by michellerlee

Razor-thin crust. Top shelf tomato. Toppings you can count on one hand. Blast from a wood-fired oven. Table accoutrements of infused olive oils – no parmesan or chili flakes in sight. That’s my idea of what pizza from Naples should be like, and that’s what you get when you dine at Nicli Antica Pizzeria: my choice for the best pizza in Vancouver.

It therefore pains me to no end that Nicli has a strict dine-in policy. It’s not easy to find a parking spot near its location in Gastown, nor is it appealing for other diners to have us come in with an incredibly vocal toddler and ruin the cool vibe going on inside–even if Nicli does provide patrons use of the coolest high chairs I’ve ever seen. If you, too, are disappointed that you cannot take a Nicli pie to go when the place is full or when you’re simply not in the mood to be out in public, chime in with a sympathetic comment here. Maybe enough voices asking for options will convince the pizzeria to reconsider.

Luckily, the pizza scene for homebodies is not entirely bereft of quality. Main Street’s Pizzeria Farina makes their fare in a similar, if less traditional, Napoli style, and their to-go service is booming.

After our failed attempted last week to get takeout from Nicli, we asked Foodsters to deliver a couple of Pizzeria Farina pizzas to our door. The $15 Funghi, pictured below, carries a more weight and topping than the minimalist magic of Nicli’s (topmost photo), but it still exceeded our expectations of a quality pizza with mushrooms. Arugula runs along the bitter and peppery, so keep that in mind if you aim to try it. The greens were a welcome addition for my husband, who loves pepper in everything; I had to cull some greens from my slices to keep the balance on the tongue.

The $14 Finocchiona was a major hit. Fennel sausage, provolone, and spicy pepper danced around in my mouth and convinced my normally miniscule appetite to make room for a second serving. It’ll be the first pizza I’ll reorder from Pizzeria Farina–the Calabrese and Pizza Speciale are next on my bucket list.

If you’re going to call Foodsters to get you some Pizzeria Farina pies, I suggest you order close to to the start of service at 5pm or give everyone a heads up for when you’ll need it. They only make so much dough on any given night, and when they run out–generally by 8:30-10pm–they close up shop. Keep tabs on their supply via Twitter or Facebook so you don’t wind up with a pizza craving that’ll have to be settled with Domino’s cardboard crust.

From December 10-22nd, I’m a media sponsor for Foodsters’ 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive. Follow along as I share what my top 12 food and restaurant cravings are this season (with some poetic license to boot).

According to Foodsters, the deep-fried chicken wings at Phnom Penh is the single most ordered food item by their customers. I can understand why. Its dipping sauce is nothing short of magic, brightening each bite of garlicked and battered poultry with lemony zing.

While they’re in Chinatown picking up these wings for you, consider asking Foodsters to pick up a dozen steamed buns from the nearby New Town Bakery. Pick-ups beyond the first restaurant are requestable at $3.95 a pop. Have 4 Food Bank donations at the ready to negate that multiple location delivery fee, or shower them with 10 more non-perishable food items to zero out the entire delivery charge.

From December 10-22nd, I’m a media sponsor for Foodsters’ 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive. Follow along as I share what my top 12 food and restaurant cravings are this season (with some poetic license to boot).

The Chinese way of making meat-filled pastries are so assorted and delicious that I’ve decided to put my Top Three variations under the same umbrella of craving. Here we go!

New Town Bakery: the king of steamed buns

You can find  steamed buns in nearly every dim sum restaurant in this city. Those tiny, snow-white puffs of sweet, steamed bread hugging a rich core of stewed BBQ pork appeal to many a dim sum enthusiast…but not me. I much prefer what Chinatown’s New Town Bakery has been hawking for years: steamed buns of various meat and vegetable incarnations, as massive as the size of  your fist.

New Town Bakery is a Filipino’s steamed bun mecca, so I’ve been a patron since I was a kid. My latest favourite is the $1.70 chicken steamed bun. Unlike the best-selling $1.50 pork asado, which I loved as a kid and whose centre oozes with meat glaze much like its dim sum counterpart, the chicken bun is filled simply with chicken, fine and minimally spiced, allowing the airy sweetness of its freshly steamed bun to be on equal footing in your mouth.

I popped into New Town this week with my daughter and Tiny Bites contributor, Bruce. They’ve recently moved to a new location–2 doors west of their old digs–and are slashing 10% off their entire menu from now until December 18th. Come in and grab lunch for as little as $3, order a dozen to go, or save even more by choosing bags of frozen buns by the half-dozen for your leisurely enjoyment at home.

Peaceful Restaurant: for pan-fried pork bun lovers

Photo courtesy © Melody of Gourmet Fury

When I’m not in a steamy mood, I stop by Peaceful Restaurant for their Huang Jing pan-fried buns. Pan frying the bun adds a layer of colour and crisp that contrasts wonderfully with the chew of its wrapper and the delicacy of its pork and scallion filling. You can also ask for steamed pork buns–the salted pork interior is similarly mild and I find that it’s a hit with the kids…especially mine.

I once had to commute outside of downtown to satisfy my pan-fried bun cravings at their Broadway and Cambie location, but the opening of their second restaurant on Davie and Seymour has turned the occasional foray into nearly weekly visits. Sadly, there is no Peaceful Restaurant within walking distance when we move to Marpole next month, so I will rely on Foodsters to get their fare to my doorstep.

Lin’s: the best xiao long bao in the world?

If neither of the bun varieties above are floating your boat, then surely xiao long bao will. They can be found at Peaceful Restaurant and most Shanghainese eateries too, but I believe that they’re best experienced in Vancouver at Lin’s Chinese Cuisine and Tea House. There, you’ll find that the sheer flour wrapper, hot bursts of pork stock, and ethereal dumpling meat will intersect in mouthfuls of bliss.

And according to some–*cough* Condé Nast *cough*–Lin’s might just be serving the best xiao long bao on Earth.

What kind of bun are you craving today, and how are you getting it to your door?

From December 10-22nd, I’m a media sponsor for Foodsters’ 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive. Follow along as I share what my top 12 food and restaurant cravings are this season (with some poetic license to boot).

Growing up a young immigrant in Canada, ‘mosaic’ was the catch phrase my school teachers would use to define the country’s cultural landscape. Mosaic; by proudly juxtaposing different cultures, my adopted country would create an altogether new composite Canadian identity.

I’m still skeptical on the extent of it all in reality, but what’s clear is with today’s popularity of the california roll, Japadog, and ninja turtles, cultural borrowing and fusion has become rather commonplace. However, I can’t remember when it’s ever been as explicit and downright fun as Gung Haggis Fat Choy.

We even covered the event live on twitter. Missed our live tweets? You can catch up on the conversation here

The event

A portmanteau of the traditional Cantonese new year greeting and that prototypical Scottish sausage, Gung Haggis Fat Choy combines Chinese New Year with Robbie Burns Day to create a new composite celebration of song, poetry readings, and food in order to celebrate the two heritages and raise funds for various charities.

This year marked the event’s twelfth year running and, with over four hundred attendees to this year’s dinner, the costumes, bagpipes, and sing-a-longs were in full swing.

Hosted by “Toddish McWong” and Tricia Collins, the night started with a full bagpipe band, transitioned to poetry readings, both original works and those from Burns, and just kept going from there.

Audience participation was encouraged, with sing-a-longs of “When Asian/Scottish/Chirish Eyes are Smiling” – yes, “Chirish ” – and echoing along with a rap version of Burns’ “Address to the Haggis”.

The menu

The drink list consisted of a variety of Scotch whiskies and Chinese beers. Wines were available too, but understandably none from Scotland or China.

Hosted by Floata Seafood Restaurant, the menu would sound familiar to anybody who has been to a Chinese wedding banquet, with a few key differences of course:

• Appetizer plate of haggis siu mai, BBQ pork, jellyfish, and turnip cakes
• Deep-fried haggis wontons
• Mixed vegetables and winter melon soup
• Haggis lettuce wrap with diced vegetables
• Pan-fried prawns with spicy salt (shell in)
• Peking style gold coined beef
• Buddha’s Feast vegetables with deep fried tofu
• Deep fried crispy chicken
• Vegetarian fried rice
• Coconut or mango rice pudding

The Deep fried haggis wontons being a clear stand-out. In fact, I personally loved all the haggis infused dishes served this night. Yes, I know what haggis is. But I grew up eating chicken feet, tripe, and Hot vit lon / Balut (readers with tender stomachs, do not click that link).

Haggis? No problem, and really very pleasantly savoury.

‘Good food and good fun’ sums up our experiences at this year’s Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner; I’m sure we’ll be back next year.

To learn more about Gung Haggis Fat Choy: The Robbie Burns / Chinese New Year event, visit their website here.

The sessions took place at the Forum building on the PNE fairgrounds, and my intention was to sample that neighbourhood’s dining attractions…until a few people on Twitter reminded me of my New Year’s resolution to take a closer look at Chinatown.

With that in mind, I decided to pay a lunch visit to the much lauded Phnom Penh, with a quick stop in New Town Bakery for stuff to keep my appetite appeased during the 3-hour VANOC orientation.

Lunching at Phnom Penh

I’ve heard praise of Phnom Penh long before Tiny Bites existed. The first recommendation that I can recall was from a Cambodian pal during my days with AIESEC SFU.  These days, the references are numerous. It’s a Foodists favourite, an  Urbanspoon bloggers highlight, and their #78 – the Phnom Penh Deep Fried Chicken Wing – has amassed a cult following.

Far be it for me to argue with stats. The chicken was the first item I requested, which arrived in a vocal sizzle from the fryer.  Its humble presentation called to mind the squid in rock salt that graces the menus of many Chinese greasy spoons; battered, puffed, speckled with black pepper, reeking of garlic.  A look into its accompanying sauce caused dismay – the skin of black pepper suffocated the surface like lake algae in summer (not a fan of black pepper).   I stared at the dish for a minute, trying to imagine how such an average-looking item could have such a loyal following.  Even the other tables were a testament to the popularity of this dish.  Nearly every group had one, including solo diners like myself.

I ceased my contemplation and took my first bite, no sauce.  Chewed through the light batter: check. Swallowed the tender, moist interior: check. It wasn’t bad at all, but it could have easily been forgettable. For my next bite, I dipped the drumstick into the sauce. Oh. My. God.

I’m tempted to call it a revelation. The lemon tang of this dipping sauce transformed the tasty but hardly memorable chicken into something I can only describe as salt and vinegar lemon deep-fried chickeny goodness. It was a combination that I had only experienced in potato chip and cricket form, and I must say, it lends itself quite well to fowl.  After a down-to-business period of inhaling 4 wings, each dripping in sauce, this dish was cemented in my good books.

Next up was the #32 – Phnom Penh Special Jumbo Rice (B).  This enormous platter delivered BBQ lemongrass pork chop, shredded pork, 3 slices of Asian-style ham, and a fried egg.  It was listed under the section for Cambodian dishes, but it seemed exactly like the Vietnamese rice combos that I adore at Sung Huong and Pho Tan. It was in almost every way on par: presentation, quantity, flavour, inconsequential iceberg lettuce salad, side bowl of nuoc cham.  The only real difference was price. At Phnom Penh, this cost me a hefty $10.25 for a combo that is usually offered for under $8.  If there were good reason for it meriting a $2 premium over its competition, I wouldn’t be publishing this comparison, but for me, all I felt was suction from the hole in my wallet.

I thought I was done with my meal after these dishes were laid out for me, but the Phnom Penh experience carried a bonus: a small bowl of pork rib broth.  It was the perfect thing to cut through the weight of the rice combo and the delicate but still present lining of deep-fried oil on my insides after all that chicken. It left me invigorated, my appetite nearly renewed. Nearly.

This first visit was a promising one, and I’ll have to come back to try the rest of their menu (which is less menu and more encyclopedia).  It’s definitely a contender restaurant to take my in-laws when they get into town next weekend.

Take-out from New Town Bakery

Two blocks away from Phnom Penh sits a place that I once loathed: New Town Bakery. To say I hated it is not at all fair to this establishment, which truly deserves high ranking for its steamed buns, apple tarts, and other Asian baked goods.  But I can’t change how I felt as a child, having been dragged along on a weekly basis by my parents to have pork asado and bola-bola buns ad nauseum. Thankfully, my willful estrangement from New Town has enabled me to return as an avid fan. I practically ran the short distance between the restaurant and the bakery in my zeal.

Chalk it up to my diet from shopping (since I certainly wasn’t hungry at this point) – I ordered a feast for the road. 3 pork asado buns, 2 bola-bola buns, 2 pineapple buns, and a half-dozen apple tarts. My eye spotted triangles of sticky rice and Filipino frozen specialties (longganisa, tocino). These I refrained from; the bakery takes only cash and my car cannot double as a deep freezer…alas.

The abundance of this loot bag came in handy at the VANOC sessions, where cookies and wraps came only at the tail of a 3-hour evening. The apple tarts were distributed to a handful of appreciative volunteers-to-be. Taste tests of the tarts and the rest of the nibbles were positive without exception, and the box of steamed buns made for a sustaining lunch this afternoon.

I wish all my Wednesdays could be like this.

More info and visuals

Phnom Penh
244 E. Georgia Street | Chinatown
(604) 682-5777

New Town Bakery & Restaurant
158 E. Pender Street | Chinatown
(604) 681-1828