The folks at Vancouver Food Tour have just launched a vegan specific tour showcasing some of the newest Vegan eateries located in and around Chinatown.
I participated in one learning a little bit more about Veganism, as well as I had a chance to try some delicious plant based dishes and beverages. The tour includes 4 stops at various eateries plus a bonus stop at a vegan grocer to end the tour, you will have snacks as well as main dishes and you are going to be quite full by the end.
Started off at Meet Gastown, a restaurant whose name is a play on words, it is a busy spot that has been a draw for locals and locals alike since opening. Here I enjoyed a snack, their Sweet Chili Cauliflower, it’s house beer-battered with their tamarind chili-ginger glaze finished with scallions & sesame seeds; a local craft beer was served as well for the perfect pairing (I, however opted for a non-alcholic beverage and had a Ginger Shrub).
After a short walk we arrived at the next destination, it was to Virtuous Pie, it’s a plant based pizzeria who has been around a couple of years, popular amongst the vegan customers as well as non-vegan, they also have some really tasty ice cream. At this stop it was for their pizza, I got to try the Meatball + Chevre Pizza that was topped with San Marzano Tomato Sauce, 33 Acres Brewing Chorizo Meatballs, Creamed Spinach, Lemon Herb Chevre, Basil, Fresh Parm; this was a tasty pie and one that I hadn’t tried before; you get a beverage pairing at this stop as well.
Next it was another short walk over to one my favourite new plant based eateries, Kokomo. Here it is all about bowls of salads, curries and other health oriented dishes, plus they have delicious smoothies, and Cocowhip and they are the first and only place in Canada that has this plant based goodness treat. It is creamy, made with coconut water, vegetable probiotics and no refined sugar. Here we had their Coastal Macro Bowl, a big portioned bowl with brown rice, greens, edamame hummus, pickled cabbage, cucumber, radicchio, tempeh, roasted squash, with a tasty dressing it is a bowl of goodness that’s for sure.
Another short walk was to Umaluma, a plant based gelato shop and a recent newcomer to Chinatown, I love this one so I was happy to see we were visiting them as part of the tour. Here I had a Mahalo Macadamia Chocolate Gelato on a cone. This was the last eating stop and I was quite full at this point. We were fortunate to have a bonus stop to visit Vegan Supply, a very unique vegan grocery store located across the street from the gelato shop.
All in all it was a fun tour around the area to eat and drink some vegan food and beverages. Vancouver Food Tour is offering these tours quite often and for only $79 per person, get in touch with them to book one for you and your visiting friends.
By: Richard Wolak