Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is transforming their culinary experience by introducing 20 new food and beverage options to the airport over the next two years. May of the incoming options are first-time concepts to YVR and their goal is to bring local, fresh and authentic flavours to the airport for travellers to enjoy.
I had the opportunity last week to check out a showcase of ten existing and incoming vendors to YVR. I’ve highlighted a few of my favourites from the #TasteYVR event below.
Japadog
Japadog already operates a foodcart just outside of YVR, but they will be bringing in an in-terminal location (domestic terminal) to YVR in January 2020. All their classics will be available at this location but they will also be bringing their extensive breakfast menu.
I tried their ‘Egg Mashed’ which is reminiscent of the Slut made popular by Eggslut. This dish features a mashed potato purée topped with a coddled egg. The egg is smooth and perfectly cooked, so that the yolk acts like a rich and silky sauce over the smooth potato purée. A great start to any morning!
Globe@YVR
Globe@YVR is the award-winning, signature restaurant located inside the Fairmont Vancouver Airport. They are open breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. Their focus is bringing the flavours of the Pacific Northwest to their diners through thoughtfully prepared dishes using the best local and sustainably grown ingredients.
For this event, the chefs featured a lovely seared Steelhead on top of a velvety parsnip purée, served with roast cauliflower, ikura and a dill emulsion. It was a stunning dish and the steelhead was moist and flaky.
Illycaffè
illycaffè is a third-generation family-owned coffee company from Trieste, Italy, and they are bringing their sustianable high quality coffee to YVR. Their new location in the International terminal is the first full service illycaffè in a Canadian airport. There is a full coffee and alcohol menu available as well as fresh sandwiches, healthy snack cups and a variety of baked goods. Check out my full review of this location here.
Heritage Asian Eatery
Heritage Asian Eatery specializes in contemporary Asian comfort food, and they will be opening in Spring 2020 in the domestic terminal. They take classic Asian comfort food dishes and add their own unique twist to them. Their YVR location will offer a variety of their signature bowls as well as their Dan Dan udon.
For this event they featured a Pork Belly bao and a Shiitake Mushroom bao. My favourite was the mushroom bao. The bun was soft and fluffy, and the mushroom was packed full of umami flavour. The sprinkle of fried onions on top added a nice crunchy contrast to the bao.
The Dirty Apron
The Dirty Apron is is owned by husband and wife team, Chef David and Sara Robertson, and they their approach is centered around fresh and local ingredients and providing beautiful food.
They will be bringing their signature gourmet deli fare to YVR in the domestic terminal in Spring 2020. The deli will serve their award-winning sandwiches as well as an array of health conscious meals and snacks with the focus on local and seasonal ingredients.
For this event, they featured miniature versions of their avocado toast and tuna sandwich. The bun was light and fluffy and went well with the Togarashi crusted tuna. The avocado toasts were adorable, and the half quail egg was cooked perfectly.
Pacific Farms Market
Tastes on the Fly will be bringing Pacific Farms Market to both the international and domestic terminals at YVR. The domestic terminal location will be opening in Spring 2020 and the international terminal location will be opening shortly after in the summer.
The location in the domestic terminal will feature a full service bar, as well as made to order dining, and freshly made to-go items and artisan snacks.
The location in the international terminal will feature a food market with five made-to-order food stations including a: grab-and-go section, a poke and sushi bar as well as goods and coffee from 49th Parallel and Purebread Bakery.
#TasteYVR was a fantastic look at some of the existing and incoming food and beverage options at YVR!