Closed - Maji - Taiwanese jewel in Richmond

Richmond has the highest density of chinese restaurants in the world after China. The high concentration of restaurants lead to a hyper competitive environment where the remaining ones are true gems. Hard to find bad pizza in NYC? You get the idea.

There are also many different categories of chinese food. From the northern cuisine to the southern cuisine from canton, the spicy food from Sichuan, the list goes on and on. There is one gem of an island tucked away to the east called Formosa aka Taiwan( literally translated as treasure island). Taiwanese cuisine originated from near the Xiamen, Jinmen area in mainland china and throughout the years with japanese and local tribal influence transitioned into a sensation of it’s own. Taiwan is famous for the Din Tai Fung chain and taiwanese street food and snacks.

Maji is a very traditional interpretation of Taiwanese food and we are very lucky to have such a high calibre of Taiwanese food to enjoy right here in Vancouver. The restaurant is decorated with wooden panels and it feels clean. “Maji” in Taiwanese local dialect means friends.

Below is the braised pork belly. The pork skin has already been simmered down and completely drenched in the mixture of dark soy sauce, spices, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and dried mandarin orange peel. It has been cooked for a few hours and the knife cut slices through the pork easily. Make sure to eat the dish from top to bottom, one bite covering both the lean meat and the fatty bits.

Maji Taiwanese restaurant braised pork belly

The fried shrimp balls with pineapple is a nice combination of sweet and sour and crunchiness. The product is tossed in japanese sweet mayonnaise before serving and also has nice texture from the well battered shrimp.

Maji Taiwanese restaurant pineapple shrimp

Served in a traditional casserole is the ginger hen soup. You can tell the quality of the chicken by the layer of dark yellow chicken fat floating at the top of the soup.

Maji Taiwanese restaurant ginger hen soup

The famous taiwanese dish called three cup chicken. It is usually made chicken thigh/drumstick with one cup of dark soy sauce, brown sugar and sake. The sake is usually added at the end to the piping hot pan to make sure it picks up the chicken bits and adds fragrance from the evaporated alcohol. Thai basil is usually also added to the dish for extra fragrance.

Maji Taiwanese restaurant three cup chicken