Chinese Restaurants Riffing Off Each Other

Lobster meat stir-fried with egg white at Lanxuan Restaurant

You know the saying, one is random, two is a coincidence, and three is a trend?

Within five days I have tried two similar dishes in two different Chinese restaurants that may result in the latest trend to eat in Vancouver.

On Friday evening we went to Lanxuan Restaurant in Richmond, where we had some fantastic dishes, such as butterfly deep-fried chicken with glutinous rice underneath, a giant pot of a fish with pumpkin, and a flavourful soup with ingredients such as dates, longan and pork.

The highlight was lobster meat extracted from the shell and stir-fried with egg white. The presentation was even more bougie with tiny bits of gold leaf and shrimp roe on top.

Crab meat stir-fried with egg white at Dynasty

It was fantastic with a splash of Chinese vinegar to enhance the flavour.

Then last night we went to the always high quality Dynasty Seafood Restaurant, where our host managed to get some special dishes like a whole roast duck with tea-smoked quail eggs, deep-fried white bait typhoon shelter style, and freshly made sesame balls with black sesame filling for dessert.

The standout by far was crab meat stir-fried with egg white. It was presented on a massive platter that we couldn't finish. The crab meat was so dense, one can only wonder how many crabs were used in the dish. This was also served with dark vinegar seasoned with ginger.

I can surmise that Lanxuan has had this lobster dish before as it was recommended to us by a regular patron, while Dynasty staff told us the crab dish was new; they probably thought of riffing off of what the former restaurant had done.

A large fish in a hot pot with braised pumpkin

What's next? A combination of crab and lobster? Or with scallops? Geoduck?

Picture of the Day: Plum Blossom

Some plum blossoms in their pink glory

Vancouver is in the middle of a deluge of rain this week, and today miraculously there was a bit of respite, so I went out for a walk.

The plum blossoms are out and I took a picture of some for all to enjoy.

That is all.

Chinatown Eats: Bitter Melon and Spare Ribs

A large portion of bitter melon and spare ribs with lots of rice!

Went to Chinatown today and headed to The Boss Bakery and Restaurant for lunch.

One of the lunch specials was a classic Cantonese dish -- bitter melon with spare ribs.

Here the bitter melon is thinly sliced and sauteed with onion, and pickled vegetables that add a slightly sour taste to counterbalance the sweetness of the small pieces of pork ribs. 

The saucy dish is great with white rice, and at The Boss, it's always a giant mound that could feed a family of four.

Mini pineapple buns and flaky egg tarts

Just as we were finishing our lunch more food was ferried to our table -- freshly baked mini pineapple buns and flaky Portuguese-style flaky egg tarts. 

The buns were warm, light and fluffy with a slight crunch from the cookie top. So good!

The Boss Bakery and Restaurant, 532 Main Street, Vancouver, BC. Tel: 604 683 3860.

Some Well Deserved Oscar Wins

Borenstein (white suit) and Talankin with their Oscars

Happy with the results of the Academy Awards?

I did not watch the whole thing, but thrilled, ecstatic, excited that the films I did watch, won Oscars:

Jessie Buckley for Best Actress in Hamnet.

Buckley was the favourite to win

Her guttural scream in a pivotal point in the film was so primal and intense, viewers could not help but feel her immense pain of losing her child.

Buckley said in a podcast that after making the film, she was desperate to get pregnant! Now she has an eight-month old baby girl and in her acceptance speech said she loved being her mother.

"It's Mother's Day in the UK today, so I would like to dedicate this to the beautiful chaos of a mother's heart. We all come from a lineage of women who continue to create against all odds," she said.

All The Empty Rooms for Best Documentary Short

It's a haunting documentary, seeing the empty bedrooms of children who were killed in school shootings. Not only is it commendable for journalist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp to visit these grieving families, but also record these children's rooms to prove they existed, they were loved, they had lives with hopes and dreams.

Cazares was so brave to speak out on stage

When the filmmakers went up to accept the Oscar, one of the mothers, Gloria Cazares spoke on stage. Her daughter died in the Uvalde shooting in May 2022.

"My daughter, Jackie, was nine years old when she was killed in Uvalde. Since that day, her bedroom has been frozen in time," Cazares said.

"Jackie is more than just a headline. She is our light and our life. Gun violence is now the number one cause of death in kids and teens. We believe that if the world could see their empty bedrooms, it would be a different America."

Mr Nobody Against Putin for Best Documentary Feature

In accepting the golden statuette, co-director David Borenstein warned the audience what authoritarianism is.

"Mr Nobody Against Putin is about how you lose your country," he said. "And what we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless, small, little acts of complicity.

Talankin (on floor) urged for wars to stop now

"When a government murders people on the streets of our major cities, when we don't say anything, when oligarchs take over the media and control how we could produce it and consume it -- we all face a moral choice. But luckily, even a nobody is more powerful than you think."

He then introduced the star of the documentary, Pavel Talankin to speak through a Russian translator.

"For four years, we looked at the sky, for a shooting star to make an important wish. But there are countries where instead of stars they have shooting bombs and shooting drones. In the name of the future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now," said Talankin, who is now in exile in Europe.

Afterwards when Borenstein spoke to the media, he made another warning:

"One interesting thing about working with a team of Russians throughout this process has been my desire as an American to constantly compare the situation in America to Russia," he said.

"But a lot of my Russian colleagues and friends always said, 'No, no, it's not the same situation. It's actually happening quicker in America than it's been happening in Russia,' Trump is moving a lot quicker than Putin in his early years."

The Girl Who Cried Pearls for Best Animation Short

Well deserved award for Szcerbowski and Lavis

This 17-minute film was absolutely stunning in terms of its fantastic story and execution. The story isn't so simple and makes viewers think about it afterwards.

Co-directors Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski make their acceptance speech short and sweet.

"We just really want to thank our amazing neighbourhood and the amazingly talented community of artists that we've had the superb luck to work with," Szczerbowski said. "Thank you to the fantastic city of Montreal. Thank you, Canada."

"Canada!" Lavis chimed in, as they raised their Oscars.

They gave a shoutout to composer Patrick Watson and actor Colm Feore who narrated the film.

Big congratulations to all the winners and nominees! 

What the Stars will be Eating and Drinking

O'Brien will be hosting the 98th Academy Awards

The 98th Academy Awards is tomorrow and everyone is gearing up for the big event. Pundits are guessing who will win the coveted golden statuettes, will winners make political statements that will rile up the American president, and who will wear which designer outfit. The best dressed list will be compiled, and definitely who wore it the worst with endless memes to come.

After the awards show hosted by Conan O'Brien, the celebrities will head to the Governors Ball, where newly minted Academy Award winners get their names engraved on their Oscars, while everyone else can finally cheat on their months-long diets and workouts and gorge on real food.

Puck (left) with Miyazaki beef

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck (who I had the opportunity to interview back in 2019) has been busy getting the food ready for the ball. He has a lot of experience catering for this event -- his 32nd consecutive year, which is no easy feat.

"We make 25,000 small plates," he said, adding the celebs can have Japanese food, Austrian food and the best steak -- Miyazaki beef "with Ozempic instead of spinach" if they prefer.

He will make 1,200 of his traditional chicken pot pies that require 22kg of black truffle, and there will also be 32kg of caviar, 1,000 plates of macaroni and cheese, and more than 91kg of tomahawk steak.

If guests still prefer to eat more healthy, they can have sushi rolls and nigiri.

When it comes to alcoholic drinks, Piper-Heidsieck is the champagne of choice, or Dassai sake, and wines from Domaine Clarence Dillon.

Hong Kong's Antinori will make cocktails

For stars looking for cocktails, they will be in good hands with movie-themed drinks created by Hong Kong-based bartender Lorenzo Antinori of Bar Leone, which was crowned the No. 1 bar by World's 50 Best. 

Antinori has been non-stop since opening Bar Leone in 2023, with a second one in Shanghai, and together with Simone Caporale (who I interviewed in 2018) have a Cuban-themed bar called Montana.

Last year Antinori flew into Vancouver for like two days to make drinks for North America's World's 50 Best Bars awards.

Now he's in Los Angeles making Don Julio tequila cocktails for the stars. What a ride.

Andiamo!

Keeping Safe on Public Transit

Are the transit police around enough to make people feel safe?

Whenever I need to go downtown I like to take the bus. It's relatively on time, I can spend the time reading, and it takes away the hassle of driving and paying for parking.

Taking the bus back home though is another issue; usually there are drug-addicted homeless people who just get on without paying. Some keep to themselves, but others make you feel unsafe. 

Like yesterday.

I got on the bus around 3.30pm and immediately could feel something was wrong. At the back of the bus all by himself was a guy struggling to get a yellow hoodie on, but because he was not sober, he didn't realise he had put his head in the hood. 

Buses are great for getting downtown

After I sat down, he shouted several times that it was cold and someone needed to close the window.

Except nobody answered him.

Luckily at the next stop three transit police got onboard and in a friendly tone tried to persuade the guy to get off the bus. He still struggled with his hoodie for a few more minutes and then one of the transit police decided time was up, as the rest of us were waiting, and he had to be removed.

The rest of us stood or sat there in silence, staring at the situation unfolding. The guy was completely dishevelled, he had blood on his forehead and face, was bare chested and his pants hanging loosely over his hips. 

We were relieved when they escorted him off the bus and he sat in the bus shelter. 

But then the transit police noted there was blood stains on the floor. The bus driver announced to passengers the bus would cross the Granville Street Bridge and then let everyone off because the vehicle would be out of commission (to be cleaned up).

The transit police only work at the Granville and Georgia stop. Sometimes they come on board to make sure everyone has paid the fare, or in this case, remove someone who is causing a disturbance.

While I appreciate the transit police being there, could they not be stationed in the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown to deter these people from getting on the bus in the first place? It would make things safer for everyone, the drivers and passengers.

I have sent the suggestion to Translink and am waiting to hear back...

Public transit should not be an uncomfortable ride for anyone.

Review: Why does iDen & Quanjude Have a Michelin Star?

Lukewarm slices of Peking duck at Quanjude in Vancouver

Have you eaten at iDen & Quanjude Beijing Duck House in Vancouver?

I am still trying to comprehend why this place is the only Chinese restaurant in the city that has a Michelin star -- for the past three years.

Duck soup with seaweed and tofu cubes

This location, across the street from City Hall, is affiliated with the original one in the Chinese capital. That one is considered a "time-honoured brand", with pictures of famous people from Premier Zhou Enlai serving the signature roast duck to American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and toasting President Richard Nixon. There's also a picture of superstar pianist Lang Lang in a group photo with staff.

The hospitality here has well-dressed staff in uniforms, wearing headsets and being very polite to customers transports them back to China, where diners are king. The first time I visited over two years ago, the manager was in a tuxedo brandishing a tablet to take orders.

Originally when the restaurant opened, the price of the menu was so outrageous that many stayed away; there is so much competition in the city for Chinese food, there is no reason why one must eat at Quanjude.

Beef ribs with mushrooms

So the restaurant changed tact and started offering memberships, where members can dine on a set menu for a relatively reasonable price. That time I went when the manager was in a tux, the food, and in particular ingredients were hardly impressive, like jellyfish head with cucumber, and tofu chopped into perfect cubes in a duck soup. You can also finish your meal with a cappucino. Whatever happened to serving premium tea?

While the duck was sliced in front of us table side, it was bizarre that the set menu is portioned for two diners, a very Western concept for a Chinese restaurant, where it is typically family style with a lazy Susan on a round table. Quanjude doesn't have many round tables, they are all rectangular, another strange way of eating Chinese food.

Today I was invited to Quanjude for lunch (by a member), and we managed to be seated at a round table! What was also interesting was seeing the place was pretty full despite the pouring rain. Perhaps the members liked the underground parking and snagged all the free "iDen" parking spots.

 

The highly prized skin eaten with sugar

This time the food quality improved. There was braised beef ribs (Korean galbi cuts) with mushrooms, and stir-fried Romaine lettuce which were pretty good, as well as kaufu or gluten cubes with mushrooms as an appetiser.

We were also treated to an extra dish of prawns covered in a lime green sauce that turned out to be watered down wasabi.

The main event, Peking duck, was not served table side; instead it was already sliced in the kitchen probably much earlier in advance because it was lukewarm at best. Even the slice of prized skin that we dipped in brown sugar was not warm either.

To make up for it, the steamed thin wrappers were hot, but the portion of duck slices was overwhelming based on a portion for two people. Why not just give the table half a duck to share? We had lots of leftovers. Same with the beef.

Prawns covered in a wasabi sauce

Strangely our plates were not replaced when our dessert of cubed jelly with water chestnut and osmanthus arrived; we had no choice but to eat it on a plate covered in savoury sauces.

Again I wonder, why this place is awarded a Michelin star every year. How does it deserve this prestigious accolade? The portions are Western style but the quality is hardly worth raving about. There are many other places in Vancouver like Dynasty and Chang'An that serve roast duck. The presentation at Quanjude might be more refined, but it's been sitting in the kitchen drying out before it is served to diners.

Giving the Michelin star to Quanjude reflects on the judgment of the inspectors who don't seem to understand and appreciate what good Chinese cooking is, especially in Vancouver. Surely after having evaluated Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong for years they would be just as discerning here?

Dessert of jelly with water chesnut, osmanthus

iDen & Quanjude Beijing Duck House, 2808 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC. Tel: (236) 477 7777

Tasty Asian Eats in Vancouver's Kerrisdale

Bubbling hot (and mildly spicy) tofu soup with kimbap, banchan

Yesterday we tried a good value-for-money lunch in Vancouver's Kerrisdale. It's known for being an area where either seniors live or teenagers hang out because there are two secondary schools in the area. There's also a lot of Asian people residing in the area too, so there are Cantonese, Japanese, Thai and Korean eateries.

One of them in Sandeul, a Korean restaurant on West Boulevard. It's a spacious place that's bright an airy. I went there over a year ago when I was starving so it wasn't helpful that the place was packed to the gills and took a while to get my lunch.

Colourful and substantial portion of kimbap

This time a relative wanted to check out Sandeul so we went yesterday before noon and it wasn't too busy. We sat near the kitchen and checked out the menu. We immediately zeroed in on the lunch special available from 11am to 3pm: kimbap (seaweed rice rolls), japchae (sweet potato noodles stir-fried with vegetables), and tofu soup (choice of beef, seafood or mushroom) for C$22.99. 

We did have to wait a while, but it was worth it. The tofu soup arrived first, literally bubbling hot! Mine was mushroom with tofu, and mild spice level. The tofu was silky smooth and substantial, mixed with slices of mushroom. It was really comforting to eat on a chilly day.

For a lunch set we were expecting four to six pieces of kimbap, but we received a dozen each, a generous portion. They were delicious, filled with egg, cucumber, pickled radish, carrots and spinach. There was so much food we had to pack these in takeaway boxes.

The set lunch includes banchan, small dishes

However, we got a small plate of japchae that was actually just right, as well as three banchan: kim chi, pickled beansprouts, and gluten. We had a few refills...

Sandeul has another lunch special that's $25.99 featuring more dishes like salad, grilled mackerel, bulgogi, kim chi pancake and tofu soup. 

We were full -- but wait! We were a block away from a highly recommended Taiwanese drinks place called Macu. 

My cousin has raved about the place last summer and now I was just steps away from trying it myself.

Except when I saw the menu I was completely overwhelmed by how much choice there was! Did I want mango? Strawberry? Milk tea with boba? Or taro with milk?

Avocado, mango and milk tea drinks

Eventually I settled on strawberry avocado smoothie, with bobo or agar agar chewy cubes, diced strawberries and avocado mixed with milk and slushy ice. It wasn't too sweet and highly addictive that I finished the drink pretty quickly! Once the ice melts the drink doesn't taste as good...

Is it any wonder this place has a steady stream of business all day?

Sandeul

6019 West Boulevard

Vancouver, BC

604 428 3388

Macu

5971 West Boulevard

Vancouver, BC

Review: Hoppers

The animation feature topped the box office opening weekend

There was a lot of buzz that the animation feature Hoppers beat out The Bride!, making it Pixar's biggest opening weekend in a decade. 

Hoppers was screening at our neighbourhood theatre so we took two kids, aged 7 and 8 to watch this film -- in 3D. 

The 3D enhances the animation, but it isn't totally used to its advantage.

Mabel is an environmental activist in her teens

Nevertheless, the storyline is creative. Japanese-American Mabel Tanaka grows up to be an environmental activist influenced by her grandmother and promises to protect the glade that they used to appreciate together in the city of Beaverton.

But then the mayor, Jerry Generazzo has plans to destroy the natural habitat for animals in order to build a freeway and Mabel is desperate to stop him.

She asks for help from her biology professor Dr Samantha Fairfax, but then Mabel discovers they have developed technology that helps them communicate with animals.

Mabel uses it to try to convince them -- in particular beavers, as they are "nature's engineers" -- to move back to the glade, along with everyone else, but it's not as easy as she thinks.

The premise of the film, that Mabel can communicate with the animals is fun, creative and she also learns "pond rules" and the hierarchy of the animal kingdom. 

Dr Fairfax (left) is Mabel's biology professor

Some of the humour, both physical and the dialogue is funny, but not particularly laugh-out-loud hilarious, but enough to keep the audience interested in seeing what happens next.

Actor John Hamm makes for a sneaky mayor, and Bobby Moynihan is a funny beaver monarch named King George. I was surprised to see Meryl Streep voiced the Insect Queen, a short, but amusing cameo.

Apparently the Pixar animators enlisted the help of ecohydrologist Emily Fairfax who studies beavers and how they change landscapes by altering the flow of streams and rivers.

Hoppers has a strong environmental message, how to strike a balance between conservation and development, and how most humans view their role in the world as being at the top of the food chain.

Ecohydrologist Emily Fairfax

Oh and yes the animals are cute too, thanks to director Daniel Chong's passion for the project. Originally he had pitched a feature on penguins, but it was nixed because it's been done before already!

But then he discovered that beavers are "nature's engineers" and thought that was really cool and took six years to develop Hoppers.

Don't watch too many of the trailers because some of the gags get old really fast. Just go watch it in the theatre!

Hoppers

Written and directed by Daniel Chong

105 minutes

Thoughts on International Women's Day

Carnations for women on International Women's Day

It's International Women's Day and the first thing that comes to mind for me is when I was in Beijing in 2008 and was working in state media.

When it was noon that day, carnations were handed out to the females in the office, and we were told we could leave the office and have a half day off.

What?

It was kind of bizarre, and I said it was OK, I would rather stay, but was told no, it was an order to leave.

I can't remember what I did, but I was disappointed I was not told ahead of time!

A book to consider reading

On the other hand I'm thinking about the concept of "daughtering", where women in the family are expected to manage family dynamics, to organising gatherings to scheduling parents' medical appointments. It's a task that has no monetary value, but is assumed that the daughters will take on this role wholeheartedly.

"Daughtering" was coined by Dr Allison Alford, a clinical associate professor at the Baylor University Hankamer School of Business. She recently wrote a book called Good Daughtering: The Work You've Always Done, the Credit You've Never Gotten, and How to Finally Feel Enough.

She's done a lot of research into this topic, interviewing a lot of women, from the oldest sisters to the youngest, though it is the oldest who is the family anchor, and the other female siblings assist. However when the men decide to pitch in and organise a family event, everyone is in a twitter about how he's made such a lovely contribution. Sound familiar?

Alford says it's important to recognise this "daughtering" concept and that it is not just you doing all the work -- others are too. That said, she believes it is important to show others what you are doing, and that your efforts deserve to be valued.

Along the same vein is my last thought on International Women's Day is America Ferrera's monologue as Gloria in Barbie. It may be given by a fictional character but it resonates:

It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

Gloria's monologue in Barbie

You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but you also have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but always be looking out for other people.

You have to answer for men's bad behaviour, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for me, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but always be grateful.

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know.

Picture of the Day: Turkey Tails

Turkey tail mushrooms growing on a log

On my walk in the forest I spotted these circular fungi growing on a log, and they are called trametes versicolor, or more commonly known as turkey tails!

The underside should be white, and I have read they are edible, though they are on the tough side and would need to be cooked a bit longer in liquid. They can also be steamed, grilled or roasted. These fungi apparently have a nutty flavour and chewy texture. 

Another way to eat them is by drying them and grounding them into powder or steeped in hot water to make tea!

Review: Chinese Lessons

Pomfret's memoir about China from the 1980s

In 1981, 22-year-old John Pomfret was the in the first cohort of American students to study in China. He recounts his experiences living in a dorm with seven Chinese men at Nanjing University, trying to make up for lost time following the Cultural Revolution that upended their lives.

Pomfret chronicles his experiences, and those of his classmates over the decades in his memoir, Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China. He writes about the lives of his five classmates, four men and one woman in unflinching accounts about how dirt poor they were, or how their parents or grandparents were tortured or murdered by the Red Guards, and how they were sent down to the countryside, and the only way out was to get into university.

He studied in Nanjing University

Their early lives are so tragic and horrific, but Pomfret believes it's critical to explain this background to readers so that they understand why his classmates individually did what they did later in life. These students were the next generation post-Cultural Revolution who tried to ride China's economic boom in the 1990s and 2000s, with varying degrees of success depending on their idealism or pragmatism.

At the same time Pomfret weaves in his own personal experiences, most notably how people reacted around him as a foreigner; he honestly recalls his sexual desires to meet women, and these memories are endearing but also pretty funny.

Following graduation, Pomfret went back to the United States and began working as a journalist and because of his Mandarin skills he eventually returns to Beijing to work for the Associated Press in the late 1980s.

Pomfret (left) during the 1989 protests in Beijing

The pivotal moment in the book is his account of what he saw and experienced during the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, followed by the shocking and bloody massacre on the evening of June 3. It's riveting reading, as he remembers so many details, from riding his bike down alleyways to avoid the tanks to witnessing live gunfire and wounded demonstrators.

Soon after he was accused of having alleged links with student leaders and soon after was expelled from China. As a result Pomfret situated himself in Hong Kong, but was covering all kinds of conflicts in Bosnia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

A few years later in 1992 The Washington Post manages to get approval for Pomfret to return to Beijing as the bureau chief and he reunites with his classmates separately to see how they are doing as well as track how China has changed post-Tiananmen.

His Chinese press credentials in China

Throughout the book he touches on topics as family, marriage, the one-child policy, jobs that were attached to work units, the free market economy, buying apartments, and entrepreneurism through the experiences of his classmates. It really gives a good on-the-ground view of what it was like for locals navigating the system.

Towards the end of the book Pomfret writes about marrying and having a child born with health issues, but then soon after a mysterious virus begins to spread. It's SARS. Reading it now, a few years after the Covid-19 pandemic, one can see the similarities of how the virus spread almost exactly the same way, during the Spring Festival, and how the Chinese government dealt with it. We still don't know exactly how it started, let alone SARS.

Pomfret is a journalist I followed during the 2019 protests in Hong Kong; he is a rare old China hand who managed to adapt and understand the city and how it differs from the mainland. Many China journalists who were parachuted into Hong Kong during the protests did not have a firm grasp of how the city and its people are not the same as those in China and so their stories were not as nuanced as Pomfret's.

He writes passionately about China

His writing in Chinese Lessons is straight-forward and at times stark, but also sprinkled with wry humour -- the reader is constantly on this rollercoaster ride of emotions that range from depressingly bleak to suddenly light and hilarious. But one can see his love for the country and its people, as well as the funny quirks of the place.

It's a fantastic first-hand look at the rapid changes in China through not only Pomfret's eyes, but also those of his classmates who were willing to tell their stories not only to him, but to the world.

A Meteor's Flash and Boom in Metro Vancouver

Some residents were able to capture a shot of the meteor

Last night just after 9pm, I heard a muffled boom and some minor vibrations.

I knew it wasn't an earthquake but it was very unusual.

Lots of other people on social media thought so too.

People reported seeing a bright flash

Turns out it was a "fireball" meteor about the size of a soccer ball that flew into Earth's atmosphere, causing a bright flash in the sky, followed by two booms in quick succession.

The fireball was seen as far west at Comox, British Columbia, as far east as Merritt, and as far south as Seattle, Washington.

Johanna Wagstaffe, a CBC meteorologist and science reporter said local seismographs showed a spike at around 9.10pm, and that the sonic boom is "classic evidence" of a meteor travelling through the atmosphere.

She noted meteors don't often appear in western North America. "But it's always a big deal when we can visually experience something falling from space."

Wagstaffe explained a sonic boom occurs when an object travels through the upper levels of the atmosphere so fast -- from between 20 to 70 kilometres per second -- that it compresses the air ahead of it and heats up. In this case, the meteor was traveling 33 kilometres per second, or around 119,000 km/h.

A seismograph registered the boom at 9.10pm

The American Meteor Society also confirmed the meteor sighting, and described it as a fireball, as the duration of the flash was too short to be human-made debris, and that it was a natural fireball made of stone, metal, or a combination of both.

It is believed the meteor landed tens of kilometres north of Coquitlam in a heavily forested area, so the chances of finding the fragments are extremely slim. Maybe one day years from now a hiker will discover the fragments? You heard it here first.

The Stressful Life of Professional Musicians

Mao performed flawlessly on three hours' sleep

It's a tough life being a professional musician who travels around the world performing. Not only do you have to learn lots of pieces by memory, but also play them flawlessly despite jetlag and not enough sleep.

That was the case of Mao Fujita, 27, who was in Vancouver this past weekend.

He was supposed to fly direct from San Diego and arrive Saturday at 9pm to perform the next day at 3pm at the Vancouver Playhouse.

However, he texted the organiser of the Vancouver Recital Society, to say his flight was delayed until midnight.

Then he phoned a few minutes later to say he would have to cancel the concert because his flight was cancelled!

She told him to tell Air Canada he had a contractual obligation to perform the next day and he had to get on the flight.

He managed to get the last seat on the plane Sunday morning at 6am -- but that meant leaving his wife behind to get the next flight to Vancouver.

Mao arrived at 11.30am and went straight to the venue to practice despite having only three hours' sleep.

A few hours later he performed in front of an almost sold-out show, playing works by Beethoven, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Berg.

I sat in the fourth row on the left side to watch Mao's fingers dance on the keys, and during intermission, the couple on my left switched seats with another. 

The new couple told me they had been sitting on the other side where they could see the expression on the pianist's face. They observed that it was as if he was in a trance, or another world as he played.

Needless to say many in the audience jumped up to give him a standing ovation and Mao treated us to an encore by Rachmaninoff, How Fair This Spot, Op. 21, No. 7 that he himself transcribed for the piano.

After the concert, Mao's wife Haruki arrived and the concert sponsors treated them to dinner and he was so excited to eat! He hadn't eaten pretty much all day!

The Chinese dinner included poached geoduck, stir-fried beef with eggplant, choy sum with braised tofu, spare ribs, Chiu Chow braised duck, soup with tofu, mustard greens and more geoduck, and dessert of taro with sago.

With a filled stomach, Mao and his wife went back to the airport to catch their next flight to Seattle where he performed last night, and then took the next flight to New York. He plays Carnegie Hall tomorrow!

Mao performs 70-75 concerts per year on top of his studies, which he will complete this year. 

We sure hope he makes time in his busy schedule to come back to Vancouver again soon!

British Columbia Takes a Stand on Daylight Time

Kids jumping for joy at Eby's "Pacific time" announcement

Big news today for British Columbia -- this coming weekend we will change our clocks forward one hour permanently.

Premier David Eby announced the change, saying, "We are done waiting. British Columbia is going to change our clocks just one more time -- and then never again."

He is referring to the authorities on the west coast of the United States in Washington State, Oregon and California. Originally he had said he would wait for them to decide if they were going to stick with one or the other so that businesses would not be confused with times, but perhaps Eby was done waiting, or didn't hear back from them and decided BC was going its own way.

The new time zone will be called "Pacific time".

The entire province will be following Pacific time except for East Kootenay, which observes mountain time with Alberta.

Eby noted Yukon has already permanently changed to daylight time, and hopes the US will follow. Back in 2019 BC already passed legislation to make this possible, but just didn't have a specific timeline.

Interestingly American President Donald Trump had expressed interest in changing to daylight time after the 2024 election, Congress has not passed legislation for it.

So it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months... there will surely be a lot of confusion on the west coast in terms of what time it is come November, but in the meantime many people are pleased that we'll have longer daylight hours and no more "jetlag" from springing ahead an hour after this weekend.

However, Eby's critics are crying foul because the announcement was suddenly made without much recent consultation; they believe it's a distraction from the horrible budget he delivered last week...

 

Review: Nomadland

McDormand stars as Fern, learning how to be a nomad

In 2017 journalist Jessica Bruder published Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, a non-fiction book that followed retirees who lived in vans and traveled around the country to find work after the global financial crisis. 

Actor Frances McDormand read it, bought the rights to option the book for a movie, and persuaded Chloe Zhao to write and direct it. They took the book and included some of the actual nomads in there, such as Linda May and Bob Wells, who runs workshops on how to live independently in their vans.

Originally McDormand was thinking of teaching these nomads how to act, but instead she and fellow actor David Strathairn embedded themselves with them, which makes Nomadland a kind of docu-drama. And it won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress in the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.

Many scenes show the vastness of the country

McDormand throws herself completely in the role of Fern (not based on someone in Bruder's book), a widow who used to live in Empire, Nevada, where she and her husband worked in a mining company. But it went bankrupt and Empire lost its postal code; people had to leave and go elsewhere.

She packs up some stuff and lives in her her van, and meets people like Linda who give her pointers how to be a nomad, with tips on on working at Amazon, how to manage an RV park, and later processing food or making fast food. It gives viewers an insight into what it's like to work in these low-paying jobs, some of them seasonal, and how tight money is.

The audience also gets tips on how to live in a van, including having a bucket to go to the bathroom...

When fellow transient people meet, they are all friendly and happy to share, there is hardly any competition; one gets the sense there is good energy there.

Fern drifts from job to job, and one wonders how this will end, but that's the point -- these people need to survive financially and these gigs are the only things they can get, and drive to the next one, wherever it may be.

The nomad community is kind and helpful

However, another interesting characteristic about Fern is that she is fiercely independent. She is given several opportunities to live in a house and have some security, even from her own sister, and a fellow transient guy who likes her, but Fern refuses; she would rather wander on her own and not feel obliged to others.

The cinematography of Nomadland shows the winding long roads, the vastness of the outdoor space, and how humans are so small in the country. 

Zhao is sympathetic to these nomads and it's fascinating seeing her tell their story by letting them be their authentic selves. After watching Nomadland, one wonders if they could live like these nomads, but perhaps it's not something you think about until circumstances forces you into that situation. 

It also reminds you to be kind to others, as they might literally be surviving day by day and just need a break. While it's the life they have chosen, they are just trying to live life on their own terms, which makes them happy.

Nomadland (2020)

Written and directed by Chloe Zhao

108 minutes

Picture of the Day: Spring has Sprung

Bumblebees already here in Vancouver

You know it's spring already in Vancouver when you spy a bumblebee rolling around in a crocus...

iPods are Rad Again

Remember the iPod?

Gen Z have been embracing vinyl and cassettes, point-and-shoot cameras, and ditching smartphones for "dumbphones" -- ones without apps or the ability to go online. 

This trend is called Newtro, the revival of retro cultural artefacts in young people's quest to get away from algorithms and technology harvesting as much information from users as possible.

And now Gen Z have recently discovered iPods.

Remember those? 

You could rip CDs and store all the songs in there, along with nascent podcasts that hardly had any sound effects and rough editing, and listen to them on headphones connected to the jack. iPods were a massive step up from Walkmans (cassettes) and Discmans (CDs).

The rest of us have our iPods stuffed in the back of our drawers collecting dust, but these music gadgets can go for as much as $300 these days.

This is my iPod Touch from 2008. I believe it's the first generation.

I actually won it in a lucky draw from Time Out Beijing, otherwise I probably would not have bought it.

But it was so useful in bringing music I wanted to listen to at the gym, and later in Hong Kong listening to podcasts or relaxing music on long commutes.

It could also had internet access, but the memory capacity is so low, you can hardly do anything with it online.

However back then it was just one step away from the iPhone...

Hong Kong's A Symphony of Lights Bids Farewell

The 15-minute light show at the HKCEC

I was surprised to discover Hong Kong's 8pm "A Symphony of Lights" show has been running for 22 years! No wonder it was... not good.

At the appointed time, there's lasers and lights shining from various rooftops from buildings in Central, Admiralty and Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, and in Tsim Sha Tsui and West Kowloon on Kowloon side for about 15 minutes. There's music that goes with it, but you can only hear it if you are near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and the Avenue of Stars.  

The lasers created a Star Wars effect

During the Covid-19 pandemic, after dinner, I would walk from Kennedy Town to get to the Convention Centre on time so that I could listen to the music. That's how exciting my evenings were, since restaurants were closed by 6pm. Bars, movie theatres, karaoke lounges had all shut down. 

While the lights and lasers give a kind of Star Wars effect, it gets old, really fast.

So it was a relief to hear the light show will finally get revamped.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said the new show will feature 3D projections and various themes.

"Over the past 20 years, A Symphony of Lights has been optimised and updated many times, but relying solely on laser performances from buildings has become somewhat insufficient," she said.

"After gathering feedback over the past year, we have decided not to allocate resources for major modifications to it."

But A Symphony of Lights won't be slinking away right away -- Law promises there will be special farewell events to mark the end of the show that started back in 2004.

She suggested the new light show would be theme-based, such as Halloween and Mid-Autumn Festival to maximise effect, and would not be shown daily to encourage people to come out to watch it.

Good intentions, we will be keen on seeing what the government comes up with...