Here is my list of what to eat in Vancouver, Canada! There’s many restaurants in Vancouver and sadly I wasn’t able to try all of them. When I have a chance to go back, I hope I can revise the food list below. For now, here are a few places that I ate in Vancouver and I thought they were really delicious!
While I was traveling there, I got some awesome recommendations from locals and my fellow dumplings (followers). I mostly ate Asian food during my trip because its my favorite cuisine. For easy reading, I narrowed the restaurants down by the type of Asian Cuisine. Hope you will eat happy!! I can’t say your wallet will be happy though because Vancouver is getting more and more expensive. 🙁 ITS WORTH THOUGH!
@ Tin Tin Seafood Harbor
Dim Sum/Chinese
Dim sum and all Chinese food is a must get in Vancouver. A lot of Cantonese people migrated over to Vancouver and the city is filled with super delicious foods. Good Chinese food is located in Richmond which was a trek for us when we stayed in downtown Vancouver. However, the public transit was super easy to use and very cheap. Highly recommend trekking to Richmond!
I had roast pork, duck and cha siu at Chinatown BBQ and I thought it was delicious (rating: 4/5). The decoration was really nice and the service was A+. However, the roast duck and roast pork lacked some flavor. The cha siu saved the day because it was perfectly seasoned (sweet and umami). However, lots of dumplings have recommended HK BBQ Master if you want to check it out ;).
For dim sum, I went to Tin Tin Seafood Harbor. The portions were big and the taste was authentic! Highly recommend to check it out for great dim sum (4.5/5). I got the Bean Curd w. Fish Paste Cheung Fun and it was sooo good! They also have a XO stir fry turnip cake that was unique and delicious. Make sure you make a reservation or get there early if you want to eat here.
Japanese
There was so many Japanese restaurants available in Vancouver, I couldn’t decide which one to go to. I had Guu with Garlic on my list for a while. Its an authentic Japanese Izakaya restaurant and the appetizers were unique as well as traditional. The sashimi was super fresh but I wasn’t a fan of their modern dishes (panko brie, tuna with avo & cream cheese). I might have ordered the wrong things but this place had fresh ingredients and an extensive menu. Check it out, def a go but not a must-go (Guu with Garlic 4/5).
We randomly stumbled upon Tendon Kohaku in Downtown Vancouver and we are so glad we did. The rice bowl was so comforting and the tempura was crunchy without being overly oily. This restaurant is a Japanese chain and I would say that it tastes very similar to Japan’s tempura! I got the Sashimi Aimori Tendon (non-spicy) and it was too much food for me! The portions are very large and comes with a good amount of rice. The fish was surprisingly very fresh. We wanted to try the chicken wings because they had a limited order. They were sweet and little crunchy but not a must. The yuzu soda was a must though!! Luckily we went on a weekday after 7:30 so it wasn’t too busy, overall we rate Tendon Kohaku a 4.5/5.
More Japanese Recommendations From Friends and Dumplings:
- Kingyo Izakaya
- Miku Vancouver
Vietnamese
We didn’t try lots of Vietnamese places but we stumbled upon Anh and Chi while strolling down Main Street. Its an upscale Vietnamese spot with great atmosphere and service. Usually, I’m used to going to ‘hole in the wall’ type of places for Vietnamese food. However, the long line at this restaurant intrigued me. To be honest, when I was looking at the menu, I was shocked how expensive it was for Vietnamese food for standard dishes like Pho so I opted for this meat platter (to try something more unique). We also ordered extra skewers so we can do more lettuce and rice roll wraps. SO GLAD we got this. The meat skewers were super flavorful. I recommend ordering more (squid and lemongrass beef!) so you can try all the varieties! I can’t vouch for the other dishes because I haven’t tried them but if you’re on main street, check this place out (4.25/5). Don’t forget to make a reservation or get there early, this place gets PACKED.
A lot of dumplings recommended:
- Phnom Penh – Cambodian spot. I didn’t go because it was far and I heard there were long lines. Heard good things though!
Asian Drinks (Boba or Yogurt)
I’m not a boba (Canadians call it bubble tea!) expert, but I do love a good asian drink. My favorite place I went to was called Xing Fu Tea that specializes in delicious boba and brown sugar boba. Not my favorite place ever, but very good if you’re in the area.
A must get if you’re in Richmond and have a car, you need to go to Hey! I am Yogost!. I love the fresh yogurt here and they mix it with different types of fresh fruit. You will need to add the purple rice with the yogurt ◡̈
When You’re Done Eating, Here Are Some Fun Activities:
- Biking around Stanley Park
- Granville Island
- Lynn Canyon Road – smaller suspension bridge
- Water Taxi around Granville Island / North Vancouver
- Eagle Coaster on Cypress Mountain (reserve weeks in advance!!)
Hope you enjoyed my ‘What to eat in Vancouver’ blog post. Let me know if there are other good spots I should check out!
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