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Cucumber and zucchini from a neighbour |
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Picture of the Day: Feeding the Neighbourhood
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Vancouver Art Gallery's Financial Woes on Show
Strangled by Growth, by Emily Carr, 1931 |
Sans titre, by Riopelle, 1950 |
Untitled (Toothpicks), Tara Donovan |
Monday, August 4, 2025
Labubu's Panda-monium Promotes Hong Kong
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Yeoh posing with her special edition Labubu with twin pandas |
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Jia Jia and De De were born in Hong Kong |
Sunday, August 3, 2025
Canadian Victoria Mboko Stuns Coco Gauff in Montreal
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Mboko excited with her stunning upset over No. 1 seed Gauff |
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Gauff (left) beat Mboko in May at Italian Open |
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Mboko in shock, crowd shouted in delight |
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Hakka Style Salt-baked Chicken
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Salt-baked chicken Hakka style at Southern Delicacy |
The other day we went to Southern Delicacy restaurant in Vancouver and tried salt baked chicken, a traditional Hakka dish.
My mother remembers her mother stir-frying coarse salt in the wok for a long time before burying a chicken wrapped in parchment paper in the salt and cooking it for about an hour.
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Chicken wrapped in parchment paper |
The one we tried was fantastic -- the meat was cooked through, but tender, juicy, and seasoned perfectly, not salty at all.
It sounds similar to Italian salt-baked cod, which isn't wrapped in parchment paper at all, though the skin acts as a barrier between the salt and fish meat.
In the case of the chicken, I looked up the recipe and it doesn't look too difficult?!
Take a raw chicken and rub Shaoxing wine on it, as well as sand ginger powder, salt and white pepper. Then let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
The next day take the chicken out and let it warm up to room temperature, tie up the legs and wrap it in parchment paper. Meanwhile get some coarse salt, the same weight as the bird, and in a clean wok, stir-fry the salt for about 15 minutes over medium heat, until the salt turns light brown.
Have a Dutch oven ready and pour some of that salt in there, add the wrapped chicken and then cover it with the rest of the salt.
Wrapped chicken in coarse salt |
The chicken should be done by then.
Some recipes suggest the presentation of the chicken should be deboned, while others, including the restaurant, serve it chopped with bones attached.
Friday, August 1, 2025
Backlash Ends Plan to Move Sculpture by Granville Bridge
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Trans Am Rapture used to stand near Science World |
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Birds liked to flock at the public art sculpture |
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The art work was supposed to move to this spot |
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Picture of the Day: Bizarre Bench Bump
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A "bench bump" on the Granville Street Bridge |
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
Indigenous Art Statement
Yesterday we visited the Vancouver Art Gallery, and one of the exhibitions on now is called Postcards from the Heart: Selections from the Brigitte and Henning Freybe Collection. The Freybes are art collectors who began this expensive hobby in the 1970s, and continue to today.
It's an eclectic mix of artists, the ones shown were mostly Canadian.
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Skeleton of a whale made from plastic chairs |
At first glance it looks like a totem pole, but upon inspecting it closer, the work is made of golf bags.
Several years ago his work was exhibited at the VAG, where he took everyday objects and turned them into art, from plastic lawn chairs into what looked like the bones of a whale, and taking Nike shoes and making them into striking Indigenous masks.
BC artist Jungen is known for transforming mass-produced commercial goods into sculptures and installations.
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Indigenous mask made from Nike shoes |
For him, this recalled the Oka Crisis of 1990, where there was a land dispute prompted by the expansion of a golf course on Mohawk territory in Quebec.
His works are bold, making a strong political statement and at the same time executed flawlessly. Jungen has thought out what he wants to say in his work and makes them into exciting and fantastic art pieces which in a way is ironic in itself.
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Picture of the Day: Scallop-flavoured Chips
Pan-fried scallop-flavoured chips, anyone? |
This afternoon we had to pick up some groceries at T&T Supermarket, so my relative wandered the snack aisles while I went to stock up on some food we ran out of.
She came back with this bag of Lay's potato chips -- in scallop flavour.
Actually it's pan-fried scallop flavour. So precise.
We came home and she promptly opened the bag for us to try.
Sniffing the contents inside was a sweet seafood kind of aroma.
The thin chip also had a seafood taste, a hint of shrimp crackers, not specifically scallops.
Would we specifically buy this one? No, but it was fun to try!
Monday, July 28, 2025
Visiting Capilano Suspension Bridge
Hold on as you walk across the shaky bridge! |
Stunning views of the bridge at various points |
We learned a lot about the banana slug today |
Cliffwalk had scenic views too |
Sunday, July 27, 2025
Chinatown Meat Store Hosts Barbecue
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Chinese ham being air dried in the store |
Dollar Meat Store has been in Chinatown for 54 years and today it hosted an interesting event -- at the back of the store they set up some barbecue grills and had a chef from Michelin-starred Kissa Tanto grill some A5 wagyu beef steaks, a meat spice brand to make some Maui ribs, and showcase its own brand of Chinese sausages, and a local chilli sauce brand, Holy Duck Chili Oil.
Local brand Holy Duck Chili Oil |
We just filled out an online survey, followed Dollar Meat Store on Instagram and then we were in!
The meat was donated by Dollar Meat Store and was delicious, including prawns and scallops each wrapped in bacon, and there was coleslaw too. Drinks were provided by Maxim's Bakery, Hong Kong style milk tea, cold brew coffee, and iced lemon tea.
We tried the Hong Kong style milk tea with half the sugar added which was actually just right.
As we arrived soon after the event started at 11am there weren't too many people, so we were able to chat with people and comfortably move around in the back of the lot.
Afterwards my relative who is visiting Vancouver not only bought a pack of Chinese sausages but also two jars of chilli sauce! Win win!
It is very generous of Dollar Meat Store to invite people to come eat for free -- they could have charged admission and people would have come anyway. Nevertheless it's a great way to bring people down to Chinatown, check out the neighbourhood and support local businesses.
Bottles of Hong Kong-style milk tea |
Saturday, July 26, 2025
Shanghainese Restaurant Salty Disappointment
Eight treasure duck too salty for our tastes |
Earlier this week we went to a Shanghainese restaurant in Richmond that we'd never been to before, and won't be going back to anytime soon.
It's called Yuan's Garden Restaurant, and when we arrived we hoped it would be a suitable substitute to Suhang, a very good Shanghainese restaurant that closed recently.
Inside, the decor of Yuan's Garden is clean, tidy and contemporary; we were surprised when the waitress told me the restaurant has been around for about 10 years.
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Looks good, but tough meaty texture |
We ordered the rest of our dishes, many standard Shanghainese ones and then waited for them to arrive, while the restaurant quickly filled up.
One of the first dishes to arrive was the appetiser of ma lan tou with minced tofu. It was OK, but the vegetable was not very fresh, more on the older side so it was tougher.
Xiaolongbao is usually a good test. With eight of us we ordered two servings and they came freshly steamed. Picking it up, the dumpling looked good, the skin practically see-through as you can easily see a lot of soup inside.
The skin was thin at the bottom, thicker at the top, but the pork filling was more on the leaner side, with not enough fat to make the texture smoother. This was surprising for a Shanghainese restaurant that should know better what the ratio of meat to fat.
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Stir-fried egg white and broccoli |
Next came our pre-ordered eight treasure duck and it arrived with quite the procedure. The waitress used a knife to slice it down the middle and then along the sides to make about 10 pieces.
It looked very promising, with a moist, tender appearance, but the initial taste was salt. It was much too salty and the filling inside was not very discernible except for baby shrimps, a few lotus seeds and mushroom with the salty duck meat. Disappointing.
However, we had a bit of a reprieve from the saltiness with a hot pot filled with napa cabbage, tofu, mung bean noodles, fish balls, ham, and pig skin in a soup. We also ordered broccoli stir-fried with egg white and a raw yolk in the middle. None of us wanted to try the yolk and ate around it.
For dessert, something a bit unusual -- black sesame glutinous rice balls that were studded with crushed peanuts.
In the end the dinner was $37 per person including tip which made it great value, but quality-wise we weren't persuaded to come back again.
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A hot pot filled with ingredients |
101 - 8077 Alexandra Road
Richmond, BC
778 297 6098
Friday, July 25, 2025
Therapy Ponies Ease Pre-Flight Stress at YVR
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Magic (left) and Tinkerbell (right) with their handlers at YVR |
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Therapy llamas a Portland International Airport |
Thursday, July 24, 2025
HK Government Doesn't Entertain Benefits of Reusable Cups
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So far, Kai Tak Sports Park will be using single-use cups |
The Hong Kong government prefers using single-use cups at Kai Tak Sports Park, saying reusable plastic ones will "undermine" efforts to promote carbon reduction and resource recycling.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said that research by the park's operator compared local and overseas practices showed that using reusable plastic cups in Hong Kong would generate more carbon emissions and consume more resources.
But environmental NGO Greenpeace Hong Kong called on the authorities to consider using reusable plastic cups for sporting events like the upcoming Hong Kong Football Festival, and urged Law to look at other international sports organisations like the English Premier League, where 65 percent of clubs use reusable cups.
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Reusable cups used at HK Sevens since 2019 |
"As reusable plastic containers are not biodegradable, they do not support the plastic-free initiative and undermine Kai Tak Sports Park's efforts in promoting carbon reduction and resource circulation," she said.
"In contrast, the use of biodegradable paper cups aligns well with and makes good use of the above-mentioned waste decomposition system at Kai Tak Sports Park, leading to a better overall carbon reduction outcome."
May we point out that single-use paper cups would not decompose because they have a plastic lining on the paper so that liquids don't soak through it? Not to mention how much garbage it creates after each event?
It has been demonstrated that reusable cups at sporting events make much more sense.
A marathoner named Kristina Smithe took part in a marathon in California in 2019 and was horrified thinking about how much waste paper cups generated in one race. She calculated with 9,000 runners, some 150,000 paper cups were used once and then thrown away.
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Smithe with her reusable silicon cups at a race |
Smithe drops off the cups by the thousand, collects them after and then washes them in her proprietary dishwasher that uses less water than a household dishwasher.
While it's a bit more expensive to rent these cups, there is much less garbage accumulated and wouldn't people feel better using these reusable cups?
It was a proven concept at the Hong Kong Sevens in March. Greenpeace noted the sporting event used reusable cups from 2019 to 2024 and saw a 90 percent return rate of the containers.
Surely it's not too hard to implement at sporting events and concerts?
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Vancouver to Extend Drinking Hours
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Vancouver bars and nightclubs can extend serving drinks |
Vancouver city council has approved extending business hours of bars and pubs to as late as 4am. It is not just limited to the downtown core, but to the City of Vancouver, and business owners are elated.
These businesses can apply to extend its hours; not all bars and pubs need to do this, only if they think they can make more money from it. There are 209 licensed bars and nightclubs in Vancouver.
"This is changing the perception of 'liquor primary license" to 'vibrant gathering places' for communities to meet in real life," said Cameron Bogue, owner-operator of Mount Pleasant Vintage and Provisions, a cocktail bar disguised as a thrift shop.
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Will there be an uptick in alcohol sales? |
Not everyone is for longer hours for drinking, like Mark Lysyshyn, medical health officer, Vancouver Coastal Health.
"Increasing alcohol consumption into the late night or early morning hours is particularly risky, and the risk increases as you get later in the evening," he said.
"It's not so much that more people drink into the evening -- it's just the type of drinking that's done in that timeframe is more risky, it's more likely to result in problems," he said, referring to a risk of injuries, violence and the potential for harm to others compared to allowing earlier opening hours.
It seems counterintuitive to the trends of alcohol consumption and partying habits these days. Gen Z are drinking much less alcohol than previous generations, and people in their 30s and 40s would prefer to party during the day (again with less alcohol) than at night.
Perhaps bar and pub owners are hoping longer hours will lead to more business? It's probably marginal.
It'll be interesting to see how many bars actually apply and report back the increase in alcohol sales, and how many more incidents the Vancouver Police report in the wee hours...
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Keep Those Elbows Up
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Hoekstra said Trump says Canadians are "mean and nasty" |
Monday, July 21, 2025
Festival Funding Going up in Smoke?
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The team from Yukon lit up the skies in Vancouver last night |
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There may not be enough funding for next year |
Sunday, July 20, 2025
Blueberry Season in British Columbia
A blueberry bush can have 6,000 berries a year |
It's blueberry season in Metro Vancouver, and you can find these round dark blue gems for sale in supermarkets.
Some interesting facts about blueberries:
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Blueberries on waffles with whipped cream |
The province is the largest highbush blueberry-growing region in Canada, and one of the top blueberry producers in the world! BC exports to more than 30 countries, making blueberries Canada's most exported fruit.
Blueberries contain a lot of antioxidants, Vitamin C and fibre;
The majority of BC's blueberry farms are family-owned and operated, some for several generations;
A single blueberry bush can produce as many as 6,000 blueberries per year! BC producers more than 150 million pounds of blueberries annually. This makes the province one of the top 10 blueberry-producing regions in the world.
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A decadent homemade blueberry pie |
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Coldplay Inadvertently Exposes an Affair
If you're having an affair with someone, don't go to a Coldplay concert, as one couple was found out in Foxborough, Massachusetts the other day.
Frontman Chris Martin wanted to perform to a few select fans, and after singing a happy birthday song to one person, the camera swung to a couple, the man standing behind his date, his arms around her chest area.
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Byron and Cabot reaction as camera was on them |
But they were not married to each other.
When they realised all the attention was on them, she flew out of his arms, covered her face and turned around, while he sunk as low as he could out of the camera's range.
"Wow, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just really shy. I'm not quite sure what to do," Martin said to the crowd.
The video was posted on TikTok and immediately went viral with over 77 million views.
Meanwhile people online went to work to identify the couple as Andy Byron, the married chief executive of a tech company called Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the firm's chief people officer, or head of HR.
Needless to say there were a lot of questions around the company's water cooler in the office the next morning.
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The incident is now nicknamed "Coldplaygate" |
People wondered if Byron's wife would be launching a divorce suit.
The pair became the fodder of many morning talkshow conversations, when they had suffered more than enough humiliation.
The moral of the story is, don't go to a concert to carry on your affair, unless you want the whole world to know about it.
Friday, July 18, 2025
High Levels of E. coli in Waters off Vancouver Beaches
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Kitsilano Beach is one of several with high levels of E. coli |
Thursday, July 17, 2025
Poilievre Frustrated by Long Ballot in By-Election
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Poilievre is running in a by-election next month to win a seat |
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There might be some 200 names on the ballot |
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Race for Battle River-Crowfoot got interesting! |
Picture of the Day: Feeding the Neighbourhood
Cucumber and zucchini from a neighbour The other day I finished walking around Pacific Spirit Park and was on my way home on a street I don...

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Standing ovation for Lim at the Orpheum South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim is 20 years old and burst onto the international music scene two ye...
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Tay (bottom centre), Ho (bottom right) wanted by Hong Kong Days after the Hong Kong authorities placed a HK$1 million (C$185,000) bounty on ...
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A trio of lions performed this evening for a fundraising dinner This evening we attended the Alzheimer Society charity dinner held at Contin...