May 26, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Dining
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NOTE: I realize I pronounced ‘Tapenade’ wrong a few times in the video. Please thank my superior linguistic skills. =/
Right now is a special time of the year in the lower mainland. It’s none other than Spot Prawn Season!!! When I heard about these little guys, I had to go check them out for myself. They are just all the rage right now and for good reason. They are DELICIOUS! I headed down to Steveston today to see for myself….
What is a spot prawn anyway? They are large shrimp that are fished along the British Columbia coastline and are considered sweeter and tastier than regular shrimps. Just another shrimp? No. Spot prawns are easily identifiable by the two little white dots on their bodies and are special because they are only available for one month of the entire year. (Usually May) This makes them a coveted prize and special treat that is extremely limited!
I headed down to Tapenade Bistro in Steveston to meet up with execute chef Alex Tung to try my own spot prawns. When I arrived he was literally taking the spot prawns out of the back of his car- they were in the water only an hour earlier. After a quick explanation of the prawns, he began preparing two delicious dishes that we sat down to. The first dish was raw spot prawns, and the second was a traditional spot prawn boil with glazed potatoes, chorizo, peas, and fresh garden herbs. Both were absolutely delicious, though I preferred the cooked spot prawns of the two. The prawns are mouth watering, clean, and very fresh to eat. The dishes were beautifully prepared, aesthetically pleasing, and the food was excellent.
I was happy I got to try spot prawns. They are a really tasty and unique treat that you need to go check out before the season ends! (which is very soon!) Head down to Steveston and pick up some on the docks, or check out one of the many restaurants that offer them. I recommend Tapenade Bistro- they have a great patio, friendly staff and the food is excellent. Enjoy them while they last!
February 14, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Dining
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On the way to the Olympic OZone venue in Richmond, my husband and I decided to celebrate Chinese New Year with authentic dim sum. Just over the Fraser River from Vancouver and a hop away from the airport, Richmond's large Asian community offers some of the best Chinese food this side of Beijing.
On a reliable recommendation we plumped for the Continental Seafood Restaurant (11700 Cambie Road) and were soon seated in a huge banquet hall among hundreds of extended families welcoming in
the Year of the Tiger and catching the Games on flatscreen TVs.
Smartly uniformed staff wheeled trolleys laden with steaming delicacies for diners to pick. We loaded up on char siu buns filled with barbequed pork, choi sum greens, sticky rice and prawn dumplings, washed down with jasmine tea. Somehow we still found room for sweet egg buns - just as tasty as the ones I used to eat growing up in Hong Kong. Gung hay fat Choy indeed!
January 29, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Richmond, Dining
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What to do for Valentine’s Day has always been a quandary for me? When I am single, it’s easy! Girls Night – an evening of good food, good wine and good friends at home! However, when I am part of a couple, I am faced with thousands of questions of what to do for Valentine’s Day! I start off with one simple question - do we want to go out or stay in? Which leads to many more questions, like where should we go if we go out, do we want to go to dinner only or dinner and dancing, do we exchange gifts and finally who is going to do the planning and make the reservations?
In the quest to help the Valentine’s planner here are some lovely options in Richmond, BC for an evening of romance.
Take a lovely stroll in Steveston Village and stop by Bare Basics to pick up a little something for your sweetie. Or enjoy London Farms "Chocolate Valentine Tea" service then head off to Garry Point to check out the beautiful sunset.
Enjoy a romantic dinner by the water, several of restaurants in Steveston Village are offering special Valentine's Day dinner menus - Reflections Gastronomie, Shady Island Seafood Bar & Grill, Steveston Seafood House, Tapenade Mediteranean Bistro and Sockeye City Grill are just a few places to dine in Steveston.
http://www.reflectionsgastronomie.com/http://www.shadyislandseafoodbarandgrill.com/
http://www.stevestonseafoodhouse.com/http://www.tapenade.ca/index.html/http://sockeyecity.com/In the heart of Richmond, you can enjoy a lovely Valentine's dinner at the Wayfaring Tree then sneak off for you night's stay at the Best Western Richmond Hotel.
http://www.richmondinn.com/dining.htmlTee off at Mayfair Lakes Golf and Country Club in the afternoon then enjoy a romantic event at the Lakeside Grill Restaurant.
November 30, 2006 | Tips from Us >
Richmond, Dining
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Having lived in the Greater Vancouver Regional District for the last 20 years, I’ve had plenty of time to explore my surroundings but somehow I have managed to stay away from Richmond, BC. You could almost say “avoid!” Although, I’ve been told by friends and family, that Richmond has great Asian food. How did a foody like myself not seek out the unique Asian restaurants in Richmond?
It always seemed too far for me to go, really its only 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver. So, really not far at all! However, I would drive by Richmond to White Rock for dinner or to Whistler for a day of skiing – so my “too far” excuse didn’t really hold up under closer examination!
Recently, I started a new job in Richmond and decided that I have no more excuses! My co-workers opened my eyes, and now I finally understand what my friends and family have been telling me for years! The food really is amazing!
Dim sum like I have never tasted before and so many choices! Fisherman’s Terrace in Aberdeen Centre and the Gingeri in Landowne Centre are two of my favourites! I love the hustle and bustle of dim sum! You are surrounded by the sounds of clinking of chopsticks, slurping of tea, shouts of greetings and the crashing sounds of tables be cleared and set. So many people gathered together to enjoy a meal and bit of gossip! It’s always a mixed crowd of family or friends or business groups gathered together, all ages.
It’s been a wonderful to share the dim sum experience with my friends. A few are seasoned dim sum connoisseurs (because I dragged them kicking and screaming to go to dim sum with me many years ago) and others have never been. Among the many bamboo steamers and plates with metal lids are exotic smelling dumplings, noodles, pork spareribs, sticky rice and much more. Hidden within a rice wrapper dumpling is a tasty mixture of seafood or meat and spices. Haw Gow (shrimp dumplings), Sui Mai (pork dumplings), Haw Chung Fung (shrimp rice rolls), deep fried tofu with spicy sau
February 24, 2006 | Tips from Us >
Richmond, Dining
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This past Tuesday my friend dropped into town and decided to stay at the Fairmont YVR the other night, I had my hesitations to visit her because of the cost for parking. A good thing for her, she was one of my best friends so I didn't mind sacrifing parking fees. I rolled up to Gateway Valet & Concierge at the hotels entrance and asked the valet what my options were for parking in order to visit a guest at the hotel. He offered valet at $15/hour or go into the economy lot and park for $10 for the entire evening. Well, as the thrifty person I am, I went for options 2. All you need to do is bring your parking stub with you after parking your car and take it to the front desk and ask to pre-pay your ticket with them. You must get the room number of the guest staying at the hotel and the fee will be applied to the guest's room. Just make arrangements with your friend/family to pay him/her the $10 and voila, parking guaranteed, at least, til the next morning and as a bonus, you have in-and-out privilages! I didn't get the procedure on the in-and-out privilages but they take your license plate so there is something in place, just ask the cashier upon exiting. One concern I had was that, at night, the economy lot looked dark and far but when walking from the parking lot to the hotel, it wasn't as far as I thought. Just follow the pedistrian paths, the signs and as long as you walk in the lit areas, you'll feel safe. Another great thing about the economy parking lot is that the main lit area was wide, turfed and was covered for those rainy Vancouver days! Two notes on the hotel for visitors and travellers: 1) If you have down time before your international/US flight, go to the bar in the hotel for a drink where you can listen to the catchy music stylings of the bar's pianist and enjoy some complimentary spicy trail mix while sitting in comfy couches/chairs. 2) This hotel is also a great place to stay if you have a really early flight the next day and you have no one in