I’m going to be honest: I work in Downtown Vancouver, and, despite my love of food, when it comes to getting lunch or after-work drinks, sometimes I just don’t have the time or energy to find a new place to eat. Most of the time, I’ve got a good ol’ sandwich from home tiding me over as I get through my workday. Needless to say, I was excited to get an invite to go on the Downtown Vancouver Foodie Tour by the owner and tour host- the wonderful Michelle Ng.
Dan Close Food Concepts
604.562.2634
Dan's meal in a bag!
The tour started at Victory Square, where we were only a few steps away from our first restaurant…which turned out to be nothing more than a white delivery van! No, this isn’t a bizarre abduction story. Dan Close Food Concepts is actually an online store the delivers meals made from organic, locally sourced ingredients. Once you get your meal, all you have to do is boil the food (it comes in a vacuum sealed bag) for a few minutes to finish it off.
On the Menu: Grilled Lois Lake Steelhead Salmon with Charred Lemon, Manitoba Wild Rice Salad with barley, dried fruit and curry citrus vinaigrette, and Grilled Asparagus.
I always forget how much I love wild rice. It was hard to believe this meal came from a bag it was so delicious!
Bon Chaz
426 W Hastings Street
604.626,7215
On the Menu: Original with Sea Salt, Banana Walnut and Matcha Green Tea flavoured Bon Chaz.
A cross between the French brioche and Mexican concha pastry, the bon chaz buns were eagerly polished off by my tour mates. I tried Bon Chaz at Eat Vancouver and loved the Original, so I gave the Matcha a try. The green tea flavour was hard to find. Owner, Michael, said that they had originally made the buns with strong matcha flavour, and people had complained it was too strong. Hmm… guess, I’ll stick with the Original for now.
Shangri-La Hotel Lobby Lounge
1128 West Georgia
604.689.1120
On the Menu: Freshly Baked Scones, Clotted Cream, In House Made Compote, Assorted Pastries, Loose Leaf Tea
This was my favourite stop on the tour- afternoon tea at the Shangri-La Hotel! This was my first high tea ever and it couldn’t have been any better. From the tea to the scones to the sinful pastries, everything about this was amazing. Wish my tea parties as a kid had been like this, sighhhh.
Fun facts:
– During the construction of the hotel, monks blessed four items and buried them in the four corners of the foundation. These are said to be luck and good omens for the Shangri-La.
– Head to the Lobby Lounge for the free tapas hour every weekday from 5-6pm
MARKET by Jean Georges
1128 West Georgia
604.695.1115
On the Menu: Black Truffle Pizza, Rice Cracker Crusted Tuna, House Soda
Dubbed “one of 100 things you have to try before you die,” the black truffle pizza was literally a food orgasm in my mouth. The smell of truffle always does something magical to my senses and it practically melted in my mouth. The house soda’s were made with fresh ingredients not the kind I got on the Refinery stop of the Granville Foodie Tour.
Sutton Place Wine Merchant
855 Burrard St.
604.642.2947
On the Menu: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cremeux with Dehydrated Chocolate Mousse Sable, Elephant Island Framboise 09 Fortified Wine
I’ve been meaning to take a wine course so I can properly understand how wine and food go together. This stop at the wine shop outside the Sutton Place gave me a nice lesson on pairing chocolate with a sweet, fruity wine. It was a great way to end the day and my education on yummy alternatives to the homemade lunch.
I’m going to be honest: I work in Downtown Vancouver, and, despite my love of food, when it comes to getting lunch or after-work drinks, sometimes I just don’t have the time or energy to find a new place to eat. Most of the time, I’ve got a good ol’ sandwich from home tiding me over as I get through my workday. Needless to say, I was excited to get an invite to go on the Downtown Vancouver Foodie Tour by the owner and tour host- the wonderful Michelle Ng.
Dan Close Food Concepts
The tour started at Victory Square, where we were only a few steps away from our first restaurant…which turned out to be nothing more than a white delivery van! No, this isn’t a bizarre abduction story. Dan Close Food Concepts is actually an online store the delivers meals made from organic, locally sourced ingredients. Once you get your meal, all you have to do is boil the food (it comes in a vacuum sealed bag) for a few minutes to finish it off.
On the Menu: Grilled Lois Lake Steelhead Salmon with Charred Lemon, Manitoba Wild Rice Salad with barley, dried fruit and curry citrus vinaigrette, and Grilled Asparagus.
I always forget how much I love wild rice. It was hard to believe this meal came from a bag it was so delicious!
Bon Chaz
On the Menu: Original with Sea Salt, Banana Walnut and Matcha Green Tea flavoured Bon Chaz.
A cross between the French brioche and Mexican concha pastry, the bon chaz buns were eagerly polished off by my tour mates. I tried Bon Chaz at Eat Vancouver and loved the Original, so I gave the Matcha a try. The green tea flavour was hard to find. Owner, Michael, said that they had originally made the buns with strong matcha flavour, and people had complained it was too strong. Hmm… guess, I’ll stick with the Original for now.
Shangri-La Hotel Lobby Lounge
On the Menu: Freshly Baked Scones, Clotted Cream, In House Made Compote, Assorted Pastries, Loose Leaf Tea
This was my favourite stop on the tour- afternoon tea at the Shangri-La Hotel! This was my first high tea ever and it couldn’t have been any better. From the tea to the scones to the sinful pastries, everything about this was amazing. Wish my tea parties as a kid had been like this, sighhhh.
Fun facts:
– During the construction of the hotel, monks blessed four items and buried them in the four corners of the foundation. These are said to be luck and good omens for the Shangri-La.
– Head to the Lobby Lounge for the free tapas hour every weekday from 5-6pm
Market
On the Menu: Black Truffle Pizza, House Soda
Dubbed “one of 100 things you have to try before you die,” the black truffle pizza was literally a food orgasm in my mouth. The smell of truffle always does something magical to my senses and it practically melted in my mouth. The house soda’s were made with fresh ingredients not the kind I got on the Refinery stop of the Granville Foodie Tour.
Sutton Place Hotel
On the Menu: Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cremeux with Dehydrated Chocolate Mousse Sable, Elephant Island Framboise 09 Fortified Wine
I’ve been meaning to take a wine course so I can properly understand how wine and food go together. This stop at the wine shop outside the Sutton Place gave me a nice lesson on pairing chocolate with a sweet, fruity wine. It was a great way to end the day and my education on yummy alternatives to the homemade lunch.
It’s a social world out there and There’s no shortage of Vancouver restaurants that you can follow on Twitter or like on Facebook or become mayor of on Foursquare. The most savvy companies aren’t just
I just love food 