Signature Dish Dining Festival

I tasted my way around some of the restaurants participating in the Signature Dish Dining Festival in Burnaby recently. Happy to have been invited along with some other media to try a multitude of Signature Dishes at three very different Chinese restaurants.

BC Prawns & Scallops with Vegetables

Alberta Beef with pickled green

Spicy Chicken with peanuts

Spicy Green Beans

The first restaurant we visited on the tasting tour was Alvin Garden where we sampled many dishes, I especially liked the BC Prawns & Scallops with Vegetables, Alberta Beef with pickled green, Spicy Chicken with peanuts, and Spicy Green Beans.

Created and organized by Chinese Restaurant Awards (CRA), the Signature Dish Dine Out Festival is the first of its kind in North America. It will take place between November 1st – 18th, 2011, with 18 restaurants in Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby participating, each offering different exclusive menus designed and prepared by top local Chinese chefs. Diners may choose from menus for 4 people at $100, menus for 6 people at $150, or menus for 10 at $300, and find out about these exciting menus online at the Festival’s official website: www.ChineseDiningGuide.com To participate, diners may simply call or make reservations at the participating restaurants and make note of their desire to try the Signature Dish Dine Out Festival’s menu.

The second restaurant that we visited was Fortune House where we sampled many more dishes.

Pan Fried Jumbo Prawns

Alberta Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Walnuts in basket

I loved the Pan Fried Jumbo Prawns as well as the Alberta Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Walnuts in basket.

Signature Dish Dine Out Festival breaks ground by establishing a creative platform that encourages local Chinese chefs to create innovative dishes with fresh, local ingredients, while the public take part in enjoying them.

We then visited Grand Dynasty to taste some more dishes.

Pan-Fried Double Lobsters with Amoy home-made Sweet sauce

My favourite dish was the Pan-Fried Double Lobsters with Amoy home-made Sweet sauce.

Building on CRA’s three consecutive years of success with Diner’s Choice Awards, diners can vote online for the Best Restaurant, Best Service, Best Dinning Environment and Most Innovative, all under the Signature Dish Dine Out Festival category in the upcoming Diner’s Choice Awards commencing this November. Eight critics from this year’s CRA judging panel will also taste the dine-out dishes from all 18 participating restaurants and carefully select dishes that are best fit for the following award categories: Best Alberta Beef, Best Alberta Pork, and Best dish made with Amoy Sauces. Results will constitute to CRA 2012‘s Critics Choice Award and will be announced at CRA award ceremony on January 17, 2012.

Make sure that you visit at least one of the participating restaurants in the Signature Dish Dining Festival.

By: Richard Wolak

Leave a Reply