Chinese culinary arts celebrated in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Like all international cities, Canada's Vancouver is home to a full spectrum of global authentic cuisines. Right now, at the center of attention are Chinese cuisines.

For the past six weeks, Vancouverites have been polling online for their favorite Chinese restaurants. The results of the 2009 HSBC Diners' Choice came out Friday. Close to 10,000 voters have identified which are the most popular Chinese restaurants in Vancouver.

Craig Stowe is the founder and director of the Edgewater Casino Chinese Restaurant Awards, under which HSBC Diners' Choice is an important section. Having traveled the world extensively, Stowe realized that the Chinese gourmet capital outside of China is no other place but Vancouver, his home town.

In Stowe's opinion, "Vancouver Chinese cuisine is only second to Shanghai and Hong Kong."

"In Vancouver, there is a redeemable high quality of Chinese food, and everybody has multicultural friends," Stowe told Xinhua." Many years ago, my Chinese friends used to laugh at me when I made dining suggestions. They would say, no, no, there's where only westerners go."

Soon after, Stowe accumulated rich knowledge about authentic Chinese cuisines. "First of all I do not shy away from restaurants with indistinguishable Chinese names," Stowe admitted. "And then Irealized it takes an organization to elevate, recognize, and celebrate the good Chinese food here."

That's when Stowe started pushing for a formal channel to recognize the excellence of Chinese culinary arts in Vancouver. He founded the Chinese Restaurant Awards in 2008.

Another aspect about Chinese dining that Stowe learnt about is, unlike the dining culture of westerners, the way that Chinese dine has always been tied to categories, because different foods are served in different restaurants.