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  • Gordon Ramsay at The London

    1) far too much time was spent sitting here, perched above Sunset Blvd watching life go by

    I spent all last week in Los Angeles for reasons which I shan't bore you with here.

    G flew down Friday night to join me as we were dining at Gordon Ramsay at The London restaurant Saturday evening. We crashed at the infamous "Riot Hyatt" on Sunset Blvd, which has since transformed itself into the - somewhat more - sedate Andaz West Hollywood. Andaz is the W brand of Hyatt. Back in its days, this was where the Rolling Stones, the Who and Led Zepplin crashed. Famously, it was here that Jim Morrison of The Doors was evicted after hanging outside of his hotel window by his fingertips and where Keith Richards tossed a TV out of the window. The hotel sits across the road from The House of Blues and is but a 10 minute walk west to Whiskey A Go-Go and the Viper Room, where River Phoenix sadly met his end.

    ANYhow, the Andaz is lovely with service in keeping with the Hyatt brand and despite staff wandering about in civilian clothing (which is rather disconcerting, I found) the service here - unlike W - is spot-on, friendly and refined. W, sadly, only hires folks as far as G and I can tell for their looks, not their service skill or intelligence.

    But I digress.

    As G's flight into LAX was late (gee thanks Air Canada), we dined very late Friday at Andaz's RH restaurant.  The place was quiet for a Friday night at 11pm but we were rewarded with what can only be described as the best damn burger ever - a gorgeous beast which is served with foie gras and morels. Saturday we simply wandered around Santa Monica - shopped, hung out at the beach and lunched at Zengo, one of Richard Sandoval's restaurants. Lunch was pretty fine I must say - and, ahi tuna roll aside (avoid) - worth a visit. 


    2) entrance to the Andaz; 3) me reaching the end of the road ... time for a swim

     

    4) the perfect burger at RH; 5) watching Edward Scissor hands at RH during dinner, but of course

     

    6) G heads out to explore; 7) a kind note from our hotel's GM

    8 & 9) we had a lovely suite

     

    10 & 11) more of the suite

     

    12) breakfast in RH; 13) there's G swimming in the rooftop pool with a view to the Hollywood hills

     

    14) arriving at the pier; 15) G explores underneath the pier

     

    16) watching the sand castle makers; 17) see me swimming?!

     

    18 & 19) where's G?

     

    20) the so-so ahi tuna roll; 21) the superb halibut ceviche

     

    22) chef's take on Thai wraps but with shrimp and sausage; 23) an outstanding chicken empanada

     

    24) just okay lamb sliders - the poached egg overwhelmed - quail eggs would have worked better; 25) heading into dinner

     

    26) have a seat; 27) Burrata Cheese and Artichoke, Arugula, Fried Capers, Olive Tapenade

     

    28) Scallops-Quail Egg, Roasted Corn, Chanterelles, Cipollini Onion; 29) Foie Gras and Toasted Chocolate Cherry Brioche, Smoked Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

     

    30)Butter Poached Halibut, White Beans, Braised Oxtail, Pickled Onions; 31) Duck Confit, Slow Poached Egg, Katafi, Petite Lettuces

     

    32) Mango Souffle, Carmel Ice Cream; 33) Châteaubriand, Red Onion Marmalade, Mushrooms, Potato Purée

     

    34) Strawberry Shortcake Redux

     35) this was etched on the window of the enclosed balcony at the Andaz; it is a motto - it is fair to say - G and I subscribe to

    Dinner for 2 with a bottle of champagne, tax and tip will run you about US$330 for a 5-course tasting menu. A very good deal for food of this quality. Run; don't walk!

    Next stop, Whistler.

  • Sailing Gabriola

     

    1) sailing the summery coast off Gabriola Island: you can see Bowen Island (that low lying darker double bump in the background)

    We flew across to Nanaimo on Friday to spend the weekend with Gracie, Margot, Barry and Roy at 'the compound' on Gabriola Island. Getting to Gab involves a flight or ferry to Nanaimo and then a second ferry across to Gabriola Island.

    Margot and Barry have built (yes, built themselves by hand) a stunning retreat high atop the cliffs of Gabriola looking across the Strait of Gerogia to the Sunshine Coast. We have been blessed to visit the compound many times, and, as it was Gracie's birthday - and she flew in from Toronto - we joined the family in celebrating. We lounged; we read (Eat, Pray, Love is my latest tome - so-so movie; a better book); we sailed; we hiked; we ate and drank; we spotted Canadian bald eagles and woodpeckers and harbour seals and stellar jays; we slept late; we picked our fruit from Margot`s wonderful garden; we chased chickens; we hung out with Patrick (the llama); we walked the dogs; and watched the Vuelta a Espana (Tour de Spain).

    It was - as it blessedly always is - utterly wonderful and peaceful. Margot even put me onto the Zazen Lite mindfulness app for my iPhone. 

     

    2) the seaplanes at Vancouver harbour; 3) heading over to Nanaimo on Harbour Air

     4) take off on the Fraser River by YVR

     

    5) Namaimo; 6) folks line up for our ferry to Gabriola Island (the regular BC Ferries ferry did not run as a cement truck had fallen off the gangplank at the main terminal (go figure)

    7) the dock at Gabriola; 8) the virew from the compound Friday night

    9) I go up to piok bumbleberries; 10) G heads into the netting to pick blueberries


     11) the side of the house; 12) Margot's roses

    13) G and Margot head down to the vegetable gardens to pick; 14) Margot planted grape vines which after 2 years threw up their first fruit

    15) Patrick hangs out in the pasture; 16) someone was in the hen house

     

    17) Patrick the llama; 18) I start preparing a spaghetti sauce

     

    19) mapping our route out from Silva Bay to the Strait of Georgia; 20) Margot draws in the lines

     

    21) captain Margot takes the helm; 22) heading out into the Strait

     

    23) G rests on the bow; while Gracie sunbathes; 24) and I relax

     

    25) if you look close you'll see all the seals sunning themselves on the shore

    26) a panoromic view out in the Strait

    27) Margot prepares the lasagne; 28) our finished fruit crumble

     

    29) a BC Ferry heads north; 30) G admires the view

    31) a woodpecker does his thing; 32) a stellar jay eyes a birdhouse

     

    33) Shilo; 34) Xena

     

    35) dinner is served; 36) Margot arrives with Gracie's birthday crumble

    37 & 38) one, two, three ... make a wish


    39) sunset on Saturday night; 40) sunrise on Sunday morning

    41) hiking the Elder Cedar reserve; 42) G heads out

    43) G, Gracie and Margot wander the forest of ferns

    44) for the dry season, everything is still so lush

    45) eerie; 46) going deeper into the green

    47) finally finding the Elder Cedar - a massive, ancient tree; 48) I pose with the great tree

     

    49) a bald eagle taken with a combination of my snapy camera and a pair of binoculars (beleive it or not)

    It`s such a bloody shame I must fly off to one of my least favourite spots on earth tomorrow - that horrible place full of fake plastic people called, Los Angeles. Grrrrr.

  • Moonrise on Deep Cove


    1) the moon rises on Deep Cove

    On Saturday night last week, we joined friends for a sea kayak up at Deep Cove. It was a lovely night and we headed out on the water around 8PM and stayed out paddling till just past 11PM.

    On Friday we went for a hike over at Lynn Canyon. Lynn Canyon is the lesser of the two suspension bridges in North Vancouver. Most folks head to the, granted, larger, crazily priced, tourist overrun Capilanio bridge. Locals visit Lynn because is it less hassled, free and along the hike, passes Twin Falls. And did I mention, free!


    2) making it across; 3) lookiing down to the bottom of the canyon


    4) the Douglas redwoods here are massive


    5) G ventures across


    6) it also has a distinct air of Lord of the Rings; 7) looking down on Twin Falls

  • Steveston


    1) the cannery now a museum


    Steveston is a rather famous little fishing village south of Vancouver, at the southern end of the City of Richmond. In fact, during the late 19th century, Steveston had the largest commercial fishing fleet in the world and no less than 15 active canneries busy canning - you got it - salmon. Those days are long gone now but the village remains and along with a cannery-cum-museum is noted for its fish market.


    2 & 3) here is the fishing docks with all the fisherman lined up to sell you stuff


    4) heading down to explore; 5) call it what you may: black cod and/or sablefish .. the taste is the same .. yummy!


    In Steveston you can walk along the pier where local fisherman have just docked their boats full of the Pacific's finest seafood. And there too you can chat with the fisherman and buy fish as fresh you're going to get it - sole, salmon, sea urchins, black cod, Dungeness crab, BC spot prawns (which if you've ever been to Japan is the 'shrimp' you've eaten at sushi restaurants - a full 80% of the annual catch is shipped to Japan). We enjoyed the morning in Steveston on Saturday and came home with some spot prawns that we turned into a BC spot prawn risotto with summer peas and an entire black cod that was only $25. I say only as you'd pay that for a single serving in a restaurant here and I landed the entire fish.


    6) here I am with some of the village's founders; 7) salmon anyone (plus one I don't know what?!)
    8) and then the Dungeness crab fisherman arrived; 9) and was attacked by a mod of mainly asians
    10) these went so fast; 11) here's where we bought the black cod
    12) BC spot prawns can be had live or dead with heads on or off

    So we hauled this home and prepared a yummy British Columbia Spot Prawn Risotto with Summer Peas.


    13) one pound of prawns; 14) I did the dirty work of de-heading and de-shelling them


    15) here the prawns; 16) G prepared some veggies for the prawn stock we made with the heads/shells
    17) to really enhance the flavour, pan fry the shells/heads/veggies before adding to the water; 18) simmer - not boil - for oh, 45 minutes
    19) here's the result a nice broth that you'll need to strain through cheesecloth

     
    20) for the risotto, you'll need the rice; peas, prawns, broth, wine, shallots, garlic, salt & pepper and a pinch of crushed chilli flakes

     
    21) fry up the prawns ahead of the rice and then cut into cm pieces; 22) the secret is to keep stirring as you add the broth a little at a time


    23) more broth goes in; 24) getting close to ready now
    25) ah, so damn good!
    26) now I had to break down the black cod
    27) I made six steaks out the fish and then (excuse the serrated knife, we can't find our fish filet knife ... yet);  28) vacuum sealed it all
    Friday afternoon we also visited The Flying Pig (in Yaletown) for lunch where I had a delicious back rib tortellini done in a burgundy mushroom sauce. It was fabulous!



    29 & 30) lunch at The Flying Pig


    31) we also ended up purchasing this very highend mandolin for cooking while wandering Chinatown Sunday... looking forward to playing with this soon for a meal


  • Before the morning run

    We're - arguably - very early risers and this morning the view was stunning from the condo as we headed out for our morning run.

    1) looking out toward Port Moody


    2) and back toward the city ... we're always up even before the cruise ships make it into port at Canada Place

  • YYZ

     
    1) The CN Tower peeks out from above the Intercontinental


    I've been in Toronto these past couple weeks and am thoroughly (NOT) enjoying the weather that has climbed - with the humidex - to 50°C. That is so wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to comprehend it. While I've been lax with picture taking, I did meet up with Mimi/Jim, CSI Carlee and Blee for dinner at the tiff Bell Lightbox restaurant - Canteen - on Friday night for dinner. The Toronto International Film Festival's new home is great and the food was good.


    2) Blee, CSI Carlee and Mimi; 3) Mimi's mmmmm pizza


    4) my mussels and frites; 5) moi and CSI Carlee


    6) Jim and I


    On Sunday I finally tried Toronto's new Bixi bike system where you rent bikes for a small period of time on the cheap. We cycled from Mimi/Jim's condo down to the waterfront to try the new patio - called Against the Grain - at the Corus Building on Lower Jarvis near Sugar Beach. They have a great special there of $5 caesars from 11am onwards with their brunch menu. While I'm not convinced the restaurant will survive winter on the waterfront, the drinks special is a winner even if the food is not.


    7) Blee gets us set up on Bixi; 8) which bike to choose?.... we actually had a problem but we rang Bixi's hotline and they got it solved


    9) Sugar Beach at the foot of Lower Jarvis; 10) Blee heads to play in the fountain


    11) inside the Corus building they have a funky open space complete with a slide (which in true risk management form has been closed because the City is a-scared of injury; 12) at the entrance to Against the Grain


    13) Mimi eyes the caesars


    14) my brunch entry was nothing special with hollandaise that left much to be desired; 15) Blee ordered their 'breakfast bowl'
     

    16) after brunch we went to Sherbourne Common, the new park opened by the City right near the Corus Building; 17) it uses these large structures to aerate the Humber River water (notoriously polluted) before it enters Lake Ontario ... it's a great idea and the park is rather cool we collectively thought


    18) more of the cleansing structures; 19) I went for a ride


    20) the effect is rather Frank Gehery-esque on the facade but is not his design or build


    21) Blee and I also visited The Distrillery District one day to wander about; 22) where they have opened Canada's first sake brewery! Very cool.


    23) we also made sure to swim at Blee's place ... totally necessary considering the heat and humidity


    To celebrate the final arrival of Blee's new gorgeous walnut hutch, we chowed down on dungeness crab on Sunday night.


    24) Mimi and Blee pull a Vanna White to show off the new walnut cabinet, custom made to boot; 25) the crab!


    Monday night I wandered out to Wellesley and Parliament to meet Deb & Dawn for dinner at Cranberries and Wednesday it was a condo crawl with our Toronto condo crew just like the 'old' days. Darn good fun.


    26) Maria, Christine and moi at the crawl


    Thursday night I hosted a dinner for a v. famous international dignitary - Dr. XXXXXXX (name removed on purpose) from the United Kingdom - who I brought to town to train my team and help me score points with our Board and research dollars for my program. Successful on both points I might add. We headed to The Fifth for dinner by way of a thank you and bon voyage. The Fifth remains one of the finest patio restaurants in the city I do believe and we sent Dr. XXXXXX off in style.


    27) here I am with my team and Dr. XXXXXX at the Fifth ... the lad who looks like Santa is my VP and one of the most astute men alive. He actually left early to hop on the Canadian Via rail train ... he's going all the way out to Vancouver where we'll meet up again in a few weeks. My VP is a foodie like me and we could go on endlessly about eating, food and restaurants


    I now find myself in London - quite tuckered to be honest - and will spend some time with my folks before heading back out to Vancouver to rejoin G.

  • YVR

    The Economist Intelligence Unit in their annual 2011 Global Liveability Index once again ranked Vancouver as the world's most liveable place. We would concur.

    Our condo in Vancouver is in arguably the most iconic building in Gastown and we've a lovely view of the eastern end of Burrard Inet and North Vancouver.  As I sit and type, this is the view I am forced to take in. Tough I know. It can be enormously distracting.


    1) our view


    Several things - unique to Vancouver - do immediately pop to mind in day-to-day living. These include:

    - never attempt to cross a street when the red pedestrian hand is flashing ... city traffic gurus have provided nanoseconds when this happens before the traffic light changes to yellow;

    - the city is awash with caucasians and asians and I've yet to see a black or latino or east asian when wandering the streets;

    - while Gastown is great and we have everything we need within a stone's throw, we are plagued by tourists as everyday one and sometimes two cruise ships dock at Canada Place and dump 1000s of bermuda short clad Americans and backpack toting Europeans in our neighbourhood;

    - Vancouverites are a wholly indifferent group of people. They are certainly not overtly friendly and are a mix of post-modern hippies, health obsessed 'granolas', various clans of skater, skier and wilderness loving yuppies and - sadly - a significant population of heroin addicts and radical homeless who do not shy from aggressive panhandling. Regrettably, Vancouver certainly has Canada's worst drug and homeless situation.

    - the city is a coffee-addict's nirvana and surely there must be more unique, excellent and independent coffee shops here than anywhere outside of Seattle;

    - it does rain; interestingly, it even rains when it is sunny. North Vancouver seems endlessly shrouded in grey and I wonder if the sun ever touches its shores. But the rain is kind here - more a mist than much else and while the forecasters predict showers most days we've found it may mist or shower for an hour and then by noon, the sun is out peeking through the patchy clouds...I suspect as we spend more time here this will change. I can only hope it may become similar to the rain I used to have when living in the Barbados. There, it would rain torrentially for 10 minutes every night shortly after 5pm;

    - despite its moniker as a city of glass which in my mind conjures an image of modernity, there is a real sense of frontierism here ... this is a young place considering all (just 125 years old this year) and attitudes toward work and play are very different than Toronto or London;

    - the food scene is very developed and clearly focussed on three over-riding principles: local, seasonal and sustainable.

    - the city has THE best food carts of any city I've visited - with Tokyo taking a close second spot.

    On other notes, I was in Toronto June 25-30 and then dashed to London to see the family (though I missed my nephew E's graduation) over the long weekend. Upon my return we got right into cooking and served up a seafood linguini with a bocconcini salad (I wanted to use burrata cheese but that is exceedingly difficult to find so far from Italy).


    2) mussels and Maine clams; 3) BC spot prawns


    4) Digby scallops; 5) we pan fried the scallops and prawns ahead of time


    6) preparing the tomato sauce (garlic, bay leaves and tomatoes); 7) more tomatoes


    8) toss in the clams and mussels and cover; 9) then toss in the pasta


    10) our dinning room and kitchen


    11) the salad with Jim & Mimi's delicious olives sourced from Jim's grandfather's groves in Greece


    12) plate it and enjoy!

    I also had time on my flights to see a few movies, including:

    Cooking with Stella

    A clash of east meets west ensues when a foreign service diplomat (Lisa Ray) and her chef husband Michael (Don McKeller) are transferred to the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi. In their new home they meet Stella, their cook, who over 30 years of service has learned how to pad her salary with some pilfering here and there. Michael is keen to learn all he can about Indian cooking and works to gain Stella's trust and the two start sharing recipes. When Michael and his wife hire Tannu (Indian star Shriya) to care for their baby, a new dynamic enters the house. Tannu is very honest and looks down on Stella's thievery. Cooking with Stella, while an uneven film, gives us a good story of how people acclimatize to a new culture and in doing so find the ability to change their views. Directed by Dilip Metha with comedy amid its seriousness, it is a foodie's film worth seeing. My rating 6 out of 10.



    The Green Hornet
    The Green Hornet is a tongue-in-cheek poke at the genre of superhero films and if you go into the film with that front of mind, you will enjoy the sting it provides. After the sudden death of his father James (Tom Wilkinson), playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) finds himself the new topdog of the Los Angeles' "The Daily Sentinel" newspaper empire. Initially he maintains his playboy lifestyle until one night when he and his driver Kato (Jay Chou) stop a robbery. The revelation leads Britt and Kato to create superhero The Green Hornet. This film, directed by Michel Gondry, is a you-get-what-you-expect affair made enjoyable - despite the undertone of racial stereotyping - by the addition of a sultry Cameron Diaz (as Leonore Chase) and an excellent badguy with self-confidence challenges named Chudnofsky (a superb Christoph Waltz). It is an Inspector Gadget meets the Goonies film and gets my rating of 7 out of 10.



    The Rite
    Anthony Hopkins stars as Father Lucas, a renowned if creepy, Jesuit exorcist while Colin O'Donoghue is your typical priest challenged by his belief in god, Father Michael Kovack. The two meet in Italy and watch over a young woman purportedly possessed by demons (yawn). Full of the usual rot and only redeemed - somewhat - by director Mikael Hafstrom's atmospheric framing,     The Rite has no right to call itself anything but boringly embarrassing. My rating 3 out of 10.



    The Switch
    Jennifer Aninston and Jason Bateman star in this comedy about the dangers of playing with sperm. Aninston is Kassie, a woman who decides enough is enough and opts to have a baby through artificial insemination. Bateman is Wally, her best friend. At Kassie's artificial insemination party, Wally gets drunk and replaces his sperm with the sperm donor's (a sedate Patrick Wilson). Switch then to 7 years later and Kassie has moved back to New York City with her son Sebastian. What ensues is a slow and funny revelation as Kassie tries to get Roland and Wally more involved in their lives and the slow realization that Sebastian is not the son of the father she thinks. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, The Switch - while silly beyond belief - had this reviewer laughing outloud from the get-go and with the addition of Jeff Goldblum (as Leonard) and Juliette Lews (as Debbie) is well worth sitting down to watch. My rating 7 out of 10.
     


    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
    As the Potter saga nears its (final) end, the series has once again returned to some fine film-making. All the usual suspects are back again and Voldemort has managed to wrestle control of the Ministry of Magic at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron and Hermione continue to race again time to destroy the Horcruxes and complete the work left undone by Dumbledore. Directed by David Yates, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I is a fine - and perhaps more importantly, mature - film that satisfies from beginning to end. It has left big shoes to fill for its final segment and has my rating of 8 out of 10.

     

     

    Gulliver's Travels
    Wow, such silliness. Gulliver's Travels is a slap-in-the-face to the original story and certainly takes it in new directions. Jack Black is Lemual Gulliver, a hapless mail room clerk working at a New York newspaper with no ability to take a risk or chance and a serious case of infatuation with the paper's travel editor Darcy (Amanda Peet). When he inadvertently offers to write an article for her she accepts and promptly sends him to the Bermuda Triangle. There, in true Oz fashion, he ends up in a whirlpool and shipwrecked on the island of Liliput, suddenly the biggest man on the block. The film from there follows the ups and downs of King Theodore's (Billy Connolly) kingdom and the love life of his daughter Princess Mary (Emily Blunt). Directed by Rob Letterman, Gulliver's Travels tells the story of one man's journey to self-discovery and love, yet despite that lofty goal, is still pretty awful. My rating 3 out of 10.

     



  • Tapas Molecular Bar, Tokyo


    1) Chef commences his magic at the bar


    Alongside Aronia de Takazawa, one of our most favourite dinners in Tokyo was on Saturday at Tapas Molecular Bar high atop the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Tapas seats but 8 people and as with Aronia, reservations need to be secured months in advance.

    The chef here is American Jeff Ramsey and - not surprizingly - the meal is a magical feast of many small dishes, each rich with molecular science. I can guarantee you'll try things here found in but a handful of restaurants globally (see Alinea or L20 in Chicago; or the now defunct elBulli outside Barcelona). This is culinary theatre of the highest kind and - with champagne, bottled water, tax and tip - set us back about US$400.00 each.

    Interestingly, rumour control has it that Jeff is in an ongoing legal battle with his original keepers in the US for 'stealing' the molecular mimibar restaurant concept and replanting it in Tokyo.

    Dinner is a series of small plates with a level of percision and invention that is - in a word - unparalleled. Our special menu included:

    Glogg
    This is red wine scented with spices and fruits. It is served both hot and cold at the same time. The left side is hot and the right side is cold. Normally a drink is separated vertically with layers of different flavors, and more recently, temperatures as well. This drink is layered horizontally to make it possible to taste cold and hot at the same time side to side.

    Sushi
    This sushi is inspired by nigiri sushi, the most common ‘quick’ sushi in Japan. The sushi is not traditional sushi but a modern style. Rice foam, and soy sauce marinated tuna with crispy puffed rice.

    Kasago
    Crispy scorpion fish two ways: The classic way to eat Kasago (scorpion fish) is to coat it with starch and deep fry it. It is done two ways here. The classic way and then a chip made with the same ingredients. The fish is steamed, mixed with starch dried and then deep fried to make the chip.

    Chupa Tapas
    This is a lollipop of Foie gras with a port wine jelly in the middle. The coating is thin candy shell.

    Tai Chazuke
    This is a re-make of a classic Japanese rice dish. Sea bream marinated with Kelp, with it is a capsule of sour plum and kelp tea (umekobucha).

    Roast pepper Caviar
    The technique employed is called spherification. The liquid from syringes filled with roast pepper juice and a seaweed essence called sodium alginate is dropped into a calcium salt water bath which forms small caviar-like gobules of roast pepper flavor. It is dressed with a thyme and garlic oil to finish.

    Bacalao Espuma
    Bacalao is Salt Cod fish. It is cooked with a little garlic and potatoes made in to a mousse that is the white part). Below it is a piquillo pepper and almond sauce. On top is tomato seeds, the best part of the tomato!

    King crab and uni
    Crab is steamed and topped with uni or sea urchin, the clear soup is made from carrot juice and Japanese dashi soup. Inside is a warm saffron tomato jelly.

    Black truffle, Lily Bulb
    Lily bulb is a Japanese Winter delicacy. It's very creamy. It is the bulb or root of the lily
    flower. It is made into a warm espuma (foam), on top of that is a truffle infused milk froth,
    and then a chicken bouillon reduction, blanched lily bulb petals and sliced black truffles!

    Lobster Potato Vanilla
    Vanilla scented butter poached Maine lobster with a lobster jus filled purple potato gnocchi and chive oil.

    Secreta de Iberico
    Secreto means “secret” in Spanish. It is the best part of the Iberico pork. The meat is roasted and presented in a dish coverd with a glass to reveal a fog inside. The a la minute smoking technique is used here to present a smoky aroma that doesn’t penetrate into the meat. The smoke is burnt cherry wood aroma, and the cup is lifted to reveal the smoke trapped inside.While the meat only picks up a faint trace of the smoke flavor, the sauce below is infused with the smoke more pronouncably. The sauce is the collected juices from roasting onions
    and red peppers in a low oven for a long time.

    Xialongbao
    A lamb chop is presented here with a yogurt dip and a poached baby peach. The lamb is filled with lamb sauce, so the idea is to eat it all in one bite. It is a very juicy meat dish.

    Wagyu
    A A4 grade Japanese Beef filet is used and cooked using the sous vide technique. It is cooked
    under vacuum at 53.5 degrees C for at least 5 hours and then seared using a frying pan.
    Baby cabbage leaves, baby carrots, dried shallot chips and a borscht puree line the plate to
    make the dish taste like the Russian beets soup- borscht.

    Miso Soup
    This is miso soup. Spherification is again used to make this dish.  Seaweed powder, small tofu and green onion oil. When it is all eaten in one mouthful, it becomes miso soup in your mouth.

    Puff
    This is the first sweet course, it is called puff. This is a passionfruit puff. It is frozen with liquid nitrogen and then served. It is very cold. You must bite many times with your mouth closed to enjoy. The secret to success is to keep chewing.

    Snow
    A diorama of a winter scene in Japan. Semi-dried persimmon and mascarpone cheese mousse with mocha cookie crumble, chocolate tree and a snowflake on the strawberry. The snow is made with a powdered white chocolate ice cream.

    Sacher torte
    This is made in the image of a snow dome, inside is a apricot jam and a cocoa cake, with and
    edible clear sugar dome covering it.

    Mont Blanc
    This is the French chestnut cream cake, served on a spoon to be eaten in one go.

    Cinnamon toast
    Cotton candy with cinnamon pressed down in to a flat toast-like shape and texture

    Raspberry soda
    The raspberry soda is a disc made with white chocolate, freeze-dried raspberries, citric acid, backing soda and powdered sugar. It starts to fizz on your tongue.

    Truffles chocolate
    This is a chocolate truffle with real black truffles inside.

    Fruits
    This is the fruit course. Orange lemon lime and strawberry are presented. You are asked to lick a selection of fruit to guarantee to authenticity of the fruit. Then you are instructed to rinse your mouth with water. Next come the magic. The fruit is called a miracle fruit. The miracle fruit tells your brain that when you eat something sour, it tastes sweet. The effect lasts for more than one hour!


    2) Glogg; 3) Sushi with rice foam


    4 & 5) the Chupa Tapas - a port jelly centre surrounded by foie gras - OMG delicious


    6)Tai Chazuke


    7) here's how the caviar is made


    8) chef has these very cool floating dishes ... we tried to get them to float after the dinner ... with no luck, you need to have the touch and I didn't; 9) roasted red pepper caviar


    10) kasago: the sccropin fish - two ways; 11) bacalao espuma


    12) here it is again in profile; 13) king crab and uni


    14 & 15)  black truffle, lily bulb


    15 & 16) lobster potato vanilla


    17) secreta de Iberico pork; 18) A4 grade Japanese wagyu (probably the best piece of beef I have ever eaten)


    19) the INCREDIBLE xia long bao


    20) miso soup

     
    21) here we learn how to eat 'Puff" ... it is a lot of fun and silly and even though I have videos of us doing it ... they shall remain offline)


    22 & 23) Snow


    24) this is how dessert is served to each of us; 25) a real truffle chocolate truffle (TO DIE FOR)


    26) sacher torte ; 27) the infamous miracle fruit is at the top


    28) we moved from the Bar after dinner to finish our champagne; 29) the men's urinals at this restaurant have an incredible view of Tokyo


    30) the lounge area at the Mandarin Oriental ; 31) full of food, Blee and G head to the elevators


    32) heading back to the Park Hyatt on the Ginza Line; 33) Blee and I doing our best PPA on route

  • Banff National Park


    1) the view from the top of the gondola ride at Banff ... the village of Banff is at the bottom


    We've been enjoying time inside the spectacular scenery that is Banff National Park with stays at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.

    Both are simply stunning properties and we'll give a nod to Lake Louise for the scenery but definitely kudos to Banff for the service and hotel ambiance.


    2 & 3) our lovely room overlooking the Bow River and Mt at Banff Springs Hotel


    4 & 5) our welcome amenity from management - that's elk meat to the left and the red stuff that looks like cheese cake is actually a berry cheese


    6) the view from our room at Banff


    7) we enjoy welcome our amenity before dinner; 8) me on the river down in the Village


    9) the hotel even has a 5 pin bowling alley; 10) the inside ia all very Moorish Castle in style


    11 & 12) a visit to Banff is not complete without a visit to the hot springs


    13) sunrise from our room; 14) a zoomed look at the mountain peaks


    15) we saw lots of wildlife on our travels - here is a mountain goat at the top of the gondola; 16) here is Alvin in the same spot ... I don't know where Theodore or Simon were


    17) the hotel taken from the Banff Centre


    18) we saw this black bear right on 1A driving from Banff to Lake Louise ... people were actually out of their cars in amazement (and stupidity!) taking pictures ... dumb, dumb, dumb; 19) our room at Lake Louise


    20) this is the view from our room at Lake Louise


    21) G and I paddled the lake in the afternoon; 22) so pretty


    23) wow, we paddled a long way on the lake; 24) I SO miss dragonboating this summer!

     
    25) we dinned in the Fairview Dinning Room; 26) where G had bison tartare


    27)  for perspective, the water at Lake Louise is 3°C ... cold as a witches tit ... and yet this lass was in; 28) beautiful


    29) the view from our room at 5:15AM


    30) this is a real picture ... I did not photoshop anything ... the lake is that still and calm first thing in the morning ... STUNNING!


    31) this is a shot of the two voyageur canoes from above shown in the regular view from our room first thing in the morning


    32) I know it actually looks like a backdrop but it ain't ... G was there sitting at the edge of the lake on the rocks


    33) me and the lake at daybreak

    Lake Louise while ridiculously expensive ought to be a visit for all Canadians. It is truly that breath-taking. It started a conversation between G and I - and then between papa and I - about where to visit in Canada if you had but one choice. The collective wisdom from our three minds is (in no particular order):
    • Lake Louise, Alberta
    • Ottawa on Canada Day
    • The Northern Lights (ironcially we were in Winnipeg a week ago and I picked up packages on visits to Churchill, Manitoba to do just this)
    • Quebec City, Quebec

    We're currently - finally - relaxing at home in Vancouver but wherever you are ... happy travels!

  • Do capital cities mirror a nation? (or thoughts on a visit to Washington DC)


    1) the Capitol


    It’s been three decades since I last visited Washington D.C. during the heady days of Messers Ford and Carter. The US was a global superpower and its capital city reflected it. The Mall was busy with people; the buildings along its stretch were actually shiny and bright like newborn babies, doe-eyed with optimism. The reflecting pool dazzled me with its brilliance and heralded the opportunity of America as a nation seemingly most favoured by the Gods. I was, literally, awed.

    G and I had the pleasure of hanging out in Washington for several days last/this week and I was immediately struck by how different the city felt and appeared. Sure, I acknowledge 30 years is a long time so it is only natural some weathering would occur, but that vibrant spirit of the city I so vividly remembered was gone. I found a city deflated, if you will. A city that feels out of step, or no, lost. As if it knows its best days are behind it and now is adrift trying to find itself again but only halfheartedly. The‘shine’ is absent; the reflecting pool a muddy construction zone, the ponds around it a grotesque green. The people remain for sure – busloads of overweight Midwesterners attired alike in florescent t-shirts emblazoned with “Capitol Tour 2011” move in solemn masses amid the local joggers (does anyone work in DC anymore?) and tired monuments looking for answers to further their Tea Party perspectives. And sadly but quite rightly the city’s spectacles are post-911 fortresses of security.

    On Tuesday we walked from the hotel out to the Jefferson Memorial. Standing there beside this nation’s 3rd President I wondered what he would think of this city and his nation as he stands there stoically bronzed gazing out over the Tidal Basin?   

    Do capital cities, I wonder, mirror the state and health of their nations? Gosh, therein lies a doctorate dissertation me thinks.

    Anyhow, we split our time in the city spending a few nights firstly at the Park Hyatt Washington on the fringes of Georgetown. The Park Hyatt remains a beacon of class and the Georgetown area proper seems to have weathered the storms of age very well – it is hip and happening and moneyed with great shopping along M street west of where Pennsylvania Ave crosses it.

    2) home number one whilst in Washington; a wee gift from the management for us upon arrival

    3 & 4) we had a stunning suite up on the top floor with the longest sofa I've seen in some time

    5) the bedroom; 6) and bathroom

    7) it had a gorgeous sanctuary style shower and tub; 8) and the biggest closet I've seen in a while

    We were truly honoured to spend Saturday afternoon and evening hanging out with aaron. Thanks for trekking in from the Ace of Cakes' hometown to meet us. Thanks for the advice on hat selection, talk of food, talk of runs together, and glad you enjoyed dinner! See you soon.

    On Friday evening we dined at the Hyatt’s Blue Duck Tavern which prepares locally-inspired fare with everything sourced from surrounding farmers, fishmongers and butchers. Dinner was good – a minor champagne faux pas aside (we had to request the bottle be iced).

    9) the Blue Duck Tavern

    10) the restaurant has an open kitchen; 11) one of our many dishes - this was bone marrow

    12) a yummy beet salad; 13) scallops


    14) "Pee Wee" potato salad (sadly far too over seasoned); 15) and a sort of goat cheese pie with spinach

    We then transferred across to the St Regis right downtown for another couple nights. A highlight here was the champagne sabering in the lobby. We duly grilled the sommelier afterward on the secret of success (seems much of the shock and awe is sheer luck) and will be trying this at home soon. The lounge here – attached to Adour restaurant is very good and serves, I must admit, the BEST croque monsieur sandwich I have ever eaten. So good, in fact, I returned twice to enjoy it … and chef knows how to perfectly dress a salad to boot.

    We busied ourselves doing the requisite gallery and monument tours and ate well. On Monday we also tried J&G Steakhouse at W Washington.

     

    16) moi with Lincoln;  17) Lincoln's home


    18) the man himself; 19) the non-reflecting, reflecting pool ... unless you count muddy reflections


    20) honouring those that gave the ultimate price; 21) this is actually the real colour of the water ... yuck!

    22 & 23) the Exorcist steps from the movie ... G and aaron enjoyed - in particular - watching the big beefy lad (in picture on right) doing his chin ups and going up and down the stairs - boys will be boys I suppose


    24 & 25) the view from the top of the Washington Monument ... on a VERY hot and VERY humid day


    26) the Washington Metro ... once you've seen one station, you've seen them all


    27) heading out to explore the market; 28) the Capitol but of course


    29) a wannabe politician? ... not!; 30) ironically Capital Pride was on as we visited ... these lad were practicing a line dance [rolls eyes] how fey


    31) the stage was set, we did not visit; 32) the FABULOUS croque monsieur at the St. Regis

    33) if at first you don't succeed ... keep trying ... and trying


    34 & 35) the secret is a heavy dull knife and finding the seam on the bottle


    36) our second home in Washington; 37) the bathroom


    38 & 39) the bedroom and sitting room - a world away in style from the Park Hyatt yes


    40) the National Art Gallery


    41) the Smithsonian; 42) the White House


    43) the modern wing of the National Gallery (we loved it here); 44) inside the Air and Space museum

    45) this was actually in space; 46) which are you an ass or an elephant?

    Wednesday night we found ourselves staying at the Park Hyatt Chicago as we passed through for dinner at Quartino’s with dear friends Paul & Karen … thanks for the conversation and dinner as always, and sorry about the parking ticket!


    47 & 48) our room at the Park Hyatt in Chicago


    49) mini gifts from the management; 50) a better gift from the management


    51) for lunch we ate at Giordano's; 52) our tapas platter at Quartino's


    53) Karen, Paul and moi outside Quartino's

    Last night we’ve landed at W Minneapolis – and enjoyed hanging out at Prohibition, the hotel's lounge up on the 27th floor of the historical Foshay Building. We had a real urge to watch the classic movie Fargo while in Minneapolis and borrowed it from the front desk which then set us on a quest to visit Fargo (even noting the film was largely filmed elsewhere).

    We enjoyed touring the Guthrie Center and then made an obligatory stop at the Mall of America.


    54) where's the cheese?; 55) our room at W Minneapolis


    56 & 57) more of our room


    58( the funky lobby of W; 59) the memorial plaque from the building which went up in late August 1939

    60) the beautiful original elevator doors in the lobby of W; 61) the hotel exterior - there is an observation deck up there on the 30th floor and just below is the lounge, Prohibition - where you see the balcony


    62) G heads to our room; 63) the ahi tuna tacos at Prohibition


    64) the snack tary at Prohibition; 65) me enjoying the food and drinks on high


    66) and then back to the room to watch Fargo


    67) the view from the observation deck


    68) the MacPhail Center; 69) G gazes on the Mississippi at the Guthrie Center

     
    70) a very funky building indeed ... well worth exploring if you ever visit


    71) inside the Guthrie Center upon the 9th floor


    72) me jumping in the Yellow Box; 73) the view from up there of the city


    74) here's the box from the outside


    75) you'll need a mirror but that does say Mall of America; 76) where to go?...


    77) to the amusement rides of course

    But still the lure of Fargo tugged at us and tonight I find myself in - of all places - the Best Western in, yes, Fargo. Go figure. The front desk staff tell me the state of North Dakota is the 'wettest' in the States ... and no doubt has the happiest people as a result of all that drinking.


    78) G explores downtown Fargo this afternoon; 79) here's the original copy of the film's script


    80) Fargo ... a state of mind for sure; 81) and that's no bull