I can usually find a pretty good excuse to try out new restaurants. On Monday, that excuse was the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts. We’ve been attending the annual arts awards and recognition evening for three years (sadly, there was no on-stage closing dance number this time), and needed to have a pre-show meal. Samurai [...]

Though Chinatown is only a ten minute walk from Downtown, depending on what event we’re running to, sometimes it is an additional distance we don’t have time to travel. That wasn’t the case on Thursday, when both the weather and our schedules were cooperative, with our Global Visions screening at Paramount falling at 8 (on [...]

The ongoing chronicles of pho continued at Ninh Kieu, an establishment I have passed by countless times on my way into Chinatown, but never really noticed. The only reason it stood out at all was due to the fact that they had, at some point, put up a white vinyl sign which attracted my eye.
The [...]

After a trip to the City Centre Market (after a few busy weekends and the Fringe, I think I was going through withdrawal), Mack and I walked over to Chinatown to check out the first East Meets West Festival.
We weren’t sure what to expect – the grassroots committee had put together the festival as a [...]

I took it upon myself to accompany a visiting consultant for lunch, and having worked with her over several months, thought I knew her well enough to suggest we try a new place within walking distance of the office. As it was one of those gloriously sunny spring days, I thought the brisk walk would [...]

I needed a quick lunch stop en route to Lucky 97 for a few groceries, so decided to take the opportunity to visit Van Loc in Chinatown.
My usual banh mi haunt is Nhon Hoa 2 on 97th Street, but after two recent reviews in Vue and the Journal, I was curious to see what Van [...]

After making it through our salsa classes, I figured we deserved a reward of some kind. Logically, we headed to Double Greeting Wonton House.

Exterior
Situated in what Mack referred to as “the ghetto”, the restaurant was just a block away from where our classes were held, so it made sense to make the most of [...]

I had been warned that Boualouang, a Thai and Laos eatery in Chinatown, was tiny, but I wasn’t prepared for a space that likely wasn’t ever meant to be a restaurant. Dickson and I intentionally planned a late meal, and arrived at Boualouang at 1pm in an attempt to avoid the lunch rush, and were [...]

I’ve mentioned in the past that an unintended benefit of changing office locations is being able to explore a new culinary neighbourhood. In my current case, that neighbourhood is the nearby Chinatown.
I crossed the street from my usual banh mi place, Nhon Hoa 2 on 97th Street and found myself at Kim Tuyet (10645 97 [...]

My officemate was recently asking me about cheap eats in our area. I immediately directed him to the Italian Bakery and Nhon Hoa.
Nhon Hoa (10622 97 Street), with two locations within a stone’s throw of each other, was a frequent stop in my childhood. Not for me (I didn’t learn to appreciate food until I [...]