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AHA MEDIA dines at Uncle Henry Cafe in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)

Having passed by Uncle Henry Cafe many times, AHA MEDIA decided to have lunch today while on our way to a few events 🙂 In speaking with the owner, we found out that it has been at its present location for over 15 years! This worthwhile rare gem of a diner is still dishing up REAL home cooked meals and taste with a smile! 🙂
Uncle Henry Cafe
547 Hastings Street East
Vancouver, BC V6A 1P9,
(604) 254-3629



Upon entering, there’s two dining rooms that one can sit in and on today’s hot sunny day, this was the first restaurant we found, that was cool in temperature – like it had already turned on its air conditioning. Very considerate to think of customer’s comfort and well being in the today’s summer-like temperatures 🙂

Reasonably priced, and serving the Vancouver DTES community well, the food comes quickly with an almost forgotten care and taste of a great home cooked meal! 🙂
The place was clean and the atmosphere was fresh inside with no cloying heavy food cooking odours – one would normally expect to feel and smell in a cafe.There is something very nostalgic to see plain brown skinned potatoes, all scrubbed clean and hand cut up into wedges for our lunch! 🙂

Reading material was provided, from National Geographic Magazines to thick hard cover books for those choosing to linger over their meals. The owner even shyly gave us a shiny Travel brochure of Vietnam, when we were done browsing our original magazines with our meals 🙂
Classic bathing suit photography and mirrors mingled with hockey memorabila adorned the walls – a Nice 50’s to 70’s touch . It made our environment peaceful and serene to be in, and added to the great enjoyment of our lunch.
It is very RARE for us as seasoned diners who have eaten from small food stands to upscale 4 star restaurants to have this attentive and good natured anticipatory care from the owner of an establishment.
Usually one would only expect to have great customer service from higher priced and higher luxury restaurant. One does gets what one pays for – Greater money = Greater Service, but here in Uncle Henry Cafe, situated on East Hastings street – there is REAL genuine warmth, attention, friendship and pure classic hospitality 🙂
AHA MEDIA was being treated one of the family and all this upon our first visit to the restaurant! 🙂

Hendrik Beune, Director of AHA MEDIA enjoys his fresh, hand cut potato wedge dipped in Mayonaise – the European way! 🙂
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Uncle Henry has it all in the DTES, service, smile, surroundings and great food. 🙂 Other places around attempt to have 1) either the ” Nouveau DINER ” food appeal but NOT the quality of meal, 2) have surly, bad tempered wait staff or 3) the atmosphere isn’t right for a pleasant dining experience. AHA MEDIA can really see why Uncle Henry has been around for over 15 years! 🙂
Wow! 🙂 This is why the Vancouver Downtown Eastside Community is rich in spirit and friendships. There can be real bonds that develop in our neighborhood and what better way to show that you’re loved, than to be served a Greal Meal for a Very Excellet price by an honest, humble and happy man?
Our full meals for 2 came to $7.50, (before tips ) less than the usual price for a small appetizer or a martini in a fancier restaurant.
If you’re in our Vancouver Downtown Eastside area, please try Uncle Henry Cafe 🙂 You’ll be treated well 🙂
AHA MEDIA is already looking forward to our next meal at Uncle Henry Cafe on East Hastings street 🙂
Getting fit in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
AHA MEDIA is about ways of community interaction and engagement in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside! 🙂
What better way to enjoy the springtime than to get physically fit with friends, some toys from yesteryear and having some fun in the Downtown Eastside? 🙂



AHA MEDIA attended the Plan-It event at Aisle 45 by BOB ( Building Opportunities with Business )
AHA MEDIA attended the event where it was a presentation by UBC students on :
“How can BOB work with the community to revitalize the Hastings corridor between Main and Cambie?”
After an introduction to the evening’s presentations by CEO Shirley Chan of BOB http://www.bobics.org , we heard:
Topics to be presented on:
1) Social Enterprise & Informal Economies
2) Celebrating Community
3) Lighting the Corridor
4) Save on Meats, an institution
5) Using Branding for Revitalization








The highlight of the evening was when Hendrik Beune, Director of AHA MEDIA won free entry into a golf tournament sponsored by
EMBERS on Thursday, June 25th
for their “Against All Odds”
Golf Tournament Fundraiser
http://embersvancouver.com/golf_tournament_27.html

Pedicabs Training in Chinatown ( sponsored by BOB – Building Opportunities with Business )
Sunny Days and sunny smiles! 🙂
Pedicabs and their new tour guides from our local area including the Vancouver Downtown Eastside training and learning many things including:maintenance, customer service, time and small business management and skills and history of both Chinatown and Gastown – our tourists and local citizens are in for a treat! 🙂
In the photo below, Garvin Snider dressed in red is training to be one of the newest Pedicab operators 🙂

The Pedicab project is outlined below and highlights some of the work that BOB is currently doing in our neighborhood 🙂
Pedicabs
A pedicab is a bicycle-rickshaw ridden by a tour guide for hire and usually seats one or two passengers. The pedicab project is led by the Chinatown Business Improvement Association (BIA), with BOB providing a grant to kick-start development of the project.

By providing visitors with an environmentally friendly, fun and novel way of seeing the sights, the BIA expects to boost tourism and employment in the inner-city. Best of all, passengers will find the pedicab experience from the waterfront through Gastown and Chinatown an adventure with knowledgeable guides willing and able to provide a unique and multi-faceted experience.
In the photo below, Hendrik Beune, Director of AHA MEDIA, smiles and waves as he takes a test ride as a new Pedicab tour guide for our two historical neighborhoods – Gastown and Chinatown 🙂

BOB’s BusinessLink program will assist in the recruitment and training of pedicab guides in the inner-city. This project is just another example of how BOB is helping bring positive change to the inner-city.
For more information about this project, please contact Andrew McKay at (778) 328-7672 or email andrew.mckay@bobics.org.

Our new tour guides even get history lessons to help them tell their tales to their adventure-loving passengers!

After all the training and lessons Pedicab guides will be fit and ready to welcome anyone to our area! 🙂
Our summer in our neighborhoods of Gastown and Chinatown are going to get alot more exciting and more friendly with our new PediCab tourguides! 🙂
More PediCab training photos on our Flick :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahamedia/sets/72157616846478525/
Plan-It Hastings – 2 Events for the DTES on Thursday April 16th


