Calhoun’s Cafe and Catering (web site, 3035 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, phone 604-731-7062) is a popular hangout and studying place for UBC students that is open 24 hours. They have a good selection of ready-to-eat entrees as well as delicious made-to-order sandwiches, alcoholic beverages, ice cream, cakes, and gourmet coffees. They have free wireless internet access, as well as live music several nights a week. Calhoun’s recently installed wide screen televisions that are tuned to the sports channels.

I usually order a shrimp and avocado sandwich ($6.50, pictured below); it’s huge, and is served with freshly baked sourdough bread and lots of toppings. (They do all their own baking at Calhoun’s and the quality of the bread is really evident.)

The Oriental Buffet near Guildford Shopping Mall (15140 – 101st Ave., Surrey, BC, phone 604-583-8893) is a huge all-you-can-eat restaurant that has a big selection of Chinese and Japanese items (some of which are pictured below).

Be adventurous and try some Peking Duck on a crepe with hoi-sin sauce and green onion, or how about some Japanese sushi, Chinese dim-sum, deep fried crab legs (pictured below), or the old favorites such as barbecued pork or chicken, popcorn shrimp, mussels, sweet and sour, wonton soup - you name it!! Finish off with some icecream, cake, jello, or mango pudding for dessert.

This restaurant is very popular with Chinese tour groups; the tour buses pull up and the high volume of customers keeps the food fresh. Dinner per person is a reasonable $14.99 plus tax; various alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are also available at an additional cost.

Ben.z Noodle Restaurant (536 Seymour Street, 604-688-8385) is a recently opened Vietnamese restaurant that is within walking distance of the Waterfront skytrain station, Canada Place convention center and cruise ship terminal downtown. The menu is very friendly even to newcomers to this delicious cuisine, with only a few main choices and lots of pictures.

The Vietnamese Salad Rolls ($5.25, pictured below) are one of my favorite items: prawns, vermicelli noodles, and vegetables are wrapped in a delicate rice wrapper, served cold with peanut dipping sauce. The beef pho soup (reasonably priced at $7.75, also pictured below) is a huge bowl filled with various kinds of meats and noodles in a steaming broth.

This is comfort food at its best and is perfect for a rainy Vancouver day. The soup is served with a side plate of bean sprouts, fresh herbs, hot peppers, and a couple slices of lime (also pictured below).