On Criticism

I found this interesting discussion of the role of a critic and a reviewer. Based on their use of the terminology, I guess I am endeavoring to be a restaurant reviewer, rather than a critic - I have little formal training in food, and don't believe that this is important to producing articles of interest to other people who just want to hear about others experiences before deciding to spend their money at a particular establishment. I've always believed a passion in any topic (and therefore the motivation to research and explore a field on one's one) is of utmost value. Another thing the article talks about is the power of a negative review on a restaurant. I am actually a fan of scathing, sarcastic reviews - they're fun! - but I'm generally inclined to be more excited about a good restaurant discovery, and promoting something that I want to last. The bad ones, in the Vancouver market, should crumble soon enough all on their own.

Thousand Year Old Egg - A Fear Factor Challenge I Can Do

I was flipping channels (all four of them), and I just saw someone on Fear Factor be forced to eat a "hundred year old egg"! Also known as Thousand Year Old Egg and Century Egg...but it's just a name. It's preserved duck egg, and it doesn't take a hundred years, just a hundred days, max! Um...hello, people...Chinese people eat them because we LIKE them. It's in my favourite congee, with julienned pork. It's not that big a deal! This is the quote: "That was disgusting! You can really taste it all when you're chewing it up!" The guy looked like he was going to puke. Bah, stupid show. They're good! And I've even once converted a Caucasian guy - he was initially repulsed by them (probably to do with knowing that it used to be a normal egg, that has turned a very dark green colour with weird gelatinous parts) and now he loves them (in congee). So if you don't like it at first, perhaps give it another try. Go to a Hon's, and order the congee for a nice, warm lunch item on a cold day. (Please note that this post is not an endorsement of the Fear Factor show in any way. I tend not to watch it because it often promotes cruelty to bugs).

Best Blog Post in the World! ...About Cheesecake...In Vancouver...Written Tonight

I love walking through the city on a clear day, discovering shops and cafes. So I was walking through downtown after work, when I saw a white sandwich board with big, black, blocky letters simply proclaiming "Best Cheesecake in Vancouver." I was sucked in with one of the oldest and most annoying marketing tricks around. Not so much by being fooled into thinking that this here is indeed the best cheesecake in town, since it says so (literally) in black and white right in front. No...it's more of a "geez, they have some gall to say that outright. I bet they're wrong. I'm going to try some, and prove them wrong, and then blab (blog) it all over the place!" kind of thought. Still, I admit it, I was sucked in. So whatever way you look at it, that sandwich board is effective. This sign was in front of Trees Organic Coffee (450 Granville at Hastings), a place well-known amongst those seeking free WiFi internet and coffee downtown. This was my first time though, and I like the idea of organic and fair trade coffee. It also looks quite nice and cozy, as well as having a nice little patio area out front. I ordered a banana cheesecake, and I mentally prepared myself for disappointment.

Just so you understand where I'm coming from, I love cheesecake. I go to Cheesecake, etc. fairly often, and have generally considered that to be the best I can get in Vancouver, aside from my own homemade ones of course (for example, I do a blueberry-lemon one during blueberry season that I think about fondly the rest of the year). Cheesecake, Etc. (on South Granville, near the bridge to downtown) does these wonderfully fluffy, cloud-like cheesecakes, that are only slightly less than ideal (in my opinion) because of the lack of crust. I really like a graham cracker crust. Anyway, back to Trees' banana cheesecake - it was really very nice, at least to start with. It was a very generous slice that really should have been shared with another person, so by the time I got near the end, I was getting a bit of a C.O.D (cheesecake overdose). It was smooth and creamy, and nicely banana-y. My second favourite type of pie is banana cream pie (love that banana goo) and this was like the offspring of a banana cream pie and plain cheesecake cross. AND it had a graham cracker crust. I didn't wind up finishing the slice, and it was VERY sweet, so it might not be for everyone, but it did make a nice first impression on me. At least enough for me to relinquish any plans to vandalize their sandwich board...but then again, food usually appeases my destructive tendencies. In the end though, I'm more likely to urge you to have a slice at Cheesecake, etc. if you haven't had one before. Plus, it's a late-night kind of place, which is usually when my cheesecake needs arise. But I can definitely see myself stopping into Trees for coffee if I'm in the area in the daytime. Tonight they closed at 8 pm. Other desserts, as well as blueberry, raspberry and chocolate cheesecake were available too.

By the way, here's another fun discovery I made this evening: I found food-related novelty items (I won't specify, in case you know me, and get presents from me) in a cute, kitschy, little store called Funhauser Decor, in Chinatown (35 East Pender St., across and down a block from Tinseltown) a couple of doors away from a big Ming Wo (also fun to browse).

One last note about Cheesecake, etc.: it's a lovely place for a first date with someone who likes cheesecake (that's important to find out, btw. For goodness sakes, do NOT bring someone who can't eat or doesn't like cheesecake to a place called Cheesecake, etc.), since it's nice and dark, candle-lit (read: flattering lighting), and you can hang around and talk for a long while if things are going well, because you generally get ignored by the staff anyway, or you can bolt right away if things aren't since there's nothing there but beverages and cheesecake (and because you generally get ignored by the staff anyway... so it actually takes an effort to get another drink). Plus, even if it doesn't go well, at least you get to eat some nice cheesecake!

Kikkoman Soy Sauce Rocks!

Or at least their advertising does! A friend send me this fantastic ad. By the way, if people who love all things about the U.K. are anglophiles, is there an equivalent term for people like me who love Japanese culture?

Come to think of it, this idea of having food products for the head of superheroes has always appealed to me. My favourite super hero of all time is Ampan Man, whose head is a sweet bean paste-stuffed pastry. I saw one episode in Japan where there was a little boy standing outside crying. Ampan Man swooped down (he flies), and asked what was wrong. The boy was hungry! Ampan Man bent down, and offered his head. The boy bit into it. And Ampan Man can regenerate his pastry head! His evil villain is a mold or bacillus (which should strike fear in any bread product), and he has other baked-good-head friends.

Perhaps this is an influence for Too Much Coffee Man and one of his sidekicks, White Chocolate Almond Bark Woman, who has to deal with her crime-fighting companions begging to eat a bit of her when they are looking for a snack. I'm sure that Ampan Man is an influence on my Ha Gow character. He will probably have more dim sum friends too, but I'm still working on making the braised chicken foot character cute...

Tasty Tune - John Lee Supertaster

Sorry folks, experiencing technical difficulties with the song link in the previous post. The song is from They Might Be Giant's all ages album, "No!". (small clip of the song is available on this website). This song is about a superhero with what I think is a fantastic superpower. Hope to get the link working soon, but in the meantime, here are the lyrics:

John Lee Supertaster
Nothing tastes the same to a Supertaster!
When he tastes a pear it's like a hundred pears!
He's got superpowers!
He is a Supertaster!
Every flavor explodes!
Explodes and explodes!
John Lee Supertaster tastes more than we do
Everything has a flavor some flavors are too much
Can't shut his mouth 'cause he's a Supertaster!
Though he looks like a man he is a Supertaster!
Can't drink coffee or beer 'cause he's a Supertaster!
He loves ice cream and pie!
He is a Supertaster!
John Lee Supertaster tastes more than we know
Everything has a flavor some flavors must go

Citizens of Nancyland, Unite!

The two comments on my Chinese buffet post about wanting to check out Urban Buffet soon got me thinking that maybe I should organize a meet in the near future, to cultivate the Nancyland community (while the site is still circulating around mainly friends and friends of friends...y'know, before the whole world domination thing...or at least before creepy people find my site). That then got me thinking, what should we call ourselves? Nancylandites? Nancylandians? I looked up Icelandic people, and they are Icelanders. So to follow suit, the correct term might be Nancylanders. My main influence for the site name was Disneyland (Nancyland is the happiest place on virtual earth), but no one actually lives there, except for all the characters, of course. Walt was rumoured to have an apartment in the castle, or somewhere else on site, but I don't think even he ever lived there. So that doesn't help. If you have any ideas about that (I'm personally leaning towards Nancylanders), or if you think a meet at Urban Buffet is something you'd go to, comment away! Caveat: I don't actually think THAT highly of the food at Urban Buffet (so don't go in expecting greatness, people). But it is a really convenient meeting place for a large group due to the serve-yourself nature of the food (so we wouldn't even need to wait for everyone before eating), the large open space with plenty of tables that can easily be pushed together at the last moment (they always seem to have lots of tables available), the downtown location, and the fact that everyone just pays for themselves at the cash register before they leave. If we had a meet, it would be by informal RSVP (you email me with a "I might be there" or "I will probably be there") and I would wear something distinctive so that everyone can find me, and maybe we'd have some sort of secret dress code item so that we could recognize each other (something everyone can find easily, like a string tied around our wrists?). Hmmmm, it's starting to sound like a cult, isn't it?... Maybe this whole web"master" thing is going to my head...(mwha ha hahahahahaha). Should I design a flag for Nancyland too? What do you think should be on it?

Lunch at Lupo

Veggie Panino with Cream of Mushroom Soup

Here's another blurry photo of food. I had quite a nice lunch special ($8.95) at the Lupo Cafe at the corner of Georgia at Burrard, which replaced Cichetti. Everything here is very attractive - the room, the food (notice the cute sauce garnish on my mushroom soup, and the little paper doilies), the flower arrangements, the big coffee cups, the people at my table (sorry, we probably won't be there when you go, but check out those nice coffee cups). I just found out too that it's run by the Villa del Lupo people. Nice service, too - they misunderstood which dessert I ordered, and very graciously replaced it (after having gone to the trouble of heating it up and all). And yes, that soup was not only stylish, it was tasty too.