Go Dine Kanadiyan, the restaurant that showcases the beautiful food of Eat Kanadiyan take-out food place in Surrey, opened its doors to the public for dining and parties. Nestled in the middle of busy New Westminster on 7th Avenue, Go Dine Kanadiyan or GDK will bring Filipino fusion cuisine to BC. With a growing trend in cities like New Westminster, which has a dynamic and diverse population, to showcase various elements of Filipino-Canadian culture through food is Go Dine Kanadiyan’s objective.
“We are excited for our restaurant,” says Mai Carriedo, one of the owners of GDK. “We have lots of surprise cuisine being prepared in our kitchen as we will bring old time favourites and a bit of fusion in our dishes here.”
To accomplish this, they have brought in Executive Chef Joven Pidor, who has worked on various cruise ships and was recently at Vikings in Davao City in the Philippines.
“I am hoping to bring the latest in fusion cuisine,” Joven shares. “Filipino cuisine is starting to make its mark in the food scene all over the world, and we are hoping to capture that here at GDK.” In recent years, Filipino cuisine has gained significant popularity outside of the Philippines, particularly in North America. The Filipino diaspora has played a large role in spreading the appreciation for it.
The decor at GDK takes one back to his or her Filipino roots with the bamboo inspired accents.
“This place used to be a pub but we envisioned a truly cozy and comforting restaurant for our diners so they can go back to the warmth and hospitality of the nipa home with our place and our food,” says Cocoy Vidanes, one of GDK’s owners. “We were able to get materials from a supplier here in Richmond who had a lot of bamboo products that we needed.”
With its proximity to Vancouver, New Westminster is home to many different communities, which inspires restaurants like GDK to feature Filipino dishes with influences from both traditional and modern elements of Canadian and other cultures.
