The second installment of Tourism Richmond’s Dine Around series (there will be 12 in all) was a walking tour along Alexandra Road or “Food Street”, which is an aptly fitting description when you consider the dizzying labyrinth of mini strip-malls along this three block stretch of pavement contains over 200 + Asian restaurants.
Our intrepid guides, Stacey Chyau and Michelle Ng (foodietours.ca) led us on an afternoon outing that intended to deliver a small, but diverse cross-section of what this street had to offer.
First stop: Well Tea Taiwanese Restaurant for a briefing on our plan of attack. A popular cafe, now with 3 locations (Richmond, BCIT, UBC), Well Tea is a refuge for young students looking for cheap Taipei comfort snacks and a 40+ selection of bubble tea; nothing on the menu exceeds $8.
^ The magically and bizarre entrance to Well Tea Taiwanese Restaurant
Well Tea Taiwanese Restaurant
4811 Hazelbridge Way (corner of Alexandra) | Richmond
Tel: 604.278.7268
www.welltea.ca
^ Mango bubble tea with pearls
A short stroll away was our next venue, the bustling Cattle Café, a Hong Kong-style eatery (ie. comfort food) where we sampled a selection of their signature dishes; the colourful menu of East/West fusion focused on value with every dish coming in under $10
Cattle Café
Unit 1020, 8580 Alexandra Road | Richmond
Tel: 604.276.2800
www.cattlecafe.ca
^ BBQ eel (unagi) sandwiches
^ A very flavourful Malaysian Laksa soup with seafood and tofu
^ Baked pork chop with tomatoes and seafood with creamy sauce on rice
^ Cattle Café's famous bubble waffle
Third leg on the tour was Nan Chuu, one of the Gyoza King’s sister izakaya-style restaurants, considered by some to be one of the best for authentic Japanese in Richmond.
Nan Chuu Japanese Izakaya
1160-8391 Alexandra Road | Richmond
Tel: 604.276.8391
^ Hitachino Nest? Japanese craft beer! Nice.
Testing our mettle, perhaps, some of the items that rolled out were a little challenging for the uninitiated. Marinated beef tongue, skewers of chicken hearts and gizzards all offering some strange and foreign textures were quickly balanced with a few tried and true classics like ebi mayo, salmon yukke, and a delicious and simple mushroom bacon yakisoba.
^ Beef tongue
^ Crispy chicken skins
^ Ebi mayo
^ Skewers of grilled chicken hearts
^ Salmon yukke with nori
Our final stop brought us to Jang Mo Jib, which roughly translates to “Mother in Law’s house”, part of a Korean chain of restaurants in Vancouver and Richmond that have been owned and operated by the Moon family (see interview here) since the early 90’s. The building, resembling a neon-lit alpine chalet from the outside, was cozy and inviting on the inside with a distinct and welcoming home atmosphere.
Jang Mo Jib Korean Restaurant
8320 Alexandra Road | Richmond
Tel: 604.273.0712
www.jangmojib.ca
Jang Mo Jib’s traditional and authentic Korean food was brilliantly executed and an interesting departure from the more known Chinese and Japanese cuisines that populate the street. Korea, with a similar climate to Northern China, uses many of the same preserving techniques of pickling and fermenting and also a liberal use of spice and marinades, giving much of the food a dense savory character.
^ Jab Che - stir fry sweet potato noodles with assorted vegetables and beef
Jab Che, this stir-fry noodle and vegetable gem was my dish of the evening. A perfect balance of interesting textures and savoury and sweet flavours. Highly recommended.
^ Hae Mool Pah Jun - seafood pancake with green onions, egg, served with soy sauce
Soon Dae Jub See - traditional Korean pork blood sausage
^ Jok Bahl - Korean traditional BBQ pork feet
^ Tohng Gahl Bee - traditional Korean beef short ribs
After a full four hours of eating our way through Food Street, all of the group were more than satiated and ready to hobble back across the bridge to Vancouver, but before we could leave, we were told to prepare for next month’s Dine Around: “A Seafood Feast in Steveston”
Aye, Captain!
~ PK
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
The translation for “Food Street is actually closer to “Eat Street” – which sounds catchier to me. Alexandra Road is anchored around Jade Seafood and Sun Sui Wah, but the number of small restaurants is pretty amazing. McNoodles and Michigan are great for wonton noodles, Norther Dynasty for approachable Sichuan food, La Amigo for HK style diner food (which is, frankly, a bit of an acquired taste thing, unless your thing is bland western food).
You see this kind of clustering of similiar businesses throughout Hong Kong, Bird Street and Flower Market Road being easy examples. With the Lansdowne Road Canada Line just a few steps away, there’s no reason not to do some exploring.