canucklehead

The address is as follows. I got the name wrong slightly so that may be why you can't find it. Sorry! SHANGHAI YAN YUN DIM SUM HOUSE 3755 Main Street; 604-873-8896. Open Thursday to Tuesday 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. I think that it is around Main and 23rd or so - accross the street from Front. Mui Garden's is also in your 'hood peppyre I hope you like it if you try it.

Also - good call on Go Fish - Vancouver Lee. I have gone so often, I've tried to limit my visits so that I don't spook the staff. Their Halibut and Chips are sublime.

I am glad to see some non-Asian restuarants nominated. Asian restaurants seem to generally be able to deliver more bang for buck then other types of restaraunts. I think that the overall Vancouver restaurant market is so hyper competive - there is'nt alot out there that is out of wack in terms of value. That being said - here are my nominees (both Asian restaurants!) for good value. 1) Mui Garden for their curried beef brisket. Creamy and slow cooked with alot of coconut cream. Chinese-Malaysian food. 2) Shanghai Ya Yun on Main. Their juicy pork buns (I have said elsewhere) are the best in the city. Classic steamed dumplings bursting with soup - you have to be careful how you eat them. They come with a gingered dark vinegar (almost balsamic like) to cut some of the richness - good good good. And cheap. I think $4 for 6 (or more) By the way - good call on the Indian place in tinsletown Sashavan - soo good! Now, my brother has told me that he has heard about a possible Indian Pizza out in Surrey or Coquitlam and that it is very good. Any truth to this?

Actually - there is alot of this kind of thing going on in HK. It is called "si-fang choi" or private kitchen cuisine. The NY Times did a little piece on it and when I lived in HK there was a swatow restuarant located in a warehouse and you called ahead and put down the number of people planned to come with. You got what the chef thought was good at the market and it was usually very good. You had to wind your way through boxes and shelves in a warehouse to get to your table. There was place that I went to last time I was in HK that was opened by a wealthy guy - who was very well travelled and a very talented amateur cook. Alot of El Bulli (sic) influenced stuff. These eating experiences can be alot of fun and the food is outstanding. There is of course the element of mystery - but the bottom line is the food. In HK - rents can be exorbriant (much like Vancouver) so these place are opened up to avoid expensive infrastructure and a way for the chef to know how many people he is going to serve before he commits to buying the raw materials. With licensing and enforcement being what it is Vancouver - I am sure that if these places exist - they are pretty deep underground. Rumors, whispers,... I have heard some things - but nothing concrete. What a cool mystery.

I find this very distressing as well - I've purposely sought out Island Farm products and have avoided Dairyland. I know some might say so what - but I am tired of this province being a branch office of larger companies. I will always seek out the local producer simply because when it comes to food - the closer the better. I guess this leaves Avalon - or are they part of a larger company also?

I will keep it in mind - but I am bit of a fraidy cat. The invitation is very much appreciated and I hope to attend an egullet function soon.

What makes you think Whole Foods don't know how to sell them ? Just curious as my experiences with Whole Foods in general have been that they tend to be very knowledgeable about whatever they sell. ← Maybe it was late in the day - but when I spoke to the Cheese counter person about how excited I was about this aparent find she said alot of people did not know about the cheese. The customers who picked it up generally were people who already knew about difficult it was to get. There were about 10-15 rounds of cheese sitting around with very little fanfare or information. That being said - I agree that the Whole Foods staff tends to very good and pro-active in explaining their products. I read in a Fast Company article about how the stores are run with a lot of employee autonomy and they are rewarded by providing strong customer service and creative solutions. The prices at the end of the day are not too bad (though organic chicken prices - no matter where you go, always leave me gasping) and they treat there staff well - so it seems like a win win situation.

It is just a sympton of my OCD. I just went and washed my hands for exactly 45 seconds in 45 celsuis temperature water and then used 4.5 paper towels to ensure they were COMPLETELY dry. Seriously - I am just a technology bumbler

Just had my first Kolachies - beef&cheese, rueben, and chicken club (shared). All I can say is "aaaahhhhhhhhhh" Now I can curl up and sleep the rest of the day. On the floor of my cube that is...

Just had my first Kolachies - beef&cheese, rueben, and chicken club (shared). All I can say is "aaaahhhhhhhhhh" Now I can curl up and sleep the rest of the day. On the floor of my cube that is...

OMG - its official egullet is pushing every OCD button of mine. I have just talked my brother into driving down from the North Shore to pick me up from dowtown and drive me down to yaletown so I can one of these little guys. Deborah - when you are saying that this is their "last day" - I am guessing that you mean their last batch of the day. Otherwise this adds a layer of urgency to my OCDness that will send me into overdrive.

Ugh! I was late for work because of egullet and now and doing this at work. Gotta type fast. There are always locations that I wish had better restaraunts in them (ie Steamworks in Gastown). But for the most part - Vancouverites will separate location from great food. I took my god-children to the Flying Beaver in Richmond - the food was middling but the kids loved watching float planes take off and land and the river scenery was really fantastic. So I give Bridges, Monk McQueen's, et al a bit of break. I don't pretend I am going for food when I am at those places. What don't understand is why the downtown hotels don't take more advantage of their locations. I am sure Showcase at the Marriot could do a great take out trade on the curry lunches (whomever designed that room should be shot). Also - I wish Griffin's (is it still around - I just returned from living overseas) was better - as it stands now, the food tastes like banquet over-runs and yet the location could be so much more. But as for good food - I will really go out of my way to hunt it down. Thanks to e-gullet - I am going to try a kolachy very soon - very excited considering the enthusiasm it has generated here.

Thanks for the head up - I will definitely keep this in mind. I am always willing to support a local supplier first - much as I really like Whole Foods. Or Whole Paycheck as it is known in SF. I went a little crazy with my posts yesterday. This site is addictive because you guys are great - smart and opinionated. I am sure that I will breach protocol being a newbie and all - so I thank you for your patience in advance.

oh my god - this site is like crack. I've got to be at work early tommorrow - but I am interested in hearing what Mr. Maw has to say. Just read your latest piece in Vancouver Magazine - as always interesting.

Okay - I've had a good week, so this is not indicative of usual eating habits. Though I do eat out ALOT. Le Regalade - in WV for dinner. Very good crisp roasted duck and my brother had rack of veal with wild mushrooms. It was alot of food - I think that the entrees must be designed to share. And very rich - I don't know if this is a generational thing - but most people my age (mid 30's) seem to prefer the lighter hand of italian stuff. I've been to Parkside and there seems to be a strong french influence. The food is almost generous to a fault with all the reductions and butters - very rich. Shangha Ya Yun - on Main for lunch today. The best Xiao Lung Bao (they call them juicy buns) in Vancouver I dare declare. So full of juicy soup and pork - I burnt the roof of my mouth on those suckers. Chambar for Dinner. I won't even try to add to the acclaim that the place has gotten. It is definitely firing on all pistons though - the food has depth and finesse, the room rocks, and the service is friendly and professional. Only wierdness on my visit was I was handed an Opinion Survey on what I thought of the food and the place... etc. What was that all about!? Don't they know that they have got this city abuzz? I will let you know about my next White Spot visit. I grew up on Triple Oh but I miss the older waitresses who knew their stuff, worked their asses off, and got you fed fast. White Spot needs to stop pretending that they are Earl's.

You might want to check out Angel Seafood (check it out on line for address). They are a Japanese wholeseller and have alot of sush grade fish for sale (generally frozen). You know - I know that people get worked up about frozen fish - but my aunt's (well ex aunt) family used to own Aki's No.2 and I think that most of the sushi there was frozen - to kill off the parasites and then slowly brought back up to temperature. I used to hang out in the back and saw big sides of tuna and salmon be thawed out. Maybe this was not a good thing.

My second posting - I feel like a pro already. I think the deadest zone is the corner of Nelson and Hornby (I think) - where the urban buffet is. I can't how many restaurants have cycled through there - Chicago Pizza, Chinese Buffet, BBQ's...

Hey This is my first posting - so be nice. This site has become somewhat of obession for me. Just a heads up on what I think is a REALLY good cheese. Whole Foods in WV has in stock Vacherin Mont D'Or - all soft and oozy and raw milk goodness. I think that this is a pretty difficult cheese to find (though I suspect that Les Amis probably has it). Neither Forster's on 41st or the Cheese Shoppe in WV had it and said it was not available. I have only had it in HK and the Napa Valley - even in San Francisco it was very hard to get. It is a seasonal cheese and I don't think that Whole Foods knows how to sell them. I think that they have a number of rounds (at $26 a pop) and the cheese person said that she would be selling them for maybe another 1 or 2 weeks before chucking them. I have already gone three rounds of them. It is one of my favorite soft cheeses and the seasonality of the product really makes it something to look forward to. Many thanks