Third the Revolver recommendation. Though if you're willing to stray further away from dt then Elysian Coffee is a decent option (Broadway & Ash, a block away from the Canada Line station. Also a nice people-watching spot especially with a seat by the window.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/14/143167...

Greedy Pig in Gastown has a Marrow & Toast appetizer that's probably going to clog your arteries (when does bone marrow not do that?)
http://thegreedypig.ca/appies

I second fmed. But it's certainly possible to make a full meal out of a night market outing – especially if you get a little bit of everything. You know: a rotato here, a small plate of bbq squid there, one lamb skewer, split a massive chicken cutlet with a friend. A bag of egg waffles. There were tacos at the "old" night market too.

Mass market: Costco fries.
(Whoops, cat's out of the bag. LOL)

But nothing beats hand-cut fries, double fried for extra crispiness.

Have you been to Cafe Juanita?
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_...

With the sudden outcropping of bubble tea-style establishments like Serenitea and ChaTime, you might as well grab one while you're there.

(Sorry if it's TL;DR!)

Been to both the "old" (by Home Depot) and "new" (by Bridgeport station) night markets. My allegiance lies with the old one, simply because you get better value for your money. Got a small plate of bbq squid (mmmm tentacles), a bag of taiwanese-style chicken nuggets, two bags of egg waffles (they had a 2 for $4 promotion which was a steal) and one rotato + thai iced tea before calling it quits (!)

Old night market
http://www.summernightmarket.com/main/default.asp

PROS:
- no entrance fee! Save that $1.50 and use it towards a rotato or order of bbq squid ;
)- from Bridgeport station, there's a (free) shuttle that leaves every 20 mins. going to the old night market.
- Food's cheaper, and there's a fair assortment of goodies. And not one, but THREE rotato stands (so shorter lines). Plus a very efficient egg waffle stall.

CONS:
- parking costs $6 (or $5 I couldn't remember). Me and a lady friend got there around 7:30 pm and the parking lot was near full.
- If you don't do the free shuttle, you can take the 407/430 (but have to walk a fair distance)

"New" Night Market
http://www.richmondnightmarket.com/

PROS:
- ridiculously convenient for those taking transit!
- Parking's free! Aside from the parking lot right beside the night market, there's a smaller lot closer to Bridgeport station (you'll walk past it on the way to the NM).
- Greater variety of food stalls: this night market's bigger than the old one, so there's more space for food vendors. And as LR mentioned, the "old-school Chinese night market" wood fired pizza. :)

CONS:
- traffic is a PITA: left the night market around 10pm and the bottleneck around the parking lot area was INSANE.
- The $1.50 entrance fee: this really bothers me because you're paying to get in...only to get food that's pricier than at the old NM.
- I found myself paying "food truck" prices for some of the food ($6-10), as opposed to the lower price range ($3-7) at the other NM.
- Not a big deal, but I noticed there was a lot more corporate sponsorship "booths" littered around the new NM than the old one. Less shopping to be done.

Personally I don't mind going the extra step and riding the free shuttle to the old night market. The crowds were so much bigger at the new one and I found myself shoulder-to-shoulder with people more than I'd want to.

Just my $0.02

I think you just gave away your age, :p

(Unrelated, but I remember watching one of those cheesy dramatic telenovelas, some "dramatic reenactment" about the whole Max's empire. Man, it's been a while since I've seen Maalala Mo Kaya...or TFC for that matter hahaha)

Interesting read! imo Filipino cuisine by nature is very "homey" and comforting. I've yet to see a fine dining Filipino restaurant here, but that might just be because to do so would mean adapting Filipino dishes to Canadian tastes (no sweet style pasta sauce thank goodness).

Kumare might have been the closest Vancouver's come to mid-scale Filipino cooking but delicious it is not. Apparently the owners have also split the business into two restaurants, the one in Richmond and an "express" restaurant downtown.

The original chicken at Max's imo is juicier than the one here, and the banana ketchup is necessary for the chicken to even be edible unfortunately. I liked the butterscotch bars that would come with every chicken meal you ordered at Max's (Iol I hope this doesn't give out my age).

I know this is a cop out, but it'd be nice if someone brought Jollibee up north so we wouldn't have to trek to Seattle all the time...palabok is pretty decent (definitely better than the kind you'd get at a Jollibee back in Manila), but not something I would deliberately drive 2 hours for.

Thanks for the Kulinarya recommendation fmed, will have to check it out when I'm in the area.

Crispy pata's definitely not good for the waistline (the crispy skin is deadly), but it's nice to have every once in a while. ;)

Perhaps CrispyLechon can shed some light on this?

Is it that hard to find decent Filipino food in Vancouver or the 'burbs for that matter?

Even after informally surveying my Filipino friends, many of them were quick to point out that nothing measures up to their mother's home cooking. When we paid the new Max's on Kingsway a visit, we were really sad that the chicken was not up to par (apparently it's a huge restaurant chain back in Manila, so our expectations were admittedly high). Kumare in Richmond was a disappointment too: the sisig I was looking forward to turned out to be a dud, hardly had the nice crispy bits that makes sisig so good. Cucina Manila is pretty decent, but rather greasy (ordered laing and it was in a pool of oil, still tasty though).

(That leaves mainstays like Pinpin's and Little Ongpin...and Cucina Manila. I'm aware of Filipino grocers that also serve turo-turo style food like Tindahan and Aling Mary's in Richmond, but haven't given those a shot.)

Thanks for the Crawfish King tip. Drove by once and it seemed too good to be true...imagine, no need to drive all the way to Seattle for a decent crawfish boil! Until Crawfish King gets its act together, our quest for good Cajun cuisine is still on.

Since greyelf mentioned Red Wagon, Jethro's is also another place worth checking out for lunch...but it's probably worth noting that both were featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (for other places to check out).

If you don't mind food carts, there are a few seafood-themed ones in the downtown core. The Kaboom Box and Fresh Local Wild come to mind.

Fair enough. Then again, it's been a while since I've been to Provence for brunch so my memory of the place is a bit fuzzy (lunch was decent though).

Congratulations! :)

Chinese - While there are a few decent options downtown (Victoria Restaurant being one of them, by Royal Centre beside the Burrard Skytrain station), you're better off hopping on the Canada Line to go to Richmond. The night market is located in a lot a 5 minute walk from the Bridgeport station, and as other people have said there are a TON of options at the market. Was there last night and parking was incredibly hard to find, so you're better off using transit to get to the night market.

I will be on the minority with this one, but The Jade in Richmond isn't as good as it used to be...and rather pricey too, considering the quality of dimsum you'll be getting. If you're willing to pony up a bit of cash, then Kirin is an excellent dimsum or dinner option (there's one by Alberni st. Downtown, and they also have a Richmond location that's fairly close to the Brighouse Canada Line station). You could also head to Aberdeen Mall where they have Fisherman's Terrace (same vein as Kirin).

Brunch - Provence by the Marina is a nice place for brunch (delicious eggs benedict!). Said restaurant is also good for an Italian-themed lunch, their fixed price menu is also a bargain and you get to try out some stuff from their antipasto bar.

Seafood - I guess this doesn't really count but Carderos has a Mussel Mania deal going on right now and should last well into June. $10 for a sizable portion of Moule et Frites (and a pint of beer, but even if you don't get the beer $10 is still a bargain). Since you mentioned you have a car, then the Steveston area in Richmond is a great place to get seafood (near a wharf, so freshness pretty much guaranteed!). It's also a nice place to just enjoy the sun and walk along the docks, maybe grab a frozen yogurt from Timothy's and enjoy the small shops that line the streets.

It's a long shot, but a Japanese grocery like Izumiya in Richmond might have them...have you tried there?

But not a lot of bakeries (big and small) seem to make that kind of bun crusted on the outside with panko (from what I've seen anyway). The closest I've come to that is a panko-crusted sausage bun at Kam Do across Richmond Centre.

What are you going to use them for? If you're just looking for young coconuts to slice the tops off of (and drink the coco water inside) then an Asian grocery like T&T or Osaka (in Richmond, inside Yaohan mall) should have young coconuts that have been trimmed down to a more manageable size.

This might be a long shot, but have you tried South China Seas Trading Co. on Granville Island? If you email them, they might be able to order in bulk for you (depending on how many you need).

(side note: there's also a fair amount of juicy coconut meat inside, just need to scrape it out with a spoon)