By Tim Pawsey
Good—often great—Chinese dining has been changing Vancouver’s culinary landscape for some years now.
However, for many people the very notion of heading out for Dim Sum
or Peking Duck remains a mystery unexplored, or perhaps too much of a
challenge.
That’s in part because for years the Chinese restaurant and dining community seemed very much a ‘distinct society’.
Part of the problem was that too few rooms had the foresight (or
inclination) to make catering to a non-Chinese-speaking clientele a
priority. Although some—such as the highly successful Sun Sui Wah
restaurants—did. And benefitted from the attention accordingly.
The vortex of Chinese dining shifted from Vancouver’s Chinatown to
Richmond well over a decade ago, or more. However, now the arrival of
the Canada Line
has once again brought superb Chinese food within easy reach of
downtown Vancouverites. And while Richmond can sometimes feel more like
Kowloon (which is not a bad thing, at all), chances are even if your
Mandarin skills are limited to just saying ‘Xie Xie’ (‘Thank You’),
these days you will get a genuine welcome, good service to match—and a
menu in both ‘official’ languages.
