Essential Asian eating in Vancouver / Victoria?

[vorpal]

Hi all!

At the end of the month, I'll be spending a few days in both Vancouver and Victoria. I'm a huge fan of Asian food of all types, but in particular Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian, Indian, Sri Lankan, Chinese, and Korean. (Japanese and Vietnamese food I can take a pass on.)

I'm looking for recommendations for extremely tasty restaurants in one of the aforementioned categories. Price isn't too much of an issue, and I would prefer well done restaurants that are "do not miss" rather than just quick and satisfying eats.

Any suggestions you could give me would be highly appreciated!

Thanks,
Sebastian

[bobross]

Hi Sebastian,

If you want really authentic Indian food, you'll probably have to travel down to Surrey (aka Little India). I really recommend http://www.ekam.ca/biz/mahek-restaura....

[bobross]

Whoops, bad link formatting on my part. Correct link is - http://www.ekam.ca/biz/mahek-restaura...

[dmsalgado]

Might wanna check out Hapa Izakaya too! I know you were thinking of passing up on the Japanese but it's definitely worth a visit. Also, try to do dim sum at Sun Sui Wah on Main and get the mango pancakes or the baked tapioca for dessert.... And definitely do Vij's! Maenam is the only Thai I've liked so far in Vancouver... If I were you I'd skip the Thai food here.

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Vij's Restaurant
1480 11th Ave W, Vancouver, BC V6H1L1, CA

Maenam
1938 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M5, CA

Hapa Izakaya
1516 Yew St, Vancouver, BC V6K3E4, CA

[NoMoreSnuggles]

For Thai, Pink Elephant on Alberni is brand-new and I was really impressed with the meal there last week. Maenam is also very good but I sometimes find their menu a little too limited (though their cocktails are excellent!)

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Maenam
1938 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M5, CA

[grayelf]

Deets please, NMS! As this is another Thai House group entry, I need specifics to lure me in...

[fmed]

Pink Elephant is good eh? Good to hear.

I am not a fan of their other restaurants (Charm, Urban Thai Bistro, et al.) so it is good to have a decent option within that group.

[betterthanbourdain]

I'll add seri malaysia, and dakshin

[betterthanbourdain]

consider phonm penh as well.

[brokentelephone]

Sura on Robson is a terrific Korean restaurant, and in my opinion, the best in the area (that end of Robson is a bit of a Korean enclave). Their galbi is seriously amazing, as is pretty much everything I've tried there.

I really like Rangoli for Indian. It is owned by the owner of Vijs (world renowned indian restaurant), very contemporary (i.e., the servers are caucasian), but don't let that deter you because the food is really excellent.

Asking about Chinese is like mental and I think a search is in order.

Thai: Bob Likes Thai Food and Maenam get great reviews, but I haven't tried either!

If your aversion to Japanese and Vietnamese is because you come from somewhere with crappy Viet/Japanese I'd definitely recommend you trying them again in Van. The Japanese is fantastic at a few places (Yujis, Tojos, Blue Water Cafe for sushi, etc), and the viet is so good (Pho Quyen, Pho Viet, Song Huong (my fav))!

Otherwise, I'd goto White Spot for good local burgers (fast food in a sit down atmosphere -- often populated by very old people which can be off putting if youre an ageist).

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Vij's Restaurant
1480 11th Ave W, Vancouver, BC V6H1L1, CA

Maenam
1938 W. 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6J 1M5, CA

Pho Viet
8291 Ackroyd Rd, Richmond, BC V6X3K5, CA

Song Huong
1613 Nanaimo St, Vancouver, BC V5L 4T9, CA

[vorpal]

I probably should have mentioned that I don't dislike Japanese and Vietnamese (indeed, I eat them regularly here in Ottawa), but I'm only in Vancouver and Victoria for a few days, and I prefer the other mentioned styles of cuisine far more, so I'd like to focus on them first and foremost!

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll be sure to search for more info on these places and really appreciate it!

[fmed]

Have you been to the Guu in TO? If not, then go to one of them here. (I know it is Japanese, but I'm assuming that Ottawa does not have the thriving izakaya scene that Vancouver has.)