The Templeton (web site, map, 1087 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-685-4612) is one of my favorite places to visit on the Granville Street strip downtown, for healthy nourishing food. The decor is retro with the original furnishings of a 1950’s diner, including juke box controls at every table, swivel bar stools, and lots of stainless steel. The modernized menu is packed with vegetarian options as well as some non-vegetarian choices for those into something a little more meaty.
This area of Granville Street is a colorful mixture of new, high-end restaurants, older greasy spoon places, night clubs with pounding beats, and a couple of remaining sex shops left over from seedier days. The street is in transition with the sidewalk widening almost complete, making it a safer place to walk at night (along with the sometimes rowdy crowds of night-clubbers). It’s only a five minute walk from the upscale Yaletown shopping and restaurant district to the east, and about the same distance to Burrard Street to the west and beyond that the West End residential neighborhood.
Some of my favorite items to order at the Templeton are the Macaroni and Cheese (around $10, served with fresh tomato salsa, three kinds of cheese, and an organic green salad), and the Med Quesadilla (also around $10, made with artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, green olives, aged white cheddar, fresh tomato salsa and sour cream). On my last visit however, I had already eaten something substantial earlier in the evening, so opted for the ultra healthy and “good for you” Dinner Salad (around $6.50, pictured below).
The Templeton is one of the few dining spots that is open with full service food late at night in the downtown area. I was there a little after 10:00pm on a Sunday night and they did Last Call for food at around 10:30pm. That’s pretty good for a Sunday. If it’s late and you’re hungry, it’s worth a shot – why not give them a call (604-685-4612) to find out if they’re open? =)
For more photos (and info about their breakfasts) please view Part 3, Part 2, or Part 1.
Dinner Salad from the Templeton on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver BC Canada.
Last weekend I visited Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant in Kitsilano (web site, map, 3116 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-732-7249).
I was sad to read on their website that they are closing on July 12th 2009. Hope this is only temporary and they will be back soon! Here’s your chance to experience this great restaurant before they close.
[A] hot appetizer we had was this noodle wrapped and deep-fried shrimp served with a spicy mayo dip. The contrast between the crispy exterior and the plump, juicy shrimp inside was superb […] Each [sushi] piece was densely packed, making it feel more filling than it already was […] The fish was good, each fresh and succulent, and not too big that it would take more then one mouthful.
All the dishes were beautifully presented and were a creative notch above the typical Japanese restaurant you’ll find around town.
I enjoyed the Sashimi Salad ($7.50, pictured below), a delightful arrangement of green salad topped with a variety of raw seafood.
For an appetizer I ate the Ebi Chili Mayo ($5.50, also pictured below), which is a generous serving of deep fried prawns covered in mayonnaise and sprinkled with Japanese masago (smelt roe) garnish. These were some of the best Ebi Mayo prawns I have had around town – it’s a shame the restaurant is closing soon or else I would definitely go back to have them again.
As for sushi, we ordered the Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll, which is reasonably priced at $5.50 (also pictured below) – and you can see from the photo that it was very pleasing to the eye.
The chef at Sai-z makes quite a daring and delicious decision to combine papaya, avocado, and salmon. The roll we ordered also had some lettuce in it, and I felt the lettuce made the sushi a bit too watery, but it was refreshing and tasty nevertheless.
My vegetarian friend ordered the Vegetarian Sushi Combo (also pictured below) which was great looking, yummy, and affordable (maybe around $6 to 8?).
A complimentary Salmon Skin appetizer from the chef at SaiZ Japanese Restaurant in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Sashimi Salad from Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant ($7.50)
Vegetarian Sushi Combo from Sai-Z Japanese Tapas restaurant in Vancouver.
Ebi Chili Mayo prawns ($5.50) from Saiz Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver.
Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll sushi ($5.50) from Sai-z Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
Another shot of the Papaya Avocado Salmon Roll Sushi from Sai-Z Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
Tropika on Robson (web site, map, 1128 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-737-6002) is a popular Malaysian and Thai restaurant located on the second floor overlooking Vancouver’s trendy Robson Street shopping district (downtown), between Bute and Thurlow streets.
The restaurant has won numerous awards for their innovative and unique decor, and more importantly for their food. Their menu, which is full of wonderful mouth-watering photos, makes choosing dishes a snap – even if you’re not so familiar with Malaysian or Thai cuisine. Simply look at the photos in the menu and let your eyes decide what to eat!
On a previous visit (over two years ago) I enjoyed the satay skewers and the Hainanese chicken.
This time we tried the following dishes (all pictured below): Indonesian spring rolls filled with chicken ($2.50 each), some delightfully puffy roti canai bread served with a special sauce ($2.95), the marvellous sambal clams ($13.95), an hot and sour eggplant hot pot with minced pork ($11.95), and the pineapple fried rice with ham and chicken ($12.95).
An interesting drink that we tried was the Coconut Juice served in a real coconut (also pictured below). This was a huge coconut filled with some refreshing and slightly sweet coconut juice, that we could enjoy with a straw.
In addition to Tropika’s Robson Street location, the restaurant also has a couple of other locations: Tropika Cambie Street (map, 2975 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone: 604-879-6002), and Tropika at Aberdeen (map, unit 1830, Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone: 604-233-7002). More info is on their web site.
Indonesian Spring Rolls from Tropika on Robson Street ($2.50 each)
Roti Canai bread from Tropika on Robson ($2.95)
Sambal Clams ($13.95) from Tropika on Robson
Hot & Sour Eggplant Hot Pot with Minced Pork ($11.95) from Tropika on Robson
Pineapple Fried Rice with Ham and Chicken ($12.95) from Tropika Restaurant on Robson Street.
Coconut Juice served in a fresh real coconut (around $4.00) from Tropika Malaysian and Thai restaurant in Vancouver BC Canada.
