Southland Restaurant - Affordable and Tasty Chinese

There is nowadays quite a dichotomy between what is colloquially coined as "Westernized Chinese" and authentic Chinese food such that the ethnic and immigrated population flock towards one set of restaurants whereas those non-ethnic gravitate towards another. A shame really considering that Chicken Balls and Ginger Beef have become synonymous with Chinese food in Canada yet one would be hard pressed to find those offerings in more authentic restaurants. When a colleague mentioned Southland Restaurant initially, I viewed it with a healthy dose of skepticism as the majority of the photos on Zomato were of the lunch buffet. Yet a glance at the menu showed some classic dishes and dim sum options that it intrigued me enough to warrant a try. This post encompasses two visits to Southland Restaurant.

The southern tip of Pembina has a explosion of quality Chinese restaurants. Just past the established spots like Sun Fortune and North Garden, in a small but easily accessible strip mall, lies Southland Restaurant. A rather unfortunate location, hidden behind a commercial bank, forces customers to seek out the restaurant. Compounded further is the rather dull and uninspiring signage which gives no hints as to the quality of the restaurant. All put together this would not be a spot I would be attracted to off the street. Interestingly though is the dichotomy of the interiors which is more modern and attractive than the outside. Plush carpets, a large aquarium of seafood and traditional Chinese art all work together to create an appealing site to its customers.

I always find it hilarious how many "menus" a Chinese restaurant has, seemingly having one created for each hour of the day. The first time we arrived we ordered from the "dim sum" menu. Southland serves its dim sum through paper orders and ditches the classic push carts. Its offerings were wide, varied and included all the classics and some unique dishes we have never had previously. The second visit was for dinner and its menu this time was a vast combination of authentic Chinese dishes divided into the protein of choice and a special section of specialties and unique delicacies. The options resemble more of Cantonese cuisine mixed in with a bit of Northern flare.

Our dim sum adventures started with a Taro Bun. The picture of the exterior does not do the dish justice as the crusty and flaky exterior holds in a sweet and creamy taro mixture. I loved the contrast of the crispy crust and the soft interiors. The incredible purple hue of the taro pleases the eye while its softness and sweetness captures the palate well.

Our classic congee is the Pork and Century Egg Congee. This large bowl of congee is filled with pork pieces and lovely century egg. And while the serving was huge, the pork pieces given were huge globs of fat and sinew with minimal amounts of meat. This resulted in a greasy and ultimately disappointing bowl of congee.

We loved these Shrimp Rice Rolls. Soft rice skin holds in large pieces of whole shrimp, all steamed to perfection and topped with a sweet soy sauce. The shrimps were large, bouncy and tasted fresh while the rice skin was the right amount of thickness to not overpower the shrimps but to keep everything together. The presentation could definitely use some work but the taste was definitely there.

Eating more of our seafood friends we ordered Shrimp Dumplings. These classic dumplings were filled with finely minced sweet shrimp and finished in the steamer. The delicate rice wrapper was borderline too thin with a few of our dumplings falling apart after picking them up - shame! Nevertheless the shrimp mince had a slight saltiness which worked well with the springy shrimp. I would have loved to see a contrast of texture here, perhaps with a crunchy element, to bring these dumplings over the top. But overall good.

These large and plump Siu Mai were a decent size but ultimately lacked flavour. Unfortunately the same fatty pieces of pork found in the congee made its way into these dumplings and rendered the dish too greasy and borderline inedible. Granted the dish is supposed to be fatty and indulgent, but not when the heart attack inducing grease makes it unappetizing.

I laughed a bit when these Xiao Long Bao showed up at our table. Trying to pass off classic soup dumplings with these pork dumplings is disappointing and borderline deceitful. So for those interested, note that they are not the delicious soup-y dumplings one was hoping for. With that said, what you do get, pork and cabbage in a thick flour wrapper was actually quite tasty with a nice contrast of meaty pork and crisp cabbage exploding into a package of flavour.

Instead of serving it last we somehow got served our Mango Pudding midway through the meal. No worries though as the soft and tangy pudding had a great gelatinous bouncy consistency. A nice mango flavour comes through with every bite giving it an overall sweet and savoury mix.

Ah the pork inconsistency continues with the Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce. A classic dim sum dish, it mixes a combination of pork side ribs and black bean in a sweet and savoury steamed bowl of goodness. I was surprised because here the pork was nice and flavourful, meaty and a nice ratio of meat to fat. Topping it off with a salty black bean sauce helps to bring out an slight sweetness of the pork. The best bit of the dish though are the pieces of squash at the bottom, rendered soft and delicious by the juices and fat from the pork.

We were approaching our maximum now when the Turnip Cake showed up. Pan fried golden brown with big pieces of turnip strewn inside, these cakes were delightful and sinfully delicious. The light fry gives a slight touch of crispiness while maintaining the softness of the interior. Served on the side with hoisin.

Our last dish of the dim sum meal were Beef Balls. Probably the best item on their list, these beef balls were large, springy and had a nice herbal aroma to them. When mixed in the soy and vinegar sauce, the delightful taste of cilantro permeates with every bite. The beef was of a high quality and had the mandatory robust meaty flavour and bite while cooked soft enough to allow the other flavours to come through. Tasty!

And now onto our second meal for dinner at Southland! This time we arrived with a group of four for our semi-regular meet-up. Being a larger group allows us to sample more dishes and we started with a Crab Meat with Fish Maw Soup. Many non Chinese are disgusted when fish maw (the gas bladder of certain bony fish) is described to them but are delightfully impressed when they taste it. In actuality the fish maw gives the soup a slight chewy component to contrast the pieces of imitation crab meat and tofu in the soup. Finished with an egg drop, this was a nice thick start to the meal.

Venturing into the poultry section of the menu our group decided on the Steamed Chicken and Seasoned Salt. Fairly unimpressive in site, this chicken was chalk full of flavour. By steaming the bird, the chefs is able to maintain its juices inside and is able to serve a meaty but moist chicken. Southland here serves their chicken with a oil and seasoning salt mix rather then the usual green onion and ginger oil seen at most other restaurants; and it unfortunately was a misstep making the dish under-seasoned and missing flavour.

My favourite dish of the night was the Seafood and Eggplant XO Sauce Hot Pot. This savoury hot pot is filled to the brim with slices of soft eggplant mixed with large shrimp, chewy squid tentacles and meaty scallops. Stewing everything together in XO sauce brings all the components together as the slightly sweet, salty and spicy sauce enhances the flavours of the seafood. Eggplant is often tricky to cook and the chefs here delivered an incredibly tender but not overcooked vegetable that eventually soaked up all the flavours of the sauce and seafood.

One member of our team immediately gravitated towards the Pork Belly Stew with Preserved Vegetables. The stew takes thick slices of pork belly and pairs it with salty preserved vegetables all mixed together in a soy sauce broth and stewed together to perfection. The pork belly was of a high quality with a thick layer of gelatinous fat housing another layer of tender meat. Its fattiness was cut through by the salty vegetables and the soft stewed lettuce. Perfectly paired with a bowl of rice!

Southland certainly serves authentic Chinese food and while its quality and consistency can be hit and miss. The dim sum was borderline disappointing in quality and better can be found in the area, while the dinner menu items were much better. Taken together Southland serves solid Chinese food at reasonable prices and ultimately worth a visit if you are in the area.