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.
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(via) Chi-Q is a slick Korean restaurant in Shanghai that we’d love to see in the West End’s otherwise bright and cheery Ramenland. Designed by local firm Neri & Hu, the seemingly cavernous space turns on a long central communal table topped with dark metal over which large glass bulbs are suspended. Sliding screens and fixed pillars cloister the surrounding tables and a long, well-lit bar flanks the lot. Burned wooden wall panels and rough concrete framing give the surrounds lots of texture and drama, while leather accents provide enough visual doses of comfort to make guests feel they aren’t in a temple dungeon. Cool, clean, sexy, secretive, dark, modern, transportive — it’s a combo the neighbourhood has previously come close to (eg. the recently shuttered Hapa Izakaya), but is now – sadly – completely bereft of. So more, please, and preferably as sexy as this.
I get the segment’s purpose but the whole point of ramen is cheap filling noodles. I rather have something that tastes great in a terribly drab dive (Kintaro) vs an overpriced bowl in a beautifully designed place (Gyoza Bar/Ramen Butcher).