LET'S FIKA

Game for game?

2012-02-18T14:29:00.006-05:00

As part of my birthday present from almost 3 months ago, I got a choice of a cooking class to attend. I discover the wide range of cooking classes available in Toronto, ranging from the very affordable TDSB ones, to fairly technical skills oriented ones like the knife skills course offered by The Good Egg, to those with alterier motives such as the various cupid cooking classes.
Not wanting to commit to a series of classes or spending lots of money, I eventually landed on a cooking class at The Market Kitchen at St Lawrence Market that focused on game meat.

I have never been to The Market Kitchen prior. It is set up more as an event space with an open kitchen than a cooking class. It lacks some basic things like mirror over the range for students to see clearly how the cooking progresses, and multiple stations for hands on practice. Rather than a cooking class, I would consider it more an interactive dinner with cooking demonstration.

The whole evening was quite enjoyable. Our chef was Andrew Chase. He was casual and friendly, although at times seemed a bit frazzled. To keep him organized was our host (whom I forgot to ask for her name), who was very thoughtful. Aside from ensuring the chef had everything he needed, she also made sure the students were able to see all the ingredients up close by walking the containers through the group, and plated several demo dishes for photo opps. The sous chef and kitchen staff are also impeccable, helping the chef with the preparation and serving the food to all students. There was a selection of coffee, sparkling water, and water available throughout the night.

What about the food itself? It is a rare experience to be able to try so many different game meat prepared in different styles. During the evening, we get to taste 6 differ game meat.
- Ostrich [sausage]
- Pheasant [sauage]
- Elk [sausage]
- Bison cheeks [stew] with spatzel
- Venison [meatloaf] with buttermilk mashed potatoes
- Camel [stir fry]

Chef Andrew was knowledgeable about techniques in cooking game, and also told interesting stories about the history of the cooking methods.

Most of the game meat is not too "gamey" in taste, but more like lean beef with a rich intense taste. (No, contrary to populat belief, not everything tastes like chicken.) My favourite is the bison cheek stew, with strong wine flavour resulting from the meat being marinated for 5 days. The texture of the bison cheek is not as soft as braised beef cheeks; both has its own character. Spatzel is a simple noodle from the German / Austrian / Swiss area. It is surprisingly fast & easy to make from scratch. Dressed with a butter sauce, it is a good accompaniment to the stew.

We made the venison meatloaf in small groups and each person took a small tray home to bake on our own. The recipe does not bind as well as the type of meatloaf I like, so it looks a bit like a loose shepherd's pie. The combination of salted pork rind and venison gave the dish a very rich flavour; definitely a winner for a casual cold winter's night dinner in.

The question many people, including myself, with the menu is ... How does camel taste? As the chef describes, camel meat is like dark Italian veal, with a more gamey taste.

The camel was stir fried in the traditional northern Chinese style, with a slightly vinegary sauce. This treatment made the dish rather light to the stomach.

Sidenote: The dish is called 它賽蜜 in Chinese, meaning "it competes with honey". It seems a strange fit as the dish is not sweet in nature. Regardless, it is supposed to help with blood circulation, making it very suitable for keeping warm in the winter.

Game meat is generally more expensive than the staple beef and pork, so it is not likely to become part of my regular diet. It does make for good conversation during special dinner parties, not to mention its leanness that supposedly is healthier (excluding the load of fat that needs to be added during the cooking process).

For those looking to try some game meat, you can find them at Whitehouse Meat at St Lawrence Market. They provided the game meat for the class. The owner Leila sat in on the class, and looked rather pleased with the creation that night.

A memorable evening for sure!

2011 in Review - Significant Foodie Moments

2012-01-06T20:13:00.000-05:00

2011 has been a very busy year, both at work and in my personal life. While I have not had time to write about my foodie adventures, I was still able to savour some significant foodie moments. I even managed to lose a few food virginity this year!

White Truffle
What is more perfect than a piggy being born in truffle season? White truffles arrived just in time for my birthday dinner at Auberge du Pommier!

Cuy (aka Guinea Pig)
A major event for me in 2011 was travelling in Peru for 3.5 weeks. It has been my long time dream to try guinea pig (or as they are called in Peru, cuy). I stumbled upon a celebration in Cuzco where indigenous Quechua women were selling traditionally stone roasted cuy. Mmm ... The other white meat ...

Alpaca
Another commonly seen animal in Peru is Alpaca. Not only do they provide wool, they make a tasty meal too! And no, they don't taste like chicken. (More like lamb.)

Ceviche
Being someone who likes my seafood raw whenever possible, I have prepared ceviche on my own many times. However, it is no comparison to the ceviche at Cevicheria el Fayke Piurano in Lima.

Menu
The first major confusion upon arriving in Peru is thinking of menu as a menu - a book listing out dishes that a restaurant serve. Menu (or cena for dinner) is actually a set meal, usually with an appetizer or soup, a main dish, and either a juice for lunch or dessert and sweet tea for dinner. Unlike the gourmet prix fixe counterpart in North America, these meals are cheap, fast, and most of the time quite tasty.

Scrapple
Coincidentally, 2011 is the first year I have heard of scrapple (thanks to Food Network), and the first year I ate scrapple at Lancers Diner in Horsham, PA. Mmm ... The other grey meat ...

Wish everyone a bountiful & delicious 2012!

Learnings from a run-of-the-mill shopping trip

2010-08-20T23:39:00.001-04:00

I went to get some bike accessories and groceries today after work. Sounds like a fairly typical Friday evening so far. I'm not sure if I got particularly reflective today, but a few incidents made me think about a few life's little principles.

Best advice is useless if it does not fit the context

I went to MEC to get some bike accessories. While I had the attention of the very helpful and knowledgeable staff, I asked him for some advice on bike locks. He went into great length explaining and demonstrating the proper way to lock my bike, which involves taking off my quick release front wheel. I told him it may not be always practical to take off and put on the wheel. Somehow, the idea of not wanting to go to drinks with dirt on light colored clothing or go to dinner with dirt in my finger nails seems foreign to him. After 5 minutes of circular discussion, this nice MEC staff still refused to tell me any other "not the best" options, or at least explain the pros & cons of the various options.

Best option is usually just around the corner

While I was at the Chinese grocery store, I wanted to get some noodles. I cruised up & down the noodles aisle, noodling over which noodle to get. I wanted to get something I have not tried before and packaged in a compact way that won't get crushed in my bag while I biked. After what felt like eternity, I finally gave up and decided to check out. Just as I exit the aisle, a stack of boxes caught my eye. There they are! Medium wide egg noodles in a tight non-easily crushable bag! And they were on sale!

Law of diminishing satisfaction

As I went through the checkout line, I heard this escalating noise of 2 people arguing. It turns out an old man and a cashier was in a screaming match. The dialogue was in mandarin and went pretty fast, so I could not catch much of the content. It seemed to be about some kiwi fruit - either the old man got charged more than he should, or the cashier forgot to pack the kiwis in his bag. Every time the old man looked like he was walking away, he would turn around and yelled more at the cashier, or the cashier would start to yell at him, both in escalating screams. Walking out of the grocery store, I can't stop thinking how more screaming can provide more satisfaction either way.

And on my way I went to get some freshly made bahn bao ... no drama there - just drooling over the dessert counter while I lined up at the cash ...

El Paso & Surrounding Areas on A Tank of Gas

2010-08-17T02:22:00.001-04:00

I was recently in El Paso cheering a few friends in their bowling tournament. Of course it would be a waste to fly that distance without some sightseeing.

This is the story of how my rental Toyota Corolla used up its 1 tank of gas.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn near the airport, on the east side of downtown. The hotel was quite old, and the swimming pool is an odd configuration of half indoors & half outdoors. It does have a courtyard that is good for chillaxing at night when there is no blazing hot sun shining down.

El Paso is not that big, probably a 20-min drive to pretty much everywhere. I would highly recommend having a car as it is definitely a low density sprawl type city. There are several places to eat and a club within walking distance of the hotel. One of the places is Jaxon's Restaurant and Brewing Company - They don't offer beer flights so I was only able to try out their Borderland Lager and Cactus Jack Amber Ale. I wouldn't say it's exceptionally good, but it is refreshing to have some microbrew while out in the boonies.

Mexican Lager

Amber Ale

First stop was downtown. There is a free city hall parking right next to the convention center and various museums. The signage is very confusing as it says free city hall parking after 6pm on weeknights and all day on weekends. But it also says parking for Insights Museum only. In any case, I parked there on Fri night and Sat all day with no problem. Street parking is generally free on Sundays and holidays. If you cannot stand heat, I would highly recommend spending the $3-5 for indoor parking at the convention center or across the street in the parkade.

If you are the cultural type, there are 3 museums right next to each other. Mind you they are not the scale of any museums in major cities, but can't beat free general admission either. A group of us toured the El Paso Museum of Art one afternoon. They have an eclectic collection of classical and modern art.

Of all the exhibits, I actually found something in the gift shop the most intriguing - a bracelet made with twist ties! How ingenious!

For the shopping type, there is the Golden Horseshoe extending from the convention center to the border with Juarez, Mexico. If you are on the hunt for cheap socks and underwear, football [soccer] jerseys, brand name sneakers and women's clothing that is way too tight for anyone who eats more than 500 calories a day, you will find yourself in paradise here!

For the rest of us, this Mexican "Magnificent Mile" is an amusing way to sweat off at least 10lb. I did manage to gain some pounds back from the yummy pistachio paleta I got from a "street vendor" - i.e. a woman with a rolling cooler standing on the side of the street. True Mexican spirit!

[BTW, from all the research I have done and people I have talked to, there is no real reason to go shopping in Juarez ... Your life is worth a lot more than some cheap merchandise!]

The majority of the tank of gas was spent on a road trip to the White Sands National Monument. The trip is about an hour and a half from El Paso. I would recommend starting early, and stopping by the Little Diner on the way for brunch. According to the advertising in tourist books, George W Bush has eaten here; I didn't know he's considered a gourmet? For those who have time, there is also a relatively large outlet mall at the same exit. After this section, there are not many selection for decent food on the deserted highway.

As I started late on the trip, I drove directly to White Sands. I also bypassed White Sands Missile Range Museum on the way. This is the site where the atomic bomb used in World War 2 was tested, so it should be a good stop for military buffs. I did stop on the way of the scenic drive to take in the landscape a bit.

White Sands is a very unique place. It almost look like a snow covered ground in the middle of a desert. The whole place is blindingly bright thanks to the reflection of the sun by the sand. Seeing such vast coverage of white sand, and without being by an ocean, is a strange feeling. It feels lonely, like a companion is missing.

On the way back, I took a detour to Mesilla in New Mexico. It is a quaint old town square with a church and some shops in old Southwestern style buildings. I only had time for a whirlwind walk-around and to pick up some locally produced pistachio as gift for my friends back home.

Continuing down NM-28S, the drive suddenly turned into a lush green path through the Stahmanns pecan farms. It is such contrast to the White Sands scenery that I just visited hours ago.

I was not able to bring some pecans back, as they are only available in either fresh form that requires refrigeration, or candied forms that will melt in the car within a minute.

I took Woodrow Bean Transmountain Road back to El Paso. This route passes through the Franklin Mountains State Park. I like the feeling of driving through a mountain pass - climbing in between the rocks, then the sight opening to a vast space. In this case, the sight opened to El Paso and extending into Juarez, Mexico.

I drove to the Wyler Aerial Tramway hoping to get a view of El Paso from the mountain. The drive up to the base station was very steep - I had to drive in first gear of the Corolla to get enough power for the incline. Unfortunately the tram was closed by the time I got there. For those planning to follow this itinerary and want to be a bit more leisurely, I would recommend reversing the route and start with the cable cars. I took in the city view from the base station before heading to some dinner.

After all the sightseeing, I was thirsty at this point. I stopped by Flautas y Paleteria Tepalca, an unassuming restaurant in what seems to be suburbia strip mall. This place sells a large selection of agua fresca (Mexican fruit juices) and paletas (Mexican popsicles). I have not had these many agua fresca flavors to select from since working in Los Angeles years ago - it took me almost 5 minutes to look through all the choices and decided on a mango one in a gianormous styrofoam cup. While sipping the refreshing juice, I checked out their wide paleta selection, wishing for a place like this in Toronto some day.

Last stop of the day is the famous Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Fabens, about half hour Southeast of El Paso. I got there in time for sunset, which is an amazing view, even though it was a cloudy day.

The restaurant is part of a ranch, with live animals around. Aside from the usual suspects like dogs and horses, I got a glimpse of a peacock on the roof of one of the buildings. And while having dinner, a pack of coyotes also showed up to eat some of the fresh meat left outside for them. It was a rare treat having dinner with coyotes indeed!

And the food? My 12oz ribeye was aged to perfection - juicy and buttery without being too fatty! The baked bean side dish has just the right hint of smokiness, although a bit on the sweet side.

The evening concluded with the night view at the hotel and some desperately needed rest after a long day of driving.

Of course, my El Paso trip had to conclude with more food! On the way to the airport, I made a pit stop at a local favorite Chico's Taco. Chico's has a very limited menu. Their El Paso style tacos are more like taquitos with beef filling served in tomato soup then topped with shredded cheese and green chili salsa. It may sound odd, but the tacos were quite tasty in its own way. They also serve "round" hot dog, with a halved sausage in a hamburger bun. I couldn't take more food after 3 tacos, but it did look tasty.

The gas tank warning light came on, so it's time to fill up the tank, return the car, and say adiós!

Nyonya + Korean = My [Successful] Fusion Experiment

2010-07-28T00:45:00.000-04:00

I used to be a fusion snob. I still am, but to a lesser extent.

What I don't like is fusion food created for the sake of being fusion, chefs who pride themselves on using different "ethnic" ingredients and making new food. Over the last couple of years, I have started reading about fusion food created out of "necessity".

What I mean are food items created by immigrants trying to recreate dishes from their homeland. Often, the immigrants craved food from their homeland, but needed to improvise due to limitations in ingredients. Sometimes, the immigrants run restaurants, and try to appeal to the locals by incorporating their usual ingredients, spices and herbs. For example, I find Caribbean Chinese food not only tasty, but also reflective of the Chinese immigrants' life on the Islands.

I find these food items not just rich in flavor, but also rich in cultural history. And if they were created early enough, they would be considered "authentic" cuisine nowadays. Early trading areas like Shanghai have long attracted traders from different regions since the early days. What we now considered "authentic Shanghainese cuisine" (沪菜) really came from a fusion of different cuisines in the old days.

A long way to bring me to today's topic - Nyonya (娘惹) cuisine. I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner yesterday when I stumbled upon a recipe for Nyonya Stewed Pork Ribs recipe. It looked simple enough to make, so I head down to my local Asian supermarket T&T to gather some ingredients. Unfortunately, they don't carry the taucheo used in the recipe. The closest substitute I can find is Korean soybean paste.

Although I haven't tried the original version, the result from my little fusion experiment turned out pretty tasty. The saltiness, sweetness, sourness and heat are "fused" together in harmony, just like the recipe describes. To add to the level of fusion, I added some Korean rice cakes. The resulting half Korean half Nyonya meal was very yummy!

So look up some random recipe, get some "close enough" ingredients, and enjoy your own fusion experiments!

SXSWi(nteractive) ... My takeaway from SXSW 2010 ...

2010-03-29T01:01:00.004-04:00

It's insane to think that one can summarize an event as large as South by Southwest (SXSW). Only looking at the interactive portion, organizers estimated that about 12,000-13,000 people, a 40% increase from 2009, descended into Austin. Google indicated that there are about 37,400 search results matching "sxsw interactive recap". That's a lot to read. And that's only the published text portion.

Since I have documented quite extensively my food journey in Austin while attending SXSW, I figure I should add a token journal about the actual festival. It's totally my own observations from attending a relatively very small number of organized sessions, from talking to various people there, and from observing activities that went on during the festival.

Margaret's top 5 observations (in no particular order) ...

It's about people!: Even though it's a tech-focused conference, most of the sessions are more about the people element than the technology element. Either it is about how people are changing because of newly available technology, or about how people are working behind the scenes to deliver new technology.
It's a good cause!: Business case is not holding the same weight in the minds of the new tech entrepreneurs as old business minds. At least on the surface, a lot of talks about about the transformational factors and social value of new technology, and very little about the monetization.
It's about pooling resources!: Crowdsourcing is becoming more of a trend, and communications & collaboration becomes easier with the Internet. I recall being in Silicon Valley back in year 2000, where buzzword B2C2C was everywhere in startup lingo. After 10 years, this is finally becoming a viable reality.
It's NOT about devices!: The number of devices on the market & their proprietary operating platforms (yes, that's you Apple!) are fracturing the development world once again. Consumer technology development went from PC vs Mac applications into the web-based applications back in the 1990's, where we started having hopes of one day developing one application that can run on any computer. That dream is now crushed with all the proprietary mobile devices. Growth & adoption of any new consumer applications will highly depend on cross-platform compatibility. Think of all the ways one can tweet!
It's NOT about North America!: A few eye-opening sessions for me are about technology use in other parts of the world. We think North America is so innovative with Facebook & Zynga games? That has already built numerous successful Internet business in China since a few years back. (Do you know that the 3rd largest Internet business in the world, after Google & Amazon, is Tencent in China?) We think privacy is a big concern in North America? It's literally a matter of life & death in Latin America.

Margaret's presentation picks ...

Social Networking:

Socialnomics – Erik Qualman

How to Create Viral Video (#howtocreateviral) – Panel consisting of Damian Kulash (OK Go), Margaret Gould Stewart (YouTube), Jason Wishnow (TED) moderated by Jonathan Wells (Flux)

Social Media & China: Different Than You Think – Panel consisting of Jacqui Zhou (Dell), Benjamin Joffee (Plus Eight Star), Sam Flemming (CIC)

Changing Environment:
Making Sense of Privacy and Publicity – danah boyd
[Full transcript is posted here.]

Exploiting Chaos – Jeremy Gutsche (TrendHunter)

Thought Starter Technology Usage:

Augmented Reality: Gimmicky Trend or Market-Ready Technology (#sxswar) – Matthew Szymczyk (Zugara)

Interactive Infographics (#interinfo) – Panel consisting of Casey Caplowe (Good), Eric Rodenbeck (Stamen Design), Shan Carter (The New York Times) moderated by Ben Fry

For those who love technology ...

Check out the finalists of the Accelerator (like a start-up Dragon's Den) here. These are fine examples of the up & coming technologies coming to us.

For those who love videos ...

Interactive films - Water Life (SXSW Web Awards / Activism), Prison Valley

Presentation snipits: SXSW YouTube channel

My final words about the festival ... Check out the Gary Vaynerchuk talk. Having worked with many corporate clients on customer-centric business strategies since the 1990's, I am shocked to hear that marketers nowadays are thinking that corporations deliberately not serve their customers well. I know first hand that many marketers deal more with the sales and dollars side of the business, and not the delivery side of the organization. The truth is many delivery teams are treated as second-class citizen when it comes to corporate resources. Even in corporations that proclaim to be customer-driven, many of them have the spotlight on cost when it comes to delivery & post-sales service. Many marketers & sales people, as well as senior executives, don't put the time into understanding the complexity to implement what they perceive as a simple vision. Hopefully people will see this talk more as a wake-up call that marketing (and sales) need to be more collaborative with delivery & post-sales service to form a total customer experience, and not another slam on the delivery teams for how they have failed to live up to marketing's expectations.

More to come on some thoughts on the not-so-official part of the SXSW festival next ...

SXSWf(ood) ... Getting Chubby in Austin

2010-03-22T00:43:00.003-04:00

This is the first year I attended South by Southwest (SXSW). It's arguably one of the largest music festival in North America. But in recent years, interactive (affectionately known as SXSWi) is becoming a much more significant part of the festival.

Of course, I used this opportunity to sample some great food offered in Austin. I was pretty much around the main 6th street area of Austin throughout the stay, so I did not have a chance to check out some Austin staples like Magnolia Cafe. But there are more than enough tasty treats downtown to keep my taste bud interested for the 5 days I was there.

BBQ: When in Texas, eating BBQ is a no-brainer. I went with my colleagues to the famous Stubbs Bar-B-Que one night to chow down some local favorites.

I kick-started the meal with some fried green tomatoes. The shell is crunchy, with just enough tartness in the green tomatoes to counter the grease from the frying. A refreshing accompaniment to a pint of Franziskaner Hefeweiss beer after walking in the sun for a while.

My pick was the Stubb's Minor plate with fairly traditional combination of beef brisket, ribs, fried okra and coleslaw, and of course a slice of white bread. The meat is well seasoned with a dense smoky flavor. The original BBQ sauce has a good balance of sweetness, sourness and spice. I did find it a bit salty if I put it liberally on the meat. Everything in moderation, right?

And now a confession - I liked it so much that I hand-carried a pound of brisket and half rack of ribs along with a bottle of Stubb's original BBQ sauce home to extend that Texas feeling!!!

Breakfast Tacos: Even the NY Times wrote about the significance of breakfast tacos in Austin, so it totally deserves its own category.

My first encounter with breakfast taco was at Taco Shack, a taco fast food chain in Austin. My pick was the Shack Taco, with scrambled eggs, chorizo, potatoes & cheese in a flour tortilla. The chorizo was more like ground beef, with no chorizo-like spicy flavor. The texture of potatoes in flour tortilla was also a bit strange for me. The biggest flop was the shredded cheese on top that was not melted - that would have greatly improved the yumminess of the breakfast tacos. (Little did I know, the non-melted shredded cheese seems to be the norm.) I must say the salsa was really tasty, good hint of smoky chipotle.

I also had breakfast taco from One Taco, a famous food truck in town. I had very high expectation of this meal, after reading all the positive reviews about One Taco. I tried going 3 times with no success getting tacos since the line was too long.

When I finally made the line-up, I picked the One Fried Egg Taco with corn tortilla and chorizo and the One Barbacoa Taco. Fried egg as the filling for a taco is an interesting concept. However, the mashed glob of chorizo was not what I expected at all. It has the spicy chorizo flavor, but the consistency does not relate to chorizo at all. The barbacoa taco was a much better combination for me, even though the barbacoa was also mashed up in a glob. I am not sure if the barbacoa was made with the traditional ingredient or just beef; it does have a bit of the gamey flavor that went very well with the beans and the spicy salsa.

The last entry to the breakfast "taco" category is The Big Oh!, a breakfast "waffle" from Before Cone ... There Was Bacon (or simple BC). This is an odd combination of a waffle cone stuffed with tortilla strips (probably to prevent the bottom of the cone from getting soggy), scrambled egg and bacon, topped with pico de gallo. The concept is great for eating on the go, and I didn't have too much mess issue eating it. If the waffle cone was not made so sweet, it would be a pretty interesting snack option.

Tacos: Now onto other tacos. My colleagues & I went to Iron Cactus for dinner one day. Sitting on the outdoor rooftop deck to dine in the perfect combination of sun & breeze was amazing!

We started off with 2 appetizers to share - Ahi Tuna Ceviche, and Mexican Shrimp Cocktail. I really like the texture & depth in flavor from the avocado in the ceviche; definitely something to copy in the future. I rounded up my seafood dinner with the Yucatan Fish Tacos, served with mango salsa & jicama slaw. All the seafood is very fresh. The slight sweetness in the mango salsa goes very well with the tartness of the El Agave Margarita!

Another memorable taco experience comes from Chi'lantro BBQ, a Korean BBQ taco truck. Wait! Am I not a purist?! Normally I would prefer the original / authentic food over fusion. But this fusion combination definitely works! Korean BBQ beef & lettuce with spicy sauce, served in Mexcian style with double corn tortilla & lime. The flavor is somewhat close to bibimbap, and somewhat close to asada tacos. I wish I had more time to go back & try their other combinations.

Empanadas ... Or should I say mmmpanadas: Another food truck find is mmmpanadas, of course famous for its empanadas. I encountered this truck the first night I arrived in Austin. Upon recommendation from the person at the truck, I got the Argentinean. Honestly I was a little disappointed, as the filling was not as flavorful as I normally get at Jumbo Empanada here in Toronto. The lack of raisin (or other dried fruit) was definitely a miss as well.

However, by chance, I attended a party catered by mmmpanadas. They served hors d'oeurve sized empanadas at the function, so I was able to try a variety of filling. Soy chorizo with brie, spicy black bean, pulled pork & mango ginger (yes dessert!) were all amazingly tasty! I had to really control myself to not overeat these yummy treats.

Burger & Fries: One of my favorite Food Network show is Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. So when "triple D" covers Casino El Camino in Austin, I put it on my to-eat list for this trip right away. The decor of the place, as shown on TV, is dungeon-like, definitely stand out from the generic bar scene. The patio at the back is a tranquil oasis.

Back to the food. I had the quintessential buffalo burger and verde chili fries (even though I know there is no way I could finish all the food). The home made buffalo wing sauce was quite hot, even though I only ordered medium heat. I never would expect wing sauce, blue cheese & medium-done burger to work together, but they do.

The star of the show is totally the verde chili fries. The tomatillo verde salsa is on the extreme garlic scale. It livens up the traditional fries & cheese sauce combo, giving it a kick in the taste bud. The fries are crispy, and the home made cheese sauce is light, a bit runnier than the usual cheez-whiz-looking glob at other pubs. Now if only they would have burger topped with verde salsa & cheese ... Mmm ...

Casino El Camino is definitely a food destination in Austin! Thanks Guy for the tip!

Hot Dog: Now we can't talk about burger & fries without also talking about hot dogs. There are lots of gourmet hot dog carts / trucks in Austin. I did not get a chance to try the crowd favorite The Best Wurst. What I tried was the Cuban Franks from Chupacabra. It's a hot dog topped with pulled pork. Yes you heard that right - pulled pork on all beef frank! It is like eating 2 sandwiches at the same time - pulled pork sandwich on top, hot dog at the bottom. I do wish the cheese on top is slightly melted, bringing the two together more. Interesting combination nevertheless.

Ice Treats: The final category is dedicated to my new found love - Ice Cream Man. These guys travel around to different music & culture festivals, and give out free ice cream & popsicle. Check out their website for more information about the crew, and their mission. Don't miss the Off the Wookie magazine they publish! Check out their whereabouts, and follow them on twitter (@icecreamman) if they are in your neighborhood!

What they give out is not your run-of-the-mill ice cream either. They were giving out GoodPop popsicles and Blue Bell ice cream, both local favorites. I focused all my visits on the various flavors of GoodPop, trying out mango, mango chile, pineapple basil and watermelon agave. All of them are really good, although my favorite for a hot summer night is most definitely watermelon agave; it's like eating frozen concentrated watermelon with honey drizzled on top.

So this pretty much sums up my chowing through Austin. Being a street food fan, I love the food cart / truck culture in Austin. I am also constantly amazed by the creativity in the fusion of flavors at the local joints. I definitely look forward to visiting Austin another time, and exploring more chow.

Watch out for my other SXSW 2010 sightings coming next!

Toursity Visit to Boston

2010-01-16T21:00:00.005-05:00

It's 2 months ago today that I flew out of Boston Logan airport back to the big smoke. I can't believe I have not even loaded the photos from that trip to my computer! So while I'm getting my photos organized, I'll write up some tidbits about my Boston trip.

Before I went to Boston, I did loads of research on places to go, and of course, places to eat. But this trip was a combo of R&R with Sarah with a special event going to see Star Wars in Concert, visiting friends, in addition to sightseeing, so I did not end up going to all the places on my list.

First thing I must say about Boston is the T, the public transportation system. We got a 1-week pass for $15 (!) and were able to go pretty much everywhere. It took less than half hour between the time I left the airport terminal to walking into the hotel lobby! While the trains & the stations are really old (like the rest of the city), and some parts are so run down that it's spooky to walk through, I would still say the pass is great value for visitors. Especially compared to the unusable weekly pass here in Toronto.

We stayed at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Beacon Hill. It's one of the oldest hotel in US, and many famous people have stayed and even worked there! Not to mention they supposedly invented the Boston cream pie & parker roll! We had brunch one day at Parker's restaurant, and I had to try the Boston cream pie - It was OK, but not amazing. At least I like my Seacoast Benedict, i.e. crabcakes instead of bacon, a lot more. I really liked the recent renovations done - walking into the lobby was like a trip back in time, with amazing architectural details everywhere. My personal favorites are the old style elevators and mail slots!

Although I try to not be too much of a tourist, we did do a fair share of touristy things - Freedom Trail (that we had to do over different days), Faneuil Hall, Navy Yard. Not that these spots are not interesting, but the part I enjoyed about visiting these sites is probably the strolling through different side streets in between. There are so many interesting old architecture to see! And being able to walk around town with the sole purpose of exploring is so refreshing from day-to-day life.

We went to Harvard & Harvard Square on the last trip visiting our friends, so this time we went to MIT instead. An unexpected surprise - the MIT Press Bookstore! The tiny shop is full of interesting titles I have not seen at other places. I wish I could stay there for a few days! And throwing in some Frank Gehry architected buildings on the stroll didn't hurt.

We also went to the New England Aquarium one day. I haven't been to a captive animal place (e.g. zoo, aquarium, safari) for a very long time, not counting the ones in hotel resorts I have stayed at. It is quite fascinating that we have the opportunity to see the variety of other living things, but also quite sad that they are taken away from their natural habitat for our pleasure. This is probably something that will always bother me living in this civilization ...

I mentioned Star Wars in Concert earlier. I know it's probably a very geeky thing to do. It was a very well organized and interesting evening. The symphony lends a classical music concert bend to the music from Star Wars. The narration by C-3PO & edited clips from the movies recaps the story for even people who are not familiar the movie franchise. And for the geeks, there are props to browse through outside the concert hall. My only regret was following the ticketmaster instructions to not bring my camera. :-(

Now some of you must be wondering ... where is the food?! As I mentioned, there were lots of places I have researched but did not have time to go. Here are some of the more outstanding meals we had on this trip:

- Grotto - We went for our post-anniversary / birthday special dinner. It's a cozy not-too-formal Italian restaurant. Their pricing is quite interesting - every course is fixed price, and they offer a 3-course prix fixe for any selection from the menu. The food is rustic & traditional, yet with some surprising pairings. The portions are HUGE! And according to Sarah, their melting chocolate cake is orgasmic! Overall, it's a delicious, relaxing meal at a very reasonable price. Highly recommended!

- The Four's - This comes as a bit of a surprise. After seeing Star Wars in Concert at TD Banknorth Garden, we wanted to get some food but it was late for a full meal. I read about this place in chowhound (of course!) that is right across the street, so I suggested trying it out. It looks like a regular sports pub, so I did not have too much expectation on the food. The clam chowder was the best I had in Boston (comparing with more well known places like Legal). The slightly charred steak tips in the Bobby Orr sandwich was flavorful yet tender. It's perfect to be washed down with a Sam Adams holiday brew.

- Mike's Pastry - Anyone walking around the Italian neighborhood in the North End will notice people carrying boxes labelled "Mike's Pastry". The place looks like an old school bakery from the 60's, with bright light and a bank of pastry display cases. We got an assortment of pastries, including the famous cannoli and lobster tail. The ingredients are fresh and the pastries are very rich, although like most Italian pastries a bit too sweet for my taste. Between Sarah & myself, we could only finish half of a brownie in one sitting. (But I can polish off a whole cannoli no problem. ;-) ) I ended up having to bring some back to Toronto, and the crew at the airline counter helping me check-in were all salivating looking at the box in my hand. Even though I heard many fellow chowhounder recommend Modern Pastry over Mike's, I thought I needed to try Mike's to make a decision for myself. I will definitely try Modern next time I go back to Boston.

- Clear Flour Bread - This is such a gem buried in the Brookline residential neighborhood. It's a tiny French / Italian bakery, with enough store front to hold maybe 5 customers at a time. The whole place is filled with the wonderful sweet smell of flour. I went to look for the famous cheese croissant, only to be told that it's already sold out (at 11am). Since I was not able to buy all the rest of the bread & pastries, I finally settled on a plain croissant, a sesame stick and a cranberry scone. These are possibly the best baked goods I have had in my life! There are several bakeries I really like in Toronto, but none with this caliber & selection. Why can't I have one of these in my walking distance neighborhood???

- Rincon Limeno - On my last day, after seeing Sarah off on her flight, I had a few hours to kill before my flight took off. I decided to venture into the East Boston neighborhood to get some Peruvian fare. After eating lots of rich foods during the trip, I decided to get some ceviche mixto (mixed ceviche with shrimps, fish & squid) & a purple corn drink chicha morada for dinner. The seafood was fresh, and the marinade was flavorful, although it got a bit acidic for my stomach after a while. This would be a good place to come with 3-4 people in order to sample of the different items.

I do wish I have more time to explore all the neighborhoods in Boston. I am definitely the type of traveller who likes to spend time staying in one place, getting to know the city, the people, the culture, and not to mention the food. Overall, I enjoyed the break in Boston, soaking in some of the oldness of the city and exploring the various neighborhoods.

Until next time ...

Films as a Reflection of Daily Me

2009-12-26T01:54:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, more & more people nowadays seem to want the fast way out - only receiving knowledge served up in bite-size easy-to-understand summary form. The comfort of the familiar, coupled with the ease of understanding, has trumped over the need to expand the horizon for many.

With consumers spending more time with media than sleeping, how is the quality of information they are receiving? If the Daily Me concept is true, I would say that it's probably more of the same. According to Cass Sunstein, people who are only tuned in to other like-minded ideas is a threat to democracy.

Democracy might be a pretty big topic to talk about. So maybe we can talk about the impact on something most people are familiar with - films.

I am a self-proclaimed semi film buff, always on the hunt for movies that are different. And yes, I even occasionally participate in a film group called "We Don't Do Mainstream". I am lucky to live in Toronto where there seems to be an endless number of film festivals showing fairly good quality films that are not in wide distribution. (I heard someone mention we have over 80 film festivals in Toronto each year!) However, it is still a sad state that some of these fabulous films never got the audience that they deserve.

Instead, looking at the 2009 box office, it's hard to miss a pattern of top grossing films (which I presume means they are watched by a large number of people) are what I would call entertainment-oriented films. Many of them are sequels to previous films or adaptation of books. Many of them have heavy emphasis on actions, special effects and computer animation, with some comedy thrown in. And the pattern for the 2008 & 2007 box office results? More of the same. The supposedly-not-based-on-anything-blockbusters? Some of them are still more of the same.

Worst part is people actually like these films.

According to the imdb top 250 films chart, which is determined by netizens' votes, people seem to like these recent films a lot. If you look at the AFI 100 top movies of all times chosen by industry jury, it's not difficult to notice that the 2007 revised list, after expanding the selection criteria to films released up to 2006, only contains 1 addition from after year 2000!

The proliferation of B2C2C reviews like the prediction algorithms developed for Netflix are only going to make people more reliant on other like-minded individuals. Peer reviews have their place & benefits - they serve as great first hand information, and definitely more trustworthy than official marketing materials. But with people's tendency leaning towards the fast & easy, it's not hard to imagine people taking the summarized "5-star" recommendations as-is, without understanding why, and without understanding themselves.

What happened to our sense of curiosity & adventure? Where are some of the films from award winning films from around the world? Short films? Documentaries? As the Internet becomes a more viable & cheaper channel to deliver films to their audience, we need better ourselves in making informed decisions, and not be dictated by mechanical algorithms and marketing dollars.

Fast Knowledge

2009-11-29T00:07:00.002-05:00

I recently read an article about açai berry, not so much its health benefits, but the changes it has made to the lives of Brazilians. This reminded me of the many discussions recently by some environmentalists advocating for going vegetarian.

My observation is that many people in the modern age not only live in an age of fast food, they live in age of fast knowledge. After all, knowing something being good or bad is much simpler than understanding why it is so.

Many ancient cultures are rooted in a sense of balance. To achieve balance, one must understand the reasoning behind the good and the bad, the fact that everything has its good and bad sides, and knowing when to apply this understanding. For example, knowing my body type and some basic traditional Chinese medicine information, I will stay away from chicken & beef & a host of other foods when I sense the early symptoms of irritated throat, and most of the time it helps me prevent getting sick.

With the fad in all the health food phenomenon (not to mention in self-help, business, etc.), it shows we are becoming a society of shortcuts. If enough media says something is good for us, it must be. It's not only poisoning our bodies with roller coaster eating routines (remember Atkins diet?), but also hurting the environment with poor farming practice for corporations to make a quick buck by fueling these types of extreme diets.

If we as a society value knowledge and analysis on a personal level, not leaving the thinking to scientists, perhaps then we will stand a chance to becoming healthier and being more sustainable at the same time ...

Chicago Trip Planner

2009-09-12T02:08:00.008-04:00

This is part of the retrospective on pieces I have written in the past that still seems relevant today. This post was posted on Facebook on October 22, 2008 at 12:17am. I will edit in the future with some photos that was in a separate Facebook album.

Sitting in front of Gate C32 of Chicago O'Hare Airport. This is likely my last hour in Chicago for a while.

2008 is my Chicago year ... at least between August to October. Of the last 73 calendar days, I spent 21 days in Chicago! Some of my friends now ask if I am in Toronto or Chicago as the first statement. Even Facebook is pumping out Chicago ads on my home page!

With all the assistance from Sue, Cat & Kristian, I think I got some bearing of the city from my past 3 trips. Chicago has tons of very diverse interesting neighbourhoods to explore. In case you are considering visiting Chicago in the near future, below are some of my memorable moments trotting around these neighbourhoods.

Note: Most neighbourhoods I have listed below are accessible with public transit, if you don't want to deal with the hassle of traffic & rental cars. It does take some time to travel via 'el' (elevated train) & buses, so plan your day accordingly. You can get visitor day passes from the airport or the Water Tower visitor center downtown if you are planning to go to more than 2 neighbourhoods in a day.

Uptown (Red Line Lawrence/Argyle): I spent quite some time in Uptown as this is where Sue so graciously let me bunk at her place. It's an ecletic neighbourhood with lots of beautiful architecture, especially around the intersection of Lawrence & Broadway. I spent a lot of time just staring & admiring the decorative details on buildings like Aragon & Uptown. I had the opportunity to see a Tegan & Sara concert at Riveria, which is a beautiful but run-down theatre. Green Mill, frequented by Al Capone at some point, is in this neighbourhood if you are in the mood for some good jazz in a godfather-time-warp club. (My colleauge Howard does think it has lost part of its charm with the no smoking legislation now.)

Andersonville (Red Line Berwyn): A short walk away from Uptown is the commercial strip in Andersonville along N Clark. There are a lot of interesting independent boutiques like Women & Children First bookstore, Foursided and the large Gethsemane Garden Center. There are also a number of interesting places to eat & drink. My personal favorites include beer at Hopleaf, wine at In Fine Spirits, pastries at Swedish Bakery, cinnamon buns at Ann Sather & coffee at The Coffee Studio. The Middle Eastern food at Reza's is also very good, although I had my Reza's meal at the Oakbrook Terrace location & not Andersonville.

Lincoln Square (Brown Line Western): Lincoln Square is a German heritage area, although it is now very gentrified (like many other neighbourhood). The Chicago Brauhaus is supposed to be a good spot for sipping beer & hanging out, although I did not have the chance to do so. The commercial area is not large but nice to stroll along on a lazy day. Take a walk & have a coffee at The Grind. If you are looking for good brunch, don't miss Over Easy. It is slightly off the main commercial strip, but the Sassy Eggs are worth the travel! Not to be totally over-fed & under-read, make sure you check out the concert schedule at Old Town School of Folk Music. The auditorium is intimate with excellent acoustic. I went to a Latin / South American music performance by a local group called Mosaico. (I must be the only person in the hall that do not know Spanish!) The community atmosphere with the crowd dancing to the music was truly amazing!

Lakeview / Boystown (Red Line Belmont): Lakeview is quite a large area where I went on 3 different occasions - night show in Boystown, dinner/drinks, and baseball game at Wrigley Field. Boystown spans a few blocks, which is quite a bit larger than the Toronto Church Street gay village. I roamed around somewhat "early" in the night, so it does not seem as crowded as a Church Street weekend night. The Center on Halsted is an amazing community center that makes our very own 519 almost looks shabby. When I went to dinner on a separate night, I passed by the store front of my favourite t-shirt place Threadless, and the Intelligensa coffee shop that I unfortunately do not have the pleasure to go to throughout my stay. I did get a chance to eat some very flavourful Korean style fried chicken at Crisp! They mixed up our orders, and we (Sue, Cat, Kristian & I) ended up with 23 pieces of fried chicken of 3 different flavours in front of us! I'm a die-hard Plain Jane fan, while the others enjoy the Crisp BBQ & Seoul Sassy flavours more. It's interesting having Korean pickled vegetables as sides to the fried chicken in addition to the North American traditional coleslaw. After that, we went to Cat's favourite pub Jake's. It may look like a regular neighbourhood bar from the outside, but you can a great selection of domestic & import beer both on tap & in bottles. Nothing beats hanging out with friends on a weekend night at a dog-friendly neighbourhood pub.

[Note: I have since then visited Intelligensa in the loop & tried their clover coffee. I must say I was disappointed at the taste of the coffee. The place is also decorated quite mainstream so not much of an ambiance.]

Wrigley Field (Red Line Addison): Many thanks to Sue for her organization & to Kristian & Cat for accommodating my travel schedule, I managed to take my mom & aunt to see a Cubs game (vs Astros) at the historic Wrigley Field. This is my first time seeing a non Blue Jays MLB game outside of Skydome / Rogers Centre. What a difference it is! The park was packed with 40000+ fans, none too shy to cheer for their beloved cubbies. The atmosphere from the enthusiasm and seeing the sea of fans both inside the park and outside on the rooftop bleachers were breath-taking. Sue brought some tacos from Carmella's to help my tacos craving, and what is a ballpark experience without a famous Chicago dog? (I did cheat & got a bratwurst instead.) Although it was hot & muggy that day, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

[Note: I have since gone back for another cubs game at Wrigley, on a cold sunny day. This time I had cheese fries & although it's processed food galore, the combo was really tasty!]

Lincoln Park (Red Line Fullerton): If you are in Chicago in the summer, make a point to visit the Lincoln Park Green City Market on a Saturday. It is quite a large green market with all sorts of fresh local produce. It is right beside the zoo and the beach if you want to take a walk to enjoy some nature. Taking the free trolley from the el station is a good way to see the neighbourhood. I went on another occasion to the Apollo Theatre to watch Baby Wants Candy improv. It was very funny, particularly the improv rap. Before the show, I got some nice Japanese food at Ringo. Everyone knows I am a BIG fan of sticky rice related products. I am so happy to find mochi yaki at Ringo!

Logan Square / Bucktown / Wicker Park (Blue Line Damen/Western): This area is a nice shopping area with mostly smaller label shops. There is one area on Damen that has a few brand name stores like Marc Jacobs, Club Monaco & LeSportSac. Don't miss the Kidrobot Pirate store until Dec 2008, and the Boring Store along Milwakee! I especially love the concept of the Boring Store - I wish I can some day run such a fun yet meaninful operation. If you are hungry while in this area, you are in luck for some truly unique ethnic foods. My favourite is the jibarito at Borinquen Restaurant in the nearby Humbolt Park. If you know me, you know how I love plantains. Combine that with juicy tender steak and I am converted to this Chicago delicacy! If you are still hungry after that, consider getting a Middle Eastern influenced burrito-looking pita-esque "taco" at Cemitas Puebla. I did not have their famous cemitas but I was drooling when they were served to the next table. For the less adventurous of ethnic foods, brunch at Lula's over at Logan Square a few blocks down is a good choice.

[Note: I went back to try the cemitas & I really love it! The 3 different salsa / hot sauces provided were all exception, although my favourite would be the one with some smoky adobo sauce.]

Loop: The best way to see the amazing architecture around the loop is on an architectural boat tour. Loop art tour is another interesting way to visit some of the famous buildings and art pieces, including the Bean & the Fritzker Pavilion at Millenium Park. I was lucky enough to catch the opening of the jazz festival playing at the Fritzker Pavilion. The acoustic was great for an outdoor venue, and the atmosphere of people having a nice picnic while enjoying top notch jazz music made it one of the best jazz experience I have had. I was also lucky enough to see the Jeff Koons' exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art during my stay. Even though the Art Institute was under expansion, it took me over an hour to walk through the exhibits. Nighthawks seems to be the pick of my colleagues; I like it too, along with Van Gogh's The Drinkers and Irish Question. I did not do much shopping along the Magnificent Mile - My biggest shopping spree was getting bacon chocolate (yes you heard that right!) and sugar free fire hot chocolate bars at Vosges.

[Note: Forgot to mention a great steak dinner at the original Morton's. Enjoyable & less pretentious than I imagined. Of course it helps when someone else is picking up the tab!]

Pilsen (Pink Line 18th Street): I am a BIG fan of Mexican food. For my first trip, Kristian helped organize a taco trot around town. One of the stops is to savour some juicy carnitas in Pilsen at Carnitas Uruapan. Get a pound to share with a crowd, and you will find yourself in pork heaven! To walk off some of that, check out the National Museum of Mexican Art in the neighbourhood. Or roam around to shop for a pinata. If you are there on a warm sunny day, be sure to get distracted by the paleta guy on your way. The flavour choices can be overwhelming for a paleta newbie - nudge nudge for coconut, mango & tamarind depending on how full you are at the time.

Chinatown (Red Line Cermak): Coming from the densely Chinese populated Toronto, the Chinatown in Chicago seems very quiet and old school in comparison. It is predominantly centred around restaurants & grocery stores, although I have been told the quality of Chinese food is not really comparable with that in Toronto. If you come to this area, don't forget to check out the nice park where the water taxis dock. For those who have lived in Hong Kong, this is one of the few neighbourhoods in North America you can find people having the HK style iron gates on their front door instead of a storm door!

University of Chicago / Hyde Park (Green Line Garfield then bus to near E 57th St/University): If you are interested in historical architecture or just seeing one of the top education institution in US with alumni like Friedman, have a stroll around the U of C campus. Check out the Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House while you are there. And maybe get a coffee or ice cream at Bonjour Bakery, where Obama goes to eat. (At least according to the servers' t-shirts, he does.)

Special Mentions: As a foodie, there are a few other memorable food places that may not be as easily accessible by el, but worth checking out if you have a car. First one is Hot Doug's, a specialty hot dog place. I had their kangaroo sausage, crawfish/pork sausage & the Marty Allen along with duck fat fries, all very tasty. Beware of their long line up and short operation hours so budget plenty of time to enjoy your dogs. Another 2 places I want to mention are all up in Arlington Heights, a suburbia neighbourhood north of Chicago. There seems to be a concentration of Japanese people in this area. I stumbled upon a great Japanese izakaya restaurant called Kurumaya. They made the most wonderful garlic fried rice that I have never had elsewhere. Their hand drawn menu was unique & was quite entertaining and educational to read through. Mitsuwa is a large Japanese department store close by. I used to frequent Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa when I worked there. This one has the same familiar layout. I was very happy to pick up some nice sake while there.

[Note: I have since then accumulated a few more Chicago fav chow - Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza, Portillo's Italian beef sandwich (which apparently is also a Chicago invention like jibaritos), and Superdawg Chicago dog & onion chips. There is also a large Korean population in Niles - I was quite impressed with the H Mart in the area but have not yet had a chance to try any Korean food yet.]

Enjoy the windy city!

25 Things About Margaret

2009-08-30T00:10:00.003-04:00

This is part of the retrospective on pieces I have written in the past that still seems relevant today. This post was written on March 19, 2009 at 2:28pm. This was a popular "chain letter" type activity on Facebook at the time.

1. I am a soup monster, particularly with Chinese herbal soup. I was given various soup with medicinal value by my nanny when I was a baby, and I liked it so much she has to wrap the bottle in dark paper when giving milk to fool me into thinking it's soup so I will drink from the bottle. (This is according to my mom. If it's true, I suppose I'm not a very smart baby.)

2. Speaking of nanny ... I've had 3 nannies from when I was born to when I was 5. (Again according to my mom,) I was not very fond of my last nanny (probably because we shared the same bedroom). When she got into an argument with my grandmother & eventually got let go, I asked her while she was packing why she had not left yet. I am regretting that now because she's a really good cook & I could have learned lots of tips & tricks about grocery shopping & cooking from her ...

3. I suppose you figured I like food by now. The most adventurous I've been with food was when I went to Cambodia in 2007. I had a spider (about the size of 2 fingers) and various insects on that trip. Yum yum extra protein!

Various ready-to-eat insects at market

4. I have yet to find something I don't eat. I wish I never would.

5. If I could have my way, I would make everyone get their coffee / lattes / cappuccinos / mochas / at small independent cafes with real baristas serving fair trade organic coffee with organic milk / soy / chocolate milk. My favorite hang-out at this time are The Common & Mercury. The crappy baristas at Starbucks or other chain stores who have to use a thermometer to figure out if they are frothing properly just don't make the cut.

[Note: My favourite coffee place at this time has switched to Ezra's Pound on Dundas West, Mercury & Zoots.]

5. Ok, so maybe life is not all about food. Chinese people believe there are 4 aspects in life - Clothing, Food, Dwelling, Transportation. Loosely following my food addiction is my love for cars. My dream since my teenage years is to own a 1971 (year I was born) British roadster like an MGB, hunter green with tan interior & black soft top. * drool *

6. My foreseeable next vehicle is likely a scooter - not the electric mobility one though. I am considering a restored vintage Vespa (surprise surprise!), although I might go for a sportier, more powerful modern version with proper storage for my giant laptop bag.

[Note: After considering that I have to use a manual motorcycle with a larger engine for the eventual motorcycle licence test, my eye is now set on a used naked Suzuki GS500(E). Any good leads?]

7. Dwelling is also a love of mine, although I have my ebbs & flows. I was addicted to HGTV & home related shows for about 10 years after graduating from university. My favorite show for the longest time was Home Day (Thu) of CityLine.

8. My proudest home renovation moment was when I re-did 4 bathrooms of the townhouse I once owned. I spent almost a year researching every part that went into the bathrooms, and almost 3 months working with the contractor (mostly from Vancouver when I was doing a project there) on the renovation. Each room was designed with a theme that suit its purpose - clean chrome & slate that reflect my likes in the master bedroom, modern farmhouse to show some warmth in the guest bathroom, dark wood & stainless steel in the main guest powder room to match the living / dining room, and zen garden in the entrance powder room to match the family room. My proudest "invention" is using a small rectangular planter as the sink in the garden themed powder room - The contractor specifically waited for me to come back from Vancouver so I could watch him drill the hole & connect the pipes.

Garden-themed powder room vanity - planter box with ceramic planter

9. Even though I owned the townhouse for about 7 years, I really only lived there for about 2 years. The 2 jobs I had while living there required a lot of travelling - I was mostly away from Mon to Fri, and if I was working on a project in a fun city like LA, SF & Vancouver, I would stay over some weekends. I also spent a year while I "lived" in the townhouse in Kingston studying for my MBA. Fun times ...

10. The scariest moment I had in the house was when I woke up one day, and saw a squirrel at the end of my bed. I did not have my glasses on so I only saw a fuzzy brown object that occasionally moved. Once I put my glasses on, we stared at each other for almost a minute, scared of what each other might do next. Within seconds, the squirrel disappeared from my sight. The wildlife people eventually came to setup a trap. What I did not expect was that they did not come to collect the trapped squirrel right away. It ended up spending 2 days in the trap on my balcony.

11. Moving from the townhouse to Calgary was one of the most traumatic moment in my life. Long distance moving - enough said.

12. I know I need to get a will and a living will / power of attorney done, particularly after witnessing the chaos when my aunt passed away in 2007. But I am lazy getting paperwork done. (And according to Mandeep, this should go into #12 in the list because it's a constant in life - Don't ask me why.)

13. Clothing ... Even though of the 4 aspects in life clothing is the one I am least interested in, I actually have a long history with clothing. Both my parents work in the garment industry - My dad owned a factory that produced mainly denim & flannel clothing, and my mom both owned a garment factory as well as worked for other garment manufacturers.

14. The end result of growing up with people who know a lot about garments is that I have a strange way of shopping for clothes. While most people pick up a piece of clothing they like to take it to the fitting room, I pick it up to look at the content label & whether the patterns match at the seams.

15. My fondest memory of spending time in my dad's factory has nothing to do with garments. I liked to play with the cardboard cylinders left over from the rolls of fabric. How do I play with them? I used them like staff used in Chinese martial arts, and beat up the rolls of fabric until the cardboard breaks. Pretty fun, eh?

16. Speaking of fashion ... Can I make a plea for people who wear sandles to follow sandles etiquette? i.e. Clean & trimmed toe nails, no sweaty discolored foot print on the sandles, and no socks. Please.

17. It's taking me forever to write this note because I need to always be doing several things at the same time. When I was a kid, I frequently listened to music charts on the radio, watched cartoons on TV and did my math homework at the same time.

18. I love cartoons, mostly Japanese manga (comics) & animes (animation). I still watch them online now, although I am definitely not nearly as up to speed as when I was in my teenage years. My all time favorite is Macross, the original TV series.

19. I know a little bit about a lot of different things. And with things I don't know, I research them to death when I need to know a bit about them. Some people at work call me "Moogle" ... powered by Google. PS: I am very bad at trivia pursuit.

20. Inertia plays a big part in my life. It's hard to get me started doing something. And once I start, it's hard to get me to stop.

21. I watch a lot of films, although not a lot of mainstream Hollywood production. I like watching films from different countries, indie productions, and documentaries. The 3 film festivals in town I usually frequent are Hot Docs, InsideOut & Reel Asian. (That's right - Not TIFF as most people would guess.) My record film watching experience is in 2007 when I got an all access pass to Reel Asian - I spent 4 full days watching over 20 films!

22. People, like online dating sites, often ask me "what's your favorite / top x ?" That's a really difficult question for me to answer. So next time if you want to ask me that, consider asking me "what do you appreciate of ?" instead.

23. That is not to say I am not a loyal person - When it comes to people, I am quite loyal - friends, colleagues (that I like), and not to mention life partner.

24. Over the 30-some years in my life, I have met 3 people whom I have considered as possible life partner. 3 is a lucky number for Chinese people. Hopefully my luck will hit with number 3.

25. Mandeep coached me on writing these 25 things. Otherwise I would still be stuck at #5.

[Note: Mandeep is my colleague at work who has a keen interest in getting to know other people.]

Maximal Food Minimalist?

2009-08-30T00:01:00.000-04:00

This is part of the retrospective on pieces I have written in the past that still seems relevant today. This post was written on April 4, 2006 at 11:54am.

I made a delicious breakfast this past Saturday. As I ate, it dawned on me how silly the breakfast will sound if I were to put it on a menu:

Poached antibiotic-free egg with certified organic kale sauteed with double-smoked Mennonite bacon served with certified organic kefir with maple syrup and organic 7-grain bread, and organic fairtrade coffee with organic soy milk

But it was just a simple breakfast!

It is laughable that we live in an insane era when eating natural products has become an "alternative" behaviour. Just as decluttering & minimalism has become a snobbish interior design style, back-to-basics food has become a "new age" trend (hopefully not fad).

I think the main barrier to popularize natural food products is the cost. It is obviously more costly to farm organically, which logically translates to higher food costs. What I don't understand is where the higher administrative overhead and transportation costs have gone to. Since many of the organic products do not have long shelf life, they are generally available in small batches in local farmers market. Without the middleman and high transportation costs trucking products across the continent, why is the retail costs still so much higher?

[Note: After learning more about the subject since then, I have learnt that most part of the cost comes from lower unit yield. Commercialized organic food has also become popular where the traditional supply chain & transportation costs are still there if not more to better transport food that is more easily spoiled.]

One time when I was browsing around at T&T, a giant Chinese supermarket chain, I saw a few organic products for sale. They are sold at comparable prices to similar products, and "organic" is not even prominently displayed as a selling point. (Case-in-point: My favourite organic non-GMO soy milk Sunrise at $2.99 for 2L.) How are these companies able to provide these products at such competitive prices? Products like these make the decision-making process very easy.

I dream of one day having a neighbourhood grocer that sells environmentally-responsible natural products just as they are - eggs, bacon, kale, yogurt, 7-grain bread, coffee, etc.

Crush the fine dining worship!

2009-08-29T23:50:00.002-04:00

This is part of the retrospective on pieces I have written in the past that still seems relevant today. This post was written on March 27, 2006 at 3:38am. (Interestingly, I also had a pot luck earlier tonight.)

My main motivation for this blog comes from an observation this past weekend while doing grocery shopping. I greatly enjoy browsing grocery stores, from big box mass market ones to local green grocers. To prepare for a potluck, I ended up visiting three different grocery stores within a day. One of them is a bargain grocery store, "every day low price" kind of place. I was struck by how much pre-processed instant food there is at this bargain store. Even more amazing is how cheap these boxes of "stuff" are selling for. It is not that big a stretch to see that these boxes offer not much more than filler to eliminate one's hunger.

So people on a budget do not deserve healthy, nutritious food? I think the "fine dining" culture in North America is the worst enemy for promoting healthy eating habits. Yes, this sounds counter-intuitive ... don't most fine dining chefs / restaurants support local suppliers, and some even socially responsible foods (like organic farming)? It is precisely this type of exposure that leads to an image of healthy food = expensive and laborious.

If you look around the city, many places, especially ethnic ones, offer healthy home cooking at affordable prices. I am talking about below $10 including taxes & tips for a sit-down, served meal. For a small household, some of these meals are more affordable than buying the raw ingredients.

And if you want to eat at home? Ingredients are so very easily available and affordable. Being Asian, I shop a lot at ethnic grocery stores. You think health food is a specialty? Many ethnic groups consider these items basic diet. Organic soy milk? Rice crackers? Pomegranate juice? Easily 25% or more cheaper at ethnic places. Stews, soups, even salads can be prepared the night before and be ready to eat coming back from work. New kitchen appliances like vacuum pots (but no, not microwave) also contribute to home cooked meal with minimal supervision.

I'm sorry ... I can't see why busy schedule & budget can be a reason to eat junk food. People have to come to a realization that good food is not a privilege of those who can afford. Being on a budget or in a hurry is not a justification for poor diet. Only then we as a society can support healthy food production, preparation, and ultimately consumption.

Let's fika!

2009-08-26T00:46:00.001-04:00

A new home in cyber space, a new commitment to becoming an active contributor to the web of content.

As great books start with great preface, here is a blurb a wise hermit once wrote for me about my blog:

To my dearest read, you are about to embark on a journey very few have taken and seldom have continued on. Within these hallowed confines of cyber space you will delve into my world of every day life filled with love, laughter and tears. I may even reveal the location to a great restaurant, drop a hint about an excellent recipe or revel in a great vacation. So I ask you with due haste to join me.

Now, let's fika!