Italy, China and India in a single day

[dreaminghope]

There's a European food warehouse down the street from us that is open to the public for a couple of hours each day. We bought some Czech and some German mustard. Russ will have to report back on their respective merits; I don't eat mustard.

You would think I would have had enough chocolate* in the past couple of months, but there's something about a box without any English on it that makes the contents seem even more delicious. We did resist picking any up this time, but I make no promises about next Saturday – the discounted brandy beans were singing quietly, and a little obscenely, to me. That's how brandy beans are.

Walking through Chinatown, I feel very tall. And very young.

We had fresh green onion pancakes for lunch, cut into greasy quarters and stuffed into a bag. The man at the counter seemed a little bemused by Russ' full knowledge of authentic Chinese food. I'm not sure many white people venture into his plain little storefront in the heart of Chinatown,** much ones that know red bean pancakes from chive and egg pies.

My dinner, many hours later, was in Little India. tareija and bob_lazar invited me out to all-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian food, which for me means all-you-can-eat naan bread and Chai tea, with some curry and rice on the side. I enjoy spicy food a lot more then I used to, but I am still a carb-lover first.

Multiculturalism may be challenging, but the benefits in food alone make it worth while.

*I won a year's worth of Purdy’s chocolate back near Christmas… that really does deserve its own post.

**Vancouver’s Chinatown isn't really a tourist destination like Victoria's or San Francisco's.

Comments

[gunthera1.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a great evening. Kim and I were supposed to go to Indian yesterday but ended up making fish instead, Maybe I can drag her out for some hot chai and warn naan. YUMMY!

And red bean paste. I adore the stuff.

[dreamhope.livejournal.com]

You would think I would have had enough naan last night, but now I am craving it again already!

But Russ is making me pasta (butternut squash ravioli), which is another of my absolutely favourite foods, so I am happy.

[iisz.livejournal.com]

mmmmm, mustard. I can never have it hot enough.

[dreamhope.livejournal.com]

Neither can Russ. Do you have any particularly favourite brand that is super hot?

[iisz.livejournal.com]

At Ugo's and Joe on Hastings at Nanaimo I just bought some called "Musztarda Dobra Tesciowa", it seems to have peppers in it. It's a step in the right direction. The search goes on for truly painfully hot hoseradish.

[dreamhope.livejournal.com]

Russ thanks you for the mustard advice and says that "the only true horseradish, in my opinion, is fresh horseradish, grated and stewed for a moment or two in water or white wine." That makes it truly "face peeling". Apperently there are good recipes online. Then he started waxing poetic (or something) about the greatness that is freshly prepared horseradish.

[iisz.livejournal.com]

Thank him dearly for me. I like wasabi, but think of it just as just a fish condiment. I look forward to his horseradish poems. :)

[xtalforge.livejournal.com]

The Radish

Oh Radish of Horse
you are tasty of course,
with roast beef I can't get enough.

The problem, you see
rests mostly with me
finding that it is not hot enough!

Oh I've tried all the kinds,
read through all of their signs
my journey's been long and quite tough.

But in this post I do ramble,
my rhymes are a shamble
And my poetry, damn it is rough!

[iisz.livejournal.com]

Oh Bravo!! Please sign my label! :)

[fruitkakechevy.livejournal.com]

Oh, but FRESH wasabi is another thing altogether! It's hot, but hot with plenty of flavour. And you can eat the leaves, and the stalks (pickled!) and oh-I-miss-Japan...

[dreamhope.livejournal.com]

Fresh wasabi... what a funny thing - I just came across mention of it being grown in BC. You may the whole article (http://community.livejournal.com/vancouver_eats/76702.html?#cutid1) on sustainable seafood and Vancouver restaurants interesting, but here's the part that mentions wasabi:

...the coho had been raised in land-locked Agassiz by scientist Bruce Swift, who employs closed tanks. And the fish waste, which in open-pen farming degrades the ocean bottom, is collected and used to fertilize other crops. In Swift’s case, it’s used to grow wasabi, which had been used in an earlier course to brighten the beef.

[latelyontime.livejournal.com]

Have you heard how a waiter in a restaurant can cause international turmoil by one single move?
By throwing Turkey, dropping Greece and breaking China!

Sorry, just couldn't resist it.

[dreamhope.livejournal.com]

That's terrible, and yet I can't help but laugh.

Perhaps I am sleep-deprived.