The Asian Food Court at Richmond Public Market

From Richmond Publ...

The two best Asian food courts in the Greater Vancouver Area are in Crystal Mall and at the Richmond Public Market. Crystal Mall's Food Court is much more accessible to the gastrotourist by transit (just a few Skytrain stops to Metrotown Station from downtown)....however, RPM's Food Court probably has a more varied selection of obscure regional Chinese fare.

In North America, this type of food - usually street food - is probably best served from a food court stall where the financial overhead makes it possible to survive. Some of these stalls have been here for years. Had they been full-service restuarants (and despite the apetite for Asian foods here in Vancouver), they would have closed down in short order.


The most famous of all North American Asian Food Courts is the Main St Asian Food Courts in Flushing (Queens), New York, where a huge population of Chinese Mainlanders have immigrated.





I recommend trying the Malaysian (for the curry combos), Xi'an, Tian Jing (for the steamed bao) Xin Jiang (Islamic Chinese streetfood), and Sichuan Stalls.

The Xin Jiang stall, in particular, serves delicious, cheap cumin lamb skewers.






It's a real treat to order one small dish from a selection of stalls. The prices are incredibly cheap.