Cantopop Group RubberBand in Vancouver

Mau of RubberBand performed in Vancouver

A Hong Kong friend had an extra ticket to see the Cantopop band RubberBand so I watched them perform tonight at the Vogue Theatre downtown.

The venue was pretty much sold out, with lots of eager fans to see their favourite band live.

Singer Mau Hou-cheong, guitarist Clement Fung Ting-ching, bassist Lee Siu-wai, and drummer Lai Man-wang are celebrating the band's 20th anniversary with a North American tour of San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto and New York City.

Hong Kong fans embraced the band at the Vogue

During the set with an intermission in between, Mau told the crowd he had lost his voice a day earlier, but he sang as much as he could without straining his voice. The fans were appreciative of his call-outs to Vancouver, and sang the lyrics to many of the songs.

While the band formed in 2005, RubberBand didn't sign with a label until the following year. In 2018 they became independent and started their own music label called R flat. 

The indie band became particularly popular during the Umbrella Movement in 2014, as they supported the protesters occupying the streets calling for universal suffrage.

In January 2022, RTHK blacklisted 10 local groups and singers, including RubberBand together with Denise Ho, Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, Kay Tse and Charmaine Fong.

A year later RubberBand toured around Europe, performing to Hongkongers who emigrated overseas. Coming to North America is an extension of the tour, with RubberBand making its United States debut.

No rest for the wicked -- after finishing the performance around 10.40pm, the band held a meet-and-greet after the show for VIP ticket holders and then fly to Toronto tomorrow. 

 

Therapy Ponies Ease Pre-Flight Stress at YVR

Magic (left) and Tinkerbell (right) with their handlers at YVR

Anxious about flying?

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has therapy dogs or ambassador dogs to help soothe pre-flight jitters, as part of the airport's Less Airport Stress Initiative (LASI) program that started in 2017.

And now YVR is trialling miniature therapy ponies, making it the first airport in Canada to do this.

"At YVR, we're always looking for creative ways to bring new solutions and amenities to the travel experience, so when we thought about what's the next evolution of the LASI program, introducing therapy ponies... was a great fit," explains Eric Pateman, chief experience officer with the Vancouver Airport Authority.

Magic is three years old, and Tinkerbell is 17, and they are from Green Acres Therapy Horses, which trains the ponies to be experienced in high-traffic public areas like shopping malls, schools and seniors' homes. 

The trial period this summer will see how Magic and Tinkerbell do in the stressful airport environment and the feedback from passengers, though so far it's pretty positive. If all goes well by the end of the pilot, Magic and Tinkerbell may be hanging around YVR more often, along with the therapy dogs from St John's Ambulance.

Therapy llamas a Portland International Airport

Other airports have used different kinds of therapy animals. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has a "wag brigade" that has calmed passengers since 2013. The team includes 27 dogs and one hypoallergenic pig named Lilou.

Meanwhile last year Portland International Airport started having therapy llamas and alpacas in its terminals to ease passengers' stress levels.

Guess these llamas and alpacas don't spit on humans! Otherwise that would add another stress level to people in the airport!

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...

Happy New Year!

Can't believe it's 2025!

For me, 2024 was a challenging year, but came out with some positives: I did a lot more walking than the year before and a bit more swimming. Pilates class is something I am enjoying a lot, where once a week for an hour I get to challenge my muscles and core in a fun way and entertained with dad jokes from our instructor.

I finally got a family doctor and was given a clean bill of health which is a relief, after not having had any comprehensive check-up in years.

This year was great professionally, writing more stories and being able to interview people from around the world.

On the travel front, I was able to fly to Hong Kong and Singapore to catch up with friends and family and had such a memorable trip. I also went on an Alaska cruise for the first time and seeing icebergs and glaciers, and even black bears! I also went to San Francisco to see extended family, and an annual trip to Palm Springs.

I hope to be able to travel again in the new year.

Wishing good health and happiness to everyone in 2025! 

Classical Concert in the Church

Zanrosso and Kahn at the front of the church

Before we headed to San Francisco International Airport, we attended a free concert (well donations of US$20 per person) organised by Noontime Concerts. It was held at Old St Mary's Cathedral, which is near Chinatown. 

We arrived early, so we attended the tail end of mass. The father presiding over mass talked about how Americans need to be more humble, using the Olympics as an example. He said at the closing ceremonies, the French tied sports with the arts in a thoughtful presentation and as the next Summer Games are in Los Angeles in 2028, what do the Americans do? Have Tom Cruise jump out of a plane...

Old St Mary's Cathedral

It was an amusing observation from an American!

After mass was over, the baby grand piano was wheeled in from the side and the concert began, featuring Evan Kahn on cello and Amy Zanrosso on piano. Zanrosso has a Canadian connection, as she studied music at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, and did a Masters degree at McGill University in Montreal. 

Because we had luggage with us, we sat at the back of the church; that made it hard to focus on the performance with people coming in and out of the church, as the die-hard concertgoers were near the front.

Nevertheless it was nice to hear some classical music in a church where the acoustics are great! The performers got a standing ovation at the end.

Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 102, No. 1 by Beethoven

Melodie for Cello and Piano, Op. 20, No. 1 by Alexander Glazunov

Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 65 by Benjamin Britten

 

Review: La Marcha

Seafood paella was the highlight of the dinner at La Marcha

On our last night in San Francisco we had dinner in a hopping Spanish restaurant in Berkeley called La Marcha. It was easy to get a reservation online, but we when we arrived, we were surprised to see the place was packed with diners. It even felt warm inside so we waited outside for our table to be cleared.

Less than 10 minutes later we were seated in the cosy restaurant with high ceilings and exposed brick walls, an impressive-looking bar with two legs of jamon or ham hanging in the corner, while servers were pretty attentive in the dining room, that was busy for the first hour and then slowly diners had their fill and disappeared.

Cauliflower (left) and mushroom croquettes

The menu is quite extensive, with a lot of tapas to choose from, followed by salads, jamon, and some paella. Even though we had four people, we were conservative with the number of dishes we ordered and it was just about right: four tapas and a paella.

Soon after we ordered the tapas began to arrive. First the mushroom and manchego croquettes (US$11) that reminded us of Chinese deep-fried taro puffs at dim sum but better, thanks to the umami of the cheese and mushrooms, finely blended.

We also had the blistered cauliflower with mornay sauce and bits of bacon lardons (US$13) that had a subtle spicy kick. The cauliflower was slightly undercooked, and seasoned with the salty bacon bits. 

Next came grilled octopus with fennel, pollen, sunchoke puree, and garbanzos (US$20). The meaty octopus was tender with a slight char and hint of smokiness. This dish was cleared quite quickly.

White bean stew, pork belly, chorizo, creme fraiche

Our last tapas was white bean stew with morcilla, chorizo, pork belly, and chermoula creme fraiche (US$15), a hearty comfort dish with chunks of meat that would have been better if they were diced to make it easier to share. There was even a slice of black pudding in the bowl.

Next came our paella marinera (US$56), a photogenic colourful dish that was carefully styled by the kitchen. On top of the thick layer of rice were mussels, prawns, and clams, as well as peas and diced peppers along with a sprig of rosemary and half a charred lemon.

We quickly pronounced the paella better than the one we had in Barcelona's Las Ramblas, the touristy food market. The rice here was not dry, though the bottom was a bit burned. Nevertheless the seafood cooked just right and we enjoyed every bite -- even cleaning up the pan.

Although we were full, we wanted to squeeze in dessert. The blackberry cabernet sauvignon sorbet (US$9) looked intriguing and we wanted to try the olive oil citrus cake (US$14) but it was sold out. The waiter suggested the chocolate cake (US$12) so we did. 

Chocolate cake, blackberry sorbet

The wine-coloured sorbet really did have a hint of wine in it, and two large scoops were refreshing. Meanwhile the flourless chocolate cake was so intense in flavour, I kept saying, "Wow" after each bite. The chocolate cake was very smooth in flavour, speckled with cocoa nibs for a bit of crunch, and was paired with a scoop of chocolate mousse! The latter could have been a dessert of its own. 

As we were eating we discovered a crumped US$5 bill under our table and we used that towards paying our bill. A delicious dinner and the bonus of $5 made it a double treat.

La Marcha

2026 San Pablo Avenue

Berkeley, CA

(510) 288 9997

From Afghanistan to San Francisco

The San Francisco Ferry Terminal building

When our Uber driver picked us up from the San Francisco Ferry Terminal building, we told him we had just taken the ferry from Alameda and he asked how much it was. When we told him the price he said that was great and perhaps he could take his children on it.

Then he explained he had six -- SIX children -- ranging from 20 years old to five years old.

Our driver, named Shafiullah, said he loved children, which is why he had many! One wonders how his wife feels about having such a big brood. Nevertheless, he said he enjoyed playing with them and liked how the youngest always asked for a toy when he came home.

Shafiullah later explained he worked as an Uber driver for three consecutive days. The family lives in Sacramento, and he drives up to San Francisco to find rides because they pay better, though it also means he sleeps in his car (parked in a safe place). 

He complained that eating in San Francisco was expensive; he also needs to eat halal food. He couldn't bring home-cooked food with him because it would spoil. It seems like he makes enough money? His oldest is in college now and hopefully will be able to help out with the family finances soon.

We talked a bit about the election and Shafiullah said that he recently became an American citizen and didn't know who to vote for. "I asked my friends and some say Trump, and some say Harris," he said. Really? In a deep blue state? 

I didn't suggest who he should vote for, but as an American citizen he should exercise his right to vote, and the first thing to do was register! He said his son, his wife, and he were eligible to vote and I encouraged him that they should take part.

He said he left Afghanistan seven years ago and terribly misses his family back home, though he said it is too dangerous for him to go back. A friend speculated perhaps Shafiullah was a translator who worked for the US Army and managed to get pulled out along with his family.

In any event Shafiullah was happy to be in the US despite the difficulties he faced. That's the American story, isn't it?

Review: Zachary's Pizza

Stuffed spinach and mushroom pizza with sausage

Five years ago we tried Zachary's Chicago Pizza for the first time and were overwhelmed by this deep-dish concept, where it's more like a pie than a pizza.

But we liked it so much we requested to try it again and went to the north Berkeley location for lunch.

More like a pie than typical pizza

We liked the decorations on the wall -- amateur paintings that plug Zachary's, from Garfield dreaming about it, to a riff on the Johannes Vermeer painting, Girl with the Pearl Earring, and having her biting into a slice of deep-dish pizza.

We ordered a stuffed pizza with spinach and mushroom that has three cheeses in it and added sausage, which took about 30 minutes to make; so we had a side of garden salad to munch on before the pizza arrived.

The fresh vegetable produce in California is delicious -- the lettuce is crisp and tastes sweeter, in particular the tomatoes, which are incredible. In Vancouver we are stuck with ones that were picked when they were green and have hardly any flavour. 

When the pizza arrived, it was more like a pie and our server helped us dish out the pizza. It was definitely gooey from the generous amounts of melted cheese, but the richness was balanced by the sweet acidity of the delicious fresh tomato sauce!

Not only was the filling good, but also the crust! It was thick but not rock hard; it held the pizza together, but crunchy enough for texture.

Funny pizza-themed artwork on the wall

In the end I managed to eat one and a half slices; a medium-sized pizza for four of us resulted in two slices left which we brought with us.

Good thing I did a bit of walking afterwards to digest that filling pizza!

Zachary's Chicago Pizza

1853 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA

(510) 525 5950

A Visit to Blake Garden

Beautiful green views over the city

A relative who lives in the Bay Area took us to Blake Garden today, a public garden north of the UC Berkeley campus in an area called Kensington. We had to go up hills and along narrow roads before we reached the entrance.

It's free admission, with entrance at a pedestrian gate off to the side. There's no paper map to follow so it's best to just wander around and the paths eventually meet up with each other. The garden is 10.5 acres which includes Blake House, which is supposed to be the residence of the president of the University of California. 

Giant flowers under blue skies today

But upon closer inspection you can see it's deserted and empty, and not maintained. We asked a gardener working on the property about it and she said the last president lived there 15 years ago and since then successive presidents prefer to live closer to the campus. The place has also fallen into disrepair and would need a huge budget to not only renovate the home but also maintain it. Not exactly a priority at this time, which is too bad, but at least the garden is kept up using organic methods.

The house includes a long rectangular reflecting pool that is fed fresh water from a grotto. Upon closer inspection of the manmade pool there were giant Japanese carp swimming in there! They got excited to see me, thinking I would feed them and came swarming around, but then realised I did not bring anything, and there's also a sign warning visitors not to feed them human or fish food, as they are already well fed.

Twin Japanese girls and their parents came to have a picnic by the pool and the siblings were excited to see the fish. One of them counted how many and rushed back to report the number to her parents.

Blake House in the background

Wandering around the garden we were impressed in particular by a giant magnolia tree. We'd never seek such a big tree with big leaves and big flowers in a creamy yellow colour. While the garden tries to maintain things as natural as possible, many of the 1,500 species of flowers and shrubs did not have labels so we either had to guess or didn't know what they were. 

Nevertheless the view was beautiful -- down below we could see San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. The garden is quite compact, as it abutted some public roads and residential area. There's a mini redwood forest but we didn't go in, and instead admired some Asian-inspired ceramic sculptures near the Blake House, as well as the numerous flora and fauna.

There was also an area with a sign that says "caterpillar X-ing" and some milkweed grown there to help foster more butterflies, and there were a lot of succulents and flowers, a few roses and even an artichoke tree with artichokes growing on it!

Blake Garden is a lovely place to walk around and immerse yourself in nature for a few hours!

Massive magnolia flower!

Blake Garden

70 Rincon Road

Kensington, CA

Driverless Cars Take You Around

There's no one sitting in the driver's seat!

While we were waiting for our Uber to arrive at the San Francisco Ferry Terminal building, we saw a white car with a strange contraption on top of the car -- and no one in the driver's seat!

It was a Waymo, the world's first autonomous ride-hailing service. So basically Uber without the driver!

We saw two people get in, one in the back, one in the passenger side, and once the road was clear, it signalled to turn left into the lane and drove off!

Two brave souls got into the car...

Waymo is formerly the Google self-driving car project, which launched in 2015. The following year it was rebranded as Waymo. In 2020 it was the first company to offer a driverless ride-hailing service. 

The car, a Chrysler Pacifica hybrid, relies on artificial intelligence and Google Street View technology to navigate roads.

But is it safe?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded 150 crashes by Waymo by July 2021, though most of the crashes did not have injuries. In February this year, a Waymo struck a cyclist in San Francisco, and then most recently, there are complaints the Waymos are very noisy when they self-park in a parking lot near residents because the cars make a lot of noise when backing up. 

San Francisco was where I saw a robot make coffee five years ago, and now a driverless car. 

What's next?!

Picture of the Day: A Tree of Resilience

An old buckeye tree near the Berkeley Faculty Club

Today we went to the UC Berkeley campus to attend a lovely wedding in the forest called Stephen T Mather Redwood Grove. Just across from the Botanical Garden is the forest grove, where there is an outdoor amphitheatre. 

It was a beautiful setting, simple, natural and best of all cool with the trees acting as organic canopies shading us from the sun.

Afterwards we headed to the university faculty club for refreshments followed by dinner and dancing.

When we walked towards the faculty club we were struck by this tree. It looked very pale and we wondered if it was dead and wandered closer to take a look.

On the tips of the branches there were small green leaves! So it was indeed still alive.

The tree is called buckeye, and this one seems to be a very old one. The trunk is also quite impressive -- is it one tree with two trunks or two trees sharing the trunk? 

It's definitely a model of resilience, somehow managing to stay alive! 

Biden and Xi Meet Again

Biden and Xi shake hands in highly choreographed meeting

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden finally met again in San Francisco following over a year of tense relations between the two countries.

They had talks that lasted four hours, which is considered really productive, going over a wide range of topics from restarting military-to military direct contact, curbing fentanyl production, Taiwan, the Israel-Hamas war, and artificial intelligence.

The two leaders held talks for four hours

Xi offered a diplomatic comment: "Planet Earth is big enough" for both superpowers, and that while their countries were different, they should be "fully capable of rising above differences."

The Chinese leader also hinted the panda diplomacy program might start up again after the US sent back three pandas over a week ago.

At a press conference after Xi had left, a reporter asked Biden if he still regarded Xi a dictator, a word he had used earlier in the year.

"Well, look, he is," Biden said. "I mean, he's a dictator in the sense that he's a guy who runs a country that is a Communist country."

Reporters freaked out that Biden had said the D-word, but he was just calling a spade a spade.

Will it undo the four hours of talks? No.

Perhaps panda diplomacy will restart again?

China needs the US desperately to woo back American companies to do more business in the Middle Kingdom, but the political risks are too high these days. 

Company executives and journalists being disappeared and detained, or have exit bans placed on them are not conducive to a good business environment...