If the thought of New Westminster brings to mind a large semi-industrial city with an underutilized waterfront, you owe it to yourself to check your assumptions at the SkyTrain gate and take a ride on the Expo Line down to the revitalized and food-forward River Market on the quay, as well as the surrounding neighbourhood.
What was once a drab wharf-centric shipping zone is a now a busy neighbourhood crammed with new residential developments and the businesses that cater to them. When it comes to food, especially, New West is becoming a destination for dining and drinking, thanks to a few old and new standouts.
Longtail Kitchen
Owner Angus An knew what he was doing when he opened this popular eatery focusing on Thai street food-inspired eats. The bright, window-walled space looks out over the water, and the casual and colourful interior perfectly matches the food. Chef Justin Cheung excels at dishes like the addictive crispy chicken wings with taramind sauce, pad thai, and green curry with fish cake. Simple delights like pulled roti drowned in condensed milk make for a sweet and silky finish. LongtailKitchen.com
Freebird Chicken Shack
Just a few steps away from Longtail sits its brand-new sister restaurant, Freebird. It’s really just a take-away counter in the main food court, but don’t be fooled by its small size. This is some truly stellar free-range and organic Thai-style rotisserie chicken. You can order it in one of two ways. The first style sees the chicken marinated overnight in coconut milk, fish sauce, garlic, soy sauce and palm sugar, before being spitted, roasted and garnished with fried, crispy shallots and toasted rice. The second version is a Thai take on Hainanese chicken, which is salted and poached in a lemongrass and coriander broth, and then roasted to order. Either way, the meat is silky and moist. Get it in whole ($20), half ($12) or quarter ($8) portions, or make it a meal with rice and papaya salad. Come early to order the breakfast congee with salted egg, it’s an eye-opener. FreebirdChickens.com
D Roti Shak
Trinidadian cuisine isn’t quite as common in the Lower Mainland as it is in Toronto (thanks to the latter’s large West Indies population). But, for anyone in the know, D Roti Shak’s new bright yellow-and-green room (it recently went through some renovations) on 12th Street is the place to go when the hankering for proper roti and doubles comes on. Don’t know about doubles? This light sandwich houses tender, curried chickpeas between pillowy, curried rounds of flatbread. Goat curry is also stellar here, but try it in the “bus up shut” roti for extra eye-rolling happiness. Phulourie, little rounds of deep-fried split peas with tamarind sauce, make a great starter. Wash it all down with peanut punch (yes, it’s a thing and you will love it). DRotiShak.com
El Santo
Named for a famed Mexican wrestler who was the childhood hero of owner Alejandro Diaz, El Santo is a pleasant surprise on ever-more-trendy Columbia Street. The blue-walled and elegant room boasts a long bar that stretches to the back, where a cork-face sculpture of the original El Santo graces the wall. Bright yellow booths line the other side, and a semi-open kitchen features a glass-walled opening that gives you tantalizing peeks of what’s on the grill. The menu is more upscale than what locals are used to when it comes to Mexican, but that’s all to the good. The tequila list is long, and flights are available, as well as select mezcals, and a very decent wine list that focuses exclusively on local bottles (all available by the glass). Classics like sopa Azteca with pulled Farmcrest chicken, avocado, chilli-tomato broth and Oaxaca cheese are beautifully spiced and hearty. Braised beef cheek taco with crispy shallots and salsa roja are meltingly good, and the trio of guacamoles are made to order and garnished with pomegranate and crispy pork rinds. ElSanto.ca
• Anya Levykh is a freelance food, drink and travel writer who covers all things ingestible. In addition to obsessively collecting cookbooks, she is a judge for the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @foodgirlfriday.
