Paris - Supersized Croissants

Care for a super-sized croissant with your cafe au lait?

Before going to Paris I had seen videos of influencers going to a French cafe and ordering a massive croissant with their (relatively tiny) cup of cafe au lait.

They gingerly held the super-sized pastry so that one of the horns could be dunked into the milky coffee. 

These XXL-sized croissants are 35 euros each

Was this for real?

It was, because we stepped into Galeries Lafayette Gourmet (a whole building just dedicated to food), and one of the stalls for pastry chef Philippe Conticni had these giant croissants priced at 35 euros. A regular sized one is 3 euros.

The XXL-sized croissant was sitting nonchalantly on the counter, though there were signs telling people not to touch it. And yes it was massive.

Behind the glass showcase were regular-sized pastries next to "big pain au chocolat" which was almost 15 euros, while the "big croissant" was almost 13 euros. They both said "big" in English so there was no mistake.

These weren't as large as the super-sized ones, but still three times the size of a regular pastry.

"Big" croissants and pain au chocolat for sale too

During our short visit to this stall there were more curious onlookers than buyers...

Paris - The Story Behind Pagoda Paris

Pagoda Paris is now a private gallery

Many of the apartment blocks in Paris were designed by Baron Georges Eugene Haussmann, who had a hand in gentrifying the city, building public works like water and sewers, train stations, and boulevards. The limestone apartment buildings are uniform in size and had standard layouts.

That makes this curious Chinese-style building near Parc Monceau stick out even more. 

The wooden gate and green tiled roof

Not only is it red in colour, but has a jade green tiled roof with mythical animals perched on top, and carved wooden window frames.

It's called Pagoda Paris and was the home and gallery of Chinese antiques dealer Ching Tsai Loo (1880-1957). The building was originally a townhouse and then Loo bought it in 1925 and had it refurbished.

It's now a private museum, and I contacted Pagoda Paris to see if we could arrange a time to visit, but were told it was closed for renovations.

While Loo is known for introducing western collectors to Chinese and Asian art, his reputation was later mired in controversy because of how he illegally obtained these items, some of which were considered state treasures.

Here's the quick bio: Loo is originally from Huzhou, 300km west of Shanghai. He was orphaned at the age of 10 and as a teenager went to Nanxun, where he worked for a successful merchant named Zhang Baoshan. Zhang's son, Zhang Renjie was appointed to the Chinese embassy in France and Loo followed him to Paris in 1902. Few Chinese were living there at the time.

Zhang's family had a Chinese goods import company, and he would obtain Chinese antiques to sell; he would later return to China and financially support Chiang Kai-shek.

Loo was a controversial collector and dealer

When Loo first arrived, he wore traditional Chinese robes and a queue, but soon transformed, wearing western clothes and short hair. He called himself Cheng Tsai Loo and opened his own antiques shop, and cultivated relationships with Caucasian sinologists.

The fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 led to weak supervision of antiquities which made it relatively easy for Loo to procure items. He developed a chain of middlemen who would help him find things he might buy, sourced from impoverished families, imperial tombs and monasteries. Loo soon developed a reputation for selling out China to Europeans and Americans for his own profit.

World War I stopped the flow of Chinese goods to Europe, but not to the United States, where collectors and museums were keen on Chinese art and antiques. Loo discovered Americans were interested in Chinese antiques when he went to New York and opened a gallery there in 1915. 

However, the boom ended with the stock market crash in 1929, but things began to ramp up again in 1941 as there were more experts in Chinese art and history. His clients included the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Freer Gallery, Fogg Museum, the Rockefellers, and Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical executive. 

He bought this building in 1925

But once the Communists took over China in 1949, Loo was cut off from his sources, and some of his associates were arrested, and his nephew, who was his agent in China, fled to Hong Kong. Eventually Loo had to liquidate his stock. He tried to salvage his integrity, by stating that if those objects were not removed from the country, they would have been destroyed. 

After Loo died at the age of 77 in 1957, Pagoda Paris fell into disrepair, and it wasn't until 2010 when a private French investor bought it and turned it into a gallery and events space. Loo was survived by his French wife and four daughters. 

Paris - Paying Homage to Monet in Giverny

The pond features a Japanese bridge, very photogenic

Visiting Claude Monet's home and garden in Giverny, France, is a magical experience. The massive garden is most impressive, filled with all kinds of flowers, from roses to irises, dahlias, tulips, sunflowers, wisteria and on and on... you can't help but be in awe of such a place. It's kind of an organised chaos.

Then the pond with the waterlilies, complete with the Japanese bridge helps you immediately see why Monet painted his famous waterlily paintings.

Monet's house is painted pink with green shutters

He lived at this house for 43 years, from 1883 until his death in 1926. 

I visited his home over 10 years ago and was so transfixed by the experience that I promised myself I had to come back if I had the chance.

So when I found out we were going to Paris, Giverny was definitely on the list.

The first time I went was part of a tour, and the tour bus took us directly there. So this time we were on our own and I did a bit of research, as Giverny is about a one hour away by train from Paris. There are a few blog posts explaining the process, which is pretty straight forward.

First check the train schedule, and we took the 10.12am train from Gare Saint Lazare to Giverny. 

I bought the tickets online, but it was quite a hassle to figure out how to scan the QR code for us to pass through the turnstile! Nevertheless, it was eventually sorted and we got on the train.

One of the rooms upstairs in the house

An hour later we got off the train found a mini electric open-air train in front of the station with a woman selling 10 euro return tickets per person to get us to Monet's home. It turns out her tour is 20 minutes, winding around some other landmarks, whereas a giant coach can take tourists to the house in half the time.

After we were dropped off at the parking lot, we still needed to walk another 15 minutes through the small village to the actual house. I bought timed tickets (12pm) ahead of time so we were able to go straight in (along with a lot of other people).

First up -- the house. There was a long line to get in, and it took a while for it to move because visitors were excited to take pictures of the first room, the gallery, which was filled floor to ceiling with paintings and photographs. 

The house, painted pink with a green trim, is large for 10 people, as Monet and his second wife Alice Hoschede-Monet had a total of eight children from previous marriages. While the gallery is quite large, as well as the bright sunny kitchen in yellow, the bedrooms are actually quite small.

A large stove with a beautiful tiled backsplash

Visitors can also see Monet's fascination for Orientalism, or things Japanese in particular, with Japanese prints in the kitchen -- including one of a women's bath house -- and others sprinkled around the home. There are also two ceramic sleeping Siamese cats.

However it's the garden that's much more interesting! The flowers are so photogenic, everywhere you look you can easily compose a nice photo. Some influencers are wearing dresses to take selfies.

The pond and waterlilies are in another area, which entails going through an underground passageway leading to a large pond surrounded by greenery, including large stalks of bamboo. Everyone flocks to the Japanese bridge, which is covered in green wisteria leaves; could you imagine when the wisteria flowers are in bloom? 

Off to the side of the house is where the gift shop is, and it does a brisk business selling all kinds of things Monet, from photography books to children's books about the artist, colouring books, scarves, T-shirts, and jewellery.

One can easily picture Monet painting this scene

We had to hurry through the gift shop because we had to catch the 1.40pm shuttle back to the village in order to get the 2.52pm train back to Paris. It's a pity there isn't another train after 3pm -- it doesn't come until around 5pm.

One tip we discovered is not to go on a Sunday -- almost all the restaurants in the area are closed! We managed to find one enterprising restaurant serving mostly pasta and pizza that was open. The pizzas we ordered were freshly made and delicious. 

Many other people who were at Monet's house the same time as us were catching the same train back. 

Nevertheless we arrived back in Paris around 4pm, invigorated and inspired by Monet's garden!

Claude Monet's home

84 rue Claude Monet

27620 Giverny

Paris - Sensational French-Chinese Cuisine

The signature roast duck was a showstopper on the table

Chef Samuel Lee has lived in Paris for over 10 years. He was the head chef of Shang Palace, the fine dining Chinese restaurant at the Shangri-La Paris, which earned a Michelin star during his tenure.

After a decade, Lee wanted to continue living in the French capital but open his own restaurant, creating dishes that paired with wines.

Crispy shrimp croquettes with spicy mayo

The result is SENsation, with Sen a play off of the Mandarin pronunciation of his Chinese name, meaning forest.

I had interviewed him about his restaurant when he opened it last February and found it very intriguing when he described the various dishes on the menu.

So when I knew I was coming to Paris, I immediately booked a table to try his food. 

Sensation is tucked in a residential area in Le Marais, so it's very casual and Lee himself greets us wearing a T-shirt under an apron, while his other chefs in the small kitchen are wearing chef jackets.

We were the first party to arrive just after 7pm, but soon after we sat down, other tables were occupied; by 8pm the restaurant was full.

Mapo tofu, char siu, meagre, and fried rice

The restaurant interior has character, some walls are not finished, the wall by the kitchen has a wooden bookshelf with books and Chinese knick knacks, by the entrance is a Tang dynasty print and above it is the slogan in Chinese roughly translated as "keep the wine flowing."

We started off with some appetisers, shrimp croquettes, crispy and light, with Lee's pairing of spring rolls with finely shaved Comte cheese. He explained it was kind of a riff off of a croque Monsieur, with the cheese melting on top.

The cheese didn't exactly melt, but we thought it was an interesting idea. Same goes for the roast pork marinated not in a sauce made with Chinese rose wine, but Cognac! The char siu was a bit on the tough side (not fatty enough), but had the lingering Cognac flavour and woody finish.

We also had a small bowl with one wonton in a consomme that was like a warm hug.

Sweet "guo ba" and mango cream

Next came the signature roast duck dish called "I am not a Beijing duck!" It was a beautifully roasted half portion French bird with the crispiest skin and tender meat underneath. It came with thin steamed pancakes and julienne of cucumber and scallions. Absolutely delicious, with no fat stuck to the skin.

Mapo tofu heated things up with Sichuan peppercorns, chillis, minced beef and mushrooms, while fried rice featured plump shrimps and bits of char siu. We also enjoyed the steamed meagre, perfectly cooked, and had a topping of not only cilantro, but also fennel.

Craving cooked vegetables, we had a plate of stir-fried mixed greens like choi sum, cabbage and bean sprouts with goji berries.

We somehow managed to finish everything and found room in our stomachs to try two desserts, chilled mango cream with pomelo and tapioca, and the sweet version of "guo ba", with a caramelised rice pudding with crispy rice and ice cream.

When we praised Lee for the quality of the food, he humbly said it was all about getting the freshest ingredients. He said the restaurant was about offering simple dishes, and with so many Chinese restaurants in Paris, he wanted to stand out through getting the best ingredients.

Chef Lee in casual 

And with that, our gourmet experience at Sensation was over and our tummies sated, we waddled back to the hotel, savouring the incredible meal we just had.

SENsation

32 rue Saint-Maur

75011, Paris, France

+33 1 40 31 32 24

Paris - Cloud of Mist the Bourse de Commerce

A large cloud forms out of water mist in the rotunda

For our first day in Paris started with blue skies and temperatures in the low 20s. We made our way to the Palais Royal, and from there walked to the Bourse de Commerce (Commodities Exchange), which holds the Pinault Collection.

We were lucky to catch the tail end of the Fujiko Nakaya show -- the only thing going on at the Bourse de Commerce.

Visitors being enveloped in the cloud

The 93-year-old Japanese artist is best know for her fog sculptures. They aren't sculptures per se, but art installations, where water droplets are spewed into the air and create cloud-like formations. In this case it is called "Cloud #07156."

Visitors had to wait in line before being allowed to enter the circular space designed by Tadao Ando. On the floor are rows of grates on the floor in the middle shaped like a square, and they are timed to shoot out the water droplets that move from one side of the room to the other, enveloping people in the mist as they sit.

After a few of these sprayings, which is exactly the same as water mists sprayed on vegetables in the supermarket, visitors are invited to stand up and take pictures, but not to stand too close to the grates.

Ando's design contrasts the building 

The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes. It was quite the experience to be enveloped in this way, and it reminded me of when I saw the Ryuchi Sakamoto exhibition in Tokyo, where the courtyard was filled with mist!

Interestingly, the fog sculpture don't seem to affect the paintings above it. They are four paintings by four different artists, depicting the trade France had with different countries and continents, like Asia, North America, Russia and the Mediterranean.

None of the artists had been to all these places, so they were stereotypical depictions of the people represented. The paintings were all painted on canvas before they were glued onto the circular wall.

The Bourse de Commerce has an interesting history in itself all the way to today.

Built in 1763-1767, the circular building was originally used to house grain, and later became a marketplace for residents to buy and sell food stuffs. It was an open air interior courtyard that was later enclosed with a wooden dome, one of the largest of its kind in Europe.

But in 1802 a fire destroyed the dome and it was later replaced with a copper frame with glass.

The paintings above depict trade with continents

In 1854 the Bourse de Commerce became a commodities exchange, buying and selling items like wheat, rye, oats, flour, sugar, oil, and alcohol. But then in 1998 with the ushering in of the age of the internet, market activity ended in the building, and was left abandoned.

In 2016, the then Mayor of Paris, Anne Hildago, offered Francois Pinault, one of the richest men in France, a 50-year lease of the Bourse de Commerce for his art collection for 15 million euros and yearly fees, to fund the renovation of the building, which was finally opened in 2021.

Pinault chose Japanese architect Tadao Ando to design a massive concrete cylinder inside the building at the cost of US$170 million. It was quite controversial because why did concrete cost that much and what would happen to the integrity of the building?

The double spiral staircase

But it turns out it's quite interesting, smooth concrete that has holes in it to display works of art, and down below in the basement level is a small auditorium where visitors can watch videos or presentations.

Bourse de Commerce

2 rue de Viarmes

75001 Paris

Portugal - Desserts are Seriously Sweet

Pastel de feijao was a fantastic dessert made with white bean

Outside of Portugal, the country is best known for its pastel de nata, the flaky egg tart with a caramelised egg custard. We tried two or three of them in different bakeries and they weren't exceptionally good. 

They were made for gullible tourists like us, or had been sitting around on the pastry showcase for a while and losing their crispiness by the hour.

Typical croissant found in many cafes

Nevertheless, during our one-week stay in Porto and the Douro Valley, we sampled a few other treats. And yes, the Portuguese love their sweets. A lot of them look a bright yellow or orange, thanks to the amount of eggs in the desserts.

In cafes, the croissants are more brioche than layers of flakiness like French ones which was pretty disappointing, and are on the sweet side. 

Another somewhat bready dessert is bolo rei or king cake, which looks like a Portuguese version of Christmas cake that is eaten year-round and sold in pastry shops. It isn't dense like the English one filled with dried fruit and rum, but is round and made in a kind of bundt cake mould, with fruits and nuts inside, and then topped with copious amounts of powdered icing sugar.

However, we did try one nice tart called pastel de feijao, or white bean tart. We were surprised to hear about the beans in this dessert, and the man behind the pastry counter at Petulia assured us it was a local dessert we had to try.

Bolo rei, or king cake at Petulia

The one we had had several layers of flaky pastry, and inside was a filling of ground almonds and white bean puree. You can't taste the bean at all, which tempers the sweetness, and is strong textural contrast to the pastry.

We really enjoyed this tart, which helped counter our belief that all desserts in Portugal were super sweet!

Portugal - Picturesque Douro Valley

Stunning views of the Douro Valley and River from a hillside

We've just spent the last three days in the Douro Valley, about 100 kilometres east of Porto, and it's been quite the trip.

It's a magical place, with the Douro River snaking through the steep hills and valleys that are terraced, growing lots of grapes for wine, and fruits like raspberries, figs and passionfruit.

They also grow large leafy vegetables like cabbage and collared greens to make the well-known caldo verde, a hearty soup made with finely sliced kale, potatoes, carrots and some slices of chorizo for seasoning.

The hillsides are terraced mostly with grapes

However, getting there requires nerves of steel behind the wheel as the roads are not only winding, but also very narrow, and cars can be speeding along and sometimes veering into the opposite lane without any shoulder as a buffer!

This morning we were on a side road turning onto a highway, but we could not see the oncoming car on the left, who slowed down just in time as we made a fast left turn out of the way. That really woke us up!

When vehicles followed close behind us, we would slow down and let them pass us, as we were only going 50km/h to 60km/h.

Following GPS navigation, some directions called for sharp turns that went up or down steep hills. 

And at night there can be long stretches of the road without any street lights let alone reflectors! Perhaps the good thing is that there aren't many cars on the road at night so if you miss a turn you can back up -- there is no room to do a U-turn!

Massive boulder on top of a hill!

Nevertheless, we found some interesting sights. The other day we came across some massive boulders on the top of a hill. The area is set up for barbecues with a barbecue pit sitting empty, and some stone picnic tables around. 

There are several of these huge boulders, but the biggest of them seems to be standing upright, as if a giant just placed them there like rocks he had played with.

Down below we reached the river, where the rich keep their boats, and the water there was so calm.

But most of the picturesque sites we saw were pastoral scenes, watching farmers harvest grapes for wineries, terraced hillsides attached to villas of varying sizes, and traditional to ultra modern minimalist.

We stayed in a small quinta, or estate that grows some grapes, and has rooms in a large house. Breakfast is laid out in the dining area, very homey, with homemade jams and jellies, freshly picked pears, passionfruit and grapes.

Once you've shaken off the stress of driving the winding roads, it's a relaxing place to chill and enjoy the scenery.

Portugal - The Perfect Hangover Sandwich

The Francesinha is a must-have sandwich in Porto

Check out this monster of a sandwich! 

It's called Francesinha, or "little French girl" in Portuguese. It's a substantial pick-me-up after partying all night -- which is what they do in Portugal! People can be seen staggering out of night clubs at dawn...

This sandwich (eaten with a knife and fork) is originally from Porto and in between two slices of toasted bread are a slice of roast steak, cured ham, and sausages that are cut lengthwise. The sandwich is then covered in melted cheese, topped with a fried egg, and then doused in a tomato and beer sauce called molho de francesinha. Many versions are also served with potato chips.

Four of us tackled this sandwich and after eating one-quarter of it, we were already half full!

Portugal - Mercado do Bolhao

The ground floor of Mercado do Bolhao in Porto

If something is too good to be true, it probably is. 

Even when you're on holiday.

On the suggestion of a waiter working at the restaurant we ate at last night, we checked out Mercado do Bolhao, about a 15-minute walk from where we are staying.

The "lobster tail" before we tried it

It's a food market place that has a covered courtyard filled with stalls selling fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood, as well as conservas, or tinned seafood, pastries, coffee, sandwiches and chocolate.

At one seafood stall we saw big, red plump lobster tails, which is how it was labelled. They were 5 euros each. 

Really?! Lobster tails for 5 euros only?

My aunt was so excited she wanted to buy one to try.

But when we got our small wooden prongs to poke it, we could see right away it wasn't the juicy meat of the crustacean, but instead some kind of fish cake made to look like lobster tail.

Scam of the day -- at 9.30am.

Lots of colourful fruits for sale

But we didn't let that bother us, and we bought some other food to try, like thinly sliced Iberico pork, small meat pies including wild boar and beef stew, mushrooms on toast, melted cheese, and grilled halloumi, eaten with a loaf of bread and some coffee (to combat jetlag).

We enjoyed ourselves so much, that the couple next to us were jealous the six of us could sample so many things!

The market has washrooms, though there aren't many, and there's even a piano on the third floor inviting visitors to tinkle the ivories.

Mercado do Bolhao was established in 1838, and the current building was built in 1917. What's interesting is that the market has three floors, each floor has a street entrance, as it's located on a hill. The bottom floor is the actual market, second floor has a few open stalls selling handmade jewellery, clothing, bags and ceramics, while the third floor houses three restaurants.

Some of what we ate for brunch

We were so full afterwards we weren't even hungry until around 5pm despite walking so much around Porto!

Portugal - Toucinho do Ceu

Toucinho do ceu, meaning "bacon from heaven"

Everyone knows about pastel de nata, or Portuguese egg tart that is also famous in Macau with a caramelised top. But there are many other desserts and treats, and now that we've landed in Porto, we're definitely going to sample many different kinds!

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Alibi where we sampled "pots", or mini Dutch ovens filled with stewed cod fish with potatoes and rice, tender beef chunks with mined chorizo and fava beans, and two salads, one with slices of smoked duck Magret, the other with Sao Jorge cheese.

Dark chocolate cake with raspberries, blackberries

For dessert, we tried a chocolate brownie cake, thankfully not to sweet or rich, and a Portuguese almond cake called toucinho do ceu, literally "bacon from heaven."

It is actually a gluten-free cake, as it uses ground almonds and no flour, some eggs, sugar and butter.

First sugar is melted with water in a large pan, and then the blanched ground almonds are added and mix it as it cooks a bit, making the mixture a bit thicker. Take the pan off the heat and add butter that has already been melted, preferably to the point where it has a nutty flavour.

Mix them up well before adding beaten eggs, as well as orange zest and amaretto. Then the batter is poured into a pan that has been buttered then add parchment paper that has butter and flour to prevent the cake from sticking.

It is then baked at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. When it's done, turn it upside down, remove the parchment paper and let it cool. Then sprinkle icing sugar on top.

The version at Alibi included a scoop of tangerine sorbet that helped cut the sweetness of the cake.

Don't know why it is called toucinho do ceu, but there is a version of small tarts that have bits of bacon in them...

Haidilao the Supermarket Edition

If you're craving for hotpot on a budget, this is the solution

If you're hankering for hot pot, but don't have the requisite pot and a heating element, not to worry! Haidilao, the famous global hotpot chain has the answer.

Spotted at T&T Supermarket, which specialises in Asian food, Haidilao sells a giant plastic bowl with ingredients, soup base, and sauces -- and it self-heats too! For C$25.97.

Watched an Instagram video of a woman who bought one of these hotpot kits, opened it up and there is a plastic "pot" divided into two sections. One is tomato flavoured soup with plant-based luncheon meat, the other mala soup base.

She emptied all the packets, including ingredients, noodles and soup bases according to the two flavours and added water. Then she added water and the self-heating packs, which very quickly started to generate steam!

The hot pot got so hot that the fire alarm in her apartment kept going off and she had to take it outside.

It's a huge portion for even two people! 

Wonder how it tastes... but if you're desperate, it would probably suffice in a pinch?

History Lesson About Pacific Spirit Park

Walking in Pacific Spirit Park

Several times a week I walk in Pacific Spirit Park, which covers 860 hectares, with 55km of trails, but didn't know much about the history of it until last week. 

Ryan Regier of the Pacific Spirit Park Society gave a talk recently to some neighbourhood residents and I sat in on most of the presentation.

Douglas Fir trees are second growth

He first showed a news video of the park's official opening on April 23, 1989, with then Premier Bill Vander Zalm and his wife Lillian booed by the Musqueam people, who inhabited this land long before Europeans settled in British Columbia, but had no say about the park, let alone its name.

It didn't seem like Vander Zalm thought to consult the Musqueam, or assumed they would use the land to build casinos, and thought he would pre-empt them by declaring the area a provincial park.

As Regier tells it, trees there used to be some of the tallest in the world before settlers came; it's because the Musqueam would only harvest the bark, and then the trees would grow back the bark and become bigger.

However, after the Europeans arrived in the 1850s, they saw the forest and by the 1890s chopped down all the Douglas Fir trees in what is now the park and used the wood to build most of the houses in Vancouver. Those trees were known as the old growth forest, and the ones standing today are called second growth, which are quite tall, but very skinny.

The park covers 860 hectares

An interesting fact is the Musqueam were living in the area for at least 5,000 years, if not up to 8,000 years ago. Camosun Bog gives us a good idea of what happened to the forest because the trees develop pollen, which falls into the bog and kind of like glacier ice, you can analyse what trees existed in the forest over time. How cool is that?

There are still some old growth trees left, but they are standing on the cliff above Wreck Beach, not the best place for them to flourish.

Regier says when the loggers chopped down trees, they would pour kerosene over the blade as a lubricant... not surprisingly it caused many fires in the forest! There was a large forest fire in 1919 that burned one-quarter of the park, and thankfully because of Camosun Bog, it stopped the fire from spreading to the residential area nearby.

The bog used to be quite large, but then when the University of British Columbia was building Sedgewick Library (now Koerner Library), the dirt that was dug up for the below ground library was dumped in Camosun Bog!

There is a group of volunteers called "crazy boggers" who are trying to restore the bog every Saturday  morning for two hours. 

Mostly Douglas Fir in the forest

It's great to see so many people love the park like me (perhaps much more!) and that we have a common goal of preserving it as naturally as possible.

The Art of Thin Rice Noodles

Lobster stir-fried with Chan's village rice noodles

Earlier this week we were treated to dinner at Dynasty Seafood Restaurant and one of the dishes we had was stir-fried lobster with Chan's village rice noodles, or 陈村粉.

When the dish arrived at the table, it looked impressive at first, but then we noticed the wide, thin rice noodles were clumped together which was a pity.

Perhaps a novice cook had attempted to make these noodles; they should be steamed for a few minutes first to warm them up, which makes it easier to separate without tearing.

The rice noodles clumped together

Then the lobster is cooked separately, and the leftover sauce left to cook the noodles, which needed to be folded with chopsticks, not chopped up with a wok spatula.

It's a pity ours were bunched together, and so not all the noodles were marinated in the sauce.

Nevertheless, it was probably my first time trying these rice noodles that were almost translucent and hopefully not the last!

Tribute to Kusama, Queen of Dots

Kusama brightened our lives with dots

The Japanese contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama passed away on Thursday at the age of 97 in a hospital in Tokyo. 

We were just reeling after the death of country singer Dolly Parton when news of Kusama was announced, though she died on August 14.

Many fans went onto social media to post pictures of themselves posing with Kusama's giant polka dotted yellow pumpkin on Naoshima Island, between the main islands of Honshu and Shikouku.

Her pumpkin on Naoshima Island

I have seen her smaller sculptures at Art Basel in Hong Kong, but in May this year I was able to experience one of her installations at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.

Entitled Infinity Mirrored Room -- Let's Survive Together limits a maximum of four people at a time, with only a minute in the room. Once you walk inside there are lots of shiny silver balls in a mirrored room, which makes it look endless, but is actually quite small.

In the middle is a hole you look through, and that too is infinity.

And your 60 seconds are up.

Since she was young she had hallucinations of seeing dots everywhere, and portrayed the world she saw in this way. Kusama seemed to have a penchant for wavy tentacles, voluptuous pumpkins, and balls. Lots of balls and dots.

When I first read about Kusama I was surprised to find she lived in a mental hospital, but perhaps it was easier for her to live this way, having others look after her while she just focused on her art?

It seems sad that her parents didn't appreciate her artistic potential -- they were more focused on getting her married off, something she completely detested. 

The mirrored room in the Art Gallery of Ontario

According to Wikipedia, her father was a womaniser, and Kusama's mother made her daughter spy on his affairs, which instilled a contempt for sex, and in particular men's sexual organs. Imagine how traumatic it must have been to deal with adult issues as a little girl!

Her parents' inability to accept Kusama for who she was only made her more determined to pursue art in the United States and went to New York.

While there she was poor and living in obscurity, though Kusama persisted in her vision of polka dot motifs, and eventually was noticed. Many liked the accessibility of her work, which was not pop art, nor splashing paint onto canvases like Jackson Pollock. She established her own style and stuck with it her whole career.

Interestingly she befriended artists like Andy Warhol and Georgia O'Keeffe, though Kusama returned to Japan in 1973 after living in New York for 15 years.

She found success with her mirrored room in the Japanese pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1993, and later collaborated with fashion brands like Louis Vuitton thanks to Marc Jacobs, and even established her own fashion brand in 1968 called Kusama Fashion Company Limited.

I admire her wholehearted devotion to art that never strayed from her motifs like polka dots. She was dotty to the end.

Missing Dolly Parton

On Tuesday it was such a shock to hear the news that Dolly Parton had died at the age of 80. She was such a force of good underneath that towering head of blonde hair, and buxom figure, walking around in high heels and long acrylic nails.

I didn't understand her look, which she joked cost a lot of money to look cheap, but she has said in several interviews she loved to dress up, and that was her idea of beauty.

She was the fourth of 12 children, their father a farmer who was poor and they lived in a one-room cabin in rural Tennessee with no running water. Is it any wonder she thought that dressing up was glamorous?

Parton was never ashamed of her lowly background either. In fact she was proud of her father who she said was illiterate, but very smart. It was because of him that she started the Imagination Library, where children who are enrolled receive a book each month from their birth until they enter kindergarten.

Some people on social media have thanked Parton for giving them books to read. One journalist thanked her for the books, and she graciously accepted the praise.

We cannot forget that during the Covid-19 pandemic, she donated US$1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to develop what was eventually the Moderna vaccine. She gave that funding at a critical time and got a dose of her own medicine in March 2021 with a jab.

She donated money to victims of wildfires in 2016, and Hurricane Helene, giving them money every month for several months to help them get back on their feet.

Her sunny attitude was irrepressible. She always had something nice to say about everyone, and was quick to make fun of herself. One time she was in Los Angeles and heard about a Dolly Parton lookalike drag queen contest and secretly signed up. 

She said that she slightly exaggerated her look, with bigger red lips and a bigger mole and sashayed on stage, but got the least applause. The winner? A man. And she had a hoot.

We miss Parton dearly for bringing rays of sunshine into the world and setting an example to others of how to use their money for good. Despite all the donations she made, and spending on outlandish costumes, she still leaves behind a US$500 million fortune which ain't shabby at all.

Parton worked hard all her life and deserves her beauty rest.

Thank you Dolly! We will always love you.

Premier Ford Trades Barbs with Trump

Ford hit back at Trump, telling him to "kiss my ass"

About 24 hours after news of Canada walking away from the trade talks with the United States, President Donald Trump weighed in on social media (of course).

"Canada wants the benefits of being a State, without being one!!!" he wrote on Truth Social.

"They have also charged our great farmers, for many years, massive amounts of tariffs." No more!!!"

It wasn't the fiery rhetoric that he blasts off -- quite muted in fact, given such a long time lag from when the trade talks collapsed. It's not like there was a time difference either!

But today he began trading barbs with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, after he said the president could "kiss his ass."

While he was in Hamilton, Ontario to announce tariff relief packages, Trump posted a message on his social media account, comparing Ford to his brother, the late Rob Ford.

Trump wrote that Doug Ford was "better known as the less charismatic, intelligent, and overall unimpressive brother of the late great Rob Ford."

The president went on to say that "America has been carrying Canada for decades, but no longer! The U.S.A. will always be far bigger, richer, and stronger than Canada."

It's such a strange comparison, as Rob Ford was an alcoholic and drug addict, and his time as Mayor was erratic to say the least.

Nevertheless, Doug Ford commented on Trump's accusation, saying, "I don't respond to a dictator like President Trump, a bully like President Trump."

Ford continued, "I'm not going to take any advice from the king of bankruptcies, and he's actually tariffing his own people, taxing his own people."

The premier seems to revel in his verbal jousts with the president that gain media attention. 

But trading insults isn't a productive way to get both sides back to the negotiating table... 

PM Carney Sheds Light on Unfair Trade Deal

Carney explains why Canada walked away from the trade deal

Tonight in Vancouver there are flashes of light and then the ominous loud crack of thunder can be heard outside as the rain is pouring down tonight. 

It's been a long day that started this morning with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressing the nation about why the country walked away from negotiating a trade deal with the United States, and that it's time to buckle up for a trade war.

"We cannot accept what they've offered, and we will not give what they've asked," he said, adding the US 'asked too much and offered too little.'

Carney also revealed the US had issues with Canada's subsidies for French culture, the prevalence of French-language media online and even the federal requirement to have bilingual labels on products sold in Canada.

"It was unacceptable right from the start, but the Americans kept trying and trying and we said no," the prime minister said. "Ultimately it's simple. That was never on the table for Canada and it would not have been acceptable to Canadians."

For the auto industry, the Americans demanded to treat Canadian-made parts unfairly and to exempt some cars and pick-up trucks from US tariffs, but not others without any explanation.

The US also expected to determine Canada's trade deals with other nations.

"The US introduced, in the last hours, efforts to restrict our ability to have other trade deals," Carney said. "Because we believe in free trade, we're the partner of choice, in many respects, for countries around the world, and Americans wanted to restrict that, they had language to restrict that. Unacceptable."

Perhaps he was referring to Canada striking a trade deal with China worth $3 billion, where 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles will be allowed into the country, along with lower tariffs for canola oil, and seafood like lobsters and crabs into the Middle Kingdom.

But anyway -- why would Canada allow the US -- or rather Donald Trump -- decide who it trades with?

As Toronto Star columnist Justin Ling told CBC Radio today, what the US was doing was basically extortion.

Carney also noted that the US sometimes signs trade deals "in pencil," a hint that it is negotiating in bad faith.

Despite the financial hardships that will come -- layoffs and more money flowing out of wallets -- Canadians seem to be more patriotic than ever. The slogan "Elbows Up" continues to resonate across the country, with all politicians, federally and provincially on board.

As British Columbia Premier David Eby said today, "There is no question that there will be economic pain associated with this, there already is," he said. "But it is necessary to stand up to a bully, and if you don't, they'll just keep coming back for more."

Interestingly, Trump hasn't responded at all to the trade deal collapse. Did he think he had it in the bag?