Mates on Crates Feat. William Liu

G’day,

Those in the know, know where to go.

We’re excited to have just launched our latest episode of Mates on Crates, featuring William Liu, Owner & Operator of Kam Wai Dim Sum in Vancouver. A family-run business established in 1991, Kam Wai has spent 35 years bringing traditional dim sum to Vancouver, growing from a small Chinatown storefront into a multi-generational family business with a new location, Kam Wai Legacy in Hastings-Sunrise. With extensive in-house production making more than 20,000 dumplings and 5,000 buns daily, guests can expect fresh dim sum, as well as frozen classics to enjoy at home. The new Kam Wai Legacy location also offers a welcoming cultural experience, with bilingual signage, Cantonese transliterations ,and educational touches that help guests explore Chinese food and language. William grew up in the family business, learning to make dumplings at just three years old while watching his parents build the company. Today, he continues his father's legacy by focusing on quality, family, staff wellbeing, and making Chinese cuisine accessible to everyone.

It was a pleasure to sit down with William to chat about his family's history, the evolution of Chinatown, the cultural traditions behind dim sum, and all of William’s favourite spots

Each time we do a Mates on Crates interview, our guests share up to twenty of their favourites with us. For each episode, only a handful of those favourites make it into the final two minute cut. In order to highlight all of our guest’s favourites, we are happy to share the full list of favourites right here.

William’s favourites at Kam Wai Dim Sum:

• Main: Lotus Leaf Wraps, filled with sticky rice, pork, chicken, Chinese sausage, and mushrooms

• Drink: Pu-erh chrysanthemum tea

The FULL LIST of William’s Local Favourites:

• BBQ Pork: Cantonese BBQ

• Coffee: Doe

• Chinese: Happy Family Restaurant

• Dying to Try: June and Touk

• Guinness: The Irish Heather

• Hidden Gem: Lady 3 Kitchen

• Last Meal That Blew Them Away: St. Lawrence and Bar Gobo

• Neighbourhood Favourites (Chinatown): The Boss Bakery, DD Mau, Meo, Maxim’s Bakery, Bao Bei

• Neighbourhood Favourites (Hastings Sunrise): Dachi, Rumblefish, Le Pho, Haliná

• Peking Duck: Sun Sui Wah

• Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup: Torafuku

Thanks for joining us, William!

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Watch William’s full Mates on Crates Episode below.

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