Mia Stainsby
Sun

Not long ago, we wrote about great ethnic restaurants in Metro Vancouver. In turn, we asked readers to tell us about their faves. Here’s what you suggest.

INTERNATIONAL CHINESE RESTAURANT

2163 East Hastings St., 604-255-0698

“Cheap but delicious dim sum delivered by cart. Dim sum is varied and hot, plus you can special order if you can’t find it on a cart. Much cheaper than other places. Very basic ambience.”

— Randy Schisler

PHO HOANG

3388 Main St., 604-874-0832

“Great Vietnamese food; lots of variety, good prices, clean with reasonably prompt service. Food is always good quality and tasty. Spring rolls for us are always a good determiner of a Vietnamese restaurant and these are excellent.”

— R.S.

DONA CATA MEXICAN FOODS

5076 Victoria Drive, 604-436-2232

“Diverse choices and tastes like the real thing.”

— R.S.

JOSEPHINE’S RESTAURANT

2650 Main St., 604-876-8785

“Filipino food. Awesome, helpful staff. Food is delicious. Very interesting tastes, but need to be adventurous. We usually avoid buffets unless it is Indian food, but we now include Filipino food.”

— R.S.

CHUTNEY VILLA

147 East Broadway, 604-872-2228

“Excellent Indian restaurant with dosas and fantastic homemade chutneys. Great service, good ambience, friendly, helpful staff.”

— R.S.

EL PULGARCITO

2522 East Hastings, 604-258-7922

“Fantastic [El Salvadorean] food. Very cheap, super-friendly staff, low key.”

— R.S.

KINTARO RAMEN

788 Denman, 604-682-7568

Incredibly delicious ramen. Fresh and tasty. We have eaten ramen in Tokyo and this place is almost as good. Always busy and always lineups.”

— R.S.

GREEN LETTUCE

1949 Kingsway, 604-876-9883

“What a combo of Chinese and Indian flavours! The dishes are Chinese for the most part, but with the Indian spices. The place is always full.”

— R.S.

JOYCE JIAOZI

5103 Joyce St., 604-436-5678

“Cheap northern Chinese food, close to Joyce SkyTrain station. Decent big bowl of beef noodle soup. Also great jiaozi (dumplings, like potstickers, but boiled) with interesting fillings such as tomato and pickled cabbage.”

— Elaine Yong

VAN-YA JAPANESE

5615 Harold St., 604-433-1303

“Family-run, serves homestyle cooking. Everything is consistently good. Nothing too fancy and sushi is standard but fresh. This place has been here for a long time, which is a good thing.

— Elaine Yong

CAFE D’LITE

3144 West Broadway, 604-733-8882

“I go there on a nearly weekly basis because it’s so good. I lived in Malaysia and Singapore for four years and this place is serving the real deal, of the best quality.”

— Lea Ault, co-owner of Hapa Izakaya

JAMBO GRILL

3219 Kingsway, 604-433-5060

“The food is top-notch at a very reasonable price. I’ve sampled just about every dish. My absolute fave is the masala steak with mogo (cassava) fries. The curries are rich and satisfying as are the beef satay skewers and kebabs. The owner, whom we’ve gotten to know as “Nash,” is a terrific host. He sees us at the front door and greets us at the table with our usual drinks.”

— Vesna Coleman

“For the members of the Ismaili community, this is our style of food. Indian, Mideast and African influences. Absolutely worth a try.”

— Fred Nathwani

“Everything I’ve tried on the menu has been wonderful. My faves are the pili pili wings, pili pili mogo, vegetable curry, kachori and chicken tikka. Staff are friendly which always adds positively to great food.”

— Kate McGrath

SERI MALAYSIA

2327 East Hastings, 604-677-7555

“The cooking brings back good memories of the Malay dishes that I have sampled growing up on the island of Borneo. We enjoyed the popular lamb biryani, the chicken curry, roti canai and refreshing cendol drink for dessert, all for around $30. The food is authentic and good value, but the space lacks a little in charm and the location is easy to miss, but I hope he can stick it out.”

— Gina Verster

SPICE ISLANDS

3592 West 41st Ave., 604-266-7355

“It is small and intimate and serves authentic Indonesian cuisine. The sauces, many with coconut milk, are delicious and the presentation is eye pleasing.”

— Gerry van der Ven

ZHEN HUA RESTAURANT

5822 Victoria Drive, 604-325-0783

“My husband and I had a wonderful dim sum lunch there this afternoon. We had six dim sum items and a crisp dish of gai lan with oyster sauce for $24, including a good tip. Service was fast and we left very satisfied.”

— Helen Amaranto

DHARMA KITCHEN

3667 West Broadway, 604-738-3899

“The food has Thai leanings and has no animal-derived ingredients. When we threw a fortieth anniversary party for my parents, the almost exclusively omnivorous crowd raved about the food. Items range from red Thai curry tofu to huge brown rice bowls (they are sooo much better than it sounds). Prices are all under $11 for entrees. There is no alcohol.”

— Pamela Howlett

WORLD CUISINES

DOK JA GOL

4992 Newton, Burnaby, 604-436-5005

“A good Korean restaurant in Burnaby to check out. Their barbecue is totally different from what one comes to expect in a typical Korean restaurant.”

— Joana Tam

LHY THAI

7357 Edmonds St. ,Burnaby, 604-526-8085

“I find the food always hot, tasty and reasonably priced. Any dishes we have tried over the years have been good.”

— Jane Allen

HI GENKI

6680 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, 604-777-0533

“Authentic homestyle Japanese food in an unusual setting, too! Don’t be alarmed when you pull up in front of the Nikkei Seniors Home. It’s the right place. It’s run by the folks behind Fujiya. Portions are large and filling. Hours are limited.”

— Elaine Yong

LAO SHAN DONG HOMEMADE NOODLE HOUSE

105-4887 Kingsway, Burnaby,

604-439-9588

“Beef noodle soup is fragrant with star anise and cinnamon, Taiwanese-style. I think it is amongst the top beef noodle soup joints, if not the best.”

— Elaine Yong

“We frequent the place almost once a week. The service is quick, consistently delicious and reasonably priced. You should try it!”

— Anna Tam

NO. 1 BEEF NOODLE HOUSE

4741 Willingdon Ave., Burnaby, 604-438-6648

“Another Taiwanese joint, though I think Lao Shan Dong has better beef noodles. However, this place has amazing peppery fried chicken bits — amazing! Lots of great little side dishes, good stir-fried noodles, tons of fun drinks, too. But definitely order the peppery fried chicken.”

— Elaine Yong

HAN JU TOFU HOTPOT

8328 Capstan Way, Richmond,

604-247-1079, and 4500 Kingsway, 604-434-8098

“Best for steaming, individual hotpots with seafood (shrimp, mussels, squid) and pork, tofu, egg, along with either bean-thread noodles or thick Shanghai-style noodles. Always consistent, always good. Go early for lunch as they are lined up out the door. Nothing more than $7 and you’ll have leftovers.”

— Lana Wong

CONTINENTAL SEAFOOD

11170 Cambie Rd., Richmond, 604-278-6331

“Our company often entertains out-of-town guests there for dim sum. The food is well prepared and the service nothing short of spectacular. We have been going there for years.”

— A. L.

TASTE OF PUNJAB

10009-136 A St., Surrey, 604-588-7700

“A little hole-in-the-wall at the back of a strip mall. The food is consistently very good and prices are phenomenally cheap. The owner always circulates to every table to ensure everyone is satisfied and content. The naan is among the best I’ve ever eaten; the servers understand and respect the word ‘mild’ (very important to this pale-skinned wimp!) and the restaurant is kept impeccably clean (equally important for someone very afraid of food poisoning).”

— Sandy Rea

THE BOMBAY RESTAURANT

2748 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam,

604-944-3872

“It is a well established, very popular spot to eat authentic Indian cuisine. The owner/chef brings in all his spices and rice from India and the menu is very comprehensive, including some excellent vegetarian dishes. Their mango lassi is the best and a real treat and the naan is always fresh and hot.”

— Thelka Wright

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Panel picks the top signature dishes of local restaurants

Mia Stainsby
Sun

Help! That’s what’s needed in sorting out the good from the bad in the density of Chinese restaurants in Metro Vancouver. This week, we got exactly that from a panel of local Chinese food experts in awarding 23 restaurants Signature Dish Awards in 25 categories, the first of what is planned to be an annual venture. The dining public also got a chance to have their say with the Diners’ Choice Awards and cast their votes for best Chinese restaurants online. (See both sets of winning restaurants, below.)

“It was decided that the awards would be given in the same way the Chinese community chooses a restaurant, by what to eat, rather than where to eat,” judges said of the Signature Dish Awards.

Once the dishes were nominated, the seven judges ate their way through five dishes a week over 16 weeks. Here’s what the judges said about the awards:

Stephen Wong, food writer and cookbook author: “As the earliest adopters of local ingredients, Chinese chefs in Vancouver have a long history of creating signature dishes that have not only inspired the current local cuisine movement, but have gained a loyal following among visitors from across the Pacific.”

Conrad Leung, head of Asian Culinary Program at Vancouver Community College: “The rationale behind awarding signature dishes is how appropriately it defines the Chinese love for quality food and divine flavour, a passion that triumphs above other elements, such as atmosphere and service.”

B.C. Lee, Chinese community leader: “Compared to New York ,where I had coffee and sandwiches for lunch most of the time, I am totally spoiled in Vancouver where I can enjoy dim sum, congee or dumplings, northern or Cantonese Chinese noodles any day, within walking distance.”

Lee F. Man, food writer: “What I discovered, and did not surprise me, was that outside of greater China, Vancouver‘s Chinese cuisine was probably the best in the world. Demanding and informed diners, skilled and passionate restaurateurs, and engaged local media all combine to keep Vancouver standards exceedingly high.”

Bensan Li, columnist and CBC international Asian program host: “Here in Vancouver there is no shortage of skilled Chinese chefs and their scrumptious culinary creations. Their larger than life stories of how they came to this strange land, started building new dreams and new careers in their known trades with bare hands and years of experience. Little did they know, they also laid a strong foundation that flourishes in Greater Vancouver’s promising Chinese food horizon. These are true pioneers who introduced authentic Chinese cuisine to Western Canada.”

Iris Yim, senior editor, Ming Pao: “The emergence of the Signature Dish Awards is not only timely, but also the best way to pay tribute to the hard working men and women behind these divine dishes which we so much enjoy.”

Stephanie Yuen, food writer, broadcaster, restaurant consultant: “[With these awards] the Chinese culinary enjoyment will definitely expand and non-Chinese will no longer be confused by the overwhelming selection of Chinese restaurants.”

BEST SIGNATURE DISHES

MOST INNOVATIVE DISH

Guoba (crispy rice) with Salty Egg Yolk: Long’s Noodle House, 4853 Main St., 604-879-7879

Crab

Golden Dungeness Crab with Spice Salt: Ken’s Chinese Restaurant, 1097 Kingsway, 604-873-6338

King Crab

Live King Crab in 4 Courses: Excelsior Restaurant, 6340 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-278-2616

Shrimp

Sauteed Spot Prawns with Soya Sauce: Koon Bo Restaurant, 5682 Fraser St., 604-323-1218

Lobster

Lobster in Two Courses: Shiang Garden, 4540 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-273-8858

NORTHERN/SHANGHAI-STYLE

Dim Sum

Shanghai-Style Juicy Dumpling: Lin Chinese Cuisine and Tea House, 1537 West Broadway, 604-733-9696

CANTONESE/HONG KONG-STYLE

Dim Sum

Steamed Rice Rolls with Pork Liver: Shun Feng Seafood, 4380 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-304-6088

Congee

Liver and Meatball Congee: Mak’s Noodle House, 8291 Alexandra Rd., Richmond, 604-231-8141

Noodles & Rice

Beef Tendon and Won Ton Noodle Soup: Tsim Cha Noodles, 8251 Westminster Hwy., Richmond, 604-273-6288

Barbecue

Roasted Pork: Parker Place BBQ, 4380 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-233-1138

Vegetarian

Taro Hot Pot: Bo Kong, 8100 Ackroyd Rd., Richmond, 604-278-1992

Cold Appetizer

Jellied Pork: Shanghai River, 7831 Westminster Hwy., Richmond, 604-233-8885

Chinese Dessert

Golden Pumpkin with Honeyed Walnut: Yan’s Garden Restaurant, 9948 Lougheed Hwy., Burnaby, 604-421-8823

Chinese Pastry

Apple Tart: New Town Bakery, 158 East Pender St., 604-681-1828

Soup

Wine Chicken Soup: Wonton King, 620 S.E. Marine Dr., 604-321-4433

Fish

Steamed Sable Fish in Bamboo Steamers: Sea Harbour, 3711 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-232-0816

Geoduck

Sautéed Geoduck with Mixed Vegetables: Jade Dynasty Restaurant, 137 East Pender St., 604-683-3822

Scallop

Scallop-stuffed Zigua: Jade Dynasty Restaurant, 137 East Pender St., 604-683-3822

Clam

Grilled Clams: VIP’s Restaurant, 1487 Marine Dr., West Vancouver, 604-925-1811

Pork

Roast Suckling Pig: Kirin Restaurant, 555 West 12th Ave., 604-879-8038

Beef

Sautéed Beef with Chinese Long Bread: Flamingo Chinese Restaurant, 7510 Cambie St., 604-325-4511

LAMB/GOAT/MUTTON

Lamb Hot Pot: Sun Sui Wah, 3888 Main St., 604-872-8822

Chicken

Chicken Hot Pot: Jade Seafood Restaurant, 8511 Alexandra Rd., Richmond, 604-249-0082

Duck

Stuffed Duck: Shanghai Wonderful, 8380 Lansdowne Rd., Richmond, 604-278-8829

Squab

Roasted Squab: Sea Harbour Seafood, 3711 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-232-0816

DINERS’ CHOICE AWARDS

Best Dim Sum Restaurant: Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant, 3888 Main St., 604-872-8822

Best Cantonese Restaurant: Mui Garden, 5797 Victoria Dr., 604-324-3665

Best Northern Chinese Restaurant: Shanghai River Restaurant, 7831 Westminster Hwy., Richmond, 604-233-8885

Best Hot Pot Restaurant: Chubby Lamb Hotpot Restaurant, 8391 Alexandra Rd., Richmond, 604-303-8843

Best Taiwanese Restaurant: Bubble Tea Café Well Tea, 4811 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, 604-278-7268

Best HK Style Cafe: Gloucester Cafe, 3338 Cambie St., 604- 873-3338.

Best Noodle Soup Restaurant: Sha Lin Noodle House, 548 West Broadway, 604-873-1816

Best Congee Restaurant: Hon’s Wun Tun House, 268 Keefer St., 604-688-0871

Best Chinese Bakery Shop: Anna’s Cake House, 5510 Cambie St., 604-325-8214

Best BBQ Shop/Restaurant: BBQ Master, 4651 No. 3 Rd., Richmond, 604-272-6568

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

Gastown restaurant prides itself on an ambience that is welcoming to every taste

JOANNE SASVARI
Sun

For a chef, it’s a pretty sweet deal when your restaurant has its own butcher shop, is located in trendy Gastown and has owners connected to major sports franchises. Add in a charming historic building, and you’ve got what seems like a surefire recipe for success. You’ve also got a lot to live up to. That’s what Romy Prasad faces as the new chef at So. Cial at Le Magasin. And so far, he’s embraced the challenge.

So. cial, famously owned by former Vancouver Canuck goalie Kirk McLean, former coach Bob McCammon and his wife, Maureen Fleming, opened in 2007 to much fanfare, thanks in large part to a loving renovation of its 1911 location in Gastown’s vintage Le Magasin shopping arcade. It features a casual-fine-dining restaurant upstairs, an oyster bar downstairs and a butcher shop in back where guests can pick up a slab of housemade terrine or a gourmet sandwich to go

Right from the get-go, though, So. Cial was a bit of a puzzle. Was it a tourist joint? A place for the city’s social set to see and be seen? A hipster hangout? A serious foodie destination? All of the above? Or none?

“ Our customer base is eclectic — just like the area,” says Prasad, who joined So. Cial in November, replacing original chef Sean Cousins, who is now at C. “ We have business people, artists, fashionistas, hipsters, techies, gamers, students, locals living and working in the area, and tourists. Our ambience is welcoming to everyone.”

Prasad, who was formerly chef at the now-closed Savory Coast and before that executive chef at CinCin for eight years, admits that the restaurant’s multiple components keep him busy, especially as he considers improvements for the new year.

“ We are expanding our deli line to include products from Oyama, as well as expanding our deli offerings to include things like housemade chili and meatloaf,” he says.

“ In the main restaurant, we are changing our menus seasonally and I am looking at adding a tasting menu in the near future. We are also looking at expanding our offerings in the oyster bar to include seafood towers. In addition, we are also starting to offer off-site catering.”

So far, he seems to be doing everything right, in his own unique way.

His cuisine is equally influenced by both the West Coast and the Mediterranean. It’s vibrant and flavourful, and follows the culinary dictum du jour of local, seasonal and organic where possible.

“ My menu is akin to the word So. Cial — if you are out to socialize then you want to be comfortable, at ease and enjoy yourself,” Prasad says. “ It is old school and traditional while at the same time emphasizing regionality and freshness.”

At dinner ( So. cial is also open weekdays for lunch and weekends for brunch), things get started with $ 2 “ little bites” that are not, in fact, so little, like the crispy-but-tender arancini, saffron-and truffle-scented risotto balls filled with tangy pecorino cheese.
After that, it’s hard to resist the charcuterie board, which features whatever is being served at the butcher shop, usually a slice of terrine, some house-cured sausage and a ramekin of potted meat, which is satisfyingly salty and savoury, but unnecessarily heated.

Or, if you prefer to start things off with seafood, Prasad has a deft hand with the denizens of the ocean, and offers fresh oysters, crispy crab cakes and three different kinds of mussels, served, of course, with fries.

He also offers great seafood mains, such as seared salmon, herbcrusted halibut and a heart-warming cioppino, a very West Coast seafood stew of hearty chunks of salmon and plump mussels in fragrant broth, served with toasts topped with Provencal-style rouille.

But since Prasad has his own butcher shop to play with, it’s worth checking out the daily butcher-shop feature.

The night we’re there, it’s a flavourful ribeye steak that arrives perched atop a slab of potatoes au gratin. It’s the priciest dish on the otherwise reasonably priced menu, and while perfectly respectable, doesn’t showcase Prasad’s lighthanded creativity the way, say, the pork tenderloin scaloppini with spaetzle does.

The mostly B. C. wine list perfectly complements the cuisine, and includes interesting and hard-tofind labels, both by glass and bottle.

We’re not so enchanted by the cocktails, which are overly sweet and without the flair we’ve come to expect in Vancouver’s top eateries. The list itself is an odd mix of the quirkily retro and the once-trendy, and is a major missed opportunity, given the gorgeous wooden bar that should be one of the hottest spots in town.

Th at sa id, we may see som e improvements there, since the So. cial team plans to offer live jazz at the bar on weekends.

Another discordant note is that, despite the beautiful room and the careful renovation, a glaring streetlight outside the dining room window casts an unfortunately harsh light on the ambience.

We’d love to see some soft window coverings at night reduce the glare.

Still, So. cial is definitely a place to check out and maybe even to hang out. And if Prasad’s cooking continues the way it’s begun, So. cial could become that rare restaurant that satisfies all appetites.

TASTE TEST: Culinary hybrid just OK but it stills looks bound for success

Province

Mon Bella Bistoria
Where: 1809 West 1st Ave., Vancouver
Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-569-2742
Drinks: Fully Licensed
Hours: 5 p.m. – late, Tues. – Sun., Closed Mon.

Like Donnie and Marie’s little bit country, little bit rock ’n’ roll, Mon Bella boasts both Italian and French cuisine and so they call themselves a bistoria, as in bistro and trattoria fused into one. They leave no pizza stone or duck liver unturned in their quest to please all those Eurocentric thinkers who won’t be satisfied until they’ve stuck a snail or a Portobello between their teeth.

Paid a visit with Peaches to this spiffy new place that has all the sleekness of a sea lion groomed for mating season under its highceilinged edifice. Banquette and booth seating, bottles of wine decorating the room as well as climbing the back wall like the vines the vino came from, black-and-whites photos of quaint European scenes and a bar with all the futuristic neo-classical curves that the 21st century can throw its way.

So, all-in-all, not a bad spot, and with the lineage in the kitchen via Chef Brian Fowke, formally of Rare and Metro, and the experience of owner Brad Roark, who was put through the paces at CinCin, Tapastree and Araxi, this culinary hybrid seems earmarked for success.

Alas, it was not to be for me that evening although neither was it a failure. It was just OK. Began with an appetizer of Ravioli di Zucca a Mano ($12), otherwise known as pumpkin and squash ravioli with roasted red pepper and goat cheese. Along with that we tried the house salad with mixed greens, brie croutons and golden beets with a tarragon vinaigrette ($9).

First, let me say about the ravioli that I fail to see the appeal of foam on food. It’s unappetizing, it’s not tasty and it puts me in mind of the unwholesome suds that wash up on the edge of the sea on a hot summer day. So the foam threw me but I’m not put off that easily. Still, the flavour of the pumpkin squash ravioli was severely lacking. None of the earthy sweetness or textural contrasts I usually enjoy, so we moved on to the salad.
Salad was very nice and the golden beets especially tasty and the only failing point was the absence of the brie croutons that Peaches and I were so looking forward to.

For mains, I chose the beef short rib with porcini risotto, Comte cheese and roasted cioppolini onions ($21). Meat was simultaneously as tender and lascivious as the look Sophia Loren gave Anthony Perkins in Desire Under the Elms, the risotto creamy with its fungus undercurrent but somehow the rich sauce pooling around the plate didn’t live up to its visual promise. I was hoping for more of a deep, bittersweet, hefty herbed offering as the deep cherry-red sauce hinted at but again something was missing.

Peaches opted for steak and frites ($25) with a sautéed strip loin, nicely crisped and salted fries, a Provençal-style cooked tomato and red wine shallot compote.

My only complaint was the accompanying geriatric-looking green beans had more wrinkles than Joan Rivers before her latest facelift and botox treatments. Otherwise it was good.

So if you’re looking for classic bistro or trattoria fare from escargots to veal you’ll fine it here. But let’s be frank. During the Second World War, there was no love lost between these two countries as Mussolini played patsy to the Third Reich. Resentment and revenge burns deep and it seems at times the battle is still being waged here on the plates.