Vancouver Magazine
Flaky, Fluffy and Freaking Delicious: Vancouver’s Top Fry Bread and Bannock
The Best Gelato in Canada Was Made in a Hotel Room (and You Can Get it Now in Kitsilano)
Purdys Put a Real Bunny in a Mini Chocolate Factory for Their 2023 Easter Campaign
Naked Malt Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Celebrates Versatility and Spirit
A $13 Wine You Can Age in Your Cellar
A Radical Idea: Celebrate Robbie Burns With These 3 Made-in-BC Single Malts
5 Things to Do in Vancouver This Week (March 13-19)
Looking for a Hobby? Here’s 8 Places in Vancouver You Can Pick Up a New Skill
Extra, Extra! The Let’s Hear It Music Festival Is Here
What It’s Like to Get Lost on a Run With a Pro Trail Runner
8 Things to Do in Abbotsford (Even If It’s Pouring Rain)
Explore the Rockies by Rail with Rocky Mountaineer
The Future of Beauty: How One Medical Aesthetics Clinic is Changing the Game
Before Hibernation Season Ends: A Round-Up of the Coziest Shopping Picks
On the Rise: Adhere To’s Puffer Jackets Are Designed With the Future in Mind
Visit the Urbani family’s Moccia Italian Meat Market (Open Thurs-Sat, 2276 E. Hastings St., 604-255-2032. Moccia.ca) and chat with the makers of the city’s finest Italian cured meats. The fig toscano is an excellent example of why their salami is so sought after-rich savoury meatiness balances the warmth of fennel and sweetness of dried Turkish figs.
Though the menu expertly traverses Malaysian, Singaporean, and Thai cuisines, it’s the Burmese dishes at Bo Laksa King (2546 E. Hastings St., 604-568-4593. Bolaksaking.com) that are the stars. The fermented tea leaf salad (lahpet thoke) is a buzzy mix of pungent tea leaves, tomatoes, fried garlic, crispy lentils, and cabbage tossed with a spicy-sharp lime dressing. The intensely satisfying mohinga (the national dish of Burma), a heady mix of slow-simmered fish stock, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, tender banana stems, and noodles, evokes the rich flavours of old Rangoon.
Le Do’s (2292 E. Hastings St., 604-253-3508) simple and cleanly flavoured pho has a loyal fan base. The brightly refreshing prawn and green papaya salad echoes their restrained approach with beautiful shreds of grassy-green papaya and carrots topped with sweet prawns, toasted peanuts, and a lively fish sauce dressing. Virtuous and delicious.
Unable to find quality baked goods in the neighbourhood, Lucia Tam and Bobby Chick decided to open the charming East Village Bakery (2166 E. Hastings St., 604-568-5600. Eastvillagebakery.com). Their palmiers are a labour of love. The cookies are addictive marvels of housemade puffed pastry layered with caramelized butter and sugar and baked to a golden crisp.
Owner Brad Miller has breathed new life into The Red Wagon diner (2296 E. Hastings St., 604-568-4565. Redwagoncafe.com) while remaining true to the neighbourhood ethos that demands real, approachable food. The Reuben sandwich is a stunner: succulent thin slices of housemade corned beef between slices of toasted and buttered rye, topped with sauerkraut and a generous dollop of Thousand Island dressing. Housemade potato chips and pickle spears are the friendly accompaniments.
The Puebla-style mole negro at El Barrio (2270 E. Hastings St., 604-569-2220. Elbarrio.ca) showcases chef Luis Montalvo’s love of regional Mexican food, developed during his travels. The mole (a rare dish in this city) is made from scratch, with ancho and mulato chilies, toasted almonds, pine nuts, pecans, and dark Mexican cocoa, and served over succulent grilled chicken. The dish blossoms with darkly rich, complex notes.
The Kunkels have been making and selling cold cuts and smoked sausages from Polonia Sausage House (2434 E. Hastings St., 604-251-2239) for over 20 years. Kielbasa and garlic sausages are popular, but our pick is the ham and juniper berry sausage, bursting with luscious cured pork and brightened with juniper’s subtle green-citrus flavour.
At times, it seems like chef Jamal Abubakar of Seri Malaysia (2327 E. Hastings St., 604-677-7555) runs a one-man operation, handling all the waiting, bussing, and cooking duties. Patience will be rewarded, though, with his astounding lamb biryani. Bone-in lamb is slow-cooked in a star anise and clove studded red curry and then folded into basmati rice, fragrant with cardamom and saffron. The dish is a favourite among local Muslim Malays, who place large orders for special occasions.
There’s a dizzying selection of beautiful old-school Italian pastries at Italia Bakery (2828 E. Hastings St., 604-251-6800. Italiabakery.ca) but make no mistake-it’s the ricotta cannoli, made from an old Sicilian recipe, you should zero in on. Ricotta cheese, lemon zest, ground almonds, and flecks of chocolate are wrapped in crisp pastry. Elegant simplicity.