Beebs

Carrot Cake! With cream cheese frosting.... Yum! Zucchini Bread (although more cake than bread, I think). Something with rhubarb - pie or crumble I think I want a slice of carrot cake now....

In light of the private member's bill on relief for Cambie Street businesses being introduced today.... Don Don Noodle is closing down. Tomato Cafe is re-opening on June 1 in Kits (I went by today, there is still a lot of construction going on in there). This is very sad indeed.

For mooncakes, you can check out the Taiwanese style ones. They tend to be smaller and with a thicker crust. I usually get mine from Ihua (41 & Dunbar), or Da Chia (Macdonald & 24th), but I'm sure they're available in Richmond also.

Ugh I think I ate too much today! Finally made it to the Night Market and ate: -Takoyaki. I asked for 6 octopus & 6 shrimp, but ended up with all octopus. I hit the first takoyaki stall I saw and didn't see the stall that was selling scallop takoyaki until I'd finished what I had. -Duck wraps. They taste like spring rolls but chewier. Love 'em! -Vegetable pancake. Rice flour dough with veggies mixed in, shallow fried. Hot, gooey, and full of greasy goodness. -Cinnamon sugar rice pancakes. Like the previous posters mentioned, these are pretty good. My S.O. ate most of it. -Fish waffles. Not made of fish, but these are the fish-shaped red bean waffles. I just like calling them "fish waffles". I ate two. -Siu mai. -Vietnamese ice dessert. I've never had this before and the pretty colours attracted me. I ordered one that had sweetened kidney beans, broad beans, pandan jelly, some unrecognizable green, clear, and pink jelly things, coconut milk, and shaved ice. A really bizarre mix but intriguingly tasty, especially after the ice had melted a bit and stirred everything into a colourful mess. They had several combinations available, but I saw a few customers ask for particular ingredients in their dessert. There was what I thought was a new vendor, they were selling beef curry omelet on a flat bun. Looked interesting but I was too full to get one. Big lines at the egg waffle stand. The "dancing guy" (as my friends call him) was there - he was really flippin' those waffles! I didn't notice any other egg waffle stands so it's hard to miss him. I was also on the lookout for okonomiyaki (spelling?), or Japanese omelet pizza, but didn't see one. Also didn't see "beef muffins" (what are these anyway?).

Roasted garlic Grilled veggies Salsa Tzatziki And hummus makes a great sandwich spread although I've never had it in a burger, but I imagine it might be good.

Do donuts dusted with cinnamon sugar qualify?

We sometimes slice salmon skin into strips, brush them with a sweet soy-based marinade, and grill them on the BBQ till crispy. Tasty!

My family has always cooked shrimp & prawns with the head on, and then sucked on the heads for the roe (or is that tomale?). Sounds yucky, but tastes damn good!

Oh my! There was this one episode of Star Trek DS9 where the characters are at a Klingon restaurant, and the Klingon chef slops a plate of black, squirmy, slimy worm-things which the customers proceeded to eat with relish....

Oooh! I've got some in the fridge too! They're pretty common in Vancouver, although I haven't seen them with the flower buds. I usually stir-fry them with shredded pork, mushrooms, tofu, ginger & soy, or cook them with scrambled eggs. Yum! The batch I recently bought were a little tough at the bottom 3 inches, so might need to peel them a bit.

Beebs - The best time to go to avoid a lineup is probably when it first opens (for the dinner menu) at 5pm, which it does on a daily basis. Have fun! ← or after 10. frankly, though, as part of a group of 2 or less, I've never had to wait longer than 20-25 minutes. ← Thanks, guys! I can't wait!

I'm headed out to NYC next week for vacation and this restaurant is on my list of places to go. What would be the best day(s) & time to go, so to avoid major lineups? And they don't take reservations, right? I've got a flexible schedule and am willing to plan an evening around dinner there. I'd prefer to go for dinner rather than lunch though. Thanks, folks!

Thought today would be an opportune time to bump up this thread, being that it's opening weekend for the Richmond Night Market. I'm anticipating going tonight (weather willing), can't wait to have me some street food! So! The good, the bad, the ugly -- what's not to miss, what's new this year? Let's have at it!

Tea Eggs! Mum used to make these. She took hard boiled eggs, cracked the shell lightly all over, then soaked them in a marinade of soy sauce, spices, and black tea. The tea soaks through the cracks in the shell so when you peel it off, it leaves a pretty spiderweb pattern on the egg.

How bout something like a Thai noodle salad? Not as predictable as "traditional" pasta salad but easy enough. Or Vietnamese salad rolls? Gazpacho or some other cold soup?

She's completely whacked, way out of line. Sounds like she's totally pulling a scam on you. Agree with Tonyy13 about the receipt -- she should absolutely show a receipt, especially for a check from the accountant. Gosh forbid if your cafe gets audited and you are missing this paper trail for an unaccounted check. Bet crazy customer won't bother to show up. Assuming that she's for real, I'd offer store credit only, not cash. Still pissed? "We thank you for your past business, we're sorry we are unable to meet your needs. However, I'd be happy to recommend a few other bakeries/cafes/whatever in the area, why don't I write them down for you." Every customer is important, but at some point a business really has to draw the line. Does your business really care to keep a customer like that around? Sorry to hear YOUR day got ruined by this nut!

Of course the joke is that at least one good study I've seen concluded that you don't derive any greater health benefits from green tea than from black. Just because green tea contains more antioxidants doesn't mean that the human physiology will absorb them. ← And it's a pity that much of the industry are taking advantage of the white tea hype and marketing its supposed cure-all wonder tonic to the general public. Of course, that's not to say there aren't any good white teas, just that the good stuff doesn't come in a bottle, or powder, or teabag. Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox now....

After I posted my reply, I realized it didn't mention what white tea is. This link might help http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_tea. It's essentially a type of green tea, but consists of only the youngest unopened buds of the tea bush. They are "white" because the buds are covered in whitish hairs. White tea is trendy right now because it's said to contain more antioxidants & other health benefits than even green tea.

It's really a marketing gimmick. White tea in its purest form already doesn't taste a whole lot of anything. Once you add all that sugar and artificial flavour, you're really only tasting sugary flavoured water. Nevermind processing white tea to death in a bottle -- it's certainly not conducive to retaining the natural health benefits of antioxidants and vitamins of tea. The Lipton/Snapple/Nestea "white tea" beverages are really meant to be drunk as any other soft drink, IMO, not as any type of health tonic.

Today I had a pureed green pea soup with minted foam at a local restaurant -- it was the epitome of springtime! A similar kind of soup with plenty of cream would certainly use up all those frozen peas.

Assuming you can get Apricot Brandy! Beebs, I see the BC Liquor Stores carry some Luxardo products. Can you special order from them? ← Yes, some Luxardo is available, but unfortunately maraschino isn't one of them. I checked out BC Liquor Store's special order service too, but you must order a minimum case size which is way too much for personal use. I've just recruited my sister who lives in the US to hunt some down for me, though, so all is not lost!

Thanks for the tips, folks! Too bad BC gets such a bum deal with spirits variety. Guess I'll have to be patient till my next visit to the US!

I've also had no success tracking down maraschino liqueur here in Vancouver, like jlo mein mentioned above (I've actually posted in another thread hoping someone would have a local lead on it). Anyway, short of making a cross-border run, how close is kirsch to maraschino liqueur? What is the taste profile (sweetness, etc.)? Thanks!

I've seen fresh ones from time to time at the Metrotown and Richmond T&T's. Maybe it is a matter of hit and miss? Or try Crystal Mall in Burnaby, they've got a few butcher shops there. Or Chinatown, but having spent much time there I don't know of a particular shop.

Oh and definately visit Wayne Ngan's pottery/art studio on Hornby while you're there (if you're into art), he is a highly reputed ceramics artist. Gorgeous artwork bowls, cups, plates and the like. I don't recall exactly where it is, but I'm sure Google will pull something up. Can't be far from the clothing optional beach, though!