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This coming February, the city of Richmond will be known as the home of Vancouver's most eye-catching venue. The Richmond Olympic Oval, with its sleek lines and electric blue glass, will be buzzing with the world's wildest speed skating fans in the bleachers.
Speed skating is an afternoon event so there will be plenty of time for Richmond's other strengths: its cultural and culinary stops.
A new rapid transit system means a host of other options -- for the party-people, the foodies and the culture seekers -- are just a short ride from central Vancouver. Trains are scheduled to leave every four minutes from downtown.
Richmond will host one of several Olympic 'O Zone' celebration sites (featuring the Holland Heineken House). The community also lays claim to nearly 350 authentic Asian restaurants and the picturesque historic fishing village of Steveston.
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Tourism BC offers the following suggestions.
PLACES TO EAT: ASIAN
Richmond offers some of the best most authentic Asian food on the planet, including dim sum to die for.
Dinesty Chinese Restaurant
This
modern bistro-style restaurant features Taiwanese cuisine. A variety of
fresh dumplings and noodles are made daily on site and guests can watch
the chefs in the large open concept kitchen.
Fisherman's Terrace Seafood Restaurant
Chinese
cuisine, Cantonese style specializing in seafood dishes, shark's fin
and abalone.
Hakkasan Contemporary Chinese Cuisine
Authentic
Chinese Cantonese cuisine served with a modern twist in a stylish and
upscale setting. HAKKASAN is about maximizing and realizing the visual
appeal of Chinese food so that it is a feast unto the eyes as it is to
the palette.
Jade Seafood Restaurant
Jade serves
Cantonese-style cuisine which focuses on freshness and delicate
flavours by letting the ingredients come through in each bite.
Hand-made dim sums and live seafood are the specialties of the house.
POSH Charcoal Collaboration Dining
A
Japanese Sukiyaki Hotpot in a trendy bistro-style atmosphere offering a
variety of organic vegetables and ingredients like thinly slice pork
and beef combined with rice noodles all cooked by you at your table in
a delicious secret recipe Sukiyaki sauce. www.303-posh.com
Shanghai River Restaurant
Specializing in Shanghaiese cuisine and traditional shanghai pork dumpling in a wide and big open dim
sum kitchen. Be sure to catch the homemade noodle pulling show.
PLACES TO EAT: SEAFOOD
Blue Canoe
The newest waterfront restaurant in Steveston featuring fresh coastal dishes prepared with local produce
Pajo's Fish & Chips
Pajo's
has received a number of awards such as, best fish and chips, best
customer service, best patio, and has been toted best fun place to eat
by highly regarded and notable publications as The Vancouver Sun and
The Vancouver Province among others.
Papi's Ristorante Italiano
This
restaurant specializes in authentic northern Italian dishes with a
local twist and an all inclusive specialty wine list of some of the
best wines directly imported from Italy. www.papis.ca
Sockeye City Grill
This
seaside seafood restaurant serves the freshest wild B.C. Salmon,
Halibut, Mussels and Clams. Fresh Oysters in the half shell are
available daily and the live lobster and crab from the tanks are a
local favorite.
Tapenade
Fresh Mediterranean
flavours are inspired by French and Italian cuisine set in a
bistro-like atmosphere in the heart of the Village. Enjoy antipasti,
tapas, fresh seafood and pastas. www.tapenade.ca
Richmond also offers a host of other sites to pique the interest of curious visitors.
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PLACES TO SEE
International Buddhist Temple
This Temple is the most magnificent and authentic temple of traditional Chinese architecture in North America delivering the philosophies of Buddhism to the Western world through meditation, traditional ceremonies, charitable giving, and the impeccable art of Chinese craftsmanship.
Lulu Island Winery
This winery combines traditional Chinese winemaking methods with modern Western technology. Taste the many varieties of fruit wines from grape and blueberry, to cranberry and raspberry.
Tour Richmond's Asian Shopping Malls
In the heart of the Golden Village you will find two very modern Hong Kong style shopping centres,
Aberdeen and Yaohan filled with unique Asian treasures. Aberdeen is home to 160 stores ranging from
furniture to fashion, gifts and restaurants. Not your typical mall.
Golden Village
The Golden Village is a bustling commercial district in the heart of Richmond heralded as a Mecca for all things Asian. Dine and shop till you drop in this mix of the Far East with contemporary Western influences
Highway to Heaven
A drive down No. 5 Road will showcase Richmond's multiculturalism. It's home to over 60 temples, mosques, churches and chaples. Come rain or shine, they offer an insight into another world and a pilgrimage to remember.
Richmond also features a handful of National Historic Sites:
Britannia Shipyard - National Historic Site
Britannia
is a rare surviving example of a once thriving mixture of canneries,
boatyards and residences. It is an eight acre site with some of the
oldest remaining heritage buildings found along the Fraser River. Learn
about "How We Lived" when Steveston was the centre of the fishing and
canning industry.
Tour the Gulf of Georgia Cannery - National Historic Site
Situated
atop wooden pilings over the mighty Fraser River, the cannery is one of
the few remaining 19th century salmon canneries on the coast of BC and
is now a working museum, commemorating the West Coast fishing industry
London Heritage Farm - National Historic Site
Time
stands still when you pass through the gates of this historic site.
Situated on a 4.6 acre site overlooking the south arm of the Fraser
River, the farm offers a park-like setting with flower gardens, farm
equipment and animals.
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Steveston Village, A hidden gem in Richmond
Cradled in a picturesque corner of Richmond, Steveston is a charming, scenic village that was established in the early 1800s during the fishing cannery boom. Today it's the thriving home to the largest commercial fishing fleet in Canada and a lively tourist destination for West Coast shopping, dining and exploring. Stroll Fisherman's Wharf, go whale-watching or peruse The Farmer's and Artisan's Market on Sundays in the summer.
Information from Tourism BC was used to compile this article. To get a closer look at Richmond's food and fun, head to hellobc.com
Share in the glory Canadian athletes have brought their country over the last sixteen days.
NBCOlympics.com's Brad Blanks captures the always festive scene at the Holland House.
