The Urban Thai Bistro (1119 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-408-7788, located in the downtown Yaletown restaurant and shopping district) offers one of the best lunch specials in the neighborhood. For around $7.50 you can get a salad, spring roll, and a tasty entree such as spicy chicken with green beans (pictured below), with rice. The attractive prices and yummy food attract big crowds - a good reason to arrive just before 12 noon, so you can be sure to get a table. The dinner menu has a more expanded selection but the prices are still quite reasonable. (For more photos of Urban Thai Bistro, view: Part 1.)

Tropika (web site, 1128 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-737-6002) is one of Vancouver’s most popular Malaysian and Thai restaurants. Located in the heart of the trendy downtown Robson Street shopping district, Tropika is a good sized restaurant with modern, upscale decor, but more importantly, really outstanding food.

Pictured below are the satays (meat skewer appetizers, $1.20 each), roti canai (Malay bread, $2.95), Hainanese chicken (half chicken, $12.95), pineapple fried rice with ham and chicken ($12.95), and a special drink: coconut juice served in a fresh coconut. We had a large group (9 people) and made reservations a few days in advance. The serving staff and kitchen handled our group flawlessly and we enjoyed the flavors of the dishes very much.

Two other locations of Tropika Restaurant in Vancouver are: Tropika at Cambie (2975 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, phone 604-879-6002) and Tropika at Aberdeen (Unit 1830, Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC, Canada, phone 604-233-7002)

Beef, chicken, lamb, and pork satay skewers ($1.20 each)

Roti Canai (Malay Bread, $2.95) – this was really puffy and tasted great with the accompanying sauce.

Hainanese Chicken (Half $12.95)

Pineapple Fried Rice with Ham and Chicken ($12.95)

Coconut Juice – served in a real coconut!

Tinseltown is a relatively new (and still sparsely occupied) shopping mall with a large movie theatre complex located on the border between downtown Vancouver and the downtown East Side / Chinatown area. This is an area of town that is in transition, with many fancy new condos being constructed, but still is one of Vancouver’s more graphic parts of town (88 W Pender, Vancouver 604-806-0799). Tinseltown and its food court are easily accessible by Skytrain, just steps away from the Stadium station and GM Place Stadium. The food court is cash only and some really good deals can be found here, such as a heaping plate of Thai fast food for only $5.00 (pictured below). Also check out the salad rolls made fresh to order from the Vina Vietnamese restaurant (served with peanut sauce – yum!).