Best New Restaurant

Bao Bei

163 Keefer St.
604-688-0876
Bao-bei.ca

Unquestionably the buzziest opening in recent memory. “Hipsters and oldsters alike” flock to Bao Bei (Gold) for pillowy dumplings, Asian-style beef tartar, and other inventive plates like shao bing—crunchy sesame flatbread stuffed with braised pork and crisp Asian pear. Silver to Gastown’s L’Abattoir for “composed, ambitious cooking. Chef Lee Cooper’s Dungeness crab and chickpeas in a hollow cylinder of toasted brioche was one of the best dishes I ate this year,” raved one judge. Michael Mameli and Julio Gonzalez-Perini rebooted Lupo (Bronze) to luminous effect. Judges loved the raviolo filled with spinach, ricotta and a free-run egg—“the yolk mingles seductively with a scattering of toasted hazelnuts. What a deliciously sexy dish!” Honourable Mentions to Andrey Durbach’s latest neighbourhood room (Cafeteria) and the gorgeous Oru at the Fairmont Pacific Rim.

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