Dining

Chinatown is the place to go if you hunger for a good hearty meal, or even a fast snack. From Dim Sum to dumplings, Chinatown offers a wide variety of dining. If you have time for a leisurely meal, try "Dim Sum" at one of the many small restaurants that offer it. It is an inexpensive, multi-course culinary adventure.

If noodles or more exotic dishes are your taste check out the many restaurants and bakeries that crowd Pender, Keefer & Main St. Upstairs and down, Chinatown restaurants offer vegetarian, Cantonese, western and many other foods of the world. While all establishments accept cash, only a few accept debit or credit card. Check before you order.

For snacks while you stroll, try the baked goods such as the delicious "guy may bow" (coconut buns) or savory steamed pork buns. Almond cookies and layered pastries are wonderful to devour as you explore.

About the Fresh Market in Chinatown
Chinatown is home to a living working community and like any neighbourhood; it has suppliers of fresh produce and meats. The Fresh Market is located East of Main St. from Gore to Hastings and is loaded with fruits, veggies, meats, herbs and traditional Chinese medicine shops. Stroll your way through the many vendors and pick up snacks and groceries. Try the tongue twisters of "ping gwoal" (apple) and "fun see" (noodles). With bilingual signs on the display bins, the Fresh Market is a culinary journey of discovery.

Restaurant Profiles

For a brief introduction to just a few of the dining options in Chinatown, check out these restaurant profiles:

• The Boss Bakery & Restaurant
• Floata Seafood Restaurant
• Hon's Wun Tun House
• New Town Bakery & Restaurant

The Boss Bakery & Restaurant
Chris Cheng
532-534 Main Street

The first thing that draws you into The Boss Bakery and Restaurant is the rich aroma of fresh baked pastries and cakes. Once inside the recently renovated establishment, you can't help but notice the modern décor of a renovation that topped $500,000. Owner Chris Cheng says the expense of slate walls, minimalist lighting and generous space is a way of showing patrons that Chinatown is a place to invest in business.

And patrons of all walks of life are hearing him loud and clear. If you arrive between 12 and 2 at the Hong Kong style cafe, you can expect a bit of a wait behind the others who've become addicted to the incredibly polite staff who go out of their way to make the dining and bakery shop experience memorable. The Boss is known for going the extra mile. They use a minimal amount of cooking oil in preparing a mix of Chinese and Western dishes with a focus on great taste and variety.

After dining, be prepared to pick up a traditional red bean wedding cake or kiwi cheese torte - it is impossible to get past the inviting display cases without bringing a few of the very reasonably priced delicacies back to your friends.

Cheng owns another Boss restaurant in Burnaby, yet prefers a hands on approach at the Chinatown location because of the atmosphere. It's a demonstration of true Chinese culture that keeps Cheng firmly planted in the Chinatown business community.

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Floata Seafood Restaurant
Mr. Alvin Zheng, General Manager
and Mr. Raymond Leung, Sales Manager
400 - 180 Keefer Street

Looking for a Chinese restaurant that provides an exquisite elegant dining experience and authentic Chinese cuisine? Floata Seafood Restaurant is your definite choice. Located in the heart of Vancouver Chinatown, Floata, the biggest Chinese restaurant in Canada, is one of the MUST visit attractions for locals and tourists aiming for a memorable dinner.

Whether you want a relaxing dim sum, a dinner for two or a six-course banquet for 1,000 people, Floata staff will ensure impeccable service. It is an ideal place for any group or function: wedding, birthday parties, theme parties, business meetings or conventions (lunch/dinner), award ceremonies, tour groups, or community social gatherings.

Floata Seafood Restaurant specializes in banquets, serving the community for years with its tailored menu or house set menus: offering tempting seafood delicacies and Cantonese cuisine, such as Floata Supreme Peking Duck which is barbecued on the premises, and your favorite Lobster & Crab in Ginger & Garlic Sauce. Moreover, it caters to the personal requests of people in the Lower Mainland with Oriental Cuisine, Asian Style Platter or Japanese Sushi. The professional skills of the Floata's chefs are ready to assist with every detail from set-ups to customized requests. Whatever the occasion, Floata wants your function to be everything you imagined.

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Hon's Wun Tun House Ltd.
Executive Manager, Operations: Simon Lee
280 Keefer Street

Hon's Restaurant celebrated its 30-year anniversary in March 2003. It all began with a vision. The owner, Mr. Ip, decided it was important that the people of Vancouver be provided with quality foods with friendly service at a reasonable price. This philosophy still drives and motivates the people at Hon's today.

The main thing you can expect at Hon's is consistency. One of the reasons for this is the full food service enterprise that the restaurants are rooted in. All of the high quality noodles, sauces and meats are prepared at Hon's own plants. In recognizing that people would like to have the great taste of Hon's at their own convenience, they began to provide products for major supermarkets throughout the Lower Mainland.

All four of the Hon's in the Lower Mainland provide fast, quality food at a reasonable price. However there's something special about the Hong Kong style cafe of the Hon's in Chinatown. It's a place that's steeped in Chinese tradition and culture, where you will experience staff that have been there for 15 to 20 years. People come from all over to the Hon's in Chinatown because of past memories of being here. The Chinatown Hon's has the traditions - you see a lot of things that you would not see in the Chinese culture if you were to dine in the suburbs. Come to the Chinatown Hon's to experience where it all began.

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New Town Bakery & Restaurant
Owners: Susan & David Ng
158 E. Pender St.

Diligence and perseverance have always been rewarded. The owners of New Town Bakery & Restaurant, Susan and David Ng, told us their success story. Susan Ng came to Canada as a student in 1972 while her husband was hired as a dim sum chef by the Mandarin Chinese Seafood Restaurant - the biggest Chinese restaurant then. Susan worked three part-time jobs as well as going to school. In 1980, they saved enough money and took over New Town Bakery. Their business operates from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., 7 days a week.

Being a dim sum chef, David Ng has introduced Chinese dim sum and traditional steamed buns into the restaurant. Dim sum and steamed buns are the gist of Chinese culture as well as the specialties of the restaurant. The choice of steamed buns ranges from salty to sweet, from spicy to plain, and from meaty to vegetarian. Their steamed buns have also been ordered internationally, from as far as Russia. Besides the traditional Chinese cuisine, the restaurant menu has expanded to include Filipino snacks as well as Western items. Their menu is full of choices.

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