VANCOUVER, renowned for having the best Chinese food outside
of China, is still a city of two solitudes. For over a century and
throughout successive waves of immigration, Chinese restaurants in
the Lower Mainland have rarely reached out to non-Chinese diners
or been fully embraced by them in ret urn. Not until now, that is.
Dynasty Seafood has bridged that gap like no other by
becoming an adventurous culinary innovator, a community
collaborator, a favourite among oenophiles and a mainstream
institution for everyone.
“I don’t know of any other authentically Chinese restaurant that
is as accessible to Western palates and accommodating of Western
diners, without one iota of compromise to the integrity of its
traditional dishes,” says one of our judges.
A huge part of the restaurant’s success is due to executive chef
Sam Leung, a curious culinary magpie who began his apprenticeship
in Guangzhou and immigrated to Canada in 1985. “His classic
Chiuchow cuisine has an attention to detail like no one else’s,” says
one judge. His light and bright vegetarian dishes blew another judge
“out of the water.”
When not presiding over Dynasty’s stately West Broadway dining
room—with its sweeping view of the North Shore Mountains—Leung
can often be found feasting at many of the city’s best French, farm-
to-table and Italian restaurants (La Quercia is one of his favourites).
“Sam is very ambitious about taking new infl uences and using them
to refl ect a West Coast sensibility in his cooking. He doesn’t just
throw lemon into his BBQ pork cha siu bao because it’s a Western
ingredient; he incorporates citrus to give the palate something
vivacious.”
After winning numerous Critics’ Choice Signature Awards from
the Chinese Restaurant Awards, Leung was named their Master
Chef for 2017. Dynasty’s many unconventional collaborations over
the last 12 months have included East Meets West, a fundraising
dinner for the Chinese Restaurant Awards Scholarship at Vancou-
ver Community College with chef Ned Bell from the Vancouver
Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program , the fi fth annual Royal Sake Feast
for That’s Life Gourmet Ltd., a dinner for the Confrérie des Cheva-
liers du Tastevin and a feature spot on the Travel Channel’s Bizarre
Foods: Delicious Destinations with host Andrew Zimmern.
In an era when big restaurants from Mainland China and Hong
Kong are increasingly populating the city with high gloss and
extravagant prices, Dynasty is doubling down on Vancouver. Thus,
we are extremely proud to present the fi rst Chinese restaurant to
win Restaurant of the Year.RESTAURANT
OF THE YEAR
Dynasty Seafood
VANMAG.COM MAY 2017 37Crowded House
It’s located on a non-
descript section of West
Broadway and its decor
won’t win any design
awards, but the food
from chef Sam Leung’s
kitchen sets the standard
for Chinese cuisine
in North America.