Irasshaimase

Cuisine:  Chinese The Down Low:  There is no such thing as small portions and the dishes are not cheap, so bring along your entire Chinese-food loving family if you want some variety Favorite Dish: My middle name is Sweet & Sour Music Pairing:  Nothing like the Mulan soundtrack, but The Funk Hunters just released a mix sure to make a man out of you. Night Spell 5 Like any good Chinese restaurant, the place was buzzing when I walked in. The staff operate like a colony of ants, scurrying in-between the tables in the blink of an eye, and managing to carry 3x their body weight in food. Sipping on some tea and watching the dining room floor is both entertaining and nerve-racking. You sit on the edge of your seat waiting for a collision, and never have I seen so many near misses with acrobatic saves.  Maybe an expansion to a mini Cirque du Soleil restaurant is coming? I'm sure it would not be hard to find some spectacular gymnasts, kung fu artists and contortionists

Cuisine:  Malaysian The Down Low:  since no one really knows what Malaysian food is, I propose it's an exotic place to take a Valentine's Day date (which is now only a week away). They will have so much trouble reading the menu that they will hardly notice all the stupid things you are saying. Favorite Dish:  The eggplant fries with Thai chili sauce Music Pairing: if you are listening to music then your date is probably not going so well, but if you are desperate for some tunes to fill the awkward silences, throw on Porter Robinson's Essential Mix . It is one of the most attractive things I have ever heard and it will completely drown out any unwanted conversation. Looking to expose an aura of culture and sophistication to impress that special someone on Valentine's Day? Japanese, Thai, Korean and Chinese are all too common in Vancouver, so why not make a reservation for Malaysian and leave him / her too intrigued to turn you down. Hardly a risky bet, as the

Cuisine:  Seafood The Down Low:  this place fancyyy, huh? (some of you just read that with a Swizz Beatz voice in your head. Nail done, hair done, everything did) Favorite Dish:  the item that is cheapest, and "a glass of their finest water" (but make sure they realize you are joking because they may come back with triple filtered mountain lake water, bottled in Japan) Music Pairing: When you are going to shell out more than a couple sand dollars, you should be treating your ears with the finest trance chefs in the Anjuna kitchen, Above & Beyond! Their new album  Common Ground  is out, and as my friends can imagine, I've listened to it more than a couple of times. Now I don't consider myself a fine dining type of person. It's weird having people other than your mom call you "sir." So instead of dressing to impress, I remained true to style and went to Blue Water Cafe in my sweatpants. Somehow I pulled it off. They actually gave me a