Aladdin’s Shawerma Cafe (map, 720 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 778-881-7916) is a recent addition to the downtown Granville Street area, serving delicious and fresh Middle-Eastern fast food until the late hours of the evening. The small restaurant is brightly lit and clean, and they offer a selection of vegetarian falafel wraps, chicken Shawerma wraps, combination platters, and more!

Most people order take out from here, but there are also some comfortable bar stools along the side counters which are perfect for a quick sit-down bite.

While most items are around $5 to $6, their biggest platter – the Shawarma Falafel (pictured below) – is just over $10 and features the works: a salad, hummus, tatziki, rice, tender Shawerma chicken, and several tasty falafels. Hot sauce is optional but highly recommended!

Falafel Shawerma platter from Aladdin Cafe in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.

Close up of the chicken in the Middle-Eastern Chicken Shawerma Falafel platter from Aladdin Cafe.

Another photo of the Chicken Shawerma Falafel platter from Aladdin restaurant on Robson Street, Vancouver.

Phnom Penh Restaurant (map, 244 E Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-682-5777) is one of Vancouver’s most praised restaurants by the (very active) local food blogging community.

The blog foodosophy has a really insightful discussion into the nature of the Cambodian/Vietnamese food that is featured at Phnom Penh:

…common to the cuisines is the general presentational philosophy of “fresh” balanced with “savory”. Pho, as an example, will always be presented to the diner with a plateful of herbs and greens as a counterpoint the savoriness of the broth. To indulge the diner further – a wedge of lime of almost always provided to allow for adjustment the sour note. This philosophy lends an appealing “brightness” to the cuisine.

(Read more at their blog by clicking here.)

Most bloggers agree that the “must-order” signature dish at Phnom Penh is the chicken wings. So we ordered them! (See the photo below).

These chicken wings were amazing – remarkable, really – and the reason is that their flavors are multi dimensional. If you enjoy pub food you may find yourself eating piles of wings on certain nights of the week, with a choice of hot, teriyaki, or honey garlic sauce. If you’re used to these style of wings, you’ll soon realize that the wings at Phnom Penh are in a different category altogether.

Prolific food blogger KimHo describes them best on his blog (click here to read his post):

It had some pepper-y and garlic-y flavour at first but, after a moment, other layers of flavours I can’t described started to kick in. And I could stop eating them piece after piece! In the small bowl is a acidic/lemon-y dip which added yet another layer of flavour.

Another one of my favorite dishes to order at Phnom Penh is the traditional Vietnamese gỏi cuốn (Summer Roll), also known as a Salad Roll (also pictured below). I enjoy making these at home – the ingredients are so fresh and I love the combination of the rice paper wrapper with the seafood, vermicelli noodles, vegetables and herbs. Click here to check out a video I made of me and my friends making Vietnamese salad rolls at home.

I’m definitely going back to Phnom Penh to try more of their dishes sometime soon. Hope you enjoy it!

Garlic Chicken Wings from Phnom Penh Vietnamese / Cambodian restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.

Vietnamese Salad Rolls from Phnom Penh Restaurant in Chinatown, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The Naam (map, website, 2724 West 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-738-7151) is one of Vancouver’s oldest vegetarian and natural foods restaurants – my aunt worked there in the 70’s. Open 24 hours, the Naam has great live music in the evenings and is also popular for breakfast and lunch. The dishes are varied with a selection of Enchilada platters, quesadillas, soups, salads, rice bowls, veggie burgers, and noodles.

Pictured below is the enchilada platter I ordered, which is presented in a totally appetizing way that reminds me of a purposeful chaos or even a cacophony of delectable ingredients. Prices at the Naam are quite reasonable with most dishes in the $9 to $15 range.

Enchilada platter from the Naam vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.

Tempeh Reuben veggie burger platter from the Naam restaurant in Kitsilano Vancouver BC Canada.

Interior of the Naam vegetarian restaurant in Kitsilano Vancouver BC Canada (open 24 hours).