Celebrate Year of the Dog in North America’s most Asian city
Richmond lets you explore the culture — with no passport, no jet lag
It was 9:30 a.m. on a weekday morning and there was hardly a table to spare at Empire Seafood Restaurant — proof that in Richmond, B.C., dim sum is a great choice for breakfast. When our friendly server passed out the menus, we noticed the descriptions were written in Chinese characters with pictures beside each, so English speakers could point at what they wanted. And point we did. Dim sum is best when it’s shared with a large group because you can order more dishes.
Inside the restaurant and on some streets outside, it was easy to believe we were in some far-flung Asian destination. Some Richmond businesses do not even have English exterior signage.
Across a bridge from Vancouver, Richmond is the most Asian city in North America and it’s an ideal place for Canadians to experience Asian food and culture without a passport. A 2016 city census showed that Chinese people account for more than 52.5 per cent of the city’s 200,000 residents and 74.1 per cent of the population identified as having some sort of Asian heritage.
Inside Empire Seafood Restaurant, shortly after ordering, the dumplings began to arrive at our table. My favourites have always been har gow (shrimp dumplings) and these did not disappoint. Inside the bamboo steamer, plump pink shrimp meat peeked through the translucent pleated wrappers. We had a vast array of dishes, including classics like siu mai (pork dumplings) and other more unusual choices like deep fried savoury taro root and duck dumplings.
There are about 800 restaurants in Richmond and more than half are Asian. Almost 200 are located along a section of Alexander Road known to locals as “Food Street.” They say you can sample all the dumplings of Asia right in Richmond along the city’s Dumpling Trail — if you have enough time and tummy space. I did my best in four days.
Along the way, I found great food in the most unexpected places, including a shopping mall food court. In Lansdown Centre Mall, I watched the vendors at R & H Chinese Food make fresh Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings). Watching was fun, but eating the delicate little purses of dough filled with steamy broth was even better.
The Richmond Night Market features some 250 Asian merchandise booths and more than 100 food booths selling street foods and desserts. Wandering around the market is an experience. There are all kinds of fascinating gadgets, clothes and accessories. A Korean sock vendor had Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton socks with amusing sayings on them for about $1 a pair if you bought in bulk. I couldn’t resist. I stopped at several food booths and ate some fantastic food. I have visited similar markets in China, Malaysia and Thailand, but I’ve always been a little wary of sampling any of the street food there. I didn’t have to hold myself back at the Richmond market, because I knew the food handling met Canadian standards.
When it comes down to it, the best part about exploring Asian culture in Richmond is doing it without leaving Canada — no passport, no jet lag and no changing currency.