Gorilla Food (map, web site, 101 – 436 Richards St. Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-722-2504) is currently one of the only restaurants in Vancouver that serves all raw, vegan, and organic foods.

I have a friend who follows a raw vegan diet, which means that he doesn’t eat any animal-related products (vegan) and foods must be unprocessed and not heated above 46 degrees Celsius (raw). He blogs about the Raw Vegan lifestyle on Eat Raw Vegan. I was interested to see what a Raw Vegan meal would taste like!

Raw Vegan food preparation takes a lot of creativity to make food that is satisfying and interesting to eat without using cooked or processed ingredients, and without meat or dairy products. Amazingly, all the dishes pictured below are raw vegan dishes. I must say that I was quite happy and full after the meal.

The Raw Vegan Cashew Alfredo Zucchini Linguini ($10, pictured below) was made with zucchini “newdles” smothered in a rich white cashew cream. It was served with a green leaf salad. It tasted cool and refreshing, and was amazingly creamy considering that no dairy products were used.

The Maui Waui raw vegan pizza ($6.00, also pictured below) is a sun-dried tomato and fresh tomato herb sauce topped with a mix of tenderized kale and seasonal greens then topped with fresh pineapple bits and a crumbly walnut “cheez”. It is served with a sprouted sunflower and buckwheat, flax and carrot crust.

For an appetizer we also tried the Raw Vegan Zucchini Hummus and Crackers ($7.50, pictured below). This tasted amazingly good, better than ordinary hummus I thought! The bean-free garlicky hummus dip is served with house-dehydrated crackers.

Other notable items included the Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice ($5.25, pictured below) – this is heavenly if you like orange juice; in fact I thought it was some of the best orange juice I have had in Vancouver! The raw vegan chocolate cake (also pictured below) was really fudgey and chocolatey, a treat not to miss!

The restaurant is open every day from 11am until 5pm.

Raw Vegan Cashew Alfredo Zucchini Linguini, from Gorilla Food in Vancouver. $10.00

Maui Waui Pizza ($6.00) raw vegan food from Gorilla Food restaurant in downtown Vancouver.

Fresh orange juice ($5.25) and Green Glory drink ($5.50) from Gorilla Foods in Vancouver.

Raw Vegan Zucchini Hummus and Crackers ($7.50) from Gorilla Foods in Vancouver.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Cake! (From Gorilla Food in Vancouver, downtown).

I made a visit to the Vancouver Flea Market (web site, map, 703 Terminal Ave. Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604.685.0666) and tried their cafeteria.

In case you haven’t heard of the Vancouver Flea Market before, here’s a little description from their web site:

The Vancouver Flea Market is a thriving environment where all kinds of dealers and sellers propose their treasures. Here you will find all kinds of things from collectibles and memorabilia to everyday household items as well all the things you thought you didn’t need!

The market is a 5 – 10 minute walk from the Main Street Skytrain station. Admission to the market is only 75 cents, and that lets you into the main showroom where you can browse all the tables of endless cool stuff (I picked up a piece of fools gold crystal for $8), and into their busy cafeteria which serves filling, hot American-style food at very low prices.

Speaking of the food, we tried the Traditional Burger (an amazing deal at $3.85, shown in video below) and the T.O.C. Omelette ($4.50, also shown in video below), which was a 3-egg omelette with tomato, onions, cheese, toast, and a small coffee. I opted to get an apple juice instead of the coffee and it only added about 40 cents to the price. The food is quite similar to Denny’s restaurant but is cheaper, and the atmosphere is not as fancy as Denny’s.

I made a video of the dishes, which you can view by clicking here, or use the player below. I’ve also included a photo of the menu below.

Vancouver flea market cafeteria menu

I made another visit to Shanghai Wonderful Restaurant (map, 110 – 8380 Lansdowne Road, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone: 604-278-8829) and again was impressed by the superlative flavors and exotic tastes of the authentic, modern Chinese cuisine served by this restaurant.

The first dish that arrived was the Special Pork Chop Wuxi Style (pictured below, $13.95), and I tentatively bit into a tender, saucy piece of pork that I tenuously held in my chopsticks. Suddenly, a symphony of subtle sensations started to build up on my tongue and I thought, this is comfort food at its best. Whoever Wuxi is, he or she definitely has a walloping sense of style.

Not to be outdone was the Deep Fried Squid with Chili and Pepper ($9.98, also pictured below), a Chinese take on calamari that was crispy, salty, and delicate at the same time. The culinary concerto continued with Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns ($4.95, also pictured below) which my dining companion secretly devoured as I was munching on the marvellous pork pieces. I did manage a few nibbles of these jealously juicy buns, which if you haven’t tried, will lead you to discover that they must be eaten in a single bite.

With a can of coke, and a ration of rice, the bill came to $31.63 before tax and tip. The handy Geotip was utilized and we paid $20 each in cash (which, must be noted, is the only payment method that Shanghai Wonderful accepts).

For some more photos and info, please view Part 1.

Shanghai Style Juicy Pork Buns ($4.95) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

Special Pork Chop Wuxi Style ($13.95) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

Deep fried squid with Chili and Pepper ($9.98) from Shanghai Wonderful restaurant in Richmond, BC, Canada.

My serving of the pork chops