December 2021 - West Coast Food
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December 2021

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Richmond

What to Eat on Christmas Eve in Richmond

By VisitRichmondBC.com Most restaurants tend to shut their doors on Christmas and we can’t really blame them. It is, after all, a time to celebrate with friends and family! Even so, Christmas remains a busy day for the few restaurants that are open during the holidays. Here are our top five restaurant picks in Richmond that’ll keep their lights on for Santa. HK BBQ Master If you’re looking to get a fill of Cantonese-style barbecue, HK BBQ Master (4651 No. 3 Road) is hands down one of the best places to get your fill of char siu, crispy skin roast pork, BBQ duck or BBQ chicken. It’s a tiny hole-in-the-wall type eatery with just 14 seats and they accept cash only for payment. So be warned: come early to snag seats, or buy the meats by the pound with a side of rice and take it to go for an…

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Recipes

Recipe: Butterscotch Caramel Blondies

By Flourist Bakery This recipe involves a simple homemade caramel which makes enough for two batches of blondies. Alternatively, you can freeze the leftover caramel pieces and add them to your favorite cookie, brownie or bar recipe. Ingredients Caramel Sugar (3/4 cup 162g) Water (2 tbsp) Blondie Batter Unsalted butter (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon 250g) Eggs (2 large) Brown sugar (1 3/4 cups 300g) Vanilla extract (1 1/2 tsp) Sifted Red Fife flour (1 3/4 cups 240g) baking powder (1 1/4 tsp) Salt (1 tsp) Semisweet or milk chocolate, chopped (4 1/2 ounces 125g) To make the caramel, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Put the water in a light-colored saucepan (so that you can see the color of the caramel as it changes). Add sugar and place over medium-low heat. Watch as the sugar starts to dissolve and resist the urge to stir the pan,…

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Chocolate, Sweets, and Baking

Shop Local! 5 Metro Vancouver Foodie Gifts 

By Avneet Takhar If you’re looking to spread some Christmas cheer, look no further than these foodie holiday baskets which will be a sure hit with folks! Whether one has been naughty or nice, tis’ the season of giving so we strongly urge you to invest in these gifts, just to see the delighted looks on the faces of those who receive. And here are our top 5 recommendations: Coho Market Coho Market supports local businesses, with a mission to nurture the entrepreneurial pipeline and foster connections through food.  Choose from their 3 different bundles: Women-Led Local Foodie Box: containing Moorish hot sauces by Kula Kitchen and Sriracha Revolver, Luv The Grub’s cozy chai apple spread and some sweet snacks from Mindfoods, The Friendly Keto and Heritage Baking. BIPoC-Led Local Foodie Box: an eclectic mix of Van Koji’s seasoning sauce, dark chocolate by Kaaj, True Nosh’s refreshing monk…

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Recipes

Recipe: Spiced Lentil Loaf

This recipe came to us by way of one of Flourist’s best customers, who shared the source of this tasty lentil loaf with us. The original recipe is a vegan version, which can be accessed here. We think it’s the perfect choice for vegetarian holiday menus. ~ adapted from The Silk Road Diary Ingredients French lentils (1 cup dry)  Water or vegetable broth (2 1/2 cups) Egg (1) Olive oil (2 tablespoons) Yellow or red onion, finely diced (1 medium ) Carrot, grated (1 large) Red bell pepper, finely diced (1 small) Salt (1 tsp) Chili powder (1 tablespoon) Paprika (1 teaspoon) Garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon) Oats (3/4 cup) Sifted Red Spring Wheat Flour or any fresh flour on hand (1/2 cup) Ketchup (1/3 cup) Balsamic vinegar (2 tablespoons) Maple syrup (2 tablespoons) Instructions In a large pot, combine your choice of Flourist French Lentils and vegetable broth and bring to…

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Holiday

More Christmas Markets for Last-Minute Merriment

The holidays are just around the corner, and if the wait is just too unbearable for you, Metro Vancouver has more than a few options for wassailing away the days until the 25th. So bundle up, and let’s take a tour of our favourite community Christmas markets! Burnaby Heritage Christmas Take a step into Christmases gone by with a visit to Burnaby Village’s annual glow-up event. With bright family photo opportunities around every lamppost, a wander through the village is sure to get every member of your crew feeling festive. If you’re still met with Grinch-like glares, a ride on the restored 1912 Carousel will do the trick. For extreme cases, consult the scoop artists at the old-fashioned ice cream parlour. https://bit.ly/3mb7Bg3 @BurnabyVillage Langley Christmas In the Village Fort Langley is always a good bet for feeling the warmth of the season. This annual festival returns to…

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Craft Beer

The Barley Merchant’s Tim LaHay Keeps His Guests Always Topped Up

By Brittany Tiplady If you love BC craft beer and culture, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard the name Tim LaHay once or twice. LaHay is the BC and beer enthusiast behind the moniker @crafttourist, a digital ode to all things BC craft beer, spirits, cider, and scenery. LaHay’s love of craft brews has amassed an engaged following of nearly 22,000, not including the readership on his blog. His account is dedicated to travel, hiking, and of course, BC craft beer. “I’ve been a craft beer enthusiast for over 10 years now. The BC craft beer scene has really evolved as many people are aware, and it all started [for me] with a visit to a Winter Cask Festival at the Central City Brewpub in 2012. It opened my eyes to the amazing flavours that exist in the craft beer world,” shares LaHay in a phone interview. “Working at…

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Vegetarian & Vegan

5 PoC Vegan Food Producers Creating a Buzz

By Avneet Takhar  It’s no secret that veganism has been on the rise in the last few years, and most notably within the health-conscious West Coast.  When plant-based comes to mind, media coverage tends to be dominated by food outlets and “food-fluencers” who happen to be white. But the communities of colour who have primarily always provided veggie options (Indian and Vietnamese in particular) are leading the way in showing how it’s done. Here’s the lowdown on 5 PoC (people of colour) vegan spots that are causing a stir. Cham Cham Vegan Vietnamese Chefpreneur Kim Vo decided to leave her well-established catering and food truck business in Toronto for Vancouver- amidst the pandemic! Some would say a bold choice when the world was at the brink of disaster? But she didn’t even blink before setting up in Kits with Cham Cham (meaning ‘slow-down’ in Vietnamese).  The crunchy Saigon chick’n…

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Chickpea+feta
Recipes

Recipe: Chickpea + Feta Bake

By Flourist Bakery This delicious chickpea dish is super easy and impressive to make for guests or a cozy weeknight meal on a winter night. Serve with cooked grains like quinoa or with flatbreads. It gets better as it sits, but we doubt leftovers will linger for long with this recipe!  INGREDIENTS Dry chickpeas 1 cup (200g) Olive oil (1/3 cup) Red onion, chopped into 1-inch pieces (1 large) Garlic cloves, crushed (2-3) Chili paste (1-2 tbsp)   Ground cumin (1.5 tsp) Smoked paprika (1 tsp) Coriander (1 tsp) Salt (1 tbsp) Red bell pepper, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (1) Green zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces (2 medium) Strained tomatoes or passata (1 700g jar) Baby spinach (3 oz) Honey (2 tbsp) Feta, sliced into rectangular slabs (200g) Fresh basil or parsley for garnish DIRECTIONS Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof dutch oven over medium heat.…

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Chocolate, Sweets, and Baking

Baked Goods for the Holidays

By Avneet Takhar Hanukkah celebrations are taking place right now and with Christmas and Solstice right around the corner, we thought it only fair to provide you places with delicious treats to stock up on. Leave the baking to the elves, oops we mean, experts this year!    Even the bah humbugs of the clan won’t be able to resist these scrumptious snacks, we guarantee it. Without further ado, here are just some of the spots you can indulge in of baked goods for a season of joy and good tidings. Elbo Patties 1370 East Georgia, Vancouver Transit: 22 bus, hop off at Venables St @ Clark Dr Chris Boreland doesn’t only make patties! The holiday specialty, Jamaican rum cake, bursting with a sweet yet deliciously bitter twang and a dusting of icing sugar on top, is a no-brainer for entertaining both your stomach and guests. Yum for your…

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Korean

Where to Eat Korean Fried Chicken in Metro Vancouver

By Brittany Tiplady From Vancouver to Langley there’s one food trend that’s sweeping the Metro Vancouver area: Korean. Fried. Chicken. Of course, Korean fried chicken is nothing new. It just took a while to enter the mainstream on this side of the globe.  According to an article written in Smithsonian Magazine, “scholars claim that the U.S. military presence after the Korean War introduced deep-fried chicken to the Korean palate. In the 1960s and ’70s, Western-style rotisserie chicken restaurants became popular in urban areas. Starting in the 1980s, Korean-style fried chicken dipped in a sweet and spicy sauce made with gochujang (fermented chili paste) was delivered to virtually every household in modern apartment complexes.”  It has been reported that the first Korean fried chicken franchise, Lims Chicken, was established in 1977 by Yu Seok-ho in the basement of Shinsegae Department Store, Chungmu-ro, Seoul. Fast food restaurants like KFC and Popeyes setting…

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