New Vancouver restaurant wows with its 16-course Chinese Pacific Northwest tasting menu
It only took one bite for us to realize that Haisan was truly something special.
The new Chinese Pacific Northwest fine dining restaurant is quite obviously a passion project for chef and owner Steven Che, who Dished had the pleasure of chatting with ahead of our 16-course tasting experience.
Haisan is inspired by Che’s lived experience, having been born in Macau, China, and then growing up in Vancouver.
“Chinese Pacific Northwest is kind of the flavours we grew up with in Canada, both going to kind of Chinese restaurants, Hong Kong-style cafes, dim sum places, as well as White Spot, Tim Hortons. It’s just finding the middle ground between those two things,” explained Che when we sat down to chat with him.
When finding that middle ground between the Pacific Northwest and China, Che looked at the geography of both places as inspiration. He actually shared that the name Haisan derives from the Cantonese words ocean (海) and mountain (山), geographies that celebrate both Vancouver and where he grew up in Macau.
This coastal and mountain inspiration speaks to everything at the restaurant, from the food to the actual space that Che said took a little over a year to build.
Interior of Haisan (Marco Ovies/Dished)
“We wanted the space to represent the best parts of the Pacific Northwest, both the ocean and the mountain, which is what Haisan stands for,” Che said.
This is achieved through millwork made locally in Vancouver, in addition to some from China, along with coastal blue curtains that run around the space to help dampen the sound, giving the room a really cozy feeling.
Folks may recognize Che from Vancouver’s Just Pizza, a shop he owns alongside Jan Natividad, built around handcrafted sourdough pizza that has become renowned for its unique offerings like Cumin Lamb and Filipino Breakfast.
But don’t let that fool you into thinking Che has no experience in a fine dining kitchen. He has been working in hospitality since the age of thirteen and has trained in some of the world’s most rigorous kitchens, including a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Norway and a three-hatted restaurant in Australia. He was named Rising Star Chef of the Year at the 2024 Chinese Restaurant Awards and won the 2026 Garland Canada Culinary Competition.
Chef Steven Che (David Karuhije/Haisan)
We don’t mean to jinx it, but we truly believe that Haisan is operating at a Michelin level, made clear through its dedication to service and quality of food and drink.
Che has developed a very intentional menu at Haisan, straight down to him creating the very plates that everything is served on.
“I spent the past three years producing and throwing all the ceramics in the restaurant, so everything you will eat off of will be made by my hands,” he told us.
The first course on the current menu is Beef Siu Mai made with dried mandarin peel and topped with black vinegar — a dish Che explained is meant to be familiar to diners, but also introduces them to the kind of experience that they can expect for the rest of their meal.
“Traditional siu mai is usually made with pork and shrimp, and we wanted to do a twist off of that,” he said. “When I look towards recreating Chinese flavours or dishes. I look to flavour combinations that I really really enjoy, one being beef and dried mandarin peel. We wanted to make something that you couldn’t get at other Chinese restaurants.”
Beef Siu Mai (Marco Ovies/Dished)
This was just one of 16 plates that would be brought to our table, which may sound like an overwhelming amount of food, but is also a very deliberate decision by Che to highlight different ingredients.
“[I like] having courses be more singular in focus and not having to feel like I need to put a whole bunch on a plate to make something worth it or stand out. We can instead focus on one or two ingredients and really make them shine,” he shared.
Dishes following the siu mai included Prawn Tamago with prawn tartar and purple yam and Squid Noodles with century egg and pepper relish before we moved onto another highlight of the night: Persimmon Cashew Paté with a toasted soy dressing offering a fresh, nutty bite.
Persimmon Cashew Paté (Marco Ovies/Dished)
Drinks are also a must here, with a lovely cocktail, wine, and tea program developed by General Manager Jess Ye — one of the brains behind Vancouver’s wine tasting pop-up SuperNoveau. Highlights include the Snow Pear Mountain (pear eau de vie, pear juice, chrysanthemum, ginger, honey, soda, and dehydrated pear) and Hua Mei Highball (preserved salted plum, Chinese yellow wine, oolong tea, emeshu, and soda). Haisan also offers wine and tea pairings to go along with your meal.
Following the persimmon cashew paté, we moved on to other incredible dishes, including Oysters with dried scallops, mussel cream, and drizzled with dill oil; Mussels with burnt honey, fermented black beans, and compressed celery; Milky Chicken in a ginger broth with celtuce; and Rockfish with dried scallops and seaweed before diving into the Onion Soup.
“It tastes just like a sour cream and onion chip,” aptly exclaimed our dining companion after taking a bite.
The Scallion Pancake following our soup course was the dish we were personally the most excited to try (having taken a peek at the menu ahead of our visit). Here the team is serving it with a side of beef tongue and shallot mayo for a DIY customizable bite (complete with a warm towel for cleaning your hands).
A halved Oyster Mushroom with matsutake and prosciutto XO sauce was then brought to our table, followed by Crab Congee with dill gel and red fife miso, and the final savour course of Quail with hawthorn, chestnut, and pea shoots. Then, we moved onto our three courses of dessert (arguably the ideal number of desserts to enjoy).
Pomelo once again made an appearance in the Pomelo Ice — a citrus-forward bite meant to reset our palate ahead of the other two sweet courses. Then we were brought Fried Goat Milk in a delicate batter with osmanthus gel and blueberry jam that was warm and all sorts of comforting.
Roasted Barley Gelato (Marco Ovies/Dished)
“This is my favourite dessert ever,” Natividad said, presenting us with our final course of the night: Roasted Barley Gelato topped with a sesame cookie with coffee molasses and brown butter. This dessert was salty, sweet, and all sorts of delicious, concluding a meal that we dare say was one of the favourites we’ve had in the city.
Upon finishing our meal, we were presented with a menu inside an envelope consisting of all the dishes we tried. Since Haisan is exclusively a tasting menu restaurant, dishes can change from day to day depending on what Che is excited to serve, making this a great way to remember our dining experience.
From start to finish, our meal at Haisan felt unlike any other in Vancouver’s vast dining scene. From the dedication to service and the many delicious bites, this is one meal not to miss.
Haisan
Address: 2892 Commercial Dr., Vancouver
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