Food, TravelFlorence LOctober 19, 2026Fairmont Vancouver AirportFood, Wonton Mama, Vancouver Restaurants, Vancouver Pop-ups

WONTON MAMA || Hong Kong-Style Cooking at Fairmont Vancouver Airport, Where Taste Becomes Memory

Food, TravelFlorence LOctober 19, 2026Fairmont Vancouver AirportFood, Wonton Mama, Vancouver Restaurants, Vancouver Pop-ups

Chef Sharon Chan has always believed that Taste = Memory, and her Hong Kong-style pop-up Wonton Mama returns to Fairmont Vancouver Airport on October 24 with that idea behind every dish.

Wonton Mama is a Hong Kong-inspired street food pop-up created by MAMAintheKitchen and Chef Will Lew, returning for its second run at the Richmond, BC hotel. It is rooted in the belief that food preserves heritage and shared experiences, so local ingredients meet family-inspired recipes that reflect how Chinese Canadian cuisine has evolved. The inspiration comes from Hong Kong's noodle shops, cafés, and hawker-style eateries, seen through a distinctly West Coast and Chinese Canadian lens, for a dining experience that feels both nostalgic and contemporary. Dinner service runs Thursday through Sunday, making it easy for travellers, locals, and hotel guests to find a seat.

*Chef Sharon Chan preparing her signature wonton noodles.*

*Wontons and noodles topped with with WONTONMama’s signature chili sauce and sliced scallion, a nod to the Hong Kong noodle shops that inspired the menu.*

For Chan, Chef and Founder of MAMAintheKitchen, the idea comes down to connection. “Food has the ability to connect people to family, heritage, and shared memories,” she says. She hopes the Wonton Mama team creates a place where guests can experience those memories through food and make new ones together, and she says, “Each dish tells a story and creates an experience that nourishes both our guests and our community.” The menu puts that into practice with hand-crafted wontons and noodles prepared fresh daily, alongside dim sum, Chinese barbecue and shareable snacks. Cocktails take their cues from Vancouver’s historic Chinatown, and a signature donut created with Lee’s Donuts is available only during the pop-up.

*Chinese barbecue topped with grated ginger sauce, a personal touch that Chef Sharon shared is a flavour she loves.*

Chef Will Lew brings the family thread. His grandfather, Rick Lew, immigrated from Hong Kong in 1956 and worked as a chef at two well-known Vancouver Chinatown restaurants, Ho Ho and Ho Inn, in the 1960s. “Culinary heritage connects the past, present and future,” says Lew. “My family history is such a meaningful part of what we’re bringing to Wonton Mama and the community.”

This season also adds a cultural layer. For the first time, Wonton Mama partners with the Chinese Canadian Museum to present CCM: The Gallery Lounge, a curated space featuring selected moments from the Museum’s past exhibitions, including art, historical artifacts and visual storytelling. During the activation, $1 from every order will be donated to the Museum. “Airports are places of international crossings, where people, cultures, and stories meet,” says Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum, who describes the collaboration as a way to bring the Museum beyond Chinatown and introduce travellers from around the world to Chinese Canadian histories and creativity.

*Fall weather is the perfect setting for a hot bowl of noodle soup.*

Rudolf Heider, General Manager of Fairmont Vancouver Airport, says the hotel is committed to experiences that reflect the region's diversity and character. “Wonton Mama transforms our hotel into an immersive celebration of Hong Kong street food culture, bringing together exceptional cuisine, storytelling, and community,” he says, welcoming Chan and the MAMAintheKitchen team back for a second season. Wonton Mama is open to locals, travellers and hotel guests alike, and reservations are encouraged.

During this limited-time residency, a bowl of wontons and noodles carries one family’s history and gives guests a new memory to make.