Peaceful Restaurant (Vancouver Elective 2015)

Anyone close to me knows my keen love affair with the Food Network. As a child I recall squatting in front of the TV as Iron Chefs Morimoto or Chen Kenichi (he was my favourite!) did battle with challengers or watching Chef Michael Smith creating and crafting in his home kitchen. Now with those shows off the airwaves, I latched upon Chef Guy Fieri, host of Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives. His show as most of you know focuses upon American restaurants, but he did have the occasional venture into Canadian soil, one of which was to Vancouver to Peaceful Restaurant.

Found on bustling West Broadway, Peaceful Restaurant was conveniently within walking distance from the hospital and clinic I was working at for my elective. Due to their popularity, perhaps complimented by their feature on TV, the restaurant was anything but peaceful (he he) with a significant line forming out of the modest sized restaurant. As you can see the exterior is a plain red banner with flourescent white lettering while the interiors are moderately lit, minimalistic and designed for efficiency. Certainly not going to win any decor awards, Peaceful restaurant was at most importantly comfortable.

North Chinese cuisine is often ignored by the major populace and so it was refreshing to see a restaurant take it to heart. The classics one would expect are all well and accounted for here, while I was more impressed by the number of rarer and more nuanced dishes I have rarely encountered in Canada. Certainly there is enough here for everyone, but be warned that the majority of dishes are carbohydrate laden and fairly heavy with nary a salad and minimal greens to be found.

I grew up eating Beijing Zha-Jiang Mian Noodles and it was so pleasing to see a restaurant do them justice. A thick and chewy flour based noodle forms the vehicle to carry the black bean and hoison based pork sauce. The chefs here do a nice job of adding a splash of vinegar to cut through the fattiness in the chunks of pork and contrasting the saltiness and sweetness of the hoison. Freshness and crunch is given by the cucumbers, carrots and bean sprouts laden through the dish. Excellent!

Xiao Long Bao Steamed Buns is a Shanghainese delicacy where juicy pork filling is encompassed within a soft exterior shell and steamed to perfection. The key here is in the wrapper which needs to be thin enough to not intrude in the other ingredients but thick enough to hold everything in, and in that aspect Peaceful does well! Disappointingly though, was the lack of any juice within each dumpling, a critical aspect of a perfect Xiao Long Bao and one that unfortunately make the version here subpar.

Perhaps the dish that put them on the map, the Peaceful Beef Roll was prominently featured by Chef Fieri during his visit. I can see why as the dish had a nice balance of fatty beef with the crispy exterior, a hint of sweetness from hoison and freshness from onion. Surprisingly light and refreshing, these beef rolls were ultimately the best part of the meal.

Peaceful Restaurant was not perfect, but certainly there is enough here to wholeheartedly recommend for traditional Northern Chinese cuisine. Its popularity and notoriety are deserved and while it can be easy to grumble about the long wait times, the food ultimately is worth it!