<\/p>\n
\nOn Georgia Straight. By Carolyn Ali. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n \nWhen Stephanie Yuen sits down at a table in a Chinese restaurant, \nThe food writer explains that although Lower Mainland Chinese \nThat’s where the Edgewater Casino Chinese Restaurant Awards come in. \nYuen chaired the critics’ panel, which consisted of eight judges,
\nshe already has a good idea of what she’s going to order. “Some of the
\nmenus are like a book,” she tells the Straight<\/i> by phone. “We don’t usually look at them because we know exactly what we want when we go in.”<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nrestaurants offer a multitude of choices, many are known for doing a
\nsingle dish particularly well. So if she has a hankering for a certain
\nkind of food, she goes to a place that specializes in it.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nNow in their second year, the awards consist of two parts. The diners’
\nchoice segment—in which people vote on-line for their favourite
\nrestaurants in 15 categories—took place last fall, with the results
\nbeing announced in November. The winners of the critics’ choice
\ncomponent, which focuses on signature dishes, were announced yesterday
\n(April 7).<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nincluding Margaret Gallagher from CBC Radio One and Conrad Leung, who
\nheads the Asian culinary arts department at Vancouver Community
\nCollege. The judges offered up nominations for signature dishes in 25
\ncategories, from soup to lamb to veggies. Then each roamed about town
\ntasting dishes suggested by the others. The group reconvened to vote on
\nthe best dishes, naming gold and silver winners in each Critics’ Choice
\nSignature Dish category.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n