Torafuku, a Michelin-recognized pan-Asian restaurant in Vancouver helmed by chef and owner Steve Kuan, continues to anchor its decade-long presence on the local dining scene with contemporary dishes and collaborative culinary events. The industrial-aesthetic eatery bridges local ingredients with bold Asian flavors, drawing diners for both its regular tasting menus and special guest chef dinners.
Chef Steve Kuan and the Culinary Roots of Torafuku
Chef Steve Kuan was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and moved to Canada as a teenager. Before establishing his own kitchen, Kuan worked as a server and bartender before earning a culinary diploma from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. His resume includes kitchen experience at Cioppino’s and the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Torafuku specializes in pan-Asian plates, complemented by a tight wine list, local craft beers, and specialty cocktails such as the Matcha Madness—made with brown butter-washed gin, white chocolate syrup, and ceremonial matcha powder.
Menu Highlights and Collaborative Dinners
Torafuku’s menu features standout tasting selections, including an Heirloom Tomato dish with a fried egg salad, Chinese celery, herbs, almonds, and spicy Thai dressing, alongside Foie and Toast featuring fruit gel and candy pistachio on house-made shokupan. Other notable items include a Crab and Uni carbonara pasta made with lap cheong and Dungeness crab, and a Wagyu Maranggi flatiron served with garlic sambal, cucumber herb salad, garlic chips, and butter lettuce.
The restaurant also hosts guest collaborations, such as a special dinner with Victoria-based Cafe Malabar, founded by chefs Kiran Kolathodan and Karma Tenpa. Cafe Malabar, recognized as number five on Air Canada’s Best New Restaurants Top 10 List in 2024, brought coastal Kerala cuisine to the Vancouver space. The collaborative menu featured snacks such as Beef Tartare with galbi sauce and taro chips, Typhoon Squids with sakura shrimps, Unnakai filled with beef roast, and Foie Gras on raisin cake with elderflower and date chutney. The meal also included Cafe Malabar’s signature bite, the Kalamansi Explosion, which bursts with calamansi juice upon consumption, and a Halibut Pollichathu roasted in maple leaf and served with coconut rice and shallot chammanthi.
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