The Vancouver Chinatown Foundation recently hosted its annual “Light Up Chinatown!” event, a two-day festival that invites everyone to the neighbourhood, to explore and support their small businesses. And sadly, on one of these days, unbeknownst to many, there was a random attack on three festivalgoers. This particular act has caused unrest, questioning the safety in the area.
So in the spirit of galvanizing the community, we were given a tour Vancouver’s historic Chinatown. This was in hopes of bringing more attention and support to said small businesses, and those that call Chinatown their home. This campaign also has a Go Fund Me element to support the victims, but more on that later.
Our tour was lead by the local and long term host of a “Wok around Chinatown”, Bob. Through our hour together we would learn more about Vancouver’s Chinatown, as one of the nation’s oldest, and North America’s third-largest Chinatown.” And that “Chinese Canadians make up almost 20% of Vancouver’s metropolitan area’s total population, (according to the 2021 Canadian census), and have shaped the cultural identity of Vancouver.” (As taken from the Foundation’s statistics.)
Our tour had us all meeting up at the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, and gave us a chance to explore Foo Hung Curios. This is their Chinese inspired novelty and gift shop, with an assortment of goods that includes white rabbit and pineapple bun scented candles, greeting cards with dumpling puns, and stationary depicting Chinatown’s architecture in water colour.
From here our small group walked next door to long standing, hallmark: New Town Bakery, where we were given a sample of their iconic apple tart.
This treat was created in the 1930’s by two brothers running a Hong Kong cafe nearby. When they closed up shop, New Town took on the treat and have been making and selling around 1,000 flaky pastries, stuffed with fresh apple filling, a day. This was also notably listed on the New York’s must try list.
Next, we went to see a man about at knife. Across the street is Ai & Om, where you are buzzed in to get a look at their specialty knives.
The owner has been in the restaurant industry for over 15 years. This credentials include working at the elevated Pacific Northwest restaurant: West on South Granville, (when it was still in operation). He has since opened Ai & Om, noting that there really wasn’t a speciality knife store for Vancouver’s culinary industry. Nothing like what he has seen in other top culinary cities like New York and Toronto. So he opened his own to fill that void.
He works directly with blacksmiths and knife houses in Japan, importing bush craft tools, cook ware, sharpening implements, and ceramics; on top of cutting blades. Each brand represented here has been tested for years, to ensure quality. And they even offer knife sharpening classes, where they teach you how to maintain and take care of your new beloved tools.
We continued with our tour to Kam Wai Dim Sum, the family owned shoppe selling frozen and ready to eat dumplings and small bites. This assortment includes ha gao, siu mai, and spareribs. For over 50 years now, they are the only dim sum manufacturer in Chinatown.
Interesting backstory, the son (and now current owner) was studying music at UBC, and given a full scholarship to the Juilliard School. Sadly, his father fell ill, so he came back to Vancouver, to take over the family business, and has never looked back since.
Our next stop was Continental Herbal Co., a Chinese herbal store that many might not feel comfortable entering, myself included, due to potential communication barriers. So it was great to get a more intimate look now, with “A Wok Around Chinatown” and Bob vouching for us.
Here, they offer remedies for what ails you, and not necessarily a cure. If unwell, you see a practitioner of Chinese medicine, and they write you a list of ingredients needed based on your mentioned and observed symptoms. You take that list to a shoppe such as this, and are given a collection of dried plant and animal life.
You then take that satchel home to boil and simmer down in 9 cups of water. The result is a murky brew that does not taste good, but is good for you. I myself, grew up drinking a plethora of concoctions boiled up by my loving mother, and to her testament, my skin and well being are notably better as an adult (maybe) because of it.
Here we were able to explore many of their more obscure ingredients like sea cucumber which is good for the complexion thanks to its collagen, and dried gecko which helps with back pain and asthma.
Worth mentioning is that they also have more tasty treats like ginger candy and dried orange peel.
We then followed this stop with something a lot more appetizing to drink. Some speciality hot and cold teas from Treasure Green Tea.
Here, we were treated to a tea service and presentation, hosted by the owner and proprietor Olivia. Olivia has been passionate about traditional Chinese tea and showcasing how to properly enjoy it for over 40 years.
As I mentioned above, we would get a taste of their popular hot teas and a few sips of their shakes iced ones (as it was the tail end of summer, and they were close to wrapping up that drink season). A pure jasmine black tea, that isn’t scented with green tea, like it typically is. A Champagne jasmine tea that drank like a jasmine cold brew with the addition of honey and grapefruit zest for sweetness; but was also not too sweet that the fragrant tea flower is not the star. And their mojito number that was a refreshing option for the hotter weather and drank like a mocktail with lime and mint. Although, as of October 15th, 2023 Treasure Green Tea has switched their menu to cold weather tea lattes.
As for what we learned, a few of the biggest takeaways for me is as follows. Tea is served in small vessels: personal tea cups or kettles meant for a single serving.
Before pouring out your first cup, all the tools are to be warmed up with hot water and the tea itself is rinsed. There is a specific etiquette on how to hold your cup and sip from your personal vessel with lid, pushing the leaves aside to sip. The steeping process is quick, as you are only doing so to capture the flavour and the aroma. Enough to have me interested in returning to learn more at one of their workshops.
Our night ended with a family style meal at Chinatown BBQ, a restaurant I am very familiar with. In truth, we frequent them for the best Chinese Barbecue in town (in my humble opinion), visiting 1-2 times a month to satisfy that craving.
When we visit, we typically order our favourites: a collection of their bbq pork and chicken. So it was a treat to be able to sample majority of the menu today. Therefore I will be covering the entire experience fully, in more detail, in its own separate post.
But here, our tour came to an end, with a new found appreciation for the community and the desire to do and help more.
“Chinatown is home to more than 250 small businesses. And in the last several years, ongoing systemic issues have culminated in people not coming into Chinatown, which has a direct impact on these businesses, which are the lifeblood of the neighbourhood. Vancouver Chinatown Foundation’s mission is to revitalize the neighbourhood culturally, physically, and economically. And one of their flag pole moments is Light Up Chinatown!”
For those interested in donating to the Chinatown Go Fund Me project and to learn more about what the Chinatown foundation is doing to bring in more business and energy into the community, visit the link below.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-recovery-of-chinatown-stabbing-victims
#LoveChinatown
#ChinatownFoundation
#ChinatownYVR
#VisitChinatown
