Culinary travel in take-home kits
Vancouver offers a taste of the world, to go
For many people, food and travel are synonymous; they choose the destination based on the country’s cuisine.
Searching for that feeling once evoked inside a cosy restaurant, longing for the thrill that comes with tasting something new, or the satisfaction that comes from savouring a home-cooked meal in another country?
These Vancouver restaurants will spark memories — a friend’s kitchen in Taipei, a tapas bar on a side street in Barcelona, or sipping a cocktail on a pristine Caribbean beach — with their take-home meal kits.
TAIWAN: TORAFUKU
Steve Kuan, owner and head chef at Torafuku, is offering Vancouverites a whole new kind of soul food.
Through the new menu, you’re invited to take a seat at the Kuan family table for a culinary journey exploring traditional Taiwanese food, from your home.
Inspired by his mother’s recipes, Kuan’s menu feels nostalgic during a time when he’s missing his family most.
The ugly zongzi — a recipe that’s been passed down through generations — is made with marinated sticky rice, pork belly, salty egg yolk, and shiitake mushrooms, wrapped in bamboo leaves, served with mama Kuan’s secret sauce made from Taiwanese chili sauce, miso and tofu paste.
“I call mine ugly because they’re not as pretty as the ones my mother makes,” Kuan says.
Each zongzi is handmade, and in Taiwan would usually require a full day of production just to make a few dozen — something families do together on special occasions.
There’s also vegetarian and pork dumplings and a beef noodle soup kit for two with handmade noodles and a beef shank braised for 24 hours.
Menu items are vacuum-sealed or frozen and ready to be cooked in under 10 minutes.
Order online Tuesday — Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., pickup and delivery available. Available on DoorDash and Uber Eats
Address: 958 Main St, Vancouver | Phone: (778) 9032006
SPAIN: COMO TAPERIA
Como? What’s that you say? Yes, you can create an at-home tapas night with Como Taperia’s rotating selection of Spanish drinks and snacks. The owners share a love for Spain, and before the travel ban, scouted out the country’s finest ingredients, so they know their stuff.
Their ready-to-cook dishes include the Bikini Sandwich made with jamon serrano, manchego cheese, and truffle stacked inside bread that’s pre-buttered and wrapped up in perfect little to-go packages — all you have to do is unwrap and throw it in a pan like a grilled cheese.
The mushroom croquettas have flavours that dance on your tongue and may have you wanting to tango.
Fill a pan with a bit of vegetable oil, put on the Gypsy
Kings greatest hits while the oil heats, then quickly fry on all sides to crispy perfection.
They pair perfectly with their Iberico chorizo, 12-month aged manchego cheese, Marcona almonds, and marinated olives — all straight from Spain.
If conservas are your things, their selection is unparalleled with rare finds like sea urchin roe, octopus, and razor clams from Galicia, and of course classic anchovies from the Bay of Biscay.
Ask the owners to recommend a wine or beer pairing, or one of their signature vermouths sourced from all over the world.
Order online, available for pickup only on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Address: 201 E 7th Ave, Vancouver | Phone: (604) 8793100
Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, Hugo’s Mexican Kitchen has shifted gears from seating customers in their Richmond, Langley and Chilliwack restaurants to a full take away menu.
They’re offering taco-making kits paired with a selection of some of the best Mexican and local beer and wine options.
The Garcia family, who immigrated to Canada in 2002, make tacos that rival those you’d find tucked away on a side street in Mexico City with a lineup of locals.
Their kits feed four people ($39.95) and include fresh tortillas, a choice of two fillings (chicken, beef, pork, tofu, or cauliflower), two house salsas, cilantro, onions, and lime for toppings, a side of rice and beans, as well as chips and their always-fresh pico de gallo. Salud!
Open every day from noon to 8 p.m. for pickup and delivery, through Uber Eats + Skip the Dishes.
Chilliwack: (604) 858-8123 Richmond: (604) 279-1900 Langley: (778) 547-8835
ITALY: LIVIA
Ah sweet Italia, how we long for your delicious pasta and wines. Enter Livia, an Italian bakery offering meal kits for breakfast, lunch and dinner through their takeout window.
Owners Claire Lassam and Jordan Pires aim to make people feel the comfort of their cosy café space from home.
Chef James Frost crafts delicate pasta daily and has stepby-step videos showing how to throw together the sauces, cook the freshly made pasta, and put together a delicious Italian plate within minutes.
Their kit options include spaghetti carbonara and tagliatelle al pesto. Their lasagna — a specialty from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region — is made with slow-cooked bolognese (a ragu of pork, veal and beef) and a mix of béchamel and parmesan with many layers of thin pasta.
All you need to do is slide it into your oven. All pasta comes with house-baked focaccia, locally-sourced greens with a vinaigrette, and of course dessert; a pistachio frangipane tart.
Queue some Dean Martin, dim the lights and pop a bottle from their selection of unique wines from Italy and be transported to your Italian happy place. Frost recommends the Quercioli Lambrusco Sobara Rosato.
Order online for meal kits from $12.50 per person. Pickup only.
Address: 1399 Commercial Drive, Vancouver | Phone: 604-423-3869
MEMPHIS USA: RAILTOWN CAFE
It’s BBQ season, so why not bring a bit of southern charm into your home? Nobody does it better than Dan Olson, Vancouver’s decorated executive chef and owner of Railtown Cafe. He’s a self-proclaimed BBQ addict who has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris and Lyon.
They’ve launched a Memphis in May package takehome kit that serves four ($99) and includes 35-hour Texas-style beef brisket, applewood smoked pork shoulder, beer-brined Maple Hill Farms chicken, D’Original Sausage Haus brats, corn on the cob, Carolina coleslaw, creamy potato salad and jalapeño cornbread.
Slather it all with the side of Railtown’s original bourbon barbecue sauce. Served ready to heat on the BBQ and best washed back with a couple of
B.C. craft beers from their selection.
Order online, over the phone, or on-site at their Granville Street or Railway Street locations by 3 p.m. the day before your want to pick up.
Phone: (604) 428-0800
JAPAN: MASAYOSHI
Chef Masayoshi Baba is a master of omakase — meaning “change”, which is useful in these times. He’s used to adapting his menu daily, so it’s no surprise ready-to-eat dishes inspired by traditional Japanese cuisine made at home, aptly titled Masa at Home, are now available.
Offering marinated meats that are vacuum-sealed to be prepared at your convenience by simply putting them in boiling water for 20 minutes.
The braised pork belly (a.k.a. kakuni) which takes three days to prepare is one of chef Masayoshi’s childhood favourites.
It’s marinated with all the Japanese essential sauces (soy sauce, mirin, and sake), then he boils, simmers, then steams the pork belly. The result is melt-in-your-mouth tender meat that pairs well with rice and egg on the side.
For the full Japanese at-home experience, add on a bottle of premium sake, currently 30 per cent off.
Order online between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday. Same-day pickups available from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. No delivery. Address: 4376 Fraser St, Vancouver | Phone: (604) 4286272
CALABASH CARIBBEAN BISTRO
What’s a vacation without a great cocktail? Calabash is serving pre-made cocktail mixers that will instantly transport you to your favourite Caribbean island.
There’s a rum punch mix — an absolute essential for any beach day — made with soursop, pineapple, passion fruit, vanilla, and star anise.
The ginger beer mix just needs a little rum and a splash of ginger ale to turn it into a classic dark and stormy. For those rainy days there’s a hot toddy mix made with their house ginger beer, fresh lime, honey and apple that you just need to heat up and add your favourite rum.
Note: If you’re purchasing alcohol with the mixes, you must also purchase food (I suggest the jerk chicken).
Open 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday to Sunday. Available for pickup or delivery.
Address: 428 Carrall St., Vancouver | Phone: (604) 5685882