Pink Elephant Cafe & Urban Thai Bistro

When one door closes, two doors open. Desmond Chen has once again expanded his restaurant portfolio, and this time Dunbar is the lucky neighbourhood to gain two new dining establishments.

When Q Coffee was for sale, Desmond saw an opportunity to expand into the community with Pink Elephant Cafe and Urban Thai Bistro. He saw potential with all the new construction taking place in the area as well as a shortage of vibrant restaurants in Dunbar South.

Pink Elephant Cafe is a cheerful space with blush pink and grey décor. It opened for business in late July 2021 and welcomes customers daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Desmond was aware that former Q Coffee customers were huge fans of the locally roasted coffee beans. He says, “Why change something that’s doing well?” His vision was to improve the overall experience—he reimagined the floor plan to become two separate restaurants with a shared kitchen.

Desmond says, “There has been tremendous response from Dunbar and neighbouring Kerrisdale residents, construction workers, bus drivers, UBC students, and kids’ sports teams. People stop in to take home quick dinners, parents pick up coffee by the jug for hockey parents, and golfers like to grab their lunch before a round or for post-golf dinners.”

Pink Elephant Cafe is Dunbar’s new destination for hot and cold grab-and-go Thai food.

A giant food warmer is stocked with hot fried rice, noodles, curry, and rice entrees. A cold cooler houses papaya salads, steak salads, and the popular Thai mango salad. Beer and wine are also served.

“The Thai mango salad is a customer favourite. It is usually sold out by 1:00 p.m. The prawn fried rice is also extremely popular along with our red curry chicken and rice,” says Desmond.

The menu also features soups, fresh baked goods daily, smoothies (which are a big hit with kids), and that oh-so memorable java. While the concept is grab-and-go, there are also tables to dine in for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Urban Thai Bistro opened on September 2, 2021. It is open for lunch, dinner, takeout, or delivery.

The décor is a fusion of traditional Thai meets modern, resulting in an exotic interior with teal walls and punches of gold and black—it is a cozy spot to gather with family and friends for a meal and drinks.

Urban Thai Bistro’s signature dishes include three flavoured black cod, jumbo XL size tiger prawns in a garlic sauce, and Matsaman curry rack of lamb which Desmond says is sensational. Other popular picks include Pad

Thai, and appetizers such as prawn ceviche, pork cheeks, and Thai chicken wings. Salads include Som Tom papaya, Thai prawn salad, and mango salad. Duck noodle soup made with a house-made broth will warm you up on cool-weather days as will the flavourful Thai curries.

Also noteworthy, Urban Thai Bistro doubles as a wine bar, offering many Asian-inspired cocktails and martinis.

Desmond mentions that they have added takeout and delivery to both restaurants through Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Skip the Dishes. They have been overwhelmed with the demand for takeout and decided to add an online ordering app that can be found at the Apple and Android stores.

It is Desmond’s hope to eventually expand one or both concepts into Kerrisdale where he resides. He was looking at two properties in 2020 and again earlier this year but held off due to the pandemic.

Desmond’s father, Patrick Chen, was a pioneer in the Asian restaurant industry. He founded the well-recognized Thai House restaurant in 1986, which is where Desmond got his start. By age 13 he was lending a hand at the family business working in the kitchen on weekends and in the summer.

My father wanted to instill the value of hard work and learning to be independent at a very early age.

He explains, “I grew into the business.” He learned the front and back end of the business. By age 20 he was actively involved at the head office and learned to oversee the company’s operations. He also entered the world of commercial and retail property management.

He points out, “I enjoy the diversity of doing different things, thinking outside the box, and being involved with businesses that complement each venture.”

In addition to his restaurants, Desmond is actively involved as a producer of reality shows and movies. He is the producer of the viral hit YouTube reality web series Ultra Rich Asian Girls and was a co-executive producer of the movie Unbanned The Legend of AJ1, which was shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.

This busy entrepreneur looks forward to welcoming you to his two new businesses. Whether you are looking to kick start your day with a freshly roasted coffee and pastry, drop in for a meal to go, or wish to have a sit-down meal to explore the flavourful tastes of Thailand, Pink Elephant Cafe and Urban Thai Bistro are restaurants you will want to check out. They may very well become your new go-to restaurants.

Welcome to the neighbourhood!

Urban Thai Bistro 5607 Dunbar Street Vancouver, BC V6N 1W5 Telephhone 604-566-3903 www.urbanthai.com

Pink Elephant Cafe 5601 Dunbar Street Vancouver BC V6N 1W5 Telephone 604-566-3533 www.pinkelephantcafe.ca