Ethnic Eats – Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver

Hello all, I am pleased to annouce that I will be participating in the Tiny Bites Blogathon this year in support of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.

Blogathon is an international fundraising relay where a community of bloggers stay awake to publish 1 post every 30 minutes over the course of 24 hours. Every cent of the proceeds goes to each site’s charity of choice.

I have volunteered at the Food Bank for some time now and I know I don’t have to tell you what a great charity they are. They do so much good in this city and as a food blogger, I am pleased to do what I can to help feed others.

There are going to be some great prizes for anyone who donates to the Tiny Bites effort. Check out the Blogathon home page for more information on pledging.

For anyone who wants to contribute food instead of money, we will have a donation box set up at Workspace in Gastown for the duration of the blogathon.

Thanks for your support!

If you like your wine without the snobbery and stuffiness and with interesting people, great food and gorgeous surroundings, then you will be pleased to know that VinoCampVancouver 2008 is coming up in August. VinoCamp is meant to be a 1 day unconference in the style of Barcamp and DemoCamp with a focus on wine and will be happening at the UBC Botanical Gardens August 16th from 10 AM – 4 PM.

Here’s some more about it:

This is definitely not the wine festival. In a more unstructured form than a standard conference, VinoCampVancouver brings wine, people and technology together in one place, making wine accessible, educational and fun. As a different type of conference, VinoCamp is designed for those interested in technology and wine, and people are expected to take photos of what’s happening, and to blog or tweet or message about their experiences.

Join us! Whether you’re speaker, sponsor, or a wine-drinker, our aim is to make this day memorable, fun, and interesting. You will learn more about wine and viticulture, meet interesting people, and enjoy yourself in one of Vancouver’s loveliest gardens.

I’m pleased to be helping out with organizing VinoCamp, so lemme know if you have any ideas for speakers and sponsors and I will see you there! It’s going to be a fantastic event.

Register soon to avoid disappointment. You can do that here. VinoCamp costs $50 which includes lunch and wine

After much deliberation on what I should call this blog, I finally settled on ethniceats.ca and we’re all set up and organized!

What does that mean for you? Not a lot, since it redirects back here anyways, but if you are feeling inclined to tell other people about it, it’s now a lot shorter and manageable, so yay.

ethniceats.ca

This week’s Georgia Straight announces it’s Golden Plate Awards for Vancouver’s best eating.

This is what was chosen for ethnic restaurants in the Readers’ Choices Category:

Chinese:

1. Hon’s Wun-Tun House
Various locations

2. Kirin Restaurant
Various locations

3. Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
3888 Main Street, 604-872-8822;
102–4940 No. 3 Road, Richmond, 604-273-8208

Korean:

1. Insadong Korean Barbeque & Live Fresh Seafood Restaurant
301-403 North Road, Coquitlam, 604-936-3778

2. Jang Mo Jib Korean Restaurant
Various locations

3. (tie) Seoul House Royal Korean Restaurant
1215 West Broadway, 604-739-9001

3. (tie) Shabusen Yakiniku House
2993 Granville Street, 604-737-6888; 202–755
Burrard Street, 604-669-3883

Japanese:

1. Tojo’s Restaurant

1133 West Broadway, 604-872-8050

2. Guu
Various locations

3. Toshi Sushi
181 East 16th Avenue, 604-874-5173

Indian:

1. Vij’s

1480 West 11th Avenue, 604-736-6664

2. Maurya Indian Restaurant
1643 West Broadway, 604-742-0622

3. Tandoori King Restaurant
8017 Fraser Street, 604-327-3355

Thai:

1. Thai House Restaurant

Various locations

2. Sala Thai Thai Restaurant
3364 Cambie Street, 604-875-6999;
102–888 Burrard Street, 604-683-7999

3. Montri’s Thai Restaurant
3629 West Broadway, 604-738-9888

Vietnamese:

1. Vina Vietnamese Cuisine

777 Dunsmuir Street, 604-682-8016

2. Phnom Penh Restaurant
244 East Georgia Street, 604-734-8898

3. Pho Hoa Restaurant
Various locations

Southeast Asian:

1. Banana Leaf Malaysian Cuisine
Various locations

2. Tropika
Various locations

3. Rekados Grill
4063 Main Street, 604-873-3133

Asian:

1. (tie) Tropika
Various locations

1. (tie) Red Door Pan Asian Grill
2996 Granville Street, 604-733-5699

2. (tie) Azia Restaurant
990 Smithe Street, 604-682-8622

2. (tie) Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
3888 Main Street, 604-872-8822;
102–4940 No. 3 Road, Richmond, 604-273-8208

3. Guu
Various locations

Italian:

1. Anton’s Pasta Bar
4260 East Hastings Street, 604-299-6636

2. CinCin Ristorante & Bar
1154 Robson Street, 604-688-7338

3. Il Giardino
1382 Hornby Street, 604-669-2422

Continental:

1. The William Tell Restaurant
765 Beatty Street, 604-688-3504

2. Chambar Belgian Restaurant
562 Beatty Street, 604-879-7119

3. The Pear Tree
4120 Hastings Street, 604-299-2772

Middle Eastern:

1. Afghan Horsemen Restaurant
202–1833 Anderson Street, 604-873-5923

2. East Is East
3243 West Broadway, 604-734-5881

3. Nuba Cafe
322 West Hastings Street, 604-688-1655;
1206 Seymour Street, 778-371-3266

Dim Sum:

1. Pink Pearl Chinese Seafood Restaurant
1132 East Hastings Street, 604-253-4316

2. Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant
3888 Main Street, 604-872-8822;
102–4940 No. 3 Road, Richmond, 604-273-8208

3. Kirin Restaurant
Various locations

Latin American:

1. Havana
1212 Commercial Drive, 604-253-9119

2. (tie) Baru Café

(ed. It’s actually called Baru Latino Restaurante)

2535 Alma Street, 604-222-9171

2. (tie) Cobre Restaurant
52 Powell Street, 604-669-2396

3. Samba Brazilian Steakhouse
1122 Alberni Street, 604-696-9888

Mediterranean:

1. Provence Mediterranean Grill
100–4473 West 10th Avenue, 604-222-1980

2. CinCin Ristorante & Bar
1154 Robson Street, 604-688-7338

3. Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill
1133 Hamilton Street, 604-688-7466

African:

1. Nyala African Cuisine
4148 Main Street, 604-876-9919

2. Simba’s Grill
825 Denman Street, 604-974-0649;
7413 Edmonds Street, Burnaby, 604-525-8904

3. Harambe Restaurant
2149 Commercial Drive, 604-216-1060

French:

1. Le Crocodile
100–909 Burrard Street, 604-669-4298

2. Lumière Restaurant
2551 West Broadway, 604-739-8185

3. (tie) Le Gavroche
1616 Alberni Street, 604-685-3924

3. (tie) Bistrot Bistro
1961 West 4th Avenue, 604-732-0004

Spanish:

1. La Bodega Restaurante & Tapa Bar
1277 Howe Street, 604-684-8814

2. Pepitas
2015 Burrard Street, 604-732-8884

3. Cobre Restaurant
52 Powell Street, 604-669-2396

Mexican:

1. Las Margaritas Restaurant & Cantina
1999 West 4th Avenue, 604-734-7117

2. Pepitas
2015 Burrard Street, 604-732-8884

3. Topanga Cafe
2904 West 4th Avenue, 604-733-3713

Greek:

1. Stepho’s Souvlaki Greek Taverna
1124 Davie Street, 604-683-2555

2. Maria’s Taverna
2324 West 4th Avenue, 604-731-4722;
1037 Denman Street, 604-681-8500

3. Kalamata Greek Taverna
388 West Broadway, 604-872-7050

Eastern European/Russian:

1. Rasputin Russian Cuisine
457 West Broadway, 604-879-6675

2. Budapest Restaurant & Pastry Shop
3250 Main Street, 604-877-1949

3. Ukrainian Village Restaurant
815 Denman Street, 604-687-7440

I agree with these selections for the most part, although I have a soft spot for Shiro Sushi and there is better Mexican food in this city than at Las Margaritas (perhaps lacking the ambiance, however). Also, the Red Door Ranking perplexes me. How can a Spectra Group generic restaurant (one that spans the cuisine of an entire continent, no less!) compete with the amazing authentic Asian cuisine we have here? My only answer is that the Readers are sometimes wrong. The Critic’s choices are somewhat more discerning, but don’t have an ethnic category.

Image is from the Fortune House Restaurant at Metrotown, one not shortlisted for a Golden Plate, despite their adorable mango pudding.