Chinese Food in Vancouver

[j&ps]

We will be in Vancouver just for an overnight in late May and love your Chinatown. Can anyone recommend a good Chinese restaurant there? And are Chinatown and Gastown within walking distance of the Ramada Ltd. on Pender.

 

Thanks so much for your help.

[TCF]

Chinatown is not the center of Chinese cuisine that it was in the past. The Chinese community, like most other immigrant communities, have assimilated and spread out across the city and the rstaurants have done the same.

Virtually every Vancouverite has a favourite Chinese restaurant...the best in town...so you will probably get a ton of names in response to your question! There are two that I would recommend as very good and reasonably priced...both are a cab ride from the downtown core where you are staying. The first is generally acknowledged as 'one' of the best in town....it is is the Sun Sui Wah on Main Street. It has Dim Sum during the day, and family style service meals in the evening. The other is one of my favourites for Szechuan cuisine called the Sun Lock Gardens on Fraser Street at 27th Ave. If you like hot and spicey this is the place to go....it is a little 'hole in the wall' family owned restaurant so don't expect atmosphere ...just great food.

Moving between Gastown and Chinatown is not a long walk....the only problem for visitors is that the two neighbourhoods are separated by another neighbourhood referred to as the "Downtown East Side". It is the poorest neighbourhood in Canada...it is ugly...it is dirty...it is sad...after dark you probably want to take a cab...during the day just walk with a determined gait...a firm "no' to those begging and you will pass through it in a matter of minutes.

Hope you have a wonderful time exploring this beautiful and culturally diverse city.

[Putterdude]

As TCF says, we all have our favourites and mine is the Fortune Garden Seafood Restaurant at 1475 W. Broadway about a $12/15 taxi ride from almost anywhere downtown.

[orchid72]

Hi,

 

I have some recommendations, but they are not restaurants in Chinatown (some of the really good ones are in Richmond).

 

If you are looking at not straying from Downtown, I would suggest either Victoria Chinese Restaurant at the Royal Centre mall near the Burrard Skytrain (on Melville St) station or Kirin Restaurant on Alberni (b/w Bute and Thurlow). Both are within a 15-minute walk from your hotel. I prefer Victoria Chinese over Kirin not only for the quality, but also for the value.

 

If you want something cheaper, try Hon's on Robson. It is a greasy spoon, so don't expect anything else but. There is a Hon's on Pender in Chinatown, but I much prefer the one on Robson.

 

If you want to venture out of the downtown core, you could also try the Golden Great Wall (705 Broadway) by the Holiday Inn, or Sun Sui Wah further East on Main and 22nd.

 

If you're going to be in Chinatown anyway, and would like to snack on some bbq pork steamed buns, try Newtown Bakery on E. Pender. It IS a hole in the wall, so if you do not feel like eating there, get the buns for take out.

[Urban trekker]

"try Hon's on Robson. It is a greasy spoon, so don't expect anything else but"

 

Oh - my sweet and sour chicken with pineapple, onions and peppers tasted pretty good on Wednesday - I would put Hon's a step above a greasy spoon - it is a reasonable priced, middle quality eatery - I am usually there for lunch with a family member each week - I could give you some other places that are a lot more greasy than this eatery.

 

That's all for now - back to finishing my Pizza after a 25KM bike ride.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[orchid72]

"try Hon's on Robson. It is a greasy spoon, so don't expect anything else but"

 

Oh - my sweet and sour chicken with pineapple, onions and peppers tasted pretty good on Wednesday - I would put Hon's a step above a greasy spoon - it is a reasonable priced, middle quality eatery - I am usually there for lunch with a family member each week - I could give you some other places that are a lot more greasy than this eatery.

 

 

I guess I should have qualified my statement and said: "It is a greasy spoon, so don't expect anything else but..it is good." It is, after all, our fave place for inexpensive Chinese food. Braised rock cod slices with tofu, pan fried potstickers, egg foo yung, ...they are just some of my favourites.

 

Last Tuesday's diced chicken with salted fish fried rice and seafood in potato nest were pretty tasty too, I must say.

[Putterdude]

 

That's all for now - back to finishing my Pizza after a 25KM bike ride.

 

 

Well when you are finished that healthy meal get out and finish the other 25 k's.

Out of here in the AM for LA, back next weekend.

pd

[scottbee]

For Chinese food, the one that constantly gets great reviews is :

Sun Sui Wah 3888 Main St.

 

If you're looking for where the (chinese) locals eat, take the SkyTrain to Patterson Station and visit the food fair at the Crystal Mall

[Urban trekker]

Thanks PD - I am working as a volunteer for the Vancouver Marathon - we are on course bike marshals - we have to be prepared for just about anything that might occur on the course this coming Sunday - we have been training 2 a week for the past month - Sunday I have to be at the race start at 6AM and won't finish until sometime in the early afternoon - last year it rained the entire day so it wasn't a pleasant experience but this year's forecast is looking pretty good - by the time i am finished riding with the runners and then sweeping areas for stragglers it will be about 60KM and yes there is lot's of pizza and other foods for us inside the spacious confines of BC Place stadium which is where the race ends.

 

Enjoy your cruise

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[j&ps]

Thanks so much all for your recommendations. I'm from Seattle originally, lived in Bellingham and have been to Vancouver several times. But it's been many years since we were last there. Do remember a great meal in a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown and good Chinese restaurants are hard to come by in Georgetown, TX where we live now. So thought we'd eat Chinese the night before our cruise.

 

See if you can order sunshine on May 29th & 30th!!!

[Urban trekker]

"See if you can order sunshine on May 29th & 30th!!!"

 

We have two kinds of sunshine here - liquid and dry so you have a 100% chance of seeing sunshine during your visit.

 

Seriously - by the end of May the weather is starting to turn dry and while you may get some moisture it shouldn't be too prolonged or heavy.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[j&ps]

[quote=Urban trekker;

 

"We have two kinds of sunshine here - liquid and dry so you have a 100% chance of seeing sunshine during your visit."

 

 

My husband early retired out of Saudi Arabia and we built a home in Bellingham in Sudden Valley. Knew that it rained more than he was used to, but loved the golf course, lake and our little cabin cruiser for the Sound. Even bought boots with cleats for the very wet front nine of the course. Well, my mid-West, used to sunshine boy just couldn't handle the rain in Suddey Valley (more than Seattle!) and we then moved to Arizona. A couple of moves later and we're in Texas, but I dearly love the Northwest and we visit often. Home will always be West Seattle and if you're ever there, be sure and have fish and chips at the Spud at Alki Beach!

[vbmom87]

I have seen many recommendations for this restaurant. Can someone tell me if there are enough good options on their menu for vegetarians and for non-fish eaters? What would the price range be? I could not find a menu on their website.

[TCF]

There are normally whole sections on a Chinese restaurant menu exclusively for vegetarian dishes.

Unique items such as Budha's Feast, and Three Kinds Of Mushrooms with Greens, make Chinese an easy cuisine for vegetable only diners. You can also order vegetarian versions of the classics such as Seasonal Mixed Vegetable Chow Mein and the like.

Sun Sui Wah, which is the restaurant I think you are referring to, although others have been mentioned in the thread, will run between about $9.00 - $12.00 a plate as far as I can remember. The restaurants downtown are more expensive but I have not eaten at either of the ones noted on this thread for years...so someone else will have to give you the price ranges.

[22Vines]

We had Floata recommended to us by a friend of a friend ... is it as good as the others already mentioned?

[Putterdude]

The Floata Seafood Restaurant is an excellent restaurant and of course is in Chinatown. Gosh I have just a wonderful halibut dinner and I am already hungry.:D

http://www.floata.com/index_main.htm

[scottbee]

If you're looking for an interesting lunch, and REAL (as in what the locals eat) Chinese food, hop Skytrain to Patterson station and go to the Crystal Mall's found court. It's hard to believe you're in North America.

[22Vines]

for the recommendations! I knew I could count on a quick answer from you experts!