The Ho Ho restaurant.

Located at the corner of Vancouver’s Columbia and East Pender Street resides one of North America’s oldest restaurants, and the only one remaining that still serves authentic and original “village” styled Cantonese cuisine.

But it’s era is coming to an end.

At one time, the Ho Ho graced one of the city’s most familiar neon landmarks – a stylized bowl of rice with steam rising up 3 1/2 stories.  Within this neon rise, alternated the Chinese characters for “Ho Ho”…and her English words – both in flashing neon glory.

photo by Christian Dahlberg
http://www.vancouverneon.com

The restaurant once hosted many of Chinatown establishment’s major events – weddings, Clan society dinners, cultural and festival dinners, etc. The enterprise occupied the lower two floors of an old 8 storey brick building that contained a once thriving rooming house / hotel, the “Sun Ah”.

At one time, another old favourite restaurant existed a block away. Foo’s restaurant.

The original Foo’s once graced the location where the Chinese Cultural Centre is today. When old Foo’s restaurant closed shop, the Ho Ho became “Foo’s Ho Ho”.

Ho Ho’s Joanne (L) with
Downtown Eastside Activist, Jamie Lee Hamilton (R)

From serving tourists to locals, there are regular groups of customers who return to enjoy the authentic ciusine that faithfully maintained Chinatown’s history. Each year, the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of British Columbia hosts its Annual General Meeting dinner at Foo’s Ho Ho in honour of the tradition and history that it represents.

The Ho Ho served food that many of us local born bananas grew up with.

Ho Ho’s Sam working his magic in preparing one of the UGLY Chinese Canadian’s
favourite dish, village style sticky rice chicken.

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The UGLY Chinese Canadian received this note from his old bud, Larry Wong – the city’s unsung local historian who has shared so much of his knowledge of historic Chinatown and Strathcona neighbourhoods with many…

Larry writes:

Hi Everyone,

Just a word from Larry Wong, a member of the Military Museum that holds monthly dinner  meetings at Foo’s.

Sam, the cook and proprietor of Foo’s Ho Ho has liver cancer and is currently in VGH pallative care. At most he has 2 months left to live.  His partner, Joanne has been keeping the landmark restaurant open and continuing cooking the delicious dishes you’ve enjoyed and remembered throughout the years.

Going back and forth between the hospital and the restaurant has taken a toil on her and she has reluctantly decided to close Foo’s Ho Ho indefinitely after this coming Saturday. The famous neon sign will dim one last time. So it’s last call for those who wish to have one more lunch or dinner for old times sake and it’s also a way to support Joanne and Sam financially.  An opportunity to re-live a part of old-time Chinatown, round up some friends and book your table. 604.609.2889

Foo’s Ho Ho is the last of the “village-style” Cantonese restaurants from the late 1940s. establishments in Vancouver’s Chinatown that does the original home-style cooking. Many of the older generation remembers it well. Sam who first gain his cooking chops at the WK Restaurant and later at the Famous Marco Polo and others before he resurrected the Ho Ho which had been left vacant for a number of years and renamed it Foo’s Ho Ho.

Sam’s signature dish is his Egg Foo Yung.

Still the best in Canada….

Joanne with BC Lt. Governor Stephen L. Point (center)
and Lt Col. Howe Lee (R) – celebrates a meal at the Ho Ho

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On behalf of the UGLY Chinese Canadian and his friends, we wish Sam, all the hope and prayers on his battle with cancer.

Take care old friend.

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