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.

Tsui Hang Village Chinese Restaurant (map, 1193 Granville St, Vancouver, BC, phone: 604-683-6868) is a large, well kept Chinese restaurant near the Granville Street night-club entertainment district at the corner of Davie and Granville.

Popular with the after-bar crowd, Tsui Hang is open very late at night (even until 3 or 4 in the morning – but be sure to call them to confirm) and gets busy with talkative night-clubbers recovering from an evening dancing and imbibing.

The airy dining room is well lit and nicely maintained with some beautiful oriental vases displayed high above the dining room floor. Upon overhearing me remarking to my friend on the vases, the waiter interjected that they are “not real”. But although the decorative vases may be imitations, the food at Tsui Hang is definitely the real thing. If you’re a fan of Chinese seafood dishes, you’ll appreciate the menu (which is quite extensive and has a variety of vegetarian items too).

We ordered the Sauteed Rock Cod Fillets ($14.50, pictured below) and the Mixed Seafood Chow Mein ($13.50, also pictured below). The food was really tasty, the fish tender and enveloped in a delectable and nuanced sauce – even receiving positive comments from my dining companion who is of Asian descent. We also ordered a bowl of steamed rice ($2.00) which was quite large and nicely accompanied the two dishes.

Looking for something quick and on-the-go? Tsui Hang also has a take out window facing Davie Street which offers specials like sweet and sour pork on rice and chow mein for around $5.00.

Sauteed Rock Cod Fillets ($14.50) from Tsui Hang Village Chinese Restaurant on Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Mixed Seafood Chow Mein ($13.50) from Tsui Hang Village Restaurant in downtown Vancouver BC Canada (Granville Entertainment district).

Another shot of the same Mixed Seafood Chow Mein dish from Tsui Hang Chienese Restaurant on Granville Street in Vancouver.

View from the back of a BC Ferry

BC Ferries take passengers around beautiful British Columbia (BC) Canada by sea. Start off in bustling and cosmopolitan Vancouver, and ride the ferry over to Vancouver Island. On the island you’ll find Victoria, the capital city of BC and a popular tourist destination.

Looking for a longer trip further off the beaten path? Visit the smaller towns on the Island such as Tofino, Ucluelet, Naniamo, Qualicum Beach, Courtenay, and more. The ferries will also take you to the serene and scenic Gulf Islands.

This summer I left the mainland quite a few times, and fortunately for me, there is food service available on board the ferries and in the terminal cafeterias.

Pictured below is some sushi and a ham sandwich (around $10) purchased from the Bread Garden cafeteria at the Swartz Bay Terminal. I bought it while I was waiting in line to go back to Vancouver (incidentally after playing a piano gig in Victoria with vocalist Peggy Hogan’s group – live recording here).

I am a little hesitant to admit that after my 4th ferry trip this summer I started developing a taste for – or rather, an addiction to – the Bread Garden sushi. It is now one of my favorite items offered by the BC Ferries food service – but sushi aficionados will tell you that is a far cry from what you can find in most land-based sushi restaurants in Vancouver or Victoria. One upside about the Bread Garden sushi is that a generous amount of wasabi and pickled ginger is provided, as well as chopsticks.

I put together a short travel video (accessible in the player below, or on Youtube) from a trip I took last year on BC Ferries from Vancouver to Victoria. The video shows some of the food and shopping available at the Tsawassen Terminal and sunset views of the Gulf Islands taken from the ferry itself.

The music in the video is my jazz band, the Geoff Peters Trio, performing live at Cactus Club in West Vancouver on New Years Eve 2007. I (Geoff Peters) was playing piano and joining me was Mark White (bass) and Brennan Saul (drums).

For more ferry food, check out my photo of the salmon entree from the on-board BC Ferries White Spot cafeteria, or the smoked salmon bagel I had at the BC Ferries Tsawassen Terminal (on the Vancouver side). Happy sailing!

BC Ferries Bread Garden Sushi (California roll, around $5)

Ham and swiss sandwich from the BC Ferries Cafeteria (around $5.00)