OneWayTicket

Day 33: Where life is too short for boring food

If, like us, you love chillies, don't miss the "Wall of Fire" at Granville Island, 10 minutes from downtown Vancouver. It's located in the Granville Island Public Market, a fiery wall of shelves stocked with chilly sauces from all over the world--sambal, piri piri, grapefruit habanero, chipotli, pimento, Louisiana hot sauce, West Indes hot sauce...you name it. At the South China Seas Trading Co store in this quirky market they have a cool motto: Life is too short for boring food. They have spices and cookbooks from all over the world too (and paneer and Lijjat Papad).

The salesgirls Naomi and Ellen are foodies. They say we must go to Vij's, an Indian restaurant run by Bombay born Vikram Vij and rated among the finest Indian restaurants in the world by The New York Times. Since this is not the first time the name has come up, we've decided we have to go there for dinner. You can't reserve a table so we'll we be waiting in line at 5pm--even Harrison Ford has to wait, says my brother Gyan.

Their other Asian restaurant recommendations, for the next time you're in Vancouver:

Phenom Pen--Vietnamese/Cambodian food restaurant located in Chinatown. Try the raw papaya salad and butter beef.

Toshi--A sushi restaurant that's actually run by real Japanese.

Tojo's--High end Japanese. And I found a great descriptor on the restaurant's website: "Tojo's is very controversial. Some people say Tojo's is the best Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. Others say it's the best in Canada. Still others say it's the best in North America. Some say it's the most expensive Japanese restaurant in the city, others say it's the cheapest five-star restaurant on the continent. Some laud the sushi. Some rave about the cooked food. Some insist that few if any restaurants even in Tokyo can do both so well. And then there are the people who insist it shouldn't be called a sushi restaurant or a Japanese restaurant but a Seafood restaurant, except for the wonderful beef and chicken dishes... Still others insist it's an Italian restaurant."

Gyoza King--Don't miss the fried chicken and Japanese Tapas

Hapa Izakaya--Hip Japanese tapas restaurant. Hapa means tapas. You usually have to wait for an hour to get a table.

The Legendary Noodle--Great hand-pulled noodles and dumplings.

Sha Lin--Homemade noodles again and dumplings too.

All that food talk has made us hungry. And Granville Island is not a bad place to be marooned if you're hungry. In the late 1970s, Granville Island, in the heart of Vancouver, was a polluting 37-acre industrial park in decline. Today it's a thriving community where heavy and light industry share space with retail, restaurants, theatres, an amazing public market stocked with foods and local crafts and, yes, even multimillion dollar condos. It's an urban planning success story that's been copied across the world.

Here's how they did it: http://www.granvilleisland.com/en/island_info/island_histories

Alas we had budgeted only a couple of hours for the island, so we didn't make it beyond The Public Market. Put it on your list of things to do.

The bakery is a classic example of Vancouver's melting pot culture--Creme Brulee, Texas Butter Pecan Tarts, English Trifle, Profitrole Cups and err Samosas and Seasonal Vegetable Pakoras. In the alternative medicine store, you can buy Shyam Singha's mustard bath (go to http://drsingha.com for this diaspora success story), a Ganesha statue and agarbattis.

Just next to the international food store is Local Artisan Foods--you could buy Vij's Garam Masala here or pick up one of his popular take outs (Kalonji Chicken Curry or Mother-in-Law Pork perhaps?). Even the Birch Syrup and Sake Glazed Qualicum Beach Scallops recipe card that the husband picks up uses this garam masala. Regular cooking classes are held in this market too (again, I think of how we are speed killing Crawford Market). For some gourmet kayaking and classes, log on to www.edible-britishcolumbia.com

Stock Market is a store dedicated to classic and creative soups. From brown stock and demi glace to lobster bisque and a boulillabaisse starter, they do it all.

But I'm drawn to the lavendery and sagey smell of Joel Morassutti's store. The Cascade Soap Co makes products from goat's milk. Frenchman Joel, who's hanging around his store, tells us there are no chain stores on the island except Keg, a restaurant that somehow slipped through. He says it's a heavily populated island yet it has a sense of space. Every year the artisans who display their crafts in this market have to prove they are on top of things; there's a lot of competition to snag a store here. The former history and urban geography professor can't imagine not being busy. So at 55 he quit his teaching job because "when a teacher retires in Canada at 65, his/her average length of survival is 18 months". We're not sure about that statistic but we can see Joel enjoys his second career. When a Julia Roberts lookalike with itchy hands drops by, Joel lists the virtues of his Eczema moisturiser and convince her to try some.

At Wendy McKim Murphy Papier Mache Sculpture (www.wendymurphyart.com) there are small yoga mice and yoga frogs. Why can't we do this in India? (I know this is beginning to sound like the theme of our trip). There's so much to see/taste/buy.

An Olde World Fudge Store

Elk Sausages and smoked pig ears

Rhubarb picked yesterday

Folk art boats made from reclaimed materials

And amidst it all, Butter Chicken for only $1.25 extra at Rubina Grill, which serves Indian comfort food.

But we can only carry what our stomachs can hold. We're travelling light.