Chef Joel Watanabe and owner Tannis Ling give pan-Asian culinary traditions a modern twist at Chinatown’s new Bao Bei.

ON THE PLATE: Past and present merge at Bao Bei

Once or twice a year, a new restaurant comes along that gets me really excited. Chinatown’s brand new Shanghainese/Taiwanese-themed Bao Bei is one of them, and for reasons that go beyond the prospect of good food and drink.

It’s brought to us by Tannis Ling, the former bar manager at Chambar and one of the most talented barkeeps in the city. Helping her shepherd it through its opening stages is former Chambar and Market general manager Paul Grunberg. In the kitchen is none other than Joel Watanabe, formerly of Bin 942 and La Brasserie. That combo would work well together anywhere, but when you plant it in Chinatown, it amps up the level of interest by a million.

Part of what makes Bao Bei (which means “precious” or “darling”) so special is that it exudes the sort of youthful, multicultural sensibilities that erode those old and entirely imaginary walls thrown up around largely insular, ethno-specific neighbourhoods like Chinatown. With waves of new Chinese immigrants having bypassed old Chinatown in favour of other Vancouver neighbourhoods and the city of Richmond, the area is now an echo of its original, turn-of-the-20th-century self, marked more by what it used to be than what it might have become.

But nearer to the point (and my beat), almost none of the better Chinese restaurants to have landed in the Lower Mainland in the past 20 years have done so in Chinatown, and that’s just sad. While still a great place for the home cook (and professional chef) to go shopping for ingredients, its restaurant scene has been in the same gear for as long as I can remember. Bao Bei, a self-styled “Chinese Brasserie,” might be the clutch-shift the neighbourhood needs.

The 50-seater is very much an expression of Ling’s upbringing. Born in Vancouver to Shanghainese immigrants from Hong Kong and Taiwan (her parents met at UBC in the early 1970s), she is the very model of a modern Vancouverite — one who can easily integrate her heritage with her own life experiences without being strictly defined by one or the other. At once adroitly modern and evocatively antique, not to mention hip to how the city prefers to dine these days (lots of inexpensive share plates and expertly made cocktails), her restaurant is a lesson in how to take Vancouver’s incredible diversity and celebrate it with cool confidence, the kind that comes from having lived it.

The interior aesthetics — a product of Ling’s collaboration (including numerous thrift-store hunts) with keen-eyed friend Craig Stanghetta and construction manager Ryan Murfitt — are a knockout. Its Chinese motifs, unique light fixtures, and soft colour palette combine with many personal, family-oriented touches to strike very original notes throughout. There’s also an undeniable Belgian/French patina to it, youthful and exotic without surrendering an aged feel, as if were rendered off the pages of The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. It’s certainly the prettiest restaurant I’ve ever entered in Chinatown, and arguably the best-looking one I’ve seen open in any Vancouver neighbourhood in recent memory. The soundtrack — an eclectic mix of Grizzly Bear, New Order, Gorillaz, the Smiths, and many others — somehow fits just right, while the service is quick and casual.

Of course, all that would mean nothing if the food didn’t gel, and I’m thrilled to report that it does. Watanabe’s menu was inspired by the cooking of Ling’s mother, heavily influenced by a recent research trip to the streets of Taiwan, spritzed with the mists of Vietnam, and recalibrated to speak with a Japanese izakaya accent. It’s a tasty read, beginning with an assortment of punchy bar snacks, each just $4. Of these, aim for a small bowl of crunchy, tiny anchovies with peanuts and fiery chilies (an acquired taste); thin soy-and-chicken-stock-braised bamboo blocks; and palate-smacking sticks of pineapple that you dip in chili salt.

From there, try the delicious open-faced mantou, or steamed bun ($9), filled with hoisin-soaked beef short rib, studded with peanuts and zapped with pickled cucumber; and the Vietnamese-style bánh mì baguette sandwich ($9), smeared with pork paté and mounted with green chilies and lemongrass-kissed pork, pickled daikon, cucumber, and a garlic aioli that lingers alongside plenty of fresh cilantro. Move on to pinched potstickers stuffed with pork ($6); translucent steamed dumplings loaded with prawn and chive ($7.50); and addictive little wontons served in micro-pools of spiced black-bean broth ($6).

Of the three noodle bowls, I tried and enjoyed the rich and intensely flavoured (and almost eye-wateringly hot) pork broth, topped with lean and tender barbecue pork ($14). From the list of sides, I loaded up with plump Chinese sausage ($4) and king pea tips wok-tossed with garlic and Shaoxing rice wine ($6). To close came a bowl of impossibly creamy ice cream ($4.50) made by moonlighting Chambar pastry chef Eleanor Chow, infused with chocolate chunks and lashes of fresh mint.

Round all that out with a mostly Asian beer list, nine well-chosen wines by the glass, and Ling’s signature drinks, and you have a sublime place in which to hang up your hat and get whisked away.

Bao Bei
163 Keefer, 604-688-0876, Bao-Bei.ca
Food ★★★★ Atmosphere ★★★★★ Service ★★★★ Value ★★★★