New to Vancouver

Goodbye

chrisrawk — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:17:50 +0000

After an exciting year in Vancouver, I moved to a smaller city in the interior. So for the time being, this is the end of new2van blog.

Japadog: Vancouver’s Best Street Food

chrisrawk — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:41:04 +0000

Japadog is a “must try” food choice in Vancouver. http://www.japadog.com/

Vancouver doesn’t have much in the way of street food. There’s only greasy pizza-by-the-slice or hotdogs. However, even with such paucity of choice, there is one shining jewel among the street vendors. Japadog is the champion and savior of Vancouver street food.

The original location is on the corner of Burrard Street and Smithe Street, in front of Sutton Place Hotel. Now, though, they have a permanent restaurant on Robson and Richards (? I think ?).

They make special “Japanese-style” fusion hotdogs. The sausages are different than a normal Canadian dog. They use European-style schnitzel sausages. White bratwurst-style pork, black kurobuta-Asian pork, kobe beef – the meat is the basis of the great flavors. The toppings are Japanese: dried fish shavings, daikon radish, terriyaki sauce, wasabi, okonomi sauce and others. I know it might seem a bit strange for many Canadians – but once you try one you’ll become a true fan.

Don’t take my word for it; just look at the massive line-ups at Japadog. Their hotdog stand is busy every day of the week. And their concept has inspired a few other “fusion” hotdog competitors (Ex. Mexi-dog, located on Burrard and Georgia Street).

Line-up at Japadog

Menu (from Japadog Web site)

Last Olympic Photos

chrisrawk — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:18:33 +0000

Granville Street

Robson Street Light Show

Spring Flowers and Left-over Christmas Lights

Vancouver International Broadcast Centre

chrisrawk — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:29:54 +0000

Last night I was surprised to see the Earth rotating inside the press centre.

International Broadcast Centre

Olympic Flame Hidden Behind Chain-Link Fence

chrisrawk — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:20:38 +0000

The Olympic flame is really beautiful to see. VANOC did a good job on the design of the cauldron and supports. It is located next to English Bay on the north side of downtown (next to the International Press Centre and near Canada Place). If you go down to see it, expect huge crowds.

I think it looks best at night when the supporting columns are lit a bright “icy” blue. I was surprised by just how much fire there was. It’s not a small candle; it’s a huge fire.

The one unfortunate thing is that the Olympic flame is “protected” by a high and ugly chain-link fence. I wish they had made it more accessible to people. Or even built a viewing platform so the crowds of people could see it clearly. Or, if nothing else, why didn’t they build a plexi-glass fence instead of a chain-link fence?

Vancouver’s 2010 Chinese New Year Parade & Olympic Sunday

chrisrawk — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:00:27 +0000

Sasquatch Stalking Vancouver Streets

The Sasquatch visited downtown Vancouver on the weekend. I’m not sure if he’s interested in sports or just wanted to eat some street food.

Lunar New Year Parade - Grandfather Tiger

Chinese New Year Parade

Michael Ignatieff Connects with the Crowd in Vancouver

Colourful Tigers Welcome the New Year

Robson Street Zip-line

chrisrawk — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:17:58 +0000

The Robson Street zip-line looks realllllly fun. They had a 4-hour line-up yesterday, so I’ll have to check back for my chance later in the month.

Robson Street Zip-line. Look Centre-left

Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

First-Nations Culture: Songs & Dances

chrisrawk — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:11:16 +0000

I spent some time at the First-Nations house yesterday near the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (Georgia & Hamilton Street). The centre wasn’t open to the public yesterday, but they had 2 stages of music and dancing. Later today I want to stop by their artist showcase.

FYI, Haida-Gwaii has a separate pavilion closer to BC Place. I guess they are not a “host nation”, so they are not part of the main centre.

Traditional story & dance

Singer

Olympics: 4 Host First-Nations

chrisrawk — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:01:22 +0000

R.I.P. Nodar Kumaritashvili!

New totem at 4 host First-Nations House

Beautiful blue totem

2010 Olympic Torch Relay Route

chrisrawk — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:42:13 +0000

The Olympic torch is currently in Surrey. It should be closer to my neighborhood later this week, and I’ll try to get out and snap a photo if I can figure out the timing and route.

Looking at the official map, I think the “runner” might have to swim the torch from UBC to downtown Vancouver.

Olympic Torch Route

My screen capture is a bit blurry, so go http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/olympic-torch-relay/olympic-torch-relay-interactive-map/ for the real map.