2019 Point Blank Creative Food Guide for Greater Vancouver
March 21, 2019Point Blank Creative’s love affair with food knows, quite literally, no bounds. Our Slack channels are full of passionate debates wars over the constitution of salad, postmodern definitions of pie, and that beast of a question—is a hot dog a sandwich?
When we’re not getting existential about it, you can bet we’re chasing down the best bites in town.
Hence: the 2019 Point Blank Creative Food Guide for Greater Vancouver. (That’s a mouthful, so you can just call it PBC’s Excellent Foodie Adventure.) Varying from pizza to high tea, this guide has got you covered!
Recommendations are based on:
Service: Treating customers with respect and going out of your way to make you a happy camper.
Flavour: Unique, authentic, and not too overwhelming.
Reliability: Tastes good no matter how many times you go. No more hit and miss!
Best hot pot:
HaiDiLao
5890 No 3 Rd #200, Richmond, BC V6Y 0C2
Haidilao (pronounced Heidi Lau) is a popular hotpot chain in China that has finally made its way to Vancouver! Featuring hot pots with four soup bases and an all you can eat fruit and sauce bar, the chain places a strong emphasis on their customer’s dining experience. They serve free popcorn, fruit, and water while you wait in line for a table. And as a digital agency, we’re swooning for the digitized ordering experience with iPads at every table. The restaurant has a built-in child-care centre with CCTV so you can keep an eye on your child with the iPad, free manicures (coming soon), and a Sichuan Mask performance every two hours. If you’re eating alone, they also put a huge teddy bear across the seat from you so you won’t get too lonely. Make sure to order their hand-pulled noodles: a chef comes to your table and performs a noodle-pulling performance for you.
Honourable mentions:
Dolar Shop
5300 No 3 Rd, Richmond, BC V6X 2X9
Best shawarma:
Donair King (Davie)
1028 Davie St, Vancouver, BC, V6E 1M3
While Donair King is a bit far from our office, it’s one of the best shawarmas in the greater Vancouver area. Featuring roasted meat, fresh toppings, and signature garlic sauce, Donair King has been in the area for quite a few years. Instead of only including the sauce inside the wrap like many donair stores, they also add an extra serving on the top of the donair and sprinkle it with some chilli powder. This allows you to fully taste their house-made garlic sauce—and it also looks cute.
Best sushi:
Minami
1118 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2T9
With the aburi trend going around in Vancouver, Miku and its sister restaurant, Minami, is one of the pioneers in the aburi world. In Japanese, aburi means “flame-seared” and aburi sushi is exactly what you think it is. Featuring ocean-wise seafood, Miku and Minami’s signature aburi rolls consist of pressed sushi with a layer of Miku’s secret sauce. The sushi is then “aburi’d” with a charcoal stick to give it a smokey flavour and a melt-in-your-mouth experience. If you’re going for dinner, be sure to order the beef carpaccio—they present a “wetter” version with a sous vide egg and juicy meat slices.
Honourable mentions:
Kitchen by Yugo
792 Denman St, Vancouver, BC V6G 1C9
Best salad/rice bowls:
Bovine
1050 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6E 3S7
Quick, healthy, and delicious: you can’t beat Bovine. Known for its minimalistic approach, Bovine offers salad and rice bowls with flavours from around the world. Some of the items on its rotating menu include: Creole jambalaya bowl, Hawaiian turkey loco moco, Japanese curry rice bowl, and salmon bruschetta. Our fav is the roast beef bowl, a salad/rice bowl with thinly slices of medium rare beef doused in a white sauce and topped with a 65-degree sous vide egg. Hidden in a small outdoor mall, the shop might be easy to miss—but it’s definitely worth looking for.
Best poke
Pokeritto (multiple locations)
558 Dunsmuir St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1Y1
One of our office favourites is Pokeritto, a Hawaiian-based salad/rice bowl bar that features raw cubes of fish marinated in sauce. Customers pick from pre-made bowls or customize their order. Possible selections include quinoa, avocado, crab meat, and fried onion bits. We’re big fans of the aburi poke bowl, a premium bowl that boasts seared tuna, miso glaze, brown rice, and crowned with a scoop of crab meat.
Best fine dining:
Ancora
1600 Howe St #2, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2L9
Located by the Yaletown waterfront, Ancora features Peruvian and Japanese cuisine while preserving the essence of Canada’s West Coast. Focusing on seafood dishes, the restaurant’s offerings span albacore tuna ceviche, Peruvian mussels, prawns, red eye (hamachi) belly sashimi, and glazed sablefish. Fear not, meat-lovers: you’ll find the AAA beef tenderloin and pork belly cooked to perfection. A++ for food, service, and waterfront view.
Honourable mentions:
Market by Jean-Georges at Shangri La
1115 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6E 0A8
Best Chinese:
Chang’An
1/F, 1661 Granville St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1N3
Many places in Vancouver offer Peking duck, but Chang’An boasts one of the best in Vancouver. Upon entering the restaurant, you’re greeted by a window of ducks being grilled by a stone oven, ensuring your duck is made in house. The duck is then sliced with care at your table by a specially trained chef. Every cut precisely separates crispy skin from the succulent meat. Situated at the rim of Yaletown across from Granville Island, it offers perfect service, innovative dishes (such as numbing peppercorn ice cream), and amazing service. Be sure to call a day before to reserve your duck!
Other categories:
Best pizza:
Straight Outta Brooklyn Pizza (multiple locations)
350 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6B 2B2
Best cocktails:
Pourhouse
162 Water St, Vancouver, BC V6B 1B2
Rosewood Hotel Georgia
801 W Georgia St, Vancouver, BC V6C 1P7
Best macarons:
Soirette Pastry Boutique
1433 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC V6G 2S3
Best tacos:
Fayuca
1009 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5T4
Honourable mentions:
TacoFino Ocho
8 E 5th Ave, Vancouver, BC V5T 1G8
Best Vegan:
MeeT (multiple locations)
12 Water St, Vancouver, BC V6B 4K7
Best high tea:
Notch8 at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver
900 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 2W6
Best bubble tea:
Happy Lemon (multiple locations)
1188 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6E 1B5