Vancouver Eats
Vancouver (population 688,000) is the most densely populated city in Canada, and the fourth in North America (after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City). It’s also one of the most diverse cities in Canada: half of its residents have a native language other than English (or French), and half were born outside of Canada. More than a third of residents are Chinese or South Asian. What does all of this mean? Vancouver has a vibrant international food scene, and one doesn’t have to go very far to experience it. We narrowed the huge field of restaurant options to those within a short walk from our lodgings.
Our first meal in Vancouver was xiao long bao (soup dumplings) at Din Tai Fung. They just like the ones in DTF in New York City, so I didn’t bother with photos.
Our first dinner in Vancouver was a winner. The place was Coast, part of Chef Emad Yacoub’s restaurant empire. We both had a classically Canadian seafood dish: fresh halibut. It was delicious, and our excellent server Peter paired it perfectly with a local white wine (Clos du Soleil’s Capella). The daily dessert, something lemony and creamy, had us humming with pleasure. We immediately booked a table for the following week.
I was curious about Japadog, a Vancouver institution. My Terimayo was tasty - korobuta pork, fried onions, grated radish, and “special soy sauce” - but I preferred it with much less seaweed.
Our time in Vancouver was a blur of international foods, all of them delicious. The standout dishes included:
me maki (garlic stubs wrapped with sliced pork) grilled skewers at Hashigo
salt baked chicken with ginger scallion sauce at Heritage Asian Eatery
palak chicken dosa at House of Dosas
Our neighborhood streets were lined with tempting restaurants offering other cuisines - Korean, Thai, Filipino, Himalayan, Greek, Persian - but we ran out of time. We look forward to returning to Vancouver in the future for a longer stay and a lot more of this international dining.
