World Foodie Guide

Although I’ve stopped blogging, I thought I would write a short(ish) post about Vancouver, where the vegetarian husband and I spent a week in late September. Given that we ate so well there, it would be remiss of me not to pass on my eating recommendations to fellow travellers. Although I have favourited all my Vancouver tweets, a tweet just isn’t enough to describe a fantastic experience. Please excuse the lack of food photos, as I hadn’t planned on blogging about Vancouver’s culinary delights.

We were staying with good friends in West Vancouver, so I left London with only one restaurant booked, as I knew our hosts would know where to take us. Of course, I couldn’t resist doing some research beforehand, drawing up a mini wishlist. Given that we also went to Victoria and Whistler during this one week trip, plus two evenings of home-cooked meals, there weren’t actually that many meals slots left. Nevertheless, I think we did rather well! So here are my recommendations, in no particular order.

12 Highlights:

• Japadog – I nearly couldn’t fit in a Japadog due to our busy schedule, but fortunately we found time one afternoon when we hadn’t yet had lunch, and our friends took us to one of Japadog’s several stands. As we were ‘off-peak’, we missed the queue but while we were waiting for our Japadogs to be prepared, the queue behind us just grew and grew. I wolfed down the Okonomi ($6.25) – bonito flakes, fried cabbage, Japanese mayonnaise and special okonomiyaki sauce on a sizzling, juicy kurobuta pork sausage. The others had vegetarian Japadogs which were also amazing. We’ve since recreated our own versions at home (bring on the Japadog parties!)

• Vij’s – this seemed to be a ‘must visit’ Vancouver restaurant, according to my research, but I was initially put off by the stories of 2 hour long queues, confirmed by our friends who are regulars and know Vij. However, we all turned up at 17.25 on a Tuesday (five minutes before the doors opened), mentally prepared for a long wait, and got a table for five immediately. The complimentary hot snacks kept arriving as the servers circled the dining room with their bowls and platters, and everything on the menu was scrumptious, including my lamb popsicles (lamb chops). Vegetarians will also be delighted at Vij’s! And if you can’t bear to wait, there is also Rangoli next door, a more casual version of Vij’s and does takeaway too

• West – this was the restaurant I booked from London. It’s a high end place serving contemporary West Coast cuisine, but the service was so friendly and charming that we had a really enjoyable dinner (even their butter was sublime). I chose the seafood tasting menu while the husband had the vegetarian one. Expensive but well worth a visit. Most memorable dish – amuse-bouche of 1cm Heirloom tomato with micro-basil!

• Dundarave Fish Market, West Vancouver – our friends’ local restaurant, where we bumped into many of their friends. The restaurant is casual and also sells fish and seafood from a counter. We had the freshest steelhead salmon, simply grilled, served with rustic soya maple glaze sauce. An absolutely wonderful first meal in Vancouver

• Savary Island Pie Company, West Vancouver – our friend took us here for a quick lunch. It’s one of her local favourites and I can see why. They serve delicious soups (we tried mushroom and lentil) plus a stunning salmon pie with a crumbly, light crust. The company is particularly famous for its pumpkin pies (sweet)

• Salt Spring Island Coffee – on Main St and 27th, we came across this by chance while doing some shopping in South Main’s second-hand shops. The coffee (the organic Fairtrade beans are roasted on Salt Spring Island, one of the Gulf Islands) and my hot chocolate were so incredible that we went back inside to tell one of the servers. He made me high five him, a first for me…

• Yaletown Brewing Company, Yaletown – this is where I had the most magnificent BBQ short rib sandwich (5 hour braised and pulled short ribs with Nagila Pale Ale infused BBQ sauce), served with fries. One of the best memories of the trip. The pizzas are also excellent, as are the beers (you can order small tasters)

• Meinhardt - excellent gourmet grocery store which reminded me of Dean & Deluca or Zabar’s in NYC. I bought cute tins of Meinhardt mini cookies – lemon almond thimble cookies and mini choc chip ones. These would make great presents (except that I couldn’t bear to give mine away!). There is also a small café next door

• Granville Island Public Market – this was on my wishlist right from the start, and a pleasant afternoon was spent walking around admiring the fresh produce from local farmers and producers. I stocked up on small Thomas Haas handmade chocolate bars (heavenly) and baby jars of local honey to take home as presents. While you’re there, you must walk around the rest of Granville Island, with its artisan shops (I loved Paper-ya), restaurants and cafés. And don’t forget The Lobster Man for the freshest seafood to buy and take home with you

• Bridge’s, Granville Island – a fantastic place to have lunch. Get a table on the decked area right by the waterfront. The Wild BC Salmon Burger is tasty, as is the Crab and Halibut Cake Burger

• Spinnakers, Victoria, Vancouver Island – I chose Spinnakers because not only is it Canada’s first brewpub, but the gastropub food is supposedly excellent (sourced from local Island producers) and it has a small Victorian B&B next door with five rooms, each uniquely decorated. I started with smoked pork ribs, followed by rare seared halibut and clams. Unfortunately the husband couldn’t manage the 6 local cheese and beer taster, the main reason for our visit!

• Whistler Farmers Market – open every Sunday from June 20th to October 10th, 11-16.00. We were very lucky to catch the farmers market while visiting Whistler over the weekend. It’s a brilliant introduction to some of the local produce and we bought some unbelievable dill pickled cucumbers and unusual varieties of carrots that we’d never seen before. For more information about the producers, click on the link and go to ‘View Our Merchants’

If I’d had more time, I’d have:

• Tried all the other varieties of Japadog

• Eaten Chinese food in Richmond or Chinatown

• Tried omakase sushi & sashimi at Tojo’s

• Visited the Gulf Islands for local food and nature, and the incredible West Coast Trail hike of Vancouver Island to see more nature

• Okanagan Valley for a few days of wine tasting and local food

Vancouver did seem rather expensive, but the quality of food and service was extremely high. Almost everyone with whom we came into contact was passionate about the food they were serving and very knowledgeable about their dishes and ingredients. You’d be hard pressed to find this in some London restaurants. I therefore heartily recommend Vancouver to all food lovers!

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Tags: Canada, dining out, food, food & travel, restaurants, travel, traveleating, Vancouver