AnnaLena Awarded Two Michelin Stars in Vancouver Guide

AnnaLena is the first restaurant with two Michelin stars

Breaking news! The Michelin Guide revealed its 2026 restaurant selection for Vancouver was unveiled today and AnnaLena became the first to be honoured with two stars. It totally caught chef-owner Mike Robbins by surprise, though it's been no secret that he and his team have been gunning for a second star in the past year.

Meanwhile 10 restaurants retained their one-star rating, including Burdock & Co, Published on Main, St. Lawrence, Masayoshi, and Sushi Masuda.

Chef Kim of Five Sails missed out on a star

However, Barbara, a small restaurant located in Chinatown, lost its star after four years since the guide came out in 2022.

There was a lot of online chatter about Five Sails by Alex Kim not making the list, with local media wondering why the fine-dining restaurant helmed by a Masterchef Canada runner-up was overlooked.

However, he only became part owner of the restaurant at Canada Place in August, so perhaps Michelin was unaware or are going to see how he progresses this coming year?

In terms of Bib Gourmand, where the eatery offers good food at great value, Chef's Choice, a Cantonese restaurant on Broadway near Oak was added to the list, as well as contemporary Indian restaurant Kavita, which opened over a year ago. Chef's Choice had a revamp and uses more premium ingredients.

For Recommended Restaurants, four places made the list: modern Thai restaurant Jay Nok, Jeju which serves Korean dishes, farm-to-table Niwa, and Peya, with its French-Indian cuisine.

Contemporary Indian dishes at Kavita

Michelin also bestowed awards to up-and-coming people in the hospitality industry. Chris Enns of Peya was recognised for his outstanding cocktails; Bacchus' Mark Taylor won the sommelier award; the outstanding service award to Yash Shah at Kavita; and the young Michelin chef award went to chef Vish Mayekar.

This is the fifth year of the Michelin Guide in Vancouver, but celebrations were scaled down significantly and only a handful of media were invited. Michelin played down the downgrade, saying this was how the prestigious restaurant guide was going to move forward, but it's a pity not to include more media, since it is the food editors and writers who draw attention to these restaurants to Michelin in the first place.

Mon Lapin, One of Canada's Top Restaurants

Mon Lapin gives off relaxed, stylish vibes

Our last stop in Montreal was at Mon Lapin, one of the top restaurants in Canada. It's actually a wine bar that happens to serve fantastic food in a laid-back setting in Montreal's Little Italy. Some friends from Vancouver and Hong Kong recommended I go here so this was one of the first places I made a reservation after I booked my plane tickets.

Miramachi striped bass with brown butter sauce

So there was a lot of anticipation coming here and for the most part, it did not disappoint. Walking in, it feels like entering a casual brasserie, with granite tabletops, dark wooden chairs, and a giant antique silver punch bowl decorated with grapes to hold several bottles of chilled wine (in ice).

Our server, who wore shorts, was very surprised to discover we had made a long trek to Mon Lapin and gave us a warm welcome and explained the menu to us (as it was in French). 

We were mightily impressed by the first dish that came out, thinly sliced miramachi striped bass with half moon slices of turnip with a delicious dressing of brown butter sauce.

This was followed up with a refreshing summerly plate of BBQ cucumbers with plump shrimp. We absolutely loved the scallop sandwiches, thin slices of toasted bread and in between was scallop mousse playing on crunchy and smooth textures.

Whole Quebec lobster with salad and potatoes

Three of us just managed to polish off a whole Quebec lobster, the juicy, tender meat cooked perfectly, and was accompanied with buckwheat and rhubarb, along with a small salad and "crackers" made from thinly sliced potato slices that were deep fried.

We sampled two other mains, decadent roast duck with spinach and shiitake, and a hearty pork steak topped with fresh arugula and a sherry sauce. 

Our pre-dessert was to try two local cheeses, and then we ordered what we saw everyone else was having, buckwheat cake with honey and cheese. It was served on a cake platter and we felt like we were celebrating a successful Montreal trip where we got to try some delicious food!

Lovely crispy scallop sandwiches

Mon Lapin

150 Rue Saint-Zotique E

Little Italy, Montreal

514 379 4550

 

Intimate Dining Experience at Montreal's Beba

The intimate space offers wines with fantastic bites of food

Wine bars that happen to offer fantastic food seem to be a trend in Montreal, as that's how Mon Lapin started and last year was ranked No. 2 in the inaugural North America's 50 Best Restaurants (this year No. 5). 

After our massive late lunch at McKiernan and sampled a smoked meat sandwich at Atwater Market, we were still quite full when we arrived at Beba, a very small wine bar. We got to sit in a booth across from the small open kitchen and watch two chefs pump out food.

Lovely mackerel that is a must-have at Beba

Because the wine bar is tiny in terms of real estate, Beba has the ability to take risks and make some interesting food on the menu.

When I made a reservation in late March or early April, the menu featured off cuts that I was keen to try, but when we arrived in late May, the menu had changed.

Nevertheless, we really enjoyed the starter of montadito, or a small open-faced sandwich featuring two thick slices of mackerel with shaved crunchy greens, sesame and horseradish. This appetiser has been on the Beba menu since the beginning, as well as the humble potato knish made bougie with 10g of Oscetra caviar on top.

We were intrigued by lamb ham -- why not make ham out of lamb? And it was absolutely delicious, thinly sliced and garnished with bagna cauda like celery, cauliflower, olives and pickled peppers, along with half jammy eggs topped with salsa verde. Amazing.

Involtini are like dolmades, and instead of rice the grape leaf packages were filled with zucchini and Swiss chard, topped with a generous dollop of yoghurt, pine nuts and pickled vegetables. 

Intriguing lamb as ham with bagna cauda, eggs

By now we were really full, but curious about dessert. We tried the pistachio semifreddo, with olive oil drizzled on top sprinkled with whole pistachios. So simple yet so chic.

What a lovely, laid-back space, people dressed casually, some on dates, others for a regular get-together.

It's a shame we were so full otherwise we would have ordered more!

Beba

3900 Rue Ethel

Montreal

514 750 7087

Review: Mistura

Mistura is a cinematic vehicle to promote Peruvian cuisine

It was almost a full house at VIFF at dinnertime to make us salivate while watching Mistura, a 2024 Peruvian foodie film.

Set in 1965 in Lima, Norma is half French and half Peruvian, the daughter of a French ambassador who has lived in rarified circles. But she discovers her husband has cheated on her, leaving her to figure out how to pay off the mortgage on the house.

Viewers quickly see what pressure she is under with everyone gossiping about her situation, and how Norma deals with it. Despite her husband's infidelity reported in the papers, Norma is determined to keep her head held high, and retain the house -- her house -- somehow.

Norma's driver inspires her to open a restaurant

At the encouragement of her chauffeur, Norma decides to open a restaurant in her mansion, and hires a Spanish-speaking Japanese chef who had once cooked for her father. The chef makes food that diners cannot relate to, let alone pronounce the names of the dishes.

There are also scenes showing her relationship with her adult son. As she is prim and proper, Norma vehemently disapproves of his hippie look and lifestyle, but an incident later brings them closer.

Eventually the restaurant evolves to reflect Peru and the people in the kitchen, and the film's end note explains "mistura" means mixture, combining different things together, which best describes Peruvian cuisine -- featuring Indigenous, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Middle Eastern, African and Italian influences. 

While the scenes in the kitchen didn't show as much cooking as the 2023 film The Taste of Things (Le Pot-au-Feu), we got the idea, watching Norma chop luscious tender beef cubes with her manicured hands, see how ceviche is made, and grilled meat skewers.

Norma is a half-French, half-Peruvian socialite

Mistura is a good movie, though in some parts one wonders if it's really possible for Norma to have a 180-transformation in her perception of others, or maybe she realises she needs all the help she can get? 

Actress Barbara Mori who plays Norma carries the film, and subtly shows her character's emotions below the surface, while having an unconventional relationship with her driver, played by Cesar Ballumbrosio.

Nevertheless, the film is a cinematic vehicle to promote Peruvian cuisine, and it definitely gets viewers curious (and hungry) to try some!

Mistura

Written and directed by Ricardo de Montreuil

101 minutes

Creative Contemporary Chinese Food in Montreal

Five spice duck platter with condiments

As soon as we arrived in Montreal and dropped off our suitcases, we headed to Oncle Lee Kao, a modern Chinese restaurant in the old part of the city.

Driving there was no problem, but finding parking was quite the challenge. Eventually we found a spot -- and free too!

We entered the restaurant at 8.30pm on a Saturday night and were shocked to see it hopping, all the tables were full, and it was noisy. Did we mention the vast majority of diners were not Chinese?

Savoury jian dui with shiitake and sesame sauce

My main purpose of coming here was to finally try chef Andersen Lee's cooking, after having interviewed him 2019 when he won the inaugural 50 Best BBVA Scholarship. The award entitled him to stage or intern at three top restaurants -- Core by Clare Smyth in London, Odette in Singapore, and Quintonil in Mexico City.

Following his internships he wasn't inspired to go abroad or fine dining -- instead the experience pulled him back to Montreal, where he opened Oncle Lee and now Oncle Lee Kao, with his creative takes on Chinese dishes. 

Most impressive was the five spice duck platter. Lee explained they didn't have the capacity or knowledge to make Peking duck, so why not make it pastrami style, as an homage to Montreal? And the result is fantastic. 

The duck breast is thinly sliced so they can be placed in thin steamed wrappers and condiments can be added before wrapping it up and popping it into your mouth.

Asparagus with mapo tofu sauce

We also enjoyed the steamed oysters with black bean sauce, shrimp toast, and a savoury jian dui with shiitake mushroom and sesame sauce. How novel.

Mini egg rolls are filled with duck rillettes, while chunks of tender octopus are placed on skewers with lap cheong or Chinese sausage and spring onions in between. Typically octopus is paired with chorizo, but lap cheong is an interesting substitute we couldn't identify at first.

Asparagus are in season and they came with mapo tofu sauce on top; the green stalks were so tender that at the end of our Montreal trip we bought some at a farmer's market to bring back to Vancouver.

Sashimi isn't exactly Chinese, but we had some, along with a giant platter of fried rice that Lee likes to cook at home with crunch thinly sliced cabbage and mayonnaise and chilli crisp.

Lee's homestyle fried rice with chilli crisp

For dessert, a bowl of tapioca with coconut, strawberry and rhubarb, and some mini yuzu tartlets with green tea, together with fresh fruit.

Lee recently came back from a trip to Shanghai, Ningbo and Hong Kong -- his first to China -- which really opened his exposure to not only Chinese cooking techniques but also flavours and ingredients. 

Can't wait to see what he will do next.

Oncle Lee Kao

112 Rue McGill

Montreal

514 303 1100

Modern Chinese at Toronto's Mimi Chinese

Fantastic Dungeness crab with steamed cheung fun

Toronto has many Chinese restaurants, but how about one where the dishes have a slight twist, making them modern and are served by waiters wearing crisp white shirts and bowties?

That's the concept of Mimi Chinese, where regional dishes are re-interpreted and accessible, making them fun and delicious, and more importantly get the thumbs up from the pickiest of Chinese diners.

Outstanding Iberico char siu here

On the night we went, the clientele was more Chinese, with young people to middle-aged and they had obviously come for the very good dishes that aren't found in most top restaurants in Markham, where many of the Chinese diaspora live.

The hands-down winner of the evening was the Iberico pluma char siu, the pork so tender and flavourful, we all savoured each bite, and the taste was also marinating in the caramelised soybeans.

Another winner was the BC live Dungeness crab steamed with fresh cheung fun. It's definitely the Canadian version of The Chairman's flower crab dish ini Hong Kong. Instead of marinating the crustacean in Shaoxing wine and chicken fat, here the fresh crab's flavour was enhanced by the ginger and scallion sauce.

Beef tenderloin with black pepper sauce

The crab shell was already scraped clean by the kitchen, so all we had to do was focus on the clean flavours complemented by the delicateness of the cheung fun, soaking up the light soy sauce and sweet crab meat.

We also had some outstanding starters, like Chaoshan marinated scallops with a sauce made from ginger and scallion, similar to poached chicken, but with a citrusy soy sauce for brightness. Another was fluffy shrimp toast studded with sesame seeds, and gorgeous chicken wings deboned and stuffed with glutinous rice, mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

The four foot belt noodle was a showstopper. The waiter did his routine of using tongs to lift one end up so high -- it really was one noodle, about two inches wide. Then he placed it down, folding it back and forth and then used a pair of scissors to cut it in half. The noodles had a spicy kick, thanks to the chilli crisp.

Sizzling prawns in hot pot with a spicy kick

Another spicy dish were giant prawns sizzling in a hot claypot, while a Cantonese favourite of beef slices stir-fried with onions and thick rice noodles (gon chau ngau ho) was altered to use wheat noodles instead and strings of scrambled egg. So good and comforting.

The only minor fault was the typhoon shelter asparagus, as the seasonal vegetable was lost in this dish, and the seasoning didn't enhance the asparagus. Nevertheless we finished on a high note with an ode to sizzling platters, this one with beef tenderloin and cooked with a black pepper skillet. The beef was so tender, it was brilliantly executed.

To cleanse our palates, we were given a small scoop of sorbet made from almond jelly. It was a taste we all instantly recognised from our childhoods. Personally I didn't particularly like this flavour growing up, but it was nostalgic for sure.

For dessert we had a refreshing seasonal fruit sorbet featuring slices of snow pear with osmanthus jelly and oolong tea. Another using gai daan jai, or egg waffles with caramelised banana, hawthorn jam and sesame ice cream with maple syrup drizzled on top. A creative way to elevate a simple street snack.

Snow pear with osmanthus jelly and oolong tea

Overall the food and experience at Mimi Chinese was outstanding and we can't wait to see what comes next for this restaurant that has modernised Chinese food in a thoughtful way.

Mimi Chinese

265 Davenport Road

Toronto

416 505 0799

A Taste of the Southern Caucasus Region

We thoroughly enjoyed this beef stew with basmati rice

My friend and her husband who live on the outskirts of Toronto say they aren't very adventurous in trying new restaurants that are not near them, but used my visit as an excuse to try something new.

Originally we wanted to try The Lunch Lady, which had opened almost a year ago, but she couldn't get a reservation until 9pm. She suggested Old Avenue Restaurant and on the menu there were Middle Eastern/Eastern European dishes which sounded intriguing so we decided to give it a shot.

There are two locations, and we chose the one in Toronto; I met them at the York Mills subway station and we drove a short distance to the restaurant just off a nice residential neighbourhood.

Borscht soup with cubes of beef

Inside the restaurant has an old school atmosphere, and we were surprised to see mainland Chinese diners, and later Koreans eating there too.

It turns out Old Avenue features cuisine from the southern Caucasus which borders Eastern Europe and Western Asia, and includes countries like Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijian. 

There are appetisers like hummus and babaganoush, but also items like kutab pumpkin or kutab meat, where the ingredients are wrapped in a thin dough and baked.

We ordered a borscht soup (C$10), a portion for one person but three of us shared, that had cubes of beef with grated beet. I added some sour cream to my small bowl and it was delicious and hearty.

Another starter we had was marinated herring with potatoes. The soft slices of herring were salted and topped with thin slices of red onion and served cold, while the boiled potatoes were still hot. The saltiness of the herring was toned down when eaten with the potatoes. Enjoyed this dish.

Lovely seasoned herring with boiled potatoes

For mains we had the beef stew in clay pot (C$26) that came with a plate of basmati rice. In the pot were beef, onion, chestnuts, chickpeas, red peppers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and seasoned with saffron and tumeric. It was such a comforting dish to eat, homestyle, and hearty.

The shah plov ($27) was a popular dish that practically every table ordered (and the waiter had recommended). He brought it to the table like a small pain-looking circular cake and then cut it like one too. The slices into the pastry exterior revealed rice along with bits of lamb, chestnuts, dried apricots, dried plums, raisins, onion and saffron.

It was kind of like the Eastern European version of Cantonese claypot rice, because the bottom of the shah plov was a thick pastry base with rice stuck on it, much like the crispy golden brown rice at the bottom of the claypot (though the latter is tastier).

The presentation and combination of the ingredients were interesting, but the flavours didn't meld together like the beef stew. We still finished it, and were too full for dessert that had items like kunefe (pastry layered with cheese and a sweet syrup drizzled on top), Azerbaijiani baklava, honey cake and Napoleon.

Shah plov, rice encased in pastry with meat

For drinks we tried compote -- stewed berries (strained) and mixed with water, so it wasn't too tart or sweet.

What an interesting experience eating this kind of cuisine! Will have to see if Vancouver has anything similar, but this was quite the treat!

Old Avenue Restaurant

1923c Avenue Road

Toronto

416 781 1117

Spot Prawns are Here Again

Plump and juicy spot prawns are here for a limited time

Spot prawn season has begun in Vancouver and prices are wildly all over the place.

These prawns have white dots on their tails, while their carapace (the prawn head exoskeleton) have red and white stripes.

Every year around 2,450 metric tonnes of spot prawns are harvested, and about 65 percent are caught between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

Over 90 percent of the catch are exported to Asia, and we get the rest locally, for about a six-week period.

Last week spot prawns were around $50 a pound at T&T Supermarket, which was quite the sticker shock, and it made us wonder how much restaurants would be charging.

So we were quite relieved to see the price cut almost in half when we went to T&T yesterday, at just under $26/lb. And many other people were buying spot prawns too.

We bought one and a half pounds of the prawns that were wrapped in butcher paper and then placed in a plastic bag. On the way home I could periodically hear their tails batting at the paper.

At home we placed them in a colander with a plate on top and put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

The best way to retain their natural flavour is by poaching the prawns in boiling water seasoned with ginger and scallions to temper the fishy smell.

To prepare the spot prawns, using scissors we clipped off the long antennae, its legs and the bottom edge of the tails before cooking them in the boiling water.

After about a minute or so the prawns are cooked, their bodies curled up.

We also make a dipping sauce with soy sauce, a bit of sweetness (maple syrup or honey), oil and chopped scallions.

Remove the head and the rest of the shell, dip the prawn meat into the sauce and eat! The meat is firm and sweet!

Picture of the Day: Braised Fish Maw

Large pieces of braised fish maw surrounded by goose webs

The other night we went to Sun Sui Wah for a 私房菜 or "see fong choi", the Chinese version of omakase where the chef creates the menu.

However, not all the dishes were winners; some were duds, like a roast duck we had that was marinated in salt for a week and tasted like it! There was also a giant plate of thinly sliced poached geoduck, but sadly wasabi was smothered over them and our nasal cavities had the equivalent of pungent electric shocks each time we bit into the geoduck...

Nevertheless, the undisputed highlight of the evening was a massive platter of braised fish maw with goose webs in abalone sauce. These pieces of fish maw were the thickest I had ever seen in my life and the women at the table were salivating with excitement.

That's because it is believed that fish maw contain a lot of collagen, a protein that helps the skin maintain its elasticity and reduce wrinkles. And who doesn't want that?

While this is a belief rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, there isn't much scientific evidence to prove this sadly. 

According to Marina Medical in Hong Kong, eating fish maw isn't necessarily the most efficient way of absorbing collagen in the body and instead suggests other ways to boost collagen production:

- Collagen supplements

- Vitamin C

- Protein-rich foods like eggs, bone broth, meat and beans

- Zinc and copper from meat, shellfish, nuts, whole grains and beans

- Regular exercise, adequate sleep and avoid excessive sun exposure

I'll still eat fish maw whenever possible! Tastes delicious!

A Quiet Downtown Cafe

Latte, ham and cheese scroll, and chausson aux pommes

Bakery cafes seem to be the new hangout in Metro Vancouver, as fewer people are willing or able to shell out to dine in restaurants. Instead they turn to cafes to meet up with friends over a coffee and a croissant, cookie or slice of cake.

Or so I thought.

The other day I tried the Japanese-style egg salad sandwich at 7-Eleven downtown, but it left me unsatisfied (and still hungry).

Across the street was Beaucoup Bakery in the St Regis Hotel on Dunsmuir and Seymour. I walked in just before noon and there was just one other customer in there who couldn't make up her mind.

I ordered a latte, a savoury ham and cheese scroll, and a chausson aux pommes for dessert for just under $20.

For about 20 minutes I sat in the small dining space and had my pastries with a bitter latte, but no one else came in even though it was lunchtime on Wednesday.

The ham and cheese scroll was impossible to cut with a wooden fork and spoon, and I had to eat it like a sandwich; it would also have tasted better heated up.

The leaf-shaped chausson aux pommes had a vibrant burgundy filling of apple puree mixed with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. 

As I sat there, the staff chatted amongst themselves; seems they are used to business being really slow.

It was pretty sad to see this cafe pretty dead -- meanwhile two bakery cafes in my neighbourhood have a steady stream of customers.

Is this a sign that office workers still aren't coming back to the office full time? If that's the case, downtown Vancouver is going to hollow out even further...

Fire Destroys Restaurateurs' Dreams

A fire above Osteria Otto has displaced six residents

Last night a fire broke out in Vancouver, near Broadway and Main, which destroyed a restaurant that had just opened in December.

Osteria Otto was full when the fire happened in a bedroom unit above the restaurant, and luckily the patrons managed to evacuate from the premises, but now the owners, Ignacio Arrieta and Joe Fazio, who spent more than a year planning and renovating, now have a gutted space, and their staff have lost their jobs.

"For three wonderful months, we had the privilege of serving this community and seeing our vision come to life, but this chapter as we knew it has come to a sudden and heavy end," says a message on Osteria Otto's Instagram post.

The restaurant was destroyed

"While everyone is safe, the water damage from the firefighting efforts has left the restaurant completely destroyed, and it is clear that our future is uncertain as we work with the city and insurance."

The owners have set up a GoFundMe page for the staff, and to help with navigating the restaurant's next steps. 

So far just over $15,000 has been raised, with a goal of $80,000. The provincial Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle donated $100, as well as Kavita chef Tushar Tondvalkar, and pastry chef Daria Andriienko. 

Meanwhile six residents have been displaced, and fire investigators are looking into an electric blanket that may have caused the fire.

Restaurants in Vancouver are already having a tough time, with fewer people having extra money to spend eating out. Just opening a restaurant is a massive capital expenditure, and then having a fire snuff it out after three months is absolutely devastating.

While the hospitality industry rallies around Osteria Otto, it will take more money just to get back to square one again.

Peruvian Flair in Vancouver's Chinatown

Blue fin tuna and crab causa wrapped with nori and caviar

Vancouver's Chinatown continues to gentrify with the opening of Uchu, a fancy seafood restaurant "with Peruvian soul" a few days ago.

It is the sister restaurant to the wildly successful Suyo, a modern Peruvian restaurant that I and two friends ate dinner at during the summer. We enjoyed the various dishes not only for their colourful presentations, but also for the array of textures and flavours that made each bite interesting and delicious.

High-ceiling bar with a long counter

So I was excited to hear Suyo chef-owner Ricardo Valverde was opening another place -- and in Chinatown, I had to check it out when I got an invite to the media preview the day before it officially opened.

Uchu is in the space formerly occupied by Sai Woo which served no-so-good Chinese food, then was replaced with Kosoo Pocha, which served Korean tapas.

Valverde and his team took over the space in March 2025 and spent 11 months renovating it into a high ceiling open bar and kitchen concept serving mostly ceviche-style seafood bites that we got to try the other evening.

They included items like oyster cevichero, a fresh oyster topped with leche de tigre espuma, or tiger's milk foam, blue fin tuna and crab causa, or potato wrapped in nori and finished with a few caviar pearls.

There were also a kind of salmon sushi with a rice cracker on top, and for dessert dulce de leche, and a sweet caramel creme with a honeycomb on top. 

Various Peruvian-inspired bites

But it seems the soul of Ucha is the bar where the cocktails are made. Valverde explained that before the restaurant opened, the team went down to Peru and visited several restaurants that are in the World's 50 Best list and at each place tried about 10 cocktails, as well as many dishes.

For those who are looking for spirit-free cocktails like, me, the chicha morada was like a fancy juice made from purple corn, pineapple, green apple, cinnamon and lime, and the pachamama that was a non-alcoholic Old Fashioned using rose, black tea, amarno, chocolate and palo santo with an ice cube with "Ucha" embossed on it.

At the party there were some elderly Chinese men taking in the food and drink and we asked one who they were. He explained they were with the Chan Wing Chung Tong Society of Canada, who rented the space to the restaurant group.

We asked him how much the rent was, and he said it was four figures which we thought was very reasonable for a restaurant like this, charging Suyo prices in Chinatown. 

Spirit-free Old Fashioned

It will be interesting to see how Uchu does in this location, will people be interested in coming here in the evenings with drug addicts hanging out on the streets? Nevertheless we do wish Valverde all the best because Vancouver is seeing more places close than open at the moment. It's a challenging time in the restaurant industry when people can't really afford to eat out these days...

So Long, Sammy's Kitchen

Restaurant was an institution for over 50 years

The latest old school restaurant to close in Hong Kong is Sammy's Kitchen in Sheung Wan. It was well known for its giant neon cow sign which was taken down in 2015 after it was deemed an illegal structure, but thankfully it is preserved at M+ in West Kowloon.

It was sad news to hear of its impending closure, but it wasn't the first time the restaurant threatened to shutter.

One could have escargots in garlic butter sauce

Back in 2017 the owners announced they would close Sammy's Kitchen and like many others I rushed over to try it, not once but twice. It was so busy before the purported closure that it actually continued operating, until a few days ago on January 31.

The restaurant was best known for Hong Kong style western food, like beef Stroganoff, escargots with garlic butter baked in cheese, beef Wellington and even Chateaubriand for two. Don't forget desserts like peach Alaska, souffle, and banana flambe.

It was opened over 50 years ago by Sammy Yip and his friends, who had experience working in hotel kitchens and decided to strike out on their own.

When I went nine years ago, the cavernous, dim restaurant was run down and tired. Tables were covered in plastic sheets with a Burberry tartan design. 

Hong Kong style western food on the menu

The menu, presented in plastic binders had so many dishes, one wondered how the kitchen in the back could produce all those items, but apparently did, arriving piping hot at the table.

Did no one think to at least edit down the menu a bit to make it easier for the kitchen and control food costs a bit more?

Nevertheless, perhaps there is a time and place for things and the food at Sammy's Kitchen is long past it's due date. 

There are many other restaurants in Hong Kong that do beef Wellington and Chateaubriand much better, though I will concede probably cost more. And in general diners are more sophisticated and expect better quality, which is why they have also moved on from Sammy's Kitchen.

At least we'll have the neon cow sign to remember it by.

First Taste of Yemeni Cuisine

Traditional fava bean stew called ful with Yemeni flatbread

There used to be Vancouver's first Yemeni restaurant in Chinatown that was strangely closed during the day. We wondered if it had any business because we never saw it open.

But then a friend did go to Saba Foods around 6pm one evening and he said it was very quiet, but two hours later the place was hopping with diners. He did rave about the food, adding one needed to bring a football team along to be able to eat the large portions of food.

The bar hasn't changed from its West days

Then in January 2024 it closed and I heard it moved to South Granville which was a surprise -- that area would have relatively high rent and would the neighbourhood welcome a restaurant like this?

Apparently so, and its loyal customers followed Saba Foods to its new location. The restaurant was started by Alwaleed Ogbah and his Chinese wife Brenda Seng, when he missed eating Yemeni food in Vancouver.

He started Saba by doing pop-ups back in 2017 and then cooked out of a commissary kitchen, and a food truck, and eventually opened the Chinatown location in 2021. 

A friend who has been there a few times took me to the latest location for lunch today, and it is where the west coast restaurant West used to be.

When I walked in, the West decor had not changed, the bar with its numerous square slots for wine bottles were there, as well as the same tables and chairs, and the felt embroidered design on the south wall.

Okra, potato and lamb stew with basmati rice

As we perused through the menu, my friend remarked the food offerings had expanded, with brunch and lunch dishes, like steak and eggs, omelettes, and chargrilled beef.

Other typical items are hummus, lamb soup, falafel, roast chicken, and kunafa for dessert, a phyllo pastry layered with cheese and soaked with a syrup.

We decided to stick to some traditional dishes, like ful, a stew of fava beans served with Yemeni flatbread, and okra and potato stew with braised lamb and basmati rice, along with some fresh lime juice.

I've had lime soda, but lime juice was a first. It arrived in a lovely shade of (lime) green, and while it was on the sweet side, it was very refreshing and had a tart finish.

The dishes arrived very quickly, but not piping hot. Both dishes were flavourful. We spooned the ful on our plates and ate it with the large, round and soft flatbread with bubbled charred marks on it. 

Meanwhile the okra had practically disintegrated into the stew with potato, with some chunks of braised lamb, accompanied with saffron rice.

Dubai chocolate with pistachio and phyllo

Owner Ogbah came by to say hi to my friend, and gave us a complimentary dessert of Dubai chocolate, a small bar made from Belgian chocolate filled with pistachio paste and delicate phyllo. It went well with small cups of Yemeni coffee that was beige in colour and had a cardamon taste.

As we were finishing lunch, Muslims began trickling into the restaurant, around 2.30pm so by the time we left an hour later it was bustling with a second round of guests. It was fascinating to see the range of diners, and that the halal food is what brought many people here.

My friend has suggested we have to come back again for the lamb haneeth or slow roasted lamb shoulder that is marinated with spices. We'll have to recruit a football team of eaters to come with us next time.

Saba Foods

2881 Granville Street

Vancouver, BC

604 358 0566

Picture of the Day: Bubbling Claypot

This claypot has pork liver slices, eggplant and rice rolls

Southern Delicacy is a neighbourhood Chinese restaurant in Vancouver's Kerrisdale area and these days presents some pretty solid Cantonese dishes. A group of us eat there once a month for dinner not just because the location is convenient, but also because the food is great.

One of our favourite dishes on the lunch menu that we order in advance for dinner is the pork liver, eggplant and rice roll hotpot.

The large claypot arrives bubbling hot, the slices of liver just cooked so they are very tender, the eggplant soft and sweet, balancing the slight bitterness of the liver, and the rice rolls soaking up the savoury thick sauce.

So good!

Lunch at the Macau Military Club

The dining room looks the same, with ceiling fans

We did a quick side trip to Macau with the intention of having lunch there and then hanging out, but then my uncle suggested we go to Zhongshan after.

Our lunch was booked at Clube Militar de Macau or the Macau Military Club, an old colonial building adjacent to the Grand Lisboa, a giant shiny bulbous tower with lotus petals sprouting up from it. 

The foyer looks elegant with antique furniture

In the morning we took TurboJet from Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the aging building FINALLY got a refresh and looks so much better now.

For decades it was so tired-looking and considering so many people commute to Macau from here, one would think they would budget some money to renovating it, which they did a few years ago.

Taking the ferry during the week was not too bad, and we even caught an earlier boat and it's a good thing we did. By the way, gone are the stickers with seat numbers -- all seats are printed on separate tickets, which seems counter-intuitive in terms of using more paper...

After an hour we arrived in Macau (the old part), we swiftly went through immigration and then I thought we would go through the underpass to get on a hotel shuttle bus to Grand Lisboa, but none were to be found.

An old photo of the club from decades past

Instead we had to follow a series of arrows taking us on a very long walkway to get to the hotel shuttle buses. This was new! It took us a good 15 minutes to walk to the Jai Alai Oceanus station, apparently a temporary measure until December 15.

When we finally got to the shuttle stop, there was a long line of people already waiting. 

And there aren't numerous shuttles ready to whisk people off to the casino resort -- instead we had to wait for the next shuttle, which took passengers to several different stops before finally arriving at Grand Lisboa (stop number four).

From there we crossed the street to the Clube Militar and arrived just on time at 12.30pm.

The last time I was here was in the early 2000s, and its old school atmosphere is like seeing an old friend again.

The downstairs hallway to restrooms

The European-style building was originally built in 1870 as a private military club for Portuguese military and their guests. Some notable ones include Dr Sun Yat-sen, who lived in Macau for a period of time. Another was poet Camilo Pessanha, who gave a presentation on the pleasures of learning Chinese language and culture in 1915.

In 1953, Clube Militar was opened to civilians, and then in 1995 the building was restored and reopened as a restaurant to the public and still retains its club. This year Clube Militar celebrates its 155th anniversary.

The club has over 700 members, most of them non-Portuguese, after the handover of Macau back to China in 1999. 

It seems the dining room is very popular for lunch, and soon after we arrived, the tables filled up quickly with Chinese and Portuguese guests alike. We opted for for the buffet spread, which included salads, soup, braised eel, beef, seafood salad and fried rice.

The desserts were impressive, in particular the flan that was a smooth egg custard, poached pear, traditional rice pudding, and chocolate cake. 

One of the large paintings in the foyer

If you order a la carte, signature dishes include bacalhau or codfish, African chicken, and arroz de marisco (seafood rice)

975 Avenida da Praia Grande, Macau

+853 2871 4004