by paulkamon

In a grand ceremony at the River Rock Casino in Richmond on Tuesday, January 18th, the 3rd annual HSBC Chinese Restaurant Award winners were announced.

See the complete list of the winners here

Of particular interest were the two awards that Chinatown’s darling, Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, took home: “Best Modern Chinese Restaurant” and “Best Wine and Spirit Service”.

^ Werner Schonberger, Vice President of Select Wines presents the "Wine and Spirits Service" award to Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie (Photos courtesy of: Rae Uske for CRA)

Straddling a very interesting and under serviced niche that seems to bridge the gap between the two separate restaurant solitudes of Western and Chinese, once the sole territory of the trailblazing Wild Rice, Bao Bei was the obvious choice with their modern stylish room and refined cocktail list.

Another interesting sign of things to come was the speech/sales pitch by Werner Schonberger of Select Wines (a key sponsor of the event) that offered wine and spirits consulting services to all the restaurants, citing the growing trend in Hong Kong and China towards a comprehensive drinks list beyond the token bottle of Johnny Walker Red hidden behind the cashier. A boozy new frontier is opening up and I see cognac and riesling sales spiking.

As Vancouver’s Chinese population and culture continues to grow and diversify from both the steady influx of new immigrants and second and third generation Chinese Canadians looking to make their mark in the industry, the future of Chinese cuisine in Vancouver is looking brighter and more integrated than ever.