What a crazy idea—a Middle Eastern-style Lunar New Year market has popped up in Vancouver!

Text and photos by /Papa Seahorse

The Lunar New Year is approaching. While Lunar New Year markets across Taiwan are in full swing—with dried goods, snacks, and candies spilling out onto the streets, brimming with festive cheer—where can you find a similar experience in Vancouver? Where can you enjoy free samples and feast your eyes on an array of dried fruits? Just head to “Go Nuts in Here.”

The phrase “Go Nuts” is a slang insult among Westerners, which in Chinese would be akin to saying “head壳坏掉.” One day, I spotted a green sign on the door of a shop on Denman Street in Vancouver’s West End that read: Go Nuts in here. The bold store name made me stop in my tracks. "Come here and go wild"... Is this a working hospital or a mental health facility?

When I looked through the store’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows, I realized it was actually a food shop selling all kinds of nuts and dried fruits. This store, named Ayoub’s, cleverly incorporated the English word for nuts into its advertising slogan. Passersby couldn’t help but pause, just like me, curious about the shop, smiling knowingly, and then stepping inside to take a look.

The store has a strong fusion vibe—from the shelves along the walls, the silver bowls holding dried fruits, the luxurious crystal chandeliers hanging overhead, to the Arabic-style props in the display window. The whole place exudes a distinct Middle Eastern flair. Upon asking, I learned that the owner, Chef Ayoubs, is indeed an immigrant from the Middle East. He used to run a dried fruit shop in Iran and, after moving to Vancouver, he stayed true to his roots. There are now five branches across Vancouver, and his son has also joined the family business.

Though it’s called a specialty store for nuts and dried vegetables, nuts make up over 70% of the offerings. In a small back room, a young staff member tends to a roasting machine that looks like a cement mixer, rumbling away. The young man also occasionally shakes a large round tray, similar to the one used for rolling tangyuan, as he stirs freshly roasted nuts. Taking a closer look at the various nut trays, wow—there are so many flavors. Take pistachios, for example: they come in red, yellow, and green, and aside from the original flavor, there are also seven or eight other options such as curry, spicy, honey, and wasabi. And that’s not even mentioning the cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts, and more.

Some lesser-known dried fruits and berries, like the familiar goji berries and red dates, are also mixed in. Dried okra, taro, apples, and other vegetables and fruits beckon you from afar. If you’re interested or curious about any nuts you haven’t seen before, you can always use the little shovel provided to scoop out a small sample to try. Walk around the store, have a couple from each tray, and you might just save yourself a meal.

Aside from dried fruits, the shelves on both sides are also packed with various jams, preserves, and even dried spices. Watching dried ginger chunks sealed in transparent plastic containers or paper bags filled with sliced dried lemons makes you want to sweep them all into your basket and bring them home. Many elderly Western women with silver hair dig around here and there, walking out with two or three small bags.

If you’re in Vancouver but missing the wide variety of dried snacks from Dihua Street, take a trip to Ayoub’s and let this Middle Eastern Dihua Street soothe your homesickness!

Ayoub’s Dried Fruits and Nuts:http://ayoubs.ca

Papa Seahorse
A Gemini man born under the air sign, he worked as a senior marketing and PR executive for multinational corporations until the age of 45. After turning 45, he moved to Canada. Alongside his teenage sons, he plays the role of a father amid the foreign springs of cherry blossoms, summers of sunshine, autumns of maple leaves, and winters of rain and snow, while documenting his experiences in Vancouver.

Blog:Vancouver Laughs – my.van.lifeFacebook Page:Papa Seahorse’s Vancouver Diary

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