House Special Vancouver | Modern Vietnamese Yaletown

House Special is an upscale restaurant that specializes in modern Vietnamese cuisine in Yaletown, Vancouver. It is change to see a string of chic eateries like Chi (Kitsilano) , Anh & Chi (Mount Pleasant) have a refreshed take on dining while serving authentic Vietnamese food. I like the clean, airy and brightly lit space.

House Special recently just launched their Brunch Menu with a focus on Vietnamese dim sum dishes – tapas style concept that is meant for sharing. During the weekend, only the Brunch Menu will be offered. You will need to come back for their regular lunch program.

Glass Dumplings (Banh Bot Loc) 6: Banana leaf wrapped tapioca dumplings stuffed with cured pork and shrimp. Served with nuoc cham dipping sauce. We loved the chewy texture with a hearty filling accompanied with the garlicky chilli, lime, fish sauce.

Phnom Penh Roll (Bo Bia) 6: Chinese sausage, egg, jicama, carrot, herbs, lettuce wrapped in a Vietnamese salad roll. Peanut dipping sauce on the side. Perfect for those looking for a little protein in their salad rolls but are tired of Vietnamese ham.

Garlic Butter Wings (Canh Ga Chien Gion) 10: lightly breaded and deep fried. These garlic and butter tossed wings are served with jalapeno, basil and lemon pepper sauce similar to Phnom Penh.

Pho Bo Vien Soup Dumplings (Pho Bot Luoc) 10: handmade beef and pork ball with a pho broth xiao long bao soup filling. Served with sriracha, hoisin, basil and calamansi wedges. This were perhaps my least favorite dim sum dish. Although I liked the the new interesting take on the XLB soup filling, the beef/pork ball was hard and the texture just does not go well with the soft dumpling skin.

XOXO Rice Cakes (Banh Duc Man) 8: Steamed rice cakes served with house made XO sauce, pork, sriracha chutney, onions and pea tips. I had imaged these rice cakes to be soft and airy, much similar to a Chinese radish cake; however, they were dense and chewy. The xo sauce and the minced pork were tasty no less.

Overall, we liked the colorful flavors and am looking forward to their dinner menu along with trying their Duck Confit Fry Bread. And if it is a nice sunny day, have a seat in their beautiful patio over a few hand crafted cocktails!