A melting pot of Yunnan cuisine at Flower and Horse in Spring

Saying Vancouver has excellent Chinese food is, while entirely accurate, the equivalent of saying Europe has great food. Again, accurate, but clearly missing important details. 

Where Metro Vancouver shines is not only the quality of the country’s cuisine but the extensive regional options. You’re just as likely to stumble upon exceptional Sichuan food as you are cuisines from Beijing, Northern Xinjiang, or Hong Kong. Shades of familiarity, but all unique. 

Peeling back the layers is enlivening. How many different regions are represented in Metro Vancouver? I intend to find out.

Yunnan is one such province that upon learning about it, hit all my pleasure centres. Located in the south, it sits just north of Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar, and south of Sichuan. Border countries, places bisecting different regions, are where the real food magic happens, as cultures, history and ingredients collide over time, producing variations and reinterpretations. 

Have you ever considered lemongrass a major Chinese ingredient? Coriander? Yunnan cuisine borrows from the region, infusing it throughout the cooking, with dishes like Lemongrass Chicken. The region is home to over 50 different recognized Chinese ethnic groups, more than anywhere else in China. Cheese and milk lovers will have something to love, like milk cake, crisped in a wok and served with dipping sugar. 

Yunnan cuisine could be defined more regionally. In the north, the Naxi and Bai people love their pork. In the South, the Dai people use ingredients from Thailand, like mint, lime and lemongrass. In the mountainous forested region, mushrooms are popular. 

Flower and Horse in Spring, at 1741 Robson St., specializes in Yunnan cuisine. It’s one of those small Chinese restaurants that blends in with everything around it. Blink, and you’ll miss it, which I almost did until my girlfriend pointed it out as our bus flew by.

We returned later that day. While it blends in, the bright red signs outside are hard to ignore. The interior is much more subdued, with green plants and subtle colours. With us and one other couple, it was quiet, but the street's background noise made it feel less awkward.

We were encouraged to order the Crossing the Bridge noodles, their signature dish. A rolling, broiling, bubbling bowl of broth is accompanied by side of simple rice vermicelli noodles, and not-so-simple tiny plates of ingredients. Corn, egg, carrots, bean curd, pickles, pork, the list goes on. It’s like a bath for your food.

The numerous little bowls of ingredients feel overwhelming, but like anything, it’s best to dive right in, pouring in whatever you want. The standouts were the pickles and the pork. The accompanying vinegar cucumbers acted as a welcome palette cleanser.  

The broth is clean, simple and refreshing. You can also grab some sauces from the side. The pepper oil and what I think was black vinegar, add further complexities, but just be aware of how much oil you add. The Sichuan peppercorns are refreshingly numbing. 

You can get a combo for two for about $50, which is more than enough for two hungry eaters. A soup dish for one will set you back around $17-$21. Combos are specialized with mushroom, sheep and cow meat, with the option of regular or spicy broth. 

I also ordered a rice noodle bowl. Forget Chipotle, poke bowls, or any other Westernized fast-food-style plate of ingredients. Slightly spiced and sweet, it included heaping portions of pork, bean curd, pickles, carrots, and green onions, with thick satisfyingly chewy noodles. It’s the type of sweet, vinegary, and salty mix that just works. The accompanying picked soy daikon is a nice touch.

We also got the jelly brown sugar, the aforementioned jelly floating in a dark pool of brown sugar. It works, the jelly slipping and dipping around in my mouth, though it was a bit sweet if you have too much of the syrup.

Vegetarian lovers have much to try here, with noodle dishes and accompanying sides. 

Flower and Horse in Spring is one of those places you’d never imagine visiting but sticks with you after. The subtle differences in flavours, in a city of dim sum and traditional hot pot, stands out. 

Seek out different regions when looking for new Chinese food to eat, I promise you won’t be disappointed.