Photos available in high resolution: the new categories of Diners’ Choice Awards (Har Gow, Five-Spice Beef Wrapped in Chinese Pancake, Tea-smoked Duck, Three-cup Chicken, Original-Flavour Egg Waffle). Please contact [ rae@ChineseRestaurantAwards ] for download link
(Vancouver, B.C., Canada – February 10th, 2015) If the number seven signifies a complete cycle, the team behind the Chinese Restaurant Awards has entered into their seventh year with quite the contrary mindset. In 2015, the new Food Bloggers’ Choice Awards are being introduced to embrace growth, engagement, and sharing. Together with the Awards team of professional food critics and the general public, four top-ranking local food bloggers have been invited to create a new comprehensive dining guide.
“We understand the importance of incorporating different voices,” says Craig Stowe, Chinese Restaurant Awards Founding Director. “Vancouver’s top food bloggers are passionate, and their unique expressions will encourage both locals and visitors to explore the city’s rich Chinese culinary scene.”
Since 2012, well-recognized regional dishes have been added annually to the Diners’ Choice Awards as rotating categories. This year, the Awards have invited two English and two Chinese bloggers to dissect five dishes in the new categories with the public. Sherman Chan (shermansfoodadventures.com), Joyce Lam (vanfoodies.com), Jesse Tsao (myvanlife.com), and Chole Wang (vandiary.com) will find their favourite places that make the Best Har Gow, Best Five-Spice Beef Wrapped in Chinese Pancake, Best Tea-smoked Duck, Best Three-Cup Chicken, and Best Original-Flavour Egg Waffle. The restaurants that receive the most votes will be the winners of the Food Bloggers’ Choice Awards.
The first of the five new dishes, Har Gow, or steamed shrimp dumpling, is a must-order Dim Sum item for anyone new to the yum cha experience. Good-quality Har Gow has a thin translucent wrapping that can hold a generous amount of diced shrimp. The delicateness of this bite-size dumpling is quite a contrast to the finger-licking Five Spice Beef Wrapped in Chinese Pancake. Served in Northern Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants as an appetizer, the roll has thin slices of slow-cooked beef shank wrapped in a flaky pancake with crispy green onion or cilantro.
In the past year, the Szechuan classic Tea-smoked Duck has been gaining popularity among local chefs. Variations of the dish have been appearing on the menus of different regional restaurants. The elaborate process of hot-smoking a marinated duck over tea leaves and twigs makes it a challenge to a chef’s skill and patience. The Three-Cup Chicken, in contrast, is easier to prepare, but it does not lack variety or flavour. The hearty Taiwanese adaption of this Jiangxi dish has made it a household name and a regular on bubble teahouse menus. Similarly, the Original-Flavour of Hong Kong Egg Waffle, or eggette, can be found in dessert houses, cafés, and food courts in Metro Vancouver despite its street origin. It is so popular that more people are attempting to make the doughy-centered crunchy waffle at home to satisfy their craving.
From February 10 to 18th, the public can nominate their favourite establishments online (votedinerschoice.com) for the twenty-one categories in the Diners’ Choice Awards. Last year, 19,612 votes were cast over four weeks. Best BBQ Shop has returned this year due to popular demand. The 2015 voting period is February 19 to March 22, and the results of the Diners’ Choice Awards will be announced on March 23.
Professional food critics Stephen Wong, Lee Man, Brendon Matthews, and Foodie Yau have been the backbone of the Critics’ Choice Awards signature dishes categories, and they have been gathering for undercover tastings since September 2014. Their ballots will be tallied at the end of March, along with the food bloggers’ votes. The results of both the Critics’ Choice and the Food Bloggers’ Choice Awards will be announced on Wednesday, April 15. All votes are verified by EY Canada, the official auditor of the Chinese Restaurant Awards.
Critics’ Choice Signature Dish Awards (10 awards)
Food Bloggers’ Choice Awards (5 awards):
1. Best Har Gow
2. Best Five Spice Beef wrapped in Chinese Pancake
3. Best Tea-smoked Duck
4. Best Three Cup Chicken
5. Best Original-flavour Egg Waffle
Diners’ Choice Awards (21 awards in total) *new awards *returning award
1. Best Har Gow
2. Best Five Spice Beef wrapped in Chinese Pancake
3. Best Tea-smoked Duck
4. Best Three Cup Chicken
5. Best Original-flavour Egg Waffle
6. Best Fine Dining Restaurant
7. Best Dim Sum Restaurant
8. Best Cantonese Restaurant
9. Best Northern Chinese Restaurant
10. Best Shanghainese Restaurant
11. Best Szechuan Restaurant
12. Best Hunan Restaurant
13. Best Taiwanese Restaurant/BBT Café
14. Best Hot Pot Restaurant
15. Best Congee and Noodle Restaurant
16. Best Vegetarian Restaurant
17. Best Hong Kong-Style Café
18. Best B.B.Q. Shop
19. Best Bakery Shop
20. Best Food Court Stall
21. Best Services Restaurant
The Chinese Restaurant Awards wishes to thank the following sponsors: Alberta Canola Producers Commission, EY Canada, Amoy Food limited, Anchor Foods International Limited, Frobisher International Enterprise Ltd, CityTV, OMNI Television and Vandiary.com and the partners (view the full list )
Facebook @ChineseRestaurantAwards / Twitter @CRADiningGuide
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media inquiries: rae kung [ rae@chineserestaurantawards.com ]
