PAN-ASIAN FUSION If it had just been a couple of doors down, or even across the street, PiDGin would have avoided all the fuss. But as luck would have it, when it opened in 2013, the restaurant attracted the attention of Vancouver’s well-meaning, but at times misguided gang of anti-poverty activists. For a while, all you heard about was the protests. Then you started hearing about the food. And then the accolades started rolling in. Now the protesters are long gone, and chef Makoto Ono’s food just keeps getting better and better. The cuisine is a vibrant blend of creative, Asian-inspired dishes like dan-dan rutabaga salad, pork-belly rice bowl, raw scallops with pomegranate curry oil, and spiced duck with carrot cake. The best way to dine is definitely to order the prix fixe, which will get you generous tastes of eight different dishes. There’s also a good wine list, excellent sake selection, and creative cocktail list. It’s not a fancy place—the pine furniture looks like it came from a schoolroom designed by IKEA, and the white walls and plain, black light fixtures look a bit stark—but the simplicity of the decor just emphasizes the vibrancy of the food.