'Top Chef Canada' runner-up to host one-day-only, $10 congee pop-up in North Vancouver

A one-day-only congee pop-up is coming to Vancouver, and it’s brought to us by Top Chef Canada season 10 runner-up Chef Dez Lo in collaboration with local seafood purveyor EatFish and Vancouver-based condiment brand Holy Duck Chili Oil.

Called Good Jook Congee Bar (“jook” being the Cantonese word for congee), the event is taking place at Shipbuilder’s Square in North Vancouver.

Here, guests will be able to choose between two crafted bowls: the OG Seafood Jook (fish congee built on a B.C. halibut stock and topped with a selection of fresh West Coast seafood) and Shroom Jook (a umami-rich mushroom congee featuring XO mushroom sauce and pickled hon shimeji mushrooms). If that didn’t already sound delicious, each bowl will be priced at $10.

OG Seafood Jook from Good Jook Congee Bar

“Congee is one of those dishes that looks simple, but carries so much history,” said Lo. “For a lot of us with Hong Kong roots, it represents resilience. It’s what families turned to when times were tough. To be able to bring that story forward using ingredients from here in B.C…. that feels really meaningful.”

To kick things up a notch, there will also be an Add Oil Station courtesy of Holy Duck Chili, allowing guests to finish their bowl with a free-flow selection of Holy Duck Chili oils.

“It’s about honouring where congee culture comes from and inviting people to engage with it in their own way,” said Louise Pang, co-founder of Holy Duck Chili. “Our Add Oil Station lets people build their own bowl depending on how they like it, how they remember it, or how they’re discovering it for the first time.”

The pop-up takes place on Sunday, May 3 and runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Good Jook Congee Bar

When: Sunday, May 3
Where: Shipbuilder’s Square — 19 Wallace Mews, North Vancouver
Admission: Free admission; food available for purchase

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