A. Bento offers a wide variety of well executed Taiwanese food

Article content

A. Bento

Where: 656 West Broadway, Vancouver

Article content

Article content

When: Lunch, dinner, Tuesday to Sunday

Info and reservations: abento.ca, 604-423-9585.

Something the COVID-19 pandemic did is pinpoint the stoics among us — the guys behind A. Bento, a Taiwanese restaurant, for instance.

In the fall of 2019, they leased a space. They went on a research trip to Taiwan. Upon their return, the world was topsy turvy. Renovations slowed to a crawl. Indoor dining then was verboten. More than two years on, the pandemic has loosened its grip but now the Broadway Subway project has wiped out nearby street parking.

“Business was slow but the good thing is, it gave us time to try out what we can bring to the neighbourhood,” says William Chen, finding a silver lining. He operates A. Bento with friend Aaron Zhang.

Article content

When subway construction eases, the hurt will ease.

“We can still barely make it but that will come,” says Chen.

A. Bento was conceived as a quick modern, Taiwanese lunch spot for neighbourhood workers.

“A place with fast, A-level bento,” says Chen, explaining that bento has the same meaning in Taiwanese as Japanese. “Unfortunately, no one was working.”

They pivoted to takeout food and vacuum-sealed frozen meals for reheating.

Today, they’re doing Taiwanese lunch, dinner, takeout and vacuum-packed meals. Dishes are nicely balanced, individualized, flavourful, with minimal oiliness despite all the wok frying going on in the kitchen. The three woks, by the way, have scary heat.

“They have boosters and can boil water in seconds,” says Chen of the $20,000 investment.

Article content

Chen trained in French techniques at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts but after doing stages at Chambar, Le Crocodile and working at Cafe Medina, he asked himself what he’s really about and went to work at Strike and Red Beef Noodle, both Taiwanese restaurants.

Zhang also trained at PICA and has worked at Hawksworth’s catering department, a Thai restaurant in New York and at Red Beef Noodle.

“When people think of Taiwanese food, it’s always bubble tea,” says Chen. “We want to show Vancouver there’s a lot more to it.”

From two generations of restaurateurs in Taiwan, Chen says his parents “strongly disagreed” with his plans to be the third.

“They know how hard it is, but I like to cook, to see people happy. It’s truly something I wanted to do. Most of what I create is from my taste and aroma memories.”

Article content

Main dishes on the menu average $17 to $20 and are divided into entrée and stir-fried dishes. Some are rustic and homey, some more finely executed, and some are shout-outs to popular street foods and I found everything I tried bright with flavours.

Crispy Taiwanese Chicken Nuggets, a popular Taiwanese street food, is a customer favourite.

“The Taiwanese say it’s really authentic,” says Chen.

The chicken, battered in a tapioca starch, is fried and then baked making for a delicate and crispy coating. It’s also offered as part of a fried street food platter, along with fish cakes and squid tentacles.

The scrumptious Sizzling Short Rib with black pepper sauce was my favourite. It’s served in a cast iron casserole and at tableside, the server pours Kaoliang, a quality Taiwanese 58 per cent alcohol baiju over the hot lid and flames it with a lighter. When the lid’s lifted and aromas of the food and liquor mingle, it’s like culinary foreplay. The falling-apart meat was a sensual experience.

Article content

Stir-fried Clams with Basil are cooked in a wine-based broth with a bit of soy, oyster sauce and a dab of the chili sauce they sell by the jar. It’s an ample serving and actually, all the dishes I tried were generously portioned.

Hakka Stir Fry, with squid, pork jowl, Asian celery, and marinated tofu, is a dish from northern Taiwan; it’s commonly made with pork belly but they use jowl for the chewier texture. Asian celery, thinner of stalk and more aromatic than the usual supermarket variety, adds flavour and texture.

Taro And Chicken Stew with dried chili and green onions is another hearty dish with taro flavouring everything as it breaks down upon cooking.

Seafood Fried Noodles with clams, prawns, squid and basil was lightly sauced and plated in a tidy circle. One problem — the squid tentacles were rubbery and tough. Funny, because the squid was tender in the Hakka Stir Fry dish.

Article content

The menu changes with the seasons so some of the dishes I mention go on a winter vacation. One interesting dish that’ll soon be removed is Loofah Squash, with Clam and Steamed Egg and Ginger. I know. Loofah? It’s from the bath loofah family but this is a moist, sweet veg, only available in summer locally.

But cold weather hails the return of Beef Noodle Soup, the ultimate Taiwanese comfort and soul food dish. Actually, they’ll offer two kinds. One with a very beefed-up clear broth that uses finger beef, the meat between ribs. The other will be a Braised Beef Shin Noodle Soup with chili bean paste, adding spicy, salty, and umami for a hearty beef noodle experience.

The latter is currently available in the freezer section but they’re waiting for a shipment of chili bean paste from Taiwan before it’s offered on the dine-in menu. Expect a waft of smoke to hit you as you lift the lid to this noodle soup.

Article content

From the freezer, the Braised Pork Hock with Bamboo Shoots is another fall-apart dish. It’s marinated and braised in wine, ginger and a bit of five spice. Keep the remaining sauce to make a noodle soup from it.

The drinks menu features Taiwanese and Japanese beers and spirits, including baiju and sake by the glass or bottle. Cocktails incorporate Asian flavours and several use different types of tea as ingredients.

But here was a mystery. There’s cold bottled teas made in-house, but no hot tea available. Considering Taiwan’s got some great teas, why not?

Chen says an elevated hot tea program is in the works but they want to do it right.

“Tea is very delicate and it’s never presented in the best way or the quality’s not good. We want to give customers a whole new experience in presentation and matching them with dishes.”

Article content

Staff shortages haven’t helped.

I had a cold ‘Nitro’ Guava Plum Black Tea and found it a little sweet at first but the tea tannin kicked in and played nicely with the food.

 Another thing that Chen and Zhang prioritize is treating employees well.

“It’s tough for people in this industry. They work really hard and are underpaid. I want to work as a family,” says Chen.

Judging from my experience with front of house, they seemed happy and empowered, a sign of a good work environment.

The team now offers catering services and recently created Taiwanese street vendor food stations for a wedding.

SIDE DISHES

A cookbook landed on my desk the other day. I didn’t expect much of a collection of community recipes. Well, dang.

Island Cookery III: A Taste of Life on Quadra Island, had me thumbing through it with a watery mouth. It holds a tempting array of recipes, some intimately savouring the local terroir, like the Nettle Spanakopita and foraged mushroom dishes. Others are part of the 3,000-strong community’s story, like the Oaxacan Chili with Black Beans, Cocoa And Ancho Peppers — a dish a resident introduced to school kids as part of a Farmhouse Program, showing how chocolate wasn’t necessarily dessert.

It is the third such cookbook and a first edition sold out in seven months. A second edition has just been launched. For more information or where to purchase, visit islandcookery.com

miastainsby@gmail.com

twitter.com/miastainsby

instagram.com/miastainsby

vancouversun.com/tag/word-of-mouth-blog/