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

Eating Noodles Soaked In Awesome At Hoi An Cafe On Victoria Drive

Named after an historic port town in central Vietnam, the always buzzing eatery serves reflections of its namesake's signature dishes, most notably mi quang and cao lau.

Exploring Strip Malls In Search Of A Genuine Filipino Food Experience

Hidden away in a missable strip mall, the Kulinarya experience starts with a friendly server dropping off a few menus and a small dish of cornick, or Filipino corn nuts.

Picking Cool Sake Cups And Slurping Cold Buckwheat Soba At Kinome

Owned by Dan's former chef, Ryoma Matarai, Kinome serves up a rotating, succinct menu of delicate small, sharable plates made with locally sourced, organic ingredients.

Homestyle Sustainable Satisfaction At “Shanti’s Curries” On Main St.

Shanti’s is something like a super friendly dinner host; it's bright, communal, quick, and relaxed. Those are the ingredients that go a long way in making the perfect neighbourhood restaurant.

Getting Hot With Spicy Hunanese Fare At Kingsway’s “Lucky Noodle”

Lucky Noodle has a hefty menu of rarities. I would suggest trying their “Mouth-Watering” Chicken; Chinese Bacon with Bamboo Shoots; Shredded Potatoes with Dried Chili; and their award-winning Stir-Fried Pork with White Chilies.

Meaty Bowls Of Clay Pot Rice At “The Soup House” On Victoria Dr.

The fundamental concept of clay pot rice is meat and Chinese greens cooked over a pot of rice. As it cooks, the meat flavours meld with the rice as the toasted grains at the bottom of the pot crisp up.

Slurping Up Bowls Of Comforting Goodness “Huang’s Beef Noodle”

Whenever I take the first comforting slurps of soup and noodle in the ad-hoc dining room, I feel instantly rescued from the chill and drear of winter.

Slurping A Different Kind Of Noodle Soup At East Van’s Hoang Yen

Digging Into Glorious Bowls At Max Noodle House On Alexander Rd.

Owned by the Mak family - the royal family of the wonton game - Max is a golden needle buried deep in a restaurant haystack.

Savoury Tofu Pudding Soup And Tianjin Wraps At “O’ Tray Noodle”

O’ Tray’s claims to fame are a pair of archetypal breakfast street foods from Tianjin: a wrap (jianbing guo zi) and a tofu pudding soup (daofunao). They are two uniquely regional breakfast specialties...

The Crispy Strip Mall Awesomeness Of Richmond’s “LA Chicken”

Comedian Chris Rock once famously quipped that “after you have Popeyes, you need one of those ‘Men in Black’ memory sticks to erase your memory or else you will just keep coming back to this place every day.” I feel the same way about LA Chicken.

Getting Jiggly With It At Richmond’s Aptly Named ‘Excellent Tofu’

Tofu gets a bad rap for being bland but Excellent Tofu & Snack is all about changing those expectations with clean and refreshing flavours.

Northern Vietnamese Cuisine Finds Home At East Van’s “Mr. Red”

Mr. Red Cafe has only been open in Hastings-Sunrise neighbourhood for a few months now but it’s already being praised as a rare taste of what Northern Vietnamese cuisine has to offer.

Scarfing Koobideh & Crispy Tahdig At Persian-Flavoured Zeitoon

Persian eatery Zeitoon is well known on the North Shore for its delicious koobideh kebab. It's a mixture of minced beef and spices hand-squeezed onto skewers (note the ridges) and broiled until perfectly juicy and tender.

With “Hou Lok” Night Owls Scarfing Whitebait & Roe-Filled Smelt

Hou Lok dishes up an impressive mix of small, affordable, shareable, and mostly wok-fried late night plates. These range from a variety of seafoods to offal galore.

Rare Shanghainese Breakfasts At Kingsway’s Reliable “Ningtu”

Be a champion and try eating it all without making a mess. The crumbs from the shaobings alone are enough to explain why each banquet table is wrapped in crinkly plastic a la American Psycho.

On “The Patty Shop”, Home Of The City’s Best Jamaican Patties

The shop is an over-the-counter institution specializing in moon-shaped pockets of flaky pastry filled with a variety of goodness.

Deep Bowls Of Fully Loaded “Pho Dac Biet” At Surrey’s Pho Tam

From the kitchen, good humoured cooks can be overheard chattering in Vietnamese whilst floor staff swoop through the room delivering bowls of noodles from trays.

“Sunny Spot” On Main St. For Biangbiang Noodles And Xianburgers

The new menu reflects the Shaanxi focus on hand-pulled noodles, breads and soups invigorated by aromatic chili oils and dark, tart vinegars.

You Best Not Miss At Magnificent “Laksa King” On East Hastings

The Panaderia Latina Bakery’s Magnificent Lunchtime Sugar High