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Home made beef noodle

Home made beef noodle
Originally uploaded by FatTireTribe:aannuar

Eating out can be expensive, and so what about eating in? Can something like the bowl of beef noodle take hours to prepare? Or should one go down the grocery aisle looking for those pre-mixed sauces or paste, where all one does is to add 1.5 kg of chicken, potatoes and 500 ml of water etc etc etc.

Alternatively, how about starting from scratch? Time to cook-up the beef soup approx. 25 minutes. In it, beef, onions, ginger, carrots, potatoes, and all the good spices.

Taste to die for.

Vancouver lacks street food

It's Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and there are people every where this evening. Families, couples, buddies, all want to hang-out and absorb the vibes that's in the air.

There are hot-dog stands BUT (all in CAPS and bold), a shame that Vancouver has yet to show her culinary teeth. No doubt Vancouver is a multi-cultured city with the diversity of food, but sadly enough I suppose the local health by-laws will not allow street food other than tube-steaks ala hot dogs to be sold. Just this February issue of Condé Nast Traveler, Mark Schatzker writes about Vancouver’s Chinese food, and that it beats those served in San Francisco and New York.

Vancouver could have offered more, and should have taken the lead on this. I'm talking about street food. Already, Toronto has embarked on a 3 year project, approved in December 2008 by the city council, to take street food to a different level. Food lovers can now step outside and try from all corners of the world. This is what I call about being adventurous and really enjoying the cultural diversity of tastes.

I challenge the municipalities in taking this bold step. Toronto has taken lead. Will Vancouver do the same?

Many cities of the world have street food. Been to Kuala Lumpur; Malaysia??? The street food there is to "die for". The plane ticket to fly into Malaysia can be expensive. But that's it. Once one hits tarmac on the KLIA airport run-away; one finds that he/she is 3 times richer because of the currency exchange. A bowl of noddles in Vancouver costs about, depending which restaurant, $5.00 CA. In Kuala Lumpur, $5.00 CA can buy dinner for two-depending where you are and what you eat. Now try to beat that!

So should I move to Toronto OR move to Kuala Lumpur---remember street food there is to "die for".

La Cuisson Coffee, Richmond

La Cuisson Coffee, Richmond
Originally uploaded by FatTireTribe:aannuar

Forget Starbucks... Forget Bean around the World...

As there are wine connoisseurs, there are also coffee connoisseurs, and for those living in Richmond, there's one little coffee shop that can be found tucked in among the many Asian business outlets in Union Square.

I had a chance to meet the owner, in this case the coffee-maker, Jason H. (from Taiwan) and we talked briefly about La Cuisson. Jason goes all the way to ensure the quality of his coffee. Importing organically grown coffee, he has a unique recipe (a trade secret of course) where his process of roasting the beans brings the robust flavor out from those coffee beans.

I was a skeptic at first, but gave it a shot to try out Jason's special process. Boy! was I blown away by the taste and flavor of his coffee---it was aaaahhhhhh!! coffee...

Sitting close to Canada line, and the line going live next year---making Richmond very accessible---this small little coffee shop is just waiting to be found out by the world.

La Cuisson
#1326-8368 Capstan Way,
Richmond, 604-207-2589

Note: Photos taken at this place are not commisioned by the establisment, or any other parties.

Kreation Artisan Cake, Vancouver

Kreation, Vancouver
Originally uploaded by FatTireTribe:aannuar

Now that the dust has settled, and the incovenience of road construction done---to make way for a new transit line to connect Richmond, the Airport, and downtown Vancouver---you could see the shining of a little cake shop once again.

So if you find yourself travelling along Cambie street between 15th and 23rd try checking out this little sweet bakery shop.

Walk in, and feast your eyes on the assortment of tarts, cheesecakes, and many flavorful pastries conjured up by Chef Kaeko Kanno. I did. For me, it was a first time opportunity to shoot images of pastries given to me by Kreation. And it was an honor to do so. Thank you Kreation.

I admit that while photoshooting, my eyes got to taste each row of the pastries lined up in the showcase. Very delicious... and hopefully captured the art and effort of Chef Kanno's heart kneaded into the pastries, as shown here.

Lastly, and not forgetting a good friend that introduced my images of food portfolio to Kreation, i.e., Alice Z.. This image would not have been here if it was not for her positive enthusiasm. Thanks Alice.

If you plan on driving there after reading this blog, anticipate problems in parking on Cambie itself. However, there is parking on the back of the shop.

If you're not planning on taking the car, there are other means of reaching out for Chef Kanno's pastries.

Bus no. 15 (from downtown Vancouver) provides service along the Cambie street. For landmark, look for the Chevron gas station on your left, if you're on the southbound bus, and vice-versa, going the other way. Kreation can be found close-by.

Radisson Hotel, Vancouver

Radisson Hotel, Vancouver
Originally uploaded by FatTireTribe:aannuar

I was delighted when I was invited to do a photo project of the Radisson Hotel in Richmond, and I thought that this is an excellent opportunity for me to build-up my photo portfolio, and have that experience under my belt.

Like the many major projects that are taking place in the Richmond area, i.e., the speed skating event in theRichmond Oval, and the Canada line, this hotel will be one of them having a "NEW" look in the Fall of 2008.

I'm thinking, post 2009, where this hotel sits @ the corner of Cambie and No. 3 is one prime spot for travellers. Within walking distances, a traveller could access the diverse (mosty Asian) epicurious sites nearby. One prime example, the Golden Szechuan close-by. If one tires of the area, one has to walk barely 5 minutes from the hotel to the Aberdeen station, hop on the Canada line, and travel to down-town Vancouver in about 20 minutes (while making fun of those stuck in traffic along the way).

For those wanting to jog, and away from cars, one only has to access the Middle Arm trail on the dyke. Run west bound direction, and one passes the Richmond speed skating oval; run north bound and you'll see floating homes.

Healthy eats

Rebar, Victoria
Originally uploaded by FatTireTribe:aannuar

Located close to the waterfront in downtown Victoria, I figured I'd give Rebar Modernfood a try.

Rebar has taken Asian cooking, spun it to something funky, and made the cuisine into a meal for those who are diet, or preference, conscious.

Take for instance the Thai Green Curry. Slices of eggplant, w/ oyster mushrooms, tofu all cooked in canola oil, and mixed in with jasmine rice topped with toasted peanuts and mint.

The taste-felt like the meditation of senses. This dish is completely different from the taste that I'm so accustomed to, i.e., hot and spicy. I supppose Rebar would be an option for those wanting to eat Asian cuisine, but without the tongue burning sensation.

Eat and cooking festival, Vancouver

Since I've started posting images of food onto Flickr, and onto this blog, I sure look forward to May when Eat! Vancouver comes to town.

For those foodies, epicurians, and culinarians-well hopefully this post will wet your appetite!

It'll be about everything food and cooking festival, and stoked with food network celebrities. Not that I follow them, but at the very least it should provide more photo opportunities for my lense, among the many other excellent food photogs.

But of course, more importantly, since it's a food and cooking festival, there should be food galore to try. Mmmmmm... should be interesting.

Those travelling on a budget, and just wanting a place to put up---there's the $32 (non-member rate) for a shared room at the Hostelling International Downtown. Or on the high-end, there's the Sheraton Wall Centre. Me, I'd go with the $32 shared room.

Teh Tarek

Teh Tarek
Originally uploaded by FatTireTribe:aannuar

There are Starbucks, and there are the Indian-muslim street stalled outlets. As for me, whenever I return to Malaysia, you'll never catch me sipping coffee at any of the Starbucks franchise in KL. As soon as I'm in town-it'll be those street stalled outlets that I'd go to have my teh-tarik and nasi-lemak (rice cooked in coconut milk mixed w/ sambal anchovies, and sliced cucumber). Many of the times, I'd go for nasi-lemak wrapped in banana-leaf and newspaper (an age-old practice and eco-friendly).

One could say that teh tarek happens to be the national drink of Malaysia and has its origins from the Indian styled tea, i.e., Chai. Literally translated into English, Teh Tarek means Pulled Tea where the ingredients consists of locally grown tea (BOH tea being the most preferred), and gobs and gobs of condense milk. The tea can be varied with herb or spices depending on one's taste bud, even exotic. There are the garlic or ginger flavored and there's the exotic version of a "sexual enhancement" or power/energy drink by including Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia Jack).

There is Art to preparing teh tarek, and a reason to this too. Like the froth over the capuchinno coffee, the tea is prepared by pouring pipping hot tea from one steeled cup into another. The experts at this will pour or literally "pull" the tea from one cup to the other, without spilling. The higher the pull the thicker the froth.

For a culinary chef, there's the art in the making and presenting the food; but in the case of the tea tarek, it's visually entertaining, and to see the laws of physics at play.

And at the very end of this "juggling" act - a very hot, sweet and frothy tea is served.