The doors have softly opened at 227 Main St, as Hong Kong-style cafe Saan Saan makes its long-awaited debut.
But for siblings Eric, Jamie, and Sarena Siu, the space that's now their family restaurant was once their grandparents' home.
When Saan Saan first emerged as an incoming cafe venture back in the summer of 2022, the Siu siblings shared what opening a business in such a significant space meant to them: "Thinking back to our childhood, we remember family gatherings around our grandparents' dinner table [at] this exact address," they shared.
Hong Kong cafes known for affordable Canto-Western dishes
Saan Saan is styled after Hong Kong cafes, which are known for their affordable, familiar dishes, and traditionally straddle the worlds of Canto-Western cuisine. Thanks to a heavy British influence, Hong Kong-style food features elements like milky tea and baked goods. The cafes tend to have broad menus with more "fast food" kinds of dishes as well as hearty, home-style dishes. Staples often include coffee and tea drinks, noodles, sandwiches, and the iconic pineapple buns.
Right now, Saan Saan is arriving in stages. The cafe is open as a weekend "soft open" cafe experience through the end of August and likely into September. The menu features tea and coffee drinks, including cold shaken tea beverages (made with teas from local Chinatown shop Treasure Green Tea) and Hong Kong milk teas. Saan Saan also serves coffee and espresso beverages made with Agro Roasters' beans. Need a jolt? A cup of yuen yeung is a mix of coffee and tea.
Soft launch menu features hot and cold drinks and baked goods
For food, the kitchen is turning out a small lineup of baked goods, including pastry "puffs" (think turnovers or hand pies) with fillings like BBQ pork or spiced apple. They also have a couple of incredible cookies: Pineapple Coconut and Black Sesame Caramel. The cookies are just the right balance of soft on the inside with gently crumbly edges and they hold up well to a quick dunk in a hot cup of tea.
Saan Saan's next phase, which will be sometime this fall, will be to introduce a line of savoury dishes. While HK-style cafe menus can be quite broad in scope, the plan is to narrow it down to a few approachable and nostalgic favourites.
The third phase will be another matter of patience: Saan Saan is approved to operate a back patio with 18 seats, but given that Vancouver's patio days are waning and the restaurant isn't quite ready for that kind of business yet, it will have to wait until spring.
One crucial note, which should make a portion of the customer base feel wonderfully relieved and likely not affect anyone else one single bit: The entire operation is completely gluten-free. (Yes, those fantastic cookies and tasty pastry puffs are totally GF!)
Saan Saan is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. for the time being. Follow them on Instagram @saansaancafe for the latest updates.
Video: A taste of the baked goods and drinks at Saan Saan
@forkingawesomevia A new modern Hong Kong-style cafe is open in Vancouver! And…everything is gluten free. The cookies are SO good!! Saan Saan is in a soft open mode with tea, coffee, and other hot & cold drinks plus some baked goods. We tried the BBQ Pork and Apple “puff” pastries (like hand pies) and two AMAZING cookies: Pineapple Coconut and Black Sesame Caramel. The plan is to add savoury meals/dishes in the fall (and it will all be GF). For some reason the real background sounds all worked out with the clips (usually I’m yammering over everything 🤪) so this is a real slice of real life. But…can anyone make out the song I sing here and there in the clips? PS the other voice/hands belong to my sweet son! #forkingawesome #vancouverbc ♬ original sound - Forking Awesome/V.I.A.
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