I’ve been writing about Chinatown for 15 years and it never fails to fascinate me, the way it resists what is happening anywhere else in the city and the way I learn something new, peel away another layer, every time I look at it again closely.
Last year, Chinatown went through a huge upheaval as talk of building towers in the historic neighbourhood brought various camps to the brink of war. The towers talk is receding — the last time I spoke with city planner Brent Toderian, he was talking about no buildings higher than 100 feet — but the angst remains and there’s a whole new layer of Chinatown fans who have entered the fray.
My story on this in Vancouver magazine this month.
By the way, the Bao Bei restaurant I refer to in here hasn’t opened yet, but I drove past it today and it looks very cool. “A Chinese bistro” is what the sign in the window said, I believe. It’s right across Keefer Street from the Floata Restaurant mall. The operator, Tannis Ling, has been until now working with Chambar, I discovered while snorkelling the Internet recently.