The GOODS from Bambudda

Vancouver, BC | Officially, summer doesn’t start until June 21st (at 6:54 am to be exact.) But, like everyone else in town, Bambudda owner Ray Loy is ready to call it as soon as the sun comes out.

Along with the warmer weather, Vancouverites will also welcome the return of Bambudda’s sunny sidewalk bar, where the glass wall opens and patrons can perch not a foot from the pavement. There, bartender Buck Friend’s cocktails will cool you down or heat things up, depending upon your mood. Highlights include the shockingly coloured Bubble Tea (a bright blue gin and Curaçao concoction topped with fuschia hibiscus bubbles), Sum Yung Gai (a sparkling coupe of gin, cava, Maraschino and lavender syrup) and Secrets of a Geisha (a soft sipper of rum and Chambord topped with a lychee sake foam).

For those seeking a more intimate experience, Bambudda’s red brick side patio takes over the corner of Powell and Columbia. Here, under a canopy of trees, Chef Scott Korzack’s light and colourful menu incorporates the finest of the season with dishes like delicate tuna tartare paired with grapefruit, horseradish and tapioca crackers, a fresh asparagus salad complemented by Asian pear and kohlrabi, and the jovial Happy Pig: szechuan pepper pork cheeks in a warm Chinese Happy Wine vinaigrette topped house-made pickles of radish and green strawberry.

DETAILS

99 Powell Street | Vancouver, BC | V6A1E9
Telephone: 604 428 0301
Web: www.bambudda.ca | Twitter | Facebook
Lunch: Thursday and Friday, noon-2pm
Dinner: Tuesday through Sunday, 5:30pm until late (closed Monday)

GALLERY

The People

Owner & GM – Ray Loy
Chef – Scott Korzack
Bar Manager – “Buck” Friend

About Bambudda

Bambudda has been a dream of mine ever since early adulthood. I grew up in Strathcona in the 70’s (five blocks from Bambudda), and I’m still living in the same neighborhood. Chinatown and Gastown were a big part of my childhood. I still remember $1.49 Tuesdays at Woodward’s, the original Save On Meats, and Golden Harvest Chinese Theatre at Main & Hastings, where my Mom used to take me for movies.

The cuisine at Bambudda combines elements of the food I grew up eating (either Mom’s cooking or restaurants in 1970’s-1980’s Chinatown) with modern French influences and interpretations in a contemporary setting. Bambudda has a private room for up to 20 people, a corner patio and bar seating with sliding doors that open up in the summer. The menu includes family-style share plates paired with an innovative, Asian-inspired cocktail list.

Chef Scott Korzack uses local, seasonal, sustainable and msg free ingredients to create unique and imaginative dishes. Our menu and cocktail list brings freshness and innovation to you every season of the year. – Ray Loy, Owner/GM

PRESS

Vancouver Sun | The Georgia Straight