Pizzazz Pocket

I headed to East Chinatown on Wednesday for two reasons: stock up on groceries at Galaxy Fresh Foods and eat pho at Mimi (a recommendation from a laundromat chat). Mimi didn't happen because oddly, it was closed. Restaurants usually have Monday and Tuesday off.

I stepped inside Lee's Dumpling House. This was supposedly a family-run business though with 3 locations, was it an extra large family or just the owners were related? Someone who looked like a teen home from school did take over for an older lady while I was there. It was less dingy than 4 years ago with new banquettes, painted walls, and the workers dressed in uniform. They should have only 1 row of tables because it was cramped in this small space. Also, with the sauce bottles sticky from residue and melamine plates, it still felt a little cheap.

Dinner for me was Spring Onion Pancake ($7.95), 6 Har Gow dumplings ($9.95) and 4 Pan-fried Buns ($8.95). The pancake and buns were winners for me. While scarfing down the former, I mused that some sort of fried dough dish must be common across all cultures. The vegetarian (mushroom, carrots, vermicelli) buns were also tasty if not quite as good as defunct BauzZa. However the shrimp dumplings were also-ran. When they came out gloopy on a dish and not translucent in a bamboo steamer, I was worried. Luckily, the thicker shell was still soft and the shrimp had a good chew but still mediocre though. Along with the free shrimp chips, this was a filling meal with leftovers for lunch. I received some fortune cookies but they turned out to be ads for online sports betting site Tonybet ("You may soon discover a new kind of thrill").

Burger Time

On Monday, I tried to get over my recent pizza disappointment by having dinner at Pizza Pide. This time, I chose the assorted veggie option ($16.95). But once you learn about the pizza gum line, you see it everywhere (or maybe imagine it). If it was actually there, it was quite thin and with ingredients that held a lot of moisture like spinach and mushroom, I wasn't as judgmental. During my wait, the male half of a couple went to the washroom and stayed there for almost 10 minutes. I've had my share of intestinal problems (like last Friday) but they were afterwards and not during a dine-out meal.

In Little India, there were 3 Desi Burger joints with almost identical names. I thought that one was long abandoned but recently I saw some people inside. It never seemed to be open. One only had a smattering of visitors but I liked it back in 2022. But the final one was most popular: old men sitting outside people-watching while diners bustling in and out.

On Tuesday evening, I finally gave it a shot only because burgers are a lunch meal for me and Desi Burger did not open until 2:30 p.m. Probably because like Lahore Grill, they stayed open until 5 a.m. It ended up a hit and miss affair. The hit: a samosa ($1.50) sprinkled with masala powder. That made perfect sense since masala fries are fantastic. Two misses: the mango lassi ($4) wasn't thick enough and felt more like a smoothie. As for the chicken burger ($5): I didn't mind that it was generally soft and "soggy". This seemed to be this style of burgers. But it wasn't a chicken patty but rather some mixture that was maybe 20% chicken. To be honest, I couldn't taste any chicken at all and spent my meal wondering if they had mixed up my order with an aloo burger.

We Are The World

I spent the week-end mostly doom-scrolling. First, my bedroom's window faced the side of neighbour's house so it was usually dark inside. So I tended to forget that it was bright and sunny outdoors. But even with the good weather, my East End neighbourhood was quiet and there wasn't much pedestrian traffic. I wasn't a flaneur to wander about aimlessly. I was balking at going to the livelier West End due to a gut scare on Friday.

On Saturday, I briefly ventured to Huy Ky for a chicken banh mi and some glutinous rice. Sunday was laundry and then to No Frills and Dollarama to restock the kitchen. On the way back, congregants at the buddhist temple Hoa Nghiem were streaming out. When I was here during the pandemic, it was closed during my entire stay. These temples usually have a vegetarian lunch (with food prepared by the attendees) and privately distribute any leftovers within the community. I wished there was a way for a stranger like myself to buy some because the food was often delicious. So it was the remaining fried rice from Yummy House for me.

The highlight of the week-end was going to an "African Street Food" seller called Nganda. This restaurant has replaced the brief Nutmento. I suppose that similar to Drake (as a mural on its wall), the latter could not go toe-to-toe with The Real Jerk, the local Kendrick Lamar of Jamaican food, just a block away. Nganda has replaced Aubrey with prints of African art. Behind each table was the name of a major city on the continent. The owner was likely from one of the former French colonies since Lagos was the only English-speaking metropole. I sat in Dakar, Senegal.

The ginger taste of Stoney Tangawizi ($6), an African Coca-Cola product, was refreshing and reminded me a little bit of kombucha. The bottle-cap indicated that this version was imported from Uganda. The main was equally delicious: Zota ($25.95) was a bowl of char-grilled chicken (5 pieces), moyo sauce (a tangy tomato, green pepper, and onion mix), plaintain, and a lot of couscous. I ate my dinner with gusto and marveled at its similarities but also differences to Jamaican dishes like Jerk. It wasn't as rapturous as Afrobeat Kitchen (but that chef was professionally trained) but heads and shoulders above French-speaking, African spots in Ottawa. If a usual dish of this cuisine was executed this well, I'm hopeful that on my next visit, the vegan ones will be just as good. However, with the final tally of $41.46 (tax + tip), I'm not sure how Nganda will fare on this (still) working class stretch of Gerrard.

What, Me Worry?

On Friday, I ate leftover injera and fried rice. They were perfectly fine on Thursday but caused some intestinal issues this time round. Of course, it had nothing to do with the food. The real issue was some sort of digestive problem. But I avoid that uncomfortable premise and will facetiously blame other factors. This time round, I pointed the finger at work.

I ate at home because I had no time to leave the apartment for lunch due to a deadline. Also, I reviewed the work of some co-workers and some frustrations leaked through. Not enough to get a write up from HR but I did leave some exasperated comments. Anyway, I need to find some equanimity because this job wasn't worth my health.

In in the evening, when I got on the College St streetcar heading to The Baby G ($20) in the West End, I was already feeling some gut pangs. But I blamed it on my widening mid-section pressing against my jeans. I didn't mind the slow trip as I watched people enjoying themselves at restaurants and patios. But the discomfort was worsening. By the time I got off at Brock an hour later and walked to Dundas, I was so certain that I needed to get home soon that I went to an ATM and got money for a taxi.

When I scanned my ticket inside, I headed straight to the washrooms in a small hallway next to the stage. They were empty because everyone was watching opener Sno Daze. I have abandoned concerts plenty of time before for stomach problems but usually while still at home. I only recalled 2 occasions when I was already out. Once at the Phoenix Concert Theatre but I don't have any memories of using their decrepit facilities. So I must have flagged down a taxi. I did have to use the washroom at The Mod Club. That time, I "blamed" standing pressed against the bass speakers (those low frequencies vibrated my innards!) and never did it again at any other concerts.

The bad news: it took 5 rounds of flushing before I felt more composed. The good news: it never got to the liquid stage like it often does. I was impressed that despite the graffiti the washroom was quite clean. Lee's Palace could never. In any case, I only caught the last two songs from Sno Daze so they sounded very much like other indie bands to my ears.

Though worrywart was the headliner, they were up next. This Toronto gig was 5 weeks into a 7 weeks tour which will end in their hometown of Vancouver. I liked the combination of cacophonous guitar and 3 part harmony. Combined that with a 34-city work ethos (most small bands might do 10 cities), which reminded me of Bright Light Social Hour 15 years ago, and they got $35 from me for a tour t-shirt. When I asked where they played in Ottawa a few nights prior, it was at House of Targ. In Ottawa South on a Wednesday, that was probably a sparse gig. I wasn't surprised that they were looking into Rainbow Bistro in the Byward Market for the next time.

I was preparing to leave when I saw that Blosum had 4 female members and a male drummer. This was an inversion of the typically band. I was intrigued and stayed for most of their set. It wasn't quite shoe-gaze (not enough knob fiddling) but there were some catchy numbers. But I hung around 1 song too many. Missing a streetcar heading East by literally 30 seconds cascaded into a 2.5 hour return trip due to a combination of traffic, being stuck on the tracks (and waiting too long due to my indecisiveness), and finding alternate routes. I couldn't even grab a taxi, because since the arrival of the pandemic and Uber, I don't see idle ones patrolling Toronto streets anymore.