Food Waste - A good little film

Vancouver, you're off to a good start with mandatory composting.

Hi Five - Amazing Grilled Cheese

Urban Explorations: Vancouver’s Tiny Tasty Grilled Cheese

You know when people describe a place as ‘just a hole in the wall’?  Well, measuring about 100 square feet, Hi-Five is pretty much just that with a walk-up window narrower than a car door. Tucked into a tiny storefront at 22 Cordova St. E. in Gastown, you could easily walk right by Hi-Five. In fact, every time we go, someone does just that before doing a double take to see why we’re standing in front of a little window in an otherwise nondescript stretch of sidewalk. If they’re lucky, though, they’ll stop and order because in the case of Hi-Five, small size means big taste.  

Hi-Five’s core crowd is late nights on Friday and Saturday. Though open for lunch Tuesday to Friday, midnight to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays is prime time. Hi-Five’s owner and master grilled cheese chef, Corben, notes that late-night customers are particularly enthusiastic about their sandwiches (which makes up for the long nights). After all, when the bars close, is there any better way to end the night than with a grilled cheese on sourdough?  For the staff of Hi-Five, a good late night moves into the ‘grill zone’ with a steady stream of hungry appreciative customers and lots of music to keep the flow going.  

Corben keeps things simple with six variations on the ultimate comfort food. Things range from the TBT (American cheese and Sriracha) to the Melter Skelter (pepper jack, jalapeños, cilantro, and bbq chips inside). To make things even more comforting, you can get tomato soup and homemade pickles with your sandwich. Corben branched out into pickles because, as he notes, “it’s hard to find a decent pickle in this town.” Dubbed Brine Adams, these babies seriously crunch. Corben made the first batch with a couple of friends and they are almost sold out. If you missed them, don’t fret because he’s making an even bigger batch soon.

This is one of Vancouver’s best values, too. Show off in front of your friends and order the most expensive thing on the menu - $6.

Sky Train Adventure #1: New Westminster

SkyTrain Adventure #1:New Westminster

When you live in a place like Vancouver with so much to offer, you inevitably find your favourite spots and tend to forget all the other things the city has to offer.  To prevent our favourites from slowly ending our explorations of the city, we made a list of all the SkyTrain stations, threw them in a box, and started a raffle. Once a month, we draw the name of a station and head off to explore. The first winner? New Westminster!

Stroll along the banks of the Fraser in the new Westminster Pier Park. It’s 2.5 kilometers if you want to walk all the way to the southern end of the park. Along the way you can rest at the urban beach, take a look at the public art pieces, and enjoy the river. That would give you a 5k walk, jog or cycle to work up an appetite for the delicious food at the locally owned and locally sourced restaurants at the River Market..

Our favourite food options so far:

• Freebird - Choose from two types of chicken (both are amazing) - Thai style roast chicken and Singapore chicken rice. Order the plate and you get a tasty side of papaya salad and rice with your chicken. As two former long-time residents of Bangkok, we can confidently say the food is really good, especially if you ask for extra chiles in your som tum. Go early or you might find the roast chicken sold out.
• Longtail Kitchen - Longtail offers a nice assortment of Thai dishes ranging from standard curries to harder to find seafood dishes. They also have a little market if you want to cook Thai at home.
• Pamola Bakery and Café - Great bakery serving Mexican food including tortas, sopes, and molletes. The sopes and molletes are definitely not standard fare in Vancouver (and definitely delicious).
• Tre Galli Gelato - On a nice day, there will be a line. Don’t be surprised if it’s out the door.

If it’s raining and you have your children with you, take a look at the Vancouver Circus School and/or The River Critters Kids Club,. A perfect time to slip away for a coffee, perhaps?

For adults and older kids, every first and third Saturday of the month, the River Market hosts an artisan market. In addition, there are often artisans teaching their skills, including soapmaking from Thursdays to Mondays with Jolene. Douglas College runs a maker lab that offers community members a collaborative working and meeting design space equipped with 3D printers.

Before you leave New Westminster, don’t forget to check out the World’s Tallest Tin Soldier and the Fraser River Discovery Centre.

Verdict: Totally worth it.

To Get There: Take the Expo or Millennium line from downtown Vancouver to New Westminster. It takes about 30 minutes. Exit the SkyTrain station and walk an easy 3 minutes to get to Quayside Drive next to the Fraser River.

Earnest Ice Cream and A&W - Unlikely birds of a feather

Okay, to write about A&W and Earnest Ice Cream in the same post probably doesn't happen too often.  A&W, after all is a big corporate chain of fast food restaurants.  Earnest Ice Cream, on the other hand is basically producing ice cream more like an artisan would.  They make it in (delicious small batches) and sell locally.  They only have two stores, and growth is not their primary concern.

That said, I was shocked to find that they have a few things in common.  Let's start with the easy one of the two, Earnest.

Earnest is seriously some of the best ice cream I have ever had.  I am not one to spend five dollars on an ice cream cone easily, but this is worth it.  The range of flavours is incredible, and the quality of the ingredients is obvious with each lick.  The thing I rave about the most when I talk about Earnest, however, is their goal of being zero-waste.  The ice cream either comes in a cone or a real dish.  With a real spoon.  Even if you request a taste, you get it on real, metal spoon.  Not one of those ridiculous bio-degradable plastic jokes that are just a bit better than plastic.  Everything in the store is compostable; the garbage can has a sign over the mouth to stop you from throwing anything away because, if you got it in the store, you can compost it.  Quality and conscience plus local ownership and ingredients...You can't go wrong.  I love you, Earnest.  You are my number one choice when I indulge myself with dessert (which is not too often).

Then there is A&W.  I joked for a long time about going to A&W after seeing the commercials for Chubby Chicken.  My joking was based primarily on the name - Chubby Chicken - as it conjures odd images for me.  I don't often eat fast food, and when I do, it's not usually from a big chain.  One day, however, circumstances aligned just right and A&W was the best option for us to get a quick meal.

They offer a decent veggie burger and really good fries.  That's a prerequisite, but it gets better. [Before I go into detail, let me acknowledge that I know it's a big chain and chain eating is not something that should be a norm for anyone, but, hey, A&W deserves some big props here.  These are just the props, not a blind spot.]

They have stopped using beef produced with hormones or steroids.  Similarly, their chicken does the same AND skips antibiotics.  Their tomatoes are grown in greenhouses because it's more environmentally efficient.  Nice one, A&W.  

When I ate in the restaurant, I was shocked to get my fries in a metal basket, my drink in a real mug (not a throwaway cup), and my veggie burger with a simple paper wrapper (no clamshell thingy).  That doesn't even happen sometimes when you eat in a non-fast food restaurant.

Plus, A&W in Canada is actually CANADIAN OWNED.  Yes, it's true.  A&W in Canada is more Canadian than Tim Horton's, everyone.  Plus, since they are sourcing so many of their ingredients in Canada, this is really your most Canadian choice.

So, A&W is not perfect, but if circumstance ever make it the best choice, I will very happily (no guilty conscience) eat at A&W.  Good job, guys.  You may not be Earnest, but you earned my respect.

Liquids and Solids

  

Aside from having one of the best signs and logos I have seen anywhere recently, liquids + solids is a great place for soup and sandwiches.  I got lucky finding the place - just wandering around Strathcona Village in East Vancouver when I smelled something delicious.  I followed my nose and ended up under this sign (which, other than the fact that it looks like a seagull was using it for target practice, is a pretty good indication of how I felt when I tried my soup.  I don't even know what I would recommend at this point because it all looked good.  Since I've only been once, one of my future projects will have to be deciding on my favourites.  Hard work.  

The staff is super friendly.  The day I went in, there was a very young member of the staff taking orders at the counter, and he was a consummate pro.  As cold, wet weather approaches, I have a feeling I'll be spending more time sitting down for soup here. 

Khao Soi at Fat Mao in Vancouver

Living in Bangkok for eight years, we were lucky to live right around the corner from an awesome Thai Muslim restaurant that made incredible khao soi.  Krua Yusuf (ครัวยุสุฟ) had that rich, tangy yet slightly sweet broth that makes kao soi so good.  The chile paste had bite with a nutty taste from the roasting of the chiles.  Heaven...for 45 baht (about a dollar and a half).

We've been loving Vancouver but missing a lot of our Thai staples, so when we saw that Fat Mao had khao soi we had to try it.  I am learning (slowly) that my favourites from Thailand are going to cost me around ten times as much as they did back in BKK.  I really have to remind myself repeatedly because, otherwise, I couldn't enjoy the food.  I would be in a constant internal loop repeating to myself that, "I could get better than this back home for ______."

But this is home now, and I have to learn to appreciate the food for what it is.  Thai food can't really be expected to be as good here as there, can it?  I am, I believe, making progress in this regard.

Anyway, back to Fat Mao.  The first thing to note is that we have had a bit of a cold spell here in Vancouver.  This gave khao soi a whole new appeal - hot soup on a cold day.  A novel idea after eating it for eight years with an average temperature of 35C.

The staff at Fat Mao is soooo nice.  Like they're almost excited that you are there to eat their noodles.  They seemed thoroughly pleased that we ordered the khao soi, and when it came, they gave their recommended condiments.  Rightly, they recommended the lime and the chile paste.  We didn't out ourselves by saying, "Yeah, yeah, we know."  We did, however, use up about half the chile paste in the jar.  If anyone had been paying attention to our condiment usage, they might have known something was up.

Fat Mao does khao soi right.

This hogging of the chile paste was really for two reasons.  The most important reason was that it tasted good.  Secondary to that, it wasn't as hot as we had hoped, so we needed a lot of it.

The soup broth itself was rich and dark.  It didn't have the same tang or quite the right hint of coconut, but I have to say it was really good.  The crisp noodles on top were awesome, and the noodles in the soup itself were flavourful.  At first bite, I started that familiar 'well, it's not as good as the...' but quickly stopped myself.  When I did, I started to get into the tastes and smells of each bite.  I felt that sensation that comes with eating really good soup on a cold day, and it just got better and better.

This was a damn fine meal.  I will be back, Fat Mao.  I think I'll try your dan-dan noodles next time.

Are We All Heading to Hogtown Vegan?

[Note: I just visited Hogtown last week, so I decided to repost this.]

Depending on your perspective, this is just the right amount of food or an obscenely large amount of food worthy only of a glutton.  For me, when the vegetarian 'chicken' wrap is bigger than someone's arm, I call it glutton worthy.

In this case, I went to Hogtown Vegan in Toronto.  It was my first time, but everyone I was with, vegetarian and non, loved the food.  It was tasty enough that most people at the table attempted to eat everything on their plates (to no avail).  In the end, a friend asked the server if people generally finished their meals.  She laughed and said, “Almost none.  Ninety percent don’t finish.  The other ten percent finish AND order dessert.” 

At first I laughed, but later on I got angry. 

I live in Thailand and visit North America every year to see family and friends.  Every year, I confront the immensity of what North American restaurants consider to be a normal meal size.  I laugh about it, make fun of it, and occasionally complain about it. 

At one point I took photos of cookies as large as my face, bagels with enough cream cheese to serve a family of four, salads made with what appear to be whole heads of lettuce, and pizzas as thick as War and Peace.  You get the picture.  When I would return to Thailand, I would tell friends the stories and laugh.   

This year, though, I decided that enough was enough.  Instead of ordering my own portion, I decided to share at every meal, and I haven’t finished a meal hungry yet.  If I am really hungry, I have ordered an appetizer and then a main course to share. 

More and more people I know, from 20 to 90 years old have some kind of digestive problem.  They have acid reflux, gluten problems, irritable bowels…the list goes on.  I can’t help but think it has something to do with how much people eat.  I’m not saying the cause is solely portion size, but I think it could easily be a contributing factor.   And of course there is that nagging little problem of obesity that the media seems obsessed with.  

My strategy worked for me this summer.  I ate less and left meals feeling way better.  I wasn’t stuffed and ready to collapse.  Nor did I wish that I had worn pants with an elastic waistband to accommodate my swollen belly.  The bad part of it is that I kept feeling like some cheapskate, penny pincher every time I placed my order.  ‘Really, I can afford to order my own meal.  I have cash AND a credit card.’

To all those restaurants out there, charge me 25-30% less and give me 35-50% less food, and I will still be happy.  You should be happy too.  You save money on food and increase the chance that I will order something else.  Until then, I am going to be sharing.  Even if I do feel like a skinflint.  

[By my estimate, this vegetarian Reuben weighed about a kilo.]

Small Steps (Part 5) - Pala Pizza

 

Pala, you have been ever reliable, like the star in my farang food solar system.  I don't eat farang often, but when I do, you are the first one I think of. 

Rivals have come (think Massilia or Peppina), but you continue to stand head and shoulders above them. You may not have the prettiest space, but you are down to earth in attitude and the art of food. You know that good pizza relies on a few key things being done right - namely crust and sauce.  And you do them right every time. 

In the many small steps of leaving this place I love, I thank you for being there like an old and dear friend. 

Amantee: I love bread

My history with Amantee has always been good.  When they were located off Chaeng Wattana in a beautiful compound of incredible teak houses, I used to occasionally drop by for lunch and then browse their incredible antique collection.  Lunch in the sala or just walking through the traditional style Thai houses made me yearn for traditional Thai living.  Once, friends and I even planned a great party evening in the house, using the rooms for a fun mystery game and then having dinner.

When I heard that Amantee had moved downtown, I thought that the charm of the place might be lost.  Then I heard that they had started baking bread.  Knowing that they had done everything from building a masterful collection of Asian antiques to caring for gorgeous old wooden houses so well, I knew that this was not going to be a whimsical foray into brownies and doughy baguette.  I knew it would be good.

But when I got there, 'good' was not the word to describe what I found.  This was bread as art.  I got there late-ish in the day and was terrified to see that there was a whole shelf of baguette with little 'reserved' tags on them.  I panicked for a moment, but the woman behind the counter found one for me.  Then, like a find cheese shop, she started offering little slices of different breads.  There were Eastern European style ryes, hearty whole wheat loaves, and even some with fruit in them.  Each was fabulous.

And then I saw the einkorn.

Einkorn is, for those of you who are not history nerds, the 'original' wheat.  It is the wild ancestor first gathered by nomadic hunter-gatherers in the Fertile Crescent - probably the Natufians - that over time was domesticated.  Or you could argue that over time einkorn domesticated our ancestors because they eventually stopped being nomadic hunter-gatherers and settled down to farm the miraculous stuff.  Einkorn and its domesticate progeny - edible grass or human, however you look at it - gave rise to the very first urban civilisations of the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.

Now I had a chance not only to taste a type of bread I had never had, but I felt like I was eating a bit of history.  I practically yelled, "EINKORN!"  My friends turned to look as I jumped and pointed at the loaf.  "Look!  It's einkorn.  Remember?  I've told you about einkorn before."

Blank stares.

"You know, the original wild wheat?  The Natufians?  Mesopotamia?"

A glimmer of recognition.

"Doesn't matter...just taste it."

And they did.  And I did.  And it was good.  I mean, I would still choose a baguette, but this was flavour and history in one bite.

The next day it was the first thing I told my classes.  They either loved the story, or they very kindly humoured me, asking questions about the bread, where they could have gotten the flour (which I will ask next time I am there), what colour the bread was etc.  If the place were closer to school, I would insist on a field trip.

Amantee, I not only love bread, I love your bread.

Tokyo 5

Ueno - great yakitori (if you're good)

I say again, WHY does Bangkok need food trucks?

So last night after some fun and excitement in my dear Bangkok, we were hungry.  We wanted choice, we wanted flavour, and we wanted food fast.  Being close to Thonglor, there were plenty of restaurants around, but we didn't want to hang out with a hi-so crowd, and we didn't want foreign food.

The obvious choice?  Soi 38, right at the BTS.  Now Soi 38 isn't my favourite street food, but there are about fifteen stalls serving everything from noodles to khao man gai.  Throw in the food stalls all around the intersection of Sukhumvit and Sois 38 and 55 (Thonglor), and you could conceivably have a mini Bangkok eating tour self-contained in about one square block.

There was a food truck last night sharing some pavement space on Soi 38, but it had closed up already.  Meanwhile, the food carts and stalls were going strong with most tables packed.  So I say again, Bangkok invented mobile food - who needs food trucks? 

Bangkok, who needs food trucks when you have all this? (Soi Convent styles)

I like food trucks.  I like the idea of a mobile restaurant, and I like the idea of someone with a vision for food finding an alternate path to market.  Food trucks can be an amazing part of the culinary and cultural landscape of a city.  Toronto desperately needs them.  Los Angeles and New York's food scenes have been enriched by the diversification and growth in food truck culture.

Potential diners checking out their options

But what I don't understand about food trucks is WHY WE NEED THEM IN BANGKOK?!?! Like all trends, food trucks made their way to our fabulous city, but this one should have come and gone with nothing but a little yawn.

Kao man gai - drooling still...Tell me why I need a food TRUCK again?

Why?

Because street food vendors all over Thailand beat all you food truck fans to the punch decades ago.  Nine out of ten of my meals in Bangkok are cooked and served by people who work miracles each and every day out of a cart on a sidewalk or in a parking lot.  They set up, cook, serve,  and wash dishes anywhere and everywhere.  Most have a 'fixed' spot only in that they return to the same place each day, but they are mobile in every other sense of the word.  Many of these restaurants literally disappear at the end of their opening hours, leaving only an empty stretch of sidewalk where moments before culinary delights appeared one after the other to hungry patrons eager.

I have eaten some of the most amazing meals of my life on the streets of this fair city.  A cart, some plastic stools, and a few flimsy tables are all some of the finest chefs on the planet need to draw huge crowds of people.  So far, I can't find any advantage for food trucks, especially since most of them end up selling overpriced Western food.

I got on this anti-food truck rant about a week ago.  I had spent a late night out and decided to have a first-class Bangkok 'brunch' by visiting Soi Convent.  I won't even go into why Soi Convent is better than a hotel brunch; I'll just focus on my original pro-food cart rant.

To start heck this cart out.  First and foremost, they sell amazing kao man gai for 40 baht for the normal sized portion.  Second, this cart looks pretty mobile to me.  In fact Khun Noy can actually roll this cart away.  Finally, she can park it on the sidewalk, set up tables beside it, AND wash dishes because it's not some giant beast of a food truck.

And that was just my first stop in my Bangkok food cart brunch.  From the kao man gai, I moved on to spring rolls and then som tam.  I ended the meal with a coffee from a mobile coffee cart.  Everyone was mobile, everyone was friendly, and everyone served high quality food FAST.

Just last night I was at The Great Outdoor Market down by Rama IX Bridge.  There were tons of food vendors, and I started with a grilled cheese.  After placing my order, the very nice lady told me it would be 25 minutes.  Wait...what?  For grilled cheese?  From a truck?  Umm, sorry, no matter how good it is (and it was okay), you're missing the point if it takes 25 minutes.  And they didn't have any tables and chairs!  AND THEY SERVED EVERYTHING ON DISPOSABLE PAPER TRAYS.

So, tell me again why I need a food truck?  Let's face it, Thai people, you basically invented the idea of delicious mobile food.  You perfected it - turned it into an art form - and probably feed a few million people a day this way.  Don't fall for the imported fad of the food truck.  You and your food carts would destroy any food truck competition.

I salute you.

Just another Soi Convent bonus

Thailand: More reasons to love you

ส้มตำ ภูเรือ

Som tam, you truly are one of my favourite things on Earth. It's hard to imagine a life without you just around the corner.