Handing Out Cash in a Potato Chip Bag

Greco (right) handed a potato chip bag with cash to a reporter

A long time advisor to New York City mayor Eric Adams has been suspended from his re-election campaign after she gave cash in an empty potato chip bag to a journalist. For the record it was sour cream and onion flavoured chips.

Winnie Greco, who is ethnic Chinese, met up with The City's Katie Honan at Whole Foods, where Greco at first offered her the chip bag as a snack. According to Honan, she refused, but Greco insisted she keep it, and then the two parted ways.

When Honan got to the subway station, she looked inside and saw that there was a red envelope stuffed with cash -- one $100 bill and several $20 bills.

The red envelope was stuffed with over US$100

She freaked out and called her editor, and then tried to call Greco back, telling her could not take the money and had to return it. But Greco claimed she was not in the area anymore.

The City promptly reported what happened to the city's Department of Investigation, and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn contacted the newspaper's lawyers.

In response, Adams' campaign spokesman, Todd Shapiro said, "We are shocked by these reports," and added "Winnie Greco holds no position in this campaign and has been suspended from all volunteer-related activities."

But it was Greco's lawyer, Steven Brill, who had to somehow spin the narrative to explain the red envelope that made the situation even worse.

He claimed it was common in Chinese culture to give cash to reporters "in a gesture of friendship and gratitude."

"I grant you this looks odd," Brill said. "But I assure you that Winnie's intent was purely innocent."

Honan doesn't know why Greco gave her money

He said her attempt to give money to the reporter might have been "misconstrued" and that she is "apologetic and embarrassed."

Does anyone actually buy this apparent explanation?

The reporter Honan, who covers City Hall, was asked by the CBC if she knew why Greco gave her the money and Honan said she didn't know why.

But the way Brill explains it as a cultural thing just looks terrible, and it also makes it look like all ethnic Chinese reporters accept red envelopes!

For the record no one in Hong Kong gives lai see in Cantonese or hong bao in Mandarin to reporters. It is absolutely forbidden.

However on the Chinese mainland, this practice is very common. Since reporters' base salary is very low, they often pad it by collecting hong bao and writing stories praising whichever companies that gave it to them.

Many years ago in 2007 in Beijing, I witnessed this first hand when I accompanied a reporter to an innocuous event. She was handed a hong bao of 200 yuan, which wasn't much, but the reporter refused it outright.

The public relations person politely tried to explain it was "transportation money" to compensate for the trouble of getting to the event, but the reporter flatly said she didn't need the money because our company would reimburse her for the transportation costs.

It went back and forth for a few minutes until the PR person gave up.

But apparently those covering the oil and gas industry, and probably now electric cars would get very thick red envelopes...

Nevertheless, halfway around the world in New York, why would someone even consider giving out red envelopes to a reporter?

In any event, Greco was already investigated last year by the FBI, and for her close ties to China, and this latest incident will surely be probed further. It's going to be hard for Greco to spin the story out of a sour cream and onion chip bag...

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.

Air Canada and Union Reach Tentative Agreement

Air Canada flight attendants were victorious in their strike

At around 4.23am Eastern time this morning, the union representing 10,000 flight attendants and Air Canada came to a tentative agreement, where the former get paid for at least 60 minutes when they are working on the ground, and a pay raise.

"Unpaid work is over. We have reclaimed our voice and our power," the union said in a statement.

Union and management have tentative agreement

Getting paid for the work flight attendants do before the plane leaves the gate is a massive breakthrough for the flight attendants, who have been fighting for this for months, and could set the industry standard globally. While there are a few smaller airlines who do pay their flight attendants for ground work, Air Canada is one of the first major international airlines to do so.

Although the union has yet to ratify the deal, the union advised its members to "fully co-operate with resumption of operations."

As a result, some flights resumed at around 4pm EST, though it will take international flights several days to restart. 

It's a massive victory for the flight attendants, who were defying the work-to-order and were even willing to go to jail for their disobedience. They stood their ground and waged a cohesive campaign across the country.

Nasr claimed ground pay was in the deal earlier

Meanwhile management were publicly perceived in a bad light and saw how angry passengers were for causing the disruptions and blamed it on them and not the flight attendants. That probably caused management to want to resolve the strike quickly.

But it didn't have to be this way! If management claimed they were willing to pay for ground pay all along, then why not say so?

"[Ground pay] absolutely should be in there, and we're so happy that we finally reached this industry-leading deal that allows our flight attendants to be compensated for the important work... that they perform on the ground," said Air Canada executive vice-president Mark Nasr.

He claimed ground pay had been part of the airline's proposed deal for workers for months...

Poilievre to Return to House of Commons

Poilievre is projected to handily win the Alberta riding tonight

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre will be back in the House of Commons keeping Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in check.

In today's byelection held in the riding of Battle River-Crowfoot, in Alberta, Poilievre is leading with 80.1 percent of the vote, by far the most ballots compared to Independent candidate Bonnie Critchley (9.9 percent), and Liberal candidate Darcy Spady (4.4 percent).

Kurek gave up his seat for Poilievre to run

Poilievre was expected to win, as Battle River-Crowfoot is considered the most conservative riding in the country. MP Damien Kurek who had handily won the riding for the Conservatives during the general election in April, resigned so that Poilievre could run.

He had lost his seat of Carleton, in Ontario, that he had held for 20 years, which called into question Poilievre's leadership credibility.

But with this predicted decisive win, it signals there is no doubt the voters in Battle River-Crowfoot want him to be the official Leader of the Opposition.

The byelection was not without its controversies, the biggest being the ballot had a whopping 214 candidates on it. Elections Canada made the unprecedented move of getting voters to write down the name of the candidate they wanted to vote for instead of printing such long ballots.

Some critics were concerned that Poilievre was parachuting himself into the riding without even living there, while others were pleased to have the Conservative leader, as he could give the area more attention in the House of Commons.

The ballot with 214 candidates' names on it

"They're the kind of what you see is what you get, give you the shirt off their back, tell it like it is, common sense people," Poilievre said of the voters in Battle River-Crowfoot on Monday night.

"And they reinforced a lot of lessons that all of us in politics have to learn and relearn and relearn again. Humility and hard work. Loyalty and love."

The riding of Carleton bid Poilievre good riddance, while Battle River-Crowfoot has welcomed him with open arms.

Turbulent Times with Air Canada Strike

Flight attendants want to be paid for ground services

The Air Canada strike was barely 12 hours old when the Canadian government shut it down. Flight attendants with the nation's largest airline are fighting to be paid for all the work they do on the ground before the plane pushes off from the gate.

It's an issue they have repeated all over the media, gaining a lot of sympathy from the public, though others are annoyed the strike has severely impacted their travel plans, including my brother and nephew. 

They were supposed to fly on AC Saturday, but earlier this week I warned him about the impending strike and he made a backup plan to fly on American Airlines.

Air Canada turned to government for intervention

However, this morning when they arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the flight was cancelled. He literally scrambled to get another flight leaving nine hours later to Seattle, and a train ticket to Vancouver. It was the cheaper option than to shell out around US$4,000 for two tickets on an alternative airline.

The plane left late, but managed to cut its flight time thanks to tail wind and it looked promising for him and my nephew to arrive with enough time to get to the train station.

But alas -- the bridge to connect to the plane in order to de-plane was broken! It took over an hour for the plane to be towed to another gate, and so they did not make the last Amtrak train at 9pm.

This afternoon CBC Radio's national call-in show Cross Country Checkup asked people how the Air Canada strike was affecting them. People phoned in from Dublin and Brazil to say they were stranded there, while others were upset their loved ones would not be able to make their wedding in a few days, or that the bride wouldn't make it on time, a father said he was traveling through Texas to get to his son in another part of Canada who was having cancer treatment.

A flight attendant disrupts an AC press conference

Others complained they tried to get through to Air Canada many times on the phone and got no where, and one person said the phone message told people to go to the website, while the website instructed people to call.

Despite the headaches and stress, most of the callers supported the flight attendants.

At the same time academics who study labour or airlines said Air Canada should have bargained in good faith with the flight attendants, that they should not have turned to the government to invoke Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, forcing the flight attendants back to work and binding arbitration. 

Experts also blamed the government for siding with management so quickly.

"It really is a troubling development," said Barry Eidlin, who studies labour and social movements at McGill University.

"Section 107 basically just allows the labour minister this unilateral power to intervene to order workers back to work against their will. Ant that is extremely concerning."

In retaliation to the government forcing them to go back to work, the flight attendants are refusing to do so and are continuing their strike.

So while Air Canada says it will get flights up and running by Monday evening, that probably won't be happening. It's just creating bad blood between the flight attendants and Air Canada, with the passengers held hostage during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

Lighting Up Chinatown with Delicious Grub

Delicious curry fish balls and XO siu mai

Today Light Up Chinatown kicked off, just as the epic rainstorm finally ended and the skies turned blue. The Chinatown event is an annual weekend initiative to get people to come visit the neighbourhood, eat some food, patronise some shops and maybe even bump into some friends.

Visitors can get a "passport" and visit specific shops to get a stamp. Get eight stamps, two in each of the four zones made them eligible to put their name into a lucky draw to win prizes like a Lululemon gift card, an Arc'teryx hoodie, and the grand prize of two tickets to see John Legend in concert.

The weather cleared up for Light Up Chinatown

I arrived shortly after the opening ceremonies began, but instead of listening to the speeches, I focused on the food offerings. Along Columbia Street were several stalls and I tried a few of them.

First off was Mama in the Kitchen with chef William Lew, who presented four dishes, and I tried three of them.

The typhoon shelter calamari was a great idea, the calamari tender and a slight crunch to it, and not too spicy. The portion is good to share -- too much for one person. The same could be said of the salted egg yolk pork belly in terms of portion, and while the pork belly was slightly caramelised, the salted egg yolk flavour wasn't pronounced, which was a pity. 

A signature dish for Mama in the Kitchen is the curry fish balls, and this was a portion that can be eaten by one person, with two pieces of siu mai topped with a small shrimp and dressed with XO sauce. It's a good combination of street food with spice.

Typhoon shelter calamari

Torafuku is celebrating its 10th anniversary and made its debut at Light Up Chinatown with its beef rendang taco. It looks like a simple dish, but the beef has been braised for a long time and infused with curry flavour that is then wrapped in a soft tortilla. It's relatively easy to eat, though the oil drips out...

Also supported Holy Duck Chili Oil that collaborated with Ember HK BBQ with a cart noodle concept. Customers can choose one, two or three toppings out of a total of six, and the kind of noodles -- Japanese instant noodles, spaghetti or vermicelli.

I chose peanut satay pork and honey char siu with Japanese instant noodles. After about five minutes my name was called out and it was a decent portion. The char siu was in chunks instead of slices which would have been better in terms of eating it with a plastic fork, while there wasn't much taste of the peanut satay pork. There were quite a lot of noodles that soaked up the sauces though.

By this point I was almost full and was curious about the ice creams by Hype Chocolate. I tried the White Rabbit milk chocolate ice cream and it was creamy and easy to eat with chunks of chocolate on top. However the white rabbit flavour was completely lost in the chocolate ice cream. Perhaps vanilla ice cream would have worked better? 

White Rabbit milk chocolate ice cream

It was good to bump into a few acquaintances and catch up briefly with them, while supporting the event. 

HK Government Rethinks Water Budget

HK government tried to cut costs by buying water from China

Times are tough in Hong Kong when the government is cutting back on the kind of water it supplies to its staff.

Previously it was Watsons Water, provided by Watsons Group, in other words, a Li Ka-shing company.

But in June, Hong Kong's Government Logistics Department announced it had awarded the three-year drinking water supply contracts to mainland Chinese companies for the first time in a bid to save HK$16 million annually.

A water brand has serious quality issues

Government offices in Kowloon would continue to get water from Watsons Group, but its sub brand called Cool, while those in the New Territories would be supplied the water brand Happy Xishi from Professional Trade International Limited.

And government offices on Hong Kong Island and the Outlying Islands would get the water brand XinLe from Xin Dong Xin Trade Co., Ltd.

Local officials said the selection process used rigorous quality standards despite the cost savings.

However, media outlet HK01 reported XinLe had a history of safety concerns. From 2014 to 2017, the company was repeatedly flagged by China's food safety authorities for exceeding acceptable levels of harmful substances, including bromate, which can be a potential carcinogen, as well as microbial contamination.

So today, the Hong Kong government has announced it has partially terminated its contract with Xin Dong Xin Trade Co., Ltd.

The press release added the Government Logistics Department will decide if it will fully terminate the contract and has referred the incident with the police. 

In the meantime the government has asked Watsons Water to temporarily supply Cool water to offices on Hong Kong Island and the Outlying Islands.

Sometimes you can't be too petty on saving money when it comes to water. You can wear cheaper clothes and shoes, and take cheaper transportation, but you really can't be too cheap when it comes to what you put in your stomach...

Eat Those Blackberries

Eating blackberries as many health benefits

Now's the season for blackberries, and if you see big ones that you can easily pick, please do.

Pick as many as you want and you'll be doing your part to prevent blackberry bushes from proliferating.

That's because the Himalayan blackberry, also known as the Armenian blackberry is an invasive plant that has its origins in Armenia and Iran.

However, these blackberries were brought over to North America in the late 1800s and have taken over natural environments, creating thorny thickets that reduce biodiversity, including wildlife movement.

In Pacific Spirit Park along Powerline Trail, a giant patch of blackberry bushes were removed with heavy machinery over a year ago, though there are still blackberry bushes lining the outside of the park.

Rachel Tancock, known as The Nature Educator in Instagram, says the best way for people to prevent new blackberry plants from growing is to eat the berries! Each blackberry has seeds inside so eat up!

They are also packed with vitamin C which helps boost immunity and vitamin K beneficial for blood clotting and bone health, high in fibre, and manganese for bone development and manage blood sugar levels.

Delicious Mini Squash for Dinner

Pattypan and striped acorn squash, cucumber

Today I walked past a neighbour who gave away free vegetables in a cardboard box, and saw there were two mini squash in there and picked them up to take home.

One is saucer-shaped called pattypan squash or scallop squash because of its frilly edge. The other is a mini striped acorn squash. I picked up another cucumber that was relatively small. 

Stir-fried squashes with Shanghai choy

Usually the pattypan squash is roasted, but I sliced the top and bottom and then cut it in half down the middle and cut relatively thin slices. With the striped acorn squash I just cut coin discs.

They weren't quite enough for three of us for dinner, so I added Shanghai choy.

I first stir fried shallots, garlic and ginger in cooking oil, and then added the two squash, and some water, and let them steam for a bit.

Then I added the Shanghai choy, some salt, and after a few minutes the vegetables were done.

The end result was a bright, colourful plate, and the squash tasted sweet, contrasting with the slight bitterness of the Shanghai choy.

North Burnaby's New Shopping Malls

The mall at Gilmore Place is taking shape

Today I visited a friend who lives in Burnaby, which is the land of skyscrapers in Metro Vancouver. There are several towers that are over 60 stories high, many are walking distance to two SkyTrain stations, Gilmore and Brentwood. 

Like the MTR stations in Hong Kong, Gilmore and Brentwood both have shopping malls attached to them. Brentwood has The Amazing Brentwood, a large, partially open-air shopping mall, which has an airy food court offering mostly Asian food, from Japanese and Chinese to Korean, and Persian. 

It also has free-standing restaurants, and tonight I visited Bow & Stern, which is celebrating its first anniversary later this month. It offers mostly seafood dishes, and for Happy Hour (2pm-5pm, and 9pm to closing), freshly shucked oysters are $2 each! 

Meanwhile Gilmore Place is coming together now, with a few shops open like KFC, and Big Way Hot Pot will open, as well as a Thai spa, and Subway too. But my friend is really excited to hear that a T&T supermarket will open within a five-minute walk from her place!

I joked that with this Asian supermarket near here, she will never have to cook, as T&T offers not only uncooked ingredients, but cooked foods as well, including congee, roast meats, and noodles, so she has her "neighbourhood canteen" set up!

With so many people living and working in the area, and located next to the Skytrain station, it's no wonder that T&T has planned to open here, with many Asians living in the area.

However, while I was at tonight's dinner, one of the guests I ate with told me one of her friends lives in one of the nearby towers and said it was a nightmare getting up and down the elevator -- it takes 30 minutes just to get one, and when you have a dog that needs to go to the bathroom, and a wailing child, it can be pretty stressful!

Having a shoebox in the sky here doesn't sound fun at all, if there are only two elevators for so many units...

Canadians Sour on Bick's Pickles

Bick's pickles are specifically made for the Canadian market

It turns out the car industry isn't the only one where the product goes across the border a few times to be made.

Pickles, specifically Bick's, are made using Canadian cucumbers and metal lids, but based in the United States after it was acquired by TreeHouse Foods Inc in 2014.

After US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods in March, the Canadian government retaliated with counter tariffs on certain goods, including a 25 percent tariff on "cucumbers and gherkins."

US-based Bick's buys Canadian cucumbers

Now supermarkets are running out of Bick's pickles -- which are specifically made for the Canadian market -- and aren't restocking them anytime soon, because consumers won't have the appetite to pay 25 percent more for pickled cucumbers.

A Safeway in Edmonton had this sign at the pickle shelf:

"Bick's pickles are currently unavailable as an unfortunate impact of tariffs. We are pleased to offer a selection of alternatives for your shopping convenience."

This has resulted in sales of Bick's falling 25 percent in the last three months.

It's pretty ironic, considering Bick's purchases 11 million pounds of Ontario cucumbers each year, and the metal lids are bought from an Ontario manufacturer.

How about making your own pickles with brine?

For some die-hard pickle fans, they are willing to shell out more for their favourite pickled vegetable, while others may turn to other local brands. 

Or they can use their leftover Bick's pickle brine to make their own pickles, by salting the cucumbers and boiling the brine before adding them together in the jar.

Review: Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones

A memoir about Kashmir and beyond

On Instagram there's an account called Brief But Spectacular, where a short video gives an opportunity for someone to talk about their life or life experience, and some are so profound, others informative or heartfelt.

One post featured Priyanka Mattoo, who talked about how she was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, and has vivid memories of growing up in the mountainous Himalayan area before a violent rebellion against India erupted in 1989.

Her family left for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which they thought would be temporary, but led to exile in London, then Michigan, and eventually Los Angeles.

Mattoo now lives in Los Angeles

Mattoo wrote a book called Bird Milk & Mosquito Bones and I was intrigued enough by her short video to borrow the memoir from the library.

The "chapters" are actually a series of essays that were published in the New York Times and The New Yorker mostly, and it would have been better to note this in the forward, and that while each essay was a part of her memoir, it was not in chronological order.

As a result, I was surprised to see the stories, times and places jumping around and it was hard to keep track. 

Nevertheless, she has fond memories of her grandparents, particularly her maternal grandfather, who instructed his daughters, nieces and Mattoo, his granddaughter to be strong-headed and independent. She also talks lovingly of her parents who adore each other, and how Mattoo hoped she too would find a nice Kashmiri boy and settle down like them.

Throughout the book Mattoo pines for Kashmir, while her parents have decided to make the best of each place they settle in. Is it because she felt her idyllic childhood was violently snatched from her? Or she is nostalgic at a young age?

Then as she grows up she is a bright student, but when it comes to university, she wants to please her parents and study law, and while she manages to complete her degree, it's not exactly what she wants to do. 

She ends up with another degree in Italian with a stint living in Rome. Eventually she wants to write and ends up in Hollywood, but the hustle is not fun. That said, she meets a nice Jewish boy at a networking event and ends up marrying him, both her career and love life turn out exactly not what she had envisioned when she was younger. But isn't that the case with most people?

It's her last chapter, Someone Else's Spiders that is the best essay summing up her reflections on her identity. Mattoo also talks about how ethnic groups are treated in Hollywood, reminding me of Christopher Cheung's Under the White Gaze, where in her case, she is frustrated that non-Indians come up with movie storylines, while her ideas of more compelling stories are rejected.

Mattoo's writing style is chatty and at times funny, particularly when it comes to her dating experiences, but it's her cultural explanations that are interesting to read.

However, we never do learn what bird milk and mosquito bones are about...

Picture of the Day: Sweet Corn

Sweet and juicy corn is in season now from British Columbia

Summer means fresh strawberries, blueberries, cherries, plums...

And zucchinis, cucumbers, tomatoes and corn!

British Columbia produces 5.9 million kilograms of corn annually, and it's grown in the Okanagan Valley, the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

We bought these and boiled them. So sweet and juicy!

Mboko Beats Osaka to Win National Bank Open

Canada's new tennis darling Mboko who won the NBO today

Tennis phenom Victoria Mboko has catapulted from No. 333 nine months ago to No. 25 following her win over Naomi Osaka 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the National Bank Open in Montreal.

Mboko had the crowd nervous when she lost the first set, but she powered through her wrist injury and as fans cheered her on, this may have unnerved Osaka, and Mboko used this to her advantage to defeat her in the second and third sets.

She gave a shoutout to the fans in the stands

"It's been an incredible week here in Montreal," Mboko told the crowd in a post-match ceremony. "Montreal, je vous aime!"

She got praise from Prime Minister Mark Carney and Billie Jean King among others.

What's not to love about this an amazing fairytale run for Mboko, who was a wildcard entry into the tournament. But now she has been assured a spot in the US Open -- where she has never played before.

Mboko is the youngest of four children, her parents originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The family moved from North Carolina where Mboko was born to Burlington, Ontario, where all four kids learned tennis, with their tennis dad. Two of her siblings played at the college level, but Mboko has gone the furthest.

Osaka (right) visibly upset following the match

A former coach describes her as very athletic on the court, hitting hard like her idol Osaka, but Mboko has the mental ability to mistakes aside quickly and focus on the present, which makes her very resilient.

She is now the No. 1 Canadian women's tennis player and after winning the National Bank Open, takes home $750,000 in prize money.

Unfortunately Osaka was a bit of a sore loser, not congratulating Mboko on her win. Nevertheless, Osaka has done well this tournament too, getting this far since giving birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023. She has changed coaches a few times and perhaps is more settled now.

Mboko could play in the Cincinnati Open which started today, or withdraw and focus on the US Open which starts on August 19.

Mboko Blazes Trail in Canadian Tennis

Mboko fought hard in the semifinals to win tonight

She did it -- again!

Tennis phenom Victoria Mboko rallied hard to defeat Elena Rybakina 1-6,  7-5, 7-6 (4) in the semi-finals and the Toronto teen will meet four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the final on the National Bank Open in Montreal. 

"Incredible match, thank you to everyone for supporting me," Mboko told the sold-out crowd in French. "It was really difficult, but anything can happen."

Osaka (above) meets Mboko tomorrow in the final

Indeed!

Mboko is the fourth Canadian woman to reach the final at the Canadian Open, the last one to do that was Bianca Andreescu in 2019.

The 18-year-old Mboko is also the first Canadian player to defeat three former women's singles Grand Slam champions in a single WTA event in the Open Era, and has a spot in the US Open.

This fairytale run will help move Mboko up to at least 34th in the world rankings, a massive jump from outside the top 300 at the beginning of this year.

Unfortunately Mboko doesn't have much time to rest -- she suffered a wrist injury during her match against Rybakina -- and will face Japanese-born Osaka tomorrow in the final.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, Mboko is on everyone's radar and has quickly become a trailblazer in Canadian tennis!

Picture of the Day: Feeding the Neighbourhood

Cucumber and zucchini from a neighbour

The other day I finished walking around Pacific Spirit Park and was on my way home on a street I don't usually walk on, and one of the homes has a vegetable patch in the front yard.

By the steps to the house is a cardboard box with a sign saying "Free veggies". Inside were four zucchinis!

Apparently with the warm weather we're having, many people with vegetable patches are harvesting their zucchinis.

I took the smallest one, which was already quite large and brought it home.

The next day I went back to the same street and inside were cucumbers! I took the smallest one when I got home I peeled the bumpy skin and sliced it up. It was so crisp and fresh!

Tonight I stir-fried the zucchinis with shallots, garlic, ginger and dried conpoy, and it was delicious!

I shall check for more veggies later!

Vancouver Art Gallery's Financial Woes on Show

Strangled by Growth, by Emily Carr, 1931

Last week I brought my relative visiting from the United States to the Vancouver Art Gallery, and it was eerily quiet.

The lobby was hardly bustling with visitors so there was no line to buy admission tickets. Inside there were probably 20 people looking at art in the entire art museum.

Interestingly there is a rate for British Columbia residents at $29 compared to $35 for everyone else. Children up to 18 years old are free! The VAG may want to rethink allowing teenagers to be free with the severe belt tightening that's going on.

Sans titre, by Riopelle, 1950

In early July there were news reports that the art gallery cut about 30 percent of its total 129 staff. In June, 16 people took voluntary leave benefits, while another 18 were laid off since.

"We're really looking across the institution, trying to leave no stone unturned, and we really tried to save as many roles, as many jobs as possible," explained Eva Respini, the VAG's interim co-CEO.

"This is an incredibly difficult moment," she said. "It's quite literally every department in the museum that has been affected in one way or another."

We could see that. It seemed that some staff took turns acting as security guards, while the ones in uniform didn't seem to know much about the gallery. We asked one a question about an art work and they politely apologised and said they didn't know, but didn't offer to help us find the answer either.

Another way the VAG will cut costs is the number of exhibitions it holds each year, from 12 down to eight, while more shows will feature the gallery's permanent collection. Which means more Emily Carr...

Untitled (Toothpicks), Tara Donovan

The gallery is planning to exhibit more of the BC artist's work from its collection as it has some 250 pieces of Carr's. 

The drastic cuts are due to attendance at the gallery never returned to pre-pandemic levels. 

It's quite sad seeing the VAG so empty and has affected morale in the place. 

The exhibitions we saw were of Emily Carr, Riopelle, and pieces from the collection of a couple who are VAG patrons. One work featured a cube made entirely of toothpicks...

Municipal, provincial and federal governments are all focused on the World Cup next year, making it very difficult for arts and culture institutions to get more money to keep going. 

It seems so tone deaf for the VAG to continue planning for a new gallery space, but apparently it still has funds from various levels of government and donors. A new architect will be announced in the fall.

Labubu's Panda-monium Promotes Hong Kong

Yeoh posing with her special edition Labubu with twin pandas

Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh has become the latest Labubu fan after she was gifted a custom one holding two panda cubs that are celebrating their first birthday in Hong Kong.

Yeoh posted pictures of herself on Instagram holding the doll with a mischievous grin with a giant bucket of popcorn, another with British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, and a shot with fellow Wicked actor Jeff Goldblum.

Jia Jia and De De were born in Hong Kong

"Celebrating Hong Kong born Panda Twins first birthday (and my birthday too) with Labubu in the Hollywood Bowl!!! Thank you @discoverhongkong for sending the greatest companions!" she wrote.

Yeoh is one of several celebrities who received the specially-designed Labubu doll as part of a collaboration between the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the toy's creator, Hong Kong-born Kasing Lung, to mark the twin pandas' first birthday and promote the city... of course.

The cubs, Jia Jia and De De, who were born on August 15, are the first pandas to be born in Hong Kong and this promotion is a way to prolong panda-monium a bit longer.

Seems like just about everyone has caught onto the Labubu craze, and the government is riding the wave with this special doll. 

Will it catch on with Labubu fans? The sales numbers will tell.

Canadian Victoria Mboko Stuns Coco Gauff in Montreal

Mboko excited with her stunning upset over No. 1 seed Gauff

Canadian women's tennis has gotten more exciting these days, and tonight may be a sign of what's to come.

Torontonian Victoria Mboko, who is 18 years old, definitively defeated No. 1 seed Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 in a stunning upset at the National Bank Open in Montreal today.

Mboko, who climbed from No. 333 to No. 85 this year, crushed the American in only 62 minutes, and advances to the quarterfinals on Monday.

Gauff (left) beat Mboko in May at Italian Open

The teenager entered this tournament as a wild card and is the last Canadian standing in the singles draw, for both men and women.

Mboko thrilled the sold-out crowd in Montreal with her deft placements of the ball, making it near impossible for Gauff to return.

When Gauff had an enforced error, leading to Mboko's victory, she covered her face with her hands, in shock that she'd done it.

"I don't even know what to say still," she told reporters an hour afterwards.

"I was kind of shocked about it all. Everything kind of came so fast. There were so many people. I feel like tonight I'll let it soak in a bit more, but I'm still kind of on a high, a little bit.

"I'm super happy, and I'm just really content with how things went today and that I get to move on to the next round." 

Three months earlier Gauff beat Mboko at the Italian Open in Rome and today the teen said she had flashbacks of that match.

Mboko in shock, crowd shouted in delight

"I just remember when she kind of came out playing even better and stepped it up a bit better when I played her in Europe, I was thinking about that. I kind of wanted to step my game up a little bit more and make sure I matched whatever she was producing and I wanted to stay right there with her."

Mboko sure did and more, while Gauff could not find her rhythm, with several enforced errors.

Now Mboko is waiting to see who the winner will be in the match-up between Zhu Lin of China and Jessica Bouzas Maniero of Spain.

Hakka Style Salt-baked Chicken

Salt-baked chicken Hakka style at Southern Delicacy

The other day we went to Southern Delicacy restaurant in Vancouver and tried salt baked chicken, a traditional Hakka dish.

My mother remembers her mother stir-frying coarse salt in the wok for a long time before burying a chicken wrapped in parchment paper in the salt and cooking it for about an hour.

Chicken wrapped in parchment paper

She remembers it being hard work, constantly shovelling the salt to prevent it from burning.

The one we tried was fantastic -- the meat was cooked through, but tender, juicy, and seasoned perfectly, not salty at all.

It sounds similar to Italian salt-baked cod, which isn't wrapped in parchment paper at all, though the skin acts as a barrier between the salt and fish meat.

In the case of the chicken, I looked up the recipe and it doesn't look too difficult?!

Take a raw chicken and rub Shaoxing wine on it, as well as sand ginger powder, salt and white pepper. Then let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day take the chicken out and let it warm up to room temperature, tie up the legs and wrap it in parchment paper. Meanwhile get some coarse salt, the same weight as the bird, and in a clean wok, stir-fry the salt for about 15 minutes over medium heat, until the salt turns light brown.

Have a Dutch oven ready and pour some of that salt in there, add the wrapped chicken and then cover it with the rest of the salt.

Wrapped chicken in coarse salt

Cover the Dutch oven and have it on the stove on medium heat for around 35 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit for another 30-40 minutes.

The chicken should be done by then.

Some recipes suggest the presentation of the chicken should be deboned, while others, including the restaurant, serve it chopped with bones attached.

Backlash Ends Plan to Move Sculpture by Granville Bridge

Trans Am Rapture used to stand near Science World

There used to be a curious piece of public art featuring a stack of cars that stood along Quebec Street near Science World in 2015 as part of the Vancouver Biennale.

Called Trans Am Rapture, formerly named Trans Am Totem, it features five salvaged cars, including a Trans Am on a Cedar trunk.

Then the 10-metre high art piece weighing over 25,000 pounds was taken down in 2021 to be cleaned because it had accumulated a lot of bird poop!

Birds liked to flock at the public art sculpture

Finally there was word the City was going to relocate the sculpture near the south end of the Granville Street Bridge between West 4th and West 5th Avenues, but residents in the area were incensed.

"They're treating our neighbourhood as a storage locker for a piece of art they don't know what to do with," said Darlene Forst, who lives across the street from where the art piece would be located. She was concerned the stack of cars would block her views.

Forst started an online petition against the sculpture being moved to the area, and now the City has backed down.

"The City of Vancouver is ceasing work on the reinstallation of Trans Am Rapture," said a press release. 

"The decision was made by the city manager's office following further consideration of the size and scale of the artwork in relation to the site. City staff have been asked to revisit previously assessed locations and explore potential new ones that can better accommodate the artwork."

The art work was supposed to move to this spot

So it seems the City gets antsy when there's organised pushback and backs down very quickly. Why was there no consultation to start with? However the concrete foundation for the sculpture was already made so that will stay for a subsequent smaller public art work...

Trans Am Rapture was created by artists Marcus Bowcott and Helene Aspinall as a commentary on car culture and how urban life is compounding pressures on the environment.

The giant sculpture became part of the City's public art collection in 2019 with a $250,000 donation from billionaire Chip Wilson, founder of Lululemon, and his wife Shannon.