First Michelin Guide Vancouver gives stars to 8 restaurants, including one serving Chinese cuisine
- The international good-food guide’s first Vancouver edition bestows single Michelin stars on 8 restaurants in the Canadian city, and recognises a further 52
- A branch of Chinese Peking duck chain Quanjude is among them, as is Published on Main, recently adjudged Canada’s best restaurant
The first Michelin Guide Vancouver awards stars to eight restaurants, including one serving Peking duck that has its roots in imperial Beijing cuisine but not, surprisingly, any serving Cantonese food – the prevalent Chinese cuisine in the Canadian city.
None received more than one Michelin star.
The Vancouver tourism board sponsored the guide, and those awarded stars include Published on Main – which topped the 2022 edition of Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants – St Lawrence, which serves Quebecois and French food, Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant Kissa Tanto, and Quanjude, the first Vancouver outpost of the Peking duck chain restaurant.
In addition, 12 restaurants were recognised with a Bib Gourmand – awarded to those serving reasonably priced three-course meals.
“Our teams of inspectors genuinely savoured their dining experiences in Vancouver. They were very impressed with the city’s gastronomic dynamism,” he said.
Despite only handing out eight stars, Michelin gave out three special awards for best service to Kissa Tanto, Published on Main for its sommelier Jayton Paul, and The Botanist for its cocktails.
Gus Steiffenhoffer-Brandson, the chef-owner of Published on Main, was thrilled to receive the star.
“Super grateful for the opportunity to be on this platform, super thankful for having an amazing team to help us get us there, super thankful to all of our farms, suppliers, foragers, for the region we live in,” he said.
“And to all our guests for coming and supporting us through these last weird couple of years. Just gratitude above all, just super happy.”
The restaurant serves dishes such as chicken liver mousse with spekulatius cookie, and Fraser Valley duck breast with duck confit chanterelles.
Another awardee, Burdock & Co, was started by chef Andrea Carlson in 2013 and serves modern Pacific West cuisine with a farm-to-table concept. The set menu changes monthly and features locally sourced ingredients.
“When we opened Burdock, we really wanted to have a place that was going to be accessible to the neighbourhood, that was going to give people the opportunity to try all of these very cool products,” Carlson said. At the time only high-end restaurants consciously used local ingredients, she said.
“Ten years have gone by, the farmers’ markets have exploded, there’s so much more access to food, which is amazing,” she said.
The only Chinese restaurant to be given a star was Quanjude, but its chef, Allan Ren, was not present to receive the accolade as Covid-19 restrictions in China prevented him from returning to Vancouver.
The restaurant’s general manager, Chi Zhang, received the accolade in his place.
“It’s amazing. We thank Michelin for the recognition of our restaurant, for recommending the best food around the world,” he said. Aside from the roast duck, Zhang said diners usually opt for Quanjude’s set menus.
Simple pleasures: why Bib Gourmand beats the stars in Michelin Guide
Cantonese restaurants considered by local residents to be the best in Vancouver, such as Dynasty Seafood Restaurant and Chef’s Choice, were only considered Recommended Restaurants by Michelin.
Chinese restaurants in the nearby city of Richmond, which has a large concentration of Chinese restaurants, were not included in the guide – leaving favourites such as Jade Seafood Restaurant and Golden Paramount Seafood Restaurant out of the running.
At the awards ceremony, Destination Vancouver president and CEO Royce Chwin explained the reasoning behind bringing the Michelin Guides to the city, an effort that was three years in the making.
“We [Destination Vancouver] understood that if we wanted to take our culinary scene, and our destination to another level, we have to partner with a globally recognised brand that is Michelin.”
Vancouver is only the second Canadian city to have a Michelin guide after Toronto; its was launched in September with 13 restaurants receiving stars, one of which earned two stars.
Vancouver’s one-star restaurants: AnnaLena, Barbara, Burdock & Co, iDen and Quanjude Beijing Duck House, Kissa Tanto, Masayoshi, Published on Main, St Lawrence
