(Note: A month ago, I wrote this post but, upon further consideration and some external feedback, I chose not to publish it. Instead, I just hinted I had something to say. However, looking at how things have “evolved” in the last month or so… Well, let’s just say it ended up being a case of “I might as well”… Leaving with a bang??? Anyway, please keep in mind this was written over a month ago. Some dates might no longer be applicable…)

It has been a while since I have written a post of this type and I wonder if it is due. In the last couple of months, there has been quite a buzz in terms of popularity of Vancouver blogs, specially if we consider that major sites like Urbanspoon has targetted Vancouver itself as one of the places with the greates activity. But, what does that mean? Better restaurants? More food bloggers? Everybody has anything to say? So, in reference to Canadian’s government thoughts of removing the pennies, here are my $0.05′s worth… But, first an announcement as well…

When I first started blogging, I did it in part to have something to do, an activity of sorts. It was not a smooth trip: I had a couple of false starts which eventually molded into what it is today. Was there a target or a purpose? In a way, it was mostly for fun, something to keep myself busy. Furthermore, as it said, “it is not the destination, but the journey“. And, alas, I must announce that I have announced that this journey has reached what might be a long stop, if not the final stop. Yes, it has always been the journey; however, at the same time, I knew it would last only that long. After all, aside from revisiting the same places over and over, there are only that many restaurants worth visiting. And, have we mentioned that this activity is expensive (unrelated to HST and what not)? Regardless of why, once I flush the remaining pending posts (which includes a personal apology to a very dear friend of mine), I will call it quits.

I am sure a lot of people will be wondering why, not to mention some might be celebrating because this bastard will finally stop bashing everybody left and right. On the personal side, I was planning to “close shop” anyway by July this year. This is, to quote myself, by then, a life changing event would have taken place which would prevent me from blogging. Actually, that is not 100% true; rather, while I could continue blogging, I would rather not do so. However, looking at things around me, specially as mentioned as the subject of this post, it is my perception of the state of food blogs in Vancouver. To be more specific: It sucks and I don’t feel I want to play this game anymore.

Back when an Urbanspoon mention came out, an Urbanspoon Prime member blurbed in the Prime forums that quantity does not mean quality. After all, that’s not the lesson we have learned from all-you-can-eat and/or buffet places? However, I defended the quantity perspective in the sense that with more people voicing their opinion, readers will benefit. While I still stand by that opinion, there have been several a truckload of problems with Vancouver’s picture. I will point several of them here.

I am going to start with, once again, pointing the amount of food bloggers (according to Urbanspoon, over 300). But, wait, I don’t necessarily have issues with the amount of food bloggers per se but the quality of the posts. To me, blogging is more than just saying I went to restaurant X or Y and ordered dish A or B. Then, may be, whether you liked it yes or no. Actually, if you were to read my posts in the past, specially those from two years ago, they actually felt in those lines. However, there was a learning curve and, after some sort of false starts, my writing style changed. In fact, some people have mentioned my harsher attitude has changed (whether for good or bad is to be determined, but given the announcement above, who cares?). What has changed? I don’t only describe what I order, at times why I ordered it, but also a description of the dish and why I liked/disliked it. Furthermore, if I have some background about those dishes (specially Latin American ones), I am more than willing to provide those details. Then, based on my thoughts, I will mention if it is worth my moola to return or not. Granted, I am no food critic and I only order one or two dishes. However, I look at it at the perspective of a John Doe visiting a restaurant and said restaurant has only one chance to wow me. After all, with so many in restaurants in town, if you can’t deliver and provide a good impression, I can easily go to the next one. Unless, of course, somebody can prove me wrong which, at times, I am willing to do a revisit.

However, here is the core problem I perceive with a lot of the new blogs: lack of depth. While I will accept that I haven’t visited every single new blog and do find some of them actually “interesting”, for the most part, it seems they are taking pictures and then write something short out of it. Content? Oh, I went to such and such restaurant and had such and such dish. Every thing was great! (More often than not). You know what? If that’s what is being written, why I waste my time checking those sites? I might as well go to Yelp (which has its own issues) or DineHere (likewise, has its own issues). At least, it is a one stop shop.

If I have to wonder where or how all this started, I would guess social media has become so popular, where everybody can do it, so why not? If that’s the case, I don’t care. I started over two years ago before social media was as commonplace as nowadays. And, while it has its own good points, the problem is that such there is too much carelessness makes me want to stay away from it. In other words and, once again, I don’t want to play that game. Take for example, what Diana Chan who writes Foodology wrote in her personal blog.

After 4 months of food blogging, Foodology.ca is number 13 on their Vancouver leader board of blogs. This is a major achievement because my goal was to be top 20 by Christmas, but clearly we have surpassed this amount. There are about 260 blogs about food in Vancouver! 13/ 260, thats pretty amazing!

That sounds good, a young woman like her should have high ideals. However, when a site she is part of, called Nocturnal Vancouver (link won’t be provided but you can easily Google it), start stealing pictures from known sites without given proper credit (rectified “after being notified”), that’s when we have issues.

To further “complicate” things, are the blaggers, specially those who have been for some extended period of time. I have mentioned them before and, once again, I will call them out. People like Richard Wolak (aka vanfoodster aka Vancouver Foodster) and Erin Ireland [oddly, food editor columnist for MetroNews Metro Vancouver (corrected by appropriate sources)] is what makes me cringe in pain and disbelief. On one side, Richard is known not to eat a lot of things and, in Erin’s case, she does not eat dishes with carbohydrates (to quote herself. Also, when we met for the first time and she wanted to go to Samurai Sushi; I convinced her to meet at Miko Sushi instead and she ended up eating mostly sashimi). So, you wonder yourself… If that’s the case, how can you write about this subject if you don’t/can’t actually eat said dishes??? Worst of all, why people actually read/listen to them?

To those who had to spend a bit too much time back in high school or university in their class(es) of logic or discrete mathematics, will have heard of argumentum ad verecundiam or argumentum ad potentiam, also known as fallacy by authority. In other words, somebody who is a well known public figure suddenly has (or believe to have) the knowledge and power, plus can make a judgement “just because he/she says so”. In Richard’s case, it is said he wrote a book about coffee (don’t drink much coffee so I don’t care) and, as for Erin, well… You can visit her site and decide yourself. But, wait, how about I do the homework for you? Take, for example, a visit by Mijune and Richard to the same place the same night: Mijune’s post vs Richard’s post (will open a new window). Seriously, tell me which one you prefer… In Erin’s case, this is a quote from her article on Lin’s Chinese Cuisine:

“(In reference to xiao long bao) … earn them an easy diagnosis of Asian comfort food, and of course, perfect delicacy for ringing in the Year of the Rabbit.”

Let me dissect that for you: XLB is Shanghainese and while it is in China, hence Asia, it does not automatically mean all Asian people will eat it.

This, of course, can be extended to people like Andrew Morrison of Scout Magazine, whom, I will admit, having worked in the front of the house does give him some insight of restaurant operation; but, you have to wonder his impartiality when he has been directly involved with the restaurants.

Can anybody possess all knowledge? Good luck at that. That’s why I am always open to criticism. In fact, I expect people to tell me I am wrong! It is not an issue of knowing it all but, if you don’t know, do some digging and due diligence before writing it down. If not, it becomes a case of a blind guiding the blind and, next thing we “know”, Mexican food represents all Latin American food. Oh, shoot… >_< Anyway, the killer part from these blaggers is that, aside from the fact they are clueless, they organize events for profit. In Richard’s case, one too many event to count. Notice that I am not necessarily against food bloggers organizing events. If there are good cause(s) behind it and there is disclosure, I believe it is kosher. After all, if the intend is to bring the two groups together, why not? But, when it is for $$$, you are doing PR work. If so, can you really be impartial and/or honest?

And, now, this brings the worst of all cases… Whenever you read written colums from local newspapers, i.e., The Globe and Mail or Vancouver Sun, you expect a level of quality as well as a code of ethics. That’s why these writers are usually the first ones hit when an economic downturn occurs. I mean, they need to have a huge expense account to eat at restaurants at least twice at different times of the day or on different days of the week to have a better grasp of what is going on. Me? Ha, again, I only have that much $$$. I am certain that restaurants have identified these writters and I am not surprised that dining anonymously is not easy for them. At the same time, though, I am certain they try their best to be impartial. However, what happens when that impartiality is brought to question? Since these writers write for the printed media, they have some level of control over it. Of course, editors, probably due to pressure from advertisers (including some of those restaurants) might axe those articles to save face. That might not occur with bloggers. While some of us stick with a well defined code of ethics, it is not something we all are bound to. So, would it be ethical if somebody shouts aloud a “will blog for food” and invite readers along? If you are scratching your head, that’s what just happened with Ben of Chowtimes (link not provided but I am sure you will find it).

Before anybody jumps ahead and tells me I am a hater or jealous of his popularity, don’t bother. Aside from the fact I have an extremely thick skin (“I am rubber, you are glue”), not to mention this might be one of many parting shots, my dislike for his behaviour is known and documented. To bring you down to memory lane, I wrote a post (will open a new window) called “Blogging, Perks and Accountability” almost 20 months ago, in which I called him out on the spot. And, guess what? Ever since, other than in one dinner, we haven’t seen each other face to face. Do I care? Absolutely not, as I have no respect for him. Of course, he will say that he discloses everything and what not. Believe me, ladies and gentlemen, that is pure BS. See, just like him right now, I was also part of FoodBuzz, a network of food blogs. Some time ago, they required all their members to do full disclosure as part of their community guidelines (you can check them here). That begs the question: if it wasn’t because of such changes, would they have *really* initiated their disclosures? And, if you look at the post before that said disclosure, would you have been able to tell it was (partially or fully) comped?

So, why bring him out of the sudden? Because I was made aware of a post where he writes:

I am proposing:

* A win for the restaurant
* A win for the lucky chowtimes readers
* A win for chowtimes

You see… it seems to us that restaurants spends big bucks advertising their AKC (Alaska King Crab) offerings in the papers. I am suggesting that the restaurant save the money for advertising one less time. Instead use the money for even greater exposure for your restaurant.

The restaurant need to think about this unique situation too. The Chinese restaurants advertises in the Chinese papers targeting Chinese customers. There are a lot of English speaking readers out there who would love to try this and chowtimes can deliver a whole new demographics to the restaurant.

So, what I am proposing is this. Any restaurant interested, to give chowtimes a table of 10 serving a feast centered around the Alaskan King Crab. For free of course with the cost coming out from not advertising on the papers for one day only.

For chowtimes, we will invite 8 lucky readers (chosen by random draw) to join us in the feast. I am sure this will be much appreciated by readers and will also draw much attention to your restaurant.

In return, we will blog about the AKC feast but of course the food and service better be good. This is because we will write honestly about our experiences and we will draw on the feedback of the other guest diners.

Does anybody want me to spell “sell out” for you? How the $#%^!#@$!@# can a claim be made about impartiality and honestly when you are already calling the food and service better be good? What makes you different from a PR person like Richard Wolak? Worst of all? When I checked that post, there were only a handful questioning the intent. The rest? Free food!

Alas, that really disappoints me. People have descended into our primeval stages and just think on free food rather than looking at the broader picture of the meaning behind it. I still remember going to events like Eat! Vancouver, where people queue up for samples at times almost elbowing others. However, even when they have some samples, they might not consume the portion served and toss the rest. Or, as I was told, in an open house of a certain restaurant where people were like vultures when plates of food came out.

Am I criticizing my readers? May be, may be not. I personally know some of them and, for the most part, they are good and knowledgeable folks. It is those who just follows the hype that makes me shake my head. You are intelligent people and you should know better…

With that said, how about some highlights? If you were to ask me whom you should read, who would I suggest? Again, there are fine folks out there still writing and can provide good perspective of things. Of course, this is not an all-inclusive list and it is based on those I frequent. So, without further ado…

• Mijune (Follow Me Foodie) and Sherman (Sherman’s Food Adventures). I have known both of them for a long time and I admire both of them. In both cases, they are knowledgeable and, while I do have some differences (more Mijune than Sherman), they are honest about their thoughts. And this is despite they have participated in events (including the only one instance I have participated and where I have witness how they do things). I would like to believe they have influenced me for the better in some aspects.
• The Foodosophy team, specially shokutsu and gastronomydomine (who goes around under other aliases as well!). Alas, I have never met them and, if I do have an opportunity to do so, I would certainly like to buy them a round. Not only their posts are well written but also knowledgeable. One of the post that have really inspired me was a conversation they had between the team members called Foodosophy of Sushi. Believe me, it is worth your time.
• Chris – OK, I am cheating here. Chris is a fellow blogger from Edmonton but, if you read the way he writes his posts, it conveys simplicity yet delivers the message. Granted, our perspectives are at times but it does reflect what I would expect from a blog.
• Matt and Joe from Vancouverslop. They are now closer to the media business side of things but they are still entertaining.
• Other “older” (as in time blogging) bloggers, including Kevin, Gloria, Ann and Dee, Joyce, Victoria, Karl and (the still MIA) Jessica. While they might not be as descriptive as Mijune, Sherman or Foodosophy, they still provide good reads. In some cases, they do participate in media events (for example, Joyce) but they do provide disclosure.
• Some general which just happens to swing (the same way I started) into food blogs or cooking, including Parker Pages, Doesn’t Tazte Like Chicken (who has gone MIA), Gratinee and TS/JS [eatingclub]Vancouver. Likewise, some oldies whom have gone inactive…

“Wait, what about the rest of the people in your blogroll?” Well, some of them do not necessarily apply from a Vancouver standard. For example, monchichi, whom I really like her style, is in the UK; and Mimi whom I have “met” recently. But, for the rest, it is in part, blogroll courtesy (Yes, Jenny, that includes you! ) and, well, just starting blogs.

And, just for fun, how about some final parting shots?

To Grayelf: If you know how bouncing light works, you will realize that, in the setting we were in, it didn’t really “bother” anybody – unless you were looking directly at the flash. Plus, don’t dare to criticize my end results when your own pictures suck.
To Raul: You a foodie? Despite I hate that word, you calling yourself that makes me choke. Why say you don’t like caesar salads when you don’t eat cheese? Attending all events and claim everything is good and, supposedly, willing to pay for it? Give me a break. The day you actually do it the same way most of us do it, THEN, maybe then… You might be popular but that’s about it.
To Melody: Don’t give me BS. You say you won’t write anything negative but only on the positive. That means your opinions are biased. Likewise, because of your tour company, you work closely to some restaurants. Would you bite that hand that feeds you?

So, that’s all for now. It was a long post. Probably too long. In the end, I hope it describes why I am uninterested in continuing and cut it short sooner than expected. But, if you got all the way down here, my only question for you is… What are your thoughts about the state of Vancouver food blogs?

Update: While I don’t mind/care people attacking me, attacking each other(s) will not be condone. From now on, all comments will be moderated. As you have seen, there has been attacks to me and I have approved it regardless, despite I have had the choice not to do so. If your comment does not appear, feel free to guess why.

I have mentioned previously that I am not a big of desserts: If I am by myself, chances are I will skip it. However, when I am with others and they want it, I might as well tag along. Out of all forms of sweet treats, pies falls in sort of an in-between. Of course, I like the savoury applications: pot pies, pocket pies (empanadas, et al) and so on. Sweet versions? Well, I have made blueberry pie myself, so I would certainly eat it. But, a recent experience gave me the most bitter sweet one of all: a slice of humble pie.

Recently, I asked a friend, OCDGirl, if I could cook for her and her friends. There was one caveat: for other reasons, it couldn’t be in my kitchen, plus she would be along for all the ingredients purchasing. The day of the cooking, we had lunch first and then I presented the ingredients list. At that point, OCDGirl’s jaw literally dropped. But, before I go there, here is the original menu I had in mind:

Green beans in pesto (5 ingredients)
Sauteed rapini with garlic and chili flakes (3 ingredients)
Mashed sweet potatoes and yams (3 ingredients)
Braised short ribs (7 ingredients)
Salmon en papillote (7 ingredients)
Poached pears (6 ingredients)

That begs question #1, why???? I mean, why did I want to cook for others to begin with? Truth is that while I have cooked for myself, I haven’t done so for others, not to mention for more than 3 people at a time. Cooking for others would be in part a test for myself. That brings of course, question #2, have I tried these dishes before? Yup, I have tried all of them and the one that takes the longest is the short ribs (3.5+ hours; with an hour tops for cooking, the rest is spent in the oven). However, the one problem with this list is that it does require a lot of prep time. But, while that might be in my mind, for OCDGirl, such a long list made things appear complicated, as one thing she kept insisting while shopping for ingredients was that her friends like “simple” cooking. But, given I was the person cooking, I sort of overlooked her thoughts.

Unfortunately, what followed would be considered a nightmare in terms of cooking. I will spare you all the grainy details, but among things that happened includes me triggering the alarm not once but twice and the oven was full of grease at the end of the day. Some dishes had to be salvaged because of things that happened in between and so on. Let’s just say that several people weren’t happy with what was going on (especially OCDGirl). At the end of the day, they seem to enjoy the meal; however, I wasn’t sure if that part of it was said out of courtesy. The worst was yet to come, of course, during the next day or so, I was feeling extremely disappointed at myself and that sense of failure.

A couple of nights afterwards, I was invited to tag along for dinner and, that night, we had hot pot. There were only two things that were actually done at home: slicing the beef and prepping the vegetables. The rest where bought from the supermarket. In other words, that was their definition of simplicity. And, despite I am not the biggest fan of hot pot, I will have to say, that night, it tasted really good, plus their company was great.

At this point, some of you have to wonder what is the point of the whole story? As mentioned originally, it is a story of humility. At times, I have spent countless hours in the kitchen cooking because, truth is, I like to be there. However, I am also carried away with what I like. When you cook for others, you can show your “love” in what ends up on the plate; however, there is something else in the bigger scheme of things: people. If you are spending a lot of time in the kitchen, you are not spending time with them. I have mentioned a lot of times that, when I go out to restaurants, it is the company that makes the dinner better. Even when food is average at best, the fact you have somebody whom you are enjoying the meal with will raise your experience. It does not necessarily matter if the beef you are serving happens to be wagyu flown from Japan or a cheap cut of meat. And while you do have to cater to some special needs (allergy, restrictions), it is you cooking. You can show what you like, that “love”, but probably not at the expense of not being able to enjoy things. In this case, by me overlooking that “simplicity” warning, triggered a set of events that I still regret.

So, to all of the people involved here, my sincerest apologies. You have indeed taught me a lesson that I won’t forget (and, if I do, they have been “authorized” to kick my butt). And, to OCDGirl, thanks a lot for your patience…

Originally, I had scheduled a rant about my perspective of the state of Vancouver food blogs, specially due to some things that have happened lately. However, the content itself was proving a bit too… Incensive and provoking (confirmed by some people whom I have sent a draft version). As a result, I have put that post on hold until further consideration. However, I do have an announcement…

(Update (20110314): This post has been made “sticky”. For the most recent post, please, scroll down or click on next post at the very bottom left of the page).

Due to personal reasons, I will be “closing shop” in the next coming weeks. Once I have flushed my remaining pending posts, including a personal apology to a very dear friend, I will stop blogging. Whether this is permanent or not, I haven’t decided but, as of now, it is leaning towards the former. If I were to start blogging again, chances are it will not be food related. But, who knows, I might do some guest blogging! I am sure some will be curious as to why; alas, sorry, at this point, I would rather not disclose my reasons. What I will say is that it was fun while it lasted and thankful for what I have accomplished at a personal level. So, enjoy those remaining posts!

I have mentioned that I am un-Chinese Chinese. What does that mean? That, while I was raised with the culture, there are a lot of things, specially traditions, didn’t really “stick” with me. Of course, growing in another part of the world (read: Panama) meant I had to balance things: local vs. background? Of course, moving to Canada wasn’t even in remote parts of my mind back when I was growing… Oh, how things have changed. But, what has not changed is that desire to celebrate the major Chinese holidays. Chinese New Year, Autumn Festival, et al. And with that it means… Food!

Alas, here is one of those strange situations: Since my parents are in Panama, my options are extremely limited, in the sense that I can’t have a family dinner. Fortunately, a lot of times, a family friend drops me a call and, well, I simply tag along. This year, though, for other reasons, I was quite busy and didn’t check; but, still wanted to a meal with roasted pork… Hmmmm… Pork… Granted, I could have gone to Chinatown and buy a pound of roasted pork and cha siu. Had I done some, would it be blog worthy material for Chinese New Year?

Here is a wacky completely non-sequitur note: reflecting the population of Metro Vancouver, over half of the people in my work department are of Asian origin. This meant that before Chinese New Year, there were some plans hatching to have a lunch. Considering that we might be spending a bit too much time together at work, heck, why not. But wait, not just a simple lunch at the nearby Hon’s. No, no, no. We had bigger… BIGGER plans. How big? As in THIS big…

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a WHOLE roasted pork. C’mon, people, don’t tell me you didn’t want to see the *real* stuff? Buying a couple of pounds and eat it with other dishes? Once again, doable, but that is something anybody could do on a regular day. I mean, it is not that I haven’t done it myself; for example, when I visited HK BBQ Master. But, for something as significant as Chinese New Year, c’mon, if I am going to blog about it, it has to be overkill or just go home. Taking snapshot of a pound or two of roasted pork just does not cut it! (And, heaven forbid, imagine I start making videos!!!). No, I will be doing a disservice to readers.

But, I am jumping ahead… Before getting that whole roasted pork, there was a bit of logistics involved, starting with… Where? In my case, I work in the West End and there are only that many places that can make it, namely, Hon’s. But, after the downfall of Hon’s even as a regular restaurant (yes, it has gone downhill), the closest “suspect” would be Chinatown. But looking for somebody to deliver (not to mention a “good” place), we started to scout places in Richmond. Alas, to be able to do this, it would require somebody to drive there and, given we are all busy working, nobody was willing to take some time to do it. In the end, we restricted ourselves and plans seemed to fall into oblivion. Fortunately, Mr. Spoon saved the situation by getting a suggestion from his mother-in-law and others pitched in by volunteering to drive. That place ended up being Dollar Meat Store in Chinatown. OK, OK, I am sure that some of you will be laughing at the name but, hey, they would prepare it in sort of a short notice and we were all up for it.

Of course, you could eat the pork by itself but it would sound… Strange? Anyway, we needed some other dishes to go along; but, given all the logistics involved, Mr. Spoon took reign on the situation and only ordered *one* dish to go along: shrimp fried rice from Hon’s. Well, he is the organizer and I will leave it up to him. Before anybody anything, let’s go back what I mentioned about the population: Despite the main dish was pork, some people in our group does not eat pork so that one other dish had to be non-pork based… But, there was still one issue: no vegetables. To “salvage” the situation, at least from a personal level, I ordered some side gai lan.

In the end, everything was assembled and ready to go… Now, I wanted to go directly for the belly but, based on how it was reconstructed… Well, that meant I could only have it in round 2. And, yes, I went back for more pork. Sad reality is, most people were full after their first round. Some fools (me included) went for other rounds afterwards. That brings the next question… How was it?

In the case of the pork, there is never a correct answer, as it depends on how you like your meat. But, overall, I found there was a really nice balance of fat and lean. No piece was dry and there was a thin layer of fatty-like goodness between the craklings and the meat… Ah… On the topic of cracklings, they could have been better; however, I must consider the fact this wasn’t a suckling pig and the rainy day, plus transit time plus wait time, would have impacted in the end result. Not complaining here, as, in the end, it was eaten with major big smiles…

That brings yet another question: Did we finish it? Here I will be saying something that you will hardly read/hear me say: there was too much pork. No, we did not and there were enough leftovers for the following day, something that people went for. Now, notice something… Missing? Being the stereotypical Chinese, we will almost for certain, get the bones, the head and trotters. Some people, on the other hand, were squeamish about it. As a result of that, I ended up packing the bones and trotters for soup. The head? If it wasn’t because I was full at that moment, I would have produced a knife and started cutting the cheeks out. Alas, that was not to be.

Overall, despite there were some odd moments/situations, it was still a good meal. We enjoyed this so much that we were considering getting a lamb from the Greek Festival later this year!

A bit over a year ago, when Tim Horton’s announced their English muffins, I jumped into the opportunity of comparing their sandwich against McDonald’s. In a funny reversal on things that have happened, recently, McDonald’s announced the return of my once-upon-a-time favourite: their buttermilk biscuits (OK, not really, more details in a moment). So, now that McD’s are back into this game, why not a second heads up battle? And, repeating what I wrote on that post over a year ago… (And borrowing that line from Iron Chef:) Whose cuisine reigns supreme?

Now, a couple of things before I go into my thoughts…

1. Unlike my first post, this time, I was a bit in a rush. SORRY!!! Usually, I do take my time taking pictures and what not. In fact, in my first “battle”, I took the sandwiches home, plated them, etc. etc. This time? Nope. It was a gray, raining morning and I was HUNGRY. I was in no mood of getting this back home and plate them and what not. As a result, I ended up going to Timmy’s, order one and then go to the nearest McD’s and get theirs. No fancy plating and, alas, crappy lightning. >_<
2. Before everybody jumps in, the McD’s biscuits (I will omit the word buttermilk from here on) is not a new item. As mentioned in my previous post, it was one of my favourites eons ago but they discontinued it for some odd reason. Now, it is not that it was removed completely from their menu. You could sort-of order it. How? Their Big Breakfast! See, in that one, you get eggs, sausage, biscuit and a hash brown. There were some catches, though: The egg was in the scrambled form, unlike the folded version or the “poached” version (from the Egg McMuffin), and, of course, it might be trickier to get bacon (you can always order it “on the side”).
3. To their PR people… For god’s sake, did you need to flood my email with this announcement? How many emails I got? 4!!! *shakes fist* At least I didn’t do what I did with certain other local Vancouver PR company: after pissing me off with their almost everyday announcement and choosing not to exclude my address from further spamming, I set up a server side filter where all emails from their domain would be send back to one of their email addresses.

However, on the positive side of this announcement: on February 9th and 10th, 2011, they are giving these free. So, if you want to try them, just go to your closest McD’s. Now, putting all these aside…

I will start off with Timmy’s. In a way, it has pretty much stayed quite “similar” to what I have tasted since it was originally released, except for one minor detail: It seems their “biscuit” is more in-line to bread than a biscuit. How so? I recall these used to crumble somewhat easily but, nowadays, it is closer to bread. Is it necessarily bad? In a way, it depends how you like yours. In this application, I didn’t mind it that much but, if you are a purist or have some (higher?) expectations, you might not let it go so easily. Here is the reason why I liked: It maintained its integrity and, as a result, the overall sandwich didn’t “break” down while I was eating it.

Moving past the biscuit, the egg didn’t have that non-egg taste I mentioned last time. This time, it was just that custard feeling to it. The sausage had a light pork taste but you had to try really hard. Not necessarily complaining here. Overall combined you have an interesting package of soft (egg), lightly crispy/crusty texture of the bread and some savouriness from the sausage.

As for McD’s, let’s start with the “key” component, the biscuit. First, buttermilk? Hmmmm… Maybe? But, past that, here lies the main difference compared to Timmy’s: this one was crumblier. In fact, you could “separate” the crusty portion from the crumblier portion, as if they were two distinct pieces. But, it had a slight odd secondary effect. Depending on how you hold your sandwich, there is a light chance part of the biscuit will “stick” to the contents of the sandwich. If I were to eat it by itself with jam or fruit preserve, there might be a slight chance it will break down. So, depending on your preference, this might or might not work.

As for the rest, once again, given it is a chain and standardization is key, it was pretty much the same as last time. The eggs felt overcooked and lacked a bit of taste; the sausage had more pork taste compared to Timmy’s. Well, McD’s is good at what they do…

So, overall, which one is better? It boils down to which one you prefer. Both works fine. However, there is one loser in the end: At over 500 calories each, my waist for eating one of each… >_<

It is almost Christmas already and, with it, end of the calendar year. I will have to admit that this year have has its oddities and challenges but, regardless, it has been a good year. Or, as I tell people, it is what you make out of it.

One thing people say about me is that I am opinionated and, at times, I don’t hold back. While I do admit I always have my $0.02 cents worth (which might eventually be a nickel considering there are plans to scrap pennies), at the same time people have noticed I have toned down since I first started blogging. I guess time changes people. Anyway, for this random post, I wanted to look back at this year in perspective and some random thoughts about 2011!

We have to, of course, start with the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It was crazy but it has some big flops, with the biggest one being some restaurants charging mandatory gratuity just because visitors from another countries might not have the same tipping mentality as us here. I can go on and on again on that one (or read what I thought about it on that post) but, instead, I am just going to say “what a shame”… And, during the Olympics, going to restaurants were a bit crazy as well and, in some cases, I was able to go to restaurants and take pictures of food and could have easily slipped through some radars under the guise of me being a tourist… “Waaaa? Me not speak Engrish!” However, the strangest experience of all was the failed attempt to visit Gyuu-Don-Ya, a rice bowl restaurant near the centre of all action. To compound the epic fail effects, when they finally opened, they had to close almost right away and, after revisits, the restaurant still didn’t deliver.

And, afterwards, of course, the Harmonized Sales Tax, aka, the HST (plus my thoughts from last year). Somethings dubbed the “Hated Sales Tax”, it has been slammed left and right by most people, even speculated to be the reason why then premier Gordon Campbell resigned. However, my thoughts were different; in fact, I had little issues with the implementation of the HST over PST and GST. And, as usual, people called foul, specially the restaurant industry fearing loss of customers due to increase of costs. Well, sorry to break these old news to you: if you don’t know yet, restaurant business is one where you would only go into if you are crazy. Slim margins, long hours, why would a sane person get into it? Regardless, at least that made people more conscious about their decisions and spending habits so, even if we will end up switching back, it will (hopefully) raised some awareness to regular people.

And, about the same time, there was the food carts, specifically, outside of the usual hot dogs and chestnuts. My thoughts were really low about it, considering my expectations of what street food should be. I visited most of them located in Downtown Vancouver and, for the most part, they suffer from two issues: trying to deliver restaurant level food on the streets (which, to me is a bit of an oxymoron) and, the key piece, in some cases, charging restaurant level prices (which is the killer in the overall picture). Added to that, there is Vancouver Coastal Health implementing restaurant level conditions to food carts. Can it be better? Absolutely; however, until people finally grasp the concept of street food, we will get what we deserve…

And while I didn’t touch this subject at all, recently, there was the implementation of a lower alcohol limit for drivers. Of course there is a reason why I made no comment: I seldom drink and, if I do, at most it would be at home. But, as usual, me being opinionated…. Here is the one detail where a lot of restaurants I believe failed at an opportunity: Rather than offering services to customers who drink, they shut it down. For example, except for a handful fancy/trendy restaurant where they would cover the cab fare, I didn’t read any news report about working on alternatives to deal with the issue with drinking patrons (call a cab for the party, encourage designated drivers by giving them free pop/soda and/or some freebie). Similar to the HST issue, I believe it is more on the lines of be creative…

Restaurants aside, how about we food bloggers? There have been bloggers who have disappeared, some others who have barely written the whole year (they know who they are!) and those who blog on a frequent basis. And, on that note, I am sure some of my peers will agree: Writing daily can be quite exhausting. Remember, it is not only a matter of writing the post down: there is also that process of thinking *where* to go, as well. When you have other things to do, such planning takes a toll and, well, starts to wear you out. Unfortunately, in my case, I have reached that plateau. Don’t get me wrong, I really appreciate what blogging has given me: I have met a lot of people, some interesting, others whom I would like to kick their asses. I just have to remember this is a hobby and be grateful for what it has giving me.

And, on that note, there has been that explosion of bloggers, specially those who contribute to Urbanspoon. Have you people noticed that Vancouver literally dominates their worldwide leaderboard? But, to quote certain movie, with great powers, comes great responsibilities: readers trust us and restaurant PR people tries to use us. After all, inviting us for opening can easily be cheaper than ads in traditional media. So, in a twist, I broke my no-attendance to events policy and, in an odd way, that resulted in the example of why I choose not to participate. To quote my post on Prestons (the opening I attended):

While standing there and sampling some of these dishes, I overheard some other (not necessarily food) bloggers really excited about the dishes served. To those who have known me personally long enough shouldn’t be surprised by what followed: I turned around, interrupted their conversation and asked (not the exact same question but on the lines of): “But would you be willing to pay for it?” Of course, that completely caught them off guard. The argument was on the lines of how much $$ and portion size and what not. Regardless, the end question was still the same: had you had to fork the $$, would you pay for what was served? At that point, there was the attempt of changing subjects so I just let it go.

Of course, there is what I call the biggest fiasco in terms of abusing social media from a Canadian food related organization (or, at least, from a Canadian perspective): Maple Leaf. Back in summer, they launched a contest where food bloggers would cook a recipe featuring their products (which, in some cases, couldn’t be easily found) and then ask people to vote for their recipe (not to mention have it “feature” in their blogs and so on). The contest ran for almost three months and, rather than an actual competition of what was best, it ended up short of being a popularity contest. Of course, the winning recipe, that of fellow blogger Sherman, indeed looked good, the endless request from blogging might have caused some Facebook friends to cut off relationship due to the constant request to vote. (On that note, despite my close relation to both Sherman and Mijune, who was the runner-up, I decided to stay away from it and chose not to vote for anybody).

Finally, on a personal level, I didn’t travel as much as I did in 2009. For business, I only went to a handful of places, including Seattle and Portland; but, on the personal side I went to Panama, Edmonton and San Francisco. And during this trip to Edmonton, I was able to personally meet Chris of Eating is the Hard Part, one of the most down to earth bloggers on that part of Canada!

Of course, there are even other things that happened on a personal level thanks to blogging; however, those are beyond the scope of this post. But, still, they part is that it was a good… No, great year and, despite the new post schedule, I hope the next will be even better!

KFC
Hundred of locations around the world
1147 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC

In the past, I made reference to things that we wish and long for just due to the fact it is at a somewhat arms reach but it is too troublesome to go and get it/them. Wait, what’s that again? OK, let me put a really simple example: When the original iPhone came, it wasn’t launched in Canada but people went to extreme to find unlocked versions in the US. In the case of food, Krispy Kreme was almost a commodity… Until a store was opened here. The list goes and goes. When KFC released their Double Down sandwich, aside from the hype it generated as being one of the most unhealthy sandwiches (there are worst), it was done as a US only item. But, thanks to some ingenuity, some people made their own version, including a Canadian version. In my case, living in Vancouver, with border crossing at a relatively short drive, it was a matter of if I *really* wanted to do it. For the most part the answer was no; until, that is, I was in the US for business trip and, well, why not, get not one but two of such sandwiches! You can check my post here.

Fast forward to the present: In a case of demand (or hype or success, which ever you think is true), KFC in Canada was to release this “sandwich” on October 18th and available until mid November. While I already had the “original” version down in the US, well, why not try the local version as well!

Working in Downtown, I was a bit surprised there is only one KFC in the West End. Of course, given KFC rap, this could swing both ways. Knowing there will be some hype behind it, I decided to leave around 11:30 a.m., hoping to arrive at that KFC in Davie Street before any line formed. To my surprise that small location was packed when I arrived! Now, not everybody ordered that sandwich; some of them went for the regular KFC fare. However, as soon as I made my order, people behind me were ordering three or four of such sandwiches. (Including a shameless news reporter who was asking for other customers for a chance to take pictures. C’mon, take a picture of *your* own sandwich!). What was even more surprising is that by noon, it was sold out and there was a wait until 2:00 p.m. Call it initial success?

As for the sandwich itself, I already had a good idea of what to expect. I mean, it is not that I haven’t tried it before. As for this one… Well, despite the way it is constructed seems “better”, my initial thoughts a couple of months earlier haven’t changed. It is a darn messy “sandwich”. Here is the reason I thought this was “better” compared to the US version: the chicken had more juices in it, compared to the US version; however, I can think of a reason why this is the case: given the rush of orders, these would be recently cooked; whereas in the US, since the hype was long gone when I had it, it could have been sitting there for a while.

As for the rest of the “sandwich”, well, it is what was promised, cheese, some dressing and bacon. The bacon wasn’t crispy and the cheese was… Actually, it wasn’t bad but, then again, it was a lot of fat. The overall combined package… Well, the same issue I ran into in the US version was encountered here too: This monstrosity had an extremely salty feeling in it and had to wash it down with a glass of pop – Did I mention I didn’t finish it? Even then, I was still feeling that salt in my mouth for hours to come. You thought MSG was bad?

Now, without the bread, it brings another question: how filling it is? If you are a light eater, this might be good enough; however, for somebody who might be a heavier eater, you can easily eat two of these. In my case… No…

Given this is my second time having it, at least I think I can make a judgement… And, (un)fortunately is the same one that I had when I first had it: It is over-rated in all possible aspects. And while it ain’t the worst meal healthwise, it will certainly be a runner up. It was fatty (the wrap was starting to be oily already), it was salty (as mentioned above, had to drink a lot of liquid after a couple of bites). For the price ($7, sandwich alone; $9 in a combo), I would rather get a rotisserie chicken. If you really want fried chicken, you might as well get some individual pieces and assemble it yourself. Heck, don’t even “assemble” it as a sandwich, eat the meat “as is”. But, if you want to say “I had it”, by all means, be my guest. Just make sure you have a contingency plan in regards to your health!

To my Canadian readers, I hope you already had your share of turkey! To my non-Canadian readers, as an FYI, today, as the subject suggests, is Thanksgiving!

This time last year it was about time for my one year anniversary. While I did have thoughts in my mind to organize something for my second anniversary, life in the last couple of months have taken a couple of wacky twists and turns and, in a way, I have neglected my blog slightly. Yes, that is despite there are posts every weekday and still some posts here are there on weekends…

But, this is not about complaining but about giving thanks for all that has happened. So, to my readers, thanks for dropping by: It is your comments what keep this blog running! To my fellow bloggers, thanks for your support and keeping up with me and my whimsical/crazy nature! And to one particular person (*)… Thanks!

(*) You know who you are!

It was a dark and stormy night when I got called to one of my project manager’s offices. Ever since my long projects during the beginning of the year, I have been “stranded” in the office and have asked for customer on-site work for a change of settings. Having this meeting was a glimpse of hope for me to be out of the office for one week.

“Kim, two weeks from now, do you have anything scheduled or planned?”

“I have a dentist appointment but I am sure I can have that rescheduled”

“OK, in that case, are you good to go to Location G?”

Such was my excitement on leaving the office that I didn’t think much and just said “Sure, why not!”. However, after going back to my cube I did a Google Maps of Location G and…

At first, I noticed I had to travel first to its closest major city; however, the problem was the actual final location: it was over an hour drive to that major city. Normally that won’t have been an issue, as I would have had something to do or places to eat. No, it wasn’t the case here: Location G was, literally, in the middle of nowhere. Aside from some offices, the only food and beverage option, other than a 30+ minutes ride to the nearest “town”, was a hotel/casino, which was also the place I would be staying… For a whole week. My jaw dropped. A whole week eating casino food? Worst of all, I found out the night I arrived there was no fitness centre at the hotel. “We want our customers at the gaming floor instead” was the concierge answer…

“You got to be fucking kidding me by sending me to Location G. There is nothing there! I asked for a on-site, not to be bored to death!”

“You could go to the casino…”

“Other than the occasional 6/49, I don’t gamble…”

“Sorry, you are the only person who has the specific skills the customer need. It is you or you.”

At that point, I had to resign myself to the worst: dealing one full week of hotel/casino food and try to see if I would live to tell the tale…

Two weeks later, I stopped at that mentioned major city. Getting there already took several hours and was already tired and groggy; however, with over an another 90+ minutes to go, I decided to take a break. I stretched for a couple of minutes and had to weight the options: cut that break short or stay a little bit long and drive in the dark Not willing to take any chances, I got inside the car and starting driving to that final destination.

When I finally arrived, I was surprised the parking lot of the casino was full. That was despite it is located in the middle of nowhere! I guess that “middle” of nowhere was actually a strategic location; otherwise, why would it be built there? I wasn’t in the mood of investigating and, after dropping my stuff at my room after checking in, I just wanted to eat something and go to sleep.

Looking around, I found out there had four “restaurants”: a buffet, a sports bar, a sit down restaurant and a food court – this last one open 23 hours a day. Because I arrived relatively late, I had no other option than going to the food court. As I wanted to eat and go to sleep, I chose something relatively “light” and that ended up being

(Due to privacy, I can’t name my customer or organization directly. Sorry if this make the post a bit ambiguous at times. Also, some pictures were taken with my iPhone and some with my SLR. No surprise given that cameras aren’t really allowed in the gaming floor).

A corned beef sandwich, with a small split pea sandwich and a side salad. Supposedly it was sourdough but it looked more like regular white bread. Again, I didn’t want to think too much and munched it and went back to my room. I was hoping the following day would be better…

When I woke up the following morning, I panicked: what about breakfast?! Since I went to bed as soon as I went back to my room, I didn’t know how to proceed. Going for breakfast at the food court for the following days?! Fortunately, I found out the was a free breakfast for hotel guest. Sure, it was only cereal, oatmeal, yogurt and some pastries but, at least, it was something I could live with…

After breakfast, it was time to meet the customer and it was then “business as usual”. But, eventually, it would be lunch time and, alas, to the casino it was… Along with my customer, we ended up going for the sit down restaurant. Probably because they go there so often, the staff seemed to know them quite well.There wasn’t much of them looking at the menu and, as for me, I went for the first thing that I noticed, which was:

A salad (with raspberry vinaigrette on the side) and a club sandwich. Well, given I wasn’t going to be able to hit a gym, I thought I should try to eat “healthier”. Yeah, right, with some bacon in the club sandwich, what are the chances! Still, I wasn’t completely comfortable so I ended up eating only half the sandwich. “Do you want this to go?”, I was asked. Hmmmmm… I really wished I could have said yes because I wasn’t sure what to expect that night but, in the end, I didn’t. I wondered if that was a mistake, as later that night, I faced with the horrors of horrors… The buffet.

Of course there were more items options available, including made to order pasta, a dessert station, salad station and so on. But, as any good Chinese, I knew I had to tackle that *one* section: seafood. There was fried oyster, salmon, crab and so on. Quality was dubious in some cases and decent in others. And, as usual in these places, I ended up overeating. Would I end up paying for it afterwards???

The following day, it was about lunchtime again and asked my customers for options. That’s when they explained to me all the dining options. This time, I went solo for lunch and by then, I was explained the different options at the casino. Since I have been to three out of four, I thought to tackle the remaining option: the sports bar….

I was actually surprised options like a salmon sandwich was available there! I was thinking more on the lines of fried food so this was actually an interesting surprise. For the first time, I thought things might be looking quite good… So, at this point, I thought I should try the other restaurants a second time, starting with the sit-down restaurant:

Yes, the same salad as the previous lunch there and, for the main, I ordered the prime rib + prawns. Doesn’t that prime rib look quite familiar? Yes, in fact, that prime rib looked quite similar to the one in the buffet, down to the done-ness and texture. Based on the price paid, it sounded like going back to the buffet would have been a better option…

At that point, I decided to go back to the “fail safe”, i.e., that one place that, so far, hasn’t been that bad: the Sports bar. This time, I went for something that shouldn’t be OK: Fish and Chips. Alas, the uniformity of those pieces of fish sort of detracted me: Mass produced? I don’t want to know. However, despite those wacky thoughts, the fish was decent. Granted, it wasn’t salmon but, still a good option. As for dinner that night… Well, I was so hungry I didn’t really take pictures so no comments.

By day four, I was already looking forward to leave this place. I mean, I had to admit that food was still edible with mixed quality level. However, what really disturbed me was some of the customers: In some cases, they were so obese that I was willing to bet (OK, not a good idea in a casino…) some of them could easily double my weight! (And I am “heavy” to begin with!). Now, I don’t mean to disrespect obese people; instead, it is about the mentality. If you know there is something wrong, just go ahead and try to find a solution. However, if you choose to sulk (and, worst of all, eat excessive amount), it will not solve anything. On that note, I have a person I can call a friend whom have lost over 80 pounds in the last year or so. My congratulations for her efforts!

Anyway, back to the food. Because it was already the fourth day of the engagement, things were starting to get busier and busier so I chose to have a light(er?) lunch. Out of all the options that meant the food court. Oh, well, I had to go back so…

A Reuben sandwich with a clam chowder and, once again, a side salad. Yes, that sandwich was a bit sloppy but, otherwise, it was decent. Not the best, greasy (as expected?), but, when in a hurry, it worked fine.

That night, I was sick already of the casino/hotel food so I chose to drive those 30+ minutes and, based on the suggestions of my customers, I ended up going to a fish and chips place. It was actually decent but, again, coming from Vancouver, I had to draw some comparison… At least, it wasn’t hotel food…

Alas, on Friday, for lunch, I ended up going to the food court for the same reason as Thursday and I ended up going for the burger this time. I mean, how can they go wrong? Unfortunately, it did. The bacon was actually good; however, the burger was bland. C’mon! Still, similar to the previous day, it was just a matter of keeping myself busy until that night. In fact, due to my positive experience that previous night, I was willing to drive those 30+ minutes for something outside of the casino/hotel. Wishful thinking that was, as I ended up finishing later than expected and that left me without any other alternative but the restaurants on-site… At that point, I didn’t really care but just fill up my stomach and go to sleep.

The following morning, after packing and putting everything into the car, I had to look back for a moment. Was it that bad? Did this week take away something from me??? I wasn’t sure if I wanted to answer that question so, instead, I just started the ignition and wandered what I was going to have for dinner once I was back in Vancouver…

It is a common question for food bloggers, specially those of us who write about restaurants, of whether we can cook or not. I mean, given that we tend to “criticize” about the food served in the restaurant, how about the food we cook ourselves? Truth is most of us, in a way or another, have written about a recipe so I am certain most of us can certainly cook. In my case, I haven’t done so for a long while and thought it was time. So, while I was in a local supermarket one day, I looked around to see what I was fancying to cook and then noticed the rotisserie chicken – something I buy once in a while as a form of “cheap”, quick, decent meal. So, I thought: How about I cook one myself? Something like…

In terms of cooking, here is one cultural shock I underwent after I moved to Vancouver: heat source. In Panama, my mom has a powerful gas range (check here – and even this one is the low end she used to have!) so I am used to it. When I moved here, the first stove I used was an electric one and just to boil some water it took an eternity. Basically, all the recipes and method I learned in the past didn’t really work and required a lot of tweaking around. I have mostly caught up but, still, some recipes simply do not work the same way. At the same time, I learned some things as well: one of them that of using an oven. See, my mom never used it and, as a result, I never had things like home made banana bread. But, considering it was there, I might as well give it a try! And while I would bake and roast, one thing I never did: roast a chicken. Why? Simply because I could get one from the supermarket almost at the same price than an uncooked one! OK, granted it wasn’t a fancy free range chicken but, still, when in a hurry and hungry, that beats a lot of other options. However, this time I was up for the challenge and…

Yup, got three chickens. See, roasting a single chicken would have been a single challenge. How about preparing three chicken for the whole week? Of course, I was taking my chance: by the end of the week, I could be sick and tired of eating chicken. Or would I? Anyway, I had to start somewhere and did so by roasting one of them.

I have stated that simplicity beats a complicated recipes every single time. So how about a recipe that requires six ingredients (two of them so commonplace that is not even considered so)? Yup, as simple as that! And that recipe I used is that of It’s Just Food recipe for roast chicken. In this case,

• A chicken
• Garlic cloves
• Lemon
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil

I started by pre-heating the oven at 400C. In the meantime, I cut some red peppers and eggplants and let it bake while it was pre-heating. Meanwhile, I trimmed some extra fat from the chicken, rinse and pat it dry. From there, I rubbed it with salt and pepper (in my case, I also used some smoked paprika for some additional flavour and colour) and stuffed the cavity with several cloves of garlic. I finished it by stuffing a lemon. Finally, I rubbed some of the oil. When the red peppers and eggplants were ready, I took them out and put the chicken in. Cooking time is dependant on the size but, in my case, it took me around 1.5 hours. But, as usual, make sure the thigh is wiggling and juices are running clear (among other things). Once it was “ready”, I took it out:

Around the hour mark, I started boiling water. Yeah, I knew it was going to take a while… While it was boiling, I started preparing some pesto. See, rather than roasting potatoes, I decided to put to good use some basil I purchased previously that week. But, to keep the potato theme of potatoes, I got some vacuum sealed gnocchi and, well, basil + nuts + some oil = pesto! By then, the water was starting to boil so I blanched some rapini. In an example of good timing, as soon as I took out the rapini, I checked the chicken and it was good to take out of the oven. Well, since it still need some resting, I might as well! I took the chicken into a plate (carefully tilting it so that all the juices will fall back to the roasting pan. Yeah, it was “clear”) and dropped the rapini into the fat laden cooked chicken juices after dropping the gnocchi into the boiling water. Once they were ready, I mixed the gnocchi with the pesto and it was time for plating.

The end result! To the top left counter clockwise, the roasted red peppers, rapini, gnocchi (with pesto) and a quarter of home made roasted chicken. So how does it compare? On one side, the chicken was actually juicy, despite I didn’t give it a brine treatment, so no gravy was required. Some additional flavouring would have helped though but, given that I didn’t give it that much of an effort (after all, first attempt!), I will have to say it was good enough! Would I do it again? Now that I have the know how, I might give it a chance again, this time trying to be “fancier”.

That brings the question: what did I do with the other two chickens? Since roasting another one was partially out of the question, I had to be creative. So I started by cutting the chicken into pieces. I will have to admit I was quite proud of how I cut it into pieces and the time it took me (less than five minutes each by using only a standard chef’s knife rather than a boning knife). Still, what to do, what to do… I then devised a plan: given that some pieces would be more suitable for some applications, I decided to split the breast and “the rest”. So, for the breast, I decided to poach them.

Here is a big question: what do you do with all the bones you get after cutting the chicken into pieces? Throwing it away is obviously not the correct answer, instead, I roasted it along with onions and celery. Once it got to a certain point, I put it into a pot and some water to create a broth of sort. Once it was boiling hot, I lowered the heat to the lowest level possible and dropped the chicken breasts and left it to poach. Once ready, the follow up question was, what to use it for?

A sandwich (or wrap in this case) was an easy way. Above, a wrap made with homemade hummus, avocado, alfalfa sprouts and roasted eggplant and peppers (which were prepared already). Add a little bit of each, wrap it tight and, again, dinner/lunch is ready!

Still, what to do with the rest of the poached chicken breast? Suggestions would include add it to some tomato sauce to serve with pasta (canned if timing is an issue) or, my sort of favourite canned food, add some cubed pieces into pork and beans and call it dinner!

With the remaining pieces (thighs + drumstick), for one meal, I chopped it into pieces, added some corn starch, sesame oil, soy sauce and peanut oil and mixed it. In the meantime, cook some rice in a rice cooker and pour the chicken/oil/start mix when it was almost ready and let the steam/heat of the rice cook the chicken. Of course, given that salmonella in chicken is an issue, I let them cook longer than usual and, to be safe, I mixed the chicken with the rice so that the residual heat would help distribute and cook the chicken. Because of the mix, the soy sauce “spread” through the rice, which was sort of an unintended effect. Anyway, in a Latin twist, I had some plantain and though I might as well using since it was starting to get ripe! Dinner is ready?

By the end of the week, I pretty much consumed three chickens. Would I do it again? Maybe. However, what I am proud of is the fact I was able to make things “interesting” and/or varied enough (here, shown “three ways”). Granted, it took some time to make all these but it is something I can say I am proud of…