According to Wikipedia, the Pacific Rim “…refers to the countries and cities located around the edge of the Pacific Ocean.”

It then goes on to list the huge regional diversity that includes Peru, Mexico, Australia, Chile, China, Korean, Western U.S. and Western Canada…Their list is actually much longer than the one I’ve written here, but you get the idea.

I found this interesting, because my definition of what constitutes the Pacific Rim, apparently isn’t really based on these facts. I’ve always felt it was something a little less clearly defined, something a little less tangible, and obviously filtered through the lens of our Vancouver reality…though I do understand that their definition is, well, more, definite.

But to me, last night’s stay at Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel embodied how I have come to think of this term; that it is more like a kind of fabulous East/West exchange. I think of an Eastern aesthetic combined with a strong use of Western resources.  The hotel’s ‘feel’ embodied that idea.  It’s a clean and spare look that has an almost retro 70s feel with nothing extra to detract from the spacious Zen openness. It feels ‘possible’, open to opportunity, to exchange and diversity.

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To back up a little; I was in Vancouver with my good friend Sharon Brown. We’d come in to see a photography exhibit and to hear one of the SFU lectures on the notion of besa. (I’m going to do a different posting on this event because everyone should know this stuff, but meanwhile if you want to get a taste of besa, see some great photos, combined with amazing stories, please check out this SFU link.)

But first we checked in to our room on the 19th floor where we found windows with a floatplane’s view of Coal Harbour to our left and the iconic Canada Place sails to our right. 

We both took turns playing with the remote that turned on the bathroom television. It disappeared and became part of the mirror when the power was off.  It felt very Alice-Through-The-Looking-Glass. And yes, I know we’re all supposed to be world-weary and jaded and used to this kind of techno stuff, but it never seems to get old for me.

And embarrassing as it is to admit, it took both of us just a little too long to figure out how to retract the sheer curtains.  After all, the little switch plate had a glowing button that said ‘Shears’ with accompanying arrow symbols to demonstrate closing or opening the drapes with a lovely slow hum.

Once we figured it out, it was rather obvious, but I come from the generation that just used force to make things work. Hmmm… Perhaps there’s a lesson here.

But back to the Pacific Rim..My understanding of what makes something Pacific Rim-like was further validated at our dinner in Oru.

Oru is the hotel’s restaurant. It feels like something hard to pin down, a floating openness of glass and air. The kitchen is part of the scene and looks like something NASA would design.

The view takes in the Canada Place sails, Coal Harbour and the new convention centre with that groovy revolving world hanging from their atrium-like ceiling. It’s all set in a streetscape that looks like an art exhibit. I got the impression that the pedestrians we saw were part of a living art installation.

I started with the Heart of Palm and Grapefruit Salad. Spicy cashews, a coconut vinaigrette, cilantro and pea shoots with a smear of avocado presented bright tastes and crisp textures into what I can only think of as Pacific Rim food.  Sharon declared her Octopus and Botarga salad “beyond good”.

As a rule, Sharon & I are wine drinkers, but decided to switch it up with sake to get into the spirit of things. Our waiter was fabulous in helping us pick a sake called Momokawa. It had a milky texture with a coconut aroma. It was a taste sensation that we could both easily imagine as a new summer drink on the deck. Served chilled, it was a taste treat and a perfect complement to our dinners.

OK. I won’t go on too much more about this whole food thing, but can I just say that my Lobster Tom Kha Talay was TDF? Enoki mushrooms, crispy tofu, clams, chunks of sweet potatoe and a big hunk of lobster in a coconut broth that tasted like an oriental boullibaise. Sharon graciously pretended she wasn’t embarassed as I mopped it all up with probably a little too much exuberance.

I understand that the Wikipedia listing says that the Pacific Rim encompasses a huge area.

And I also realized that it’s human nature to think we’re at the centre of the known universe. But still, you might want to check this place out for yourself.

Because I think we just might have stumbled upon the axis mundi of the Pacific Rim…then again, it could have been that sake.