Skip to main content

Dim Sum and then some

Dim Sum. You hear that a lot in Vancouver. Seeing as I am interested in food, I paid attention. I never did try it though. It was always one of those things that you intend to do but never quite got around to it. Well, that changed. I am moving away from Vancouver. So, I am in catch-up mode right now. I have to do all sorts of things before I leave.

Dim Sum is one such thing. So I went with a bunch of far more knowledgeable Dim Sum eaters to a place called Sun Sui Wah in Richmond. Before I get to the food, let me side track and tell you about why I am afraid of Richmond.

The only times I ever go to Richmond are to
a) take a plane out of the airport
b) to pick someone up at the airport

Otherwise, I avoid Richmond. I have a predisposition to getting lost in the myriad of highways and other such evil devices they have there. Seriously. I was late for a funeral once because I took the wrong exit from the Knight Street Bridge. If you go the wrong way, you have to pretty much go to Delta before you can get back. It happened to me again. I drove for quite a few kilometres on Westminster Highway going the wrong way. I had my trusty Blackberry with me (I have a love-hate relationship with that device) and Google Maps on it was giving me directions to get to the place.

I searched for the business using the interface, and then asked for directions to there from where I was. It generated a route and told me to turn here and there. I missed one exit, got waylaid in Delta and managed to come back. Once I got back to the civilised part of Richmond, I followed the route as google maps suggested. I ended up by the water at the very end of Number 3 road. For some reason, the mapping software decided to send me to the nether reaches of Richmond. Thankfully, CY called me around that time... and I was telling him how I was by the water in Richmond on Number 3. Of course... I get a surprise... there is water on either end of that silly street. So, with his directions, I drove back on Number 3 till I got to the mall area (and the million people who decided to go shopping on Saturday got in the way) and past that to the Restaurant. I was late and had a fun time trying to find parking.

Richmond terrifies me. I get lost there. I know how to get to the airport and back. That's as much as I want to know of that city.

So, onto the DS. A bunch of ex-coworkers, coworkers and I were there to meet up, enjoy a fun meal at apparently one of the best Chinese restaurants in the area. It was great seeing all those people who escaped the place, they have this happy glow on their faces. I ate all sorts of things I never saw before or even heard of, tasted delicacies I will certainly look for again and even saw meals at the next table that had pigeon on the menu. Their pigeon is so good that people allegedly fly into Richmond just for it. Urban myth, I am sure, but the food was _good_. I even tried chicken feet. Tastes like Chicken. And if you ignore the obvious shape, it is kind of like eating Chicken Wings.

What I don't get is how all these Asian folks (and I am stereotyping them, but forgive that for a moment) eat all that and not get plump! I mean, if I had to eat like that on a fairly regular basis, I would break the 200 lbs barrier! And its not just here... I went to the Night Market once and the food there was fabulous. I love food and I know this much: anything that tastes good has to be bad for you somehow. It will make you fat or kill you faster or something. That's just the way it is.

Anyway, the food was great, the conversations were light, the company excellent. The bill was not as substantial as I expected, so that was a bonus too. I will do this again, just not sure when. It is a great social environment to meet new people and try things only the regular DS folks eat...

The only thing that ruined the afternoon (and it wasn't that bad) was a call from my manager asking me to work on something. That just made me mad. Sometimes, the people you work for (and the ones you work with) are just out there to ruin a good sunny Saturday afternoon. But I was at least well fed and entertained.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Strange is one way to put it

Life has been a bit strange of late. I've gone from being incredibly happy to depressingly sad. I don't quite have the answers to why that is and I am not really sure I care to find out. I almost feel like its easier to give up than try and work towards some worthwhile conclusion to the problem. I love going on vacation. I hate coming back from there. Generally, when I get back from vacation, I go through a period of adjustment that starts with the lack of sleep (because I am usually not in the same time zone as my vacation destination was), self-pity and loathing at the state I left my place in, in my hurry to get out of here. It progresses to outright hatred of having to go back to work and dealing with the routine in general. I resolve to find better things to do in life, learn more, improve myself, lose weight etc etc. And eventually, I end up no further than where I was, where I've been for over 2 years. I can find any number of reasons and excuses to make this someone...

Retro is the new cool

A week ago, something important happened in my life. I skied Whistler for the first time ever. If you don't count the time I sort of limped down the mountain on a snowboard, many years back. It was, by far, the best ski day of my short ski season. The conditions, terrain and my skill level allowed for a much better experience than before.  But that's not what this story is about. This is about my now crippled BlackBerry Tour. I've had BlackBerry devices since 2005. For a while, I had 2 devices; a personal phone, and a work BlackBerry. That changed when RIM released the Pearl 8100. I got mine in late 2006 and never looked back. This was still well before the iPhone and the madness that all these apps bring about. The Pearl still works btw. As part of my ski trip, we took a break for lunch. I noticed that the pocket where I had my phone  was not zipped up all the way. And I had many a tumble in knee-high pristine powder. Still, my phone seemed to work, mostly. I not...

Finding happiness

I have been put up to a new task. I am allegedly supposed to find out what makes me happy and start doing it. Those are orders from the boss. Apparently my happiness or more appropriately, the lack of it has an affect on everyone else. I never knew that. There is one slight problem with this. The trouble with finding happiness is two-fold; on the one hand, you have a very hard time describing what happiness is, what makes you happy; on the other, you are afraid that you might actually find it. Then what? Well, be happy right? Really? We are human. I get bored of things quickly. But I think I will give it a shot. So, I embark on my given task. I wonder if I keep saying I am happy if I will buy into it. Likely not. How do I figure out what makes me happy? I don't know. Alcohol? Not really. I collect, but I don't consume. Finish work on time? Well, that could work, but then I would have to figure out what to do once I leave. Sleep? Can sleep make you happy? Money? I think money ma...