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Hawaiian food is legit. If California fusion cuisine could ever reach the tastiness of Hawaiian food, I'd be eating California fusion WAY more often. Sort of wish we had more than L&L, Ohono, or other Hawaiian BBQ chains here. Much of the way Hawaiian cuisine developed was because of the plantation culture that existed there: the practice of using spoon & fork for rice dishes (Filipino), use of spam (indigenous Hawaiian), use of sausages (Portuguese), use of seaweed and raw meat (Japanese), use of BBQ items (Korean), etc. all mix together to create one tasty cuisine.
About 15 minutes after I wrote that post I went to L&L and got 2 SPAM and 1 Portuguese sausage musubi for lunch, haha. It was so good and now just thinking about it again gives me a craving. I would kill for some Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice right now. Yeah I love Hawaiian food it's just too bad a lot of it really not that healthy for you.
About 15 minutes after I wrote that post I went to L&L and got 2 SPAM and 1 Portuguese sausage musubi for lunch, haha. It was so good and now just thinking about it again gives me a craving. I would kill for some Portuguese sausage, eggs, and rice right now. Yeah I love Hawaiian food it's just too bad a lot of it really not that healthy for you.
Yeah, most of those things I can't eat for religious purposes, so I usually settle for getting chicken/fish katsu, BBQ chicken/fish, or if I'm really hungry, loco moco. There isn't a Hawaiian BBQ place within walking distance of work, but there are a lot of them out in the SFV closer to my house, and I usually hit those up every once in a while.
Like any other good cuisine, moderation is key!
There's really nothing like that YET on a massive scale on the North American mainland, though I really love tasting Korean-style burritos and tacos. In terms of Vancouver, it doesn't help that there's a huge question mark next to "Canadian cuisine" aside from a stop to Tim Horton's, so there'd literally be nothing to fuse with. I mean, I have seen things called "British Columbia Roll" which includes salmon, but other than that, nothing too big yet.
Yeah, most of those things I can't eat for religious purposes, so I usually settle for getting chicken/fish katsu, BBQ chicken/fish, or if I'm really hungry, loco moco. There isn't a Hawaiian BBQ place within walking distance of work, but there are a lot of them out in the SFV closer to my house, and I usually hit those up every once in a while.
Like any other good cuisine, moderation is key!
There's really nothing like that YET on a massive scale on the North American mainland, though I really love tasting Korean-style burritos and tacos. In terms of Vancouver, it doesn't help that there's a huge question mark next to "Canadian cuisine" aside from a stop to Tim Horton's, so there'd literally be nothing to fuse with. I mean, I have seen things called "British Columbia Roll" which includes salmon, but other than that, nothing too big yet.
The Globe and Mail took an informal poll to determine what Canadians consider to be the most quintisential Candian dishes and the following were the results:
51% Poutine
14% Montreal-style bagels
11% Salmon Jerky (dried smoked salmon)
10% Pierogi
7% Ketchup chips
4% Nova Scotian Donair
1% California roll
I do love Old Dutch ketchup chips though...
But basically, the top two vote-getters were both Quebecois or Montreal food choices. Though they admitted if maple syrup had been a choice, that probably would've been the top vote-getter. I have to say though, that when I lived in Edmonton as a kid, I did eat a lot of Ukrainian food, so pierogis were eaten a lot and they seem to be fairly common, though I've never had them in Vancouver.
But, I'll say that while Vancouver doesn't have that strong of a regional cuisine outside of the standard bases of the Pacific Northwest(excellent fresh seafood, local beer/wine, locally grown produce) and Canadian cuisine is basically not much different than as broad a term as American cuisine--it does do a few styles very well. Japanese food for one is very good, both for sushi and the more recetn izakaya style places. Indian food is great there as well. And some of the Chinese restaurants I've been to in the suburbs were as good as anything I've had anywhere in the West Coast--I was stoked to find a place that did Shanghai-style soup dumplings and got it right--plus Northern Chinese cusine and other regional styles. I've never gone for much Korean and Vietnamese up there outside of a few super cheap joints around downtown that weren't spectacular--and especially since Portland actually has some pretty good Vietnamese places on the east side.
The one thing I found sort of overhyped in Vancouver that was supposedly unique was the Japadog--which is a hot dog with different Japanese-style topping on top. It's tasty, but it's not as good as something like the whole Korean taco in terms of fusion.
But basically, the food choices in Vancouver are good, but very similar to what you'll find in other West Coast cities--perhaps just a little more focused on Asian and European styles and without the Mexican food influence you find further south. But someone coming from California wouldn't be that suprised at what's available.
Hawaii on the other hand is just a unique melting pot. Just like New Orleans and parts of Louisiana developed their own unique Creole cuisine mixing together myriad number of cultures--the same is true for Hawaii. For me, it's all about the seafood dishes--ahi poke(or with octupus) or lomi salmon--but I love good Kalua pork as well. I had fun just eating at the little saimin stands though as well when I've been in Hawaii.
The Globe and Mail took an informal poll to determine what Canadians consider to be the most quintisential Candian dishes and the following were the results:
51% Poutine
14% Montreal-style bagels
11% Salmon Jerky (dried smoked salmon)
10% Pierogi
7% Ketchup chips
4% Nova Scotian Donair
1% California roll
I do love Old Dutch ketchup chips though...
But basically, the top two vote-getters were both Quebecois or Montreal food choices. Though they admitted if maple syrup had been a choice, that probably would've been the top vote-getter. I have to say though, that when I lived in Edmonton as a kid, I did eat a lot of Ukrainian food, so pierogis were eaten a lot and they seem to be fairly common, though I've never had them in Vancouver.
California roll was an option? Does anyone see the irony in that?
Haha, I knew it would be poutine! Maple-syrup isn't really a dish, per se, unless people in Canada eat maple syrup with a spoon like I used to do as a rotund, overweight 8 year old kid.
Just like anything else, the most quintessentially Canadian thing would typically be something that originated in Quebec, since there really isn't any area in the Western Hemisphere that is like it. The rest of Canada is pretty interchangeable with most of the United States, save for the metric system and spelling of some words (more British influenced). Even the latter is changing with the advent of the internet, as I have been finding out more and more.
As a % of the White population, Canada generally has more Eastern Europeans (Polish and Ukrainian mostly) than the United States, a lot whom settled in the Prairie Provinces. However, British Columbia for the most part had the standard British Isles + German mix than "Anglo" America is made up of, which lends to the "uniqueness" of the local cuisine.
Thankfully, more than the English, Irish, Scottish,and Welsh came to North America. Imagine how awful our food would be?
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But, I'll say that while Vancouver doesn't have that strong of a regional cuisine outside of the standard bases of the Pacific Northwest(excellent fresh seafood, local beer/wine, locally grown produce) and Canadian cuisine is basically not much different than as broad a term as American cuisine--it does do a few styles very well. Japanese food for one is very good, both for sushi and the more recetn izakaya style places. Indian food is great there as well. And some of the Chinese restaurants I've been to in the suburbs were as good as anything I've had anywhere in the West Coast--I was stoked to find a place that did Shanghai-style soup dumplings and got it right--plus Northern Chinese cusine and other regional styles. I've never gone for much Korean and Vietnamese up there outside of a few super cheap joints around downtown that weren't spectacular--and especially since Portland actually has some pretty good Vietnamese places on the east side.
Yeah, I've only had Korean at this one place near UBC and went to some small pho shop in East Vancouver, and I'd have to say it was pretty subpar. My friends from there agreed that Vancouver really doesn't have that many great options for Korean or Vietnamese, but it does fill cravings whenever they are up there. Seattle has better options (not sure about PDX since all I seem to eat while I'm there are wings, courtesy of my friend who's obsessed with Buffalo Wild Wings).
As for Chinese and Japanese, it's pretty good. Surprisingly, I've had better Indian in the City of Vancouver than in Surrey. Weird, right?
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The one thing I found sort of overhyped in Vancouver that was supposedly unique was the Japadog--which is a hot dog with different Japanese-style topping on top. It's tasty, but it's not as good as something like the whole Korean taco in terms of fusion.
I've never even heard of that until now. Haha, thank you for giving me something else to look forward to the next time I'm in the PNW.
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But basically, the food choices in Vancouver are good, but very similar to what you'll find in other West Coast cities--perhaps just a little more focused on Asian and European styles and without the Mexican food influence you find further south. But someone coming from California wouldn't be that suprised at what's available.
Hawaii on the other hand is just a unique melting pot. Just like New Orleans and parts of Louisiana developed their own unique Creole cuisine mixing together myriad number of cultures--the same is true for Hawaii. For me, it's all about the seafood dishes--ahi poke(or with octupus) or lomi salmon--but I love good Kalua pork as well. I had fun just eating at the little saimin stands though as well when I've been in Hawaii.
That's my impression too: Vancouver doesn't really differ that much from other cities on the West Coast +/- Mexican options. LA and SF of course have a leg up on SOME things, but that's mostly a function of size.
Hawaii, including Honolulu (which is the least "Hawaiian" part of Hawaii, if that makes sense), has its own fusion cuisine based on the mostly Asian migration that went to the island. The irony about the seafood in HI is that much of what's eaten there isn't caught off Hawaii's coast, but rather shipped in from elsewhere in the Pacific. However, this still IS much fresher than most of the American mainland.
That isn't to say people don't eat anything else there; McDonald's is still pretty popular. However, the fusion there makes it extremely unique amongst areas in the United States. Not even California has that claim just yet.
That isn't to say people don't eat anything else there; McDonald's is still pretty popular. However, the fusion there makes it extremely unique amongst areas in the United States. Not even California has that claim just yet.
My opinion is that authentic fusion doesn't happen until the cultures start to fuse and that takes a lot of time to happen. Cajun cuisine is basically a fusion of various cultural cuisines over hundreds of years.
I can see the start of it in CA. The bulgogi taco trucks and the mixing of latin America and Asian supermarkets and people etc.. I'd say 50 more years and we'll see a lot of new interesting cuisine coming out of CA and not just haute cuisine inventions at overpriced restaurants for foodies.
My opinion is that authentic fusion doesn't happen until the cultures start to fuse and that takes a lot of time to happen. Cajun cuisine is basically a fusion of various cultural cuisines over hundreds of years.
I can see the start of it in CA. The bulgogi taco trucks and the mixing of latin America and Asian supermarkets and people etc.. I'd say 50 more years and we'll see a lot of new interesting cuisine coming out of CA and not just haute cuisine inventions at overpriced restaurants for foodies.
Well, LA is the point of origin for quite a bit of Americanized asian food such as California roll and specialty rolls in general for Japanese cuisine.
My opinion is that authentic fusion doesn't happen until the cultures start to fuse and that takes a lot of time to happen. Cajun cuisine is basically a fusion of various cultural cuisines over hundreds of years.
I can see the start of it in CA. The bulgogi taco trucks and the mixing of latin America and Asian supermarkets and people etc.. I'd say 50 more years and we'll see a lot of new interesting cuisine coming out of CA and not just haute cuisine inventions at overpriced restaurants for foodies.
Yeah, it's definitely not an overnight process. As OyCrumbler pointed out, the California roll is an example of a popularized fusion dish that started in California. In addition, much of the Chinese and Mexican food items that are extremely popular in the US got its start in either LA or SF.
However, neither of those items have formed a "California fusion" in the same style that Hawaiian cuisine is fusion since none of these new iterations have yet to spawn off their own cooking traditions. Very subjective way to look at things I realize, but its another measure.
Bulgogi tacos are a start though. I'm sure we'll see more tasty fusion items developing in our lifetime. Just right now most of it is pretty gross. I tend to avoid most California fusion because it's typically expensive and gross.
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Well, LA is the point of origin for quite a bit of Americanized asian food such as California roll and specialty rolls in general for Japanese cuisine.
True that. However, I think Americanizing something is much different than creating a new cuisine altogether, which will take a whole lot of time. After all, a lot of Italian dishes as we know it are very Americanized, but they don't constitute a totally separate culinary tradition just yet.
Yeah, it's definitely not an overnight process. As OyCrumbler pointed out, the California roll is an example of a popularized fusion dish that started in California. In addition, much of the Chinese and Mexican food items that are extremely popular in the US got its start in either LA or SF.
However, neither of those items have formed a "California fusion" in the same style that Hawaiian cuisine is fusion since none of these new iterations have yet to spawn off their own cooking traditions. Very subjective way to look at things I realize, but its another measure.
Bulgogi tacos are a start though. I'm sure we'll see more tasty fusion items developing in our lifetime. Just right now most of it is pretty gross. I tend to avoid most California fusion because it's typically expensive and gross.
True that. However, I think Americanizing something is much different than creating a new cuisine altogether, which will take a whole lot of time. After all, a lot of Italian dishes as we know it are very Americanized, but they don't constitute a totally separate culinary tradition just yet.
I think Chinese-American and Italian-American cuisine are definitely distinct from other cuisines in the US as well as the cuisines of their origins. However, we call it just Chinese food or Italian food here when it's not quite those things.
I think Chinese-American and Italian-American cuisine are definitely distinct from other cuisines in the US as well as the cuisines of their origins. However, we call it just Chinese food or Italian food here when it's not quite those things.
Yeah, its a weird phenomenon really. When you really think about it, all these "Americanized" iterations of other cuisines is pretty much the bulk of what makes up American cuisine. 100 years ago, hamburgers and hotdogs could have been considered "German" cuisine and bagels "Jewish" cuisine, but now they are as American as apple pie (which itself is from Central Europe). Thankfully, British food went out of vogue as soon as we became independent, though Shepard's Pie is legit. Heck, even British food went out of vogue in Britain, as chicken tikka masala has been anointed by some as the British national dish: Chicken Tikka Masala: National Dish of Britain | Eating The World
100 years from now, items like burritos, chop suey, and other items from (not just East and Southeast, but also South and West/Middle East) Asia and Latin America will be wholly considered as American as the former items.
In Hawaii, something as simple as spam musubi or saimin are their de-facto culinary items. Once stuff that like transfers to the mainland (the fusion aspect), then American cuisine will really come into its own. Exciting times we live in culinary terms
Have you been to Honolulu? You can find just about every asian ethnicity there and in greater admixtures than Vancouver. They also mingle much more in Hawaii. In Vancouver asians can be rather ethnocentric only socializing with people from the same ethnic background.
I agree that Honolulu is very integrated and a true melting pot very unlike Vancouver.
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