Vancouver

(Richmond)

By Nathan Tsai

July 3^rd, 2023

Back in the Saddle

For my birthday, my family and I took a short hop up to Vancouver, BC for about a day and a half. The last time I was in Vancouver—Richmond specifically—I had fond memories of eating wonton noodles, dimsum, and HK tea cafe-esque food that truly tasted like Hong Kong. This trip, the food was a let-down. Perhaps my nostalgia amplified the feelings of disappointment.

As a result, there won't be many food shots at all in this post, but we were able to walk around and enjoy the (brief) period of sunshine before a cold rain started.

Steveston Fisherman’s Wharf

3866 Bayview St, Richmond, BC

Pajo's Fish & Chips

12351 Third Ave, Richmond, BC

Steveston Fisherman's Wharf on its own is less of a working man's pier and more of a tourist attraction. At the dock, Pajo's is the center of the tourist crowds. At 3:30PM, we waited for more than an hour to receive a single order of fried fish.

It was...alright.

The batter was beautifully light and crispy with a wonderful aroma. It wasn't too oily and really was quite lovely. The fish, on the other hand, was forgettable. It was supposedly halibut, but it had a chewy, slippery texture with almost no flavor at all. This meant that the meal amounted to eating crispy protein dunked in tartar sauce.

Nothing to write home about.

Shooting in the Wet

The beautiful blue sky didn't last very long as the rest of our time was spent under an overcast sky filled with gusts of wind and dashes of rain.

Textures of Rain

Well, if I wasn't going to be able to take pretty shots of scenery, I might as well shoot the rain right?

Double Double Restaurant

4600 No. 3 Rd Unit 128, Richmond, BC

Look, I know these food photos aren't the most appetizing shots ever. Part of it was that the food just wasn't that great; the other part was that I was just hungry for decent food and rushed my shots.

As with Pajo's Fish & Chips, the food at Double Double Restaurant was alright—bordering on decent. It was a classically casual cantonese eatery with food that ranged from noodles to rice, fried dough to soft pastries, and braised meat to fishballs. I genuinely have nothing much to say about this other than the fact that the food was almost as good as the cantonese canteens in California.