The new restaurant on Victoria Drive comes to us from Rose Nguyen and Hong Duong, the duo behind the award-winning Mr. Red Cafe.

Fernando Medrano eats his way through Hue exemplars at Hoi An Cafe on Victoria Drive for our "Never Heard of It" series.

In his latest "Never Heard Of It" piece, Fernando Medrano gives us a history lesson on why the food at this institution is so delicious.

Order a few appetizers, some beer and some dried plum juice (the kind you order with hot pot); some skewers (“chuan’r”) and finally one or two orders of grilled fish.

I tend to believe that this eatery and many others like it could only work in such a setting. With apologies to the great urbanist Jane Jacobs: “good food needs old buildings”.

The eatery is run by gregarious chef-owner Lisa Yu. If prodded, she'll give you a lesson in the basics of Guizhou cuisine. (You can even ask her to make you her favourite dish which is not on the menu - pickled chicken gizzards - but you’ll have to pre-order it.)

Joojak's hearty, complex and aromatic Xi'an dishes might just help you through Vancouver's long descent into the wet of winter.

The first thing you'll catch when sitting down at Cafe Xu Hue is the cup of cold tea being poured for you. The second thing you'll notice - as you wonder why your tea is chilled - is that you aren't reading a typical Vietnamese restaurant menu...

Inspired by inihaw (Filipino grilled meat), the owner of Hapag Ihaw-Ihaw opened his doors to share his love for the greatest hits of humble Filipino mainstays and BBQ.

The quick service eatery is only a year old, but they've got things figured out. The menu is as simple and straight forward as it needs to be for a quick-service, two-person operation.

It’s nearly impossible to eat a good banh mi sandwich without feeling a bit like Hansel or Gretel, leaving behind you a light dusting of baguette crust with every bite.

It's good looking, quick and easy, and there are four waffle irons firing hot at the same time. Nothing on the menu is over $8 dollars, which much account in part for its increasing popularity.

I have a soft spot for places like Bai Bua in Hastings-Sunrise. It's a family-owned operation from front to back with the older generation pumping out traditional Thai cuisine and the younger generation filling the seats and handling everything front of house.

By name alone it would be hard to guess at the cuisines within, but once inside the exotic curry aromas and sizzle sounds leave little doubt.

The small restaurant is made even smaller when it's packed, which is nearly always. The single server makes her rounds efficiently, keeping guest banter to a perfected minimum.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.