Foo is an Asian-street-food-style restaurant that will make you willingly cram yourself into a small space for some of their seriously tasty food.
Located at the corner of Yates and Blanshard in the downtown core, this little building resembles what I would expect a street food shack to look like. Actually, the parking lot is probably bigger than the whole of the restaurant. Maybe I should be glad a restaurant in the downtown core even has a parking lot; a free one, at that!
Two friends and myself toddled in to the little food shack on a sopping wet Saturday evening. The restaurant was jam packed with people, as many standing as sitting. With all the dampness and body heat, the windows were steamed up. Even so, the decor was pretty nice. Lively music playing, clean counters and chairs, chalkboard menus in various Asian currencies, plus one in Bitcoin.
Apparently everyone standing had already ordered, so we awkwardly scooched by the other customers and gave our orders to the cashier. Standing to the side, we chatted while we waited on food. It was neat to be able to watch the two chefs on the other side of the counter do their thing, and after 10Đ15 minutes our names were called, so we took our food and left.
Eating at my friends’ house, the food was fantastic. Two of us had the Caramel Chicken with rice and veggies. The chicken was juicy and well cooked, a little sweet and salty, and a nice crunch on the outside. Really fantastic stuff! This was one of those dishes that I was legitimately sad to finish, because it meant I couldn’t keep eating it.
My other friend had the Sweet & Sour Pork Belly: incredibly tender and flavourful, although not as good as the chicken.
The menu is extremely compact (about 12 main dishes to choose from), with most items running $10-$13. The food is deceptively filling though, so you definitely get your money’s worth. Perhaps not the cheapest of eats, but for the quality and quantity it’s a pretty good deal.
Foo is absolutely worth a visit. I don’t even like Asian food all that much, but maybe I’ve just never had good Asian food, because this place is amazing. Go to Foo, but make sure you take your food somewhere else to eat if you get claustrophobic.