If you want to have a 24-hour foodie experience, head for Richmond, BC. Located just 20 minutes by freeway from the USA/Canada border, Richmond is home to more than 375 Asian eateries, many of them located in the heart of the Golden Village on Alexandra or Food Street.
Richmond is in fact an island named Lulu Island. Located at the mouth of the Fraser River, the city is composed of 17 islands, and home to YVR (Vancouver International Airport). Since August of 2009, it's much more accessible for both residents and visitors, with the opening of Sky Train's new Canada Line. It provides rapid rail service between downtown Vancouver, Richmond and YVR.
But back to the food. It's everywhere, and I recently enjoyed an array of dishes at a Taiwanese restaurant called Delicious Cuisine. Located at 7911 Alderbridge Way, within walking distance of Canada Line's Lansdown Station, my friends and I enjoyed such unique menu items as Icy Crystal Eggs and Stir Fried Sliced Beef with Taiwanese Kimchi. The two dishes recently picked up honors in the Chinese Restaurant Awards. Thirty-year-old Roger Chen owns the restaurant with his father, along with the adjoining Zephyr in the Sky (featuring bubble tea, the Starbucks of Taiwan) and Tri-Pot (lo-carb Taiwanese street food).
We decided to walk off some of our yummy lunch with a visit to Aberdeen Centre. Built as an alternative to Vancouver's Chinatown, it's the largest of Richmond's Asian style shopping centers. Named after Hong Kong's famous tourist harbor, Aberdeen, it's the biggest Asian mall outside Asia. My favorite shop was Daiso Japanese $2 store, the first North American location for this popular and trendy department store. And even though you're probably not in the market for a $6,000 toilet or a super expensive Ferrari, you'll also find them at this mall. Nearby is the newly-opened Thrangu Monastery, Canada's first traditional Tibetan monastery, and open to the public.
Afterward, it was a 15-minute walk back to the Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport, Richmond's newest hotel that opened in January 2010 -- just in time for the Winter Olympics. The 176-room hotel features an indoor swimming pool and health club (complete with a green roof to absorb the sun's heat and reduce AC costs).
Although it seemed that we had just finished lunch, dinner was next, and we in for a true treat. Executive Chef Hamid Salimian, whose resume includes Vancouver's Diva at the Met and The Westin Bear Mountain on Vancouver Island, creates contemporary west coast cuisine with a French flair. There's a bit of molecular gastronomy going on, too.
The hotel's restaurant is cleverly named The Apron, in honor of its proximity to YVR (plus, an airport ramp is also known as an apron). It's a bright and casual restaurant, so the food is even more of a surprise with all its nuances and attention to detail. This ain't your typical airport cafe! But skip breakfast, as it was overpriced, and our poached eggs were overdone. Instead, head out for some dim sum, at either Jade or Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant. They both open at 9 AM.
Comments