Playtime

Since The National Ballet had a 1991 commissioned piece from choreographer William Forsythe, they decided to put on a retrospective on him titled Physical Thinking including two Canadian premieres. On a rainy Wednesday night, I went down to the Four Seasons Centre to check it out.

The evening started with those premieres: The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude and Approximate Sonata 2016. Forsythe liked to have his dancers execute lightning-quick turns, jumps, and limb movements. They often start with some classical set-up whether solo, pairs, or groups, veer off into more contemporary sequences, and circled back to that balletic foundation. I felt there was often a playful quality to the dancing. Exactitude had Schubert's Allegro Vivace (Symphony No. 9) to drive the piece. Approximate's spare score allowed us to hear the footwork and even breathing from the several pas-de-deux.

During the intermission, some dancers came out to the Atrium to lead any interested audience members in a sequence of simple movements. It turns out these would show up in The Second Detail. The music often contained snippets that evoked in an attenuated way a particular genre of music. Similarly, the dancers often shifted into movements that felt like 20s flapper girl or tango but not quite. Detail ended with a dancer, dressed in a white tropical dress, gyrating wildly through the corps. This presented quite an interesting contrast to their silver tights and constrained movements.

Here Fishy Fishy

I found myself on Baldwin around lunch-time on Wednesday. This strip always had a high density of restaurants. But I didn't realized most of them are now Asian spots. I guess it has been a few years since I came by.

I stopped by new restaurant Koh Lipe which offers Southern Thai, a rare variation on Thai food in Toronto. Similar to a number of places I've been to lately, it was divided into two levels; both were bright and cheery. Upstair had colourful, traditional Thai fish ornaments following a painted rowboat. The first page of the menu had typical dishes, so I flipped to the overleaf where there were more interesting options. I finally settled for Choo Chee Pla Too ($18.95).

The dish turned out to be 3 fried mackerels, complete with heads. Luckily, there weren't too many bones. The smoky and strong flavour of the fish nicely matched with the spicy and rich coconut curry. Though the busy lunch crowd stuck to the phad thai and rice from the lunch specials, I was glad to have chosen a better dish. There were other dishes that caught my eye and I will definitely return to Koh Lipe especially to try those stink beans.

Storytime

On Tuesday, I was at The Burdock for two fine storytellers. Singer Jenny Berkel opened the night with her sister Trixie for a set of "small" songs. Each number encompassed a specific situation with subtle details. Her low, throaty vocals contrasted nicely with her sister's airy harmonies. I suspect Berkel is a guitarist first because her playing was full of interesting ornamentation and riffs.

Misha Bower usually sings with Bruce Peninsula. Tonight was the debut of her solo album. I had a quick listen before the show. Bower's vocalistic style involved a lot of rounded and stretched words that made for mushy melodies. Luckily, it was much better live and allowed you to appreciate the imagery and stories in songs like Trying To Have It All and Man of Thirty. The band, including Berkel on piano and harmony, kept things low-key while Bower let her voice swoop and soar. She told a long, engaging story about her relationship with her mother that shed light on the lyrics of the last song I'm All About. It was a powerful set that I don't often witness at live shows.

Mod Munchies

On Tuesday, I checked out a new addition to the Ossington strip called The Shozan Room. The owners used to have a traditional Japanese spot on Baldwin that was damaged due to a fire in the area. But when they opened this restaurant, they decided to offer a new, modern take on Japanese cuisine.

Shozan is divided into 2 rooms. The casual ground-level area offered izakaya snacks. Upstairs, the room was dark walls, with 2 long tables, and booths separated by painted glass partitions. A kimono hung by the small windows. The menu was likewise more upscale.

Looking over my options I selected Soft Shell Crab Croquettes ($14), Sea Bass Sashimi ($12), and the Red Devil Roll ($15.25). The miso garlic tartar sauce made a nice dipping sauce for the rich and crunchy croquette. However, I wonder if it was a waste of crab as like most fried food, you mostly taste the oil and batter. I'm not sure the advantage of using kombu (kelp) to cure fish. Nevertheless, the sea bass was toothsome. The balance between the fennel, apple sauce, sweet figs, and savoury smoked eggplant made a nice foundation for the fish. Finally, the 8-piece Devil Roll was also excellent. There was 2 kinds of salmon, spicy salmon centre, cured salmon on the outside. It was also topped off with generous amount of black tobiko (fish roe) and juicy ikura (salmon roe). Even the wasabi, although not real wasabi, was milder and better flavoured than the standard green horseradish.
This was a nice dinner. It was pricier than your typical sushi joint but worth the money. If you're still feeling a bit peckish for budgetary reasons afterward, Bobbie Sue's Mac + Cheese is literally just around the corner.