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Baked sole fillets with spinach and rice in tomato sauce |
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Flaky Portuguese-style egg tarts |
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Baked sole fillets with spinach and rice in tomato sauce |
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Flaky Portuguese-style egg tarts |
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Orange calamansi creamsicle ice cream |
The other day I was on Commercial Drive for a media tasting at a restaurant, and I was always curious of an Asian-inspired ice cream shop called Elephant Garden Creamery and wanted to check it out.
So even after I was full from trying a 10-course tapas menu, I waddled a few blocks down to Elephant Garden Creamery, which was still open. Unfortunately they don't allow customers to sample flavours before choosing, nor are you able to see what the ice creams look like. So I ordered blind and chose what sounded delicious -- orange calamansi creamsicle.
I like calamansi and creamsicles are a taste of my childhood. What could go wrong?
But the generous scoop of ice cream didn't have a strong orange or calamansi flavour that did not result in a creamsicle taste. It was a milk ice cream with a very faint taste of calamansi for $6.30 plus tip... it was not worth the extra calories!
In hindsight perhaps I should have tried the signature mango coconut sticky rice, durian, butter sweet corn crunch, or malted milk choco (reminiscent of malteasers)...
2080 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
(604 251 6832
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Uniform and delicious roast chicken with rice at Chef's Choice |
A gourmet dish that's definitely not Chinese home cooking is roast chicken with glutinous rice. It definitely showcases the chef's skills as it requires de-boning the chicken and then flattening it butterfly style and adding a layer of cooked glutinous rice underneath. It's then roasted so that the skin is extra crispy.
By coincidence I managed to sample the same dish yesterday and today with extremely different results.
Last night we ordered it at Chef's Choice on Broadway and we were impressed when this roast chicken with sticky rice dish came to the table. The half portion of chicken was uniform in size, portioned into two-bite pieces. There was equal parts rice and very tender, flavourful chicken, topped with crispy skin.
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A very different version that looks bloated |
This place also had the roast chicken with glutinous rice and we ordered a half portion.
When it was served to us, it looked like a whole chicken, and was stuffed to the gills with rice -- the ratio was at least twice as much rice as chicken, as if it were bloated from carbo-loading. Each piece was so big that we were soon full (on rice) and we had to pack up the rest.
While it's great that this chef knows how to make this dish, and promotes it as a signature dish, it would be better if he could further refine it. This roast chicken with sticky rice dish is not about more bang for the buck, but about flavour and finesse, which unfortunately missed the mark here.
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North America's 50 Best Restaurants were unveiled last night |
Last night was the inaugural North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, and two Vancouver restaurants made it on this prestigious list -- fine dining Thai Baan Lao at No. 12, which was also named Best Restaurant in West Canada, and Published on Main at No. 28.
"We are very happy and blessed," says Baan Lao executive chef and owner Nutcha Phanthoupheng. "We are profoundly grateful to our loyal guests for their support and thank North America's 50 Best Restaurants for the recognition. I am immensely proud to showcase authentic Royal Thai cuisine."
Also thrilled to land on the list was Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, executive chef of Published on Main.
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Fine dining Thai Baan Lao was ranked No. 12 |
The unveiling of the list was held at a live ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas, where Atomix of New York which serves 12-course refined Korean dishes reigned in top spot. No. 2 was Mon Lapin of Montreal, and Restaurant Pearl Morissette, near St Catherine's Ontario was No. 3.
William Drew, director of content for North America's 50 Best Restaurants says, "We are thrilled to unveil the inaugural list of North America's 50 Best Restaurants, celebrating the extraordinary diversity, creativity and excellence that define the region's dining scene. From pioneering fine-dining institutions to bold new voices, this list reflects the rich culinary landscape of the US, Canada and the Caribbean. We're proud to honour these exceptional restaurants and the individuals who bring them to life."
In total 20 North American cities were highlighted, featuring 11 restaurants in Canada, 37 in the United States and two in the Caribbean.
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Junghyun and Ellia Park's Atomix was No. 1 |
The restaurants were chosen by 300 anonymous experts made up of chefs, restaurateurs, food and restaurant journalists and gourmets, led by a group of industry Academy Chairs.
However, surprised not to see restaurants like Burdock & Co. on the list for its emphasis on local and sustainable produce, or Botanist for its creative dishes as well, and its drinks have landed its bar on the North America 50 Best Bars list.
Nevertheless, with the establishment of North America's 50 Best, restaurants may choose to pursue this path or Michelin as a way to market themselves. However, 50 Best is more of a popularity contest (in other words deep pockets), whereas anonymous Michelin inspectors go under cover to dining establishments to grade them.
It will be interesting to see which direction these fine dining restaurants gravitate towards, and more importantly, figure out how to survive in these difficult economic times with fewer people willing or able to pay to dine out.
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Zayu, Maple and Clutch are the FIFA World Cup mascots |
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Are these animals representative of their countries? |
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A man sits on a bench in Tseung Kwan O with waves coming |
As Hong Kong cleans up and gets back to business after Super Typhoon Ragasa, there are many questions about what to do next time. Climate change has made typhoon winds stronger and can cause greater destruction than before, as evidenced by the Fullerton Hotel in Ocean Park, with its glass entrance doors smashed by the waves, and restaurants along the Tseung Kwan O waterfront also destroyed.
Experts are calling for developing mangroves and oyster reefs to act as natural barriers, and also help clean up the water quality as well (which would be good), while others are calling for taller breakwaters, higher floodgates and more swales, sunken areas that can retain water instead of building underground stormwater facilities.
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Waves pummelled low-lying areas in Hong Kong |
But what to do about the silly people who wandered out in dangerous conditions and got themselves injured?
A family of four were taking a selfie when a giant wave pushed them off their feet. A man sat on a bench as a giant tidal wave came at him and he didn't even move. Of course the force of nature washed him off immediately.
Now Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung is looking into existing legislation and consider enacting new laws.
"I felt heartbroken seeing parents treating [storm chasing] as fun and bringing their children along to watch the waves. You are actually endangering your children," he said. "Think of your family and the rescuers who take a risk to save you."
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Tang is looking into prosecuting storm chasers |
He suggested residents who refused to leave dangerous areas when ordered by police could be charged with obstructing a police officer.
Currently storm chasers and surfers can be fined HK$2,000 and face up to 14 days' imprisonment for anyone entering a public beach closed during extreme weather.
While Tang did not say how many people were arrested or charged for storm chasing during Super Typhoon Ragasa, he wanted to warn the public of the dangers of being outside during typhoons...
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The Fullerton Hotel at Ocean Park was pummelled by waves |
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Waterfront restaurants like these were damaged |
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Masking tape and vegetables at the wet market |
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Two shopping carts filled with instant noodles |
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Slim pickings for those not organised |
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Ours were dark green like these ones and prickly |
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Chayotes can be eaten in many ways |
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Canadians are showing their true colours this year |
Ever since Donald Trump tossed out the possibility of Canada becoming the 51st state, Canadians have fought back with their "Elbows Up" mentality and there's now a lot of data proving that.
Travel is the biggest sign in Canada shunning the United States. When it comes to Canadians traveling across the border by car, there is a whopping 34 percent drop in August compared to the same month last year. That's the eighth consecutive month of declines apart from the Covid-19 pandemic period.
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Many are upset by Trump's calls for the 51st state |
Canadians used to love traveling to Las Vegas for entertainment, gambling, and food, but not so much anymore.
Flair Airlines saw the biggest plunge of 62 percent of Canadian passengers, while Air Canada's was 33 percent, and WestJet 31 percent. As a result the airlines have shuffled their planes and are using smaller ones going to Vegas these days.
Instead Canadians are traveling to Europe, the Caribbean, South America, and Japan. This year Air Canada added 28 international routes to satisfy demand.
Meanwhile when it comes to books written by Canadian authors, Indigo reports a 25 percent jump in sales compared to last year, and the CBC has seen a 34 percent increase in people checking out Gem, its streaming platform.
Even Historica, which promotes Canadian history through programs like Heritage Minutes has seen a noticeable uptick in the number of people checking out the Canadian Encyclopedia with more than 14 million views this year.
It's great to see how Canadians are determined to do as much as they can to keep their elbows up!
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A hearty bowl of cannellini and kale soup for lunch |
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Eby now makes speeches on a lighter note with comedic touch |
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Demers is a comedian and friend of Eby's |
The status of the pumpkin this afternoon |
A neighbour has become really good at growing really big pumpkins and he's hoping to do it again this year.
Last October his 1,161-pound squash called "Orangina" won the biggest pumpkin title at the BC Giant Pumpkin weigh-off at Krause Berry Farms in Langley.
The same one over two weeks ago |
But this afternoon I made another visit and saw this giant white one, while the others weren't as big.
We'll be watching to see how big this one grows!
Kwan, Anusananan and Chong in discussion |
Anusananan talked about Hakka cuisine |
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Fresh mixed greens with cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes |
Yesterday I went to Harvest Community Foods on Union Street, at the edge of Vancouver's Chinatown. It's an inviting small grocery store that has fresh vegetables and fruits. At the entrance there were large yellow-orangey globes of peaches, verdant green English cucumbers, giant russet-coloured tomatoes, pears that had yet to ripen, and bright red cherry tomatoes.
The shop sells CSA produce, or Community Supported Agriculture, where they connect with local farmers, get their produce, and Harvest bundles them up in paper shopping bags to sell. It's a farmer's market mixed bag of veggies that changes weekly depending on what's harvested.
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French fingerling potatoes from an organic farm |
While it was a lot of hard work for Harvest's team in sorting out the vegetables evenly into bags, it was a lifeline for local farmers who didn't know how else to get their produce to customers.
I was given a bag of CSA produce to take home too and today I started eating some of it.
For lunch I made a spring salad and cut up some of the English cucumber and the ripe cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes were so good, almost as juicy sweet as the ones in Tuscany!
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The roasted potato slices with salt and pepper |
I also took the bunch of spinach and stir-fried them Chinese-style with shallots, garlic and ginger. The spinach was delicious mixed with leftover shrimp and tofu with vermicelli.
There's still a bunch of kale, the exotic-sounding Dragon Tongue beans, a red pepper, onion and corn left!
Pine mushroom congee at Burdock & Co |
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Arroz caldoso at Ando in HK with prawns |
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Today's congee with chicken, scallop, spot prawn |
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Giant longevity peach buns from Kai Wai Dim Sum |
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Giuliani's book back in 2002 |
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"America's Mayor" comforted NY residents |
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He became Trump's personal lawyer |
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Hair dye was not a good look for Giuliani |
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The remaining steel parts of the WTC |
I remember September 11, 2001.
I was in Toronto at the time, taking a course in Corporate Communications at a local college.
Our class assignment that morning was to look up some information online and we kept getting news reports of a small plane that had crashed into the World Trade Tower.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York |
How could that have happened?
Then another plane was crashed into the other World Trade Tower. We were horrified and terrified.
I called my parents and told them to turn on the television. It was so surreal I could not explain it over the phone.
Then seeing the towers collapse... that was absolutely terrifying.
We were allowed to go home, too dazed to do anything. I went home and was glued to CNN for the rest of the day.
That night I remember being really really scared that maybe something would happen to us.
One of the two reflecting pools at the WTC site |
Today, 24 years after 9/11, the world has changed so much for the worse.
When we were younger, we always had the belief that the future was bright, it was going to be better, we would achieve peace thanks to greater understanding, acceptance of diversity and cooperation.
Instead it was gone the opposite direction.
We need greater compassion, understanding, and love for each other, not polarisation, fighting and ego.
Hope is not enough.
Stencil filled with sandalwood powder |
The completed incense stencil |
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Lincoln was stopped by an officer for driving a toy jeep |
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Lincoln was seen driving the toy car on the road |
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He was arrested and allegedly impaired |
Laufey has so many fans in Vancouver they filled an arena Last night I went to watch the artist Laufey perform in concert live at Rogers Are...