The Best Little Movie House in Vancouver

NOSTALGIC VANCOUVER During the war years, there were two famous restaurants in Chinatown. One was the Bamboo Terrace at 155 East Pender Street (in the heart of Chinatown), with its brilliant green bamboo neon sign. It was featured on many of the postcards and photos of Chinatown. It was, “The Chinese Restaurant in Greater Vancouver.” People came from all over and lined up to get in. The other famous restaurant was the W. K. Gardens dine and dance supper club located a few doors down. Harold and Wilbert Lim owned W.K. No liquor allowed. No liquor of any kind was for sale in restaurants and nightclubs because there were no licensed premises, except beer parlors. Beer parlors had separate ‘Gents’ and ‘Ladies’ entrances. Nothing was open on Sundays not department stores, or even movie theatres. Because nothing was open on Sundays, Chinese banquets were

always held on Sundays in Chinatown. Everyone would “BYOB,” which meant to bring your own bottle and hide it under the table in a brown paper bag. The liquor helped to ease the nerves in wartime because the sailors and soldiers who came into Chinatown to drink and get drunk, got into fights with “ching chong” chinaman, as they called us. My Uncle Bill had his ear bitten off by a sailor. My mother and father would go into a tizzy if there was a late night telephone call out of fear that Uncle Bill had gotten into another fight. Other restaurants included the Chungking Chinese Restaurant, the famous Sai Woo Restaurant, Mings, Yen Lock, the Hong Kong Cafe, the Royal Cafe and more. The Golden Coin Cafe served the best ever original apple tarts, butter tarts and other Chinese delicacies. Wo Fat Chinese Bakery had ‘egg cake’ (Kai-Done-Ko), almond cookies and all the various pastries needed for a traditional Chinese wedding. Chinatown was an exciting place to grow up in those days. –excerpt from It Ain’t Over Until Faye Leung the Hat Lady Sings.

The action in the early 1960s – meaning where everything happened in Chinatown – was on Pender Street. On the weekends all the cars would come through, bumper to bumper looking for their favorite Chinese restaurant, tour buses, Home of the Dim Sum; there’s one there and the little shops selling herbs and Chinese gifts and bamboo furniture. It was a tourist attraction for the out-of-town establishment.

Dining in Chinatown: (Please come out and support everyone.)