Restaurant-Dining Critiques

Vancouver is a beautiful city built around a bay with exhilarating vistas of sea and mountains from almost any vantage point. It has a large international community with a high percentage of Chinese and Japanese and it boasts the largest Chinatown on the West Coast of North America.

You will find many fine restaurants specializing in Northwest seafood and as many different oysters as there are small coves, and best‑quality, fresh salmon ranging from dark red to pale pink and occasionally the rare white. A better than average choice of neighborhood French bistro-type establishments as well as haute cuisine restaurants, which are conveniently accessible to downtown. A plethora of Italian establishments exist, some good and some not, in various parts of the city. Stanley Park is a lovely place to spend a day exploring the ten thousand acres of forested land with walking paths bordered by the sea and bay.

CAFÉ DE PARIS
751 Denman St., Vancouver
604‑687‑1418 Credit cards: All Major
French; Lunch Mon‑Fri, Dinner Mon‑Sat

Upon entering this very authentic Parisian bistro, opened in 1977, you feel immediately comfortable as you inhale the aromas and peruse the menu while sipping their version of a kir. The drink is most unusual, and delicious in its own way, made with an odd combination of chilled Beaujolais, raspberry liqueur (Chambord) and a splash of Armagnac.

The room is filled with wine memorabilia, including a valuable poster from Mouton Rothschild with the complete collection of artist labels dating back to the forties. In addition, some hand collected samples of soil, stored in small jars, from some major chateaux. You are delighted by wonderful offerings such as soupe de Poisson; string beans and lobster salad; veal kidneys grilled with lard: salmon cooked in thin slices and topped with orange saffron. Enjoy the good cheese selection and Dessert Trolley.

THE FISH HOUSE IN STANLEY PARK
8901 Stanley Park Dr. Vancouver
604-681-7275
Credit cards: All Major
Seafood; Lunch Mon‑Sat, Dinner daily, Sun brunch

Set in an old house remodeled into breezy and light filled rooms looking onto English Bay and gardens and lawns, tennis courts and putting greens of Stanley Park. The restaurant excels at cooking seafood and their oysters are always fresh. You can choose from Royal Miyagi, Kumamoto oysters and other selections that vary with the season. We sampled the fresh snow crab accompanied by a dry local Pinot Blanc that was as good as it could be. Grilled salmon was perfectly cooked and retained its moisture and color. A delicious dessert, summer pudding (bread soaked with berry juice, studded with fresh berries, and topped with unsweetened whipped cream) was as good as any examples I have previously tasted in England or Germany.

KIRIN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
555 W. 12th Avenue, Vancouver
604-879-8038
Credit cards: All Major
Chinese; Lunch Mon-Fri, Dinner Mon-Sat

This is a large Hong‑Kong type Chinese restaurant of the first caliber, where every attention to detail in the kitchen is strictly followed. Of course, there are tanks with live fish, crab, and shrimp to choose from, and as with all Chinese restaurants there are children that run around the tables under all‑too‑harsh lighting that is in this case, mercifully not fluorescent. They do use MSG, which is to be expected, but if you stick to the fresh fish or crustaceans you can avoid it.

The cooking is beyond reproach and the setting is really very pleasant although, a great deal of money was unnecessarily spent on elaborate decorations.
TOJO’S
#202‑777 West Broadway, Vancouver
604‑872‑8050
Credit cards: All Major Japanese; Lunch & dinner

Tojo, the owner of this oddly located restaurant, is a sushi chef, who does it his way. Everything we tried one evening, although offbeat, was a culinary adventure. While Tojo was talking about his business, he was delightful and enthusiastic while retelling amusing stories that had occurred there. At the same time he could not resist offhandedly complaining about his employees and the government making more money than he does, although I got the feeling that he would not have it any other way. The restaurant certainly puts out a small selection of excellent cuisine. The tuna (toro) dice cut and served with sticky white potato, uni (sea urchin eggs), tojo sauce, shiso leaves, and sesame seeds; salmon roll with mustard, daikon sprout, mayonnaise, avocado; red salmon hand roll with freshly grated wasabi; giant crab hand roll combined with asparagus, shiso leaves and daikon sprouts and the salmon skin roll was better than any I have ever had. It should be noted and in their favor that they do not use MSG in any of their preparations.

At the time I visited the restaurant offered a white wine especially bottled for them by Quails Gate Estate Winery in Kelowna, which is inland in the warmer valleys northeast of Vancouver, called the fruit belt of British Columbia. It is simply called Tojo wine and goes extremely well with the sushi selections and other Japanese dishes.