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Vancouver Sun

For 15 years, Vancouver's Bao Bei gives customers what they want — and brings back some fan favourites

Article content Much has changed since Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie's trademark neon sign first lit up Keefer Street 15 years ago. Article content Article content For one thing, the city's culinary and cocktail scenes have evolved, perhaps in part due to the pioneering restaurant. Article content 'I think when we opened Bao Bei, there were a lot of fine dining restaurants in the city but no casual dining restaurants with a fun atmosphere,' said co-owner Tannis Ling. Article content Article content Article content Those dishes include Crispy Pork Belly with Vietnamese cilantro sauce, the Shan Tofu with chickpea tofu, and the Steamed Spring Salmon with cilantro and Thai basil fumet. Article content Other anniversary events include a pop-up dinner June 22 with Jesse Grasso, a former sous-chef at Bao Bei and now a chef at Pichai in Montreal. Article content 'We're going to put a bunch of old photos up on Instagram and talk about the good old days before COVID and get people in a nostalgic mood,' Ling said. Article content Article content Bao Bei has also employed high-end ingredients and cooking techniques, and good service from the start, says Ling. Upon opening, it was hailed as a 'best new restaurant' from periodicals such as Where and En Route. Article content Article content 'I've always prided myself on providing every aspect of the restaurant at the highest level, from a great playlist to great glassware, lighting, furniture, menu, design, staffing, service. The restaurant has to have the whole package in order to work for me.' Article content Ling was 33 when she opened Bao Bei. Prior to that she was a bartender at Chambar, as well as overseas. She decided on Chinatown partly because she had fond memories of visiting the neighbourhood with her parents as a child, and because it would be easy to source food from nearby shops. Article content 'I think it was just us, the Keefer Bar and Fortune Sound Club. It was lacking some foot traffic and some life and energy on the street. There's definitely more of that these days. There is a lot more residential and a lot more businesses. I would say there's quite a burgeoning bar scene happening in Chinatown.'