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SEE: Millennium Gate
The 15-metre-tall Chinatown Millennium Gate, which spans Pender Street at the western entrance to Chinatown, was opened in July 2002. The sculpture, rich with Eastern and Western designs, was erected to symbolize a journey in time: linking past and future, East and West.
EAT: Foo’s Ho Ho
The cheap and cheerful Foo’s Ho Ho (102 E. Pender St., 604-609-2889) recalls an era when Pender Street vibrated with neon signs. Regulars order the special chicken platter — a whole de-boned chicken is stuffed with slightly sweet sticky rice that combines Chinese sausage, chicken, mushrooms and pepper.
SHOP: Peking Lounge
The exquisite antique pieces at Peking Lounge (83 E. Pender St., 604-844-1559) are personally selected by the owners on their frequent buying trips to Beijing. Locals eagerly anticipate their frequent new shipment sales showcasing ornate armoires, cabinets, chests, chairs and many accent pieces.
BUY: Pu-Erh Tea
Tea merchant Daniel Lui offers tastings of Pu-Erh (pronounced “pü wär”) at his Arts de Chine (101 E. Pender St., 604-633-1322) shop. The tea leaves, harvested from 2,000-year-old trees on the Yi Wu mountain in Yunnan province, are extremely valuable — vintage batches can command up to $1,000 (U.S.) per gram.
BUY: Dollar Meat
The prize at Dollar Meat (266 E. Pender St., 604-681-0536) is the assortment of cured meats that have an international fan base reaching all the way to Hong Kong (large quantities are shipped to the U.S. and China). The lap cheong (cured sausages) strike a perfect balance between salty and sweet; the air-dried pork belly is deeply aromatic; and the pressed duck is like duck prosciutto.
