Two Completely Different Breakfasts

The Cairo Classic breakfast features fava beans, egg and falafel

In the past few days I've had two different brunches in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that reflect the region's diversity.

The other day I visited a family friend in Pickering, about a 40-minute GO Train ride east from Union Station. There we went to Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, which serves all-day breakfasts, sandwiches and for dessert a variety of pies.

The "Magnificent Seven" breakfast at Perkins

I tried the "Magnificent Seven", consisting of two eggs over easy, two sausages, and three pancakes (C$10.95), seven items of food! 

One of the eggs was sadly broken when it arrived at the table, the grilled sausages nothing special, though the large round pancakes were fluffy. I could manage to eat two and ate two bites of the third before I felt a food coma coming on.

The breakfast was straightforward and somewhat comforting, though predictable.

Then yesterday I had probably my most exotic brunch yet -- Egyptian -- at Maha's Cafe in Toronto. It was about a 20-minute walk from my friend's place. She told me on the weekends there is a queue that goes down the length of the block and so she assumed there wouldn't be a line on a Monday.

A side of hummus at Maha's Cafe

However, when we got there, there were five groups of people already waiting in the queue around 11.30am. Luckily the line went quickly, and after about a 15-minute wait we were seated inside an eclectic-looking cozy place with simple couches lined with cushions, a wall covered with various currencies from the Middle East, Hong Kong, China, and India, the Egyptian flag on the window, and plants around the dining room.

I ordered the Cairo Classic (C$22), which is a breakfast found on every street corner of the Egyptian capital, according to the menu description. The staple is fava beans that are cooked with different ingredients. The fava beans at Maha's Cafe are stewed with tomatoes and onions, and comes with a boiled egg that is sliced, a sesame covered falafel that was surprisingly soft, and some pillowy warm balady bread, a kind of brown pita, and a small dollop of creamy tomato feta with a squirt of olive oil.

Limonata made with limes

Even though the fava beans aren't something I usually eat, they felt comforting and flavourful, and I mopped every last bit with the balady bread. This breakfast also came with a small cup of pickled onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. 

At the spur of the moment we also ordered some hummus (C$8) that wasn't blended ultra smooth like some places -- here there was a chunky texture and lots of garlic and some small whole chickpeas too. It came with more pita bread.

My friend ordered a honey cardamon latte (C$6.95), while I had a glass of limonata (C$11), a thick concoction limes, water and mint. It could have been diluted a bit, but still very refreshing and not too tart.

How's that for two completely different brunches! 

Not sure Vancouver can top the exoticness of an Egyptian breakfast...

Perkins Restaurant and Bakery

1097 Kingston Road

Pickering, ON

905 492 1745

Maha's Cafe

226 Greenwood Avenue

Toronto, ON

416 462 2703

Pickling Chayotes

The chayote slices soaking in the brine

In the last few weeks we have received a lot of chayotes that people have harvested from their gardens. Luckily these vegetables keep for a while, but you have to eat them eventually.

These gourds are native to South American countries, but are also found in many other parts of the world like the Caribbean, the United States, Philippines, Jamaica, India, Australia, Indonesia, and southern China.

Using a cloth makes it easier to peel the chayote

We have stir-fried them many times, and they can be cooked in soups.

The other day I decided to pickle them in the same kind of brine for daikon, which involves vinegar, salt, sugar and water.

After peeling off the tough and prickly skin of two chayotes, I sliced them in half and then into quarters and slices about 1cm wide.

Then I took the chunks and put them in a bowl and took a liberal tablespoon of salt and mixed it with the vegetable to get the moisture out of the slices for about 20 minutes to half an hour. That way they will be more crunchy later.

In the meantime I made the brine:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (can use white vinegar)

1/4 rice vinegar

Slices of chayote ready to be salted and pickled

After about half an hour, I rinsed the chayote pieces with water to wash off the salt and the arranged them in a clean jar before pouring in the brine.

I let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and about 24 hours later I tried the pickled chayote. It tasted great! Tangy sour flavour with a crunch. 

Previously I have pickled them with soy sauce and balsamic vinegar, but this clear brine works better. 'll be making another batch soon to use up these chayotes before they turn bad!

Review: Clan of the Painted Lady

Chiu at the age of three with her Indian nanny in Kolkata, India

Hakka culture is not widely known, as there isn't much academic study of it, and not many Hakka families preserve much of the language. They were nomadic people that are believed to have originated from the north of China and migrated south due to famines and war. From Hong Kong they spread out across the globe to places like Mauritius, India, Canada and the United States.

Vancouver filmmaker Jennifer Chiu is Hakka, originally from Kolkata, India where her parents were born. Even though they got married in Vancouver, they moved back to India where Chiu was born, though when she was very young, she moved back to Vancouver with her mother and siblings; her father stayed behind. He would come back once a year, and then there were years where he didn't come back at all.

The butterfly motif is used through the film

Chiu wanted to find out where she was from and in 2009 went back to Kolkata with her parents. It sparked her interest in finding out more about her Hakka identity, and about four years ago embarked on this very personal documentary called Clan of the Painted Lady. It made its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

The Painted Lady refers to the butterfly, also known as Vanessa cardui, which is the most widespread of all the butterflies, and found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. This butterfly is the motif that is woven throughout the film, from caterpillar to larvae to chrysalis and then butterfly.

Meanwhile Chiu examines what it means to be Hakka, and what others are doing to preserve this culture. She asks her parents, and visits her uncle and other Hakka families in Toronto, goes back to Kolkata and Tangra, where her family had a tannery, and Mui Yan in Guangdong.

For the most part, many of the younger generation don't seem interested or as passionate about learning more about their Hakka culture, much to the disappointment of their parents. In one scene, a son, helping his mother make wontons, says the preservation exercise is focused on the past, whereas he'd rather look forward; he doesn't seem to think Hakka is very useful.

Chiu shot in Canada, India and China

Meanwhile two sisters take over their parents' Chindian (Chinese-Indian) restaurant after their chef father had a stroke in Toronto. Their mother tearfully recounts how she would take the street car to the restaurant at lunchtime and help out for 45 minutes before returning to her work in time, and look after five children. One of the daughters, also tearful, admires her mother's work ethic and wants to be like her.

Chiu gives good insight into the Chinese-Indian community. There's a scene of three elderly Indian women who recall looking after Chiu's family. She told the audience afterwards that three generations of these Indian women's families and looked after her family's three generations.

Her family did well with a tannery business in Tangra, as Hindus believed cows were sacred, so it was only non-Hindus who could handle leather. Tanning leather means using a lot of chemicals to treat the leather, and the waterways near the factories were polluted.

The Indian government cracked down on these factories, ordering them to either shut down or move into a designated industrial area. At this point her father retired and moved back to Vancouver for good. The factory space is still there, but is deserted, while relatives who have stayed behind believe it's better to continue in India than start from scratch in Canada.

Chiu learned more about her family

There's an interesting scene of a Chinese man teaching Indians how to do Chinese lion dancing. He says people ask him why he teaches Indians, but he says they are the only ones interested -- no young Chinese people are keen on learning. He feels lion dancing will always be Chinese, and believes it's more important to pass it down to someone than to let the art form die off.

After the film Chiu asked how many people in the audience were of Hakka heritage and she was thrilled to see so many hands go up. When asked how she felt about her identity after making the film, Chiu said it was not the end as she had hoped, but really the beginning.

What was also thought-provoking was, why are they called Hakka (guest family) by other people -- what did they call themselves? And where were they originally from? Chiu believes that what ties Hakka people together is their stories of migration, how they got to where they are now.

Clan of the Painted Lady

Directed by Jennifer Chiu

101 minutes

Tasting Chinese (and Hakka) Food Around the World

Kwan traveled the world seeking out Chinese restaurants 

This evening I went to a talk called "Food and the Chinese Diaspora" at the Vancouver Public Library, featuring two guests: Cheuk Kwan, who is a Hong Kong-born, Canadian filmmaker who in 2005 did a 15-part series, going around the world documenting Chinese restaurants, and Linda Lau Anusasananan, who wrote The Hakka Cookbook: Chinese Soul Food from Around the World.

Kwan and Anusasananan were moderated by author Kevin Chong, who wanted to keep the discussion more contemporary by mentioning Uncle Roger several times, which might have been a generation or culture gap for many in the audience!

What's interesting about Kwan is that he seems to have two separate lives: the documentarian and author of Have You Eaten Yet? And also a passionate political activist with the Toronto Association for Democracy in China.

Kwan, Anusananan and Chong in discussion

A summary of Kwan's documentary was shown, with scenes of him traveling to far-flung places like Peru, India, Madagascar, Israel, and Brazil, and meeting the Chinese people there, and seeing what they eat.

When Chong asked him which place impressed him the most, Kwan immediately said Madagascar. He discovered a lot of Malagasy-Chinese immigrated to Montreal, so there is a big community there, and in Madagascar, even an eighth-generation Chinese-Malagasy child could write better Chinese than him! 

In the video they proudly say that soupe Chinoise is the national dish. What is it? Wonton soup. "They have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so it really is a national dish," explains Kwan.

Meanwhile Anusasananan explained what Hakka food is -- it has bolder, richer flavours than Cantonese cuisine, though they do borrow from each other, and uses a lot of preserved and pickled vegetables, and salted fish. Some well-known Hakka dishes are braised pork belly with preserved vegetables, stuffed tofu, and salt-baked chicken. 

She didn't know much about her Hakka heritage, and decided to learn more by going around the world and asking other Hakka how they cook their food, and compiled her cookbook.

When Anusasananan traveled to different places, they gave her different variations of dishes, or new ones, like one featuring tea leaves that are pounded with seeds and nuts and then mixed with water and poured over rice!

Anusananan talked about Hakka cuisine

In one of the final questions, Chong asked both what their final meal would be, and Kwan immediately replied he had been asked this many times. The answer? Steamed grouper with ginger and scallions. Anusausanan agreed.

An audience member asked Chong what his meal would be and he said his mom's oxtail soup. Anusananan agreed too which was funny.

There was discussion about how to elevate Chinese food from being one served in white boxes and for cheap, and how younger chefs did more "fusion", and was there concern that they were moving away from tradition. There were mentions of people I had interviewed, like Craig Wong of Patois who does Chinese-Jamaican cuisine, and Brandon Jew of Mister Jiu's in San Francisco, how they have elevated the cuisine.

But back at the beginning of the discussion, Kwan talked about authenticity. He said authentic was whatever your mother or grandmother made for you to eat. That to you is the original flavour. How to replicate it? Anusananan suggested making videos of your mother or father cooking and tasting them at each step so that you would have a better chance of replicating it. Good pro-tip!

China Marks 60 years of Control of Tibet

Festivities marking 60 years of the Tibet Autonomous Region

There was a big party on Lhasa to mark the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party of China's governance of Xizang or Tibet with a massive parade complete with goose-stepping soldiers, colourful floats and dancers dressed in costumes representing 56 ethnic minorities.

President Xi Jinping was on hand to witness the celebrations. One China expert pointed out Xi's appearance should put to rest any rumours of the leader's health as it would not be a good idea for a 72-year-old with health issues to go to Lhasa, which is at 3,636 metres above sea level.

Xi made his second trip to Tibet since 2021

The last time Xi visited Tibet was in 2021, his first trip there. But interestingly this time Xi did not speak.

Wang Huning, China's No. 4 official, said that since the 18th party congress in 2012, under Xi's guidance and comprehensive plan, "Tibet has entered its best period of development, experiencing the greatest changes and bringing the most tangible benefits to people of all ethnic groups".

During the parade, floats representing several different cities drove past Xi and the audience at the foot of the Potala Palace. 

While China regards this anniversary as one that benefitted Xizang, others see it as six decades of iron fist control over the religious region that used to be governed by the Dalai Lama. 

Military strength on display at the anniversary

In March 1959, the Tibetan spiritual leader fled by foot across the border to India and settled in Dharamshala, where he and his entourage and followers have been ever since.

Six years later the Communist Part established the Tibet Autonomous Region, after Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Ningxia.

The Dalai Lama has been playing a political game of chess with the CPC over who and where the next leader will be. In early July he said he will have a successor that he himself will appoint and "no-one else has any authority to interfere in this matter".

According to Tibetan tradition, Dalai Lamas are "reincarnated" after they die. 

However, Beijing claims the religious leader's successor would be from inside China and must be approved by the government.

Bangkok: Chinese Scared of Traveling to Thailand

After Wang's release, he said he hoped to return to Thailand

In Bangkok there was a lot of chatter about how a lot of mainland Chinese tourists are not going to Thailand because of fears of being abducted and taken to scam centres near the border with Myanmar. 

Victims are lured to Thailand by promises of jobs, like the Chinese actor Wang Xing, who thought he was being casted by a major entertainment company. But once they arrive, they are whisked to these scam centres where they are forced to find victims through Whatsapp and other digital platforms and try to scam as much money from them as possible.

15.6 percent drop in Chinese tourists to Thailand

When Wang's situation and eventual release came to light, the Chinese government warned its citizens about the perils of traveling to Thailand, which led to a drop of about 15.6 percent of Chinese tourists in January.

But these warnings are not new -- as far back as 2022 there were rumours that going to Thailand would result in people getting trafficked to Myanmar and losing their kidneys. A year later the blockbuster No More Bets was a fictional account of Chinese tourists forced to work in scam centres.

Nevertheless Wang's story has resulted in lots of Chinese cancelling trips to Thailand and going instead to Japan and Malaysia. 

This is frustrating for Thailand, as it depends on Chinese tourists to help the country recover from Covid. In 2024, more than 6.2 million tourists to Thailand were from China, followed by Malaysians at 4.5 million and Indians at 1.9 million.

Although the Thai government has tried to reassure Chinese tourists that the country is safe to travel, around 10,000 trips from China were cancelled during the Lunar New Year.

After such a negative story about being lured to scam centres, it's not easy to get these millions of Chinese tourists to reconsider traveling to Thailand. 

Scam centres along the Thai-Myanmar border

But perhaps some common sense would help -- stick to touristy spots and avoid wandering in dodgy areas, advice that is universal for all places you are not familiar with.

One expat pointed out he finds Bangkok and Thailand very safe, and doesn't understand how Chinese people could be so easily spooked; but incessant coverage in state media has led them to believe Thailand is a dangerous place without doing research or critical thinking.

However, Beijing may have an ulterior motive to keep its citizens from traveling in general -- to boost the domestic economy by spending at home.

Interestingly most of these scam centres are run by Chinese gangs, though Beijing now has to step in to clamp down on these illegal operations. 

While these scam centres may not be entirely eliminated, the Thai and Chinese governments need to show they are shutting these places down, otherwise the number of Chinese tourists coming to Thailand will slow to a tiny trickle.

Savouring Edible Gifts

Eating the bread and jam friends made is gold

Aside from his day job, a friend in Hong Kong likes to make jam in his spare time, using fruits when they are in season. He takes pictures from start to finish on social media, and one can easily see how much work he puts into it, particularly when it comes to peeling off the skin, or de-seeding the fruit.

I once asked if I could learn how to make jam from him, but by the way he replied, it seemed like this was something he preferred to do alone with his particular way of doing things, and it's understandable.

A prized jar of passion fruit jam

He has made jams from lemons to yuzu, blueberries, strawberries, kumquats, mango, apricot, blackberry and apple.

The fruits are chopped and then cooked in a giant copper pot before being scooped into small glass jars and then carefully labelled and then gifted to friends and chefs.

I am lucky to be one of the receivers and savour every bite of his jams. When I left Hong Kong he gave me a jar of lemon jam -- whole lemons that had been cooked down and it was definitely the taste of summer.

This time he gave me passion fruit jam with a hint of yuzu. It's a golden colour speckled with the dark seeds. 

And then I went to Singapore and met up with an ex-colleague I haven't seen for over 20 years! He recently wrote a book about baking, in particular baked goods from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia to name a few. 

His book, NerdBaker 2: Tales from the Yeast Indies is so beautifully written and also his recipes are very particular, but also offers substitutions in case you can't find the exact ingredients. He encourages people to try out his recipes because he has rigorously tested them, though he has some fans who read his books for bedtime reading and not in the kitchen!

Indonesian bread made by my friend!

Not only did he sign a copy of the book for me, but also gave me a loaf of bread! In particular roti sisir tapai ubi, an Indonesian bread that you can tear off easily.

So you can imagine I was very excited to try them together!

I heated up the bread in the microwave a bit to make it warm and a bit fluffy before spreading the passion fruit jam over the bread. Needless to say it tasted delicious! 

I thanked both profusely, and hinted perhaps the two should do a collaboration together! Breads matched with jams! 

Ironically my baker friend is on a low-carb diet so when he was testing his recipes he would give away his trial bread to friends. But he says because he can only eat so much bread, it better be good, which is why it's best to make it yourself!

Where's Xi?

Xi and Ramaphosa with their wives in a photo call

China watchers are wondering what's going on after Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in South Africa for the Brics Business Forum, but failed to show up for the opening where he was supposed to deliver a speech.

In his place, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao read Xi's speech in Johannesburg, which had a veiled criticism against the United States for its tendency toward "hegemony".

Putin gave a speech virtually, but Xi a no-show

It is the first in-person summit at Brics, where the leaders of Brazil, India, South Africa, and China are meeting since the pandemic, though Russia's Vladimir Putin is virtually there as there is an international warrant for his arrest in the host country.

Although Xi arrived on Monday evening and later met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Chinese leader was a no show at the business forum with no explanation given either.

Bonnie Glaser of the German Marshall Fund was quoted as saying: "It is extremely unusual for a Chinese leader to show up in a country hosting a multilateral meeting -- especially one that China is deeply invested in, like Brics, and fail to show up at the opening event."

Meanwhile Brian Hart, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies added: "Xi's absence is highly unusual. Chinese leaders rarely go off script at high-profile events like this... Xi's disappearance is yet another reminder that Beijing can be a black box."

Xi had arrived Monday, met with Ramaphosa

CNN alluded to former top diplomat Qing Gang being suddenly disappeared for a month with no explanation either but replaced last month by his predecessor Wang Yi.

The Brics forum has more than 30 other heads of state and leaders from global organisations, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, attending the event.

It is the largest gathering of the Global South countries from Africa, the Caribbean and South America, as well as the Middle East, West Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Will Xi resurface later? Does he have a headache? Or would rather go check out a safari instead?

Many questions...

Canada Also Wants Negative Covid Test

How much longer will flight crew wear hazmat suits onboard?

Happy New Year! And if you arrive in Canada from China, Hong Kong and Macau from January 5 onwards, you will have to produce a negative Covid-19 test within 48 hours of your flight.

Canada is now following other countries such as the United States, Japan, Italy, India and Malaysia in trying to slow down the possible surge in Covid-19 cases coming into their respective countries.

Negative Covid test needed to enter Canada

Any traveller from China, Hong Kong and Macau who is two years and older and regardless of their vaccination status must produce a negative molecular or antigen test that was supervised by a telehealth service accredited laboratory or testing provider.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is concerned there could be other variants swirling around on the Chinese mainland that the rest of the world is unaware of and hope that testing will try to keep out as many other variants as possible; that said most people outside of China have either been infected with Covid-19 and recovered, or are sufficiently vaccinated to protect themselves.

While Canada's measure is only for 30 days and then will be reassessed to continue or not, epidemiologists like University of Hong Kong's Ben Cowling do not find this a good way in stopping the virus from entering other countries.

Testing inbound travellers, with the exception of those at a few tourist destinations, "does not have much impact on the domestic spread of infections because travellers only [make up] a small fraction of a population at any given time," Cowling said in an email, adding there was no epidemiological rationale for travel restrictions at this stage of the pandemic.

HK travelers must produce negative test too

Meanwhile, before the end of 2022, several notable people passed away, including Brazilian football legend Pele, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, former Pope Benedict Ratzinger, journalist Barbara Walters, and Canadian singer and songwriter Ian Tyson.

Everyone is hoping 2023 will be much better and despite inflation, climate change and Covid-19 still lingering. No one wants to waste another moment after almost three years were gone.

Wishing everyone good health, happiness for the coming year!

Changing Face of Canada is Asian

More immigrants make up the Canadian population

Statistics Canada has unveiled its latest population figures and 8.3 million people or 23 percent of the national population were either immigrants or permanent residents from 2016 to 2021.

This percentage tops the previous record of 22.3 percent in 1921.

Metro Vancouver has 54 percent visible minorities

Asian-born immigrants were the largest ethnic group at 62 percent last year, compared to only 12.1 percent in 1971. India was the source of most of the Asian immigrants, contributing 18.6 percent of the total number arriving between 2016 to 2021.

They were followed by those from the Philippines at 11.4 percent, and then China at 8.9 percent. Part of the drop of Chinese immigrants could be because of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions that prevented many people from leaving, and also China making it harder for people to move money out, thus hampering their exit plans.

When it comes to Metro Vancouver, 54 percent identify as visible minorities, compared to 49 percent five years ago.

The largest non-white ethnic groups are Chinese at 19.6 percent of the population, and South Asian at 14.2 percent, and Filipino at 5.5 percent. 

Richmond has over 80 percent visible minorities

When analysed further, Richmond has the highest proportion of people who are visible minorities at 80.3 percent, followed by Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam and then Vancouver at 54.5 percent. 

This national census also gave people the opportunity to identify themselves as from Hong Kong as opposed to just China, and that number is 8,560 in Metro Vancouver. Also interestingly there seems to be some 12,000 more Chinese women than men in the 25-40 age group. One urban planner suggests perhaps it's because of astronaut families with husbands back in Asia.

However, there is much chatter post-National Congress that many businessmen in China have either left or are leaving, and with conscription in Russia, we could see more Chinese and Russians landing on our shores...

UN Vote Rejects Uyghur Debate

Human Rights Council in the United Nations

The recent release of the UN report on the plight of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China, is an important document that collates a lot of evidence to show the Chinese authorities may have committed crimes against humanity.

The report confirms what the Uyghur diaspora has been saying about their loved ones -- that they are separated from their families and children, placed in internment camps where they are forced to learn Mandarin and political indoctrination, in some cases women had forced sterilisations and endured rape. People had to do manual labour in factories, didn't have enough to eat, and endured terrible living conditions.

Red against, green for, and white abstained

As a follow-up to the report, today there was a proposal in the United Nations on whether to debate the alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang next year. 

The result? Proposal narrowly rejected, with 19 against, 17 for and strangely 11 abstained.

Those who abstained? Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Brazil, Gambia, India, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico and Ukraine.

Ukraine! How strange, considering China has been supporting Russia in the current conflict.

And India too -- with its skirmishes with China one would think India would like to put China in the hot seat.

The South American countries may be getting some kind of cheque-book diplomacy? We may find out later.

HK protesters who supported Ukraine in 2019

In the meantime it is disappointing this report may fall off people's radars soon if there isn't a spotlight shining on it.

China must have been lobbying hard behind the scenes to get countries to vote no... If the countries for the debate aren't as organised then of course they are not going to have a steady block of votes.

The other reason is China is a permanent member of the Security Council which to some member states can be intimidating. 

In any event, this result does not bode well not only for Uyghurs but also Hongkongers if and when a debate about it ever came up. 

One wonders now if pro-democracy Hongkongers who previously supported Ukraine will now turn their backs on it? 

The tangled web of politics...