I recently spent a week test driving the Acura RDX 2019 car around the city while I was out and about trying some new dishes and such at restaurants inside and outside of Vancouver.
The Acura RDX has been totatlly redesigned for their 2019 model from the ground up and from the front to the rear inside the car features as well as under the hood. I spent some time with the Acura product manager Steve to learn about their new features and such. I then hit the road so to speak and headed out to Kitsilano to try The Tempest at Storm City Coffee which was a delicious black sesame and white chocolate mocha and topped with whipped cream and a house-made matcha cream puff. Such a creative and stunning coffee beverage that is served in this clear glass mug.
Acura’s 3.5-liter V-6 at 272 horsepower there’s more to the new direct-injection, i-VTEC®, all-aluminum, turbocharged engine than its awe-inspiring 272 horsepower*. There’s also the fact it’s been tuned for greater power and acceleration with a peak torque at only 1600 rpm* and is perfectly mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission for seamless gear shifts.
One thing that I love to do when I have a chance to get out to Richmond is to satisfy my dumpling craving and what better way to do it than partaking in a self guided tour of the Dumpling Trail. Tourism Richmond has created and recently updated a walkable, self-guided tour that showcases Richmond as a culinary destination. Each location on the Trail offers unique varieties of dumplings and Tourism Richmond has identified some of the city’s best.
I chose to visit a few restaurants where parking was fairly easy to find and the Acura RDX was easy to maneauver when finding parking spots. Starting off at Empire Seafood, the adjascent parking lot offers some areas for free parking while patronizing this restaurant.
If you glance at the Richmond Dumpling Trail map you will see which dumplings they specialize in here and they have many more on their menu. Starting off at Empire Seafood Restaurant, a first time visit for me, it’s a beautiful yet busy restaurant serving up daily dim sum in the heart of Richmond. I enjoyed the Har Gow (shrimp dumplings), Wu Gok (taro dumpling filled with duck) along with the Siu Mai, Scallop Dumplings and the Mushroom truffle dumpling.
Next stop was a few blocks away to the new Dinesty Dumpling House on Gilbert Road, this is the newest and largest restaurant for this local chain. Here I enjoyed the Xiao Long Bao (Soup dumplings), Cucumber with garlic and chili peppers, Drunken chicken with wine, Vegi & pork wontons and Steamed red bean buns. There is an underground parking lot here which offers free parking for restaurant guests.
Last stop was to Samsoonie Noodle & Rice a great new discovery for me where they specialize in Korean comfort food. I loved the Fried Korean Spicy Dumplings which are known as Mandu, also loved the Vegetables with Potato Noodles and Mandu (Dumplings); also had some of their Banchan along with the Wonton soup, and Seafood pancake that was filled with seafood. Parking here is a little harder on busy days, but with the parking lot at street level I was able to find a spot behind the restaurant.
The Dumpling Trail offers visitors the opportunity to explore Richmond’s food scene, while demystifying Asian cuisine in the city, check out the types of dumplings on offer here.
There are some great new features that I loved in this car, from the heated steering wheel and heated seats which had 3 settings for each of the front seats. Inside the car they now offer a very cool touch display and easy movement between features such as the audio selections of am, pm and Sirius xm radio, Apple car play, map navigation and so much more. At the rear of the vehicle I learned about the trunk kick which has been improved in this model for balance when loading in groceries or other items in to the trunk.
The next day I took a few friends with me for lunch to Langley, Zahra sat in the front passenger seat, while Naomi and Stephanie were seated in the rear seats, they both remarked how they enjoyed the spacious legroom and the smooth ride in the Acura. We visited BCD Academy and Catering in downtown Langley for a delicious lunch created by Chef Parinya Loptson and Chef Sadapphin Phothong.
As the restaurant was taking part in the Vancouver Soup Festival we tried each of their soup offerings, including the delicious Gaeng Liang Soup with cheese ice cream, followed by the outstanding Green Pea soup with chicken ravioli and the Tom Yum Soup.
We also enjoyed their signature Pad Thai, Fish in oik pad prik khing sauce along with there delicious Thai coconut milk custard along with other savouries and sweets.
Afterwards we visited Hugo’s Mexican Kitchen in nearby Surrey for some Mexican dishes and desserts. Here I had my favourite Horchata, then shared the Guacamole and chips and Queso fundido with tofu chorizo and their outstanding Churros with goat milk caramel with my friends.
A couple of other great features are the available colour Head-Up Display (HUD) which projects helpful navigation information, speed and traffic signs, quick access to audio and phone as well as safety warning alerts onto your windshield into your line of sight. The other is a very cool safety feature, the available Surround View Camera System* that is engineered to give you a 360-degree view of the space around the RDX. Six unique camera views, parking sensor information and dynamic guidelines that show your expected path connect you with your surroundings. And with a rear camera washer, you’ll be able to see more, more often.
On Sunday morning I visited one of the newest bakery cafes on Commercial Drive, Livia Sweets, such a beautiful cafe, loved the decor, I had a Cortado made with Milano coffee and took a Challah home to try. Can’t wait to return to try more of what Claire Livia has to offer in her bakery.
In the afternoon during a visit to New Westminster for lunch I headed to Solodko Bakery for my second visit in a few weeks, this time to try Baba Anya’s Nalysnyky filled with cottage cheese which were delicious.
I really enjoyed the newly designed Acura RDX it was a great car to drive in and around Vancouver in the to try some great eateries.
By: Richard Wolak
Disclosure: Honda Canada provided me with the 2019 Acura RDX for a week to test drive, and photograph.