What is Vancouver’s signature dish?

Walking through the burrows and brownstoned lined streets of New York, no matter where you go you’ll inevitably find a pizzeria. Small, big, packed, empty, expensive, cheap, it’s the signature dish of a city where any and every type of cheese, dough and sauce is available. 

Cities are increasingly defined by food. It can tell you much about what it is and how it wants to be perceived. Think tacos in Los Angeles, the melting pot of Latin America outside the region. In Montreal, you might define it around smoked meat or bagels with the history of Jewish culture and food. Clam chowder in Boston, adjacent to the sea.

Yet what about Vancouver? A Reddit thread posed that exact question about Vancouver — what is the city’s signature dish?

Is a signature dish something that locals devour, or defined by temporary tourists? Is it native to the region, or a popular import? Does it have to be invented in the city, or does the city turn it into something greater, remixing and refining it? 

Pizza wasn’t made in New York, but New York-style pizza sure was. With sugar and olive oil, a crustier dough, and a structured fold, it’s entirely different from the traditional Neopolitan-style pizza, in taste, visuals and how it’s eaten. It’s New York’s take on a classic.

So what is Vancouver’s signature dish? What have we made or remixed to make our own?

The Japadog is often mentioned, that pink hunk of pork topped with seaweed and Japanese mayo. But honestly, how often have you had Japadog, or is it something your visiting friends demand to try?

Should it be one item or broader? Premium casual restaurants like Cactus Club and The Keg got their start in the region, spreading out to all corners of Canada. You can’t walk down a major Canadian city without seeing one.

Does salmon count? It’s certainly true I and many others have come to associate it with the region. Candied salmon is pervasive. Yet my hometown of Campbell River calls itself the salmon capital of the world. It’s unlikely you’ll catch many fish English Bay. Should farmed Atlantic salmon count?

Lines aren’t necessarily a proxy for signature dishes. Yet it’s impossible to ignore the impact Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisine have You’re more likely to find a line outside Korean Chun Chun Rice Hot Dog or JINYA Ramen Bar than Di Beppe or Nook.

When I think of a perfect day of eating in Vancouver, I’m drawn to regional Chinese food from Sichuan, modern reinterpretations of Korean like Zoomak, boba tea, and Omakase tasting menus. 

To me, Vancouver food sits at the nexus of Asian cuisine. Families arriving from different places, bring their own food and influences. They collide, generations evolving until something new is made. 

The Jungle Room in the West End feels like it could be a regional defining place. Indonesian flavours and dishes, Japanese street food and French techniques, all combining into something wholly unique, delicious and distinctively Vancouver. Their salmon dish features Japanese opor sauce, chili oil, Indonesian sambal matah and coconut — it doesn’t get more Vancouver than that. 

Defining a place based on one type of food means you might never discover a place like the Jungle Room. Or Yunnan cuisine at Flower and Horse in Spring. Or Venetian Italian food at Fiorino. 

Vancouver is a diverse city and the region, impossible to pin down. And that may be the only way we can and should define it. 

Restaurants that define Vancouver

This is by no means a list of the best places, but a smattering of options that I’ve enjoyed which I believe defines the regional variety in the region:

• Maenam for Thai

• Sumi for Korean

• Zarak for Middle Eastern

• Tom Sushi for, well, you get the idea

• Dynasty Seafood for dim sum

• Anh and Chi for Vietnamese