It’s spring and time to start enjoying the outdoors again. Let’s keep connected to your neighbours and community through the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News. Please continue to stay safe while you’re out and about.
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Three Links Care Centre fights off Omicron
Collingwood Corner: Fire Hall Station No. 1
Eating out in RC: Dami Sushi and Korean by local food blogger Emily Tam
Celebrating the Year of the Tiger
Waste not, want not – Reducing food waste
Outdoor library box at Collingwood Neighbourhood House
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It’s been almost two years since I started working from home due to COVID safety measures. I miss the cycle commute to my downtown office, a good chat with my coworkers and all the usual lunch-hour eateries.
Now Zoom fatigue and work isolation are getting to me. For my mental health, I try to get some sun and exercise with a walk around the Renfrew Ravine. I also go out for a lunch treat once in a while.
These are my favourite restaurants within walking distance. In addition to delicious food, they have kind and friendly staff.
Kopitiam Malaysia’s chicken curry laksa is a favourite lunch go-to while on a break from the home office. Photos by Julie Cheng
The Penang tofu at Kopitiam Malaysia is a family favourite.
Kopitiam Malaysia 3885 Rupert Street and East 23rd 604-566-9898 kopitiammalaysia.ca The name of this Malaysian restaurant has changed (they are no longer part of the Penang Delight franchise), but the wonderful flavours of my favourites remain the same – chicken curry laksa, mee goreng and sambal green beans. Check out their weekday lunch special.
I love the sweet-and-sour flavours of the mee goreng from Kopitiam Malaysia.
Basil Garden’s free-range chicken pho is a Vietnamese take on chicken noodle soup and just as comforting.
Basil Garden’s vermicelli bowl with pork skewers and spring rolls is packed with flavour.
Basil Garden 2889 East Broadway and Renfrew 604-871-9998 basilgarden.ca The hike down and then up the hill to Basil Garden is well worth it for me. All their pho is wonderful. I discovered their free-range chicken pho to be just as flavourful – I ask for no skin as a healthier option. Also healthy are their vermicelli bowls and salad rolls. It gets busy at lunch so go early or late.
Try Basil Garden’s healthy prawn or marinated tofu salad rolls with peanut sauce.
Dami Sushi and Korean Restaurant 3280 East 22nd Avenue and Rupert 604-431-8887 damisushikorean.ca This restaurant has been going strong since opening in Renfrew-Collingwood in January 2021. I agree with Paul Reid, in his Taking out in RC review, that the pork in the Gamja-Tang hot pot “is of the melt-in-your-mouth variety” – just like the bone broths my grandma used to make. My favourites are the bibimbap and japchae.
The pork in Dami Sushi and Korean Restaurant’s Gamja-Tang hot pot melts in your mouth.
Kimu Japanese Cuisine 4441 Boundary Road and East 29th 604-563-0722 kimujapanesecuisine.com Another bit of a hike from home, Kimu has long been a reliable lunch and dinner spot. In addition to delectable sushi, they have a good grill – I love their teriyaki meals. There’s even more reason to stop there now with Masala Meats next door.
The ramen from Kimu Japanese Cuisine is sure to warm you up on a winter’s day.
iSushi 3883 Rupert Street 604-336-6553 isushi3883.wixsite.com/isushi iSushi opened despite the pandemic and quickly pivoted to become a busy takeout spot. I like to dine in to enjoy the tea and the food fresh from the kitchen. You can choose from a variety of sushi and rice bowls to make your own lunch special, but I invariably order a healthy house salad and sashimi.
iSushi’s lunch special lets you choose from a variety of dishes.
Miss Siam Food Truck Broadway Tech Centre (Renfrew and Hebb) Check location and time at misssiam.ca or @streetfoodapp facebook.com/MissSiamFood/ The Miss Siam food truck is my go-to for street Thai food in this neighbourhood. Usually found Mondays and Wednesdays at the Renfrew and Hebb, kitty corner to the Renfrew SkyTrain station, Miss Siam is well worth the trek down and up the hill. Read about their tasty offerings in this Eating Out review.
Miss Siam’s pad Thai and green mango salad are weekly staples for many local workers.
Dami Sushi and Korean Restaurant 3280 East 22nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC Phone 604-431-8887 Delivery via Ubereats.com Open Monday to Sunday, 11 am─9 pm
Greetings food fans. Welcome to another segment of Taking out in RC, our COVID-19 version of Eating out in RC.
We’d like to remind folks that a global pandemic is no reason not to continue enjoying our incredible local food outlets. Even if dining in is not currently your thing, you can always order for pick-up or delivery. That’s what I did here with Renfrew-Collingwood’s newest addition to its culinary crown – Dami Sushi and Korean Restaurant.
Dami celebrated its grand opening this past January, and already, the reviews are coming in that Dami offers quality food at affordable prices. Their dishes are inspired by modern and traditional Korean and Japanese cuisine.
I was quite taken aback by the sheer size of Dami’s menu. There are actually two full-size menus at Dami – a Japanese menu and a Korean menu. Either one on its own would be considered quite extensive, so to be able to produce everything on both menus must be quite a feat. But, Dami did it. In just 15 minutes my order-to-go was ready.
The Gamja-Tang hot pot is a pork back bone soup with Chinese cabbage, onion, green onion, potato and perilla seed, served with rice. Photos by Julie Cheng
From the Korean menu I ordered the Gamja-Tang hot pot. This is a pork back bone soup with Chinese cabbage, onion, green onion, potato and perilla seed with rice ($29.88). This soup was HUGE and was enough for about four people. I believe you will find this soup completely delicious and the pork is of the melt-in-your-mouth variety.
Also from the Korean menu, in the griddle section, I ordered the Bulgogi – thinly sliced beef marinated in a special Korean barbecue sauce ($17.88). I have always loved bulgogi and if you have yet to try it – Dami! Really good stuff.
So what’s nice about Dami is that you can go full Korean, but then, maybe because your spouse or your kids or even you must have some sushi rolls as well – Dami! You can get it all right here.
The Fantastic Roll was, as the name implies, fantastic.
From the special rolls section, we ordered the Fantastic Roll – crab meat, avocado, prawn tempura, spicy tuna, yam flakes and spicy mayo sauce ($9.88). It was, as the name, implies – fantastic!
There is too much to you tell you about Dami, but as usual I will urge you to go taste for yourself. The service was excellent; the food was fresh, delicious and way beyond what one makes at home, affordable and within your grasp. I recommend it. Bon appetit.
Dami opened in Renfrew-Collingwood in January 2021. In addition to take-out and delivery, Dami offers a spacious space for dining in.
Renfrew-Collingwood Community News 