rice with cucumber inside. It was supposed to come with wasabi but I don’t do wasabi. Fusion confusion. Lettuce wrap was standard.
Sweet and sour boneless pork — I don’t eat this whitewashed stuff. My brother ordered it. No comment.
Even with comp’s, the bill came to $ 80 for 4 of us for lunch. Obviously Coal Harbour rent is killer.
The only way this place will survive is from curious foot traffic of tourists who don’t know any better. Chinese people will leave here scratching their heads.
Chinese food just shouldn’t be messed with. I’ll leave you with Confucius:
«Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.»

Five of us went here for dinner, and all of us were extremely disappointed. The menu system was poor, the food taste and quality was very poor, and the timing was completely off. Let me explain:
Firstly,
the menu.
They were using a new iPad menu system. Menu items have no description of what any of the items are, only the name and a picture. Pictures are missing for at least half the items. Some items were simply one or two words with no picture. We had to spend a lot of time with the waitress asking about the ingredients and how spicy the items were.
We asked for printed menus, but they don’t have any. Two other groups arrived at the restaurant and they ran out of iPads. The waitress had to ask us for two of our menus back so they could accommodate them … not a good start! The restaurant was not even close to being at capacity. The tables around us were empty. And yet, they had already ran out of iPads? Weird.
Secondly,
the food.
Several of the items were extremely bland — the shredded chicken, the beef and broccoli. No flavor. Poor texture. Some items were good but extremely oily.
Spicy items were very poorly mixed — most bites had no spice whatsoever. Some bites were overly spicy. One bite my mother took brought her to tears and a coughing fit. Not what was expected from a «mildly spicy» item. There was no consistency to the spice through the dish.
The deep fried prawns came IN THE SHELL. This meant de-​shelling extremely greasy and messy prawns. The mess was comparable to eating ribs or chicken wings, but no way of cleaning your hands was provided — a very poorly thought-​out item.
Thirdly,
the timing.
There were five of us at the table, and we each ordered one appetizer and one entrée. Inexplicably, the items arrived at the table one at a time. There were LONG breaks between the arrival of the items. NO two items arrived at the same time. Just one by one. The last item was always finished before the next one arrived. By the time the third appetizer arrived we had trouble remembering what we had ordered. Again, the breaks between plates were LONG, and yet the restaurant was far from full.
We decided to share the items around the table, except one person ordered soup as an appetizer — it arrived last out of all the appetizers, and was obviously not being shared, so we all sat for about 10 minutes watching her eat her soup while we waited for the first entrée to arrive. Not cool.
As for the entrees, again, each one arrived separately and was completely finished by the time the next one arrived. The rice dish we ordered arrived LAST out of all the entrees, meaning there was no rice for the entire meal … ???
It also took about 15 minutes between the 4^th and 5^th entrée (the rice dish) to arrive. Several times throughout the meal we had to ask the server about where the food was. There were many apologies from the staff, however apologies don’t make up for the fact that the meal was ruined by the inability of the kitchen staff to prepare our meal and serve it properly. By the time the rice dish finally arrived, we were all anxious to leave and totally put off by the kitchen’s inability to provide even a remotely adequate dining experience.
To her credit, the server was very nice and tried her best to make do with a Chef that cannot prepare a decent tasting, properly timed meal, and a very poor decision regarding the menu system.
In short, the food was bad, and the meal was completely ruined by the fact that the Chef couldn’t get the food out properly. I wish I could say that the food made up for the terrible dining experience, but it very much did NOT.
We ended up spending about $ 200 for five people to eat, and we did not order any liquor or beer.
I think there is literally no chance this restaurant will stay in business. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone, and in fact I would discourage people from going here. We had a very bad experience and all of us left saying «I’m hungry».

It was the company of this get together which meant a lot to me. One of the 3 major holiday parties that I am attending this year.
I was fortunate to arrive early enough to be seated at the liveliest table. They say that like minded people find their way to each other like a magnet.
We had so many people that it needed to be divided into 4 tables.
It was dinner with one of the top chefs in China.
I eat a fair bit of Chinese food, however, I will admit that this was the best Chinese I’ve ever had. Even better than some of the places in Richmond.
The place itself is well lit like any other typical Chinese eatery with bright lights and white table clothes. It’s actually a medium sized place that can hold a decent amount of patrons but looks smallish at first glance.
The eatery itself is on the bottom of Denman (off the beaten path). You can easily access to the place via transit by getting off at Robson and Denman and walking down a few blocks heading toward to the water.
The waitress was very bitchy for some reason. Two people politely asked for hot water and she acted as though she had a chip on her shoulder and was very snotty about it. Saying, «We don’t have enough mugs.» Really you have a full house and you can’t find two mugs for hot water! It wasn’t so much of the mug issue as it was about her attitude. I think our table hit a nerve by daring to ask for hot water god forbid. I got annoyed I commented, «Is there a problem?» Even though she was in the wrong I said, «Clearly we got off on the wrong foot, can my friend and I have a glass of hot water please?» Her response, «Yeah it’s coming hang on (rudely).» This become the in joke with half the table.
Mostly gluten free and no MSG. I appreciate how the chef uses different spices to flavor each dish so that you can tell each dish apart.
Because this was a party this was a set menu.
Cold duck = No flavor, too much fat around the edges. Not into cold meats in general.
Deep Fried Silk Roll w/​condensed milk dipping sauce = OMG this is like dessert and the dessert that should’ve been, simple, nothing fancy but hits the point.
Deep Fried Spicy Tofu = I am not a tofu person, in fact I hate it. Although the middle was still bland it was complemented with a well spiced and crisp shell.
Shanghai Fried Rice = The best friend rice I’ve ever had. I am not a huge fan of fried rice in general but this made me want more. It wasn’t too oily which was appreciated.
Spicy Chickem Breast = Tender, well spiced and very addicting.
Lamb = OMG The best lamb dish I’ve ever had, I had 3 small helpings (with the permission of those at my table).
Fermented rice balls in wine soup = This was our dessert which. It was very disappointing. I am all about the dessert. In fact I am all about trying new foods, however, this hit me in the wrong spot. I couldn’t even finish my bite.

This location has had a number of restaurants in the last few years, none with the quality of food at The Change. The food was 5 star and the prices more than reasonable. Four of us ordered a wide variety of dishes including Shanghai wonton soup, gyoza, spicy diced chicken, and ginger beef. All was delicious with great service. Can’t wait to go back.

We went there for lunch and was treated to delicious food and excellent service. The ambiance was quiet and the food well presented. A great stop after a walk around Stanley Park. Highly recommend this restaurant.
The menu is interested with something for everyone.

The food is amazing. We had the ginger beef which was amazing, as was the hot and sour soup. Very well priced for such a beautiful setting. The staff are friendly and attentive.