Happy Mute Year

Now that members of my extended families have in-laws, vacation, and other Holiday plans, we don't have the large Christmas gathering anymore. It has shifted to a New Year's Day lunch in recent years. On Wednesday, the family met at my sibling's home for a feast of spring rolls, noodles, char siu, samosas, charcuterie, and a diverse collection of food.

There was plenty of leftovers because sadly, almost 10 people were absent due to illness: old-age infirmities, chronic conditions, and seasonal infections. Some of the attendees were also not at full strength. One of my cousin, who was only in their late 20s, spent the last year on chemo and surgery. The young children were ignorant of these undercurrents and happily played with old and new toys. My nieces have entered into their adolescence and hints of teenage sullenness are surfacing (at least toward the adults). It was a bit sad that despite all living in the same metropolitan area, a rarity in North America, the 2nd cousins did not see more of each other. 

My sibling told me about his plans for early retirement. Their timeline was even shorter than mine with a clear idea about next steps: returning to school and learning hands-on skills like carpentry. I wasn't sure about my own goals but was leaning toward part-time work instead of full retirement. My older relatives would likely be aghast that our generation wasn't keen on working for 40 years.

Meat and Eat

On Monday, I met up with a friend for lunch. Recently back from a family trip to Japan, they found the nose trimmer that I had asked for. Yes, as I age, previously ungroomed body parts needed more attention. But mostly I was taken by its virality. I wasn't going to pay $60 for the meme but for $20 from its home country, let's give it a try.

The Korean BBQ place Dal Dongnae started in Toronto in 2017 and has aggressively expanded to 10+ locations in the GTA, 2 here in Ottawa, and several others in Ontario and Quebec. Though they have a location in Koreatown Toronto, I have never been for two reasons. One, it had the misfortune of opening at the end of 2019 and two, I don't eat Korean BBQ because I don't want to pay to cook my own food.

The name was a nod to rustic "moon villages" which were closer to slums or favelas. Nevertheless, a village vibe is invoked with wood panels and fake brick roofs. Upon arriving, I was surprised to greet a second friend. I haven't seen them for almost 15 years and have only interacted once during a pandemic-era zoom chat. They left for California after marriage and though they have been back to Ottawa to visit family, I was usually in Toronto. I have met the then-boyfriend a few times in the early days, but this was my first encounter of the children. Or should I say, teenagers, with the eldest only 2 years from graduating high school.

This was a last-minute Christmas trip because of some medical warnings: their 97-year-old grandmother was likely in her final days. So it has been 3 days in Montreal where, depending on her dementia condition, she did recognize some family members. Now, it was some holiday time in Ottawa with mom and brother before returning to the U.S.

With 8 people at the table (2 families with several teens), we ordered numerous dishes including seafood pancake and all sorts of meat cuts (beef, chicken, pork) for the grill. I wasn't keeping track but the final bill came to $170 before tip. There was no tax because the beleaguered goverment declared a 2-month tax holiday on some products like restaurant meals. It was a nice lunch: the food was mostly tasty and I didn't have to cook.

P&P Canada

I don't dine out much in Ottawa compared to Toronto because of 3 strikes: more expensive, smaller portion, and less tasty. Though there are some cheaper options that I visit semi-regularly. The other reason were the home-cooked meals. But early in the week, my parent was staying a few days at my grandma's to keep her company. So I took the opportunity to check out Pit Stop for dinner.

A convenience store is not my typical choice for a meal. But it recently changed owner and the new one had installed a shawarma shop in the back. A regular falalel wrap was a reasonable $6.99 but I struck out again. Usually, the ingredients are packed into a pita shell. But it was a small one here so they tore it apart to form two overlapping discs. I have never seen the like so two strikes: undersized and pricey. Then I saw that, like other shawarma places in Ottawa, they had pre-cooked the falalel. But it wasn't just a 3rd strike but a total swing-and-miss because the falafel was salty almost to the point of being inedible. Maybe someone who just picked up a cookbook a week ago should be this bad. Not people who spent money buying commercial kitchen equipment.

On Saturday, it was my turn to visit my grandma for lunch. Usually she has prepared something. But this time, I stopped off in Chinatown to buy a few extra snacks. Since Covid, my uncle has not visited the area so she has been missing some favourites. A small grocery store like Phuoc Loi, hammered by large suburban competitors like Fresh Green and T&T, now only offer a small vegetables section. The bulk of their staples was convenience-store-like items such as ramen and canned food.

However, they also stock home-made food on the week-end. These offerings are procured from an older generation of private cooks looking to make some extra money. So like a gentrifying Chinatown, they will eventually disappear. My grandma was thrilled with fried sesame balls/banh ran($4), shrimp tapioca dumplings/banh bot loc($5), pork balls/banh it tran($5), and flour rolls/banh cuon ($7).

On The Road Again

I had a few things planned on Friday but they fell through because, paradoxically, I was working longer despite booking half-day vacations. The first item scratched off was a second community class at Yogaspace because I simply didn't want to eat another late lunch.

There were several boutique shops between Lansdowne and Gladstone. As far as gentrification goes, something other than a café or restaurant was a net positive in my opinion. Yet this stretch of College St. was not lively or gentrified enough to make these stores viable because I have seen mostly failures over the years.

At Gladstone, I decided I didn't want to walk all the way to Spadina for Toronto-style pizza at Fresca. So remove that item from my to-do list. I also wasn't feeling in the mood for a Moroccan tea at Arabesque. Instead I headed up to Bloor for 241 pizza. Previously, there have been encampments at Dufferin Grove Park. The first occurrence was a cluster of tents in the field across from the outdoor rink. Then during the pandemic, several were set up by Indigenous folks next to the campfire to protest the discovery of mass graves at residential schools. There were none during my visit in June but they have returned. This time, they were spread apart, covering almost the entire tree-lined slope opposite Dufferin Mall. I wondered how the local residents felt about losing 1/3 of the park.

In the evening, I headed East again from my rental to Symington and Bloor. This crossing, essentially 2 3-way intersections side-by-side, was notorious for confusing drivers. During the brief time that I passed by on my way to Taqueria Vegana, several cars were "stuck" in no-man's land, enduring a flurry of honking from more experienced motorists. There were several restaurants right at that intersection that could provide me with an entertaining view of the chaos.

I had a good feeling stepping inside Thai Nyyom. First, all the staff spoke Thai to each other. Second, the menu on the chalkboard was only a handful of regular items plus one daily special. I ordered Khao Soi Chicken ($15.04) and Thai Iced Tea ($5.31). The drink was excellent and as a bonus, not as sweet as other places. As for the Khao Soi, it was also wonderful. The broth was flavourful with a slight kick and the chicken fell apart in your mouth. The crunchy topping provided a nice textural contrast. The only problem was that now that I've had the spaghetti version known as Khaose, Khao Soi simply wasn't quite as great a dish. Al dente pasta was a better base than soft rice noodles.

I had an early evening because my bus back to Ottawa was at 7 am. When I got to the terminal Saturday morning, I realized my mistake. Apparently, Rider Express was successful enough to now expand to several daily trips between Ottawa and Toronto. This early one was not a direct route but a "local" detour that went through several small towns include Marnora and Madoc. My last such ride, with the defunct Greyhound company some 20 years ago, took almost 8 hours. Luckily, this one was not on a full bus during winter so it was only 45 minutes longer than my usual 5-hour ride. But I'll have to pay attention to the full itinerary the next time I book online.