Eastside Cultural Crawl

This is my second year of going to the Eastside Cultural Crawl. Although the experience is similar to previous year (visited same studios), but it's interesting to see how each artist has grown. My favorite pieces this year are: knit by Julie Pongrac and painting by Niina Chebry.

As you can see from the picture above, this piece of Pongrac's knot utilized layers of colors that created the illusion of the ocean and the irregularity of the knitting guides your eyes through the complex waves - well, at least that is my interpretation of it.

Niina Chebry's "Hokkaido" (http://www.niinachebry.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=1084) is my other favourite. When look from afar, you can enjoy the mix of pink and the calming cool color tone background. With a closer look the layering of acrylic granted the painting life that you can almost see the cherry blossom emerging from the surface of the canvas.

Anyway. I didn't check out how these pieces cost. Real art shall remain priceless, don't you think?

La Taqueria

I have not had a lot of Mexican food experience - beans are not my favourite texture and any rice other than Chinese rice felt undercooked. The only other close to authentic Mexican experience would be Las Margaritas, but the food felt real heavy that I can't have it more than three times a year. But La Taqueria is totally different. Although you can almost call it fast food, you can feel there are lots of thought went into the tacos there. Beef tongue, braised beef, confit pork, grilled fish... everything single item is more than just stuff on soft shell. Could it be the lime or the pickled red onion? All the food felt quite light and refreshing. The high energy of the people at the restaurant made it a very cool experience.

Japadog Revisited

Went back to Japadog today. For some reason for combo you save few cents with Terimayo Dog. Tried the Yakiniku Dog today but I don't think it's the best - too much protein with the beef and the sticky almost soggy rice does not compliment the dog. But the shakes fries are still great.

媽媽麵 ~ hmm yum

Market Day - Baker's Market

Market Day - Winter Farmers Market

Fortuna Bakery & Deli

Fortuna Bakery & Deli located in north Burnaby near Hastings and Madison. I used to only know this place for its cookies. But this time I discovered their baked cheesecakes. A 6 inch (I think) cake for $11 - consider a fruit tart is about $5 the cheese cake is a great deal. The fruit topping is fresh, the creamy center is not overly cheesy, only the crust is a bit thick but people like baked cheesecake for the crust.

North Van Adventure - Arc'teryx Factory Outlet

Sometimes I wish I am 80 lbs heavier so I can buy these XXXXXXL factory outlet clothing. But man, they have some high tech good stuff... almost fashionable just because how high tech it is.

North Van Adventure - the Boardroom

The Boardroom 10th anniversary sale. But I guess I dint really "need" anything. The only thing I might need is the "ninja suit". But for $129 I will stick to my long-john and hanley.

Butter Nut Squash Soup

This is my first time seeing a white-people-thick-soup being made. My friend said it is easy to make - roasting the squash, caramelizing onion, mashing/blending with broth, seasoning, and add cream etc. The easiness level does not compare to Chinese soup, of which you just chuck everything in water and boil the heck out of it. But the end result is worth the work - sweet nuttiness of the squash, depth of the taste from onion , chicken broth, and apple juice (who would've thunk?!), and a dollop of plain yogurt made the soup very light.

Momos - ready to eat

After 8 minutes of steaming on high heat the momos are ready to eat. We had some pressed tofu with kale on the side. The momos are juicy inside just from the lamb meat. And the dough... well, I don't want to talk about my failures.

Momos - Lebanese Dumplings

So what a challenge it was to make your own dumplings. First I screw up on the dough because I over-worked it, then flattening the dough to a sheet you can work with is painful cuz the dough is very elastic. Luckily my friend did a great job seasoning the fillings (cumin, ground ginger, masala something something... anyway, not the typical spices Chinese people use so I can't remember the names). But the hard part comes, actually wrapping these suckers.

First try is a gigantic fail, but at least it look like shu-mai/dimsum so it is still in the food category. But after watching a clip on YouTube I start to get the hang of it. The trick is keeping your left thumb in the fillings and keep pinch the wrapping against your thumb with your right thumb and index finger. If that doesn't make sense don't worry about it, practice make perfect.

Well we were supposed to make two batches of these dumplings, but the second batch became meat balls at the end of the night, and they will be damned good meat balls I tell yah!

Stew pork on Noodles 魯肉麵

Every Chinese have a good recipe for stewed meats, and mine are pretty much the same way I did my beef noodle except without the rock sugar because I want a good salty dish that goes well with rice. So when it is near the bottom of the pot and you have some good sauces but not much meats left, this is a good way to use those sauces so you don't feel guilty pouring them down the drain.

Basically you just thicken up the sauce with corn starch, add a bit of brown sugar so it's not overly salty, cut up the meats to small bite sizes, and toss in noodles with lots of finely cut up green onion. This is inspired by my best friend's favorite noodle shop in Taiwan, and I am proud to say I did a pretty good job of creating my own version.