{"id":194,"date":"2011-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-20T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-05-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-05-20T07:00:00","slug":"VanSun0520","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/VanSun0520\/","title":{"rendered":"Richmond, home to best Chinese restaurants outside China – Vancouver Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mia Stainsby<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

\nIn Richmond, we have the mother lode of Chinese
\nrestaurants in North America. Some say we have the best Chinese food in
\nthe world.\n<\/p>\n

\nAnd yet, regrettably, 99.9 per cent of the diners are
\nfrom within the Chinese community. What’s wrong with this picture?
\nIsn’t it time we woke up and smelled the dim sum?\n<\/p>\n

\nWith the Richmond Summer Night Market getting into
\nhigh gear (it started up last weekend) and this being the Victoria Day
\nweekend, it’s a good time to venture past the invisible force shield
\ninto the vibrant Chinese food scene in Richmond.\n<\/p>\n

\nBrendan Mathews and his family (wife and two
\ndaughters) are part of the .01 per cent of Caucasians diners. They eat
\nat Chinese restaurants several times a week for the same reason the
\nChinese community does: incredible value, delicious food and family
\ntime. "It’s uncommon to see another table of Caucasians," Mathews says.
\n"Occasionally, you’ll see a Caucasian who’s married to an Asian." As for
\nthe Western chain-style restaurants where he sees most non-Chinese
\ndining, he’s flummoxed. "I wouldn’t go if they paid me. The food isn’t
\ncooked with care; the operators don’t seem to have interest in putting
\ntheir best foot forward," he says. The better Chinese restaurant
\noperators (not necessarily the most expensive) compete feverishly for
\nfickle customers and chefs step up with passion, pride and new
\ndishes."If you’re a food person, you can recognize quality cooking in
\nany idiom. Chinese chefs are proud of what they do and try the best they
\ncan. The quality is 10 times better [than the popular western chains]."\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n(Brendan Mathews and family at Dinesty restaurant.)\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n(Food at Dinesty restaurant.)\n<\/p>\n

\nHe has lived in Richmond for 20 years. "For the first
\nfive years, we were a little reticent then we kept going back and
\nlooking at what people were having. We’d have dishes we were comfortable
\nwith and mix in something new each time." He has now become such a
\npassionate fan, he is one of the judges for the Chinese Restaurant
\nAwards.\n<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nStacey Chyau, of Tourism Richmond, says after 2000,
\nthe Richmond’s Chinese restaurant scene began to change. Many Hong Kong
\nimmigrants moved back after 1997 came and went without incident but a
\nnew wave of wealthy, educated immigrants from mainland China began to
\narrive, creating demand for regional variations. While most Chinese
\nrestaurants are still Cantonese, the trend is changing because demand is
\nchanging, she says.\n<\/p>\n

\nAbout 65 per cent of the population of Richmond are
\nof Asian descent and 40 per cent are Chinese. The importance of food and
\nfamily in the Chinese community is evident as you drive through Golden
\nVillage, the central commercial area of Richmond. The restaurant
\nactivity is astounding. Three blocks along Alexandra Road, skirting the
\nGolden Village is fondly called Eat Street for the sheer density of
\nrestaurants lining three blocks.\n<\/p>\n

\nThere is also the Summer Night Market, with its riot
\nof street foods, sold from stalls. There’s also three food trucks but
\nwhen the city’s busting at the seams with good-value places to eat, the
\nthinking seems to be ‘who needs them?’ But if you think you do, the
\nthree food trucks sell Japanese fare at located at 8740 Charles St.,
\nacross from the Bridgeport Canada Line station. (Tenku Bakudanyaki sells
\nJapanese fritters; Shoryumen sells ramen and Fumisen sells sushi
\ncones.)\n<\/p>\n

\nDavid Ngan, manager of Fisherman’s Terrace, a
\nlong-time fixture in the pantheon of Richmond restaurants, firmly
\nbelieves Richmond has better restaurants than in China, including Hong
\nKong. "We are more concerned about health standards here. It’s the best
\nin the world and the quality of ingredients is very good," he says. And
\nwhile we don’t have quite the variety of seafood and meats that they do
\nin China, we do better with what we have in terms of quality and
\ncreative cooking. "It makes the chefs be more creative and they keep on
\ndeveloping their dishes." Locals, he says, are very open to trying new
\nthings.\n<\/p>\n

\nCraig Stowe, a founder and director of the Chinese
\nRestaurant Awards says Metro Vancouver definitely has the best Chinese
\nfood outside of China and the beef and pork are of much better quality
\nthan in China. "Chefs are more creative with the meats because they’re
\nof much higher quality than China. Traditioanl, a high-end banquet in
\nChina is about fresh seafood, not about great cuts of pork and beef."\n<\/p>\n

\n"Food is foremost to the Chinese," he says. "They
\nspend a lot of money on eating. Life is about
\nfood-family-finance-future, with future meaning education. But they want
\ntheir food at a good price."\n<\/p>\n

\nThe major distinction on the Chinese food map is the
\nNorthern\/Southern split. Northerners eat both rice and noodles, heartier
\nfoods, dried and pickled goods – reflecting a colder climate and
\nregions without access to fresh fish or ingredients all year. The South,
\nincluding the Cantonese, have access to fresh produce and seafood
\nyear-round the the cuisine is more light and refined and sing the
\npraises of bright, fresh, flavours.\n<\/p>\n

\n"The demand for freshness is extremely high," says
\nStowe. "The 100 Mile Diet – that’s the kind of quality we’re talking
\nabout. They want fresh, and alive, if possible. Seasonality is central."
\nCantonese food tends to be the most expensive because of the obsession
\nwith freshness and quality and focus on seafood.\n<\/p>\n

\nFor Lee Man, a food writer and Chinese Restaurant
\nAwards judge, says Cantonese cooking is about being unobtrusive.
\n"There’s no need for preserving or masking. It’s really about the
\ningredient." Chefs from abroad have embraced local ingredients like
\nAlaska king crab (Sun Sui Wah restaurant goes through 2,000 pounds of it
\nper month when it’s in season) and geoduck.\n<\/p>\n

\nRice used to be a staple in Cantonese cuisine but no
\nmore, Man says. "If you look around, most people aren’t ordering rice
\nwith meals anymore. They’ll have a starch but not rice."\n<\/p>\n

\nHe says Chinese chefs at the notable restaurants are
\npassionate and extremely competitive. "They’re very secretive about
\ntheir recipes. Staff who are starting out show up super early because
\nthe executive chef will be there to hide what he does."\n<\/p>\n

\nHe knows of one "really, really respected chef" (at
\nShiang Garden) who has been working to perfect a soy sauce recipe to go
\nwith a braised pork belly recipe for years. "He starts with a premium
\nsoy sauce and keeps doctoring it to make it better."\n<\/p>\n

\nAnother chef (at Sea Harbour restaurant) works with squab farmers in the Fraser Valley to grow poultry to his specification.\n<\/p>\n

\nMan adds Taiwanese food into the Richmond mix. "It’s
\nreflective of how the Taiwanese eat. It’s more casual, like street food
\nmenus and dumplings. But there are more sophisticated ones like Dinesty.
\nIt’s noodle-driven and casual." And of course, there are the food
\ncourts at the various Richmond Malls.\n<\/p>\n

\nStowe sees the Richmond food scene as the perfect
\nstorm, a confluence of local high-quality ingredients, a wealthy,
\neducated class of Chinese immigrants with demanding palates, and their
\nequal demand for value. "Part of their reason for buying second homes in
\nVancouver is the culture of good food and education. That’s basic. It’s
\nnot the houses or weather."\n<\/p>\n

\nThere are about 600 Chinese restaurants in Metro
\nVancouver with most in Richmond and Vancouver. "It’s amazing!" Stowe
\nsays. "And the most important thing about Richmond’s restaurants is the
\nincredibly high quality and value. They want the best at a good price
\nand heavy competition creates the perfect storm."\n<\/p>\n

\nAt 8 p.m. On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, it’s
\nbumper to bumper traffic in Richmond, Stowe says. "Those with big
\nparking lots do well."\n<\/p>\n

\nHis reason for jump-starting the Chinese Restaurant
\nAwards was to alter change that 99.9 per cent stat, to bring in a wider
\ncommunity of diners to the best of Chinese restaurants in the Vancouver
\narea. "When a restaurant gets an award, there’s about a 20 per cent
\nincrease in business and a big chunk is from the Caucasian community,"
\nhe says.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

\nIf, as Man thinks, Caucasians in Vancouver are
\nreticent because driving over the bridge is a psychological barrier, he
\nsays there are great restaurants within walking distance of the Canada
\nLine. Here are his marching orders: From the Aberdeen stop, go to Sea
\nHarbour, Fisherman’s Terrace and Northern Delicacy; from the Lansdowne
\nstop, you can walk to Sun Sui Wah, Jade Seafood, Alexandra Road
\n(three-blocks of ‘Eat Street’), Dinesty and Shanghai Wonderful; and
\nyou’ll find Kirin Seafood and Shanghai River near the Brighouse stop.\n<\/p>\n

\n \n<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mia Stainsby In Richmond, we have the mother lode of Chinese restaurants in North America. Some say we have the best Chinese food in the world. And yet, regrettably, 99.9 per cent of the diners are from within the Chinese community. What’s wrong with this picture? Isn’t it time we woke up and smelled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-cra-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chineserestaurantawards.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}