Chinatown!

Hi everyone! Did you know that Vancouver has the second largest Chinatown in North America? Chinatown was established even before the lower mainland population was incorporated into the city we know and love. While it has been the center of Chinese culture in Vancouver for more than a century, it is only incidentally a tourist attraction. It doesn’t dress up for visitors, and this is part of its charm. You’ll find things here you’ll have a hard time finding anyplace else in Vancouver.

A variety of food items, both exotic and familiar, can be purchased around the neighborhood. It is not unusual to spot Chinese delicacies, like pig snouts, on display at local butcher shops. From street side markets to family-run restaurants, a visit to Chinatown ensures a culinary experience

So if you’re interested, maybe want to do some shopping , the easiest way to get to Chinatown from downtown is to go east on Pender Street to Carrall Street. If you go by car try to find parking on this street. You can also park in the International Village Parkade at the corner of Pender and Abbott and walk east on Pender and into Chinatown.

Have fun!

Elvera

EAT! Vancouver Food and Cooking Festival – May 28 to 30

Tomorrow is EAT! Vancouver Food and Cooking Festival – the ultimate food expo! If you love cooking and food in general, come and see an assortment of international cuisine!

Celebrity chefs, popular local restaurants, wineries, food and beverage manufacturers, cookbook authors, retailers, artisans, and many others from the culinary world will come together for a three day public extravaganza at the new Vancouver Convention Centre. EAT Vancouver encompasses unique food experiences, opportunities to learn behind-the-scenes culinary magic from professional chefs, dynamic entertainment through celebrity chef cooking demonstrations and culinary competitions, diverse food, beverage and cooking related exhibits; and of course fantastic shopping opportunities.

Come for lunch and stay for dinner at EAT! Vancouver’s Bite of Vancouver restaurant pavilion. The chefs of favourite Lower Mainland restaurants will serve up appetizer portions of their signature recipes. For a nominal charge ($1.00 – $2.50) per item you will be able to savour the flavours of numerous eateries.

Beer, wine and spirits will be well represented in the Tasting Pavilion where you can sip and taste hundreds of different beverages. Hosted by Daenna Van Mulligen, Vancouver’s Wine Diva, the Grapes and Hops Stage will feature presentations and tastings of numerous local and regional beers and wines conducted by a variety of industry experts. In addition, Mott’s Clamato Juice will be conducting their Mott’s Caesar School where you can participate in learning h9w to make the perfect caesar.

While at EAT! Vancouver, you will also enjoy shopping in the marketplace of over 250 exhibit booths. Producers, manufacturers, retailers and food artisans will showcase a wide assortment of unique products for eating, drinking, cooking, entertaining, and outfitting a kitchen. Exhibits will include everything from gourmet foods to kitchen accessories.

While visiting EAT! Vancouver, you will…

Discover new food + beverage products +cooking ingredients
Taste hundreds of  food and beverage from hundreds of exhibitors
Shop & buy hard to find food +cooking related products.
Learn new methods of cooking from the experts
Watch Food Network celebrity chefs showcase their talents on stage
Learn cuisines of foreign lands in the World Culinary Tourism Expo
Enjoy tasting the offerings of restaurants and wineries +breweries
Find new foods + treats for your pets in the Pets EAT! Too Pavilion
Make your own healthy choices in the Wellness Pavilion
Discover appreciation for cheese at Dairy Farmer’s Cheese Seminars
Talk with food producers, growers, vintners and brewers
Improve wine + beer appreciation in Grapes & Hops Seminar area.

EAT! Vancouver is Canada’s largest consumer food, beverage and cooking festival taking place at the new Vancouver convention Centre, West Wing, Vancouver, BC on May 28, 29 & 30, 2010. The food show features hundreds of food, beverage and kitchen goods exhibitors along with wineries, breweries, restaurants, cooking demonstrations, wine and cheese seminars, cookbook authors, and chef competitions.

To see their Festival Guide, click here.

Friday, May 28th, 2010 – 2 PM – 9 PM
Saturday, May 29th, 2010 – 11 AM – 9 PM
Sunday, May 30th, 2010 – 11 AM – 5 PM

Admission Prices:

Adults – $15.00
Children (7 – 14) – $6

I can’t wait for this event and will most likely be attending, so if you would like to go, you’re more than welcome to join me!

Cheers!

Laura

2010 Dine Out Vancouver

YUuuuumm….Another GREAT event to always look forwards to in Vancouver is the annual Dine Out Vancouver event. What’s all this buzz about Dine Out Vancouver?

Well, folks, Dine Out Vancouver is the only time when Vancouver’s top restaurants offer set menus for an extremely affordable and reasonable price. Featuring a full three course menu at a fixed price of $18, $28 or $38, visitors and local residents can finally have a taste of Vancouver’s top-notch culinary skills without having to pay $100+. Here are some photos I took from last year’s event at CRU Restaurant:

Feel free to visit my food blog: www.conceptualizefood.wordpress.com for more pictures.

I, personally, cannot wait for this event. But to be honest, I spend almost $500 every year around this time. I like to blame my friends for that who are always constantly making reservations because of such amazing deals. Dine Out Vancouver is also a night where it gives me the chance to pretty up and dine at fancy restaurants for a change. As a student, I must watch my spending habits and dining out at such fine restaurants on a regular basis is pretty much out of the question. However, if I’m going to pay $18 eating out on a weekend, I might as well make reservations with one of the participating restaurants in the Dine Out Vancouver event.

This year’s participating restaurants include: Cobre, Dockside Restaurant, Blue Water Café & Raw Bar, Coast, CRU, Italian Kitchen, Joe Fortes, Players Chophouse and Sanafir (this isn’t even ¼ of the total number of participating restaurants).

The event is going to be held over two weeks from April 26 to May 6. Restaurants will be taking reservations starting April 19, so if you are interested, I urge you to make reservations! In fact, if you don’t make reservations, I’m pretty sure it will be difficult to get a table for the night. You can make reservations using an online system known as www.opentable.com. This is the website I always use to make reservations—it is efficient, reliable and user-friendly.

I can assure you that this is an extremely popular event amongst local residents, so get a head start!

For more information, visit: http://www.foodvancouver.com/event.php?event=vancouver-dine-out-2010

Toronto’s WinterCity Festival 2010

This award-winning festival is returning for its seventh year! A city-wide celebration that offers a wide range of cultural, creative and culinary experiences that can inspire you to ignore the cold winters Toronto has to offer. This Festival has been running from Friday, January 29th but will continue until tomorrow. So if you are free either today or tomorrow i recommend you take a peek. If you are interested in finding out more information about this festival in terms of its dates and times check out their website.