Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
A Fun-Filled Day in Vancouver's Chinatown
This week marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. You may have been to Chinatown before, but in honour of the Year of the Monkey, head back for a fresh look (and some good food).
1. Start at International Village, the awkwardly awesome mall at the corner of Abbott and Pender. Highlights include:
-Cineplex Odeon. It is Oscar season, after all.
-The Ayden Gallery, probably the coolest art gallery in a mall you will ever see.
-If you like cats with your coffee (??), visit Vancouver’s first Catfe.
2. Next stop, The Sam Kee Building at 8 West Pender, which is only 1.8 metres wide. According to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, when the city expanded Pender Street in 1913, the building’s owner, Chang Toy, refused to sell the land and had a narrow building designed for him along with public saunas in the basement. Look down at the coloured glass blocks on the sidewalk beside the building. They were originally intended to allow more natural light into the saunas.
3. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park - It’s beautiful and free to visit the park. Enter from Pender and just feel the calm. Different and amazing in every season.
4. Look across the street at the building, Ming Wo’s Kitchen Store, 23 E Pender, which opened in 1917. Now cross the street and step inside. Beautiful.
5. Lim Sai Hor Benevolent Association at 525-531 Carrall St. This is one of the only original buildings left in Shanghai Alley. We got lucky and ran into Laura Sun, Sing Tao Daily reporter, as she was heading in to teach a Mandarin class on Saturday morning. She brought us upstairs to meet Orville Lim who gave us a short history of the Association, including their plan to restore the building to its original glory in the near future. (More on this later!)
6. Tea! It may not be old, but The Chinese Tea Shop at 101 East Pender is steeped in tea history. The store is gorgeous and the tea a connoisseur’s delight.
7. Hungry yet? Pop into New Town Bakery at 148 E Pender. It’s famous (for good reason), and you’ve probably been there, but grab a number and feast on the apple tarts and sweet and savory buns.
8. At Dollar Meat Store at 266 Pender Street East, you can grab a delicious BBQ duck or salted chicken to take home. When people line up out the door at a butcher shop, you know it’s good.
9. Turn right on Gore Street and walk to Keefer. On your right you will see another meat store and a fresh seafood store packed with shoppers. Seriously.
10. At 232 Keefer, you’ll find one of the best food deals in the city at Kent’s Kitchen. For $6.95 you’ll get a veritable mountain of food - rice with two HEAPING veg, fish, or meat toppings. If you had too many buns, one plate can feed two for sure.
11. If you just want bakeries and dim sum. there are plenty of places scattered around the stretches of Pender, Keefer, and Georgia between Carrall and Gore. They may not be as famous as New Town, but they’re all good.
12. After your meal at Kent’s, turn left on Main and walk up and down Georgia to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. You’ll need something to go with your roast duck or chicken tonight.
13. For a little more art to accompany your walk, check out Semi-Public, Vancouver Especially, by Ken Lum, at 221 E Georgia Street, There is only one week left! See a physical representation of just how much housing prices have increased in our lovely city.
14. Finally, if you aren’t full or didn’t feel like eating at Kent’s, check out Goldstone Restaurant and Bakery at 139 Keefer. Settle into a big booth in this Chinese diner and go nuts. Staff are friendly, the bakery is good and the man at the table next to us said they had the best baked pork chop on rice in the whole world, even better than in Hong Kong.
1. Start at International Village, the awkwardly awesome mall at the corner of Abbott and Pender. Highlights include:
-Cineplex Odeon. It is Oscar season, after all.
-The Ayden Gallery, probably the coolest art gallery in a mall you will ever see.
-If you like cats with your coffee (??), visit Vancouver’s first Catfe.
2. Next stop, The Sam Kee Building at 8 West Pender, which is only 1.8 metres wide. According to the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, when the city expanded Pender Street in 1913, the building’s owner, Chang Toy, refused to sell the land and had a narrow building designed for him along with public saunas in the basement. Look down at the coloured glass blocks on the sidewalk beside the building. They were originally intended to allow more natural light into the saunas.
3. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park - It’s beautiful and free to visit the park. Enter from Pender and just feel the calm. Different and amazing in every season.
4. Look across the street at the building, Ming Wo’s Kitchen Store, 23 E Pender, which opened in 1917. Now cross the street and step inside. Beautiful.
5. Lim Sai Hor Benevolent Association at 525-531 Carrall St. This is one of the only original buildings left in Shanghai Alley. We got lucky and ran into Laura Sun, Sing Tao Daily reporter, as she was heading in to teach a Mandarin class on Saturday morning. She brought us upstairs to meet Orville Lim who gave us a short history of the Association, including their plan to restore the building to its original glory in the near future. (More on this later!)
6. Tea! It may not be old, but The Chinese Tea Shop at 101 East Pender is steeped in tea history. The store is gorgeous and the tea a connoisseur’s delight.
7. Hungry yet? Pop into New Town Bakery at 148 E Pender. It’s famous (for good reason), and you’ve probably been there, but grab a number and feast on the apple tarts and sweet and savory buns.
8. At Dollar Meat Store at 266 Pender Street East, you can grab a delicious BBQ duck or salted chicken to take home. When people line up out the door at a butcher shop, you know it’s good.
9. Turn right on Gore Street and walk to Keefer. On your right you will see another meat store and a fresh seafood store packed with shoppers. Seriously.
10. At 232 Keefer, you’ll find one of the best food deals in the city at Kent’s Kitchen. For $6.95 you’ll get a veritable mountain of food - rice with two HEAPING veg, fish, or meat toppings. If you had too many buns, one plate can feed two for sure.
11. If you just want bakeries and dim sum. there are plenty of places scattered around the stretches of Pender, Keefer, and Georgia between Carrall and Gore. They may not be as famous as New Town, but they’re all good.
12. After your meal at Kent’s, turn left on Main and walk up and down Georgia to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. You’ll need something to go with your roast duck or chicken tonight.
13. For a little more art to accompany your walk, check out Semi-Public, Vancouver Especially, by Ken Lum, at 221 E Georgia Street, There is only one week left! See a physical representation of just how much housing prices have increased in our lovely city.
14. Finally, if you aren’t full or didn’t feel like eating at Kent’s, check out Goldstone Restaurant and Bakery at 139 Keefer. Settle into a big booth in this Chinese diner and go nuts. Staff are friendly, the bakery is good and the man at the table next to us said they had the best baked pork chop on rice in the whole world, even better than in Hong Kong.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Sunday, June 12, 2016
A little letter to the TTC
Dear TTC,
Last night there was a delay on the Bloor line because, apparently, someone had gone down on the tracks. Part of the line was understandably shut down.
The collector at Main Station told us that we could catch a westbound train at Broadview, so we decided to walk there and continue home. When we arrived, there were already many people outside trying to figure out what to do. THREE different people warned us about the 'crabby lady in there' who 'doesn't want to answer anyone's questions'.
We walked into the station to be greeted by the woman in the collection booth yelling at about five people, "Don't come in! It's closed. There's no power." One man asked her about Westbound trains because, like me, he had been told that westbound trains would be running. She very angrily yelled at him that she had 'told him already and there was nothing she could do. Just go'.
Now I just need to point out a few things. I am a fan of the TTC. I have even written several things defending the union that represents TTC workers. But, let's be honest now, fare collectors have a relatively stress free job. They are locked in a booth, so any aggressive customers can't really bother them. When you see them, boredom and sleep appear to be their biggest enemies. Despite that, some manage to be angry and rude.
Given this relatively stress-free job, it's particularly disappointing that the woman last night could not handle the stress of answering people's questions about what was happening. Of course she couldn't fix the problem, but the least she could do was calmly respond to people's questions about how to get home late at night. Instead she was belligerent. Let's ignore the fact that she was belligerently telling people to leave while the man outside was telling people that shuttle service would be from INSIDE the station.
I went outside and asked another TTC representative in a vest about shuttle buses, and he was a beacon of calm in the storm. He apologetically said that he did not know exactly when they would arrive but that they were en route. I asked where they would leave from and he said inside the station. He was doing what he had to do in a difficult situation and recognized that it was most difficult for the people stuck at Broadview (not him). We went back inside the station and immediately heard that there was westbound service. No, it was not the woman in the booth. She was still busy yelling at customers that she didn't know when service was going to be returned.
In the end, this is one complaint about someone who could not handle the stress of doing anything more than collecting fares and a compliment about someone who could.
Last night there was a delay on the Bloor line because, apparently, someone had gone down on the tracks. Part of the line was understandably shut down.
The collector at Main Station told us that we could catch a westbound train at Broadview, so we decided to walk there and continue home. When we arrived, there were already many people outside trying to figure out what to do. THREE different people warned us about the 'crabby lady in there' who 'doesn't want to answer anyone's questions'.
We walked into the station to be greeted by the woman in the collection booth yelling at about five people, "Don't come in! It's closed. There's no power." One man asked her about Westbound trains because, like me, he had been told that westbound trains would be running. She very angrily yelled at him that she had 'told him already and there was nothing she could do. Just go'.
Now I just need to point out a few things. I am a fan of the TTC. I have even written several things defending the union that represents TTC workers. But, let's be honest now, fare collectors have a relatively stress free job. They are locked in a booth, so any aggressive customers can't really bother them. When you see them, boredom and sleep appear to be their biggest enemies. Despite that, some manage to be angry and rude.
Given this relatively stress-free job, it's particularly disappointing that the woman last night could not handle the stress of answering people's questions about what was happening. Of course she couldn't fix the problem, but the least she could do was calmly respond to people's questions about how to get home late at night. Instead she was belligerent. Let's ignore the fact that she was belligerently telling people to leave while the man outside was telling people that shuttle service would be from INSIDE the station.
I went outside and asked another TTC representative in a vest about shuttle buses, and he was a beacon of calm in the storm. He apologetically said that he did not know exactly when they would arrive but that they were en route. I asked where they would leave from and he said inside the station. He was doing what he had to do in a difficult situation and recognized that it was most difficult for the people stuck at Broadview (not him). We went back inside the station and immediately heard that there was westbound service. No, it was not the woman in the booth. She was still busy yelling at customers that she didn't know when service was going to be returned.
In the end, this is one complaint about someone who could not handle the stress of doing anything more than collecting fares and a compliment about someone who could.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
BC Trail Markers
Why do people in Vancouver do this all the time? They hike with their dog, bag the dog's shit, and leave it by the trail to pick up later? I appreciate that you're picking up, but I don't appreciate your 'trail markers'.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)