A Fort Langley food tour

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I’m a big, big fan of food tours, but until recently, regarded them as an adjunct to my travels. For example, in Tokyo, I avoided an ugly meltdown by having a guide purposefully march us through the crowds and maze of 460 shops in Tsukiji Outer Market, heading directly to the best food and vendors. Another tour took us to trippy izakaya haunts where only the locals go.

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But whaddaya know. I recently found food tours closer to home can also be an adventure, thanks to the nooks and crannies of our vibrant food culture.

Case in point: I recently went on a food tour in Fort Langley, curated by Chew On This Tasty Tours. Their tours, mostly self-guided, centre around Langley, Abbotsford and South Surrey. Other local tour companies can guide you to Richmond, Gastown, Chinatown, or secret, undisclosed spots.

And one-of-a-kind Dine Like A Critic takes you on customized excursions with national restaurant critic Alexandra Gill, who has 20 years of food knowledge and insights into the culinary scene as well as delicious insider stories. She promises “a substantial amount of food” and soon she will include a Richmond dim sum tour and a cocktail crawl — check for latest info at dinelikeacritic.com.

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The Chew On This tour I went on is called Bites And Bubbly in Fort Langley, a $95, five-hour walking, eating and shopping tour around the charming vintage village.

“I’ve had people who’ve lived in Langley all their lives and never been to these spots,” says operator Lise Hines. Same for me, with serendipitous moments of discovery. And I noticed there’s a hive of activity in this small community, and I’m not just referring to B.C. Buzz, a honey shop that was getting ready to open the next day. Valley Commons, a wine-tasting room and bistro, had opened days before. Saba Bistro, where we stopped for lunch, was a recent second act by the owner of a nearby successful bakery-cafe.

Other Chew On This tours include Backroads Bites and Vines In Abbotsford, Spice Trail Strip Mall Foodie Finds, Spice Trail Taste of India in Surrey, and a more intimate dinner-tour-chat with Vikram Vij at his My Shanti restaurant. The complete list of tours can be found at chewonthistastytours.com. “It’s all about the hidden spots,” Hines says of her curated tours, which are attracting locals and tourists alike.

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My Bubbly And Bites tour started with a traditional English tea at Little White House and Co., in a 1902 clapboard house, with rooms filled with fashion, decor, gifts, as well as the tearoom. First, we sat down to the “bubbly”, a mimosa, before proceeding to a full afternoon tea, although it was still morning. Shortbreads, scones, macarons, and finger sandwiches filled a three-tiered server, and the locally blended Creme de le Earl Grey tea was delicious. I’d suggest you have some of the food packed to go to avoid writhing in gastric pain by tour’s end. At another table, a girl in a princessy outfit and a tiara twinkling as brightly as she was, celebrated her ninth birthday with her family.

The next stop was La Focacceria, a bakery specializing in Puglia-style focaccia. Owner Robert Giardino came out to chat about his wares and offered us focaccia to try. Mine? Garlic-studded.

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After a jolt of caffeine at Republica Coffee, tucked in an alley, we walked to Into Chocolate, Candy and Confections to be immersed in nostalgia. Candies and chocolates from around the world evoked childhood memories of sweets we have known, and we all had a sudden craving — mine was for deep, dark, black licorice. We left with a little gift box of their handcrafted chocolates.

The tour included some shopping therapy. At Kizmit Gift Gallery, we took in some tasteful Canadian art and crafts and departed with gift of an artist-designed dish towel. At Taps, an aromatherapy and spa shop, I bought eucalyptus shower steamer bombs, and we were thoughtfully treated to some foot lotion to use after our walking tour.

Then, a puzzler. We went to Pure Integrative Pharmacy. Whaaa? It seems this pharmacy has a juice and smoothie bar, a holdover from the previous business. The smoothies were really good and we finished them even with lunch mere minutes away.

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Lunch, an add-on to this tour, was at Saba Bistro. On previous trips to Fort Langley, I’d stop at Saba Bakery Cafe for coffee and pastries, but it’s been such a roaring success that when a nearby restaurant closed, the super-enthusiastic owner-chef Simone Hurwitz leapt and opened Saba Bistro. She follows the farm-to-table ethos of the bakery cafe, sourcing from local farmers, producers and wineries. I loved my salmon salad with fresh grilled fillet of sockeye, red wine poached pear, feta, pickled shallots, and spiced candied pecans atop crisp greens, lightly tossed with orange-thyme dressing.

The itinerary concludes with sightseeing suggestions — the photo-oppy heritage Fort Langley Railway station and the calorie-busting Fort Langley Riverwalk.

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For the self-guided tours, Chew On This provides a timed schedule and information about the places on the itinerary, which can change. “That’s why I call it a magical mystery tour, especially during the pandemic with the abrupt closures and openings,” says Hines.

She is one of the legions of pandemic pivoters. “One hundred per cent,” she confirms. She left interior design and made the transition thanks to a tourism and hospitality background from a former life in Toronto.

“I was seeing small businesses struggle to keep their doors open during the pandemic,” she says. “My goal was to raise the profiles of smaller businesses, but also to have people be able to connect, be happy, and have full bellies.”

Since it’s summer and the pandemic has eased its fearsome grip, I’ll join a couple more of these home-grown tours and write about them. I think it’s a brilliant way to connect with friends, explore the local food culture, and be a backyard tourist.

 mia.stainsby@shaw.ca

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