Early December, Wade and I flew to Vancouver for a short family visit. Five full days is incredibly short, so more eating and spending time with family than sightseeing. Zero sightseeing actually. If we had time, I’d love to show Wade around. Lots of people visit Vancouver in the winter for some skiing at Whistler or on one of our local mountains. If you want to experience some winter outdoors activities, though not ready to go skiing or snowboarding, join this guided snowshoe tour on Grouse.
For our trip, our goal was to eat, lots and well. For months I regaled Wade with tales of fresh and delicious sushi. And other foods, Vancouver being such a melting pot. We are currently based in Central Coast California and it is sadly lacking in Asian and other ethnic cuisines. The number of times I’ve had terrible rice makes me want to cry.
So we were looking forward to some good food, especially Asian food, and left the planning to my sister and mom.
First we had to get to San Francisco, a three-hour drive. Central Coast and Northern California are the only places I’ve lived that getting out of dodge by an aeroplane is a trip in itself. (Or fly out of a small airport and pay an price that feels extortive)
Japanese Cuisine in Vancouver
By the time we got to the timeshare in Yaletown, we’d been up for twelve hours and I was all out of energy to decide on dinner. All I could do, splayed out on the couch waiting for the shower, was casually feel out restaurants on the list from the receptionist. A few were vaguely familiar, like Hapa Izakaya where I’ve been with mom and my sister.
The original plan was being picked up at the airport and have Shanghainese food near the airport. Shanghainese would have to wait for another trip.
Kamei royale
That first night, we ubered to Kamei Royale. The last time I ate there was after an afternoon at Lynn Canyon and a bowl of udon was most satisfying. Nabeyaki udon, with fish cake and egg. I asked Wade to order and we had a spread of sushi, tempura, and sake.
Being away from Vancouver for nearly two decades I had forgotten that Kamei Royale, which opened in 1972 and considered the oldest Japanese restaurant in the city, is not the same as Kamei on Broadway. We grew up going to the Broadway location, tucked away on the second floor in the plaza, away from the street. It was a short drive from my childhood home. As a family of five, we always reserved a tatami room.
If I recall correctly, there was a third Kamei, upstairs on Alberni Street downtown. So many Japanese restaurants are no longer around, for various reasons, including the shut-down of businesses post 2020. Aki was already in its second location, down in the basement on Thurlow, when we started going. Its first location was Powell Street, once Japantown. Aki was another one that was tucked away. It served authentic Japanese food and fresh sushi and was popular with Japanese people. It understandably got really busy, even though you had to be in the know. Aki was actually owned by someone Japanese. Now when I visit downtown, it is a far cry from the Vancouver I grew up in and love.
Down the street from Aki, on the other side of Robson, was an izakaya. It was small and dark and my Japanese friends ordered. It was that Japanese. And it opened late.
Then there was the one in the West End that served Hamburg steak.
Kamei Royale | Kamei on Broadway
Takara sushi
The next day was our first full day in Vancouver. We met up with my mom and sister for a coffee at dad’s favourite, Honolulu Coffee. It was both a refreshing and emotional walk down memory lane. Sitting there, my mind drifted to all the times I sat with my dad sharing a sandwich. I knew of Vancouver’s location long before I went to Honolulu Coffee in O’ahu, where it started as a simple stall.
For lunch, we went to Takara Sushi, which mom insisted on being a great new find her friend took her to. We’ve been here before. My mom, my sister, and I came here one time before going to a gem/crystal show.
I ordered my favourite – grilled mackerel with rice – and I also had sushi with the others. After all these years, I tasted uni, or sea urchin, for the very first time. Just a tiny little nibble. My mom finally has someone in Wade who would eat it with her.
The sushi at Takara was pretty good. The uni not so great, said the two uni experts. It’s nice, though, not to pay Central Coast California, downtown Vancouver or tourist prices. Still, it wasn’t the mind-blowing sushi I had been telling Wade about.
Uni, or the reproductive part of the sea urchin, while still a delicacy, has become more a mainstream Japanese dish these days. From my tiny taste, I can’t really describe it and depending on the species and the person, descriptions vary. It doesn’t elicit the same extreme reactions as another one of my mom’s, durian; uni does have a love it and not so much reaction.
It looks squishy though premium uni has a firm texture and a shape that holds. People generally say the bright orange uni is buttery/creamy and sometimes, ocean-salty. There are several species – the cold waters of Hokkaido produce perhaps the most coveted.
Tom’s Sushi
Still on our mission to have amazing sushi, we googled for restaurants close to us. We landed on Tom’s Sushi located on Davie’s Street, a short ride away downtown Vancouver. By the time we got to Tom’s, a smattering of people were already waiting outside. It didn’t take long to seat the two of us, between two lively couples and a family with a lively child. Both parties had to scoot over their jackets to make space for us and our stuff. They really cramp us in there.
Not to be uneventful, we spilled soya sauce when I handed over the bottle, splattering stickiness all over Wade, the table, and the floor. Everywhere. It caused quite a commotion. While Wade went to the bathroom to clean up, the staff used massive piles of paper towel to soak up the dark sauce. Laundry day at my mom’s the next day!
We ordered both sushi and cooked foods, with just enough room on our little table for all our plates. The scallop and albacore were our favourites. And we ended the night with another order of both.
Malaysian, Chinese, and Korean Cuisines
We used to go to Golden Ocean Seafood Restaurant, upstairs on 41st. So I suggested it one night. It was only after the disappointing dinner that my mom and sister informed me that we went because it was close by, not because it was good. Why did I not know this? In the years I had been away, the taste definitely declined. Another strike for Wade’s Vancouver dining experience. My tales of amazing food fast turning into fibs, I feared.
No dim sum, no delicious hor fun, no Indian or White Spot. Food I had in mind.
Kalvin’s Restaurant
This is a tiny restaurant on Victoria in East Vancouver. It seemed to have been called Kalvin’s Szechuan. And my mom said it is Shanghainese. It’s (now?) rebranded as “the ultimate Taiwanese taste.” At least Wade got to try some authentic dumplings. Aside from the beef dish he ordered, we also had fish, clams, onion pancakes, fried mantou, and rice. Reservations are definitely necessary. This is also where you can buy ready-made dumplings to take home. Oh, and it’s cash only.
Mamalee Malaysian Delight
Wade’s never had Malaysian food so my mom suggested Mamalee, where she’s been going for years. Mamalee has two locations. One is in Chinatown and we went to Kitsilano (or Kits), on Broadway, between Balaclava and Musqueanview Street, renamed from Trutch Street. This street was named after British Columbia’s first lieutenant-governor, Joseph Trutch. By a 2021 unanimous vote, the city council decided to drop this name due to his policies against indigenous people, which included reducing reserves and restricting land purchase by the indigenous from non-indigenous.
Mamalee is authentic Malaysian cuisine – Hainanese chicken rice, laksa, and roti prata. It’s a small place, always packed, except for a small window mid-afternoon. We hit that window. Even before we left, people were beginning to pile into the empty restaurant we had just enjoyed.
Tasting this Malaysian food, I realize I miss the food vendors in Singapore. Several places I lived at were close to food courts. In the East Coast, I walked to the main street, a nice walk through semi-detached plantation-era homes, and had delicious freshly-made roti prata. At the same hawker place, my mom enjoyed delicious fish ball noodle soup on her visits.
Sura Korean BBQ
Lunch before our flight home was at SURA, located inside Aberdeen Centre in Richmond. It was easy parking and my mom wanted to pick up a few items from there anyways. I had thought Korean BBQ would be good in the colder weather. I also thought it’d traditional BBQ so I didn’t expect SURA. I remember seeing it over the years on the few occasions I tagged along for grocery shopping. Their $25 lunch set was back though we ordered a la carte.
While waiting for the food to arrive, I popped over to St Germaine Bakery to get some egg tarts and a slice of chestnut cake for the flight. There were a few things I wanted to tick off for the trip – bubble tea, foot massage, and chestnut cake. I ended up not taking any of them off the list, giving my mom the chestnut cake in the end.
Before we left for the airport, we went upstairs to the food court. I had a chance to get a bubble tea. Instead I opted for mango and pomelo juice. It was just as delicious as I remember.
Interested in joining some food tours in Vancouver? These guided tours take you to Gastown, Granville Island, or enjoy the seabus over to North Shore’s Shipyard District. Or explore the Mt Pleasant area for craft beer tasting and street art.
Tapas and Burger
Original Joe’s
Staying at the Rosedale, Original Joe’s was convenient. It was onsite and it closed late. Wade was still hungry after the very late lunch/very early dinner at Mamalee. So we grabbed a burger on our way up to the room. The wait was short. The bar and restaurant were packed. That week, there were a few hockey games on, and we were close to the stadium. So jerseys everywhere.
Browns Schoolhouse
Our last night in town we walked down the famous Robson Street. Our timeshare was close to Vancouver Public Library, at the less commercial and fashionable end of Robson. The other end was West End, an old residential neighbourhood, close to Stanley Park and the Lion’s Gate over to the North Shore. The West End also had great restaurants and cafés.
Robson was festive, full of lights and people. It was Saturday night. We looked for somewhere to hang out and ended up back at Browns Schoolhouse. Next to Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
We were several groups deep in the line, which would continue to grow. The restaurant was full – people in various hockey jerseys, families with small kids, couples… We had the option to skip ahead and join a communal table. We declined.
The hostess sat us at a table next to the window. That was worth the short wait. After a lingering look at the menu and around the room, we ordered drinks and social hour specials like the cauliflower. We asked our server for suggestions for where to go afterwards and she enthusiastically recommended some clubs and a place in Chinatown. I didn’t catch the name as my brain glitched on Chinatown. I have been away for a long time.
It may not have been the food paradise I promised. Still in the few days we were in Vancouver, we did have some delicious food. And a variety. It seems I’ve been away long enough not to know where to go. And many restaurants have closed in the past few years. Still, Vancouver is a food mecca, if you know where to go. We have some longstanding restaurants and such a diversity of cuisines.
If you have time, there is also so much to do in Vancouver. Perhaps go on a guided snowshoe tour on Grouse Mountain. This is one of the local mountains we used to ski and snowboard on. There are also a ton of walking tours to join. Check out all these great Vancouver attractions and activities for your trip.