Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, BC
Mr. Congee Bridlewood Mall: Followng late afternoon appointments, opted for a casual Cantonese meal at a mall storefront. Congee, beef brisket lo mein, turnip cake and barbeque pork rice at modest prices, whole duck cost a little more. Selection is small, save for the seafood set menus the would suit a grander occasion. (Mr. Congee Bridlewood Mall, Warden Avenue, Scarborough, Ontario) 20240313Zhang Liang Spicy Hotpot: Pre-theatre casual dinner, each diner selecting own ingredients from the open refrigerator shelves to be given to kitchen to make soup. Unlike our experience in China where only malatang means numbing spicy soup, our Cantonese palates could opt for the non-spicy mushroom broth. Some have had more experience estimating the quantity of inputs, to the amount one can eat. (Zhang Liang Spciy Hotpot, Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20240320Hugh’s Room Live: Songwriter session with @danhillmusic and @lily_frost, with stories about composing, performing, the music business, and challenges of returning to live performing after long interruption. Small venue in former church, pews in the balcony gave a better view than on ground floor. Gladly accepted free tickets offered by an acquaintance on 3 hours notice, I was a fan even before Dan Hill performed at Ontario Place Forum in 1978. (Hugh’s Room Live, Broadview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario) 20240322Maple Leaf Lounge, Domestic, YYZ: Early for flight to Vancouver, adding salad to the meatballs and rice. Six day visit, mostly to visit DY’s mother. Planning on staying mostly in Eastern Time, up before sunrise at 7:00am. (Maple Leaf Lounge (Domestic), Pearson Airport, Toronto, Ontario) 20240327Denny’s Test Kitchen: Brunch next door to Canadian headquarters of international restaurant chain, with menu items under consideration request feedback for inclusion into regular menus. Bridging east coast body time with west coast mealtimes, we’re jet lagged with the 3-hour time zone change. Discussed the Broadway Plan for rental housing in the neighbourhood, designed to encourage low rise construction while protecting affordability for long-time residents. (Denny’s Test Kitchen, West Broadway, Vancouver, BC) 20240328
Emily Carr University of Art and Design: Bob (Tahitan-Tlingit) + Stan Bevan (Tahitan-Tlingit and Tsimshian) + Lyonei Grant (Maori and Pakeha) 2023 “Pacific Song of Ancestors”. Carving may be tradition of natives of British Columbia, but features on this art work aren’t limited to the province. Art university demonstrates is forward-looking ways. (Emily Carr University of Art and Design, East 1st Street, Vancouver, BC) 20240328
Libby Leshgold Gallery: Scaffold 17 feet in height with prose-poem on Tyvek banners, Hazel Meyer (2024) Weeping Concrete fills the open space of the gallery. Sculptural installation can be used as stage, had two public performances in February 2024. We hadn’t seen a similar 2022 work in the Bentway in Toronto, underneath the Gardiner Expressway. (Libby Leshgold Gallery, East 1st Street, Vancouver, BC) 20240328
Emily Carr University of Art + Design: Suspending on wires from ceiling, Kevin Orloski (2024) Freedom is an epoxy resin artwork symbolizing the American Sign Language expression by Shannon Anderson. Nearing the end of the academic year, students works are on display. On a regular school day, we enjoy the energy on campus. (Emily Carr University of Art + Design, E. 1st Avenue, Vancouver, BC) 20240328
Canton-Sardine: Behind wall, a maze Xiangmei Su (2024) Here————There weaves threads around up stairs and beyond blind alleys. The artist lives been cultures, immigrating from Changshu, China to study visual art at UBC in Vancouver. Installation is found in the basement of the Sun Wah Centre used as a Chinatown community space by BCA, very quiet on a regular workday. (Canton-Sardine, Sun Wah Centre, Keefer Street, Vancouver, BC) 20240328
Yohachi Sushi: Leisurely dinner catching up on more than 5 years since we’ve seen each other. They’re more retired than us, all of us are in the sandwich generation of taking care of elders, and having adult children with busy lives. Conversation ran overtime, so that we waited for the late Seabus schedule of 30 minutes rather daytime 15 minute crossings. (Yohachi Sushi Japanese Restaurant, Esplanade West, North Vancouver, BC) 20240328
Richmond Public Market: This two-level shopping centre built in 1994 is not a tourist attraction, instead serving the local Chinese community. Near the south end of the Richmond-Brighouse skytrain station, it has the old Chinatown feeling of chaos and bricolage. Immediate neighbourhood is dense with apartment towers, could be a hub for nearby residents who don’t drive in the suburbs. (Richmond Public Market, Westminister Highway, Richmond, BC) 20240329
Garry Point Park: Sun came out for a slow stroll from the southwest shore of Richmond, westward where the Fraser River meets the Pacific Ocean, curving back eastward. Since the City of Richmond averages 1 metre below sea level, the dykes have gradually been built up to be taller. The Akebono Cherry Blossom Trees attracted many visitors at the easten edge of the park, we oped to walk and talk in the quieter areas. (Garry Point Park, Seventh Avenue, Richmond, BC) 20240329Simon K. Y. Lee Seniors Home: Visiting DY’s mother has been a central purpose for this spring trip to Vancouver. We’ve been visiting daily in the afternoons. Elders don’t necessarily get so much variety in their meals, so she’s been enjoying the fresh fruit we bring. (Simon K. Y. Lee Seniors Home, Carrall Street, Vancouver, BC) 20240329David Lam Park: The Blossoms After Dark event drew a lot of people to a large park, with a relatively small number of features. We had dinner in Yaletown before sunset, and then followed crowds trampling the grass before finding the stairs to the upper level attractions. Relying on many espoused expert photographers is a losing game in difficult lighting conditions. (David Lam Park, Pacific Boulevard, Vancouver, BC) 20240329Wesbrook Village: Honoured to receive an inscribed (2022) translation of Zhuangzi at lunch with Richard John Lynn + Sonja Arntzen, both professors emerita now residing near UBC. After 19 years of retirement, academic leisure means research continues for only 6 hours per day. We exchanged life stories on how early university studies don’t present linear career paths. (Neptune Chinese Kitchen, Westbrook Village, Vancouver, BC) 20240330Belkin Art Gallery: Hard to align foreground sculpture Elizabeth Zvonar (2006) Timing is Everything, with two mirrors facing each other with astrological birth charts of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. In background, mounted on wall, Elizabeth Zvonar (2013) Face inkjet print. Part of the Aporia (Notes to a Medium) exhibition, including works that contend with systems of belief and perception. (Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, Main Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC) 20240330Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen: Local foodie with travel experience guided us to Nepalese restaurant for dinner. Food is available not spicy, we started with vegan momos with jhol sauce, and chicken momos fried. Big appetizers meant we took main course leftovers back to the apartment. (Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen, Davie Street, Vancouver, BC) 20240330Simon K.Y. Lee Seniors Care Home: Arrived with pork siu mai and beef balls just as DY’s mother was coming out for lunch, so the staff brought a portable table to the vestibule. Had to chop down the dim sum into smaller pieces, because regular meals are now pureed. We might have slowed down serving, she really gobbles down the food. (Simon K.Y. Lee Seniors Home, Carrall Street, Vancouver, BC) 20240331Chinatown Storytelling Centre: A reproduction of the Yucho Chow Studio, a Chinese Canadian professional photographer serving marginalized communities from 1908 to 1949. This cultural history centre, opened in 2021, has a digital improvement enabling self-portraits to be sent as postcards. The tracing of family heritages are mostly centered on British Columbians, although we recognized the names of historians and writers from across Canada. (Chinatown Storytelling Centre, East Pender Street, Vancouver, BC) 20240331
Dunbar neighbourhood: Afternoon tea with family extended into homecooked meal, graciously early for body clocks still on Eastern Time. Exchanged details and compared experiences on recent trips to Asia. In-person time is so much more valuable than onine messaging. (Dunbar neighbourhood, Vancouver, BC) 20240331
