A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

A Brewpub That Ditched The Wings And Fed Us ‘Xiao Long Bao’ Instead

Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-06

Restaurant Porn is a regular column of daydreams presented as a means to introduce Vancouver diners and designers to concepts, looks, and fully-formed ideas that they might draw an inkling of inspiration from. We do our best to pair the foreign rooms with local addresses so as to let everyone in on the daydream.

—————————————

(via) One of the most rewarding facets of the Lower Mainland’s explosive food and beverage development has been the arrival of dozens of craft breweries. We’re especially excited by the ones that include tasting rooms equipped with ancillary food programs, where the options typically range from outsourced snacks and the stuff of attendant curbside food trucks to greasy spoon chow and pizza.

Things have now coalesced to a predictable standard, however. This opens the door for a new brewery to come along and offer something entirely different. We really hope it’s xiao long bao. Hot soupy dumplings absolutely love beer, and the prep isn’t too prohibitively complicated. Plus we could eat the hot, pleated, Shanghainese signatures all day, every day. The ones pictured below are from Lin’s on West Broadway…

Screen-Shot-2016-08-02-at-12.56

The look of Hong Kong’s Tipping Point Brewery would suit this departure. Even though its food program focuses on American cuisine, it doesn’t cleave too closely to the industrial vibe most of us associate with BC breweries, opting instead for a more subdued feel with walnut, copper, marble, leather, and brass aglow in dim light.

We also dig how Tipping Point is located in the heart of the city, as opposed to its periphery. And since this column is all fantasy borne of idle daydreaming, we can’t help but imagine our dumpling-equipped version somewhere equally central where it might do some good, like Coal Harbour, the Financial District, or the Granville Shitshow.

Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-14 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-02 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-03 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-04 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-05 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-08 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-09 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-10 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-11 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China-13 Tipping-Point-Brewery-Bar-and-Restaurant-by-Arboit-Hong-Kong-China

Photos by Dennis Lo.

A Hidden Wine Bar in Texas

The Hill Country Wine Cave is a stunner of a private (it should really be public) project recently built outside San Antonio.  

This Modern Coffee Shop Has Most of Its Inside Outside and We’re Fine With That

This Shanghai hideaway appears to challenge the accepted function of the neighbourhood coffee shop as a relaxed hangout.

Soak Up the Terracotta Vibe of This Valencian Cafe

Spain's Be Green Salad Company is all about its simple, bare bones terracotta hues and zigzag of built-in table plinths.

Cafe Inspired by Sun Setting on Faraway Monolith

The 323 sqft, barista-owned cafe brightens an otherwise drab corner in Hong Kong's Sai Ying Pun district.