Bao Down is a cantonese budget eat in Gastown, Vancouver.
Bao Down on West Cordova in Gastown since 2014 is a steamed-bao counter under $18 for three, the city's reference take-out and walk-in dim-sum-style snack.
Tip: Counter only; the BIG Trouble in Little China bao is the kitchen's most-ordered. Patio seats in summer.
Address: 9 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1C8
Save On Meats on West Hastings is the Downtown Eastside's diner since 1957, a butcher-counter and a 2011 reboot, the city's reference budget diner.
Try: S.O.M burger
Tip: Sandwich tokens at the counter for $3.50 each, gifted to anyone outside, redeemable for a meal.
Phnom Penh on East Georgia is Chinatown's reference Cambodian-Vietnamese kitchen since 1985, the chicken wings the city's most-photographed budget plate.
Try: Crispy chicken wings
Tip: Cash takes a discount; the chicken wings with rice noodle bowl runs $15. Arrive before 18:00 to skip the line.
Japadog's Robson brick-and-mortar since 2005 is the city's reference budget street-food counter, the Terimayo and Oroshi dogs the city standard since 2005.
Try: Japanese-Canadian hot dogs
Tip: Cart at Burrard takes cash and card; the Robson brick-and-mortar has the full menu and a sit-down counter.
Banh Mi Tres Bon on Kingsway since 2008 is the Khmer Vietnamese counter the city sets its banh mi bar by, fresh-baked baguettes hourly under $10 a sandwich.
Try: Banh mi sandwich
Tip: Cash only; the pate special sells out by 13:30. The dac biet is the kitchen's most-ordered.
Save On Meats on West Hastings is the Downtown Eastside's diner since 1957, a butcher-counter and a 2011 reboot, the city's reference budget diner.
Try: S.O.M burger
Tip: Sandwich tokens at the counter for $3.50 each, gifted to anyone outside, redeemable for a meal.
Kintaro Ramen on Denman is Vancouver's first Sapporo-style ramen shop since 1999, the original tonkotsu counter for under $20, plus a Robson late seating.
Try: Miso ramen
Tip: Counter only; line up before 12:00 or after 14:00 to avoid the lunch queue. Cash takes a discount.
Donair Town on Robson runs the city's late-night Halifax-style donair counter, the East Coast Lebanese-Canadian classic with sweet condensed-milk sauce.
Try: Donair wrap
Tip: Open until 02:00 nightly; the donair pizza is the bar-crawl standby. Card-friendly.
