Ресторан Touk занял третье место в номинации «Лучший новый ресторан» на Golden Plates Awards в Ванкувере

Inside Touk, Vancouver's contemporary Cambodian standout Get the best of Vancouver in your inbox, every Tuesday and Thursday. Sign up for our free newsletter. Six months after opening its doors, Touk has already earned a place among Vancouver's most celebrated new restaurants. Indeed, it landed in the top three for Best New Restaurant in the Georgia Straight's 2026 Golden Plates Awards. For chef Chanthy Yen—who we've featured many times in the past—the recognition marks another milestone in a journey that began long before the contemporary Cambodian restaurant opened on Alberni Street. When I spoke with chef Yen a few months ago shortly before my first visit to Touk, he described opening the restaurant as both exhilarating and terrifying. "We're having a lot of fun," he told me. "But it's scary every single day. It's not easy, but I'm really enjoying this journey." That journey stretches back further than many diners might realize. Long before Touk became one of Vancouver's most talked-about restaurant openings, it existed as a pop-up concept in Montreal during the pandemic. Yen and his partner, Cameron Bourne, had originally set aside funds for a wedding that never happened because of COVID. Instead, they invested in the idea that would eventually become Touk. "I have been planning to open up Touk for a very long time," Yen said in our conversation over the phone. "Cameron and I set aside all of our funds from the supposed-to-happen wedding during COVID to idealize this concept." Even after winning Top Chef Canada, Yen resisted the traditional path of finding outside investors to bankroll his dream. While opportunities emerged, he said wanted something different. "I didn't want to go through that traditional route," he shared. "I wanted something that I could build out of my own funds. I didn't want to owe anyone anything, and I wanted this to be my brainchild." That sense of ownership is visible throughout the restaurant. When I visited earlier this year, the menu opened not with a list of dishes but with a story: a celebration of moon and water inspired by Bon Om Touk, Cambodia's annual water festival. The dining experience felt rooted in heritage while remaining firmly contemporary. The menu reflects that approach. A cucumber salad arrived bright with herbs, citrus, and chilli oil. Borbor, a Cambodian rice porridge, was elevated with spot prawns, squid, and Kampot pepper foam. A Fraser Valley pork tomahawk came dressed with a rich Cambodian mole. Throughout the meal, familiar local ingredients were paired with flavours and techniques that spoke to Yen's Cambodian roots. For Yen, however, Touk was never simply about opening another restaurant. It was about creating a permanent home for flavours and stories that rarely receive this level of attention in Canada. And one of the most meaningful surprises has been the reaction from the Cambodian community itself. "We've had Cambodian people from all around the world flying in," he said. "People are buying their tickets for an overnight flight just to try the food." He describes guests rediscovering flavours they remember from childhood—dishes and ingredients rarely showcased in contemporary restaurant settings. "It's such an honour," he said. "They get to try food that they've tasted when they were younger." That response appears to validate what Touk set out to accomplish from the beginning. Rather than recreating tradition exactly as it was, Yen has built a restaurant that uses contemporary techniques to celebrate Cambodian culture while introducing it to a broader audience. Three years ago, when I profiled Yen for the Georgia Straight, his cooking felt like an exploration of identity. Today, Touk feels like the result of that exploration—a restaurant confident in its point of view and unafraid to tell its own story. Judging by the response from diners, critics, and now Golden Plates voters, Vancouver is listening. Touk is located at 1152 Alberni Street.