Its time to catch you up on some of my recent food adventures.....Last year was such an amazing ride of trying new foods, mostly Asian, mostly good (we will not speak of the
Hot Pot debacle) that eating Asian food in fairly obscure places has become my new normal.
I have become addicted to spicy wontons - I don't know where they come from or how to get them except to fall at my colleague Jennifer's feet or beg over email or the phone and she arrives at the office with these spicy, silky morsels of awesomeness.......Parker place I think....some food stall. I cannot know the exact location for my own health and safety. I will not publish Jennifer's cell phone number (you're welcome Jen) as she needs to keep her focus on procurement for me and me alone...oh and herself I suppose, that seems fair yes? The same place has pan fried dumplings.....starchy little bundles that restore the balance in my fiery mouth from the wontons. OH.SO.GOOD
Jennifer sensed the stall in my Asian Food Education and decided it was time for a trip to Taiwan. We brought Linda along for the ride to Sunway Cafe.
Hmmmm..... a very interesting ride it was....I was alarmed (not "hot pot" alarmed but close) when I saw an item on the menu called "Dead man's coffin"......pass.....I will pass on that in this cheery little cafe on a late summers day thank you verrrrry much.
But my alarm really sky rocketed at the pigs blood section of the menu...... I was starting to think Hot Pot may have been a better choice!!!! I will never reach Asian Level 15 because I will
never eat pigs blood and intestine....I just won't....I will have to embrace my whiteness and be happy.
Jennifer and Linda ordered from safer sections of the menu and I ate.....how great is that? How tough is my life?
And most of it was tasty, although quite different from the other Asian cuisines I have embraced,.... the Taiwanese sausage fried rice was garlicky and satisfying, the beef roll was good but not as good at the one from Peaceful of which Lindsay and I occasionally dream.....oh how we love it! The spicy wontons were good too but not as good as my secret little ones from Parker Place.
It was a satisfying meal.....mostly because of these two who keep the laughs coming and don't mock me too much.
In other non-Asian food news Jennifer and I continue our quest to find the perfect sandwich in Richmond (We could use a sponsor for this public service.....anyone?). Since our beloved Nooch closed we cannot find the perfect sandwich.....especially not a BLT. I had the one at LA Bistro a couple of weeks back and the fillings were excellent but the bread was regular brown Safeway bread which is unforgivable.... truly a terrible misstep.
So when we spied a new sign on a shop on Westminster Highway that read
Smokehouse Sandwich Co" we arrived with great joy and expectation.
Unfortunately they were not yet open. Keeners we are!
But we returned in their first week while they are only offering a limited start-up menu. The chef is Rico.....this dude knows how to use a smoker! I had the cumin smoked pork with a slaw on it on a great bun....no sides, no frills, no cash register and a half finished interior but a really good sandwich. Jen had the smoked shrimp (which was a cold sandwich) and Linda had the coffee smoked beef and they both reported their enjoyment. The buns are served on small baking sheets with parchment paper.
Chef Rico asked us to rate his sandwiches and give him our honest feedback, especially after he heard of our quest, and I gave him a solid 8/10.....there is work to be done to improve the space and the menu and the service but this is a chef working for his dream and if you are from here give him a try....I don't think you will be sorry and I am going back for the smoked salmon sandwich....want to join me?
Which is why my FB status reads that I am hoping this is another 3 workout week.....I need to burn the calories!!
How I am going to live without my wontons for a month is still to be seen......its going to be tough.....but I hope to be reporting on some very fine foods from the southern hemisphere very soon.
Ostrich anyone?
For the rest of us..... you will maybe understand that moment when you put on new glasses having just had 6 year old lenses replaced (I was wearing contacts in between)...... its a WOW moment .... it's like the world just jumps out at you.....you see each leaf, each rain drop, the colours seem vibrant.....It's happened to me many times over the years and its a moment I love. 
