Vancouver Ramblings

Walking around Vancouver the last few days, it quickly dawned on me that this is one of the most culinarily diverse cities in North America. I began my dining adventures with dinner at a slightly downscale Burnaby/Metrotown eatery billing itself as a "Chinese restaurant." What made this Chinese restaurant unique however, was the fact that was nearly completely devoid of Chinese food, although won ton soup and fried rice were on the menu.

Everything else was Korean, including the complimentary dishes of pickled daikon and relatively mild kimchi. The won ton soup had a rich and salty broth and the dumplings resembled diminutive potstickers with bright ginger overtones. For my main course, I had a filling bowl of thick noodles topped with a seafood and onion-laced black bean sauce. Satisfying and inexpensive, I was pleasantly surprised by the fare offered at this "Chinese" restaurant.

Further evidence of culinary eclecticism (or perhaps confusion) was on display at the curiously-named Pittsburg Restaurant at 1687-4500 Kingsway. Peering into the window of this modernistic restaurant, I noticed that it had a large Asian clientele tucking into meals from all over the gastronomical map. The menu had everything from New York strip steak to noodle soups to Monte Cristo sandwiches. One item on the menu caught my eye, the "chef's recommendation" of a Hainese chicken meal.

Originating in Hainan, the smallest Chinese province, this version of chicken is simple yet satisfying peasant fare. The lunch began with a serving of a brothy soup without much more than a few slivers of meat and vegetables. However, the stock was quite heady with the meaty taste of oxtail. The entree consisted of chilled steamed chicken with a minced ginger dipping sauce and sides of baby bok choi drizzled with oyster sauce, salted peanuts, and sticky rice. While this was a reasonably light repast, this $9.50 Cdn lunch's simplicity and delicate flavors made it a true standout.

Later I needed change to board the Skytrain downtown, so I popped into Burnaby's Crystal Mall. Resembling a clean and well-lit scene out of Blade Runner, this retail center is packed with Asian eateries and foodstuffs of nearly every description. Bakeries offered up almond-scented cookies alongside two-bite-sized egg custard tarts. Pyramids of gleaming citrus stood alongside vigorous stalks of Chinese greens. The food court offered sushi, rice bowls, and noodles, and I even contemplated stopping in at an herbalist. I would up going into a store simply marked "Japanese Foods," and in this case, it was an accurate moniker. Loading up on wasabi peas and rice crackers, I also had change for the train.

For dinner that night, I had a fair shawarma platter at the Falafel King in the West End, followed by a visit to the Bulgarian-inflected fillo restaurant (see entry below). Downtown the next day, a friend and I had a so-so lunch of Indian butter chicken. My friend returned to work and I went back to read at her West End apartment. Tiring of accidentally dropping wasabi peas between my friend's couch cushions, I put on my coat and strolled down to the False Creek Ferry dock where I paid $4 Cdn for roundtrip passage to Granville Island.

The brief trip (it probably took longer to walk from the shore to the floating dock) brought me a stone's throw from the Granville Island Public Market. This covered market is a gastronomic paradise with shops specializing in local seafood, fresh B.C. produce, meats, and everything else ranging from Pez dispensers to cheeses from all over the world.

Since I knew I was going to have a late dinner, I decided to get myself a little snack. I started off with a glass of fresh-squeezed cantaloupe juice with a wild coho salmon spring roll at the Fraser Valley booth. The juice was quite refreshing and not-too-sweet, but the spring roll worked better in concept than in execution. It was a bit dry, especially compared to the best I've ever had at San Francisco's Slanted Door, and the smoked salmon tasted a bit more of of salt than wild fish. I had much better luck with the two oysters on a skewer at Celine's - these were fine fat Pacific shellfish, perfectly grilled.