Vancouver chefs dish up celebratory sweets, cultural culinary experiences for Mother's Day
From laksa to pad Thai to cakes and classic French pastries, local kitchens are going all out to honour mom tastefully
Oh Sweet Day Bake Shop’s Love You Mom cake.
THIS MOTHER’S DAY, it could be that moms need a little more TLC than usual. Vancouver chefs are levelling up the event with celebratory creations packed with every mom’s secret ingredient—love. What’s more, there are all sorts of options for cultural culinary experiences as well as artistic sweet treats.
You can stamp mom’s flavour passport on a Southeast-Asian culinary adventure with takeaway from chef Angus An’s casual eateries Freebird Chicken (order an Asian-style salt-cured roast chicken with soup and rice made with Hainan chicken broth), Sen Pad Thai (try Pad Pu Sen Chan, a spicy pad Thai with B.C. rock crab), Fat Mao Noodles (options include Tom Kha, a creamy coconut broth infused with galangal and mixture of mushroom or braised Duck Leg aromatic soy broth) and Longtail Kitchen (where must-have dishes include sweet chili fish balls, grilled Thai sausage salad, and beef Pad See-Ew—don’t forget the Thai milk tea).
Fat Mao Noodles. photo by Octane Collective
Potluck Hawker Eatery is stepping things up with its show-stopping Mama Cheung’s Laksa Seafood Boil. The laksa is based on co-owner and chef Justin Cheung’s mother’s recipe, and this seafood boil adds extravagance to the family-style meal. “As an ode to my mom, I wanted to create something extra special for a family to enjoy together,” Cheung says. “This seafood boil is truly the ‘mother of all potlucks.’” With a whopping amount of BC seafood (a whole Dungeness crab, a pound of Totten Inlet mussels, a pound of manila clams and prawns), longanisa sausage, fingerling potatoes, okra, corn, and other vegetables, all the ingredients are cooked together in a coconut lemongrass curry then served with egg noodles and Fife Bakery’s Japanese-style milk bread.
Torafuku is dishing up a five-course Mother’s Day menu to go. Photo by Leila Kwok
Torafuku’s Pan-Asian comfort food comes in the form of a five-course Mother’s Day menu featuring Hainanese chicken with Hainanese shiitake mushroom rice or a truffle dashi beurre monté sea bream with a creamy yaki udon. The kit also features a delicate sea urchin omelet using British Columbian red uni.
Tojo’s is offering multicourse omakase experience, temaki kits (make your own hand roils), and the Yokoboi Family Favourites Set, with nigiri, Pacific smoked-salmon Battera sushi, and rolls and starters.
Jenice Yu is serving FISHcuterie at Fresh Ideas Start Here.
Sopra Sotto on the Drive has a three-course Italian dinner with a whole roasted chicken, penne with prawns or ricotta and spinach ravioli, and tiramisu. (Add an Italian 75 Cocktail Kit with Martini Asti Prosecco.)
At Fresh Ideas Start Here (FISH), owner Jenice Yu has launched new FISHcuterie boxes, featuring all sustainable seafood and made-in-house savoury treats, for sharing and snacking. Think smoked wild sockeye lox, maple smoked salmon candy, pepper smoked spring salmon candy, salmon spread, prawn cocktail, smoked black cod candy, prawn spread, squid salad, smoked olives, pickled onion, lemons, and crackers. “As a mom myself, I love enjoying good food with my family,” Yu says. “It’s something different than traditional charcuterie. You can bring it home, take it to the park, beach, or enjoy it outside on your own patio. My young son loves the salmon candy and can eat so many in one sitting.”
Shangri-La Vancouver has teamed up with Leavenly Goods for Cookie Cakes and Cookie Bouquets.
Other special Mother’s Day fare sees big hotels teaming up with small producers. Shangri-La Vancouver has a luxurious Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea to-go in collaboration with Emelle’s Catering. Steak and egg tartine, moutabal crisps, caviar and salmon cupcake, and sweets like Ruby chocolate raspberry profiteroles and more are in the package, which comes complete with a paper tier stand. The hotel is also partnering with Leavenly Goods for Cookie Bouquets and Cookie Cakes, the latter which can be created in a heart shape or any letter of the alphabet.
At ARC at Fairmont Waterfront, executive chef Michael Pagnacco has created the Mother’s Day ARC in the Park picnic to-go, an artisanal experience featuring the best of Granville Island Public Market. It has goods from A Bread Affair, Benton Brother’s Fine Cheeses, and Oyama Sausage Co, and Kaylin & Hobbs Pickles, among other vendors, as well as its own honey lavender macarons.
On the sweet side, Buttermere Patisserie is taking a stroll into the Secret Garden this Mother’s Day, with three flower-inspired cakes. The Strawberry Blossom, a baby pink confectionary coloured by the berry’s natural dye, sits on a base of graham cracker-crusted classic cheesecake, garnished with strawberry panna cotta, strawberry cheese mousse, fresh strawberry jelly and buttercream flowers. For those whose preferred berry is blue, the lavender-hued Berry Elegant boasts fresh blueberry jelly, blueberry mousse and London Fog cremeux all atop an Earl Grey pecan madeleine base. Finally, the refreshing pale-yellow Floral Sparkle cake celebrates moms with a Bottega sparkling wine and elderflower mousse, elderflower jelly, yogurt crunch, vanilla ganache, citrus cremeux, and edible flowers on a base of cassis sponge. Each colour of cake symbolizes the strengths and traits of the motherly figures in our lives.
Among the offerings at Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop is a standout Love You Mom layered letter cake decorated with buttercream, chocolate, cookies, fresh fruits, and flowers, with the option to share your own delicious ideas to wow her.
Ladurée from Paris opened its first Canadian location on Robson Street. Pictured is its Mother’s Day Rose Macaron Cake.
Ladurée, a world-renowned French pâtisserie with Canada’s first location on Robson Street, has unveiling a new creation, the Rose Macaron Cake. “The rose macaron is one of most classic and popular flavours,” says Olesya Krakhmalyova of Ladurée Canada. “This year, we wanted to highlight the pink rose, which represents gratitude, grace, admiration, and joy.”
Brother and sister Betty and Jacky Hung, co-owners of Beaucoup Bakery, are taking inspiration this Mother’s Day from their mom’s personal sense of style: her penchant for pearls. “Growing up, our mom often wore pearls for special occasions,” Betty says. “Our new Mother’s Day Mother of Pearl collection was made with her in mind.” Resembling oyster shells, the Pistachio Strawberry Madeleine Gift Box comprises four pistachio madeleines, all dipped in a strawberry topping. The colourful Orange Raspberry Passionfruit Tart is a treasure box of almond frangipane, passionfruit ganache, candied orange peel and fresh fruit, including raspberries, orange zest and orange segments. Everything is decorated with chocolate pearls and shells. For something luxurious, the Ipsahan parfait is layered with rose yogurt mousse, raspberry lychee gelee and raspberry mousse, topped with the Mother of Pearl line’s signature chocolate shells and pearls.
This cactus from Mon Paris Patisserie is pure chocolate. Photo by Nora Hamade
We love the artful eats at Mon Paris Pâtisserie. Besides the Heart-Shaped Black Forest Cake (with stracciatella mousse, sour cherry confit and a chocolate rose sitting pretty on top) and all sorts of chocolates and pastries, there’s pastry chef Elena Krasnova’s Chocolate Flower Cactus: super cute and completely edible—no pricks, we promise. Made of Belgian milk chocolate, it’s decorated with white chocolate flowers.
Tea time and brunch are Mother’s Day classics, and this year, you can get them to-go.
The Hart House Mother’s Day Takeout Kit from Burnaby’s Hart House Restaurant by chef Mike Genest is a brunch that’s upscale and playful. Serving up to four people, the menu includes a veggie frittata, crispy pork belly with maple thyme breakfast sausage, and banana waffles. To go all out, add on a side of Lois Lake steelhead lox and a bottle of Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars Gold Label Brut.
Chef Dan Olson of Railtown Catering is launching a Mother’s Day Brunch picnic. Seasonally inspired, the meal is rustic and refined, with high-tea and classic-picnic finger foods such as devilled eggs with pimiento cheese and chives, house-smoked-salmon salad with marinated new potatoes, and—the pièce de resistance—tea sandwiches, from curried chicken with almond to prosciutto with parmigiana Reggiano and mango, small sammies that bring big elegance.
Savoury City Catering has high-tea menu too, with items like finger sandwiches, scones, and tiny tea desserts—éclair or opera cake, anyone? It also has quiche is on the takeout menu, one with spring vegetables, herbs and goat cheese, another with smoked bacon with leek and farmhouse cheddar. Lyonnaise potatoes, house-made scones with mascarpone and preserves round out the menu.
The Blue Hat Bakery Café at the Pacific Institute of the Culinary Arts (PICA) is offering springtime flavours and pinkies-raised grace with its Mother’s Day Tea for Two. Prepared by the school’s culinary students and pastry chefs, the menu features dainty savoury goods, scones and sweets. Highlights include an egg-salad milk bread sandwich, a spring veggie tartlet, the Earl Grey scone with seasonal berry preserves, and a seasonal berry pavlova. The limited edition menu also comes with two premium teas (Imperial Earl Grey and Mountain Berry) from the Vancouver tea merchant TEALEAVES.
The Bench Bakehouse Bake-At-Home Croissants. Photo by Manson Ward.
Take-and-bake pastries are on offer at the Bench Bakehouse on the Drive. We love their bake-at-home cinnamon buns (with cream cheese icing), pain au chocolat, and classic croissants; you can also find lovely artisanal loaves. Frozen baked goods to pop into the oven are also available at Temper Chocolate and Pastry. Its Good Morning Gift Basket has ready-to-bake butter croissants, a bag of specialty coffee from Campos Coffee or premium tea from Denman Island Tea, a Temper-branded tumbler, and box of assorted chocolates. (Quiche and countless other baked goods are on offer, too.)
The patio is open at Seasons in the Park, overlooking the gardens of Queen Elizabeth Park, and Cardero’s Restaurant, with views of the Coal Harbour Marina; both have prime rib dinners among their MD offerings. Outdoors at the Sandbar is brunch or a Southern-inspired Sunday Night Seafood Boil comprising a full pound of mussels and clams, jumbo prawns, two lobster tails, Old Bay broth, andouille sausage, potatoes and local corn on the cob. If you prefer food to go, its take-home sushi combo or three-course Mother’s Day dinner (with sablefish) will do the trick quite nicely.
Breakfast-in-bed is made easy with Fable Diner’s Mother’s Day Brunch at-home. Designed for two adults and two children, the family-style brunch is full of breakfast classics, with scrambled eggs, sunny side-up eggs, pork belly bacon, sausage patties, sliced ham, and breakfast potatoes. Plus, Fable’s signature specials, such as potato rosti with sour cream, cornmeal pancakes with Nutella whipped cream, and sourdough toast with house-made jam all make the line-up. Each package also comes with a sweet treat for mom. Add a passionfruit mimosa for a bubbly toast.>
Related Articles
