There is a connectedness to the community that permeates the mood of Wild Rice. General Manager Andrew Wong’s grandfather is the former proprietor of The Lotus Hotel, located next door. His connections to the neighbourhood are noble ones. He is a loud voice in the Gastown Restoration Project. Chinatown, Canada’s largest, is a hop, skip and a jump away, and is from where he stocks his pantry shelves. His staff mind their guests like they are hosting a party. You are treated as cordially as can be, smiles come with your soup, and there is seamless pirouetting between the bar, the waitstaff, and the kitchen that make for a sincere experience that will make you feel spoiled.

We left Wild Rice with flush faces, and the giddiness that accompanies having seen a magnificent movie. It is a fucking awesome time. It didn’t even bother us that there were old socks and garbage strewn on the hood of our car. Which is Confucius’ last virtue. Earnestness. Gastown is notorious for it, but with true visionaries like Andrew Wong and his staff at the helm, it will, in years to come, be an earnest energy not in vein. Literally. - C.L.