Refreshing Cantonese Pop-Up

Baby tomatoes with whipped fermented tofu sauce 

Last night I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw an interesting pop-up at Michelin-starred Burdock & Co, a restaurant in Vancouver that focuses on mostly local produce, but this time the sous-chef Katy Cheung was taking over the place with a Cantonese/Hong Kong pop-up titled "See Ha Lah" or "Just Try It".

It was only for one day only -- today! My foodie friend and I had made plans to visit another Hong Kong-style restaurant, but she decided we would check out Burdock & Co first.

Cold tofu with lam choi and century egg

She managed to message Cheung and we got one of the last tables for the first seating at 5.30pm; they were only taking walk-ins. So we ate in the "patio", which is actually just outside the restaurant sectioned off with wooden planters so it felt like eating in a mini garden.

To get as many customers through the door, diners were encouraged to go to the bar to order food and pay for it, so the average eating time was about an hour.

We tried four of the six dishes, not including a bowl of rice. 

The two starters were peeled baby tomatoes seasoned with whipped fu yu or fermented tofu (C$18), though it didn't have that pungent smell -- it was very toned down and the tomatoes had a thin slice of sour turnip and finely diced garlic crunch.

Steamed sablefish Cantonese style

This dish was a favourite among many of the customers as it was different and refreshing, perfect summer fare. Another way to cool down was to have the cold tofu (C$15), a typical home-style dish with silky tofu topped with lam choi or preserved mustard greens and black olives, along with diced pei dan or century egg. A bit of sesame oil was drizzled on top and it would have benefited with a more generous drizzle on the tofu.

For mains we tried the steamed fish (C$42), two tail cuts of sablefish that were perfectly steamed and garnished with scallions, seafood soy and hot oil. You can't overcook sablefish and it's not as expensive as black cod but has a similar texture. 

We saw other tables try the pork chop (C$40) that was a meaty portion for two.

Mochi balls covered in Horlicks diplomat sauce

Finally for dessert a bit of fun and nostalgia in a bowl. Cantonese-style mochi balls, generously covered in a diplomat sauce or custard made with Horlicks and crunchy bits, along with desiccated coconut and sesame seeds sprinkled on top. 

Cheung came by our table and gave us a quick summary of her career. She was born in Vancouver but grew up in Hong Kong, came back here for schooling and then went back for work, where she started at Blue Butcher, a steak place on Hollywood Road. I remember learning about aging meat and they did this in a small room lined with Himalayan rock salt bricks.

She wanted to work with like-minded people who are passionate about making good food and found her way to Burdock & Co where she works with chef Andrea Carlson. Having worked here for about five years Cheung is given a lot of opportunities to create new dishes, and my favourite dish was the mushroom congee that was full of umami flavour, rustic, delicious comfort food.

The talented chef Katy Cheung

For her, this pop-up is food that she makes at home, simple, but here is presented at a high level. We appreciated her passion for Cantonese food and wanting to share it with others.

Hope she has another pop-up again and try her food again!