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Monday, March 24, 2008
it was meant to be
first, stumbling upon Maze one autumn night in London...
then...
on a night when i was supposed to be at home, seeing a bright white sign outside of the Yonge & Eligible Indigo advertising the event of the season...
April 28, Eaton Centre, 7pm. Wristband access only.
"Bollocks!!"
=)
first, stumbling upon Maze one autumn night in London...
then...
on a night when i was supposed to be at home, seeing a bright white sign outside of the Yonge & Eligible Indigo advertising the event of the season...
April 28, Eaton Centre, 7pm. Wristband access only.
"Bollocks!!"
=)
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Obama: The Ice Cream
A contest to come up with prez-candidate-inspired Ben and Jerry's ice cream name:
Full story here.
Other entries included Barackadamian Nut and Neopolitician. I personally liked Baracky Road hahahah.
Yes, Pe-Can!
A contest to come up with prez-candidate-inspired Ben and Jerry's ice cream name:
Full story here.
Other entries included Barackadamian Nut and Neopolitician. I personally liked Baracky Road hahahah.
Yes, Pe-Can!
stuck inside, thinking of faraway places...
No scheme could have been more agreeable to Elizabeth, and her acceptance of the invitation was most ready and grateful. "My dear, dear aunt," she rapturously cried, "what delight! what felicity! You give me fresh life and vigour. Adieu to disappointment and spleen. What are men to rocks and mountains? Oh! what hours of transport we shall spend! And when we do return, it shall not be like other travellers, without being able to give one accurate idea of any thing. We will know where we have gone—we will recollect what we have seen. Lakes, mountains, and rivers, shall not be jumbled together in our imaginations; nor, when we attempt to describe any particular scene, will we begin quarrelling about its relative situation. Let our first effusions be less insupportable than those of the generality of travellers."
-Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice
No scheme could have been more agreeable to Elizabeth, and her acceptance of the invitation was most ready and grateful. "My dear, dear aunt," she rapturously cried, "what delight! what felicity! You give me fresh life and vigour. Adieu to disappointment and spleen. What are men to rocks and mountains? Oh! what hours of transport we shall spend! And when we do return, it shall not be like other travellers, without being able to give one accurate idea of any thing. We will know where we have gone—we will recollect what we have seen. Lakes, mountains, and rivers, shall not be jumbled together in our imaginations; nor, when we attempt to describe any particular scene, will we begin quarrelling about its relative situation. Let our first effusions be less insupportable than those of the generality of travellers."
-Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice
Sunday, March 02, 2008
new venture...?
it was decided by a committee of one that naomi start feeding an oft-neglected part of her brain and amp up her creative muscles. sure it's nice that naomi is running pretty regularly and taking mando classes, but what good are they to her if all she can think of when she sees a blue sky is say, "Hey. Ni kan. That's blue, all right."
So I wrote a review for blogto.com, but unfortunately they already had one in place for the restaurant. Here is what could have been:
Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu
5445 Yonge St., North York
With all of the erratic weather lately and a post-Valentine's drop in
endorphins that no amount of discounted chocolates can seem to cure,
what does a girl have to do to feel a little special? She bundles up and
gets herself (post-haste!) to Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu at 5445 Yonge
Street for some comforting Korean-tofu-stew lovin’.
Once inside the simply decorated restaurant, we're squeezed in
quickly at a small table for two; the place is packed and buzzing with
activity on a cold Saturday night—clearly, great minds think alike.
Within minutes, four plates of complimentary appetizers (kimchi,
soybeans, seaweed, turnips) and two hot cups of tea are set down in front
of us. We peruse the limited menu—only nine items, either $7.08 or
$7.97—and decide on variations on the house specialty: one kimchi soon
tofu and one mandoo (dumpling) soon tofu. A friendly waiter takes our
order and eight short minutes later, our food appears. Yes, eight. Take
that, Pizza Pizza!
Bubbling volcanic and molten in its stone bowl, my kimchi soon tofu
is piquant red, full of fresh, soft tofu, kimchi, and tender pieces of
beef and pork. In contrast, my friend’s dumpling stew is a soft golden
colour, but burbles just as wildly, tossing about plump mandoo and
strips of beef. Both come with a raw egg and a generous serving of Korean
purple bean rice, which has a red date tumbled into its starchy depths.
Breaking the egg into the roiling stew gives such a sense of
satisfaction and play; it’s an interaction that allows you to feel really
involved in the dining experience, rather than just a passive consumer. If
I could, I would make egg cracking mandatory at all meals. (Would you
like some fresh egg with that burger? Why yes, yes I would.) Our waiter
scoops our rice out for us, pours water into the empty stone bowls and
stacks them to the side.
Understandably, newcomers to kimchi soon tofu may be intimidated by
its fierce appearance, but the flavours of the stew are straightforward
and uncomplicated—garlicky, sweet…and spicy. Oh, the spice! Like
Victoria Beckham’s singing inability, there is no denying it, but for
some of the other stews (dumpling, vegetable, soybean), you can request
a downgrade in intensity (spicy, regular, mild). In the kimchi version,
the tofu adds wonderful texture and depth to the soup, and in silent
cahoots with the rice, acts as a temporary salve. The dumpling stew is
milder in flavour; the sweetness from the beef is more apparent, and the
dumplings are chock-full of filling. The overwhelming consensus is
that everything is simply delicious.
After the last spoonful of soup and rice has been scooped out, you
may think your meal is over. But wait. There’s a savoury carb-o-riffic
treasure waiting at the end of this soon dofu rainbow. Yes, Reader, the
mysterious, rice-less stone bowls re-enter, stage left. Familiar to
the Chinese, the post-entrée finisher of watery rice is seen as an extra
comfort. Scrape the sides of the bowl to release the previously sticky
and crunchy remnants into the water, and voila! You have a bland, but
healthy, tofu stew chaser.
After the meal is truly over, we head back out into the cold, our
bellies and spirits buoyed immensely by the feelings of ease and
contentment that only comfort foods can give.
Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu also offers a few non-stew items, all of
which are not spicy. A visit the next night allows for tastings of the
bibimbap (mixed rice, vegetables and beef) and the bulgogi. They’re
definitely not as spectacular as the tofu stews, but are decent offerings.
The bibimbap wasn’t allowed to cook in the stone bowl long enough, so
a proper crispy crust wasn’t formed. The bulgogi had a great grilled
flavour, but became a bit too greasy by meal’s end. The service was
still quick and efficient, but we were always sneaking long, forlorn
glances at the seething lusciousness of the tofu stews.
Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu also has a downtown location, at 691 Bloor
St. West.
Here's the BlogTO review.
it was decided by a committee of one that naomi start feeding an oft-neglected part of her brain and amp up her creative muscles. sure it's nice that naomi is running pretty regularly and taking mando classes, but what good are they to her if all she can think of when she sees a blue sky is say, "Hey. Ni kan. That's blue, all right."
So I wrote a review for blogto.com, but unfortunately they already had one in place for the restaurant. Here is what could have been:
Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu
5445 Yonge St., North York
With all of the erratic weather lately and a post-Valentine's drop in
endorphins that no amount of discounted chocolates can seem to cure,
what does a girl have to do to feel a little special? She bundles up and
gets herself (post-haste!) to Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu at 5445 Yonge
Street for some comforting Korean-tofu-stew lovin’.
Once inside the simply decorated restaurant, we're squeezed in
quickly at a small table for two; the place is packed and buzzing with
activity on a cold Saturday night—clearly, great minds think alike.
Within minutes, four plates of complimentary appetizers (kimchi,
soybeans, seaweed, turnips) and two hot cups of tea are set down in front
of us. We peruse the limited menu—only nine items, either $7.08 or
$7.97—and decide on variations on the house specialty: one kimchi soon
tofu and one mandoo (dumpling) soon tofu. A friendly waiter takes our
order and eight short minutes later, our food appears. Yes, eight. Take
that, Pizza Pizza!
Bubbling volcanic and molten in its stone bowl, my kimchi soon tofu
is piquant red, full of fresh, soft tofu, kimchi, and tender pieces of
beef and pork. In contrast, my friend’s dumpling stew is a soft golden
colour, but burbles just as wildly, tossing about plump mandoo and
strips of beef. Both come with a raw egg and a generous serving of Korean
purple bean rice, which has a red date tumbled into its starchy depths.
Breaking the egg into the roiling stew gives such a sense of
satisfaction and play; it’s an interaction that allows you to feel really
involved in the dining experience, rather than just a passive consumer. If
I could, I would make egg cracking mandatory at all meals. (Would you
like some fresh egg with that burger? Why yes, yes I would.) Our waiter
scoops our rice out for us, pours water into the empty stone bowls and
stacks them to the side.
Understandably, newcomers to kimchi soon tofu may be intimidated by
its fierce appearance, but the flavours of the stew are straightforward
and uncomplicated—garlicky, sweet…and spicy. Oh, the spice! Like
Victoria Beckham’s singing inability, there is no denying it, but for
some of the other stews (dumpling, vegetable, soybean), you can request
a downgrade in intensity (spicy, regular, mild). In the kimchi version,
the tofu adds wonderful texture and depth to the soup, and in silent
cahoots with the rice, acts as a temporary salve. The dumpling stew is
milder in flavour; the sweetness from the beef is more apparent, and the
dumplings are chock-full of filling. The overwhelming consensus is
that everything is simply delicious.
After the last spoonful of soup and rice has been scooped out, you
may think your meal is over. But wait. There’s a savoury carb-o-riffic
treasure waiting at the end of this soon dofu rainbow. Yes, Reader, the
mysterious, rice-less stone bowls re-enter, stage left. Familiar to
the Chinese, the post-entrée finisher of watery rice is seen as an extra
comfort. Scrape the sides of the bowl to release the previously sticky
and crunchy remnants into the water, and voila! You have a bland, but
healthy, tofu stew chaser.
After the meal is truly over, we head back out into the cold, our
bellies and spirits buoyed immensely by the feelings of ease and
contentment that only comfort foods can give.
Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu also offers a few non-stew items, all of
which are not spicy. A visit the next night allows for tastings of the
bibimbap (mixed rice, vegetables and beef) and the bulgogi. They’re
definitely not as spectacular as the tofu stews, but are decent offerings.
The bibimbap wasn’t allowed to cook in the stone bowl long enough, so
a proper crispy crust wasn’t formed. The bulgogi had a great grilled
flavour, but became a bit too greasy by meal’s end. The service was
still quick and efficient, but we were always sneaking long, forlorn
glances at the seething lusciousness of the tofu stews.
Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu also has a downtown location, at 691 Bloor
St. West.
Here's the BlogTO review.
