My Suzhou is a That's series when we ask a Suzhou-based somebody to tell us about their life.
Born and raised in Montreal, Dominic Desmarais met a wonderful young Suzhounese lady in the city in late 2010. She convinced him to sell everything, move East and pursue the Chinese Dream. They have lived in Suzhou since 2014, now have a young daughter and love it. Dom is also the man behind the wildly popular WeChat groups Suzhou Foodies. We decided it was high time to chow down with him.
How did Suzhou Foodies come about?
I created many WeChat groups before Suzhou Foodies. My friend Charles and I are big eaters, and one night - after binging on a lot of food and drinks - he asked me why I never created a WeChat group about food. So we created a group where people talk about and post pictures of food.
Were you surprised by its popularity?
Absolutely. Suzhou Foodies quickly filled up and became one of the most active groups on my WeChat. Every day, there were hundreds of messages and dozens of food pictures. I thought it would die down after a while, but it never did. I have recently had to create Suzhou Foodies #2 just to keep up with all the requests.
How would you describe the food scene in Suzhou?
When I moved to Suzhou in 2014, I was seriously depressed about the food scene, but it has changed a lot in the last four years. There are a lot of new restaurants opening up in Suzhou these days; a Greek restaurant (Golden Olives), Turkish restaurant (Pistachio) and Spanish restaurant (Toro Loco). Now, if we could only get a good Canadian Steakhouse with lobster poutine on the menu, I would be in heaven.
You have a guest in town for the weekend. Tell us about the perfect restaurants and bars to take them to Friday night to Sunday brunch?
I would probably take them to Hong Deng Ji or Song He Lou so they can get a taste of Suzhounese food and culture. If they are crazing Western Food, I would take them to either TBoat or Golden Olives. For Sunday brunch, I would probably take them to the Kitchen Table at the W or Namaste in Ligondi. Bar-wise… Hemingway if they are looking for a trendy place, or Pulp Fiction if they are looking for the ultimate dive bar experience.
What is your favorite foodie hidden gem in Suzhou?
I recently stumbled on a little Italian restaurant in the old city. It is called Sera Nera and it is located in small alley called Wu Ya Chang parallel to Shi Quan Jie. It is owned and operated by Blaze, a local. The food is surprisingly good and the atmosphere is very homey. It reminds me of the Trattorias I used to eat at during my business trips in Italy.
If you could add one cuisine or concept that is missing from Suzhou, what would it be?
We need a Lebanese restaurant! I miss the delicious pickles, unique salads, Arabic bread, vegetable dishes and vegetable dips.
A typhoon is about to level Suzhou and you can save only one restaurant – which one?
Rong Vietnamese Cuisine. The food is fantastic and Larry, the owner, is a very genuine guy from Toronto. I could eat at Rong four times a week and still not get tired of it.
What do you do in terms of career, when you are not being a Suzhou Foodie?
I have a B. Comm in Operations Management, but spent most of my career in consumer goods sales. I spent years of my life on the road. In 2013 I spent more than 260 nights on the road. That lifestyle was not sustainable. That is when I decided it was time for a change. I worked for two Chinese companies in Suzhou, but since this spring I have been focused on developing my own company, Liya Solutions. We basically help small and medium sized companies source complex products in China.
You are also admin of a motivational quotes group. What inspires you?
We live in an amazing time and people are not happy. People don’t realize how lucky they are to even own a smartphone. Billions of people don’t even have access to clean drinking water, and then you meet some complacent person bitching how expensive the new iPhone X is. Are you for real?! I get my inspiration from meeting people, eating with friends, playing with my daughter and enjoying the small things in life. Life is great!
To be added to Suzhou Foodies add Dominic on WeChat by scanning the QR code below:
Read more My Suzhou
Images via David Garduno and Dominic Desmarais
0 User Comments