Vancouver Chinatown's Largest Restaurant Shutters

Floata has been struggling financially since the pandemic

It was a shock to hear on Monday that Floata Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown was closed.

Maybe it wasn't a surprise after all, since it was either jam packed during Chinese New Year banquets and fundraising dinners for organisations like Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, the Chinese Canadian Museum and Dr Sun Yat-Sen Garden, or it was practically dead.

The 1,000 seat restaurant opened in 1995

There were occasions I have come to Floata for dinner and there were only two tables occupied, or dim sum for lunch and a fraction of the 1,000-seat restaurant occupied. 

Floata was opened in 1995 and was the largest restaurant in Chinatown. A family friend held their wedding banquet here, occupying the entire place. At fundraisers, politicians from three levels of government, and of all stripes came here to "press the flesh" with the Chinese community.

But since the Covid-19 pandemic, Floata has been struggling to pay the rent, apparently owing some $300,000. The space is owned by the City of Vancouver and one wonders why it didn't give the restaurant an opportunity to devise a payment scheme.

As community leader Fred Lee said to me tonight, there will never be another restaurant of this size in Chinatown again; and where are groups in the community going to hold their fundraising dinners now? It would be so odd to go to a restaurant in Richmond...

Place either jam packed or practically empty

Lee also feels sad for the staff who have worked there for so long, wondering what will happen to them. 

While this is another sign that Chinatown is still struggling to bring people back to the neighbourhood, we have to honestly say Floata didn't serve the best Chinese food!

But it was a place that brought people together, and this giant space is gone... unless someone has a brilliant plan to remake it into something new...

Picture of the Day: Longevity Buns

Giant longevity peach buns from Kai Wai Dim Sum

The other day we were invited to visit the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Vancouver's Chinatown, in a run-up to the garden's 40th anniversary next year. 

After we toured the garden -- which still looks fantastic and well kept after all this time -- we were given a snack -- longevity buns called sau bao, or 寿桃.

They are peach-shaped buns that are steamed and pillowy soft. Inside the filling is usually lotus seed, but in this case ours was red bean. But what was impressive was the size -- as big as the palm of my hand, and they were artfully decorated with leaves!

The story behind these buns is that they look like the longevity peach. In Chinese mythology, those who ate this fruit would have immortality.

Peaches symbolise long life in Chinese art, along with the deer and heron.

The longevity peach is also in the Journey to the West novel, where Sun Wukong or Monkey King consumes a lot of this sweet, juicy fruit!

So while it wasn't anyone's birthday that day, the garden staff wished us long life with these giant buns!

Learning to Make Incense Stencils

A stencil with sandalwood powder and tools

The Dr Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Vancouver's Chinatown offers many different activities, like musical performances, tea ceremonies, and incense stencilling. 

I had never done incense stencilling before and had an opportunity to learn about it today.

Stencil filled with sandalwood powder

The instructor didn't quite explain it properly, but apparently when you're focused on making the incense stencil, it can help you relax and feel like the activity is like a kind of meditation.

You're supposed to make the incense stencil in a bed of pressed white ash, but at the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Garden, we made the incense stencil on a piece of paper.

We had to hold our stencil in place with one hand, and with the other hand, use a tiny scoop to scoop sandalwood powder into the stencil. But, our instructor warned, you had to focus and not spill the powder outside the stencil and not too much inside the stencil either.

Then we took a mini scraping tool to move the sandalwood powder to the empty spaces in the stencil. Any extra powder should be scooped up with the mini spoon. I spilled some powder outside the stencil... 

Once we had filled in the stencil and scooped out the extra powder, we used the top end of one of the tools to tap twice in four different areas of the stencil.

The completed incense stencil

Finally, we were instructed to lift up the stencil and create a three-dimensional design in sandalwood that, if it was made on a bed of ash, could be lit as incense.

I didn't know about these stencils at all and that the incense can be lit in this way, but the ritual of making it is very interesting! The activity is similar to colouring books or knitting in that it helps clear your mind, or at least focus on the task at hand.

Lighting up Chinatown

There will be 16 of these neon signs installed

Vancouver's Chinatown looks brighter in the run-up to the Lunar New Year on February 10. Mayor Ken Sim unveiled a neon sign featuring a dragon that are being installed on the street lamp posts on East Pender Street between Main and Carrall streets.

In total there will be 16 of these neon signs just in time for the Year of the Dragon.

Mayor Sim unveiled the design for CNY

The initiative was from the Vancouver Chinatown Business Improvement Association, which began planning this idea two years ago. 

"Chinatown used to be famous for its neon signs and its unique designs. And it really is an homage to the past. Even though it took all that time to get here, it's appropriate that it comes out at the start of the new Year of the Dragon," said Jordan Eng, president of the Vancouver Chinatown BIA.

He hopes the signs will stay up for at least six months, and possibly remain a permanent fixture.

"It'd be nice to have something on a more permanent basis, just because of the amount of time it takes to produce and go through the process to get it certified, and all the engineering effort that goes into it to get it to where we finally installed it," Eng said.

The Lunar New Year will be celebrated in Chinatown on Sunday, February 11 with a multicultural parade through the area. Places like the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden and the Chinese Canadian Museum will have various workshops and demonstrations, from lion dances and calligraphy lessons, wood block prints and street food.

East Pender Street with neon dragon signs

Here's to hoping these new light fixtures not only hark back to Chinatown's glory days, but also inspire people to come back to the neighbourhood more often.

Controversial Development Yet to be Decided

The condo project is right next to Chinatown Memorial Plaza

The fate of the plot of plot of land in Vancouver's Chinatown that has divided the neighbourhood, will not be known until June 12.

On Monday evening, 70 people signed up to speak for or against the proposal on 105 Keefer Street to build 111 luxury condos on nine floors right next to the Chinatown Memorial Plaza. Some 20 still have yet to give their say.

Most of the people who spoke in the City of Vancouver development permit board hearing that lasted almost two hours beyond the scheduled time, were against the project.

Seniors want affordable housing on that land

Beedie Holdings bought the property, currently a parking lot, 10 years ago. Twice it went to the permit board hearing, the first time its plans for the building were criticised for being too tall, and then in 2017 it was shorter, but was resoundingly rejected.

Now it is back to the permit hearing board again -- with no changes to the plans. 

Seven Chinatown groups are for the project including the Chinatown Business Improvement Association, saying post-Covid it is time to get any kind of economic stimulation in the neighbourhood. They believe having these condos will bring at least 111 more people into the area and patronising the businesses in the area.

However, those against complained the condos should not be for the wealthy but social housing for the elderly, as inflation has made it harder for them to afford rent and food. Meanwhile others claimed the design was not culturally appropriate for the area, as it is near the Chinese Cultural Centre and Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

Lily Tang, 80, arrived in Chinatown in 1968, and has lived in her social housing building for about 25 years. She says life in Canada is becoming more unaffordable.

The fate of the land to be decided on June 12

"We are not against constructing this building, but it's looking at our needs," Tang said days before the hearing. "The last several years the government hasn't built much housing for us. There used to be a bit, but now governments just give lip service."

Russell Chiong, president of Chinatown Today agrees. 

"There is no affordable or seniors housing and no safeguards against gentrification. It would just do irreversible damage to the sense of place and community vibrancy of Chinatown," he said of the proposal.

Even people who lived in neighbourhood who are not Chinese also told the hearing they did not want to see luxury condos built there, and felt strongly for the unique character of the area to remain.

Meanwhile, Rob Fiorvento, managing partner at Beedie, said last week that the development will bring much needed mixed-use housing to the area, which is aligned with the city's goal of making the historic community prosperous again.

However, Fred Mah, founder of the Chinese Community Centre and an elder activist for Chinatown, said at the hearing he met with Beedie, but they agreed to disagree. They could not come to any compromise and so he does not support the proposal, saying it is not culturally appropriate nor does it cater to seniors.

But now that the City of Vancouver is pushing for market housing as a priority, it may be that the Beedie plan will be given the green light. It's also interesting that people who were against the project in 2017 have changed their minds even though the plan hasn't been modified in the last five years...

Developer Proposes Luxury Condos in Chinatown

The empty site sits next to Chinatown Memorial Plaza (front)

Vancouver's Chinatown is fiercely divided over what should be built on 105 Keefer Street, a plot of land that was a parking lot for many years. It is next to Chinatown Memorial Plaza, which pays tribute to the Chinese workers who built the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Chinese-Canadian soldiers who fought for Canada in World War II.

The plot of land was bought by developer Beedie Holdings in 2013 and the following year its subsidiary Beedie Living proposed a tall building of luxury condos which would dwarf the memorial next to it, and the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden nearby.

The building plan will be discussed on Monday

Three years later the Chinatown community joined together to oppose the mixed-use, slightly shorter building proposal, even though it included a seniors centre and underground parking. After listening to hours of comments from the public, the plan was resoundingly rejected by city hall.

On Monday a revised proposal is back in front of city hall, but this time the community is divided into two camps, one all for it, the other against.

Those for it, including seven business organisations, say now that the Covid-19 pandemic is over, Chinatown is barely hanging on economically, and believe construction of these 111 luxury condo units will help revive the neighbourhood. 

Some of the groups for the plan include the Chinatown Business Improvement Association, Chinese Benevolent Association of Vancouver, Chinese Freemasons of Vancouver, Chinese Cultural Center of Greater Vancouver, and Vancouver Chinatown Foundation.

However, those who oppose it say luxury condos don't fit into this area, where most of the residents are seniors living on pensions. They would like to see social housing on the site and culturally appropriate programming as well as architecture to integrate the building into the neighbourhood.

Seniors oppose the latest proposal from Beedie

One senior interviewed felt the voices of the elderly were being ignored and instead the government was more interested in development, leaving these vulnerable people behind. They are barely subsisting as it is financially and feel the new condos will push them out. 

Meanwhile legacy businesses like Kent's Kitchen which offered cheap food, are closing, resulting in seniors becoming even more food insecure.

A few hundred people showed up at a rally on Thursday afternoon next to the site opposing the plan, while those for it believe people living in these luxury condos will patronise the area's businesses, thus keeping them afloat.

But who will want to live in a luxury condo in Chinatown which is right next to the Downtown Eastside? It's not exactly a desired location. Affordable housing would be a better solution, but perhaps Beedie's patience has worn out and wants to recoup its costs as soon as possible.

Feds Inject $1.8M to Beautify Vancouver's Chinatown

When will the crowds return to Chinatown, not just for CNY?

After Vancouver's mayor announced the city will spend CAD$2.1 million to clean up Chinatown, which has deteriorated in recent years with vandalism, graffiti and homeless people as well as drug addicts hanging out in front of businesses, the federal government is pitching in to beautify the neighbourhood.

Today Harjit Saijan, minister responsible for the Pacific economic development agency of Canada pledged CAD$1.8 million to fix up shop fronts with signage and awnings, add planters and flower boxes, install energy-efficient lighting, and modernise buildings such as the Chinese Cultural Centre, The Chinatown Storytelling Centre and Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Gardens.

Lee (left) talks to Saijan at announcement today

About CAD$500,000 of the money will also be plowed into the Light Up Chinatown festival held in September that will bring 50 new jobs. 

Carol Lee, chair of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, says the federal funding marks a "turning point for the neighbourhood," but notes that though it is a step in the right direction, it is "not the solution."

"There has been a significant increase in graffiti and vandalism, a steep rise in anti-Asian racism, random attacks on our seniors, [and] a rise in property crime, which has made Chinatown a place that people no longer feel safe to come to," Lee said.

She added the financial injection by the federal and municipal governments provide the basis for a "renewed economic vitality,"

The foundation applied for and was granted the funding through the federal government's PacifiCan Tourism Fund, which launched in the summer of 2021 and provides CAD$500 million over two years to help tourism businesses and organisations.

Liu hopes more will be done to help Chinatown

For William Liu of Kam Wai Dim Sum, the help can't come soon enough. "We are struggling and fighting for our lives," he says. 

"I understand the direction they are going, but it's just not enough for us. We really need a lot more support at this point. There are still a lot of people living on the streets that we really need help with."

Joey Wong of Dollar Meat Store, which has been around for over 50 years, echoes in agreement. "We do need a lot more help in say helping the legacy businesses, or even opening up new shops in Chinatown."

While these businesses appreciate the governments' help, they hope it's just the beginning of Chinatown's revival.

Although it's good to get the money to clean up the neighbourhood and beautify it, what about tackling the real issue next door in the Downtown Eastside -- the homeless and drug addiction issue that's spilling over into Chinatown?

Graffiti is one of several issues in Chinatown

Who is going to roll up their sleeves and really fix this problem that has been left to fester for decades with more and more dangerous drugs like opioids?

Until that happens, Chinatown will continue to be subjected to vandalism, crime, graffiti, while faeces, urine and dirty needles are strewn on sidewalks despite the regular cleanups. New planters, signage and awnings are just going to be destroyed over and over again.