Vancouver visit next week - too many decisions - I need help!
Hi! SF Bay Area (Redwood City specifically) hound coming to Vancouver for 4.5 day (including a day trip to Whistler).
This summer has flow by and this trip was upon me before I realized it! We are already in Seattle and will be in Vancouver (for the first time) by late Sunday night! I am really excited about Vancouver; I have heard/read nothing but fantastic things about its beauty and food. We are staying at the Cascadia Hotel and will have a car. We are headed back to Seattle (for our flight) on Friday the 22nd. I have done a lot of research on this board, but I am still having trouble narrowing down exactly where/what we should eat.
What we are looking for:
We love all food and love trying interesting/new things. We love Chinese and Japanese food, but I will admit that compared to a lot of hounds, we are still novices. We recently began exploring many of the different regional Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area and a few different Japanese cuisines, but we still have a lot learn and a lot more to explore at home (we have only lived there 4.5 years). We loved everything we tried so far (from stinky tofu to extremely hot peppers), and I am excited to continue our exploration in Vancouver (from what I've read, I expect to be blow away).
We also love raw oysters, and I can eat a lot of them! I know there are some great ones in BC, and we would love to down a few dozen without breaking the bank.
Here are my notes; I really need help narrowing it down (also a lot of the posts I used for research were a bit dated)... we only have about 8 meals .
Non-Asian/non-ethnic - Refuel and/or Salt; Anything else?
Vij's - are they worth going to?
Oysters - Rodney's or Joe Fortes - or is there something better? which is the better deal?
Japadog - is it worth trying? My SO loves regular hot dogs, but I normally can't stomach the poor quality buns, so how are the buns?
Sushi - Blue Water Cafe, Sushi Hachi, and/or Honjin
Izakaya (this is a must, but we should only pick one) - Guu with Garlic, Kingyo, or Zakkushi
Chinese (my SO says no more than 4 Chinese meals, so I am maxing out):
Dim Sum - willing to splurge on the cost - Sea Harbour, Shanghai River or ??
The best XLB/ other dumplings - Long's Noodle house, Lin Chinese Cuisine, or ???
Other Chinese (I need to pick 2 of these) - Alvin Garden (for Hunan), Golden Spring (Szechuan), Peaceful (Xi'an), S&W Pepperhouse (Yunan/Szechuan), Crystal Mall (various), or Legendary Noodle
Whistler day trip- We need a restaurant for lunch; preferable something at the top of the mountains (or should we pack a lunch) . Also, should we try to make it to Vancouver for dinner that night? Is there somewhere good in North Vancouver we could stop at?
Alcohol:
Is Vancouver a beer, wine, or cocktail town? We enjoy all three (but for beer prefer Belgian Style and non-hoppy brews)
Beer - Alibi Room and Yaletown
Cocktails - West
Any advice on what to try and what to leave out is much appreciated! I know this is last minute, but I was thinking I could figure it out on my own from just reading posts! I was wrong!
Also, we really really need advice on what to order for the Izakaya restaurants and even more importantly, for the Chinese restaurants... Being white and not speaking Mandarin can make some Chinese restaurants difficult if you don't know what to order.
In addition, we are small people and unfortunately cannot eat a lot (despite wanting to);therefore, we need to pick/order carefully (and doing food crawls just the two of us never works!).
Lastly, do we need reservations anywhere?
Thanks in Advance!
Robin
By lrealml
on Jul 15, 2011 01:18 AM
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Another visitor from my second favourite board, LOL. Hope you enjoy yourself. Glad you have a car as transit here is not as useful as I'd like. Here's some ramblings on your post to try to help.
Non-Asian/non-ethnic - Refuel and/or Salt; I love the burgers at Refuel but you can get some great ones in SF so they may not wow. Salt is fun but v. expensive and really it's just meat and cheese; may be okay for a visitor who hasn't time to source but you could hit Les Amis and a liquor store instead. Anything else? Maybe Boneta? Resos a good idea at all three depending on the night.
Vij's - are they worth going to? Vij's is I think unique and many love it but it does involve a commitment in terms of waiting (no resos). I don't love the chicken or pork dishes generally but the lamb popsicles are cool and the veg dishes can be outstanding
Oysters - Rodney's or Joe Fortes - or is there something better? which is the better deal? I don't eat oysters so not helpful there but I have heard about a new place downtown that might be worth checking out. I suspect it would be a much cooler space than either of your choices if that is of any interest. Oyster Seafood and Raw Bar specializes in locally harvested shellfish and is in an Art Deco building.
Japadog - is it worth trying? My SO loves regular hot dogs, but I normally can't stomach the poor quality buns, so how are the buns? I'm a bit of a Japadog fan, but mainly for the okonomiyaki dog which has kurobata pork. I hate woofy buns too and find the ones at J-dog to be acceptablly substantial FWIW.
Sushi - Blue Water Cafe, Sushi Hachi, and/or Honjin My favourite sushi is Kimura for the omakase (need a reso). I've only been to BWC once and it didn't wow me (though to be fair we had a mix of sushi and cooked food) -- also you will likely be aware it is extremely expensive which may be a concern. Sushi Hachi has had too many downhill reports from trusted bellies lately to warrant trying to fit it in as I'm sure you are aware it has very limited hours and resos are a must. Don't know Honjin.
Izakaya (this is a must, but we should only pick one) - Guu with Garlic, Kingyo, or Zakkushi If you must pick one I'd probably go with Guu with Garlic because of the atmosphere (though it is my favourite downtown for food also). Get the pumpkin korokke if it is available. I hear you about the crawling being an issue but I think the reason many people do it is that each izakaya has its standout dishes and a crawl allows you to try several without eating the less stellar dishes. You can make resos at all three now and you probably should unless going v. early.
Chinese (my SO says no more than 4 Chinese meals, so I am maxing out):
Dim Sum - willing to splurge on the cost - Sea Harbour, Shanghai River or ?? Do you want Cantonese dim sum or Shanghainese? SH is the former, SR the latter. I've been hearing positive feedback about dimsum at Good Choice on Fraser. I've only been there for dinner so far and it was very good. I believe all three take resos and you should get them.
The best XLB/ other dumplings - Long's Noodle house, Lin Chinese Cuisine, or ??? Go to Lin's and only order the XLB. They'll look at you a little funny but they'll bring 'em and you will be happy. Remember they are closed Tuesdays and take a break every other day btwn 3 and 5. I like to go at slightly off times as the service can be a bit uneven. Long's XLB are not contenders in my book.
Other Chinese (I need to pick 2 of these) - Alvin Garden (for Hunan), Golden Spring (Szechuan), Peaceful (Xi'an), S&W Pepperhouse (Yunan/Szechuan), Crystal Mall (various), or Legendary Noodle -- Alvin is a personal favourite so I'd go for that. Be sure to get the pork heart and the green beans with ground pork. Bring your sweatband. You might like to try Crystal Mall for the experience as well as the food but the stalls are hit and miss so do your homework here first :-). Could be a chance to try more XLB too, though I haven't had them from the new stall (former Chen's I understand) yet, I didn't mind the XLB at the old Chen's. My favourite Sichuan comes from Nine Dishes, particularly the water boiled fish and home made sausage. Resos a good idea for AG especially if it will be a weekend night.
Whistler day trip- We need a restaurant for lunch; preferable something at the top of the mountains (or should we pack a lunch) . Also, should we try to make it to Vancouver for dinner that night? Is there somewhere good in North Vancouver we could stop at? I've never had really outstanding food in Whistler for lunch (or for dinner for that matter but I haven't been to the really high end places). This might be the day to load up on cheeses and pack a lunch :-). We often do day trips to Whistler and make it back to the city in time for dinner but it kinda depends on what you want to do on the way. If you do want to eat on your way back, there is Sushi Sen in Squamish run by my former favourite itamae that would be worth a stop. May be too hard to get a reso at this point but you could try. http://communities.canada.com/vancouv...
Alcohol:
Is Vancouver a beer, wine, or cocktail town? We enjoy all three (but for beer prefer Belgian Style and non-hoppy brews) Alcohol is expensive here esp if you're coming from SF Bay Area, so prepare for sticker shock. I think y'all do much better there, on all counts. I have heard good things about the Diamond but haven't made it there yet :-(.
Beer - Alibi Room and Yaletown Alibi is fun if you get the beer bats tasters. It is very loud and the food is just okay though. Avoid Yaletown.
Also, we really really need advice on what to order for the Izakaya restaurants and even more importantly, for the Chinese restaurants... Being white and not speaking Mandarin can make some Chinese restaurants difficult if you don't know what to order. Once you've picked your restos, I'm sure the Hounds could offer specific reccs to assist. Cantonese is much more prevalent here than Mandarin but I'm guessing you don't speak that either :-). I'm in the same boat but I find most places are very helpful as long as you are firm about wanting to try the "real" stuff, especially at Sichuan places. Alvin is the least likely to dumb it down; even their medium can be pretty hot.
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Just to add to grayelf's detailed advice:
Izakaya - a crawl is very doable as the restaurants there are all within easy walking distance
Belgian beer - the best selection in town is a Biercraft (two locations) where I think they have 30-40 different ones.
Cocktails - The Diamond, Refinery.
North Van - NV has a large Persian community so it has some cool shops. In particular, the cafeteria at Yaaz Bazaar (a Persian grocery store) has some tasty food. Just down the hill is Ayoub's Dried Fruits and Nuts to stock up for trail food. Specifically - their angelica spiced Brazil nuts.
Oysters - look out for buck a shuck specials often advertised last minute on Twitter. I'll be on the lookout.
And yeah - for food, it is best to avoid Yaletown - unless you want to splurge at Cioppino's.
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If you live in Redwood City, pass on the Belgian beer stuff here and go to The Refuge in San Carlos. Just as good a selection. And that pastrami is amazing!
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Per my recent dim sum post, we had fabulous dim sum at Spicy Court recently (much better than other contemporaneous visits for dim sum to Sun Sui Wah and Jade). We like the Good Choice, but it is better for dinner than dim sum. On the same recent visit to our second home in Vancouver, we had two great meals at Ho Yuen Key, a sort of upscale Hong Kong cafe. Have the dumpling soup and any of their chow meins (especially the one with barbecued pork.
The Brasserie on Davie has buck a shuck oysters every night from nine pm on and the oysters are always terrific. It also is an excellent place for bistro food. Rodney's is fun, but it is easy to spend $ 75 per person just on oysters and bloody Caesars..
Finally, you really should add La Quercia to your list. Casual Italian but the place is operating on all cylinders.
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Ho Yuen Restaurant
6236 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5W, CA
La Quercia
3689 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6R1P2, CA
Hong Kong Restaurant
113 MacKenzie, Revelstoke, BC V0E2S1, CA
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Cocktails: The Refinery, Diamond, Pourhouse, L'Abbatoir, Keefer Bar, Revel Room, Market Bar at the Shangri-La
Beer: Alibi Room, Six Acres, St. Augustine's, BierCraft.
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Alibi Room
157 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC V6A1B8, CA
Six Acres
203 Carrall St, Vancouver, BC V6B2J2, CA
Pourhouse Restaurant
162 Water Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1B2, CA
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Thanks so much everyone for all the wonderful replies!
Grayelf, I was hoping you'd reply... Since I haven't been in the Bay Area too long, I have been using your SF trip reports the last few years to help me discover more great Bay Area eats!
I have looked at all of the advice and have new plan; although, when we go to Whistler will depend on the weather; which looks to be bad for our whole trip (so I don't know if we should even go, but then everything we have planned is outside... I am really bummed)!
Sun. Snacks/Dinner @ 10pm - Blue Water (b/c they are open late and near our hotel)
Mon. Lunch - Dim Sum - Cantonese Dim Sum is what I meant... I am still not completely sure where to go/what to order... I need to do more reading (unlike the other SF visitor, I prefer menus).
Mon. Dinner - Izakaya @ Guu with Garlic ... and if we can eat more, maybe Kingyo
Tue. Lunch - Whistler (picnic in the rain)
Tue. Dinner - Undecided
Wed. Lunch - Lin Chinese Cuisine for XLB and Crystal Mall (the notes I have so far: Guizhou for beef Noodles, Want Want for the cumin lamb roujiamo)
Wed. Dinner - Boneta
Thu. Lunch - Japadog
Thu: Dinner - Alvin Garden
Oysters - La Brasserie for dessert Oysters (having oysters for dessert is something I've done before!).
Alcohol - all the suggestions sound great! I was actually looking for Belgium style local beers, but Biercraft has more Belguim beer on tap than I've ever seen outside of Belgium! We will have to go!
For our undecided dinner I am torn... I want to do more Asian, but don't know if we should do sushi (however, Kimura's omakase sounds like it has a bit more cooked items then we like), another Chinese, or something else. I am wondering, is there a great Udon place that makes their own noodles?
Thanks again!!
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Local brewer Storm Brewing makes some Belgian style lambics. I am not aware of any other local breweries that produce Belgian style beers. Had a 12 year old lambic from there that was so acidic (strongly acetic in nature) that it gave me heartburn...so it is definitely for the sour beer fanatic.
Dim Sum - head over to Richmond and have dim sum at Red Star, Jade, or Sea Harbour.
Tues dinner - splurge on Hawksworth? Chambar? (you can get Belgian beer there too, BTW).
Good to see La Brasserie is doing buck a shuck! I should give that a go. (I really like La Brasserie's pork-based offerings.)
I don't know of a place that makes their own Udon. How about hand-pulled noodles (Peaceful, Northern Meixi in Crystal Mall, Legendary, Xian stall at Richmond Public Market, etc)?
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Very glad my ramblings on your new home board have been helpful. I've been reading your posts there too.
Sorry about the weather -- welcome to the Wet Coast :-(. This has been the worst summer I can remember, and I can remember more than I'd care to admit! Will sacrifice something to the sun gods for you... but don't despair entirely of outdoor activities. We'd all go nuts if we stayed inside every time there was precip. Bring small umbrellas for each of your party with a plastic bag to roll them up and put them in your pockets, and/or a good lightweight waterproof jacket and Bob's your uncle. Nothing will get between you and your snacking destos :-).
Speaking of which your tweaked itin looks solid. Good idea to hit up Blue Water for a snack to keep costs down but still get an idea of what it's like. See fmed's post re dim sum a la carte places. As for what to order, such a tough call as each place has its strong points and sometimes those change. Again, once you've picked your target, why don't you repost for specific reccs if you have time. For your Tuesday dinner, you should deffo go for sushi since you haven't really covered that elsewhere (I'd pass on the sushi offerings if any at izakaya). Maybe try to book at Sushi Sen in case you don't feel like blitzing back to Van? Or resolve to be back in time, book at Kimura and stipulate that you prefer more sushi/sashimi when you reserve. Teresa seems to be the head honcho staffwise there and is very helpful if you ask for her when you call. You should also let her know how much you want to spend and whether she recommends going up a bit to get more of the raw stuff. We've had $30, $40 and $50 per person and they are all generous. And be sure to stipulate the bar in front of Kimura-san for the best real estate :-).
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Thanks fmed and grayelf! A little more to think about!
Hopefully I will get some time tonight to make the last few decisions.
Right now I am off to catch a ferry to Victoria (We are there so briefly that I think I have the food figured out for that leg of the trip).
So the locals in Canada actually use umbrellas? People in Seattle are quite silly IMO not using them!
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Don't want to go too much more into raingear here (feel free to email me at the addy in my profile if you want more non-food ideas) but people do use umbrellas in Vancouver for sure. Have fun in our capital and let us know where/what you ate there when you can.
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Ok, so this dim sum decision is hard!
I have read bad things and good things about all of them (just like on the SF board!)...
We love seafood, so I want to pick a place with good seafood and dim sum.
Also, Kirin keeps coming, so should consider them?
Right now I am leaning towards Jade....
Will I need reservations on a weekday?
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You've hit the nail on the head re ds places. They all seem to do some things well and others not so much. I've only been to Jade once and I just thought it was okay. They do well in the Chinese Restaurant Association Awards. It was uber busy on a Saturday as you'd expect. There were 10 of us and maybe we didn't order well. I really didn't get the mushroom dumplings that won in 2010. You probably won't need resos on a weekday but they're never a bad idea. Parking is always pretty horrid on Alexandra. I wonder if Sea Harbour might be a better bet if you're heading to Richmond. Re Kirin, there are five now and I have read they vary in quality. I've only been to the downtown and Cambie ones. They were good with white tablecloth service which you won't get at Jade (very brusque the day we went) but expensive. Of course I find the prices for good dimsum in the Bay Area to be high too so YMMV.
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Red Star is Richmond is my current fave there.
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Agree. Red Star has surpassed Sun Sui Wah for me.
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OK, I'm convinced! Red Star it is!
I decided that we will do the Crystal Mall for lunch today and dim sum for lunch Wed. so I can get more advise on what to order at dim sum.
First off, which Red Star should we go to?
And what should we order? I think
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Crystal Mall
4500 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5H2A9, CA
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The one in Richmond. You can just order the usual stuff.
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As I mentioned, I've only been to the Red Star in Vancouver and that was in December (1/3 down this long writeup, photos down lower http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/752733) but we were most disappointed in the "special" dishes there, so concur on the usual stuff ordering recco. The pan fried bean curd with shrimp and greens and the radish cake were very good, as was the garlic prawn spring roll. The har gow were really bad. The deep fried mini yam balls for dessert were stellar.
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Golden Ocean in Kerrisdale (SW neighbourhood in Vancouver proper) does very decent dim sum, lrealml. Not the fanciest of places, as they are IMHO needing a bit of interior makeover. But the food is solid and good value for the prices.
I believe Grayelf endorses Golden Ocean.
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I do like GO but for some reason had gotten it in my head that the OP didn't want carts...
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I do prefer menus b/c I have a hard time recognizing what is on the cart, and often I will wind up ordering something that is not something that I wanted.
For example, I went to Koi Palace in the SF area armed with a list of what to order from chowhound, and I was able to order everything from the menu that was recommended. This got me the best dim sum I've had to so far. I was hoping to do that here...
Off to Guu with Garlic... The Crystal mall was great (almost still full from it); I will write up a thorough trip report later. Also, the sun is out!!! Yeah!!! Vancouver is gorgeous!
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I'm thinking now that we will skip dim sum, since I can't seem to figure out where to go/what to get....
We are doing Japa Dog for lunch today and now I am thinking we will do Peaceful for lunch or dinner tomorrow. Does anyone know if both Peaceful locations are good? We are staying right by the one on Davie.
Thanks for all the help!
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The Cambie location is better IMO.
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For other Belgium style local beers not yet mentioned:
The Storm 12 year lambic is an experience I've once had and feel like that was enough... find it at Alibi where you'll have to fight the bartender and their speech regarding how it will be the most sour experience of your life.
Driftwood produces some great beers. Current seasonals are a sour cherry ale that is inspired by some krieks. Quite enjoyable. They built their reputation on their Farmhand ale - a nice saison.
Iain Hill at Yaletown Brewing makes a terrific Oud Bruin that you can get at Alibi.
Philips makes some dubbel and tripels that are decent, but nothing I've been too excited about.
Happy drinking!
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I was hoping that you would reply to this thread peter.v. Thanks for the intel on local Belgian style beer. And yah that 12 yr old lambic from Storm is quite something.
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Thanks! We love lambics (Kriek Lambic is my favorite), so we will have to check this out.
I had a Driftwood wheat beer tonight at dinner (in Victoria) that was great!
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For dim sum try Chonging. The servers know enough English to help you make selections, and the variety is awesome!
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