In The Kitchen with Vancouver’s Chef Felix Zhou
Tell us a little bit about your restaurant and/or style of cooking.
Heritage Asian Eatery is a casual, counter service restaurant that serves rice bowls, baos and some classic Asian favorites like noodles and dumplings. We specialize in Asian comfort food made with high-quality ingredients. Overall I would describe my style of cooking as simple, fresh and honest; I really believe in staying true to the ingredients.
Where do you eat in your city?
I love Asian restaurants, especially noodles and anywhere that serves ramen, pho and Cantonese style cuisine. A couple of my favourite spots in Vancouver are Long’s Noodle House on Main Street – which has the best xiao long bao soup dumplings – and Phnom Pehn in Chinatown for their delicious Cambodian-style fried chicken wings.
What would be your ideal food day?
I’d start the day off with dim sum; I usually go to Grand Palace in Coquitlam close to my home. Then I’d get ramen noodles in the afternoon at Marutama Ramen in the West End – I always order an extra side of char siu pork. For dinner, I’d do a traditional Chinese feast.
What ingredient do you always have on hand?
Garlic, ginger and onion.
What’s your go-to recipe when you’re eating at home?
A classic Chinese tomato and egg dish. I have been eating that since I was little a little boy.
What cookbook would you suggest for a gift for your foodie friends this year?
Vancouver Eats. The book came out recently and features tons of great food and drink recipes from some of the city’s top chefs – including me!
Any hints on what dish you will be preparing for Canada’s Great Kitchen Party?
It’s from the ocean and features a truly sustainable seafood product.
Who is coming with you?
My business partner, good friends in the industry and some friends from a fish supplier who I work with closely.
FELIX ZHOU – Chef and Owner, Heritage Asian Eatery
A rising star in Vancouver’s culinary scene, Felix Zhou honed his skills at a number of acclaimed restaurants both locally and internationally before deciding to embark on his first solo foray at Heritage Asian Eatery.
After a turn as chef de partie at Vancouver’s West Restaurant and Bar in 2007, Felix moved on to ply his trade at Market by Jean-Georges at the Shangri-La Hotel before venturing overseas to perfect his craft at Michelin-starred Roganic and Galvin La Chapelle in London, UK. In 2014, he returned to the West Coast to take on the role of Executive Sous Chef at Whistler’s Nita Lake Lodge, and most recently presided as Executive Chef at a number of notable local restaurants including The Parker, Big Trouble Chinatown and Beach Bay Café.’
From an early age, Felix developed an appreciation for the time-honoured traditions of using quality, local ingredients, experimenting with various flavour profiles and leaving nothing to waste that were bestowed upon him by his mother and grandparents in his family’s kitchen as a young boy in China. After re-locating to Vancouver at the age of 10, Felix took those sage lessons to heart and pursued his Red Seal certificate at Vancouver Community College, graduating in 2007 and launching a culinary career that would make his forbears proud, while crafting a reputation as a nuanced and polished culinary talent.
Since opening in the fall of 2016, Heritage Asian Eatery has been recognized in numerous local and international publications, including The New York Times, National Geographic, New Weekly (China), The Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun and Montecristo. The restaurant earned first place in the ‘Pork Belly Bao’ category at the 2017 Chinese Restaurant Awards and Felix took home the grand prize at the 2017 Curry Cup.
