Real Canadian Chinese food: worth a trip to Saskatchewan

My parents have lived in Cold Lake, Alberta for six years. My brother and his family a few more years than that. Since I started visiting this Northern town we have been going to the next province over for "real" Canadian Chinese food. My Dad and then us, grew up on Vancouver Island and good Chinese food is readily available... here, well... there are a few in Cold Lake, but none pass my Dad's muster.

Now, Chinese immigrants first came to Canada in the 19th century to build the railway(s) (yes, the Chinese are still building railways, and roads, bridges and ports around the world) - and from the beginning, groups of men (no women came really at the start) would pool resources and cook together. Many stayed and then sent for wives - opened restaurants and opened laundries. This is a romantic and rose coloured history of Canadian Chinese immigration - (all my professors from my Bachelor's degree at University of Victoria would be horrified) but it serves to explain why there are so many Chinese restaurants, especially in the West.

Families still immigrate to Canada to open restaurants. The family owner/operator in Pierceland is much the same, older women, husband and wife, kids doing homework on a back table.  Cooking food that tastes very little like the Chinese food I have come to love living near China town in Victoria and eating with friends in Dubai - but cooking food that draws people from all around. (Today there was a Nova Scotia plate, Alberta, Quebec (me), Manitoba and Saskatchewan - all of us eating in or picking up)

So here are a few photos from the drive and the restaurant. We were too hungry to take a photo of our chicken chowmein, bbq pork friend rice, chop suey, chicken wings and ribs :) But we will have leftovers for tomorrow for sure!

Only 40 km away from "home"

Tiny Restaurant in tiny Pierceland, SK (pop 449 - not a typo)

Western and Chinese decoration - 100% authentic

Dad taking a photo of the horses... (below are different horses)



Awesome junkyard


First large animal I have seen in 4,000 + km (white tailed doe)

Big storm coming - good thing there's leftovers for tomorrow, no need to leave the apartment! 


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