WE ARE IN VANCOUVER

We decided to find a place to have lunch in Vancouver.  Walked around quite a bit and was greeted by my Blue Bar Pigeon.

We tried Kirin, a Chinese restaurant, but it was 2:10 PM and it was to close at 2:30.  Nearby was Din Tai Fung.  Same thing happened our previous trip this past October, when we were in Seattle to catch the Norwegian Encore, stayed a few nights in the city, walked around, and stumbled into another Din Tai Fung.  

I've written about this restaurant many times.  Here is another posting from 2021.  One of my favorite chains in the world.   Here is another article from 2016.  Forbes called it the world's greatest dumplings. Originated in Taiwan.

Like Seattle, this is one of the giant versions, and very popular.  At 2:15PM, there was a huge group waiting to get seated.

So I walked around and filmed the restaurant.

Wow, this is interesting.  To download this video this long, then transferring it to You Tube so that you can see it, took an hour on the ship.  In this hotel, less than a minute.  Anyway, DTF specialized in Shanghai Soup Dumplings, or Xialongbao.

I specialize in enhancing these dumplings by placing one in a small bowl.  Note the glass of Johnny Walker Black Label Whiskey above to the right.  I turn the dumpling upside down, cut a small hole, pour a small amount of the scotch (cognac works fine, too), add sliced ginger  and hot sauce, plus a dark vinegar.  Slurp the concoction into my mouth.  If I know I'll be having Shanghai Soup Dumplings, I always bring my own small bottle of whiskey/cognac.  That small amount of JWBlack was $12 because the cheapest cognac was Hennessey at $14.

The noodle bowl was a pork ramen.  We added garlic green beans, which alone, cost $18.  You can imagine how much this lunch cost.

The Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel is now similar to most Marriotts in the USA and Canada.  Their executive club charges for drinks,  Cheapest is $12 per shot.  Appetizers are also served, but relative to those in Asia, very mediocre.  We'll now only travel in the Orient.  I can imagine that the free breakfast here will also be paltry.  Those Marriott buffet breakfasts in Bangkok, Singapore and anywhere in Japan are so spectacular that this is almost always the best meal of the day.  And it is free for platinum members.

Walked 7415 steps today, and will probably exceed this tomorrow when we have a Chinese lunch in Chinatown, visit Stanley Park, and go wherever the Big Red Bus takes us.

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