Holiday Eats

With the Holidays approaching, there have been many communal meals including two pot-luck on Friday and extended lunches. A recent one was an outstanding dim sum meal at Grand Chinese Cuisine, located in the Double Tree Hotel in Mississauga. I haven't tried the high-end dim sum places such as Lai Wa Heen but this was the best dim sum I've had. Each plate had perfectly prepared bite-size offerings: the fried stuff was crispy but not soaking in oil, the steamed dishes were toothsome, the stuffing were uniformly generous with high quality ingredients. I was most impressed with the care in the presentation. Sadly, the numerous photos of the 15 or so dishes were accidentally erased.

For lunch on Friday, we had the annual Company pot-luck. By coincidence, it was almost meat-free with an assortment of samosas, avocado salad, noodles, Japanese veggie curry, and desserts. I was most impressed with the home-made aloo tikkas (potato patties): small medallions stuffed with potatoes and spices. It was baked not fried, making it lighter than most restaurant Indian dishes. I have never had it elsewhere and was able to wrangle some to take home with me.

But the patties will have to wait because it was off to another yoga pot-luck after work. Fresh guacamole and corn chips made great appetizers. My offering of smaller Ethiopian samosas from African Palace went over like gang-busters. Latkes, light on the butter, went great with sour cream and apple sauce. A winter stew of kale, potatoes, beans, ginger, and other veggies made for a delicious main alongside some mulled wine simmered in cardamom and star anise . Although full, I made room for some excellent freshly made coconut macaroons and nanaimo bars.