Now I Know What Fish Maw Is

Well I discovered what fish maw is ... it is the air/water bladder in a fish that allows it to ascend and descend.

Apparently the soup is good for coughs and ones general health.
Here is some more info for those of you inclined to try Fish Maw Soup.
The vinegar and spices went along way in making it less bland.
Bon Appetit.

Bamboo Dim Sum Cafe & Chinese Restaurant

Bamboo Dim Sum Cafe Chinese Restaurant. In the heart of Greektown on the Danforth, north side just west of Pape. It's on the same block as the Athena Bakery. This whole area is so cool. If I was going to live in Toronto, I would look to find a place somewhere in this area ... if I couldn't find anything in Koreatown!

Truth be known, I am considering a move to British Columbia, the Revelstoke area. That way I can remain with the same employer and all my benefits and vacation entitlement continue.

My daughter is applying to a number of universitys, one of them being University of British Coumbia. She has been maintaining a 90% average for the last couple of years. She should be able to at least get some choice as to where she goes to school. My son, having just turned 17, is going to remain with me, and I must say that I think a move to BC for him would be beneficial for a number of reasons. For my part, I would like to learn how to fly fish and become a little more committed to photography.

And what about Asia? A month long vacation to Korea for 4 or 5 weeks in the fall of 2007. With a week in China and a couple of days in Japan. At some point I would like to live in Asia for a few years at least. That will still be a goal, though at this point it seems like a longer term goal.

C'est la vie.

Here It Is

Here is my table at the restaurant. The soup was served with jasmine tea. It was really good tea and this taste discovery has put a new item on my list for the Asian Wholesale Market here in London.

The waitress, Julie, has lived in Canada for 5 years. Julie is going to university here on a visa program. Since arriving here in Canada she met and married her husband. James, the owner of the restaurant is the brother of Julies husband.

Julie comes from a smaller city north of Beijing that has a significant Chinese - Korean population. Nearly all of the Koreans that live in her town were born in China. Their Korean ancestors arrived in China approxiamately 100 years ago. They obviously speak Chinese. What is interesting is that their part of the city is all Korean signs, and the Korean language and culture has been passed down and maintained over the generations since arriving in China. So that is why Julie was able to learn a fair bit of Korean in her town. Two of her best friends are Korean speakers, and here in Canada, Julie lives next door to a halmoni. What a surprise to go to Greektown, then end up in a Chinese restaurant speaking Korean to the wait staff.

The meal was good, the service was excellent, especially compared to London non-Asian restaurants where I would have been required to spend 2 or 3 times the money and then beg for service. And even then, it would be screwed up. That's one of the reasons I mostly only go to Asian restaurants here in my hometown. The service is better and the food and prices are as well. I digress, in addition to the good food and service, yesterday I met some really nice people, too.

How did it compare to the Oh Nara in Koreatown? My experince has been that the Oh Nara is hard to compete with. The Oh Nara is excellent as far as quality, service or price.

But yesterdays find was worthwhile and I will return in the future.

Greektown in Toronto

Feast your eyes on these delicacies. For dessert I ended up getting this chocolate eclair and canoli. The cream filling was chocolate coloured too. What a quality decision!

I actaully had my stomach set on tolsot bibimbap from Koreatown, but I only had so much time. So it was Greektown. I hadn't been to Greektown for a couple of years, so there were some noticable changes. There seems to be a little more Asian in the area, which, of course, I think is a good thing. I enjoy Greektown on the Danforth, and have done so for a number of years. I've found that not only is it Greek, but there is an element of trendy Bohemianism to the place as well. There are some very cool stores around there.

Chinese Food ... In Greektown

Here is the "Crabmeat with Fish Maw" soup that I had in Toronto's Greektown yesterday. The red colour is caused by the vinegar, which was suggested by the proprietor, James. I was also advised to use salt and pepper which I did.

James was curious why I had ordered a traditional Chinese dish like this. Really, it was a stab in the dark. It said crabmeat, so that is why I ordered it. It is very different to what I had ever tried before. By the end of the bowl I think I had started to get the right amount of vinegar and spices into it. I'm not sure I would order it again.

The maw is the air/water bladder that enables the fish to move upwards or downwards through the water.

Snowy Boughs

Here's another shot for the snowhounds in the readership. We haven't had a squall for over an hour now. It is still bitterly cold due to the wind.

Some of the photos from this mornings walk turned out with this somewhat blue hue to them. I think it was just around the time that it got light enough for the flash not to fire. I do like the effect, it would be nice to have a feature like this in camera. I had tried to post one of these hued photos this morning in the 'Snowsquall' posting but the photo would not post even though Blogger was giving me messages that it had posted.

Nice to know it is working again, I suppose.

Fresh, fluffy snow everywhere.

Riverwalk

Riverwalk
Originally uploaded by korea-bound.

Thursday morning, walk along the river. We live a block and a half away from here.

Snowsqualls

Well, here it is 10 am Thursday morning and it is still snowing, although not as heavy as it has been. The expected high on Saturday will be-2, Sunday +7 and then Monday +14 with rain. So what does that mean?

It means that between now and January there will be at least one more significant snowfall. Why? This is why.

London is located 50 miles from the southern tip of Lake Huron and 40 miles from the north shore of Lake Erie. The snowbelt is roughly 30 to 40 miles north of London. But why there? Why not 100 miles north of here or 100 miles south? The answer is because of two significant facts: The Great Lakes and the jet stream.

The actual effect is this. Cold dry air comes out of the north and traverses south. When that cold dry air blows over warm Lake Superior or warm Lake Huron, the air at water level becomes warmed by the warmer water. The warmer moist air rises into the frigid cold air and becomes snow.

These snowsqualls, or streamers as they are commonly referred to, carry huge amounts of snow. A lot of times they miss London. A lot of times they come to London. When that happens, that sets the stage for London to get huge amounts of snow. There is a third significant reason why. London, Ontario is at the bottom of a prehistoric lake, we are at the bottom of a bowl. When these snow streamers come to London, quite often they stall in the bowl. Then they sit overhead sometimes for days at a time dumping lots of snow.

That is why during the winter of 2003 - 2004 for three consecutive nights the snowfall was in excess of 12" per night. That doesn't include the 8 - 10'' of snow 2 - 4 nights before or after.

London doesn't get huge amounts of snow every year, but the majority of time it does. That is why you can drive 125 miles from here to Detroit/Windsor and they have nothing and London is buried in the stuff.

So who else gets that kind of snow? Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, On. The Buffalo area doesn't get the same that we get, they get tons more. I'm not exactly sure why, but I suspect that it is because Buffalo is at the convergence of two huge snow producers - Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and they're not all that far from Huron either. Some times in a 2 or three day period, Buffalo gets 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 feet of snow, or more.

Anyway, this morning when I got up it was snowing heavily again. It is spectacular when that happens, the beauty, the quietness and freshness. So it was out the door to walk along the river and make my way uptown to see how the city was coping. The city was coping slowly.

The Other Hometown Team

Last night I got to go and see the London Nationals victory over the Tecumseh Chiefs 6-2. This puts the Nats into a first place tie with the Chatham Maroons. It was a good game, London does have some good players. My friend Larry is an Asst. Trainer for the Nats.

It was also my first time at the Western Fair Sportsplex. This is a beatiful facility. There are four pads of ice, one of which is used by the Nats. Also playing at the same time as the OHL 'B' game were two girls and one boys team. One of the girls teams were about 16 - 17 years old. It was good hockey. Girls hockey has become big around here.

It was a pretty, snowy evening. This morning there is 6 - 8" of fresh snow, our first significant snowfall of the season.

Yes people, here are todays purchases from my favourite Korean Market. At the top of the picture is a plastic mortar and wooden pestle. Not only can I now crush sesame seeds, but I can also make pesto and a whole range of other stuff as well. I also picked up some galbi barbecue sauce as well as soy sauce from Korea and some shin ramyen, mandu and galbi. For a treat I got the round bun at bottom center and some ttok. The bun was filled with cream and was delicious.

The ttok is ok, a little bland for my liking. Hi Jin down at the store loves the stuff. She has already helped herself to half of it with the promise of chili peppers as repayment. Fair deal, I'll be able to use the peppers.. So now that I've tried it and don't like it, she'll be able to have the rest. It's a good procedure for me to stop in and show Hi Jin my purchases because she is able to give me tips on how to use and prepare stuff.

The pictures below show Danny cutting the galbi. He takes care of me, he offered to cut it when it became apparent to him that I was not familiar with galbi, let alone cutting it.

While waiting for the galbi a Korean Canadian named SK struck up a conversation with me. He has very good english, as a result of spending a few years in Wisconsin pursuing an MBA. He had lived in Canada for a number of years before he went to the US for school and he plans to remain in Canada for the rest of his life. He was intrigued about my interest in Korea. So I let him know that I think it's a pretty country. He was somewhat surprised by my ability to speak a little bit of Korean, and I even picked up a word or two from him.

The market was offering complimetary tea and coffee this morning, so I opted for the noktcha, which I do enjoy. The place was doing a fair bit of commerce this morning. There were a fair number of ajummas and some younger ladies in there as well.

As always, I enjoy having some Korea in my day. Between church on Sunday and the market today, it's been a good week for Korean.

런던한국식붐

The middle shot is the finished galbi. The bottom shot is the first cut that takes the meat away from the bone. The top shot is the fourth or fifth slice towards thinness. Dan is the man!

The Corporation - The Movie

Thanks to my daughter, I recently got to watch this movie. It is called The Corporation and it is one of those documentaries that are so filled with thought, you just can't help but think about the message. It has the potential to be a real paradigm shifter. What I didn't really enjoy about it is that it made me listen to Michael Moore, whom up until this point I had been able to ignore without really trying.

The message is powerful and convincing. Of particular interest to myself was the information on the biosphere and the additives that are put into the cows that produce milk sold for human consumption in the USA.

I like the biosphere info because it echoes what Dr. David Suzuki and other specialists in environment/ecology issues have been saying for decades, and I believe the message is this: We can accomplish what what we are accomplishing without stripping and then damaging our precious biosphere.

Secondly, if you are a resident of the USA and you drink cows milk, you really need to watch this movie - especially if you have young children!

The premise is that corporations have the same rights as humans, but are not accountable for their behavior like humans are. This film uses very clear examples of how true that premise is.

Be afraid ... be very afraid. But enjoy it too.

Uri Aboji

Today was a beautiful sunny Sunday, the high got up to 6 degrees.

It was a good day to go to Kim St. Andrew Parish and check out the Roman Catholic mass, in Hanguel. There were approximately 200 people there. I was able to pick out a number of words or small phrases, but most of what was said was new to me. It was the first time I had been in one building with that many Korean- Canadians.

I was prepared for the remote possibility that I might be made to feel like I was intruding, but, not surprisingly, the opposite was true. There were a number of friendly smiles from people there. When it came time to shake hands and wish the fellow parishioners "Peace be with you", I know that some made the extra few steps to shake my hand and wish me well. I felt more than welcome, as usual, when in the company of Koreans. I find this to be a very civilized characteristic. It seems to me this kind of consideration may have a spiritual aspect to it. I have seen this friendly concern regardless of whether I am dealing with one Korean or a number of them. Truly, I have an admiration for a people and a culture that are capable of expressing this kind of civility.

To be sure, I noticed that even with each other, Koreans seem to be friendlier, and a little more sociable than I would expect Canadians would be in the same social setting. It gives credence to the statement that Koreans consider themselves to all be part of a "Big family".

I must admit that I did notice that I was the only non Korean in attendance. I was able to say very little to the priest because he knows about the same amount of English as I know of Korean. Our conversation was short but none the less friendly, and, it was Hangeung mal i e yo.

In a subtle way it was made known to me that there was some kind of function in the basement after the mass, and I will attend the next time I am present.

I do not consider myself religious, but I am in possession of a spirituality. I do attend church on an intermittent basis as my work schedule allows. I enjoy the peaceful, positive atmosphere and the sense of community. Honestly, my attending the Korean mass today was purely motivated by my like for things Korean and my desire to seek out and immerse myself in the language.

It was without a doubt an interesting experience.

Kimchi Mandu

Here is the plate of kimchi mandu and kimchi. I would describe this as a worthwhile taste discovery. I noticed that the mandu has a delayed "heat" effect. With regular kimchi the "heat" feeling is immediate upon placing the kimchi into the mouth. However, with the kimchi mandu, the heat sensation is delayed for a number of seconds. The other thing that I enjoyed about this, is the tenderness of the kimchi inside the mandu. For those who enjoy kimchi, I think that you will really like these mandu. For those of you who only tolerate kimchi when necessary, you may find this a better alternative. As with most Korean food, the price is very reasonable: $5C for a bag containing approx. 40 mandu.

Served with sesame oil, soy sauce and crushed, roasted sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Remembrance Day

In honour of those who gave their life. Thank you.

Food Shots

Korean Food Post

Today was a good day for immersing myself into a little bit of Korea via my stomach. I ended up getting some:

김치만두/kimchi mandu
태양초고추장/hot pepper paste
갈비양념/beef kalbi marinade
a stovetop grill
김치/kimchi
빔밥/bimbap
삼겹살/sam gyeop sal
불고기/bulgogi
신라면/shin ramyen

So the 냉장하다/refrigerator and the 냉동실/freezer and 전장/cupboard are definately taking on a Korean, wait for it ... are u ready, flavour! Pun intended big time, hahaha. Lunch turned out to be rice/밥, bulgogi/불고기 and kimchi/김치. Speaking off kimchi a couple of days ago my Mother and Bill (my stepfather), were over after we made a stop at the 한국어식붐/Korean Market. Bill expressed an interest in trying some kimchi, and no offense intended, I warned them both fair and square that most Canadians gag at the mere whiff of kimchi. To my shock, Bill loves the stuff, he had seconds and then drank the pepper juice remaining in the bowl. I couldn't believe it, but I am so happy that another Canuck has a passion for the stuff like myself. It's all good because now I have somebody else to go to the Asiana with.

I had the time to wander around the market and check out some of the things that I'm not very familiar with, so I can see that there is more gastronomical adventure ahead of me shortly. So on that basis, here are some photos.

The Day After The Wind

Here are the same three photos as yesterdays post. This is how they appear today. We have finally gotten strong winds, which really signifies that fall is here in full and that winter is not far away. After last nights' and todays' gusts there are whole stands of trees that have have turned grey, dull and dreary. Less than 12 hours ago they were blazing colours, now all that has changed. To see some magnificent fall colours from the North Bay area check out Northern Perspectives in the sidebar links. There is a wonderful picture of a lighthouse on a small island that someone turned into a cottage. Enjoy.

Leaves

Books

Here is a picture of some of the books I purchased recently. The one on the top left is by Ronald W. Langacker titled "Language And Its Structure: some fundamental linguistic concepts". This was written as a text for an introductory course in linguistics I believe. This is an excellent introduction into the science of linguistics. Not only that, I was able to buy it at a Goodwill Thrift store for only 50 cents!

The one on the top right is by Eung-Jin Baek (University of Toronto. East Asian Studies Professor Emeritus Korean; Manchu; Chinese phonology; Mongolian phonology; historical linguistics. Languages: Korean; Manchu; Mongolian; Altaic), titled Modern Korean Syntax. This also is a beginner text dealing in Korean Grammer.

I believe it will be necessary for me to get a Korean tutor. There is a Basic Korean that starts in September, it is a credit course and success in it is necessary for acceptance into Advanced Korean. I think I need to get serious about learning. I pick up a phrase a day, but I do enjoy the learning, so that's what I need.

The blue book was bought at City Lights Bookstore. This is the store that was originally opened by Marc Emery, alias 'The Prince of Pot'. The US DEA is seeking his extradition to the US to face the music for shipping pot seeds into the States. If he ends up there he'll get a lengthy prison term. Here in Canada they haven't even questioned him about his pot business. Anyway, it's a good bookstore and I was able to get that one for ten bucks. They have the best selection of Korean books in town.

The bottom two were also purchased there for six bucks apiece. These last two were originally purchased in Busan, they are too advanced for me at this point but if I take that course, I'm sure they will be good practice. They are published by 연세대하교 출판부/Yonsei University. The preface is written by Tae-Sung Kim, Phd, Director of the Yonsei Language Center.

BTW, it looks like Seoul is having nice weather these days.