Richmond’s official food blogger Lindsay Anderson
The number 365 is a meaningful one for Lindsay Anderson. It’s the number of days, and eateries, the epicurean explorer signed on for when she won the coveted position of Richmond’s official food blogger. She eats her last meal for her “365 Days of Dining” blog this month and, after spending a year tasting her way around the city, she is bursting at the seams with praise for its dining scene: “I’ve had some of the most amazing food I’ve ever had in Richmond.” The slim brunette fairly sparkles as she talks about the sweet and the sour of eating for a living.
What downside could there possibly be for a food blogger, you ask? For one, turning up your nose at the unfamiliar just isn’t an option. Some of the more challenging tidbits Anderson’s had to sink her teeth into include durian—“I wasn’t excited to try durian and I wasn’t excited while eating it and I wasn’t excited after”—and squid guts—“Pretty funky looking and pretty funky tasting.” Interestingly enough, her writer side relishes such forays into the culinary unknown: “My goal is to have good content. So if I see something I know I’m not going to like, I’m almost pleased because I know this is something I can write about.”
A few less-than-tantalizing tastes are a small price to pay when a cornucopia of crave-able comestibles await, of which Asian options are Richmond’s bread and butter. Anderson recommends first-timers to the city try Alexandra Road, which has been dubbed “Food Street” because of its seemingly endless eateries: “You can just show up and have your pick of Chinese, Japanese, Korean.” Foodies seeking hidden gems can find them in the unlikeliest of places, such as under Real Canadian Superstore, which has HK BBQ Master tucked away in the parking lot. Mom-and-pop-owned food-court stalls can also hold culinary treasure. One of Anderson’s faves is R&H Chinese in Landsdowne Centre, where they hand-make dumplings to order. “They’re super good, some of the best dumplings in Richmond.”
Richmond’s menu has more than just East Asian cuisine, though. Craving Indian? Tandoori Kona comes highly recommended by Anderson: “It totally blew me away. It was so delicious.” Tramonto and Gudrun also top her list for palate pleasers.
“If people haven’t come down here to have dinner, they definitely should,” says Anderson, who sees Richmond’s food scene as a way to taste the world without having to go abroad. “You can go on trips to everywhere in one city.” Put that way, it sounds like one year isn’t enough to discover all of Richmond’s gastronomic goodies.—Rachel Dunlop
