Best Chinese Upscale winners of Vancouver Magazine’s 26th Annual Restaurant Awards
- Gold: Dynasty Seafood
- Silver: Chef Tony Seafood
- Bronze: Yue Delicacy
- Honourable Mentions: Peninsula Seafood, Kirin
The stranglehold that Hong Kong-style fine-dining establishments have had in this category was broken this year by a slew of ambitious Mainland Chinese operators. Dynasty Seafood (Gold) remains true to Cantonese culinary ideals of restraint but has added real fire to its “typhoon shelter” sticky rice, bright pickled-ginger punch to Dungeness crab served in a colossal noodle shell, and fermented-tofu funk to pork ribs. Chef Tony Seafood (Silver), meanwhile, ups the flavour ante with black-truffle flakes tossed with chilled poached chicken, pork belly steamed with preserved lemon, and black-vinegar-sharpened sea cucumber. Yue Delicacy (Bronze) offers a peek into a world of Chinese high rollers who spend thousands on an evening’s worth of brandy. But big spenders need to eat, too, and deep-fried crab showered with spicy garlic, luscious squab, and homey singing-chicken hotpot help the cognac go down nicely. Honourable Mentions: Peninsula Seafood, Kirin
