Mia Stainsby
Sun
Aaron McArthur became passionate about ethnic restaurants thanks to his wife, Elaine Yong. Here they enjoy a meal at Joyce Jiaozi Restaurant. Our list of restaurants includes their recommendations as well as that of another couple, Randy Schisler and Lana Wong. Photograph by: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Sun
Nash Mawani, owner of Jambo Grill with some of his favourites. Photograph by: Steve Bosch, Vancouver 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
