There’s been one particular unit in Richmond’s Union Square that has seen turnover after turnover.
The new Hong Kong-style chicken cafe that just opened is the busiest I’ve seen this room.
Lucky Star Chicken Cafe took over the corner unit Hey Yearn left on Capstan Way, in the plaza Chinese locals call Diabetes Plaza for its pile of bubble tea and dessert shops.
It’s family-run, and the owner-chef has been working in Vancouver kitchens for two decades.
The restaurant’s site puts his background simply: “Ours spent twenty years learning one bird.”
The menu runs nine kinds of free-range chicken, from signature soy sauce and Hainanese to sand ginger and black truffle, by the half or the whole bird.
Behind that is a full Hong Kong and Macau cafe lineup, like baked pork chop on rice, Portuguese curry and sweet and sour pork, and most plates come with a daily soup or a hot drink.
We went in anonymously and ordered the set for two at $48.80: half a free-range chicken, one dish off the list, plus the house soup and rice.
We picked sweet and sour pork with pineapple and added a salt and pepper fish fillet on top.
The half chicken came chopped on the bone over a pool of dark sauce, with a small dish of green onion dip on the side.
Taste and service were OK.
It’s not at the level of the award winners or the spots locals swear by, but the portions are decent for the price, and plates came out fast for a soft opening this slammed.
From what we overheard, the soy sauce chicken was the pick most tables went for.
I’ve been on a hunt for the best sweet and sour pork this year, and this one was a miss for us.
This corner has had a rough couple of years.
Pho 37 started here before moving to a bigger unit in the plaza, then B House had a short run and Pho 37 took the space back for a second shop that didn’t last.
Yearn’s Henan clay pot spot came next; it shut down after about three months.
With no Hong Kong-style cafe in the plaza until now, Lucky Star has pulled in a lot of first-timers, and it’s the busiest I’ve seen this unit in a couple of years.
I’d go with one of the sets, since they’re easy to pick from and come sized for two, four or six, and I’d expect a wait on a Friday night.
Lucky Star Chicken Cafe joins other recent Richmond openings like H&A Art Caffè, Xiaoyu Bistro and Mr. Noodle Chen.
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Address: Unit 1101, 8328 Capstan Way, Richmond (Union Square Shopping Centre)
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