Meet The Man Who Ate At 8,000 Chinese Restaurants & These Were The Best In Vancouver

David R. Chan has eaten at nearly 8,000 Chinese restaurants in his lifetime — and be rated these as the best in Vancouver.

He's travelled the world trying new places and testing different restaurants.

He told Narcity that he has eaten Chinese meals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Spain, Portugal, U.K., Hungary, Austria, India, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

He's also eaten at Chinese restaurants in Canada and spoke to Narcity about his favourites in B.C.

British Columbia has tons of amazing spots to eat at and you can try a ton of different cuisines. So it's no surprise that Chan found some gems in the province in Richmond and Vancouver.

One of his all-time favourites in the Vancouver area is Landmark Hot Pot. He also loves Shanghai River, Kirin, and Chef Tony.

He says a "must-order" for him is crispy baked barbecue pork buns at a dim sum restaurant.

He noted a "particular standout" dish for him is the fried eggwhite dessert at Shanghai River.

"I actually had no thought or intent on sharing my Chinese restaurant visits with the world," Chan said.

He said he created an Excel spreadsheet schedule of restaurants, solely for his own personal purposes.

Luckily, a food writer saw that this needed to be shared with the rest of the world. Chan said that he casually mentioned to them that "he had eaten at so many restaurants [and] the writer thought there was an article that might be of interest."

From there, he started sharing his food adventures with the world.

"Since my interest in Chinese food in America came about due to my larger interest in studying the history of Chinese in America, I have since used discussions about Chinese-American food to publicize some of the historical aspects," he said.

He covers topics such as "the enactment of laws suspending Chinese immigration to the United States, discrimination against Chinese people living in the United States, and why Chinese food in America — much as its cousin, Chinese food in Canada — was for over 100 years so much different," he added.

We can't wait to see where his food adventures take him next!