Kevin Lam

I grew up in Richmond — the suburb of Vancouver that is majority Chinese and contains, without exaggeration, some of the best Chinese food in the world outside of China itself. The Richmond night market is the most extraordinary outdoor food event in North America. I know which dim sum restaurant in Richmond opens at 7am for the early shift workers, which Taiwanese hot pot place operates from a strip mall and has a two-hour queue, and why Vancouver's Chinese-Canadian food culture is completely distinct from anything you find in Chinese neighbourhoods in other Western cities. I also know the best salmon fish and chips on the sea wall and why Pacific salmon is different from Atlantic.