Peter Rodgers

As noted earlier, we won't give up on Il Centro. Any new restaurant suggestions from your end?

Enrico Cordero is a man of great commitment and integrity. This was the first meal in five or so that did not sing to me. I will certainly return. If you get there beforehand, let us know how you fared. As for Renzo, I absolutely agree that it should be ranked among the best in the region. Interestingly, however, we like it there a great deal more at lunch than at dinner.

The price of a meal is 50 Euros per person, including modest wines chosen by the owner (say an Arneis followed by a Dolcetto). If you dig into the cellar and opt for a Barolo or Barbaresco, he will add 30-50 Euros to the bill. Still a steal compared to retail prices, even in Italy. I don't think he sells from the cellar, but he has been known to hand us a bottle of wine as a parting gift. Enjoy. P.S. Keep in mind that I Bologna does not take credit cards.

On a recent quick trip to the Langhe, we had a chance to return to I Bologna in Rochetta Tanaro. A recent renovation has done wonders for the place. There is a new dining room, a walk-in wine cellar where, with help from the proprietor, one can explore and then chose a bottle from the extraordinary collection of Baberas, Barolos and Barbarescos, new bathrooms (much needed) and a modern kitchen. The warm welcome and the menu remain the same. We enjoyed, among other items, a perfect vitello tonnato, classic agnolotti al plin, and excellent lamb chops. We also managed stops at Il Centro in Priocca (very good, but not our best recent meal) and an extraordinary lunch at Da Renzo in Cervere. Not much beats Da Renzo's cheese filled ravioli and perfect suckling pig.

A quick trip to our second home in Vancouver let me explore new and old. A bit of dim sum at Sun Sui Wah, chosen more for convenience than because it is at the top of its game, proved to be successful. Excellent steamed pork buns, har gow and pot stickers were highlights. Next ventured to the two month old Fuel, where I was able to grab a seat at the exhibition bar in front of the real kitchen. This is a good choice for a single diner, as there is plenty to watch, but in some respects, it is like a visit to the sausage factory -- some aspects of food preparation are better left unseen. The food at Fuel has room for improvement. The romaine salad with sauteed mushrooms was dull and my free range chicken dish, hugely recommended by the server, was basically fried chicken on a soggy waffle. But the place has a buzz; perhaps the rest will improve. Then dinner at West, which remains, in my judgment, far and way the best restaurant in Vancouver. I took advantage of two specials, a Japanese-style salad of little greens and raw fluke, then a boned, bacon-wrapped squab, each made meticulously from the best local ingredients, one better than the next. A bit of goat cheese from Salt Spring Island in a baby beet "sandwich," came as a surprise offering from Chef Hawksworth and was worth the visit. I took advantage of the talents of West's great bartender, who, when I asked from something interesting with rum, came up with a fabulous, tart rum sour. Then a nice half bottle of Nero d'Avola from Sicily. Service as always was fabulous and warm. David Hawksworth reports that he is working on a cookbook and a line of food. Good news all around.

The Szechuan pork is still sitting in the frig, but I would venture to say that we probably would try something else next time. Tell us how you fare after your next visit. [Host's note: To minimise the load on our servers, this topic has been split. The discussion continues here.]

Seems like my wife and I must have been the other non-Chinese at "The Place" on Granville last night. And we wondered what you were ordering, especially as we were having a devil of time figuring our how to choose ourselves given the very limited English menu (not the first time that I have regretted being lazy in college and passing up on taking Chinese). Had we only known about the lamb skewers (we missed the relevant post)! We ended up doing well on the dumplings -- the xiao long bao were as good as advertised and the pan fried pork and vegetable dumplings were as hot and (surprisingly) nearly juicy as the steamed version. But Shanghai special noodles were just ok, and we were out of gas by the time they brought the Szechuan spicy pork dish we ordered. This has been one of those visits to Vancouver during which Chinese restaurants have dominated our agenda. Among other ventures, we tried Chen's for the first time and returned to Shanghai Wind. Both were very good, but we'd probably give the nod to Chen's. The xiao long bao there get our prize and the several other dishes we tried (a pork with chilies and cabbage and a ginger beef) were superb.

I'm with Bill on Il Centro, which at least is among our top three in the region. Da Renzo is superb -- we like it best at lunch -- and we try never to miss I Bologna. Apparently, I Bologna has been renovating. Let us know what you think. I'd add two places in Acqui Terme to your list: Pisterna (owned by the same family that runs Il Cascinale Nuovo) and I Caffi. The former is a bit more refined; the latter is very much like I Bologna (basic regional dishes that are very well prepared). Have a great time and please post your experiences.

After reading an earlier comment, I decided to stop for dim sum in at the Red Star yesterday morning as I made my way to a noon flight out of YVR. The results were C+. OK har gow, good dried scallop and prawn steamed dumplings and so-so steamed pork buns. The har gow and scallop umplings were on steroids, which perhaps explains why there are lines on the weekends, but next time I'll just head on down road to Richmond. By way of contrast, the dim sum offerings at Shaing Garden a few days earlier were excellent (with the exception of a steamed pork and chive dumpling that was a very poor imitation of the xiaolong bao served at Shanghai River, etc.) -- especially the har gow, which might be the best I've had in the Vancouver area.

One more question. Stopped by the Gala Seafood Restaurant in Richmond during lunch yesterday -- it is in the location once occupied by the sorely missed Fook Yuen Palace. Looked to be doing a roaring dim sum business, and the dinner menu seemed interesting. Has anyone given it a try for dim sum or a major meal?

Will be talking our annual extended holiday in Vancouver next month and am hopeful that the serious students of the Chinese restaurant scene on the board can share any and all recent discoveries. Especially keen to know if there are any new entries in the Richmond market that deserve a try or old ones that have shown inspiration of late.

It seems clear that this gentleman needs some serious training. Would that I had been at the next table so that I might have said, as a DC-area compatriot and part time Vancouver resident, that I would be happy to take in what he left behind.

Sounds like a good steer. What do you know (style, location) and where can I learn more?

After reading Canucklehead's last post, my wife and I headed off for dim sum to Gingeri in Richmond this morning -- we are regulars (as much as one can be as part time Vancouver residents) at Jade and Kirin Richmond. The dim sum at Gingeri could have been the best we've had in the last year. Thanks, Canucklehead, for the steer -- we never would have identified the place on our own. Keep those reports coming!

As we plan the culinary agenda for a forthcoming trip to the Alba/Asti region, several restaurants that we have not sampled in prior trips come to mind: Vittorio in Tigliole; Borgo Antico in Barolo; perhaps Flipot. Then, as usual, we are curious whether anyone has seen improvement from Da Guido in Pollenzo or if there might be some other as yet undiscovered gem, especially in the traditional, informal category (i.e. along the lines of I Bologna). And finally, should we make a pilgrimage to Cambal 0? Thoughts from veterans and others would be most appreciated.

Will be spending a week with friends in Liguria and Piemonte this May and then need to have a jumping off point not too far from Malpensa. Our strong preference is to sleep where we plan to dine and, after some walking through the available guides, it appears that Villa Crespi on Lake Orta or Il Sole di Ranco on Lake Maggiore are good choices. Al Soriso would work as well, but we've not been especially pleased with the restaurant since it was elevated to three stars by the Michelin Guide. Thoughts on the Villa Crespi and Il Sole would be appreciated if anyone has visited recently, as well as additional ideas.

We enjoy Sun Sui Wah for the variety offered, but the cart service can produce inconsistent results. If you have the misfortune of being seated off in a corner or in a separate room (both branches have one or more), you can get the dregs. One way to beat the system is to take only those items that look like they are fresh from the kitchen and then specially order others. Some items -- like the pot stickers only come if you order them directly anyway. Others, are passed around by the waiters in much smaller quantities and stay hot/fresh. Although we frequent SSW's two branches, on the whole, the quality of the dim sume is best at places that do not have carts. We are particularly fond of Jade in Richmond and the Richmond branch of Kirin for their dim sum. The Kirin also regularly changes its dim sum list, which provides variety, despite the fact that the selection at any one time is not enormous.

Made my first trip to Mistral last night, with very satisfying results. It was a quiet night, which was a plus in terms of service and a minus in that it brings out the basic drabness of the restaurant (lively bar and different lighting desparately in order). But any problems with the architecture seemed irrelevant once the food began arriving (preceeded by excellent bread -- always a good sign). For a starter, I tried the honey mussels in curry/safron cream; it is a real home run. The quality of the mussels was extraordinary and the combination of fish and sauce worked very well. I took an earlier recommendation here and ordered the poulet with morrel cream sauce (not so rich as to warrant the "two cream sauce" warning) and frites for my main dish. The fries were the real thing; I thought the chicken breast was a bit dry, but otherwise the dish was solid and authentic. Finally, I gave in to Mistral's lemon tart. Would have been worth the rip, even if everything else went wrong. The restaurant has assembled a short wine list that needs work, especially at the bargain end, but there should be plenty of time for stocking more choices. Mistral has a very promising future, I think.

So where, might I ask, other than Lalibera, did you manage to dine? And what were the highlights?

Courtesy of the excellent recommendations in this thread (especially from Canucklehead and Ling), we branched out from our usual diet of Cantonese food over a two week visit to our second home in Vancouver. We started with Hu Hu Nan, then tried the Golden Szechuan and finished with a dinner at Shanghai Wind. Each of these restaurants stood up to the recommendations here. We especially enjoyed our dinners at Golden Szechuan and Shanghai Wind. The former offers perhaps the best Hot and Sour soup we have encountered. We also had a searingly hot braised cabbage with chilis and several other very good spicy dishes. Dinner at Shanghai Wind was memorable for its Shanghai soup dumplings and a terrific garlic eggplant dish. Thanks to all and keep the recommendations coming for those of us who do not have a Chinese community network.

Thanks for the directions. We had a very successful meal. Taking Canucklehead's advise, we urged the kitchen not to spare the spice. They probably did anyway, but the result was just right -- hot but not insane. Cannot at this point recite all the dishes, but notable were a fried (not battered) chicken with chili and a pork stir fry with preserved chilies. Next on our list is the Shanghai Wind.

"I corralled some fellow egulleters and based upon the good word from Nondual1 and Vancouver - decided to check out Hu Nan on South Main." Can anyone tell me the address of Hu Nan. Is it the "Hu Hu Nan" that used to be called Golden River?

Anyone care to reveal the whereabouts of Shanghai Wind? Don't worry, I won't tell a soul.

Now that the issue of Shanghai cuisine is on the table, what is the consensus on the best of breed both in Vancouver and Richmond. I keep passing a Shanghai place on Alexandra Road between Jade and Sun Sui Wah (cannot remember the name), which always seems busy. If anyone knows the one I mean, any comments on this particular venue?

No one who is watching the Vancouver real estate scene would believe that the Asian money is out of the market. That said, the last year or two has been less than exciting in terms of new openings and there have been a few notable losses of very good restaurants -- particularly the Fook Yuen Palace in Richmond, which just might have been the best restaurant in the region. Nevertheless, there is plenty to try. All of the Kirin restaurants are well worth a visit, although the best are the outlet on Cambie downtown and the location in Richmond. Try the fresh crab hot pot in black bean sauce and the superb Peking Duck -- each memorable. There are also worthy additions like the Jade in Richmond (especially for dim sum) and the recently relocated Fisherman's Terrace in the new Aberdeen Center in Richmond (but avoid from the fresh seafood). Sun Sui Wah continues to excel for dim sum and seafood. But stay away from everything in Chinatown.