Japanese Archives - West Coast Food

Richmond December 22, 2021

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…

Chef Stories April 10, 2019

Two Chefs, Two Locations: Ancora Chefs Share Their Passion for Food in Vancouver

By Catherine Dunwoody Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio in False Creek Vancouver wowed the city with it’s Peruvian-Japanese influenced seafood and now The North Shore’s Ambleside is home to the new, second location. We chatted with both chefs to get the goods on their own stories. Ricardo Valverde is the executive chef at Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio, Ambleside, Vancouver’s North Shore. Raimund Hauser is the chef de cuisin at Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio in False Creek, Vancouver. Where were you born? Ricardo: Lima, Peru Raimund: On the Rhine River in a little town named Neuwied in Germany. When I was 10 years old, I moved to the medieval village of Bad Waldsee. What was food like in your growing up household? Ricardo: I can honestly say we had a very balanced diet growing up in Peru. Fresh vegetables were always from the farmer’s market and we ate lots…

Guided Tours November 6, 2018

Tour the Asian Cuisine of Metro Vancouver

By Brittany Tiplady When visiting a new city, choosing where to eat can be a daunting task, especially when the options are abundant! Metro Vancouver has an incredible amount of culinary options to enjoy, so, why not book a food tour and let your guide make the restaurant selections for you? Don’t know where to start? If you’re in the mood for fantastic Asian cuisine (Metro Vancouver has no shortage of that!) check out this list of tours available in Metro Vancouver. A Wok Around Food Tours Robert Sung’s guided food tours are unparalleled. Mr Sung is a third-generation Chinese Canadian who was raised in BC’s food hospitality industry–his family has been involved the industry for over 70 years. As a member of the Chinese-Canadian Historical Society of BC and a current member of the Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee, Sung has a wealth of local, culinary, and cultural knowledge. A…

Where to Eat October 30, 2018

Where to Eat Ramen in Metro Vancouver

By Kristi Alexandra When the weather cools and our palate warms up, sending Metro Vancouverites on the search for soups, stews and steaming bowls of noodles. Welcome to ramen season! Traditionally, ramen is a Japanese noodle dish served up in a meat or fish-based broth, flavoured by shoyu or miso, and topped with accoutrements such as sliced meat, eggs, dried seaweed and more. There’s no one-way to do ramen, as evidenced by the ramen variations that represent different regions of Japan—from the mild-tasting, cloudy ramen of Kagoshima to the miso-style ramen of Sapporo. So, perhaps there’s really no tradition at all. In fact, a great ramen experience is all about choice and customization. One can choose to have their noodles thick or thin, chewy or soft; their broth with a pork-bone base (tonkotsu), or with fish or miso; then topped off with dressings to their heart’s content. We’ve rounded up…

Where to Eat December 19, 2016

What to Eat on Christmas Eve in Richmond

By VisitRichmondBC.com Most restaurants are on lock-down during Christmas and we can’t really blame them. It is, after all, a time to celebrate with friends and family! Even so, Christmas remains the busiest day for the few restaurants that are open during this holiday. If you’re visiting Richmond during the holidays, be sure to try our top five restaurant picks in Richmond open during Christmas: 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…

Cafés November 23, 2016

Drink Up the Health Benefits of Matcha with Whisk from Richmond

by Catherine Dunwoody Health enthusiasts know the benefits of drinking green tea, especially matcha, due to the fact that the bright green stuff is rich in antioxidants, boosts memory and energy levels, plus detoxifies the body. New Whisk Premium Matcha is the brainchild of Richmond, BC entrepreneur Kimmy Xiao, and this mother of two is pretty stoked about finding, and sharing, the highest quality out matcha out there. Sourced in Kyoto, Japan, this organic tea is brought in for Xiao’s Whisk brand, then packaged right in Richmond before selling to us online or at select stores throughout the GVRD, including Pure Barre Studios. Three different grades of matcha are available (including the esteemed Pinnacle Gold), plus a selection of accessories and beautifully packaged gift sets just in time for the holidays. Xiao states that “we want to bring this authentic artisanal matcha experience to people’s everyday life while promoting a…

Farms September 26, 2016

For the Sake of Saké: Local, Artisanal and Sustainable Rice Wine

By Joanne Sasvari If you think sake is a boiling hot beverage that tastes like turpentine, well, you clearly haven’t tasted Masa Shiroki’s handcrafted sakes. Since 2007, when he became Canada’s first producer of premium craft sake, he’s been making rice wines that taste delicately of citrus, apple, pineapple and brioche, with notes of spice and touches of herbaceousness. Not a hint of turpentine anywhere. A couple years after he started producing his Osake brand, Shiroki started growing his own rice in the Fraser Valley, making his rice wine a truly local and sustainable product. Now he’s heading up Vancouver’s first (and, he hopes, annual) Sake Fest. On Sept. 29, 2016, when 21 producers will gather at the Imperial in Chinatown, where they will pour some 100 different types of sake. Kampai! “It’s been a long time coming,” Shiroki says. Sake is a fermented beverage made from rice, water and…

Richmond June 27, 2016

Eat Your Way through Richmond via the Canada Line

By VisitRichmondBC.com If you feel like eating some of the best Asian food available but don’t have a car, don’t worry! You can hop on the Canada Line Skytrain, Metro Vancouver’s fully-automated rapid transit line that connects travelers to Richmond’s diverse culinary scene. Bring your appetites because this easy-to-navigate self-guided tour is bound to fill you up! Richmond Brighouse Station Located in the heart of Richmond city centre, Brighouse is the first stop on the Canada Line, and it’s also where our tour begins. Your self-guided food tour begins at Pepper Lunch (150-5951 No. 3 Road). With over 200 branches in Asia, this particular Pepper Lunch was the first one to open in Canada. To get there, head for a leisurely stroll north along No. 3 Road for about 1.5 blocks towards Westminster Highway. Located on the west side of the street, you’ll find Pepper Lunch tucked away beside a…

Where to Eat May 24, 2016

Top 10 Dishes to Eat in Richmond

By Tara Lee for VisitRichmondBC.com Richmond, BC, is a food lover’s paradise with more than 800 restaurants in the city, and you can see for yourself why Richmond’s been visited by many food critics and has made a real name for itself as a foodie destination. Over 400 of the city’s restaurants serve Asian cuisine and Frommer’s notes that Richmond is “arguably the Asian food capital of North America.” Whether you choose to dine at restaurants, cafes, food courts or at one of the night markets, you won’t be disappointed. To help you on your dining adventure here are my top 10 dishes in Richmond: 1. Steamed Crab Dumplings at Golden Paramount Whenever a friend asks me for a dim sum recommendation, I end up raving about Golden Paramount and the incredible talent of dim sum chef May Chau. The steamed crab dumplings ($4.98) look deceptively simple, but showcase a paper-thin, translucent…

Where to Eat November 12, 2015

11 Vancouver Specialties and Where to Eat Them

By Alexis Baran Coastal and multicultural are the flavours of Vancouver’s most recognized specialties. To get to know the unique bites (and sips) Vancouverites love to munch, start with these eleven favorites: JapaDog Vancouver’s original most-talked-about food cart serves Japanese-inspired hotdogs. Bask in the salty, sweet, and spicy tastes of seaweed flakes, teriyaki sauce, miso, wasabi and kimchi. There are multiple locations in downtown Vancouver, including an indoor location at 530 Robson. B.C. Rolls British Columbia’s signature sushi roll is done in many ways, but the one consistent ingredient is grilled savoury and chewy salmon skin. Get them at just about any sushi joint in Vancouver. Coffee Busy Vancouverites are often particular about their favorite liquid pick-me-up, and love their pour-overs and flavoured espresso drinks. Some local chains to try are Milano Coffee, 49th Parallel, and JJ Bean. But don’t forget the many cozy independent shops to be found who…

Where to Eat August 5, 2015

Food Street: 3 blocks, 200 Restaurants

By Visit Richmond BC Known locally as “Wai Sek Kai” or “Food Street,” Alexandra Road has been a dining destination created by locals for locals for as long as anyone can remember. Easily accessible by SkyTrain, Food Street is right in the heart of the Golden Village and runs from busy No. 3 Road to Garden City Road (between Lansdowne and Aberdeen malls.) It has evolved organically over the years, especially in the last decade, with new restaurateurs attracted by the success of their colleagues and new immigrants searching for a likely place to share the foods of their homeland. Now nearly 200 eateries strong, cuisine ranges from humble noodle shops to grand Cantonese banquet rooms. The street itself is a jumble of strip malls, each one a warren of eateries adorned with bright, colourful signs advertising hot pot or pho, dim sum or sushi. Interspersed among them are a…