Vancouver: Eating and shopping at the Shangri-La
I just got back from a holiday, and somehow while I was away, it seems that a 61-storey skyscraper popped up out of nowhere into Vancouver’s skyline. Of course I’m joking—the new Living Shangri-La (1128 W. Georgia St., 604-689-1120, shangri-la.com) has been a long time coming. Vancouverites have slowly watched the building climb higher and higher over the last few months, becoming the tallest building our fair city has to offer.
The Hong Kong–based hotel group’s first foray into North America had its grand opening on January 24 and the best news of all for Vancouver residents is the upscale businesses that are colonizing the building. Fashionable foodies know that the place to shop for designer delicacies is specialty grocer Urban Fare (1133 Alberni St., 604-648-2716), who has a new location in the mix. If you prefer to leave the cooking to someone else, who better than Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten? Market by Jean-Georges (1128 W. Georgia St., 3rd floor, 604-689-1120), his first restaurant in this country, is confirming Vancouver as Canada’s culinary capital.
Following the “first Canadian location” trend at the Shangri-La is the brand new Burberry store (1101 Alberni St., 604 974-1110) that also opened on the ground floor and has over 3000 square feet of Burberry Prorsum, Burberry London and the brands luxe line of handbags, shoes, jewellery, fragrance and eyewear.