For this edition of #ThrowbackThursday we go back to a much simpler time when we could crowd into parking lots with chopsticks in hand and feast upon chefs’ efforts to win the Golden Dumpling…

On a hot day five years ago this week I stuffed my face to capacity while judging the Dumpling Festival, which I (and presumably many others) miss dearly. Here are Michelle Sproule’s words and photos from that especially filling day…

The highly anticipated and always super fun Dumpling Festival went down yesterday, piggybacking gracefully next to Food Truck Fest just off the False Creek seawall west of Olympic Village. Though the festival focuses on the creative dumplings made by many of Vancouver’s best restaurants, it’s also for a good cause, with ticket sales going to support The Chinese Elders Community Kitchen, which seeks a weekly gathering of Chinese Elders getting together to cook and share a meal in a safe space at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.

Ticket holders are given a vote that determines the people’s choice winner, with their scores being added to the weight of the judges, who ultimately determine the winner of the Golden Dumpling, a beautiful trophy previously won by the likes of Pidgin (2013) and Maenam (2014). This year, it went to Le Mezcaleria, a great Mexican restaurant on Commercial Drive. Their little Pork Cochinita Pibil jobs were fantastic. Bonus: the dumpling derby saw a record broken — the winner in the male category was something of a mad man, having crammed over 30 dumplings into his face in record time.

It goes without saying that we can’t wait until events like this return. Sigh…