A Long Weekend in BC

[ExtraMSG]

First off, I should thank Daddy-A both for his personal recommendations and for his foodblog, which I definitely found helpful. He didn't steer me wrong and my trip was a success in part due to him.

Here are links to my first two reports (covering the first two days). I was originally going to write just one report, but I guess I enjoyed myself enough that I just kept writing and writing. I was definitely gushing at times. (Lots more pictures on my site, btw.) It might be a couple days before I finish the last two reports because I'm off to a wedding.

Day 1: Salumi, Gelatiamo, Banana Leaf

Day 2: Go Fish, Granville, Les Amis du Fromage, Patisserie Le Beau, Vij's, Chinatown Night Market

Obviously we stopped in Seattle for lunch on our way up from Portland. We had just enough time to ride bikes around Stanley Park before the sun went down. Then we headed over to Denman and walked up to Banana Leaf. Good meal. Not everything was entirely a winner, but there were also no failures. Their roti canai was excellent as was their shrimp sambal.

The next day began with snacking. First we met Daddy-A at Go Fish and had the best fish and chips of my life. Then we walked over to Granville and sampled some things from Oyama, bought some cherries, and ate a pastry from Laurelle's. Then it was over to Books to Cooks. I don't understand why we don't get more books from Canada, Australia, and the UK. It's the same damned language. Is it that hard dealing with grams for Americans? I was jealous of several books I saw, some of which are $60 Canadian, but $200 plus American at Amazon. Ridiculous. I think I might need to see if I can place an order through them or Chapters.

Then it was up to W 2nd for some cheese and belgian waffles. Great cheese shop. We got some Tiger Blue (recommendation by you know who) and the Montana. Both were quite good. The Tiger Blue rivals our own Rogue River Blue.

I wish the belgian waffles were freshly made and that they weren't nearly out so we had more choice, but that was more our fault than theirs. Quite good anyway.

For dinner it was Vij's. What a revelatory experience. I love when a place has a true commitment to the flavors of a cuisine, but isn't afraid to refine dishes and use quality ingredients. Best. Indian. Ever. I could seriously drink that curry from the lamb popsicles all day. If 7-Eleven sold it as a fountain drink selection, I'd start buying Big Gulps.

After that, it was the Chinatown Night Market. Glad we hit this one before the Richmond one the next night. It might have been a letdown. We had fun anyway, giggling at the Engrish of "wieners meat", oooing and ahhhing over crusty skewers of beef and chicken. The eggballs were an interesting, futuristic looking dessert. Tasted like fresh fortune cookies. Bought some t-shirts for my brothers and then it was off to bed.

Edited August 18, 2005 by ExtraMSG (log)

[Daddy-A]

Arne said that if I was going to Vij's, I had to get the lamb popsicles, and so that's what I did. He hadn't steered me wrong yet. I could kiss his bald head for the recommendation.

It was great seeing you again Nick, and meeting Lisa as well. Glad to hear your trip was a success. At least you guys actually made it to Salumi when it was open. Now, a REAL friend would have brought something up for me ..

Your comment (on ExtraMSG.com) was spot on when you said that the bun:meat ratio on my Albacore Poorboy was a bit off. That was the first time that had ever happened to me ... which really isn't a problem since I pretty much always order the Tacones.

Looking forward to the next reports!

Arne

[ExtraMSG]

They were so generous with the fish and chips it made it especially stand out. I'd sure like to know what they dress the fish with for that "ceviche". That was some tasty shiznit.

And you don't need to worry too much about Salumi when you have Oyama. I should have bought myself something!

[Steve Drucker]

How you do get around...

Chow planning/research for our upcoming SEA/Vancouver/Pemberton trip is almost completed. Your post reinforces my plan to hit Salumi in Seattle, Go Fish in Vancouver.

Q: I see on your blog East Vancouver Farmers's Market. How does it compare to the Granville Island Market?

I ask, because I too head to farmer's markets wherever I go, mostly just to admire the produce--as the kinds of hotels my wife prefers tend to favor 300 thread count sheets more than kitchens. This trip, however, I've slotted in a couple of days in a Residence Inn or condo up near Whistler, and am eagerly anticipating being able to cook at least one meal--hopefully fish. Hence the farmer's market inquiry.

Thanks for the bike rental tip.

Will post more at length once I've summoned up the fortitude to distill down 15 pages of egullet research re Vancouver into coherent questions.

Thanks again for the pics--I've added the Richmond Night Market to the list, most probably after Shanghai Wind.

You seem to have ignored dim sum...me, I'm hoping that like with our Chicago LTHforum brethren, that there may arise an opportunity for a large dim sum feed(s); with just two people its so awfully hard to plumb dim sum depths at any one place let alone several. Has the Chicago 'you name it'-a-thon trend struck anywhere else yet?

Edited August 19, 2005 by Steve Drucker (log)

[Daddy-A]

Q: I see on your blog East Vancouver Farmers's Market. How does it compare to the Granville Island Market?

It doesn't. GI Public Market is a commercial venture, with a few local farmers inserted for authenticity. Like ExtraMSG said, the produce most vendors carry on GI is neither organic nor local (e.g. papayas next to Chilliwack corn). However, the market at GI is still excellent and a great way to spend a day, especially when you factor in the other vendors (butchers, bakers, candle-stick makers, etc.)

The Trout Lake Farmers' Market only runs until October(?) and is Saturdays only. It's total emphasis is "local" and "seasonal." It doesn't compare size-wise with markets in places like Portland, but it almost makes up for it with enthusiasm. We go quite regularly to support it with the hopes it will get bigger.

A.

[ExtraMSG]

I think the fish, meat, and deli stuff at Granville is great. But the produce, as Arne says, doesn't compare to a farmer's market. There's more of it and there's more variety, but I found it to be prettier than it tasted. Rarely were things ripe. Much more like a supermarket in that regard.

The farmer's market seemed to be much more of a hippy enterprise, perhaps not catching on with the greater public. I think it's a fine little market. We have smaller markets here in Portland that would compare. Not every farmer's market needs to be big. I'd like to see a few of those farmers try a little harder to provide goods that wouldn't be found in the Asian or mega markets, but that happens here, too. The quality on individual items was often much better than at Granville. But sometimes it wasn't. Organic does have its disadvantages and has a higher learning curve. It was so easy to get in and see everything, though, I think it's worth a stop for a market lover. Get some chocolates, btw.

I did do dim sum. Both trips. First trip I did Richmond Mandarin Restaurant and second trip did Sun Sui Wah. The universal favorite seems to be Kirin, but I had my little brothers with me the first time and was worried I wasn't dressed for it the second time. Plus, with my wife's pickiness when it comes to dim sum, I thought it better that we be able to choose off the carts the second time. I don't believe Kirin does carts. According to my friends who make week long trips twice a year to Vancouver just for dim sum, they think the best results come from the places that don't do carts. I thought Sun Sui Wah was okay, but not really better than what we have here in Portland, especially with our new Wong's King Seafood. Everything was rather greasy and the flavors weren't as good as I would have hoped. Damn busy, too. We waited at least a half hour. Things were much better at Mandarin, adeptly prepared. I didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked, though. If you like dim sum, it'd be a shame to miss it.

[barolo]

Granville Island Public Market is not a farmers' market, nor does it claim to be. I'll disagree with Arne in that I don't think they are adding a few local farmers for authenticity. They supplement their supermarket-style produce vendors with day-vendors who provide seasonal products. They also host a farmers' truck market on Thursdays outside the east end of the Public Market. It would be nice if there were more farmers and local vendors on Granville Island on a regular basis, but I suspect that there is a shortage of farmers able to invest the time and energy.

As an alternative to the East Van Market, if you are staying downtown it is a relatively short walk to the West End Farmers' Market (a smaller sibling of the East Van one with a few less vendors, but many of the same ones). I posted a few photos on the farmers' markets thread a couple of weeks ago: West End Farmers' Market . It's held on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. You can continue with a short walk down to the foot passenger ferry to Granville Island and you can stop at an excellent wine store, Marquis Wine Cellars, along the way to Granville Island, if you are interested in such things.

[Daddy-A]

I'll disagree with Arne in that I don't think they are adding a few local farmers for authenticity.  They supplement their supermarket-style produce vendors with day-vendors who provide seasonal products.

OK, so maybe my POV is tad more cynical

A.

[wesza]

Nick:

Thank you for your timely posting. I'm visiting Vancouver for a non-working trip just to indulge in whats interesting to eat from Sunday night until Wednesday.

Several places you posted about are on my must do list plus the Kolachy Shop [brian ?], HSG [Neil promised me a Hanger Steak], Vij's and Omnistky. Also interested in getting some Portuguese, Russian/Ukraine Food but mostly impulsive Chinese.

I will be staying at the "Sylvia Hotel" as well as trying Chinese No English name Restaurants in Richmond and Surrey.

Since there are only 2 of us it's no fun to eat Dim Sum, but guess we will find some Congee/Noodles places that are good.

If anyone wants to get together please leave a message I've often posted on the Vancouver Board on topics I have some experience with, but been to busy to post much recently.

Thanks again for the photos and report, Vancouver in my opinion has the most interesting local posters who also take excellent photos.where else can I officially become a honorary "Toysan".

I feel the Vancouver Area has some of the best Chinese Restaurants anywhere. The availability of ingredients from all over the world and caliber of Chefs make it a magical place. It's been a magnet for the best from Hong Kong and China.

Irwin

[ExtraMSG]

Sorry I took so long. Clients actually wanted me to work. What's up with that?

Day 3: Himalaya, East Vancouver Community Market, West, Richmond Night Market

Day 4: Sun Sui Wah, Primo Gelato, May Satay Hut

Wow, I thought day 3 would just be sight seeing. Nope.

We went to get a snack of samosas based on Arne's rec at Himalaya, but ended up getting butter chicken, naan, and some sweets as well. The samosas were quite good. Very nice crusts. The butter chicken was acceptable and the naan a little weird, tasting like puffed wheat. The sweets sucked. Very stale.

On the way over to the highway, we saw a sign of the farmer's market. What the hell, we stopped. Found a parking spot right across the street. It's small enough that we explored it all in just 20 minutes. Got some really good vegan chocolates from Bad Girl Chocolates. Interesting flavors and decent textures, especially for vegan. While it's not a huge markets, it has its own hippy character and there were some nice and rare produce. I really wanted to buy some of those hanging chiles. Got some blackberries instead, some of which were fantastic, some of which were a bit tart. Tasted some cheese, marvelled at some mushrooms, then headed north.

Went to the lighthouse, suspension bridge, Horseshoe Bay. Had an early reservation at West and we got done in time (despite terrible traffic across the bridge) to change before dinner. We each got a tasting menu at West. It was so nice to have true haute cuisine. Portland doesn't have any places that truly qualify. Each dish was art, both for the eye and palate. Service was solid four star quality. I got a great foie gras course, crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, with nice roasted peaches fragrant with a vanilla-rosemary sauce. My wife's favorite course was probably her crab-avocado "salad". Fairly classic, but executed perfectly.

We were stuffed and really didn't think we'd eat too much more, but were bored back at the hotel and decided to try the Richmond Night Market. Glad we did. Wow! It's Disneyland for the Asian food-lover. I could have spent hours sampling. Everything's fresh and there's tons of stuff you rarely see in a restaurant.

Next day was the last. Guilted my wife into dim sum. For some reason Sun Sui Wah in Richmond wasn't open, yet the one in Chinatown was packed. Wasn't impressed. Everything was greasy and I don't think it's even as good as our best place here in Portland. Probably should have hit Kirin.

Did some more biking along the shoreline and got some gelato from Primo. Decent, but nothing special. Flavors weren't as good as they could be. I think Mondo down the road is clearly better.

Hit Malay Satay Hut in Seattle on the way home. Not as nice a restaurant as Banana Leaf, but the food is as good and in some cases better. Although, I definitely liked the roti canai at Banana Leaf better.

Edited August 29, 2005 by ExtraMSG (log)

[makanmakan]

Since there are only 2 of us it's no fun to eat Dim Sum, but guess we will find some Congee/Noodles places that are good.

←

my "go to" for congee and noodles is the "congee noodle house" on broadway between main and quebec. best thing is that they're open till 3am!! try the cilantro and sea bass congee. to die for!

[ExtraMSG]

These were my favorites from my recent 2 trips. I'd add dim sum, too, but would probably choose Kirin next time:

* Richmond Night Market: Asian night fair with scores of food booths.

* Vij's: Upscale Indian, some of the best I've ever had.

* Go Fish: Great fish and chips and inventive fish specials.

* West: Very good haute Northwest cuisine and, imo, a good value at this level.

* Oyama: In Granville Public Market. Duck, goose, wild board prosciutto, plus many sausages.

* Les Amis du Fromage: Great cheese shop. Many local cheeses. Try the Tiger Blue.

* Kintaro Ramen House: Fresh made ramen and pork broth made daily.

* Phnom Penh: Cambodian/Vietnamese that steps above even many of the best places I've been.