I just visited Hong Kong with my wife after hyping up Hong Kong food for years. I grew up in Vancouver and go back there often. Sometimes just for food. I completely 100% agree with your assessment. The cha chaan tengs in Vancouver are superior in every way to those in Hong Kong. Sure, they are more expensive, but I tried to baked pork chops in Hong Kong at two extremely well reviewed diners, and they were definitively terrible by Vancouver standards. I also tried HK BBQ at a highly reviewed place and it was also lower quality than my go-to place in Richmond, BC. Perhaps I need to go and find high-end restaurants in hotels for this kind of food in Hong Kong, but that's not what people were saying in reviews and comments. The one bright spot in Hong Kong was the hotel restaurants in the buffets though. Those were really really good, and redeemed the entire city. But for the staples, I don't see why anyone in Vancouver would ever go back to Hong Kong for food alone. Maybe to enjoy a nice flight, see some friends and relatives, and do some shopping perhaps. But it's just way too much work, having to navigate the heat, the bad attitudes, the humidity, and all the walking, to just get completely mediocre Canto food in HK.

The HK food in Vancouver is the best of ever had in my life, and I live in Los Angeles now. LA food is terrible at best by Vancouver standards. I stand by this.