By Mia Stainsby
After the violence and barbarism of last week, here’s a bit of peace.
It’s
a little place called Peaceful Restaurant. While it’s a thrill and a
half to be called out for an award, Amelia Huang is quick to point out
the Peaceful beef roll, which won a Chinese Restaurant Signature Dish
award, is but one of many dishes worthy of a shout-out.
I must agree.
Her family (mom, dad, brother) added this second Peaceful restaurant last month on Davie Street.
Like
the first, at 532 West Broadway, the menu features upwards of 100
dishes in the Northern Chinese style – heartier, spicier, bolder than
the Cantonese style making up most of Metro Vancouver’s Chinese cuisine.
Amelia’s
parents opened the very first version 10 years ago on Main Street; then
they moved to Kingsway and then to West Broadway. The second generation
is moving it forward.
Amelia’s background in environmental
geography (she studied it at Simon Fraser University) prompted the
owners to reduce the restaurant’s carbon footprint.
“We’re doing
an inventory of waste, energy use, emissions and the goal is to find
ways to reduce it. We’re adapting to the times,” she says.
They
source locally “as much as possible,” buying B.C. pork and Alberta beef.
There are lots of vegetarian dishes and most dishes, including meats,
are under $10.
Amelia recommends the spicy herb salad with pressed
tofu in a tangy sesame dressing and the cumin beef in sesame flatbread.
There’s an all-day dim sum menu, featuring a lot of dumplings,
flatbreads and rolls.
Recent additions to the menu include Chinese
“ratatouille” stir-fried in garlic sauce, and a peppery fish soup
“cooked with a lot of pickled vegetables and black pepper,” she says.
“It’s a different type of hot-sour soup. It’s clear, but strong.”
Periodically,
you’ll see a shape-twisting noodle maker expertly wrangling a lump of
dough into yards and yards of noodles. Amelia’s brother Eugene has
mastered the art and you might catch him at it, making either dragged or
cut noodles.
