Jive Walkin

During my quick trip to Toronto, I promised myself I needed to be more active. Everyday since then, I practiced yoga first thing in the morning. Then later on during a day, I went outside for a walk. I even started to do some winter jogging if the temperature was above -5C. The various routes weren't particularly interesting because we're in Ottawa.

There was another blast of snow on Thursday night and into Friday. On my walk that was also a grocery run, I thought about how pedestrian unfriendly this city was. I've had a few near-accidents while crossing streets despite having the right of way. But Friday it was the snow that impeded my progress. Oh, a plow did clear out the sidewalk. But one or more street plows also came through, pushing thick dirty snow onto long stretches of the same sidewalk. All the car traffic also created large piles at every intersection making crossing them treacherous. All in all, it was a miserable trek even for an able-bodied person. On my way back, I saw an older gentleman in a wheelchair struggling to get to his bus-stop.

On Saturday, I headed to my relative to see if they have improved. That trip was also an exercise in delay and frustration. First, I spent 40 minutes waiting to buy some butter croissants ($4.50) from Art Is In. The reason: only 2 people were behind the counter handling 25-30 customers. Their baked goods might be ok (for Ottawa) but it wasn't good enough to tolerate poor service. During the wait, I chatted with someone and got some tips for other businesses. So hopefully I'll never have to visit here again.

Ottawa has been extending its O-Train LRT from Tunney's Pasture to Baseline. Digging up various existing sections of the old bus-only corridors created some minor re-routing. But this week-end, they were tearing down one of the old station. As my bus twisted and turned through a major detour, going down one street before doubling back on another one, I got a good look at the city. None of it was pretty: Carling, Woodroffe, Richmond, and every road in between, it was strip malls, heavy car traffic, and no street-level human presence.

Lunch at my relative was stir-fry, soup, and leftover Christmas chocolate. From some gossip, I discovered that my younger cousins and siblings earned much more than me. I was glad they were making bank, but since we work in the same field, I realized I was woefully underpaid. I've always known from salary negotiations (or the lack thereof) that I wasn't getting market value for my work. I'm winding down my career so it's a moot point now but to compare actual dollars and cents was shocking. Speaking of careers, I recently received a message from an old yoga acquaintance (we used to enjoy a post-practice croissant hang). They had left their office job to become a Yoga Therapist full-time. Their new vocation was less lucrative, but much more emotionally rewarding.

Scrying In H-Mart

On the way back from my grocery run on Saturday, I noticed the Korean chain H-Mart near Yonge and Bloor. I didn't know they were even in Toronto; my go-to store is PAT Central in Little Korea. But I wanted to see if there was any room left in my luggage before I return. Turning down Isabella St., I saw some young people with their parents unloading furnishings from a car. I guess they were taking a stab at big-city living. Yonge St. does have a Manhattan vibe, especially since with its incline you can see the cityscape all the way to The Financial District. I prefer the Brooklyn feel of West-end areas like Bloorcourt or Brockton.

I went back to the store in the early evening. It was likely smaller than other locations in the U.S., but still packed with many Korean foodstuff. The clientele was a mix of Asians and white (K-Pop fans?) people, all in their early 20s. I got some sale items: Vegan dumplings (2 bags for $10.99) and Bibigo Kimchi ($7.99). The H-Mart was next to the famous strip club The Brass Rail and a quick-eat Vietnamese place called Ginger. That brought back some memories. In the early aughts, I usually ate at the latter on Saturday after an afternoon matinee at the movies. The dancers next-door would come in grab something for dinner. Non-regulars were often surprised seeing very attractive and provocatively dressed women dropping by to pick up their take-out. Once both businesses are sold to developers, Yonge St. will lose even more of its quirks and charms.

None of the ready-to-eat meals at H-Mart appealed to me. In any case, it has been cold and snowing, so something with warm broth seemed appropriate. Just a few blocks south was a Sansotei Ramen location. It has been opened since 2013, apparently outlasting its competitor Kenzo Ramen. The Shoyu ramen with extra toppings Black Fungus and Shiitake ran $18 (compared to $8.90 back in the day). It was rich and fragrant, perfect for the recent weather. I didn't like the noodles at Sansotei a decade ago, but now I had the choice of thick or thin. Thick was the right pick because its toothsomeness provided a great chew.

I thought about going to an installment of Long Winter. This musical/arts series was taking place at The Tranzac, a smaller venue than their heydays at The Great Hall. After a long hiatus, I did attend again in March 2020 just before the pandemic shutdown. But the prospect of an early bedtime won out over the cold and 20-minute sets from indie bands.

Caching Through The Snow

It was warmer Saturday morning compared to Friday but the snow was coming down in thick clumps. I decided that my walk today will be a number of shopping errands to stock up for Ottawa. Yonge St. was eerily empty of both cars and pedestrians. The wait for the College streetcar was longer than usual but par for the course with the weather.

I hopped off in Little Italy and made my way to Tsu Chi. I only visited this vegan Japanese café twice when it opened in 2021 because it was pricey for the portion size. But as a treat, I will buy some items on this trip. It never looked busy when I passed by during its first year but on my return to Toronto in the summer of 2022, there were customers sitting outside. Today all the tables were full and there was also a steady stream of folks coming in for take-away. I chose Matcha Tiramisu ($8.50), Haru Tiramisu ($8.80), frozen Karaage strips ($12.80), and a Katsu Sando ($7.20).

Just a few blocks away were two other places on my shopping list. At The Daily Dumpling Wonton, I got some vegan wontons ($16.95) stuffed with spinach and shiitake. Over at Barbershop Patisserie, I filled a small box with Chicken Pot Pies ($7/each), Apple Chaussons ($4.50), and butter croissants ($4). The latter was a recent addition and they looked delicious. I stopped going to Barbershop by the summer of 2021 because a) they looked to be doing well (I was supporting local businesses during the pandemic), b) buying weekly pastries was doing a number on my waistline, and c) I wasn't really a snack or dessert person.

It was time for lunch and my destination was the corner at Bloor and Dovercourt. A pair of related restaurants opened there in 2014: Nova Lisboa and Yauca's Lounge. Lisboa closed in 2016 for Dovercourt Village Pizza and Yauca's hung on until 2019. The pizza joint (known for its spam pizza) opened a second location, got bought out by the owner of Yauca, and has now shuttered completely. Maybe its replacement, Mac's Pizza, will do a better job but Mac has heavy competition with a nearby location of juggernaut Maker Pizza.

I wanted to try Yauca's replacement: OMG Cafe and Tapas. Gentrification has killed off numerous Portuguese and Brazilian businesses in the area so I'm interested in any new venture that attempts to "upgrade" but remain true to the neighbourhood's roots. But unfortunately, it wasn't open.

So I headed toward Dufferin for Pam's Roti Shop. Prices have increased on all dishes. The veggie lunch special that was my go-to throughout the pandemic was now at $8.99 instead of $5.99. Today, I ordered a goat roti ($16.95) for a fragrant wrap with a slight spicy kick. Both the goat and the potato stuffing melted in your mouth. I chatted with the owner and asked about her husband. I had known previously that they caught Covid late in 2020. But I didn't know that they were in the hospitals for 2 and 5 months respectively! I saw him sitting on benches in the summer of 2021 so he had recovered reasonably well. But she thought he needed to stay away from close contact with strangers. So no more restaurant duties.

Before I headed back to the inn, I walked a few blocks west to Lansdowne. The destruction of the 3 schools at Bloor and Dufferin was complete leaving a vast urban tract ripe for development, as evidenced by all the For Lease signs attached to the fencing. This construction is transformational to Bloorcourt and Bloordale. In 10 years, I think the area will be utterly changed.

11/02/2023: The vegan "breaded cutlet sandwich" with its soft shopukan (Japanese milk bread) tasted great with some chips for the train trip back to Ottawa. Still, it was a rather small portion for $8. The tiramisu were creamy and nicely flavoured. The pastries from Barbershop were outstanding, especially the new croissants. I had forgotten about Jill Barber's deft hand at making buttery and flaky textures.

Chilling With Feeling

All the news outlet reported that from Thursday night onward, Toronto was going to be in a deep freeze (the likes of which we haven't experienced in years). Friday morning, I wanted to visit the College and Spadina area. Given the wreck gazing back from the mirror last night, I decided to walk there from the guest house near Church St for a bit of exercise. It was definitely a cold trek, made barely bearable by several layers of outerwear and the bright sunshine (in those areas that weren't in shadow from 30-story condos).

Despite the cold, Fresca Pizzeria was cheek-to-jowl with teens (from the schools nearby) and a smattering of construction workers. Though kids will be kids, my geezer-hood wasn't up for loud adolescent rambunctiousness. So after few minutes I left to make my way through Kensington Market to Jumbo Empanada. The chicken empanada was $6.75 from $3.99 two decades ago, the cheese mini-empanada  was a relatively cheap $2.50, and they now charge $0.50 for the salsa. Still, it was a tasty and filling lunch from an old-school eatery as some other first-time diners discovered. I wonder what they'd think if they knew about the old prices?

I spent about 20 minutes at the Lillian H. Smith branch of the public library. There used to always be a few homeless people sitting quietly at the back of the stacks or in the personal cubicles. So I was surprised to find none despite the blistering cold outside. Have they been cracking down on vagrancy? That would be cruel.

I finally made my way back to Fresca after the lunch rush. It was still steadily busy but now with college-age students, middle-age folks, and even a white-haired doyen. That gave me a chance to catch up with the owners. They had taken a 3-week trip back to Vietnam around Christmas. When I asked them about retirement plans so I can prepare myself for the loss of Toronto-style pizza, the wife said any day now would be fine. The husband, on the other hand, joked that he'll work until he's eighty. The kids weren't taking over but maybe somebody might buy the business. I wanted a Margherita slice ($5) but they made me a small pizza for the same price. I took most of it back to the hotel via street-car. The wind was now bitingly ferocious so it was simply too cold to walk.

I ventured out again at dinner time. There were several dining options on Yonge, but I chose Monga with its Taiwanese-style fried chicken. This was a bad decision. Back in my room, I opened my Okinawa Seaweed chicken ($11.99). Its size was a bit of a turn-off; there were probably entire families in other parts of the world that shared a smaller portion. Instead of dry flour, Monga used a wet batter as coating. It crisped up reasonably well but didn't seem to stick to the chicken. So the outer shell kept separating from the chicken fillet. With the latter being your typical lean and tasteless white chicken breast, it was a bland protein. Not that the outside was much better. I couldn't taste the seaweed and, not something I'd usually say about restaurant food, it needed more salt. I ate about a third with some leftover rice. The latter was the best part of the dinner. I'll bring the rest back to Ottawa and see if the chicken improves after a few days.

Maybe the kitchen staff was inexperienced. In fact, I noticed that none of them were Chinese/Taiwanese. Otherwise, I don't know how this chain could have dozens of stores around the world selling a poor product.

11/02/2023: The fried chicken was better as leftovers for some rice and pasta. I still wouldn't pick Monga as my first choice but the entree wasn't terrible with some of the excess oil gone. There was some herb flavouring on the fillet and the sweet potato used in the batter came through as a slight sweetness. With its chewiness, the batter reminded me a bit of Korean hot dogs. Maybe they also use sticky rice as a base?

More Than One Life To Live

I headed to Toronto for Groundhog Day. For more than a decade, I've made it a point to visit a nice restaurant to celebrate this day. But during the last few pandemic years it was a half-hearted effort. But for 2023, I promised myself it will be back as before. I did see the eponymous movie on the big screen during its initial release. But this recurrence wasn't an homage to the now cult classic film about a man stuck in a time-loop. In fact, confession time: this day was also my birthday. And doesn't every birthday feel in some way the same and yet not?

I left for the old neighbourhood of Bloorcourt from Victoria's Mansion. The northbound Yonge subway was jam-packed with rush-hour commuters but few wore masks. Nobody had a problem with mine except for an "anti-vax" lady who started muttering alternative facts about infection rates and other mumbo jumbo. On our exit at Bloor Station, I finally told her to shut up. But she had disappeared into the crowd and a different lady was shocked, thinking I was directing my angry epithet at her. So an important lesson for a milestone birthday: putting out negativity into the world will just make things worse.

My destination was a fine-dining Korean restaurant called Orote. It was still being renovated when I left. Appropriately enough, since this was the Year of the Cat, a large yellow tiger was painted on the wall. I ordered 3 appetizers and two mains. The 4 pieces of Yellowtail ($18) were exquisitely sweet and fresh, enlivened with slightly bitter perilla. The salad ($10) was quite tasty too: layers of green, alternated with slices of beet and Asian pear as palate cleanser, mixed with roasted nuts and barley grain. The final app: fried tofu in a lightly spiced kimchi and chorizo ragu ($12) was also a great blend of flavour. Too bad I didn't take any photos because my Blackberry phone decided to turn itself off.

I wasn't as blown away by the Ribeye Ssam ($38). Slices of steak was accompanied by small pieces of red-leaf lettuce (acting as wraps) and gochujang sauce. There was nothing wrong with this main but it wasn't as inventive as the other dishes. Perhaps it was also too much meat for 1 person because I struggled to finish it. The Miso Yolk Rice ($12) with flaky dried egg yolk mixed in with soft, wet rice was also a miss. After I settled my bill and was about to leave, the chef gave me a complimentary dessert of vanilla ice cream with pink grapefruit. It was a nice, light way to end the meal.

If I was still living at Bloorcourt, Orote would be a regular haunt. But I wouldn't eat a full-meal like tonight. I would drop by every week for a single appetizer and then finish off with a slice of pizza at 241 Pizza just across the street.

I returned to Victoria Mansion musing that even in time-loops there are changes. Some are good: I was in the same room as last time. But management had replaced the carpet with laminated wood. Even better, there was now a new baseboard heater that kept it (maybe too) toasty. Some are bad: I looked at the full-length mirror and saw what 18 months of sedentary life in Ottawa has done. I was no chiseled Adonis before but now it was grim. A birthday resolution: regular yoga wasn't enough, I needed to be more active even if it was just a walk outside.

But in time-loops, things also don't change: like a hotel phone-book from more than 15 years ago. So in what year are we actually living?

04/02/2023: I ate the rice with some chicken last night. After drying out in the fridge, it was delicious: the miso lent it a nice fragrance. Not the first time a dish was better as leftover.