Learning from Last Year's Fire

Fire at West 41st and Collingwood

Last August my parents and I were sitting at home about to eat dinner when we heard three big booms south of us.

I went outside to take a look and didn't see anything.

But then there were more explosion sounds and I walked down to the end of the block. From this vantage point looking south down the hill I could see a big black plume of smoke south east of us. As I walked down two blocks closer to the fire I saw giant flames beyond the tall trees. It was a frightening sight.

Saw giant black plume of smoke, fire

Later on social media there were videos of the six-storey building that was under construction was completely on fire. Another clip showed the building crane "melt" and fall away from the site, crashing onto the road. Luckily no one was there, and the fire truck had just moved away from that spot!

Then there was a commotion across the street from us -- our neighbour's roof was smouldering thanks to flying embers. The fire fighters told us to survey our roofs to see if there was any smoke. Luckily we were OK, but it was a scary lesson in how fires can easily start.

This evening three fire servicemen from the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services came to our neighbourhood meeting to talk about that fire, and two of them were on the ground fighting it.

They explained that since 2009 the City of Vancouver has allowed wood construction for six-storey buildings which was adopted in the building code. According to these fire service men, these buildings are faster to build, use sustainable material, and in this case, the rules around construction and safety were all followed before the fire. 

Unfortunately they still don't know the cause of the fire; a private investigator is working on the case for insurance purposes, but will not share their findings with the fire service...

The building was near completion, with insulation, a very light material stored on the roof -- these were the embers that flew several blocks away onto our porches and roofs causing a few fires here and there.

So when the firemen arrived, the fire was so hot, they had to wear their fire gloves right away. Luckily fire prevention materials were installed in the house next to the construction site which saved the other houses further along from bursting into flames from the sheer heat.

Embers landed at our home

Nevertheless, when they tried to fight the fire on the construction site, the water completely dissipated because the fire was so hot. They could only make sure the other houses did not catch fire and that the occupants were evacuated. No one was killed, but the crane fell onto a house, and the person happened to be in the washroom, and the crane missed him! The firefighters had to extract him from the window.

There are 21 fire stations in the city, but they were also pre-occupied with a big fire that engulfed an abandoned apartment building on East 10th. Hours later the fire near us erupted.

The VFRS called on Richmond and Burnaby to help out -- Richmond came because they are on the same radio frequency, Burnaby is on a different one. Richmond was helpful in putting out smaller fires in the area, but it showed the VFRS need to know how to deploy people when there's more than one major fire. The fire captain also admitted he had no idea how thirsty his firefighters were until they said they needed water.

VFRS learned a lot from the fire, such as the need to communicate with the public, staffing issues, and that cranes can collapse in fires, and calling for help from other jurisdictions. Early next year people with smartphones will receive messages in case you live in a certain area where there is a fire and give instructions on what to do.

As for homeowners, it's best to change from cedar shingle roofs to asphalt ones, which we just did this summer. They suggested ensuring gutters are clean, and try to keep trees a maximum height of three metres tall, or at least prune as much as possible and keep yards tidy. Firewood should not be stacked up by the house, and if there is a fire nearby, close the windows and turn on the garden hose and keep the house as wet as possible.

It was a stimulating discussion and we all learned a lot! Needless to say we thanked the three fire services men for their work in putting out the fire eventually and keeping the rest of us safe!

Picture of the Day: Pileated Woodpecker

A Pileated Woodpecker pecking at a tree

Yesterday during my walk in Pacific Spirit Park, I heard a knocking kind of noise. I looked to my left and saw a woodpecker! Specifically a Pileated woodpecker which is native to North America. 

He/she was not high up on the tree but just above my head, about a metre and a half away. Unlike the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker, who would drill a hole into a tree in seconds, this one would lean back then peck at the wood, with the chips flying, then crane his neck back, turning it left and maybe right and then his beak would chisel into the wood again.

The bird with a red trim at the top followed by black and white on its head, and the black the rest of its body, continued with its task to either create a cavity to raise its young, or try to extract insects from the tree.

Pileated woodpeckers are also known for making rectangular carvings in trees and this one did too!  

Canada Back on China's Approved Travel List

Chinese tourists like to visit Vancouver's Stanley Park

Tour companies geared towards Chinese groups are excited that Canada is back on the approved destination status list. 

Chinese tour groups stopped coming to Canada when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and relations between China and Canada were on the rocks because of the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 and the subsequent detention of the two Michaels, Spavor and Kovrig.

But now that Prime Minister Mark Carney has reset relations with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, there may be some deals in the future, though critics are concerned that human rights violations are being sidelined. 

While Canada is not as large a market as the United States, China is probably keen to divide and conquer North America. Does this mean Chinese electric vehicles in Canada are in the cards? 

In the meantime, we could see the resurgence of Chinese tour groups in Canada as early as Chinese New Year, which is February 17 next year. One tour operator, Glynnis Chan of Happy Times Travel says Chinese groups usually spend six weeks in Canada, visiting places like Vancouver's Stanley Park, the Rocky Mountains and Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and easily dropping $1,300 a day.

"[Monday's] news was like a shot in the arm to the local tourism industry, and I am ready to show them the beauty of the country," she said in an interview with the Canadian Press.

Individual Chinese tourists can travel to Canada, but it's the groups that bring more visitors.

One can only imagine not only tour operators are thrilled, but also Chinese restaurants that used to cater to these tourists will surely be gearing up to welcome them and their hungry stomachs...

The Delicious Taste of Shunde Cuisine

Braised winter melon with crab roe and conpoy sauce

Shunde is a city of 3.2 million people located in between Hong Kong in the south, and Guangzhou in the north. Established during the Ming dynasty in 1452, Shunde is the birthplace of Cantonese opera, and Cantonese cuisine, making it a Unesco designated City of Gastronomy.

In general, Shunde cuisine is focused on fresh ingredients, such as fresh water fish like carp, rice, milk, such as buffalo milk, poultry like chicken and pigeon, and flowers. 

Flavourful Shunde soy sauce chicken

A restaurant in Richmond called A Bite of Shunde transports diners to the southern Chinese city with some delicious dishes that are different from Hong Kong-style Cantonese ones.

One is a soup called hand pulled fish soup, where the fresh water fish is pan-fried first. Once it's cooked, the fish meat is extracted from the bones and placed in a thick soup that includes ribbons of bean curd skin, wood ear fungus, and thinly sliced carrots.

Another soupy item is Chencun rice noodles in a deluxe chicken broth. The broth has a strong chicken taste, ensuring it hasn't been diluted much, and rice noodles soak up the flavour. It was total comfort food.

Impressive shrimp balls on silver bean sprouts

Speaking of chicken, the soy sauce chicken was also outstanding, better than the crispy chicken that is presented to the table standing upright with a pole through it. Then the staff proceeds to break the bird apart by hand which is quite unnecessary.

An interesting dish to watch cooked in front of us was steamed fresh Lingcod. It is deboned and thinly sliced and placed in a steamer and cooked in about two minutes and then dipped in soy sauce with chillis. The fish tasted sweet.

We were impressed by the flying fish caviar shrimp balls on a bed of "silver" bean sprout, where the head and tail of the bean sprouts were meticulously removed. The texture of the shrimp balls revealed the paste was made by hand chopping the shrimp, a laborious task, but the end result is a bouncy texture.

For vegetables, winter melon made an appearance in a poetically described "celebration of gold and emerald", when it is braised winter melon squares topped with a sauce of crab roe and conpoy. The presentation of the nine squares is artistic and not easy to present.

A Shunde specialty -- pan-fried milk with prawns

The test of a Shunde chef is seeing if they can make pan-fried milk. In Shunde buffalo milk is used, which is creamier, but here it's cow's milk that is mixed with egg white and it's not about stirring the mixture, but watching the heat and keeping it consistent. The end result is a fluffy milk finished with prawns. 

And Shunde cuisine isn't complete without claypot rice. Ours had various kinds of lap cheong of Chinese sausage steamed with the rice and some vegetable, and a dark soy sauce was poured into the claypot and mixed in thoroughly before being portioned out into bowls. The best part was the fan jiu, or the crispy edge of the rice.

Double-steamed milk custard

For dessert we had the well-known double steamed milk custard. Apparently in Shunde, a good one has the spoon laying on the surface of the custard, not sinking into it, which shows how thick it is. We all just lapped it up, it was so good, not too sweet.

A Bite of Shunde

4653 Garden City Road, #2215

Richmond, BC

+1 604 284 0119

https://www.instagram.com/abiteofshunde/ 

Asian Food Court Eats

Beef rendang and flaky roti at the Aberdeen Centre food court

A friend arrived from Toronto and I picked her up at Vancouver International Airport around 11am and she wanted to eat something Asian.

So we headed to the food court at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond.

On the weekdays this place is quiet, but this being a Sunday, it was busy! It wasn't too hard to find a table, but the vast majority of them were occupied.

We wandered around a bit to check out what was available and settled on sharing a northern Chinese set meal that included spring onion cake, some chive and pork dumplings, stir-fried thin slices of lamb in a slightly sweet soy sauce, and a small bowl of fake shark's fin soup (very thin vermicelli), with ribbons of bean curd skin, and wood ear mushroom.

For drinks we headed to a juice bar, where she had the drink equivalent of mango pomelo sago, while I had a combination of mango and papaya slush that was quite sweet.

Our set meal wasn't quite enough so I headed to a Malaysian stall and ordered the beef rendang. The server asked if I wanted rice or roti and chose the latter. We were not disappointed! The chunks of beef were so tender in the thick curry sauce that wasn't spicy at all. We dipped the flaky roti in there and it was delicious.

That was so filling we didn't need dessert!

Meanwhile there were more people queuing up for food and I was impressed to see practically all the stands doing decent business, with people of all ages dining here.

Heartbreaking Loss for the Toronto Blue Jays in World Series

The Dodgers won the World Series 5-4 in the 11th inning

What a heartbreaker! The Toronto Blue Jays were soooo close to winning their first World Series in 23 years and then it slipped away, letting the Los Angeles Dodgers win 5-4 and clinch their second consecutive title.

The Jays were a Cinderella team, at the bottom of the league last year, and then with more than half the team consisting of young players, they managed to end up in the World Series.

There was lots of talk abut Trey Yesavage, only 22 years old and pitching for the first time in the majors, and George Springer hitting that home run that propelled the Jays to the World Series. 

Blue Jays came a long way to the World Series

In tonight's game Bo Bichette helped put the Jays in a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but they lost the advantage as the Dodgers climbed back to make it 3-4, then it was tied at 4-4 in the 9th inning and had to keep playing until the Jays blinked in the 11th.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider fought back tears as he faced reporters in the post-game press conference.

"We had our chances. We had our chances to beat them soundly. But we didn't. And that's baseball," he said.

It's crazy because in the afternoon pundits, including those who follow the analytics, were expecting (or perhaps hoping?) the Jays would win. 

Part way through the game, superstar pitcher Shohei Ohtani ran out of gas -- perhaps from not enough rest -- and the responsibility was left to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who had three wins in the series under his belt, making him the World Series MVP.

While the Dodgers have many top (well paid) players, the Blue Jays scraped their way to the top which makes their entry into the World Series even more remarkable. 

They gave Canadians something to rally behind and make us all proud to be... Canadian.

Halloween Trick-or-Treat Report 2025

Giant pumpkin skeleton greets trick-or-treaters

It's Halloween Night and... it was kind of dead... in a bad way.

We went to our usual haunts and the kids were very disappointed to see a lot of houses without their lights on.

Perhaps it's because it was Game 6 in the World Series, with the Toronto Blue Jays battling the Los Angeles Dodgers right when trick-or-treaters are knocking on doors for candy.

These two have waited so long...

Or the weather forecast was for heavy rain so people didn't bother to buy candy, thinking pint-sized witches, Lego men and walking pizza slices wouldn't come. No one went as a Blue Jays fan.

Maybe people's budgets are so stretched, they can't afford to shell out for bite-sized candy bars. 

Another reason might be because people have moved out of the area, though could there have been so many who have fled the neighbourhood?

In any event, we started late this year, just after the rain stopped around 8pm. Some had decorations up, but didn't answer the door, possibly because they had already run out of candy?

We could see some houses with big screen televisions showing the baseball game -- but the Jays were defeated by the Dodgers 3-1, which means the final deciding game is tomorrow!

The houses that still had candy just before 9pm were generous, trying to offload as much as possible to avoid cavities.

Chinese Restaurant Awards Expands Across Canada and Asia

Winners of the Chinese Restaurant Awards in Canada

Last night the 16th Chinese Restaurant Awards handed out 69 awards, not only celebrating top restaurants in Metro Vancouver, but for the first time also across Canada, and in Asia.

Held at the prestigious Vancouver Club, the awards aim to shine a spotlight on chefs focused on Chinese cuisine, not only those preserving the heritage, but also those keen on modernising dishes through produce and cooking techniques.

There was a lot of excitement in the ballroom as the names were read out, lots of clapping for chefs who are usually in their kitchens working, and rarely praised in such a high profile manner.

Chef Garley Leung of Dynasty

Four top awards were given out, three of which were to chefs:

Rising Star Chef of the Year to Andersen Lee of Oncle Lee and Oncle Lee Kao in Montreal

Dim Sum Chef of the Year to Garley Leung of Dynasty Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver

Master Chef of the Year to Samuel Su of Flavourful House in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

The Cultural Ambassador of the Year was awarded to Carol Lee of Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, who started Chinatown BBQ and has had a big hand in reviving the neighbourhood.

When it comes to the Elite 30 restaurants across Canada, Dynasty Seafood Restaurant took top spot, followed by Chang'An, also in Vancouver. Landmark Hotpot House came in fourth, followed by Mott 32, and Sea Harbour Restaurant, which is across from River Rock Casino in Richmond. Rounding out the top 10 at No. 9 is The Fish Man, focused on seafood.

1. Dynasty Seafood Restaurant – Vancouver, B.C. | Cantonese 
2. Chang’ An – Vancouver, B.C. | Shaanxi / Northern Chinese
3. Flavourful House – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese
4. Landmark Hotpot House – Vancouver, B.C. | Hong Kong Style Hotpot
5. MOTT 32 – Vancouver, B.C.  & Toronto, Ontario | Peking Duck / Modern Chinese
6. Sea Harbour Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
7. Jumbo Lobster Restaurant – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood
8. Bamboo Grove Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
9. The Fish Man – Richmond, B.C. | Sichuan / Cantonese Seafood
10. aKin – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Asian
11. Jiangnan Wok – Richmond, B.C. | Jiangnan
12. Mimi Chinese – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Chinese
13. R&D – Toronto, Ontario | Modern Canadian Asian
14. Golden Paramount Seafood Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese / Shunde
15. iDen & Quan Ju De Beijing Duck House – Vancouver, B.C. | Peking Duck / Northern Chinese
16. Fishman Lobster Clubhouse Restaurant – Scarborough, Ontario | Cantonese Seafood
17. Miss Qu Barbecue & Restaurant – Markham / Scarborough, Ontario | Sichuan
18. Din Tai Fung – Vancouver, B.C. | Taiwanese / Shanghainese Dim Sum
19. Osmanthus Chinese Fusion Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Jiangnan
20. Max Noodle House – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese Noodles & Congee
21. Lanxuan Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
22. The Jade Seafood Restaurant – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese
23. Nian Yi Kuai Zi – Markham / Scarborough, Ontario | Sichuan
24. Oncle Lee Kǎo – Montreal, Quebec | Modern Chinese
25. Kalvin’s Szechuan Restaurant – Vancouver, B.C. | Taiwanese / Sichuan
26. Loon Fong Hot Pot – Richmond Hill, Ontario | Hong Kong Style Hotpot
27. Xi’An Flavour – Richmond, B.C. | Shaanxi / Xi’an
28. Chinatown BBQ – Vancouver, B.C. | Cantonese BBQ
29. HK BBQ Master – Richmond, B.C. | Cantonese BBQ
30. Nouilles de Lan Zhou – Montreal, Quebec | Lanzhou Beef Noodles

Across the Pacific, there were awards for restaurants in Asia, which can be difficult to decide and rank since there are so many outstanding places in cities like Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.

Chef Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant

Rising Star Chef of the Year went to Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant in the JW Marriott Hong Kong and Henry Zhang of Drunken Fish in Macau

Dim Sum Chef of the Year was Zeng Xianxin of De Chu in Guangzhou.

Master Chef of the Year was Fu Yue Liang of Ru Yuan in Hangzhou

Probably not surprising that The Chairman in Hong Kong took top spot in the Elite 15 Asia Awards, followed by Wing Restaurant. 

1.          The Chairman — Hong Kong ｜ Modern Cantonese

2.          WING Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Modern Chinese

3.          Ru Yuan — Hangzhou ｜ Hangzhou (Hangbang Cai)

4.          Meet the Bund — Shanghai ｜ Min Cai

5.          Seventh Son Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Cantonese

6.          102 House — Shanghai ｜ Refined Cantonese Banquet Cuisine

7.          Lingnan House — Guangzhou ｜ Cantonese

8.          Xin Rong Ji — Hong Kong ｜ Taizhou

9.          Yong Fu — Hong Kong ｜ Ningbo

10.       Chef Tam's Season — Macau ｜ Cantonese

11.       1996 Si Chuan Cuisine — Beijing ｜ Modern Si Chuanese

12.       Jie Xiang Lou — Hangzhou ｜ Jiangnan

13.       Man Ho Chinese Restaurant — Hong Kong ｜ Cantonese

14.       The House of Dynasties — Beijing ｜ Imperial court, Cantonese

15.       Silks House — Taipei ｜ Cantonese

The famous flower crab dish at The Chairman

Vancouver Chinatown's Largest Restaurant Shutters

Floata has been struggling financially since the pandemic

It was a shock to hear on Monday that Floata Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown was closed.

Maybe it wasn't a surprise after all, since it was either jam packed during Chinese New Year banquets and fundraising dinners for organisations like Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, the Chinese Canadian Museum and Dr Sun Yat-Sen Garden, or it was practically dead.

The 1,000 seat restaurant opened in 1995

There were occasions I have come to Floata for dinner and there were only two tables occupied, or dim sum for lunch and a fraction of the 1,000-seat restaurant occupied. 

Floata was opened in 1995 and was the largest restaurant in Chinatown. A family friend held their wedding banquet here, occupying the entire place. At fundraisers, politicians from three levels of government, and of all stripes came here to "press the flesh" with the Chinese community.

But since the Covid-19 pandemic, Floata has been struggling to pay the rent, apparently owing some $300,000. The space is owned by the City of Vancouver and one wonders why it didn't give the restaurant an opportunity to devise a payment scheme.

As community leader Fred Lee said to me tonight, there will never be another restaurant of this size in Chinatown again; and where are groups in the community going to hold their fundraising dinners now? It would be so odd to go to a restaurant in Richmond...

Place either jam packed or practically empty

Lee also feels sad for the staff who have worked there for so long, wondering what will happen to them. 

While this is another sign that Chinatown is still struggling to bring people back to the neighbourhood, we have to honestly say Floata didn't serve the best Chinese food!

But it was a place that brought people together, and this giant space is gone... unless someone has a brilliant plan to remake it into something new...

The Park Theatre is Saved from Closure

Thank goodness the Park theatre is under new ownership

On the weekend there was shocking news that the Park theatre, a single-screen cinema on Cambie Street in Vancouver was going to close after 84 years. It was owned by Cineplex, but was giving it up.

I vividly remember the Park was where I saw The Muppet Movie, and possibly Star Wars. Have to admit I haven't been back in decades.

The landlord of the Park reached out to independent Rio Theatre, run by Corinne Lea to see if they were interested and they were... except they didn't have enough money to take the Park over.

The Park has been around for 84 years

But they knew some people in the movie business in Vancouver, like producer Chris Ferguson.

"If anyone other than Corinne had reached out to me, I would have said, 'Absolutely not.' We'd just be flushing away a bunch of people's money," Ferguson said. "But I know how good of a job she's done with the Rio, so this was exciting."

He made some calls and said, "I've never had an easier time raising money for a project in my life."

Those Ferguson contacted were all in, including the producers of the Oscar winning Anora, Samantha Quan and director Sean Baker.

The couple released a statement saying: "Under the leadership of Corinne Lea, whose incredible work with the Rio Theatre has inspired so many, we're confident the Park will once again be a vibrant home for cinema in Vancouver."

So while the Park showed its last film under Cineplex yesterday, the new owners promise the neighbourhood theatre will be back up and running in December of January, with the first order of business being the installation of a new 70-mm projector. 

Lea from the Rio will run the Park too

Located on Broadway and Commercial in east Vancouver, Rio Theatre is known for showing classics and hosting events, including comedy shows, live music and even burlesque, the plan is for the Park to show first-run movies and classics.

It sounds like the programming could complement VIFF downtown, which will be fantastic for people like me looking for alternative films to watch that are closer to me. That area of Cambie village is getting more buzz, with a hopping restaurant called June that opened over six months ago and houses a speakeasy called Lala in the basement.

Hopefully the revival of the Park energises the neighbourhood and lures back people like me!

Review: Never by Rick Astley

His book is conversational, easy to read

Eighties pop songs are back on the airwaves thanks to young people who are discovering them for the first time. For me they bring back memories of my senior high school years. Classmates were totally into Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, A-ha, Depeche Mode, and Rick Astley.

He was a clean-cut guy who gave off the boy-next-door vibes, wearing a suit and singing Never Gonna Give You Up, and Together Forever, songs that had catchy, optimistic tunes that were sweet and endearing. 

The British singer became so big so fast, but also disappeared just as quickly.

Never Gonna Give You Up was a huge hit in 1987

What happened to him?

Turns out at the age of 27 he quit the music business and lived quietly with his wife and daughter.

But then in around 2006 Rickrolling became a thing -- people would prank others by sending a link on email that when they clicked on it was to Astley's music video for Never Gonna Give You Up, giving him a second lease on his music career.

He writes about all this and more in his conversationally-written autobiography Never that was published last year. I hear his interview on CBC Radio and thought I should read it.

Originally from Lancashire, Astley was born into a rough childhood; before he was born, one of his older brothers died at the age of five from meningitis. The child's death caused his parents' marriage to fall apart, his mother became distant and detached, his father's bipolar behaviour was stressful for Astley and his three siblings.

Astley had a strong interest in music, starting with the drums, but it was his voice that caught the attention of a music producer who signed him on to Stock Aitken Waterman, which became known as the "Hit Factory".

Astley with his wife Lene

In Astley's book Never he talks about how Never Gonna Give You Up came about and how it became so big so fast, and how he handled his sudden fame. The book also explains what the music industry was like at the time, what it was like touring around the world (lots of jetlag) and meeting the love of his life, his wife Lene who was in the music business but later pivoted to film.

It's not until halfway through the book where his career takes off where he describes some hilarious scenes where I actually laughed out loud. As a reader and sometime fan, it was endearing to read him recall what life was like at the time for him, and he constantly says in the autobiography he did not want to be perceived as a "twat". 

That part gets a bit nauseating, but he wants to remind readers that stardom did not go to his head -- he didn't want it to and was keen to live as normal a life as possible after such a chaotic childhood. 

In the second wind of his career in his 50s, Astley writes about how relaxed he was, and enjoyed performing for fun; readers can't help but feel happy for him to finally be comfortable in his skin. That's what growing up is all about.

Show-Stopping Pianist Tony Yun

Yun performed at Hong Kong City Hall this past June

This afternoon I was spellbound by pianist Tony Siqi Yun, whose passion for music comes through in his playing -- despite battling a fever.

The Canadian-born pianist had just finished the first half of the program performing Brahms' Theme and Variations in D minor, Op. 18b, Robert Schumann's Theme and Variations in E-flat major WoO 24 "Ghost Variations", and the dazzling Sonata No. 23 in F minor Op. 57 "Appassionata" by Ludwig van Beethoven when the audience jumped to their feet to give a standing ovation.

He graduated from Juilliard last year

During the intermission we found out Yun, 24, had a fever, and did we notice? Those sitting closer to the stage could see he had a red nose, and he wiped his brow after each piece. But despite his illness, Yun powered through with professionalism.

When he was four years old his family moved to Beijing, and his older sister picked up the violin. He later discovered the piano, apparently only playing it 10 minutes a day but somehow managed to become a professional pianist by the age of 11. 

Four years later he moved to New York and studied at Juilliard, where he graduated in 2024. Yun made a name for himself in 2019 when he won the First China International Music Competition, and the Kissinger KlavierOlymp in 2022. He first performed in Vancouver in 2021 and today is his third time here for the Vancouver Recital Society.

Today's performance at Vancouver Playhouse

Yun is tall and wiry, with long skinny fingers, and his hair is curly too. As he plays at the piano, Yun has a tendency to tap his foot on the floor, which seems distracting, and his body movements seem as if he lifts himself up from the piano bench, or he leans so far forward it's as if he's resting his head against the piano.

He's unlike any other performer I've seen -- focused on the music, technically flawless, and once or twice shocked the audience with a sudden loud burst of notes. Yun also likes to extend the sound of notes as long as possible. When playing the last notes of the Brahms piece, he held the notes on the keys until the sound eventually dissipated, whereas others would have finished much earlier. 

Following the intermission, he came back to perform Ferruccio Busoni's Berceuse from Elegies BV 249, and finished with Schumann's Symphonic Etudes Op. 13. Again the crowd jumped to their feet again, and he performed a piece by Bach adapted from a work for violin. A friend who is actually working on the violin piece was stunned when he began playing it because it was quite long, as if it was part of the program, and also wasn't he sick? Or the meds were kicking in?

Nevertheless he gave his fans what they wanted, and the scheduled Q&A with him was cancelled. We'd rather he got some rest! 

This was Yun's third performance in Vancouver

Walking out of Vancouver Playhouse, I felt overwhelmed by the intensity of his performance and needed a drink -- from someone who doesn't drink much alcohol!