We’re crossing cultural lines to bring you our list on the best rice bowls in Vancouver. Whether they take their cue from Korean or Japanese cooking, these modern, comforting dishes are hot, steamy, and packed with an array of flavours and textures.
Flaunting perfectly cooked rice, ideal for soaking up all that saucy goodness, here are our tastiest picks for where you can find the best rice bowls in Vancouver.
Sai Woo
Fried Rice (Jess Fleming / Vancity Buzz)
Sai Woo’s wildly popular Fried Rice bowl makes an appearance on both the dinner and Sunday brunch menu. While the savory dish contains only a handful of ingredients (rice, greens, scallions, and a fried egg) it is incredibly tasty, and will have diners making “mmm” noises with every bite they take. True to form, this bowl is light yet satisfying, moist but not mushy, and boasts delicious charred flavour tones.
Address: 158 East Pender Street
Phone: 604-568-1117
Twitter: @doyousaiwoo
Roaming Dragon
This roaming food truck offers a delicious Red Thai Curry rice bowl, served with either tofu or hormone and antibiotic-free chicken. Those who opt for the marinated and grilled chicken version, can expect to find a colourful bowl garnished with sprouts, peppers, carrots, cilantro, and sesame seeds.
Address: The best way to find the Roaming Dragon food truck is on Facebook, Twitter, and via the StreetFoodApp.
Phone: 604-639-3335
Twitter: @DragonTruck
Torafuku
Ed Lau / Vancity Buzz
On the edge of Chinatown, this modern Asian eatery offers a bowled “Dirty Birdy Rice Dish.” Composed of brown rice, chicken liver, duck gizzards, prawns, tofu, chili, and a deliciously gooey egg, this creative and adventurous dish is satisfaction guarenteed.
Address: 958 Main Street
Phone: 778-903-2006
Twitter: @torafukuYVR
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Belgard Kitchen
Photo courtesy of Belgard Kitchen
Those in Railtown looking for a delicious and filling rice bowl around midday should make a beeline for Belgard Kitchen. The Dunlevy Avenue eatery, which shares its space with Vancouver Urban Winery and Postmark Brewing, offers a Korean-inspired rice bowl at lunch only. This tasty dish is comprised of gai lan (Chinese broccoli), cabbage, edamame, Siracha, and a free-range fried egg.
Address: 55 Dunlevy Avenue
Phone: 604-699-1989
Twitter: @BelgardKitchen
PiDGiN
Photo courtesy of PiDGiN Restaurant (Popcorn)
PiDGiN offers its patrons a variety of small plates designed to be sampled and shared, as well as a range of larger more substantial dishes, including their sought after pork belly rice bowl. This comforting dish consists of tender chucks of pork belly, Asian pear kimchi, bamboo, and a delicate quail egg, all presented atop fluffy white rice. This dish is best enjoyed with one of the restaurant’s carefully crafted cocktails.
Address: 350 Carrall Street
Phone: 604-620-9400
Twitter:@pidginvancouver
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar
Photo courtesy of Boulevard (Leila Kwok)
Served in a stone bowl at brunch only, Boulevard‘s Korean Rice Bowl features Snake River Farm wagyu, galbi sausage, kimchi, a free-range sunny side up egg, and sesame dressing. Wash it down with a cheeky brunch-inspired libation or two.
Address: 845 Burrard Street (at the Sutton Place Hotel)
Phone: 604-642-2900
Twitter: @blvdyvr
Ed’s Daily Commissary
This neighbourhood café and commissary offers a deliciously hearty Kimchi Chicken Fried Rice bowl. The rotating hot lunch special is made up of tender marinated chicken breast, peppers, mushrooms, a wonderfully runny fried egg, and fresh cilantro, and is served on a bed of jasmine rice.
Address: 686 Powell Street, Strathcona
Phone: 604-424-8788
Twitter: @edsdaily
Rajio Japanese Public House
Rajio Japanese Public House’s Hot Stone Crab Bibimbap will leave you feeling comforted and satisfied. The mixed rice bowl is made up of sweet snow crab, salmon row, julienned fluffy omelette, shiso herbs, scallions, an original sauce with a hint of ginger, and superbly cooked rice, which does a fabulous job of absorbing all the delicious flavours.
Address: 3763 West 10th Avenue, Point Grey
Phone: 604-558-1679
Twitter: @rajio3763
Guu Garlic
This izakaya-style restaurant offers a flavourful taco rice bowl. As the name suggests this dish features ingredients commonly found in a taco. Think ground pork, house salsa, onion, tomato, and other veggies, which are served on a bed of rice in a hot stone bowl. The combo is like no other. Cheese is optional.
Address: 1698 Robson Street
Phone: 604-685-8678
Shizen Ya
While rice bowls tend to feature hot ingredients Shizen Ya on Hornby Street offers an organic brown rice sushi bowl, which they have topped with fresh wild sockeye salmon sashimi, Albacore tuna sashimi, and spinach ohitashi (cooked spinach). This meal is light, refreshing, and will leave you lingering for more.
Address: 985 Hornby Street
Phone: 604-568-0013
Twitter: @shizenya_van
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