Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1105981
Feast Three more ways to get your food fix. tourismvancouver.com | 27 L O C A L I N T E L ANCORA, LIEN YEUNG (CBC), JANIS NICOLAY (MAIN STREET BREWING COMPANY), VECTEEZY.COM (SUSHI ICON), TVAN/NELSON MOUELLIC (KID'S MARKET), TVAN (VANCOUVER FOODIE TOURS), GABRIELLE MUSTAPICH (DINE OUT) Main Street Brewing Company Grilled octupus anticucho at Ancora SUSHI STANDBY: Pay homage to Hidekazu Tojo, inventor of the California roll, at Tojo's. The albacore tuna tataki, baked sablefish and sautéed halibut cheeks shine. WATERFRONT VIEW: Savour the Peruvian-style shellfish platters, Haida Gwaii halibut, grilled octupus anticucho and sablefish with smoked potato purée at Ancora. LIEN YEUNG The award-winning host and weekend producer of CBC Vancouver News is a big fan of the local culinary scene. ¢ ¢ SUSHI TO SHRIMP DUMPLINGS: I love to take visitors to Miku for its flame-torched pressed sushi and one of the best views in the city. When I'm craving perfectly executed Edomae sushi, I head to Masayoshi for omakase. If you're looking for an elegant West Coast Canadian experience, make sure you get yourself to David Hawksworth's eponymous restaurant or Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar. They're serving some of this city's most refined tasting menus. ¢ ¢ SHOPPING: For something a little less conventional, check out Secret Location in Gastown. Their pieces are modern, curated, and they carry quirky items that make great gifts. If your style is lavish, I'd suggest entering Laurence and Chico's whimsical fashion cafe off Robson Street. You can shop while sitting down for high tea on one of their handwoven, alien tuffets. ¢ ¢ BEST-KEPT SECRET: During the summer, check out a free live performance on CBC Vancouver's outdoor plaza as part of its Musical Nooners series. MEET THE FARMERS Farmers markets are scattered across the city, including winter markets at Hastings Park (at the PNE) and Nat Bailey Stadium. Go to eatlocal.org to find out what's up. TAKE A FOOD TOUR Sample local specialties and neighbourhoods with Vancouver Food Tour or Off the Eaten Track. Eat your way through Granville Island Public Market with Vancouver Foodie Tours. EAT OUT Fill your belly from 300 restaurants serving up multi- course meals during Dine Out Vancouver Festival, Canada's largest food and drink event, over 17 days starting in January. ASIAN FUSION Vancouver's world-class Asian dining ranges from hole-in-the- wall sushi joints (we're rumoured to have more per capita than Japan) to renowned fine-dining restaurants like Mott 32. The companion room to a Hong Kong hotspot, our outpost seeks to bring a seriously elevated take on Cantonese cuisine – a custom space just for Peking duck, Iberico ham and black truffles finding their way into traditional dim sum – to the well-heeled crowd downtown. Looking for somewhere that ramps up the attitude? Take a trip to Torafuku, where big flavours pack a punch in dishes that pair beef tataki with cheese or pickled beets with squid ink mayonnaise. TAKE A BREW HOP The craft beer revolution rolls on, especially on Vancouver's east side, where more than 20 microbreweries flank Main and Powell streets close enough to one another to permit a car-free brewery crawl. (Ask for a free map, or hitch a ride with Vancouver Brewery Tours.) Main Street Brewing Company is Vancouver's answer to a beer garden. R&B Brewing's award-winning brews include Vancouver Special IPA, Dude Chilling Pale Ale and Stolen Bike Lager. Red Truck Beer Company's sprawling patio space showcases a summer concert series.Further east on Clark Drive, Strange Fellows Brewing consistently puts out inventive but crowd- pleasing stuff (think sour-beer pioneer). A few blocks away, Andina Brewing Company pairs its Melcocha Andean Ale with South American tapas like plaintain chips, arepas and ceviche.