Chinese Restaurant Awards highlight best eateries to satisfy any craving

It's award season for local restaurants and CBC food columnist Gail Johnson is reviewing the winners of this year's Chinese Restaurant Awards.

A group of foodies created the awards in 2008 to raise the profile of regional Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine throughout North America and raise awareness of the wide variety of options throughout Metro Vancouver.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the awards making it one of the longest running Chinese culinary events in the world, a testament to the vibrant dining scene in Vancouver, Johnson said.

"When you include small Chinese bakeries and barbecue shops along with conventional sit-down restaurants, there are about 700 eateries throughout Metro Vancouver… You can see why an independent awards makes sense," she told On The Coast guest host Matthew Lazin-Ryder.

Vancouver Magazine held its annual Restaurant Awards last week and highlighted Chinese dining with categories like Best Chinese and Best Dim Sum, but Johnson said these dedicated awards allow for multiple and specialized categories like Best Sichuan Mouthwatering Chicken, Best Chinese Take-Out and Best Peking Duck,.

The winning restaurant for Vancouver's best Peking duck was Chang'An, at 1661 Granville Street, just underneath the Granville Street Bridge.

Organizers of the awards introduced some unique standalone categories for its 10th anniversary like the Hennessy Elite 10 Awards to honour the 10 most outstanding restaurants of the past decade.

A late night favourite for many Vancouverites made the Elite 10 list, Congee Noodle House on Broadway near Main Street.

"Its menu is massive – you can find spareribs with bitter melon, all sorts of curry and fried-rice dishes, and then there are about 30 different types of congee," Johnson said.

Congee is a rice broth that looks a bit like porridge and contains ginger, green onions and peanuts, she explained. At the Noodle House the selections include ling cod, sea bass, pork liver, and barbecued duck.

"There are a few chef's selections for congee, one of them comes with white pepper, pork stomach, and clams. It's a spicy one."

Another new category this year is the Ocean Wise Sustainable Seafood Award, which went to Heritage Asian Eatery on Pender and Thurlow in downtown Vancouver.

The head chef, Felix Zhou, has put a modern spin on traditional dishes and is a former Top Chef Canada contestant.

The restaurant recently became a member of the Ocean Wise Sustainable Seafood program, which is shown on restaurant menus with its symbol signifying which choices are ocean-friendly.

"Even though the eatery doesn't have that many seafood options, it's great to see it choosing sustainable seafood," Johnson said.

All the winners, including Critics' Choice Signature Dish Awards, can be found on the awards' website.

With files from On The Coast