The other night, Akemi and I attended the soft opening of Fat Dragon, the latest addition to the Vancouver restaurant scene from the guys that brought you Fuel/Refuel, Campagnolo, and Campagnolo Roma. The theme is Asian barbecue – Where East meets South – and Fat Dragon offers a variety of southern comfort-style Asian plates inspired by dishes Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Filipino.
The restaurant is located in one of Vancouver’s more colorful sections, east of Gastown. As a result, we were able to find parking right across the street. We were welcomed by a bunch of familiar faces (Tom, Ted, Katherine to name a few and I spotted Chefs Rob, Ted, and A.J. busy in the kitchen) and shown to our table. The room has a nice open brick feel that kind of reminded me of the original Campagnolo.
Although we were presented with the menu, there would be no ordering. For this night only, the kitchen was calling the shots.
We ate a lot and enjoyed it immensely. And still, there were menu items we missed out on that I’m dying to check out on my return visit: the Smoked Lamb Heart Larb with mint, bird’s eye chili, and toasted rice, the Smoked Kabocha Squas Bao Bun with QPD mayo and radish sprouts, the Smoked Pig’s Snout Fried Rice with seasonal vegetables, crispy garlic, and shallots, the Slow Cooked Bone-in Lamb Belly with char siu marinade and orange, the Smoked Sizzling Cauliflower with cashew gravy and vadouvan, the Jalan Alor Chicken Wings with malaysian marinade and iceberg lettuce, and, of course, both the Fat Dragon Dark and Milk Chocolate Bars.
Looking forward to doing some culinary exploring in the weeks ahead.
Sayonara, y’all!
I should know better than to read your blog before I’ve had my dinner. 😉
Oh wow it looks fantastic! YUM. 🙂 Not that I would expect them to do a bad place, and I know it isn’t Refuel… but glad it is good!
Hey Joe, is that your sporty little 2 door blue car parked right out front of the restaurant? 🙂 Don’t ya think if you would just eat 3 or 4 items each visit, you could make the newness last longer. As much as you eat, you should be through the menu after your next visit. Then what? Slow down man! Take your time.
Rough day-of-the-many-tornados here in Dallas/Fort Worth area today. Lots of damage for miles and miles. None for me, thank God! Thanks for asking Tam Dixon.
Fat Dragon, how cool, These guys really take care of you all. Nice touch with the jacket and links. You are like the restaurant critic they love!! But with good reason, pictures are amazing, using my imagination for the taste. thanks for sharing.
Joe, you always make my hungry. You have that y’all thing working pretty good. Would fit right in down here in B’ham. Ponytail, did not realize you were in DFW. Glad you are okay . Take care all.
Have a great night!!!!
Wow, that stuff really looks good – and normal! 😉
I’m surprised you don’t bring your own hashi to the restaurant, or do you?
das
Cool, another place to call home. Sure hope they add some version of crispy duck (Chinese, or other variety). Food looks great. yeah, me too…hungry again.
Dont you ever get bored of eating out like 3x a week?
@ gforce & Sparrowhawk – Thanks! You two sound like my mother. 😛 My self-perception has always been very negative, but that’s okay – I don’t mind being like this. I guess I’m a bit masochistic. I would rather be rough on myself than on others because I know I can take it. I’m my own bully, as it were. And no one to blame, it’s not because of trauma or tragedy, or because of mommy, daddy, teacher or preacher, it’s just all how I internalize. I’m aware of it and know it’s up to me to change it if I really want to (I have tried, but usually talk myself out of such foolishness 😉 ). I’m pretty sure there are lots of people like me, and far worse off, too, they just don’t talk about it. But I do because I don’t mind sounding crazy. 😆
As far as the thing being creepy…well, it was a beautiful sunny day, and he showed up all smiles (actually walked down the street from where he had been making a delivery), and we (mom, me, one of our employees, and a neighbor) were all just standing around, talking about gardening, so it all felt like some sort of surreal Mayberry RFD moment. But not creepy.
The whole thing, however, has Mr. Das on high alert. And boy, have I been having fun with this! After 22 years he still gets jealous! I showed him the guy’s Facebook page, and asked (jokingly) if I could friend him. You should have seen his reaction! I didn’t know the human ear could get so red! 😆 Then I told him the guy hugged me – twice – and I swear I saw steam coming out of those blood red ears! Woo! I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting a dozen roses soon! 😀
And no worries, after tonight I’m dropping it. I know what I have, and I don’t want to spoil it. Mr. Das knows I was just having fun and we did have a bit of a laugh over it. Of course, that was mostly because he had just watched Priest and confessed a man-crush on Karl Urban 😕 …then kept calling my old school friend ‘Karl’ 😕 😕 (dude’s name is NOT Karl) …which just made the whole thing all the more hilarious (“Stay away from Karl!” …. “No, YOU stay away from Karl!” 😆 ).
Hmmm…I might have to address this man-crush thing, and SOON! 😆
das
The meal and restaurant look fantastic. Good luck Chef Rob & Tom!
Mmmm, nummy num nums.
Except for the cilantro. Stuff tastes like soap to me. I’ve been told that’s genetic.
Mr. M.: that food looks incredible. I’d give up my dreams of being a vegetarian for that meal.
Sparrowhawk The link didn’t work on the ipad. I’ll try the link again, just in case: http://twitpic.com/42jxv3 Another look at the boys won’t kill anyone 😉 . Yes, Harry is a big cat and on a fast train to diabetes. I’m trying to get his weight down and fatten the other cat up. It’s a tough balance.
Das: Mr. Das sounds perfect! It’s good to keep him on his toes and he knows there is nothing to worry about.
Ponytail: I’m glad the storm missed you. That video of the semi’s blowing around in the wind, scary!
@ Tam Dixon – Mr. Das was as sweet as can be this morning. 😀
Now, about big Harry. I think it has something to do with white cats with splotches of color. Our Cowboy was like that, and I’ve seen more fat cats that look like Cowboy and your Harry than any other color, so I’m thinking it’s something in the genes of that paricular color mix. Cowboy looked a lot like this fella – so I figured I’d share and brighten up everyone’s day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dt4zvJNXbdI
🙂
das
Wow, Joey, you’re really on the ball this morning. 😀
das
Well, you WERE on the ball… 😉
das
only the french can justify wasting money on a tv show shot in 3D about Pharaohs:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118031113
http://amanacreative.com/Default.aspx
its supposed to air next year, done by the guy who made Rome, anyone interested in this kind of thing? How is it gonna get its money back i wonder.
What a world… my big 18 pound cat is named Harry. Named for Harrison Blvd. where he was found as a starving kitten, little more than fur, bones, and a big head. His full name is Harry Buttlicker.