Canadian foods?

[Bullet Sniper]

Not too long ago, I returned from my trip to Vancouver and the parts of Eastern British Columbia, Canada. And before going on the trip, I thought I was going to be eating tons of Canadian food (or Western food of any kind), but alas, joining an all-Chinese tour group had ironically denied me such promising opportunities to broaden my culinary horizons and my tour guide took us to nothing but traditional Chinese (and one Chinese/Thai in Banff) restaurants in British Columbia for ALMOST every meal (except for breakfast and even then, we sometimes have chinese food in that meal too), every day, on the whole week schedule of the trip.

The only time I've ever been treated to western food (which is non-canadian) was that time at the lodge inn near Lake Louise or something, and it was mostly just stuff like greek caesar salad, rice, white fish fillet, meatballs, vegetarian penn pasta, and some bread and a little bit of cake for dessert. There was even one dinner where our group went to and from the outside, it appeared to be a grand buffet restaurant, which according to its sign said that it served "both Chinese and Western-style cuisine". For sure, I thought I was in for a real feast and that I could finally stop complaining and take the best damn breather I ever had, I mean a western-style chinese buffet combined with genuine canadian food or possibly american foods like hamburgers seemed like an awesome idea. But once I got in, my expectations had soon revealed itself to be nothing more than a bluff in disguise, as the so-called "Western" food was just Canadian Chinese food with only a handful of western commodities on the side like onion rings and french fries and the "Chinese" food was, as you guessed it, the traditional set of Chinese food that my western palate just isn't wholly attracted to. And the latter was being served by the restaurant at my group's table at the request of my stupid tour guide/agency's plans. The "best" (air quotes emphasized) thing I ever had from that dinner was some chinese scrambled eggs and I was like "damn if only they could bring my table a bottle of Heinz ketchup and had us sprayed it all over the egg, I would have a little happier and more satisfied with the dinner". I even joked in disdain that if Chef Gordon Ramsey were to come on this tour group, he would have been repulsed and would have no choice but to rate this meal a 3 out of 10 at best. I left the restaurant in sheer disappointment.

And as if that wasn't dumb enough, my tour guide (or rather the tour agency that my parents registered this trip from) in all his infinite wisdom, had even sent us to two of the same restaurants, TWICE for each. One of them in Banff for dinner and breakfast and the other in vancouver for both lunches. I got so bitter and infuriated on the inside that the only way that someone could calm me down was if they could tell me if there was any meal or any restaurant choice that the tour guide could have made that could have been conceivably stupider and more boring than this?

And only before I got on with the tour group after just arriving from the US-Canada border by way of Seattle, did I get to try this Quebecois staple known as "poutine" (and I gotta say, it was delicious as hell) at the River Rock Casino Resort in Vancouver's Chinatown, and also ironically during the same night, I was having Canadian Chinese food (which is steamed rice with chicken, beef, and mixed vegetables, which I loved). And after the end of the tour group on the final night, did I get to back to the same casino resort and not only have poutine again, but also french fries, a pizza slice, a mushroom cheeseburger, some sushi (but no salmon dammit cause my mom doesn't trust its cleanness), and a caesar salad. And then only on the very last day with another tour guide (whom also took us only to chinese restaurant, but also changed his mind and let us go to more western markets), did I get to try something that was at least close to Canadian food and that was the multi-grain Reuben sandwich at the food court of Granville Island (and earlier I confused it with Montreal Style Smoked Meat) and a scone and a hot tea my mom brought. Boy was it kinda awesome.

And originally I had also wanted to go to an Italian restaurant or some grill place and even visit this chain store called "Tim Hortons", but I never got the chance.

Overall, I had a pretty great and monumental time at Canada, but the only thing that REALLY fell short of my expectations was the "food" and funny enough that's because much of it wasn't actual Canadian food.

So straight to the point: What are some other real Canadian foods I should have really tried? What do you guys think constitutes real "Western" Canadian food? What are the best original Canadian foods that are to die for?

Well?

[t hedge coke]

Nanaimo bars. Because they are delicious.

[Bullet Sniper]

Nanaimo bars. Because they are delicious.

do those taste like oreo-flavored ice cream or something?

[Bullet Sniper]

No other takers?

[Ship]

do those taste like oreo-flavored ice cream or something?

It's a wafer with custard in the middle and chocolate on top.

Not sure what other foods would be distinctly western Canadian. Lots of Ranches in Alberta so steaks and burgers I guess. Maybe a lot of salmon and other seafood dishes for British Columbia.

And of course there's poutine, which is a Quebec food who's popularity has spread across the country.

[PretenderNX01]

And of course there's poutine, which is a Quebec food who's popularity has spread across the country.

It's the only Canadian food I know of

Is "Canadian bacon" actually Canadian?

I found a list on Huffington Post but not being a Canadian myself, I can't verify it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06...n_2869764.html

And a Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_cuisine

[Ship]

Is "Canadian bacon" actually Canadian?

Nope. It's an Americanism. In Canada we call it back bacon. "Bacon" on its own means exactly the same thing as in the US.

[Turn the Page]

Except for maybe donairs and poutine, Canadian foods really aren't that much different than American foods.

[Bullet Sniper]

Yeah it's a shame Canada doesn't have that much quantity of original dishes compared to the United States. It would have been more interesting.

[Ozymandas]

It's probably more French than Canadian, but whenever I'm in Canada I seek out crepes (seafood & cheese, not dessert) & fondue. Escargot & frogs legs might be considered Canadian but again, really a French import.

It's a shame your tour kept steering you towards Chinese food. Given what you've told us about no salmon sushi& your parents' concerns, maybe this was a choice made to meet the wishes of most parents? Or maybe in order to keep expenses down.

[Bullet Sniper]

It's probably more French than Canadian, but whenever I'm in Canada I seek out crepes (seafood & cheese, not dessert) & fondue. Escargot & frogs legs might be considered Canadian but again, really a French import.

It's a shame your tour kept steering you towards Chinese food. Given what you've told us about no salmon sushi& your parents' concerns, maybe this was a choice made to meet the wishes of most parents? Or maybe in order to keep expenses down.

It's because my tour group is not only completely Chinese as is the tour guide, but the travel agency assigned us all of these places to eat on our schedule. Even now, I still look back in disappointment and frustration. What could have been the best meals on this trip turned out to be some of the most bland.

[nemosdad]

No Coffee Crisp in the states? I did not know that. Kinder eggs is banned in the states due to choking hazards. You can buy a gun anywhere but watch out for small toys!

There won't really be too much in the way of pure Canadian dishes as Canada essentially has access to the same types of food supply as the U.S.A.

Canadian dairy is much better in Canada, but it's still milk,butter and the like. Sockeye salmon on the west coast of Van Isle is the best in the world but is sold in the states as well. Can't really say it's a Canadian dish.

Last point. Canadian food safety regulations are insane here. We can't have outdoor smokers due to unsanitary conditions. Outdoor bbq's are next on the list to go for restaurants. There is a pub I clean here a couple hundred feet from where seafood get's offloaded. It's illegal for the chef to go over and buy directly from the boat. Has to be gov. inspected. Same as the floating restaurants right beside the damn docks. Like 20 feet away. Dumb.

[Bullet Sniper]

No Coffee Crisp in the states? I did not know that. Kinder eggs is banned in the states due to choking hazards. You can buy a gun anywhere but watch out for small toys!

There won't really be too much in the way of pure Canadian dishes as Canada essentially has access to the same types of food supply as the U.S.A.

Canadian dairy is much better in Canada, but it's still milk,butter and the like. Sockeye salmon on the west coast of Van Isle is the best in the world but is sold in the states as well. Can't really say it's a Canadian dish.

Last point. Canadian food safety regulations are insane here. We can't have outdoor smokers due to unsanitary conditions. Outdoor bbq's are next on the list to go for restaurants. There is a pub I clean here a couple hundred feet from where seafood get's offloaded. It's illegal for the chef to go over and buy directly from the boat. Has to be gov. inspected. Same as the floating restaurants right beside the damn docks. Like 20 feet away. Dumb.

how is canadian dairy like? does Canada have lox on bagels with cream cheese?