North America's 50 Best Bars Unveiled in Vancouver

Best Canadian showing was Bar Pompette No. 7

Mexico City's Handshake Speakeasy took top spot in the North America 50 Best Bars this evening, and 13 other bars in the South American country did well in the rankings.

The awards, held at JW Marriott Parq Vancouver, was held for the first time in Canada, much to the excitement of the crowd.

It is the strategy of Destination Vancouver to bring events like 50 Best Bars and Michelin to the city to present it as a culinary and cocktail destination.

New Orleans hospitality at Jewel

Botanist Bar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim got the highest ranking of Vancouver bars at No. 26, while The Keefer Bar in Chinatown wasn't far behind at 28. 

Bar Pompette from Toronto had the highest Canadian showing at No. 7, and Civil Liberties at No. 21, also from Hogtown.

The ballroom was packed with people, the members of the Best 50 wearing the signature red scarves. There was a lot of energy and love in the room, as the winners were called out there were lots of shouts and chanting of names.

Earlier in the day I attended the "Meet the Bartenders" event. Five bars were chosen to speak to media, bloggers, and probably judges(?) in a kind of speed-dating approach with the bar representatives spending 12 minutes at each station.

Jewel of the South from New Orleans landed No. 4 on the list this evening! Chris Hannah is the bartender and co-owner. The bar is located in an 1830s house in the French Quarter which gives it its southern charm. The concept here is to find drink recipes from the 1800s and adapt them to the modern era.

Hannah explained back then the cocktails were much smaller, and the first cocktails were actually served from punchbowls that later evolved into individual drinks.

Keefer Bar inspired by Chinatown

In Vancouver's Chinatown is The Keefer Bar, which opened 15 years ago and keeps some 35 cocktails on its menu that changes every three months. They get inspiration from Chinatown and check out the herbalist stores for funky ingredients like sea dragon and cordyceps. 

"We think of it as alcohol as medicine," said Amber Bruce, the beverage director at The Keefer Bar. "Elixirs made you feel better."

They have created interesting combinations like hojicha goes well with whisky and maple syrup with uji mushrooms gives it an earthy taste. 

They also support other Chinatown businesses like Kam Wai Dim Sum that makes dumplings and baos for them since they started 15 years ago.

Claudia Cabrera is the co-founder of Kaito del Valle in Mexico City that was ranked No. 40 tonight. The basic concept of the bar is Japanese meets Mexico, using a lot of sake in their drinks. Kaito is also staffed by all women.

The bar is located above a Japanese restaurant, and the landlord originally asked Cabrera to open an izakaya and she was not comfortable doing that -- she just wanted to open a bar and thankfully that's what she did.

"I wanted to open a bar and take the best of Japan," Cabrera explained. "I want people to have fun, have easy to drink cocktails." Bar patrons can also eat ramen there. 

Interesting ingredients they use at Kaito include wasabi syrup, sesame fat wash, sushi rice balls, soy sauce and MSG.

Flavours of Asia at PCH

Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco was No. 16 on the list. Owned by Kevin Diedrich, the bar is located near Union Square and he says it's a love letter to Asia Pacific Islanders, as he himself is Filipino-American and his wife is Hawaiian-Japanese.

However, his bartending career has been in New York (including PDT), Washington DC and San Francisco, where he has made classic cocktails. But these days it's about Asian flavours like one drink called Kungfu Pandan, using rice whisky with pandan syrup, that reminds people of steamed rice with pandan.

"They say, 'This tastes like my childhood,'" he says, adding for him, hospitality is you remembering how you felt at that place, not necessarily the drink.

Diedrich says he has one patron who comes to PCH everyday -- six days a week -- and doesn't necessarily drink the same drink.

To make him feel extra special, PCH has a dedicated embossed leather coaster  with his initials monogrammed on it.

The staff also keep detailed lists of regular guests and their preferences in a binder, harking back to Diedrich's days working in The Ritz-Carlton.

In the Grand Cayman, Library by the Sea was listed No. 30 on the Best 50 Bars tonight. Max Wolff, the head bartender was excited to tell us about the bar, where they take books and create drinks around them. They are also illustrated in their bar menus.

While that's creative, even more interesting is that the bar finds vintage spirits dating back decades for people to try.

Imagine drinking pre-revolutionary Bacardi rum made in 1932 while reading Ernest Hemingway's story that became the novel The Man and the Sea? And looking out into the ocean, the same view he had?

They explained this rum became so popular they finished the first bottle in six days. It also cost US$500 per bottle, but now it's no less than $2,500!

They have a person helping them source these vintage bottles, but they have also since made connections with private collectors, willing to sell their stash for a good price...

Carney Wins the Two-Horse Race

Carney will lead the Liberals to a fourth term in government

The results of the 2025 federal election in Canada are still coming in and it's a nail-biter down to the end.

While the Liberals have won the mandate to form the next government, it is not the landslide pundits had predicted. Currently the Liberals are projected to have 167 seats, Conservatives 145 in this mostly two-horse race.

As expected the New Democrats were decimated, and leader Jagmeet Singh graciously conceded defeat and is stepping down.

Poilievre still trying to hang onto his seat

Meanwhile Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre may lose his seat, but in a speech to his supporters, he did not say anything about giving up yet.

The NDP currently only have five seats, and the Green Party only has one seat -- Elizabeth May winning again.

Those who voted for Liberals were worried about US President Donald Trump and his tariffs, while those who marked the Conservatives on their ballots chose change. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney has done exceptionally well and has already reached out to May to see how he can work with her because he needs as much support as he can get to realise his platform.

Halfway around the world there is good news in Hong Kong, with four pro-democracy leaders who were known as the "47 democrats" were finally released Tuesday morning after more than four years in prison.

Claudia Mo Man-ching, Jeremy Tan Man-ho, Kwok Ka-ki, and Gary Fan Kwok-wai were the first of the convicted activists who reunited with family and friends. 

Four lawmakers released from prison today

There was a lot of concern about Mo's health, and it's a relief to see she is finally out and reunited with her husband, Philip Bowring. He told the media they hope to go to England to see their grandchildren.

However, there are concerns as to how free these four former lawmakers will be...

They were part of the group of 45 pro-democracy activists who had organised a primary election in 2020 and resulted in a turnout of 610,000 voters who chose candidates who were supposed to stand in the Legislative Council elections.

In their verdict, the judges said the activists' plan could have undermined the government's authority and created a constitutional crisis.

For the time being, it will take some time for these newly released politicians to get used to being back home and with loved ones, but for sure they will relish every moment.

Man Charged with 8 Counts of Murder for Festival Tragedy

Rai addressing the media with Sim (left) this afternoon

Overnight news of the horrific tragedy of the vehicle that plowed into people attending a Filipino street party in Vancouver spread around the world. 

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he was "shattered to hear about the terrible incident."

Even King Charles sent condolences via a social media post.

The damaged SUV at the scene of attack

"Our hearts and prayers go out to all those whose lives have been shattered by such a desperate tragedy and we send our deepest possible sympathy at a most agonising time for so many in Canada," he wrote.

Some people in Vancouver woke up to the news this morning, and the shock, sadness and disbelief happened all over again.

Finally there were some numbers -- in the morning it was reported nine people had died, over a dozen injured.

Then at 2pm there was another press conference, this time with Mayor Ken Sim -- dressed in a black suit -- giving a heartfelt speech conveying his sadness and anger over what happened last night and has asked for a full investigation.

It was good to see him step up and finally act like a mayor. Following the by-election a few weeks ago when his ABC party was hammered, Sim realises he needs to actually do his job. If he takes this opportunity to show that he is performing his mayoral duties properly, residents may actually cut him some slack; but he's going to have to work really hard for forgiveness.

At that same press conference Interim Police Chief Steve Rai disclosed only a sliver more of information, that the now 11 deceased ranged in age from five to 65, and that 17 people are still in hospital.

Rai also confirmed the driver of the vehicle was very well known to police and mental health workers.

Lo charged this afternoon, appeared in court

Later in the afternoon news broke that 30-year-old Kai-Ji Adam Lo was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder in relation to the crash at the Lapu Lapu Festival. There are still a lot of questions around security of the festival, though Rai said a risk assessment was made with festival organisers that it didn't require more security like other events.

However, following this tragedy, the police will have to re-examine how they conduct these risk assessments and if police need to attend every single event held in the city. There are also questions why someone with mental health issues and well-known to police, did not get the help he needed, and why he was still able to drive a car. In this case an SUV.

Witnesses came out in the media to give first-hand accounts of what they saw and heard last night. It sounds absolutely horrific, some hearing boom, boom, boom, and later realising it was the sound of the car hitting people, others who had set up stalls at the festival, were cleaning up and leaving when they saw bodies on the ground. They are completely traumatised.

One admitted that whenever he sees groups of people he is terrified and hears the sounds and remember the images he saw.

But Lo, the driver who is charged with eight counts of second-degree murder, has a troubled past. Last year his older brother was murdered and turned to the public for money to pay for the funeral. And then his mother tried to commit suicide and she spent a month in hospital.

Today Lo appeared briefly in court, did not request bail and will remain in custody until his next court appearance on May 26 in Vancouver provincial court. 

Tragedy Tonight in Vancouver

Multiple people were killed and injured in Vancouver tonight

People in Metro Vancouver are in shock and devastated after news broke that several people were killed and injured after a driver plowed into a crowd participating in a street festival at 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street.

The police held an impromptu press conference at the scene, but did not give much more information than what is already known. 

They would only say that at around 8.14pm a lone male in his 30s drove a vehicle into a street festival called Lapu Lapu Day Block Party organised by the Filipino community. There were food trucks lined along the narrow street selling food, as well as stages for performances.

The narrow road was lined with food trucks

After the incident, festival bystanders took the driver into custody, called the police, who then took him into custody. The police added the suspect was "known to police in certain circumstances", but would not elaborate, nor comment if he had mental health issues.

Media are reporting four hospitals are in code orange, which means they are dealing with mass casualties. 

CBC Radio Vancouver is broadcasting a news special now, and talked to people who were at the festival, explaining Lapu Lapu was a big community event, where they would meet up with friends and family. Some are estimating up to 100,000 people were there at some point during the day.

Now they are texting and calling each other to see if they were at the festival and if they were OK. One called to say his friends had called him earlier telling him he was missing a good time at the event, and now has found out one of them was hit, but did not have any further news of his condition.

Hopefully more information will come to light in the next few days.

Trump Itching to Make a China Deal

Trump claims the US is in talks with China over tariffs

US President Donald Trump seems to be wavering in his stance towards China. Earlier he was willing to back down a few notches on his threats of imposing 145 percent tariffs, but now seems to be hardening his position again, saying he would not roll them back unless Beijing offered "something substantial" in return. 

But China hasn't even bothered to entertain Trump at all, despite the American president claiming they have been in talks over the phone.

In an interview with Time Magazine this week, Trump claimed "We're meeting with China", adding Chinese leader Xi Jinping had called, though he didn't say when.

Beijing says there has been no talks, period.

Time: Will you call President Xi if he doesn't call you?

Trump: No.

Time: You won't?

Trump: Nope.

Time: Has he called you yet?

Trump: Yep.

Time: When did he call you?

Trump: He's called. And I don't think it's a sign of weakness on his behalf.

Time: But you would think it's a sign of weakness if you called him?

Trump: I don't -- I just look -- 

Time: Well, what did he say?

Trump: If people want to -- well, we all want to make deals. But I am this giant store. It's a giant, beautiful store, and everybody wants to go shopping there. And on behalf of the American people, I own the store, and I set prices, and I'll say, if you want to shop here, this is what you have to pay."

Meanwhile, Reuters asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if the Americans had reached out for trade talks.

Spokesman Guo Jiakun replied in part: "China and the US are not having any consultation or negotiation on tariffs. The US should stop creating confusion."

Who are you going to believe?

Whitecaps Stop Messi and Miami in Home Game

Messi actually showed up to play this evening in BC Place

Will he or won't he?

That was the question on everyone's minds when some 53,000 football fans descended on BC Place this evening wondering if superstar Lionel Messi of Inter Miami FC would actually play in tonight's game against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinal.

And while Messi did play -- nearly a year after he was a no-show -- the Argentine's talents weren't enough and the Whitecaps beat Inter Miami 2-0.

He was stopped by goalkeeper Takaoka

Although there were many people in the stands wearing Messi jerseys, he was booed every time he had possession of the ball.

Messi even had a free kick from a distance, but Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped him.

The Whitecaps are having a stellar season, playing very well as a team. 

Longtime fan Tony Gabriel admitted he was thrilled to see Messi play, but was more excited at the prospect of the Whitecaps advancing to the final of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, which features the best teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

"How could you not be a fan of the Whitecaps? How could you not want to go out and come to the games and watch the Whitecaps play? It doesn't matter who they're playing. Lionel Messi is a bonus, yes, but the team is doing amazing," Gabriel said.

After the game, the Whitecaps' new head coach Jesper Sorensen said he was happy with how the team responded to the challenge of facing a star-studded Miami team.

"I know that a lot of people came to see some of the Miami players, I fully understand it... We're happy to play for Vancouver and I think today was a game where everybody could be happy for the way we did it."

The second leg of the semifinal will be next Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Conservatives a No-Show at All Candidates Debate

Candidates Digby, Fakirini, Grant, and Ede at the debate

With five more days to go until the federal election, the Dunbar Residents Association organised an all candidates' debate, featuring the people -- all men -- who are running to represent Vancouver Quadra.

It was held at Immaculate Conception Parish Gymnasium, a much newer facility compared to the one that is usually used across the street at St Philips Anglican Church.

The bigger venue however made it look like residents in the area didn't bother to show up, as attendance was on the low side; perhaps it was because they had already voted and didn't see the point in going to the debate.

Others didn't come because the Conservative candidate, Ken Charko -- who owns Dunbar Theatre -- did not reply to the invitation. This is not surprising since it has been reported across the country that Conservative candidates have not attended debates in their ridings throughout the campaign. Some residents were keen to challenge Charko tonight, but he was a no-show.

Even though we had cast our ballots, we wanted to check out the candidates anyway.

Tom Digby is running for the Green Party, and reminded people that he is currently on the Vancouver Park Board where he is keen on preserving Stanley Park. He has a masters degree in molecular biology and is an intellectual property lawyer. So he embodies the spirit of the Green Party and brought up climate change a few times.

Alim Fakirani represents the NDP. He is a teacher and looking to pivot into politics and was an eloquent speaker. He reminded the crowd of how the NDP is working hard to bring benefits to ordinary Canadians like dental care and healthcare. However, he may have soured some people in the audience when he reiterated the rich need to be taxed more...

Wade Grant is with the Liberals, and got the most applause from the audience espousing his party's views and throwing in Mark Carney's name a few times. The 46-year-old introduced himself as someone who has grown up in Vancouver Quadra and is concerned about the salmon population, and also concerned about young families struggling to survive.

John Odan Ede is the People's Party of Canada's candidate. The chemical engineer immigrated here in 2017 with his family and a masters in public policy and global affairs at the University of British Columbia. He is very passionate about democracy. The People's Party of Canada was formed in 2018 by Maxime Bernier, a former Conservative MP and cabinet minister in Stephen Harper's government.

We only stayed for the first half, with some interesting questions like would you porogue parliament, what do you agree about your opponents' platforms, and their opinion of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Most of the questions were not what most people would be concerned about, but we didn't stay long enough to hear the others asked by the moderator. Nevertheless it was good to see how passionate the candidates are and how disappointed they were that the Conservatives' Charko did not show up!

We were too.

 

Extreme Counterfeiting

The trio entered this Standard Chartered bank in Mong Kok

This story can be filed under "completely wacko".

Hong Kong media have reported that three mainlanders were arrested after they were found to be in possession with suspected counterfeit bank notes.

On Tuesday, around 11.15am HK time, a 72-year-old man, a 75-year-old man surnamed Lo, and a 65-year-old woman surnamed Li entered a branch of Standard Chartered bank on Nathan Road in Mong Kok with the intention of opening a bank account.

They presented a giant stack of 1,999 counterfeit bonds, each with a face value of HK$500 million (US$64 million). 

That would mean they were trying to deposit HK$999,500,000,000, which would be HK$357 billion more than all of the Hong Kong government's fiscal reserves at the end of February this year.

Needless to say, bank staff were suspicious and called police. The trio, who claim they are friends, are being detained for further questioning.

We'll be following this story!

Fact of the Day: 7.3M Canadians Already Voted

After 4 days of advance voting, a 25 percent increase in voters

A lot of Canadians turned out in advance polls.

Following four days of advance voting, an estimated 7.3 million people exercised their right to choose the next federal government.

That's a record number and a 25 percent increase from the 2021 election, where 5.8 million people cast their ballots ahead of the actual voting day.

Political science experts say it's too early to determine if the number of people who turned out for advance voting will result in more people casting their vote on Monday, election day.

They think more people are taking advantage of advance polls because it's more convenient for them. It may have also been helpful advance polls opened during the Easter long weekend when more students are back home from university, or people had more time to go to vote.

In the last election four years ago, 17 million people voted, representing 62.6 percent of registered voters. 

Francis, Pope of the People

Pope Francis spoke up for the oppressed and poor

This morning I woke up to the news that Pope Francis had passed at the age of 88. We had just saw him less than 12 hours earlier in news footage in his Popemobile blessing a baby. But when he addressed the crowd at St Peter's Basilica to say "Dear brothers and sisters, Happy Easter", his voice was very weak...

He was discharged last month after 38 days in hospital battling pneumonia in both lungs. Doctors didn't think he would make it -- twice. They advised him to isolate himself and get rest for at least two months to avoid infection, but Francis wanted to be with the people, one last time.

And he will be forever remembered as a pope with humility who advocated for the oppressed, the poor, migrants, refugees, and the environment.

He made a landmark trip to Canada in 2022

Francis criticised the Trump administration's mass deportation policy. In a letter to American bishops, he wrote: "What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly."

In 2022 he came to Canada to right a wrong, apologising to the Indigenous people for how they were treated in residential schools. 

From the 1870s to the 1990s, some 150,000 First Nations, Metis, and Inuit children were taken away from their families and forced to attend church-run schools to get them to forget their language and culture. 

Many of the children were abused and neglected, thousands died of malnutrition, suicide and disease.

Pope Francis listened to the survivors and apologised, making him the first pope to do so, and asked for forgiveness.

Several times he has also called for a cease fire in Gaza, condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation," and expressed his "closeness to the sufferings of Christians in Palestine and Israel and to all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people."

He called Gaza nightly to check on people there

Every night at around 8pm Francis would call Father Gabriel Romanelli to check on how the faithful were doing in the last standing Catholic church in Gaza. The pontiff would ask Romanelli how the residents were doing in the midst of war, if they had enough food and what they had eaten that day.

"It was a singular expression of his love, his concern. A real concern for the good of all and a sign of the good shepherd," Romanelli said. "People feel abandoned, but the call of the Pope gave a very hard sign of hope."

When the bombings were bad, Francis would call three or four times that day.

Giving people hope is what religion does, and Francis embued this as the leader of the Catholic church who was on the ground with the people.

Following his funeral this weekend, bishops will be gathering to decide on the next pope. There are hopes he will also be liberal and continue where Francis left off. Someone like him is needed more than ever in a world that has become more authoritarian.

Hong Kong Still Trying to Attract Big Names

Coldplay's four concerts in Hong Kong generated HK$1.2B

When Coldplay came to Hong Kong to perform for four nights, the band's stay apparently helped generate an estimated HK$1.2 billion, from hotels to food, shopping and entertainment. 

However, when it comes to big names in classical music, many performers are eschewing Hong Kong and choosing Macau and other Chinese cities instead.

Bocelli performed in Macau late last month

Late last month Italian blind tenor Andrea Bocelli performed at Galaxy Macau, with 40 percent of the audience from Hong Kong. 

For example, superstar pianist Lang Lang and tenor Placido Domingo gave shows at Galaxy Macau in January and last October respectively, while Zubin Mehta conducted the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at the Shenzhen Concert Hall and Guangzhou's Xinghai Concert Hall in March.

Some speculate it's because Hong Kong's auditoriums are aging, while places outside have newer facilities with better acoustics.

Most international stars are booked at least two years ahead, while in mainland China, venues can only be reserved six months to a year in advance. There is also the issue of visas -- when a performer goes to China, they can't pop out to Hong Kong for a performance and come back into the mainland again unless they get multiple-entry visas.

Lang Lang was also in Macau in January

There is also the problem that Hong Kong may not be a big enough market for performers.

"Hong Kong simply hasn't got a big enough potential market that measures up to mainland cities. If you are an international group that wants to build a following across China, being in Hong Kong doesn't get you onto Xiaohongshu or WeChat," says Kuh Fei, a Hong Kong critic and organiser of performing arts events.

So... who is the next big musical act coming to Hong Kong?

Singapore secured Lady Gaga for May, shutting out Hong Kong...

People Turn Out to Vote in Droves

Almost 2 million people voted on the first day of advance polls

Yesterday was the first day of advance polls and Elections Canada reports nearly 2 million people cast their ballots across the country for the federal election on April 28.

Advance polls are available for four days, until Easter Monday.

In Metro Vancouver, long lines were reported in the city's West End, Langley, Surrey and the riding of Vancouver-Granville.

Unlike the city's by-elections, there are no special provisions for the elderly, and so everyone had to wait in line.

Concerned about this prospect, we made the strategic move today to vote at dinnertime, when we thought most people would be preoccupied with eating.

So we had an early dinner and rushed to the advance voting location (different from the location for the actual voting day).

We easily got a parking spot at the elementary school and lo and behold -- four people ahead of us!

The man who greeted us at the door checked our voting cards to make sure we were in the right place and then we waited in line.

Two people checked one person's ID to make sure it matched with their voter card, and then manually found their name in a printed list and crossed their name off before giving them a small voter ballot that was folded.

Actually it was just one person doing that work, and then him reading out some code numbers for the second person to take down.

When a voter completed the ballot, he or she went back to that first person, who ripped off a grey strip from the ballot before the voter could stuff it into the cardboard box.

Is it any wonder why people waited so long yesterday? It seems there is only one master list and to avoid duplication and manipulation of it, only one person can have access to it, hence the bottleneck.

With two more days to go, hopefully there will be more people voting by Monday.

In the 2021 election, almost 5.8 million people voted in advance polls. A total of 17,209,811 voters cast their ballots, representing a voter turnout of 62.6 percent.

As many people are calling this the most contentious election in decades, hopefully the turnout will be even higher. Every vote counts!

Canadians Avoid US Travel, and Airlines Scramble

Air Canada is pivoting to fewer US flights, more to Europe

As many Canadians have recently decided not to travel to the United States, either declaring this in polls or by cancelling trips, resulting in a drop of some 13 percent by air, airlines are scrambling to meet domestic demand and fewer routes across the border.

For example, WestJet is adding more flights to "markets of strength", including Europe, and sun destinations like Mexico and Cuba.

Air Canada says as of mid-March, transborder bookings were down about 10 percent for the next six months. As a result the airline is adjusting some of its US flights by using smaller aircraft and reducing frequencies of flights.

The Canadian airline has added a new route for summer, Montreal to Edinburgh, and increased the number of flights to Paris, Rome and Athens.

Meanwhile, Discover Airlines, owned by Lufthansa, will launch a Calgary-Munich route. 

Porter Airlines is also reducing its summer service to the US and shifting to domestic markets.

Mike Arnot, a spokesman for airline analytics firm Cirium says it's unusual to see such a significant dip in demand for Canada-US travel.

"It's a tough place for the airlines to be," he said.

Cirium analyses data from travel agencies and booking websites, and found summer bookings between major Canadian cities and popular US destinations dropped nearly 20 percent compared to last year.

But bookings for July between popular Canadian destinations increased by about 11 percent compared to 2024.

However, if people are still keen on traveling to the US, they might be able to take advantage of lower air fares, perhaps at the beginning of May, says aviation expert John Gradek.

And strangely, you can thank American President Donald Trump for that.

Picture of the Day: Delectable Gelato

Amarena cherry (left), blood orange (right)

I was downtown this glorious afternoon as I had an appointment at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

Afterwards I passed by Motoretta, a gelato shop my cousin had told me about ages ago and decided today was a good time to try it.

Inside the sunny interior of mustard yellow and red, there was already a line of people in front of me, but gave me time to peruse the list of flavours and there are several.

There's the usual Madagascar vanilla, chocolate, matcha, and hazelnut, but there are other flavours like black sesame, almost tiramisu, Italian custard and akbar mashti (Persian saffron with rosewater and roasted pistachio).

One scoop in a cup is C$7.50 and two is $9.50 so why not two? In a cone is an extra $1.

In the end I chose Amarena cherry and blood orange.

The blood orange was refreshing, but overall the flavour was pretty flat compared to the Amarena cherry because it wasn't a rough mix of cherry and plain flavours punctuated with chunks of actual cherry flesh that gave it a pink colour.

The gelato wasn't too sweet and it was a nice treat on a relatively warm spring day. Will be back!

Motoretta Gelato

1001 West Cordova

Vancouver, BC

604 423 9424

Russian Pianist Wows Vancouver Crowd

The stage was set for Kissin to perform at the Chan Centre

Tonight the crowd at The Chan Centre for Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia were treated to not one, not two, but three encores after an exceptional performance by Russian-Jewish pianist Evgeny Kissin.

This is not his first time performing in Vancouver. Apparently his first concert here was at the Orpheum and it was sold out. 

I wasn't familiar with Kissin, 53, but a quick online search revealed the Muscovite was recognised as a child prodigy at the age of six and made his professional debut at the age of 10. 

He made his overseas debut in 1985 in Eastern Europe, and performed in Japan a year later.

Kissin soaking in the adoration

Kissin is also a composer and enjoys reciting poetry, both Russian and Yiddish poems.

When the war in Ukraine broke out in 2022, he and other Russian artists signed a letter against the invasion and even composed a piano trio in response to the invasion that Kissin premiered in Amsterdam in October 2022. 

Needless to say, two years later the Russian government declared Kissin a foreign agent. 

He lives in Prague with his wife. During the concert this evening, the crowd was rapt watching Kissin play the piano which was hardly shiny and new -- he specifically chose to play a piano from the music department at UBC. It has seen better days, the black lacquer rubbed off in many areas revealing its wear and tear.

But Kissin gave the instrument a lot of love -- he wasn't interested in sleek-looking pianos and theatrics, just pure joy in performing. And the audience loved him back, jumping to their feet and clapping practically non stop. Perhaps that's why he was easily swayed into giving the crowd three encores!

Every time he bowed, he made a point of looking up at the audience, soaking in the admiration. 

Performing could be his form of resistance and we should appreciate his courage too.

Partita No. 2 in C minor BWV 826 by Johann Sebastian Bach 

Sinfonia

Allemande

Courante

Sarabande

Rondeau

Capriccio

Nocturne in C# minor Op. 27 No. 1 by Frederic Chopin

Nocturne in A-flat major Op. 32 No. 2 by Frederic Chopin

Scherzo No. 4 in E major Op. 54 by Frederic Chopin

Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor Op. 61 by Dmitri Shostakovich

Allegretto

Largo

Moderato

Adagio

Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich

No. 15 in D-flat major

Preludes and Fugues Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich

No. 24 in D minor

Poilievre Wants to Stop Scams on Seniors... But Can He?

Poilievre wants to protect Canadian seniors from scammers

Less than two weeks to go before the federal election on April 28 and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has pitched the idea of preventing seniors from being scammed by passing the "Stop scamming seniors act", forcing banks and telecom companies to use state of the art technology to detect scams.

Not only that, there will also be automatic blocking of seniors' accounts when there are suspicious transactions, and a 24-hour hold on high-risk transactions for seniors. There would also be active reporting to the public of how many scams have been stopped, while those who are convicted of these scams would be sentenced to at least one year, and up to five years in jail.

While these proposals are well-meaning, how would it all work?

Poilievre doesn't seem to understand that many scams don't originate from Canada but abroad and the nefarious ways they can "mistakenly" text someone and strike up a conversation and soon becomes a trusted friend. 

It's after months of daily contact that the scammer eventually begins the extraction of money for "investment", and by that point the victim is so driven by the dreams of becoming wealthy that they will do whatever it takes to transfer the funds to the scammer.

Some of these conversations aren't even in English or French. How to stop these scams in other languages?

And what if a senior is legitimately trying to purchase a big ticket item? They need to wait 24 hours before they can make the transaction? It makes them feel like children.

In addition, it would be so hard for banks and telecom companies to detect scams -- while there are some bank tellers who are alert and flag customers who come in asking to transfer large amounts of money with strange requests, a lot of funds are transferred through setting up crypto accounts or online transfers. 

We could do with fewer spam calls and texts, but it's harder to crack down on scammers than Poilievre thinks and to educate seniors to be on alert...

Coldplay Chris Martin's Tips on Battling Depression

Some 200,000 attended the Coldplay concerts in Hong Kong

A few days ago my Instagram feed was flooded with videos and pictures from friends (seemed like all of them!) attending Coldplay "Music of the Spheres" concerts that were held at the new Kai Tak Sports Park for four nights.

In total about 200,000 people attended. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, dancing and singing their hearts out to the music, and flashing lights on their concert wristbands.

Martin's video giving tips at the HK harbourfront

However at least one person was working hard to fight his emotions -- Chris Martin, the frontman of Coldplay.

The band posted a video yesterday of him sitting on the ground by the harbourfront somewhere in Causeway Bay perhaps, wearing a toque to try to disguise himself a bit.

He first thanked fans for coming out to the concerts, but admitted he was a bit nervous, and then added he was battling depression.

"So I was going to tell you some things that have been helping me on tour and maybe some of them might be good for you too," Martin said.

His tips?

Free-form writing, where you write down your thoughts at the moment and then burn or throw them away;

Fans enjoyed the Coldplay concerts

Practice transcendental meditation;

Watch the 2023 drama Sing Sing;

Read a book on breathing techniques;

Listening to the music of electronic producer Jon Hopkins and London-based singer-songwriter Chloe Qisha.

"Those are some of the things that are helping me to stay grateful and happy to be alive," he said.

A Tale of Two Restaurants in HK

Stunning gypsy chandeliers and Vik Muniz collage at Sevva

Sevva was the place to see and be seen. Opened by socialite entrepreneur Bonnae Gokson, the bar and restaurant on the top floor of Prince's Building in Hong Kong's Central district had cozy spaces for tai tais to gossip as they nibbled on salads and afternoon teas, young people to dance the night away on the rooftop to a live band, and dining areas for business executives to have power lunches.

Gokson, the hostess with the mostess, arranged a lot of parties at Sevva, and met a lot of celebrities there like Pharrell Williams, David and Victoria Beckham, actresses Shu Qi and Fan Bingbing, and designers Vera Wang, Dries Van Noten, Alber Elbaz, and Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce.

Gokson was the hostess with the mostess

She liked her gins and had large selection of bottles, while the menu featured east-meets-west, from seafood pie and peppercorn steak to dosas and Shanghainese wontons, claypot rice, and Taiwanese beef noodles.

In addition she searched high and low for entertainers -- most memorable was Australian Courtney Act -- who was really Shane Jenek dressed and sounded like a woman and performed a few times at Sevva. I interviewed her about LGBTQ issues and she talked about being pan-sexual and polyamorous. After that she became super famous on Dancing with the Stars!

But Sevva's 16-year run abruptly ended almost a year ago when landlord Hong Kong Land did not entertain renewing the lease -- it had received an ambitious proposal to put an upscale French bistro in the 2,000 sq ft space featuring chef Franckelie Laloum, formerly of Louise restaurant in PMQ.

Needless to say Gokson was extremely bitter about being kicked out in favour of a new flavour; but her devoted fans came out to drink and dine at Sevva until the last day, and even came out to buy mementos of the restaurant, from candlesticks and glasses to furniture. 

She spent about HK$1 million to strip the walls and floors down to the cement shell to hand over to the new tenant.

Larkin (left) and Laloum at LALA

However, the proposal for the new bistro was wavering -- the woman behind the deal didn't get enough investors and the deal fell through. 

The space at the top of Prince's Building is still empty. 

In addition, apparently Laloum and manager Michael Larkin -- who wrote up the proposal -- were kicked out of the project, and out of a job.

Laloum and Larkin started doing a pop-up on Lyndhurst Terrace called La Brasserie, and served bistro dishes. Reception was so good that they managed to open LALA at the same address. LALA is the first two letters of both their family names.

So when I came back to Hong Kong this time, I was excited to see Laloum and his new restaurant. While Louise was very refined French cooking, LALA has a lively atmosphere, more laid back though the dishes are well executed.

The famous roast chicken at LALA

Five of us tried dishes like pate en croute, endive salad, citrus-marinated hamachi, foie gras terrine on brioche, parsley frog legs and Laloum snuck in some fresh white asparagus in season. 

We also had the famous roast chicken -- that he made famous at Louise -- which is a bit cheaper here too. Desserts like Paris Brest, lemon meringue tart and St Honore are presented on a silver platter but then made fresh (which took a while, but gave us time to digest).

After lunch I managed to speak to Laloum for a few minutes and he was grateful to be able to land on his feet relatively quickly. He is anxious to ensure customers are happy so that they come back again. So glad he's doing well and Hong Kong has given him the opportunity to try again.

In the meantime Gokson has moved on -- traveling a lot these days, enjoying life, but still bitter after Sevva's life was cut short. Most importantly she closed Sevva on a high note, and lots of good memories for her fans.

Fact of the Day: Measles Numbers Rising Rapidly

Getting vaccinated against measles is the best protection

It is horrific to see the number of measles cases in Canada rising rapidly when it was considered eradicated from the country 25 years ago.

But now we are seeing 914 cases across the country as of Friday, far more than the 751 infections for all of 2011.

Measles are highly infectious and now further complicated especially for children who could contract extremely rare neurological conditions. Two unvaccinated children in the United States have died in Texas.

The measles virus can cause a high fever and can suppress the immune system. Some children can get ear infections and diarrhea, though more serious complications can lead to the swelling of the brain, called encephalitis. 

It's so sad post-Covid to discover so many people and their children are not vaccinated from measles which is the easiest way to protect themselves and others.

"This is a big deal disease. You do not want to have what people call natural immunity from measles because the risk of having measles itself is so significant," explained Dr Cora Constantinescu, a pediatrician and infectious diseases specialist at Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary.

Cherry Blossom Season in Vancouver

The pink blossoms are beautifying Vancouver

Vancouver is deep in cherry blossom season, with lots of fluffy pink blobs covering trees around the city.

After having recently returned from Tokyo where I saw some sakura, I am biased when I say the ones in Vancouver are much prettier!

The cherry blossoms in my neighbourhood

Our city is celebrating 100 years of cherry blossoms, as it was in 1925 when the mayors of Kobe and Yokohama presented the Vancouver Park Board with 500 trees of the Ojochin variety to plant at the cenotaph in Stanley Park in honour of the Japanese-Canadian veterans of World War I.

Then from the 1930s to the 1950s, the Park Board planted cherry tree seeds that were donated by Japanese Canadians, around Vancouver. 

Three hundred more cherry trees were donated in 1958 by the Japanese consul Muneo Tanabe as a symbol of friendship between Canada and Japan. The trees were planted along Cambie Street, between 33rd and 49th avenues, in Queen Elizabeth Park and around the cenotaph in Stanley Park.

In 1990 the Park Board did a comprehensive inventory of street trees and found nearly 36 percent of the 89,000 trees on city streets were flowering plum and cherry trees. 

Fluffy pink popcorn on trees

Every year Vancouver has the Cherry Blossom Festival, encouraging residents to check out the city in pink, write haiku and have a picnic, and learn more about cherry trees.

Despite the rain earlier this week, most of the cherry blossoms managed to hang onto their branches, dry off and continue to beautify the city. They and magnolias are also a treat to look at these days. Magnolia are also fleeting, as once they bloom, the petals fall off and that's the end of the season.

Cherry blossoms remind us to stop and appreciate the beauty around us, even if it might cause those of us with pollen allergies to have some sneezing episodes!

Fact of the Day: Fewer Canadians Going to the US

There's less traffic at the Canada-US border these days

Ever since Donald Trump became President of the United States and taunted Canada about becoming the 51st state, there's a lot of anecdotes of people saying they are not traveling to the United States anytime soon.

And now there are numbers to back it up.

According to Statistics Canada, the number of return trips among Canadians traveling to the US in March plummeted compared to the previous year. When it comes to air travel, it was down by 13.5 percent, and for land travel a whopping 32 percent.

Canadians are also concerned about the possibility of being detained, after reports of people being detained, including Canadian actress Jasmine Mooney, who was detained for 11 days last month when her work visa application was denied at the US-Mexico border.

"I got put into real jail. So it's just like the movies, two levels, cells on each side," she said in an interview with CBC News. "I didn't leave my cell for, I think, 24 hours, to be honest I was so distraught."

US Customs and Border Protection says the Trump administration is cracking down on people who try to enter the US under fraudulent pretenses or with malicious intent.

"Lawful travellers have nothing to fear from these measures, which are designed to protect our nation's security," wrote Hilton Beckham, CBP's assistant commissioner.

Last week the Canadian government quietly updated its online travel advice to the US. Ottawa now reminds travellers to "expect scrutiny" at the US border, including smartphone searches.

Around the same time someone I met over dinner told me they had gone through her emails and social media and deleted any negative mention of Trump just to be safe...

China Caught in Massive Tariff Showdown

Trump said people were getting "yippy" in tariffs reversal

This morning over dim sum all the chatter was over US President Donald Trump imposing 104 percent tariffs on China.

About an hour later we saw stocks that were blood red were suddenly in the green -- Trump had reversed course and dropped worldwide tariffs down to 10 percent and 90 day pause -- except for China, which he imposed a jaw-dropping 125 percent.

Canada and Mexico still face 25 percent tariffs on cars, steel and aluminium.

Leavitt adamant tariff U-turn was art of the deal

The S&P 500 shot up more than 9 percent, but still not back "to normal". 

Trump gave in after massive selling on the bond markets, which are supposed to be a place of refuge for shell-shocked investors. Instead they were worried a recession was coming, if not here already.

"Over the last few days it looked pretty glum," Trump said. "I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippy. They were getting a little bit afraid."

His spokesperson Karoline Leavitt insisted to the media the move was part of the plan all along.

"Many of you in the media clearly missed The Art of the Deal," she said referring to Trump's book on negotiating. "You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here. You tried to say that the rest of the world would be moved closer to China, when in fact we've seen the opposite effect."

As for the 125 percent tariffs, Trump is expecting Xi to call him to negotiate... 

Talk about pushing to the limit. But China may not back down, and it's strong enough not to. Perhaps this is Beijing's way to call Trump's bluff?

One of the Chinese captured in Ukraine

Another story that grabbed headlines was Chinese citizens fighting in Ukraine for Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky stated two were captured and showed a video of them being interrogated. They had Chinese identification and bank cards.

The Ukrainian leader later claimed there were over 150 such Chinese citizens who were recruited by Russia to fight; unlike the North Korean soldiers, they were not officially sent there by Beijing.

Nevertheless, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Bejing was "verifying the relevant situation", but dismissed the suggestion that more Chinese citizens were participating in the war. 

Officially Beijing has claimed to be neutral and pushing for peace, but has diplomatically and financially backed Moscow by buying large quantities of oil. 

Zelensky claimed Russia recruited the Chinese citizens via social media, and it was a sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in peace.

"Ukraine believes that such blatant involvement of Chinese citizens in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine during the war of aggression is a deliberate step toward the expansion of the war, and is yet another indication that Moscow simply needs to drag out the fighting," Zelensky said.