Vancouver area’s Chinese food scene gets ‘a new perspective’ as young, French-trained chefs give the cuisine a modern twist in a traditional setting
- Two chefs in their 20s cooked Chinese food with French flair at a meal at Beijing Mansion, an events space built in Chinese courtyard house style near Vancouver
- Foie gras, crab roe egg ravioli and Peking duck spring rolls featured in an event to renew the area’s ‘dated’ scene, run by a Chinese restaurant awards judge
Beijing Mansion, a luxurious private events space designed in the style of a traditional Chinese siheyuan, or courtyard house, is the only one of its kind in Canada.
In Richmond, just south of Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada, the venue was put in the spotlight in November 2023 when it gave two young chefs the opportunity to demonstrate their culinary flair and approach to modern Chinese food.
William Li, 27, and Toby Chen, 25, were invited to cook for more than 50 guests at the New Wave 2023 dinner hosted by the Chinese Restaurant Awards at Beijing Mansion.
Li and Chen first met while working at Vancouver restaurant L’Abattoir, which serves Pacific northwest fare using French culinary techniques.
Li, who has been with L’Abattoir since 2020, was recently named chef de cuisine. Chen is sous chef at Missing Chopsticks, a fine-dining French-Asian restaurant in Richmond.
