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!
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