False Creek

I love getting up early in the morning. 6:15 and I was out the door, over to Safari Cafe for a couple of strong cups of steaming goodness adulterated with sugar.

Conrad? Not so much.

When I got back to the condo at about 8:30, he was getting up (and not even grudgingly so, surprisingly). His turn for coffee, then the two of us headed over to Science World and began walking along the southeast corner of False Creek.

First off: sunny! What an incredible May weekend in Vancouver.

Second: this is where the Olympic Village is going up. The project has the added bonus of filling in the missing 600 meter or so stretch that broke up the 22 km of waterfront path from Kitsilano, all around False Creek, out around Stanley Park, and on to Coal Harbour. About time. Many people were out taking advantage of it. More on that in a moment.

The Olympic Village has a typical Vancouver/City of Glass/West Coast look to it.



It's not everyone's taste, but I rather like it. The landscaping is interesting, too,



and nice to see the provincial flower (dogwoods) at the end of its bloom.
I can't wait to see the end result next February and then after that when summer is in swing here.

Speaking of everyone being out, it was a weekend of dragon boat races on the water, and we paused to watch a moment or two before continuing on our way.




We could have gone all the way to Granville Island, but we opted to cross over at Cambie Street and head into Yaletown for a simple brunch. After that we put the camera away for the rest of our ambling (and kept it at home for tonight's superb dining experience at Coast, where we had great food and exceptionally attentive service dining at the kitchen counter).

Scenes from a Vancouver weekend, then. Back to Chicago tomorrow, and no return west planned until September.

Vancouver balcony

Yes, we wish it were a larger condo and balcony, but then we set up a little plate like this (Poplar Grove Tiger Blue - mmmmmmmmmm!) and settle down to watch and listen to the urban surroundings as the sun goes down. A bottle of Cedar Creek Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir and each other and we're pretty darn content. A Vancouver balcony is a lovely thing to have, you know...

Chinatown walking tour

Yes, I'm back.

A couple of, well, busy and not entirely easy weeks behind me. Nevermind, let's get back to food and travel and musings.

We're in Vancouver for the long weekend, and of course it's gorgeous weather. Nary a cloud. Warm without being hot. Conrad must be in town - he is a good luck charm when it comes to west coast weather. Thus we needed sunscreen yesterday, and caps, and water: walking for hours in Chinatown necessitated protection for my pale, pasty, white skin.

We've had the condo for two years now, and it shames us that we've never really explored (or shopped in) Chinatown despite our proximity to that neighbourhood. Yesterday we rectified that by taking part in a walking tour offered by Edible BC. It's a great store we've shopped in and ordered from and even done the Chefs in the Market dinners at. Highly highly recommended. And add the tours to that recommendation.

Conrad, Marie, and I met chef Dora Ho and three other tour participants in front of the Chinese Cultural Center on Pender. From there it was a short stroll up the street to Jade Dynasty for dim sum. Ever had that? Stodgy, lukewarm things served from a cart? This was better - no carts. Things came hot from the kitchen, and any feared stodginess was not in evidence. Instead it was all light and fresh and utterly tasty. We all three (and the others) especially liked the pepper salt squid - spicy, crispy, good.

Dora took us through the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden,

explaining some of the history of the neighbourhood, and then got us to the food stores. And what an array there is to be seen there. This may sound odd to people who know me and food, but I've not shopped much in Chinatown because, not knowing the names of everything let along the preparation methods, I simply didn't have the confidence to shop there. Well, I have some small knowledge now. Expect to see a few things pop up in future blog posts from here.

Up first, veggies. Dora pointed out some things and explained how they might be used (she did give us some recipes) and even whether they were known for heating or cooling properties. I had my eye on the abundance of greens that can be steamed simply, but the winter melon fascinated us all.

Next up, baked goods. This was tough because we were still rather sated from the dim sum. Dora bought some meat and vegetable buns - just made and nicely warm inside - and some sweet buns filled with a coconut, peanut, and sugar mixture. The variety of traditional style things (mochi-like treats, anyone?) and Western adaptations (mini wiener buns) was a delight.

More produce, this time with a focus on fruit The stall had the infamous durian (which we didn't try though we were all jarred to see that within the enormous fruit it was only some custardy yellow segments that get eaten). Dora bought us some rambutan (looks cool, pretty much a fancy lychee, nice) and mangosteen. I'd always wondered how to eat those things. Now I know. Another fruit with edible segments within, and these were very tasty. Dora gave us the great idea to serve some of these fruit quite simply as a dessert - leave them whole in a bowl for how lovely they are and let guests enjoy them unadorned. I think this is a terrific idea.

We didn't linger in the fish shop too long, just long enough to gawk a bit.

Nothing to taste on the fly there! ;-)

There are a number of dried goods stores (and it seems that they also provide herbalist consultations and remedies) Dora explained how much of what we saw would be used for broths and teas. The geckos, too? Yep, the geckos, too.

On to her preferred butcher. Sausages hanging throughout and even pressed ducks. Dora bought us some BBQ pork, some suckling pork, and some sausage. I loved the suckling most of all, but I can assure you that the greedy fingers of all 6 of us on the tour dug in eagerly.

Maybe it was the weather. Maybe it was that we had a nice little group with 6 of us willing to try things and all of us liking food greatly. It certainly was a credit to Dora, the tour. We got four hours of wandering a not too huge area, but Conrad and I were thoroughly exhausted at the end of it (and well fed). Home wasn't far away, which meant a well-deserved nap for us both.

wee New Zealand post (6)

A very wee post, little to say. These are shots from the oceanfront in Napier. We wandered up and down it a few times. We were drawn to it, though not into it - not a safe surf, and not a warm one either at that time of year. Stark and beautiful all at once.

wee New Zealand post (5)

Lunch at Craggy Range was quite pleasant: a handsome facility, a lovely setting, sunshine, tasty spreads for the bread, wine that we don't think was the best match (but oh well). Still, looking back on the photos, it's the scenery across the road that draws me again and again. Not for the sheep (yes, ha ha, they DO have a lot in NZ), but just the overall arid and sharp hills occasionally speckled with the livestock. I could have sat awhile and just sheep watched, peacefully.

and while I'm blogging about NZ restaurants...

... it seems a good time to at last re-mention our favourite restaurant in the country. Yes, the last post established that Pacifica in Napier was our best meal (and again, we ate very well and in quantity throughout the two weeks, so that is praise indeed and not a mark against any of the other excellent meals). But you know, once I knew a year or so ago that we were heading for a second vacation, I had a short list of things to return to or do again:

1. shop at Rixon Groove (note the new shirt AND tie for dinner at Logan Brown our last night in Wellington)
   


2. find the Seresin Marama Sauvignon Blanc and drink it


3. dine at Floriditas in Wellington

Happily, #s 2 and 3 were combinable in this case.

When we were in Wellington (a city we adore) in 2007, we ate at Floriditas every day. We stumbled upon it our first day at lunchtime and loved it. Back for dinner the next night, we were remembered and greeted warmly AND shown to the same window table as the day before. Back a third day, they apologized for not being able to give us "our" table. Add in very good food and a great wine list, and I think our affection for the place is pretty understandable.

So it was that we arrived in Wellington on a quiet Good Friday afternoon. Much of the city was empty or shut down for the holiday, but we decided to wander to Cuba Street in search of a late late light lunch. And there it was, open.

Happiness.

We made it simple: a little wine for me (I think Conrad had coffee), some serrano ham with fresh figs and purple basil, and pan-fried haloumi with salted Gaeta olives, lemon, and flat bread. And you know what, as we left, we were remembered by the manager (The owner? A friendly man with a good business). We were the bloggers. I knew they'd seen the blog - they'd commented on it - but this was two years later. Really flattering.

Conrad and I showed up there later that night for dinner. It was a little odd to be back so few hours later, but we needed a real meal, and I had another goal: that Seresin wine.
Oh yes, they had it, but only by the bottle. Conrad prefers his Pinots, but I prevailed on him and he very much enjoyed it, too. I wish I could find it here in Chicago, but I guess that's what made the visit so much more special.

The waitress read our minds, suggesting a bowl of olives to start. Yep, exactly the way we wanted to begin dinner. We each then had the pan-fried snapper, salsa verde, and cucumber and black olive salad. I kick myself that we didn't photograph it well. Delicious. As was the dish of rainbow chard with garlic and olive oil we had on the side. But I think we most liked dessert as we compiled it:

Windsor blue cheese and oat cakes
"Pecaaso" Ductch Manchago style white cheese with fresh fig and olive oil crackers
Slice of dark chocolate fruit cake

This is much in the style of our desserts at home: a bit of sweet, a bit of cheese, a bit of fruit. It was deeply satisfying.

We ended up going back the next day for brunch, of course. No photos that time, just a break from shopping in a bustling room of diners. Alas, we didn't come up that way on Easter, sticking close to our hotel and the area around Parliament. Still, I'd fulfilled a big goal on the trip, and that capped the vacation very well indeed.