Shiru Bay Chopstick Cafe (web site, address: 1193 Hamilton Street, phone: 604-408-9315) is a fun, upscale Japanese tapas restaurant located in Yaletown. Dishes are creatively and aesthetically presented and the menu is a romp through Asian-European fusion, with definite French influences. For $35 per person you can experience the Chef’s Tasting Menu which includes an impressive sampling of their menu (some of which is pictured below).

Sashimi

Pork cutlet

Japanese Omelette

Ebi-mayo prawns

Mussels

Sushi

Another visit to Honjin Japanese Restaurant in Yaletown (address: 138 Davie Street, Vancouver, phone: 604-688-8808) and I enjoyed some more of their inventive sushi rolls. Pictured below are the Rainbow Roll (a California roll with raw seafood on top) and the Sunshine Roll (with mango and prawn tempura). This restaurant is consistently one of my coworkers’ favorites for delicious and creative sushi dishes in the downtown Yaletown area. Visit my previous review for more details.

Rainbow Roll ($6.95)

Sunshine Roll -sushi with mango, salmon, and prawn tempura

Vancouver’s Chinatown (web site: http://vancouverchinatown.ca) is located within walking distance just east of downtown Vancouver and is a great place to taste delicious dim-sum and pastries from one of the many bakeries, or stock up on fresh, very affordable vegetables such as those from the market pictured below (on Powell Street). A nice place to spend a few hours in tranquility is the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden (web site) which is a Ming-Dynasty style garden that is famous for its stunning architecture.