Goldfish Pacific Kitchen (web site, map, 1118 Mainland Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604 689-8318) is an upscale restaurant in Vancouver’s downtown Yaletown neighborhood, that offers fine dining in a trendy, lively atmosphere.

In a previous dinner time visit, I enjoyed their ling cod ($22). Since then I’ve been back three times for lunch. Goldfish offers daily lunch specials which are $10 plus tax and tip. These specials really showcase the talents of executive chef William Tse.

Flat Iron Steak (on Thursdays) is served with mushrooms, snow pear, and mustard green salad. On Fridays, their special is the seafood fricassée (pictured below), with mussels, fresh fish, thai basil, coconut, and fresh chiles.

The flavors in the fricassée were fantastic, expertly crafted into bringing out the freshness of the seafood, with a rich broth that went with the rice perfectly. The fresh chiles were extremely spicy but our helpful server warned us about them, and thankfully they were served on the side. Another popular lunch choice from our table was the Shanghai Noodles, which can be ordered with beef short rib or chicken.

Many food fanatics (or “foodies” as they are affectionately known) love Vancouver because of the remarkable East-meets-West fusion that happens in the kitchens of our many talented, daring, and masterful chefs. As a port city we are fortunate to have some of the freshest ingredients arriving in our markets from Asia and the Pacific Northwest. Chefs like William Tse and restaurants like Goldfish are setting the stage for Vancouver as a world-class food city.

Please visit the Gold fish restaurant’s web site if you’d like to browse their menu or see some photos of the room’s cool decor.

Seafood Fricasse from Goldfish Pacific Kitchen restaurant in Yaletown, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Amuse bouche, a little complimentary appetizer created by their chef.

I made another visit to Shanghai Wonderful Restaurant (map, 110 - 8380 Lansdowne Road, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone: 604-278-8829) and again was impressed by the superlative flavors and exotic tastes of the authentic, modern Chinese cuisine served by this restaurant.

The first dish that arrived was the Special Pork Chop Wuxi Style (pictured below, $13.95), and I tentatively bit into a tender, saucy piece of pork that I tenuously held in my chopsticks. Suddenly, a symphony of subtle sensations started to build up on my tongue and I thought, this is comfort food at its best. Whoever Wuxi is, he or she definitely has a walloping sense of style.

Not to be outdone was the Deep Fried Squid with Chili and Pepper ($9.98, also pictured below), a Chinese take on calamari that was crispy, salty, and delicate at the same time. The culinary concerto continued with Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns ($4.95, also pictured below) which my dining companion secretly devoured as I was munching on the marvellous pork pieces. I did manage a few nibbles of these jealously juicy buns, which if you haven’t tried, will lead you to discover that they must be eaten in a single bite.

With a can of coke, and a ration of rice, the bill came to $31.63 before tax and tip. The handy Geotip was utilized and we paid $20 each in cash (which, must be noted, is the only payment method that Shanghai Wonderful accepts).

For some more photos and info, please view Part 1.

Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns ($4.95) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

Special Pork Chop Wuxi Style ($13.95) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

Deep fried squid with Chili and Pepper ($9.98) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

My serving of the pork chops

The Yaletown Brewing Company (web site, map, 1111 Mainland St., Vancouver BC Canada, phone: 604-681-2739) is one of Vancouver’s most popular Brew Pubs.

producer4000 writes on Dinehere.ca (click here to read review):

You don’t go to a plumber to fix your car, so don’t go to a brewery to eat. Yeah, I know what you’re gonna say. Anyhow, we went at noon on Saturday to sample the important stuff. Of the seven brewed on property, none were bad and three were superb and to my liking. The hefeweisen, Red Truck Ale and India Brown Ale were worth the trip. My beer maid was practically like family and the brewmaster was friendly yet very serious about his brews.

Even though I don’t drink beer at work lunches, the Yaletown Brew Pub is a favorite place for me and my coworkers to visit at lunch. I have been skeptical about the food at YBC having had a very, very greasy pizza there once, and the Macaroni and Cheese at $13.99 seems a bit pricy (but who knows, maybe it’s really good! I wonder how it compares to the Mac and Cheese at the Templeton…)

But the YBC has recently added some affordable Asian-influenced dishes to their menu, such as the Classic Kung Pao Chicken ($9.99, pictured below) which was served with toasted chilies, roasted peanuts, garlic, peppers, and jasmine rice. It was nicely presented and tasted surprisingly good.

I’m not the only one who was surprised! cocoeater writes on Dinehere.ca (click here to read):

Was a bit hesitant on ordering an Asian dish from this brew pub but they do have a lot of Asian noodle dishes on the menu. The Singapore noodles were very good with lots of meat and shrimp. Very surprised.

For more info and another photo please view Part 1. To view their Lunch and Dinner menus, please visit their web site.

Kung Pao Chicken ($9.99) from Yaletown Brewing Company in Vancouver, BC, Canada.