Wine: British Columbia wine isn't well known; the volume simply isn't sufficient for massive export. Okanagan Valley wines are a great place to start, but by all means do not cover the field. Poplar Grove's 2005 Syrah was the best I tried.
Design: nood (New Objects of Desire) is a fun Canadian line of well-designed houeshold products. The umbrella was exciting, especially in rainy Vancouver.
Leather: mo851. A Montreal-based company that designs bags and other leather goods. Move over, Jack Spade. Their colors are amazing, and the bags are designed so as to be neither too masculine nor too feminine.
Places: Sun Yat-sen Chinese Garden was well-designed and a delightful space, especially on a rainy day. Particularly peaceful in light of the not-always benign surroundings of Vancouver's Chinatown.
Food: Hapa Izakaya in the West End was a hidden gem recommended by a local. Even better when we found that the patrons were about 70% Asian, 30% hipster. The food was among the best Japanese fusion I've had. The Korean hot stone bowl with rice, egg, miso and pork was perfect in flavor and in presentation, and the tan-taka-tan shochu, flavored with shiso leaf, among the more palatable Japanese spirits I've tried. They also have a "Hello, Kitty" drink that's more dessert than libation. Salt Tasting Room in Gastown was also hip, edgy and of course delicious. Trust your waiter to choose as among charcuterie, cheese and condiments. Don't be afraid to try the beef tongue -- its grainy smoke flavor was the best sampling of the night, by far.
Coffee: For a chain, Blenz was better than most, including Starbucks. The mocha, prepared with dark chocolate, was especially decadent.
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