Vancouver For Foodies – Gourmet Food Truck Tours
When you think of street food, you imagine bustling markets in Asia where vendors cook using family recipes and local delicacies, like deep fried tarantula, boarder between novelty and insanity. However, the rise of the food truck has brought street eats to cosmopolitan cities such as Vancouver, giving a gourmet makeover to roadside cuisine.
With over 100 food trucks in Vancouver, these staples of the street corners quickly became popular and now tours of the food trucks let tourists sample the culturally diverse offerings. One such company is Vancouver Foodie Tours, which runs the ‘World’s Best Food Truck Tour’ - a culinary journey of food tastings spaning two hours. Think of it as a progressive lunch and as it’s on foot, so the calories almost don’t count.
Vancouver is home to the third largest concentration of food trucks, surpassed only by New York and Portland respectively. The history of the scene in Vancouver is an interesting tale, with the city’s mayor championing food truck culture after a trip to NYC and now street food vending forms part of the city’s plan for a sustainable food system. You will learn all about the rise of the food truck as the experienced guides fuse in interesting facts about the city on the tour.
The ‘World’s Best Food Truck Tour’ starts on Burrard St beside Japadog food cart, which pioneered food trucks in Vancouver. Started in 2005 by a Japanese couple after they immigrated to Canada, the Japadog empire now includes multiple carts and a store in the city. As the name would suggest, Japadog is a Japanese hot dog cart best known for its signature hotdog, the terimayo, an unusual combination of teriyaki sauce, mayo and seaweed sprinkled on top. Their wasabi mayo packs a punch and is not to be missed.
Moving on from Japanese inspired hot dogs, the tour also takes you to Soho Road
Naan Kebab, where accountant-turnedfood-cart owner Sarb Mund, is serving up his delicious take on Indian classics. Get a behind the scenes look as Sarb opens the doors to his truck where you can see not one but two tandoori ovens in action. Mouthwatering butter chicken is served ‘pizza style’ in an open kebab on a bed of fluffy naan, topped with crunchy cucumbers.
Other notable food trucks include Mom’s Grilled Cheese, serving up home-style creations of this classic comfort food and tacofino, which is home to some of the best fish tacos in Vancouver. In total you will experience around five different carts on the tour but if that doesn’t satisfy your taste buds you can do your own exploring courtesy of the food vouchers that come as part of the tour package. Vegetarians should let the tour know at the time of booking so food-tasting substitutions can be arranged in advanced. Due to the fact that much of the food prep is done in a shared kitchen, people with severe food allergies should double check suitability before booking.
After a big day of walking, you will appreciate some downtime and The Fairmont Hotel on West Georgia St offers an elegant setting to kick up your feet. Known as the ‘castle of the city’ this glamorous hotel was recently renovated, with a new bar, restaurant and lobby. It is located downtown, within easy walking distance of the Pacific Shopping Centre and Robson St, which boasts a number of upscale stores and high-end restaurants.