One Day trip to Vancouver (8/20)

I woke up at 8am after having only 4 hours of sleep. I remind myself I luckily don't operate daily on this little sleep.

I call my buds who I am hitching a ride with to Vancouver for the afternoon as I plan to return at night. I confirm with my bro we are meeting up at the Renaissance hotel from 11-12am (as he does not own a cell).

My friends get lost finding me as I forgot to type one crucial "exit" on the directions to them that I typed at 2am earlier in the morning. Luckily for me, they were not mad at me. I felt very sheepish indeed. While they were lost and finding their way back to me, I did research on places to eat dim sum or get good chinese food in Vancouver.

We hit the road out of Seattle at 10:30am and decide to stop somewhere for breakfast and grab food at McDonalds. I got the big breakfast (I was ravenous.). Further down on the trip, I indulge in a very messy but good softserve cone dipped in chocolate as well.

The border crossing is a minimal wait of 20 minutes but the line heading back into the US was atrociously long (1:15pm). Another 30 minutes we drive towards Richmond and exit onto Westminster Highway exhibit, hook a left and drive down towards KIRIN. This Seafood Restaurant serves dim sum and is considered a gem. I have already eaten at Flouta/Imperial/ and Sun Siu Wah (the other three big Cantonese Sea Food and Dim Sum power house restaurants) in the local area. We did pass the restaurant and turned around again to find it.

We have a half hour wait and by the time we are seated it is 2:30pm and end of dim sum time. Our server informs us we have only one chance to order and then we can relax and eat at our leisure. Of course my buds John and Leewa let me order and put all their trust in me. I am told no "funky" stuff per John. I want to get some dim sum morsels not normally found in a typical dim sum menu.

KIRIN Mandarin Restaurant (Richmond Location) www.kirinrestaurant.com


2nd Floor, Three West Centre
7900 Westminster Highway (& No. 3 Road), Richmond, B.C.
Canada V6X 1A5

I got the pork skin in satay sauce, beef flank with radish, fish with shrimp and jicama steamed dumplings, thick noodles in dark soya chili sauce (served with hoisin and peanut dipping sauce), chicken and mushroom steamed buns, siu mai (open faced shrimp and pork steamed dumplings), green tea pudding and fresh mango pudding. Everything was served fresh and hot and each was delicious. All of use were well pleased and happy about the food choices for this meal.

We noticed another table of NAAAP attendees and we chat with them later on. Turns out they work with EY and four of the three are from Boston and one is from North VA (she also happens to be a close friend of my friend Kit in Houston) such a small world. They found the restaurant by accident and asked some people in the parking lot where they should eat dim sum.

We head to drive on the main drag No. 3 road (where all the big Asian malls reside) before turning left towards the airport and catch the road into Vancouver using Granville Street. (My first time using this route into Vancouver but it works).

Then we drive towards Canda Place where Pan Pacific Hotel (our meeting spot) for me to get my ride back to Seattle. My buddies are staying longer in Vancouver. We walk around get some souvenirs and chocolates. I get my fave mint and dark chocolate aeros (not available in the USA). We walk around outside to look at the cruise ships docked at Canada Place. In the process, I lose my camera (which is my backup). I am more upset of losing the photos in the camera than the camera itself. Now I have no camera! Gosh when things happen to me (bad things) I notice it happens in twos. Last weekend did not get my camera back from TSA after examination of my hand luggage and this time through my own fault I lost my camera.

Leewa escorts me all over to try to locate it, I even talk to the duty manager at Pan Pacific but to no avail. In this day and age, no one really wants a film camera. But I LOVE my film camera. You could say it is a sign to get a digital camera but I don't see it as that way.

We meet up with JC and his family meet his wife Sue and two cute boys Cameron (5) and Cared (3). We hang out some more at Canada Place. I recommend we get food and go as we are all not hungry after a LATE dim sum lunch. I suggest FLOATA (in Chinatown touted as the biggest Chinese restaurant in the city). We get there and notice that there is a night market. We walk around the two blocks of it. Go to FLOATA to order take out and head about of the city in hopes of avoiding a LONG border line.

Chinatown

Address:	400-180 Keefer Street, Vancouver, B.C.
Tel: Fax:	(604) 602-0368 (604) 681-7123

John C orders seafood and veggies, crispy chicken, yang chow fan and beef and broccoli. All are very good with the veggies cooked to the correct crispiness and the flavors are excellent! (I am relieved the place is a hit).

We leave at 9pm and hit the border by 9:45 but end up with only 30 minutes wait (a miraculously short wait) which I am psyched about.

I am able to meet up with my brother at 11:15pm!!! Thanks again to John C and family for letting me come back to Seattle with them! I had tons of fun despite losing my camera.