Vancouver serves up the finest Chinese cuisine in the world claims one seasoned gourmet writer.

According to Conde Nast Traveler writer Mark Schatzker, Vancouver is in a class of its own when it comes to Chinese food - and he should know. After gorging his way through almost 40 "unbelievable" dishes in the city's restaurants his opinion needs no second helpings.

"I was shocked at how good the food was," he says. "I've eaten Chinese food all over North America and in China and the best I've eaten in the world is in Vancouver. Hands down. From the point of view of a Conde Nast Traveler, that's unquestionably so."

Backed up by local Chinese food writer Stephanie Yuen, both food gurus put the phenomenon down to the mass influx of Chinese expats to the Lower Mainland and the 1997 repatriation of Hong Kong, when many of the island's best chefs came to Vancouver.

In the February issue of the magazine, Schatzker writes: "Perhaps that explains why visitors from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have started showing up in Vancouver - just to eat the food they love! Maybe it's time you did likewise."