Locals Welcome Season 1 Episode 3

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Transcript

00:00At first glance, this spiky creature from the sea doesn't look like something you want to eat.

00:14But sea urchins are just one of many sea-to-table ingredients that are fueling an exciting Chinese food scene in Richmond, B.C.

00:23That is incredible. That's like the ocean in my mouth.

00:29I'm Suresh Das. I've spent my career writing about the local favourites that make Canada's food scene truly unique.

00:40I believe every bite tells a story. Now, I want to share those stories with you.

00:49I'm just off the coast of Richmond, B.C., known as one of North America's most populous Chinese cities,

00:55where more than half of its residents are of Chinese descent.

00:58One of the things that makes Richmond so unique from a culinary perspective is that it's located on Lulu Island,

01:09which is home to over 180 farms, all surrounded by the Georgia Strait and the Fraser River Delta.

01:16There's an endless menu of fresh local ingredients here that some of the city's best chefs are using to reimagine what Chinese cuisine is.

01:28At the center of all this are Richmond's many fishmongers.

01:41And I'm headed to a local favourite called New Chu Young, where I'm meeting Janice Yu.

01:48She's an independent fish supplier and an ambassador for local aquaculture.

01:52Welcome to Richmond.

01:53Good to see you.

01:54Let's check this place out.

01:55Let's go, let's go.

01:56Hello, Auntie.

01:57Hello.

01:58Wow.

01:59This is cool.

02:00Yeah.

02:01Owners Linda and Peter Wong were among the many immigrants who fled Hong Kong before it was transferred from the UK to China in the 90s.

02:08This is like a mom and pop shop that's well known in the city.

02:12If you live in Richmond, you know about this fish shop.

02:15Yeah, really, yeah.

02:16And it's very similar to how I grew up in Hong Kong.

02:19A lot of live tangs, all the seafood is live, very overwhelming.

02:23Yeah.

02:24Janice supplies seafood to some of Richmond's most innovative chefs.

02:27So freshness is her philosophy.

02:30All the seafood in our coast is just amazing.

02:32And it creates this really niche offering that no one else can do in the world.

02:37It also creates a whole new kind of cuisine, which makes Richmond so unique.

02:41Right?

02:42That's right.

02:43So my favorite is available right now, the Dungeness crab.

02:46Mine as well?

02:47Yeah.

02:48We also have some gui duck.

02:49How popular is gui duck?

02:50They have gui duck in all the menus, in hot pot restaurants, in Chinese restaurants.

02:55Would you like to try some?

02:56I'm not going to say no.

02:58Yes, absolutely.

02:59I want to try some.

03:00This is like the gui duck counter.

03:03Hello.

03:04Auntie.

03:05Yeah, the gui duck.

03:06Can we try some gui duck?

03:07Gui duck?

03:08I'll eat it.

03:09Back home in Toronto, I don't see a lot of gui duck.

03:12They're the largest sea clam in the world.

03:14And they also happen to be native to the Pacific waters of British Columbia.

03:18Very nice.

03:19You will see.

03:20It's very only sliced.

03:21Okay.

03:22And very sweet.

03:23Ready?

03:24Yeah.

03:25I would love to try it.

03:26Yes, please.

03:28Oh, yeah.

03:29Cheers.

03:30Cheers.

03:35Mmm.

03:36Oh, my God.

03:37Come on, man.

03:38Got a slight brininess to it, and that sweetness is really nice.

03:41But the crunch is, like, so enjoyable, right?

03:44It's a wonderful crunch.

03:45Mm-hmm.

03:46This is such a treat, Janice.

03:47It's a great mouthfeel.

03:48Yeah.

03:49Like, this is wonderful.

03:50Janice has picked out a selection of seafood for a very special dinner later tonight at one

03:55of Richmond's top seafood eateries, The Fishman.

03:58Oh.

03:59Oh, happy.

04:01Happy, happy, happy.

04:02Oh, here.

04:03Let me hold it, please.

04:04Thank you so much.

04:05Okay, thanks.

04:06The gooey duck was delicious.

04:08Bye-bye.

04:10The Fishman made a splash on Richmond's restaurant scene in 2018 when Chef Bo Lee first opened

04:15the doors.

04:18While some restaurants will allow you to bring your own wine for a corkage fee, The Fishman

04:22lets you bring your own seafood that Bo Lee will cook for you.

04:25All you have to do is drop it off.

04:36Hello, Chef.

04:37Hello, Janice.

04:38Hello.

04:39How are you?

04:40Good to see you.

04:41Good to see you.

04:42Hi, Chef.

04:43Hello.

04:44I'm a special delivery man today.

04:45Nice to meet you, Bo.

04:46Nice to meet you.

04:47Pleasure, man.

04:48Janice picked up some really amazing ingredients for you.

04:50Please, do the honors.

04:51Wow.

04:52Great sea urchin here.

04:53Just came off the boat.

04:54Still alive.

04:55And we have a giant gooey duck.

04:58Yep, yep, yep.

04:59This is a very big one.

05:02I think it's about three pounds.

05:04And then Dungeness crab.

05:06Still moving.

05:07They look amazing.

05:08Beautiful.

05:09Yeah, look at that.

05:10And we got some ling pot.

05:12Lovely.

05:13Some ling pot.

05:14Seven to eight pounds.

05:15Yeah, right, right.

05:16Very well-known fish on the bicycle.

05:18Mm.

05:19How would you describe your cooking?

05:20My background is northern part of China.

05:23So this restaurant and my technique

05:25is developing from Sichuan cuisine

05:29and Cantonese cuisine,

05:31plus my background from northern China.

05:33And so you're, like, creating a whole new category

05:35of cuisine with what you're doing.

05:36My journeys.

05:37Yeah.

05:38That's wonderful.

05:39That's really wonderful.

05:40Chef Bo is one of the most talented chefs in our city.

05:41Yeah, I bet.

05:42I mean, I trust you.

05:43Bo, I can't wait.

05:44Perfect.

05:45I'm excited to cook it.

05:46Amazing.

05:47Thank you, Bo.

05:57I plan to have dinner later tonight

05:58at the Fishman in Richmond with my new friend, Janice.

06:00But first, I'm meeting up with an old friend,

06:02a fellow food critic that I've known for many years.

06:04Hey, Lee.

06:05Lee Man.

06:06Hey, Lee.

06:07Good to see you.

06:08Good to see you.

06:09Good to see you.

06:10How are you?

06:11Whoa.

06:12Very good, very good.

06:13Oh, it's been a minute.

06:14We're going to eat.

06:17Hey, Google.

06:18Golden Paramount Restaurant.

06:23Lee's parents, like many in Richmond,

06:25came to BC from Hong Kong.

06:27Back in the 80s when Lee was growing up,

06:29most of the restaurants around town

06:31were Hong Kong-style Cantonese.

06:33But in the 90s, Mainland Chinese people arrived in waves,

06:38contributing to the explosion of regional cuisine.

06:42It is not just Chinatown.

06:44It is a Chinese city.

06:46Chinese city, yeah.

06:47I love that.

06:48Full range of Chinese dining experience

06:52really exists in Richmond in a way that

06:54I can't think of many of the places in the world

06:56where you'd be able to do that, right?

06:58This is the river delta of the Fraser.

07:00Things are grown here.

07:01They go out and fish.

07:02The local ingredients impact the cooking.

07:05Oh, that's really cool.

07:10Our first stop is a taste of Hong Kong.

07:12Classic dim sum at the Golden Paramount Restaurant.

07:16So, let's yum chao.

07:26Hong Kong-style dim sum places,

07:27they never open the curtains.

07:29I noticed that, yeah, yeah, yeah.

07:30For the past 20 years, the Golden Paramount

07:32has been owned and run by Mei Chao,

07:34who immigrated from Hong Kong in the 80s.

07:36Mei is one of Richmond's only female dim sum chefs.

07:40from Hong Kong-style and Nelson.

07:41I was born in Hong Kong.

07:42I was born in Hong Kong.

07:43I was from Hong Kong.

07:44I was present with him,

07:45I was born here,

07:46and I was six years old.

07:51Look at those morals, my gosh, look at that, I'm going to get my chopstick license revoked.

08:15You know what, me first before you.

08:18Yeah.

08:20Oh, thank you.

08:21That morel mushroom is crazy.

08:26So delicate.

08:27And the mushroom's really kind of accented for me.

08:30Morels are good right now.

08:31They'll have a morel mushroom dish.

08:32With seasonality, they will change out that menu.

08:34Oh, really?

08:35Yeah.

08:36Seasonal themselves.

08:36Yeah.

08:37Morels, which are not a really big Chinese ingredient.

08:40Yeah.

08:41When it's in season, they're like...

08:42I find that so beautiful, and it's one of the reasons why I wanted to spend time eating in Richmond with you,

08:46is to see this obvious marriage between Chinese culture, the Fraser River, and what's available here.

08:52And to see those integrate so beautifully and naturally, in the case of the dim sum here with morels, that's pretty awesome.

08:57That's pretty incredible.

09:01Oh, here we go.

09:02Yeah.

09:02Oh, this is the fanguo that she made.

09:05Oh, nice.

09:05I will admit that once in a while, I tend to poke instead of...

09:08Me too.

09:17Chef May's steamed fanguo dumplings are made with locally-raised pork and shrimp that's caught right off the coast of Richmond.

09:24Wow, there's so many layers to that, between the pork and the mushrooms.

09:29Shrimp, everything.

09:30And you can see all the pleats.

09:32Yeah, it's so delicate.

09:34She's making all of this.

09:35Making it by hand every day.

09:36Which is incredible.

09:37Yeah.

09:37The 13 pleats that May folds into the wrappers of her dumplings is a painstaking process that requires both patience and precision.

09:45Two qualities that define a true dim sum master.

09:48Growing up and having dim sum in Toronto, I'm not Chinese, but I've experienced dim sum as an outsider.

10:15But I know it's special for you.

10:16Yes.

10:17Yeah.

10:17Why is it so special for you?

10:18You know, my parents came from Hong Kong in 1968.

10:22And Vancouver is a very different city in 1968.

10:26The Chinese restaurants were really concentrated in Chinatown.

10:28And things were about, you know, value and size and getting filled up.

10:32And so as dim sum became more and more popular, for my parents, it was a way to really see how life is progressing for us as immigrants, right?

10:42And how Chinese culture isn't just big pots of cheap and easy food.

10:46And we still live with that, right?

10:47We still live with this idea that Chinese food should be cheap.

10:50But Chinese food should be celebrated and hard work and beautiful delicacy.

10:54These dishes, I've always liked me because they're seasonal, they're quietly sophisticated.

11:00You can tell there's so much effort and thought into everything she puts together.

11:04You have to take a bite to understand that this is dim sum for me.

11:08I mean, something so delicate, but it has so much flavor, but it's not overpowered by one thing.

11:14Yeah.

11:14Everything's dancing together.

11:17Mmm.

11:18Mmm.

11:19It almost pierced my eyes.

11:21It's like, whoa.

11:22Chinese communities have existed in B.C. for over 200 years.

11:37And that rich cultural history can be experienced right here in Richmond on a three-block stretch locally known as Eat Street.

11:46Here you can taste the incredible regionality and the diversity of cooking styles, all made with local ingredients.

11:52And right now, I am in the mood for some noodles.

11:58What is Eat Street?

11:59What is it?

12:00Eat Street in Cantonese is Sik Gai, and it is Alexandra Road.

12:05In these few blocks, there is almost every regional Chinese cuisine you could imagine.

12:10There's Cantonese food, there's Taiwanese food, there's Sichuan food.

12:14I feel like I'm getting a little dizzy by looking at all these different places I want to go to.

12:18Yeah.

12:20From the mouth-numbing of Sichuanese to the nuanced flavors of Cantonese cooking, it feels like Eat Street has it all.

12:26The first stop on our noodle hop is at a restaurant called Memory Corner for a taste of Taiwan, which is an amalgam of many Southeast Asian cuisines.

12:41Here, Chef Raymond Wu pays homage to the restaurant his grandparents ran in Taiwan in the 80s by serving up his own interpretation on recipes he learned from them.

12:51This is incredible.

12:52I know.

12:53Isn't it crazy?

13:04It really has a very young vibe to it.

13:06A very, like, second generation, like, art meets food meets culture.

13:11Yes.

13:11There's a lot of character.

13:13It's so cool.

13:14Chef Raymond's specialty, which is also Taiwan's national dish, beef noodle soup that he makes with locally sourced brisket and tomatoes from a farm right here in Richmond.

13:27This I've been looking forward to.

13:29Ah.

13:30That's fast, yeah.

13:31I wasn't actually expecting to see chunks of tomato in there, which is, like, incredible.

13:35I mean, like, everyone's got their beef noodle soup, but, like, the tomato beef noodle soup, I think, is, like, for me, I've been waiting for this.

13:44Oh, wow.

13:46Everything is cooked just right.

13:48Absolutely.

13:49This shank is perfect.

13:52The aromas are alone.

13:53Yeah.

13:54Right?

13:54That tomato is awesome.

13:56The tomato just brightens it up, adds a touch of sweetness.

13:59Mm-hmm.

14:00Right?

14:04Oh.

14:06Noodles.

14:06I love noodles.

14:07I love noodles, too, man.

14:09I love noodles, too.

14:11Hey, Raymond.

14:12How are you?

14:13Good, good, good.

14:13Food.

14:14Food is excellent.

14:14Thank you so much for having us, yeah?

14:16Tell me about this place.

14:17This is, like, a very unique-looking restaurant.

14:19You open the door, and you walk into this room, and it's, like, what?

14:23Yeah.

14:23It's, like, an old-style in Taiwan streets.

14:26I want people to know more about Taiwan.

14:29About everything.

14:30Yeah.

14:30In Taiwan, I brought it to Canada.

14:32Yeah.

14:33That is incredible.

14:33I mean...

14:34And especially the sign.

14:35That's my brand, that's fine.

14:37Oh, so your grandfather had it as a restaurant?

14:38I had it as a restaurant in Taiwan.

14:39This restaurant is inspired by your grandfather?

14:41By my grandfather.

14:41Oh, that's cool.

14:42What about the motorcycle?

14:43The motorcycle?

14:44Yeah.

14:45My grandpa's.

14:46Your grandfather's bike.

14:47Yeah.

14:47This is really...

14:48Yeah, so fresh.

14:50All good?

14:50Thank you, Raymond.

14:51Thank you so much.

14:51Excellent.

14:53See you.

14:55I want one more noodle place.

15:00You got to take me somewhere.

15:01Well, we're going to Yuan Garden.

15:02Okay.

15:03Everyone thinks of this as a Shanghainese restaurant.

15:05They're not.

15:06They're Nanjing.

15:07That's beautiful, because it's kind of adding to this layer cake of cuisine in Richmond,

15:11where it's not just Chinese cuisine.

15:13We're talking, like, regions within sub-regions within sub-regions.

15:16Absolutely.

15:17That's awesome.

15:17And it's something really new.

15:19Like, real Nanjing cuisine is something that a lot of people don't know about.

15:24Nanjing cuisine is all about showcasing the natural flavors of local ingredients, typically

15:29from the Yangtze River Delta.

15:31But here at Yuan Garden, chef Jack Chifeng draws from the Fraser River Delta instead.

15:38Lee has ordered the signature dish, stir-fry noodles with a cured sausage called lapchang,

15:44made using local pork.

15:47Yeah, it's lovely.

15:49Oh, yeah.

15:49Whoa.

15:50Yeah.

15:51Oh.

15:56Oh, my goodness.

15:57I mean, you get that sort of, like, the wok he smokiness.

16:00I mean, like, I'm, like, slightly Malaysian in my lineage, and this takes me right back

16:03to Malaysia.

16:04Wow, like, the best wok fried noodles with sausage.

16:08It's so good.

16:09Yeah.

16:10Simple and delicious, you know?

16:15The second dish is a marriage of Nanjing and Richmond.

16:18Oh, wow.

16:19This is, uh, Nanjing noodle soup.

16:22A hearty bowl of sour chicken noodle soup dressed with local herbs and mushrooms.

16:26That is gorgeous.

16:27Yeah.

16:27And so it's kind of a street food, and here you can see that.

16:30That does not look like street food to me.

16:31No.

16:31I mean, they've got pork skin, they've got lopcho, they've got some wood ear.

16:36Mushrooms, yeah, I see that.

16:37Mushrooms.

16:40Oh, my goodness.

16:40Oh, yeah.

16:41That is comforting.

16:42Yeah.

16:43There's a meatiness to the soup, but it's really delicate.

16:46It doesn't punch you in the face.

16:48It's really, really, it's gentle.

16:50It's like, I like how we have, like, a lot of stuff in our bowl, but we're just drinking

16:52the broth.

16:53I know.

16:53Like, it's like, you know what?

16:54You and I eat the same.

16:56We do eat the same.

16:58I'll return the favor when you're back in Toronto, man.

16:59I love it.

17:00Yeah.

17:00It's dinner time on Eat Street.

17:21And I'm back at the Fishman with Janice to see what Chef Boldy has done with the local

17:25seafood we delivered earlier this morning.

17:26We're joined by Richmond food blogger, Melody Yeh.

17:31Hi, Melody.

17:33It's good to be with you.

17:35So amazing to finally be here.

17:36So you were born in Hong Kong?

17:38Born in Hong Kong.

17:39Yeah.

17:40Grew up in Richmond.

17:42Okay, okay.

17:42Went back and forth a lot.

17:43Yeah.

17:43Melody, how would you define this restaurant?

17:45What is this place to you?

17:47I feel like Fishman is kind of like the perfect intersection between traditional and modern.

17:52Every single time I come here, Chef Bo always manages to introduce me to seafood that I've

17:59never heard of before, but he gives it like his own Chinese flair.

18:06In the kitchen, Bo Li is using a combination of Chinese techniques to play with traditional

18:11recipes and serve up interesting new takes, starting with an appetizer of gooey duck served

18:17two ways.

18:18Oh, my goodness.

18:20Sashimi style.

18:21Ha-ha style.

18:22And Typhoon shelter style, which originated from boat people living in the protected inlets

18:27of Hong Kong, deep fried with a panko crust.

18:30Try the Typhoon shelter.

18:32Of course, yeah.

18:32It's so good.

18:33It's got fermented beans.

18:34Oh, that's what I'm smelling.

18:35Yeah.

18:35Okay.

18:36Get some of the garlic bits, too.

18:37Oh, that's really nice.

18:38Yeah.

18:39Tender meat, a slight sweetness, but that like the fermenty flavor is coming through.

18:44A little bit of pepper, green pepper, or jalapeno.

18:47Every chef does it a little different.

18:48Whoa, that's a spicy one.

18:49It's not a green pepper.

18:50It's a jalapeno.

18:51Yeah.

18:51It really kind of like gives it a little mm.

18:54Got a nice kick.

18:56Mm.

18:57Looks like a better version of like fried calamari.

19:00That's such a good way of describing it.

19:01Next up, the Dungeness crab, served in the manner of Sichuan.

19:10Wow.

19:11This is my favorite.

19:12What's this?

19:13So this is the salted egg yolk Dungeness crab with rice cake.

19:18As the carb, it soaks up all the buttery sauce.

19:22Very rich, very indulgent.

19:25Oh, yeah.

19:26Beautiful egg texture on the outside.

19:29Rice cake.

19:29It's so addictive.

19:30That's really nice.

19:32So that must balance the crab flavor really nicely.

19:36Oh, yes.

19:39Boley Sichuan sauerkraut fish features locally sourced poached lingcod in a sour, spicy, and savory broth with pickled mustard greens.

19:53Oh, what's this?

19:54Here we go.

19:55Is that what I think it is?

19:55Wow.

19:57This is the sour for the lingcod fish.

19:59So this is a signature dish?

20:01Yes, this is our signature dish.

20:03A bit of everything.

20:04Where is this dish from, Chef?

20:06Sichuan and the Yunnan province.

20:07So you have a Sichuanese-inspired dish using locally sourced lingcod.

20:12Yes.

20:12Why?

20:13Why?

20:14Why do you bother?

20:14Really exciting to see the local seafood, first of all.

20:18It's just like a morning coffee for me.

20:20I smell the fish.

20:21It wakes me up.

20:23And with a twist of Chinese technique, it just makes sense for me.

20:28Yeah.

20:28Do people notice it?

20:29Oh, they definitely know.

20:29Do you feel it?

20:30Yes.

20:30Most ordered dish in our restaurant.

20:33Well, that's incredible.

20:34It looks amazing.

20:34Please give it a try.

20:35Yes.

20:35Thank you, Chef.

20:40Oh, wow.

20:41Mmm.

20:43So much.

20:44Oh, wow.

20:44That is just wonderful.

20:46That flesh is just so tender.

20:49And that undercurrent of sauerkraut flavor is really nice.

20:51It actually complements the flesh of the fish really well.

20:55This is quite magical.

20:57This is the happy marriage we're talking about, right?

20:59The happy marriage, yeah.

21:00Tie to table.

21:01Tie to table.

21:02Tie to table.

21:02I love that.

21:03That's a new one.

21:04Yeah.

21:04You have bum to table and tie to table.

21:07Richmond's Chinese food scene is nothing like I've experienced before.

21:10The sheer density of restaurants that are using local ingredients to reimagine traditional recipes is incredible.

21:17As more and more of the city's chef experiment is creating a new category of cuisine.

21:23What's more amazing is that it's really just beginning to evolve.

21:27And I can't wait to see where that innovation takes Richmond next.

22:00Transcription by CastingWords

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