The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)

Okanagancook · January 23, 2019

The photos of the food are remarkable. Not like most pictures of Asian menu dishes adorning restaurant menus/walls. All the food looks really fresh and well prepared.

You are a lucky pair to be able to access this so close to home.

Anna N · February 2, 2019

Circumstances prevented any restaurant trips this week. Yesterday Kerry dropped by with this box of lechon which we shared while we enjoyed catching up on each other‘s gossip.

**ElsieD** · February 2, 2019

@Anna N You guys eat the most interesting food!

Anna N · February 5, 2019

Today @Kerry Beal and decided to visit this place.

We shared four spring rolls.

I had the meatball banh mi.

Kerry had the beef pho.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Anna N (log)

Anna N · February 13, 2019

Once again leaving the house was not an option so @Kerry Bealbecame my Meals on Wheels. I felt very lucky having just heard on the news that the Meals on Wheels real delivery system would not be operating today due to the weather.

From our newly discovered Vietnamese restaurant:

Spring rolls with dipping sauce.

Spicy “wonton” soup with hoisin sauce for me.

The same soup in a non-spicy version for Kerry.

The soup seems to be a cross between Vietnamese pho and Chinese wonton soup.

suzilightning · February 13, 2019

I can NOT believe you said Meals on Wheels.

The reason is in a local magazine there was a joke :

A cat dies and goes to Heaven. God meets him at the gate and says, ‘You’ve been a good cat all of these years. Anything you desire is yours, all you have to do is ask.’

The cats says, ‘Well, I lived all my life with a poor family on a farm and had to sleep on hardwood floors.’ God says, ‘Say no more.’ And instantly, a fluffy pillow appears. A few days later, 6 mice are killed in a tragic accident and they go to Heaven. God meets them at the gate with the same offer that He made the cat.

The mice said, ‘All our lives we’ve had to run. We’ve been chased by cats, dogs and even women with brooms. If we could only have a pair of roller skates, we wouldn’t have to run anymore.’ God says, ‘Say no more.’ And instantly, each mouse is fitted with a beautiful pair of tiny roller skates.

About a week later, God decides to check and see how the cat is doing. The cat is sound asleep on his new pillow. God gently wakes him and asks,

‘How are you doing? Are you happy here?’

The cat yawns and stretches and says, “Oh, I’ve never been happier in my life. And those Meals on Wheels you’ve been sending over are the best!”

Anna N · February 20, 2019

@Kerry Beal and I just had the most amazing morning out. Bear with me as it is not all directly lunch related.

To give it some perspective I have been housebound for what seems like a year due to weather and other issues. When I learned last night that the weather was going to be bad again today and it looked as if I would not get out at all I burst into tears. That doesn’t happen often. So when I woke this morning and learned that the weather would hold out at least for the morning I was ecstatic.

We began by doing some grocery shopping which we both enjoy no matter what. From the grocery store, we found our way to Dollarama. It may not be quite as different and exciting as would be a trip to the Japanese dollar store, but it was nevertheless a long time since I had been for a wander through. I ended up spending my money on gadgets, gizmos and candy bars and refused to have a guilty conscience about any of it.

Lunch had still not been discussed at this point although it was beginning to rapidly approach the lunch hour. Kerry had reminded me yesterday that Taste of Burlington had begun but our errands were really going to keep us in Oakville. So Kerry suggested I Google and see if Taste of Oakville might be on. (Both of these are events to promote the restaurants in the area). Apparently, it ended on 6 February so we missed it completely this year. Nevertheless, the first restaurant that popped up on the site was an Egyptian restaurant that we had never heard of called Anora’s.

I stepped through the menu as Kerry drove towards the Goodwill store where we needed to return an item.

After a quick trip into the Goodwill store where I found a smaller match for my plate that I bought the last time I was in there and another small dish that I quite admired, we headed off towards the Lakeshore and Anora’s.

You know that sinking feeling you get when you pull up in front of a restaurant in the middle of lunch hour and discover that it is empty. For a moment we debated whether to just leave or whether to take a chance. Perhaps because we were the only customers we might be warmly welcomed and treated well. So glad we saw this as an opportunity as opposed to an obstacle.

We were greeted very warmly by the proprietor. We were offered help in understanding the various dishes and given plenty of time to make our decisions.

Our order was taken by a male server and my assumption would be that he was a family member. Of course, I could be wrong. His English was a little hard to understand but I have only admiration for those who struggle to get by in a new language. He was very enthusiastic about trying to upsell us in a very pleasant way.

Eventually, we settled on our lunch choices and as we dove into our teeny tiny samosas,

Kerry glanced up and noticed that the Canada geese were doing what Canada geese so often do – – they were making a mockery of traffic. It is illegal to kill a Canada goose and just not worth your day to run over one. So the traffic was slowed to a crawl as the geese behaved like dogs and honked at the cars as though they had no business being on the road. It was very comical indeed.

Eventually, someone appeared and began to herd the geese off the road. I thought Kerry said, "Look there’s a Norwegian herding the geese!" I asked how the heck she knew he was Norwegian. "Not Norwegian," she said, "A man from the Region.” (Halton Region is our municipality).

The scene was as iconically Canadian as a game of street hockey.

Our lunch:

Turkish coffee for me.

Egyptian mint tea for Kerry.

Kerry first ordered the Kishk but the server returned to say it was not available and so she changed her order to the Hawawashy. I had a taste and it was delicious.

I had Anora’s Liver (sure hope she didn’t really need it!) it was perhaps the most delicious treatment of liver I have ever known. It was incredibly tender and a little bit spicy.

I think we were up sold on the fries but they were worth having.

The pita bread was just amazing. Soft and moist and so unlike most pita bread that I find in restaurants.

Needless to say much of a lunch came home with me as there was no way we could eat that much food.

After lunch we drove all over town in search of driveway salt and, oh so typically Canadian, there was none! All the stores had signs saying sold out.

**ElsieD** · February 20, 2019

Great post, @Anna N. So glad you and @Kerry Beal were able to get out. We have, on occasion, been stopped on the road as Canada Geese were nonchalantly crossing it. They wander across like they have all the time in the world.

rotuts · February 20, 2019

@Anna N

pleased you are back on the Crawl with the

LunchLadies i.e. the LL's

what is the Crumby ?

a Squeezy Frustation Thing-ey ?

pleased you enjoyed your Liver

less for the Rest of Us !

suprise.gif.ce5dff307d0c35923dd058505f134b59.gif

native Turkey here , on rural roads , i.e. not so rural me

do the same. they will attack your car if you are not patient

no issue moving them to your Oven

but I take it

not so tasty/

they did not visit me and MC this year

but the turks are around

no CG's in my area

but Id like those N. of the B. to keep it that way

rotuts · February 20, 2019

reviewing a bit :

so our Pals N of the B can't deal w the CG's

so they can send them S. to Us ?

these days I can understand it

maybe its a bit in your genes

Like Swans in GB ?

only for the Monarch

bet the pate might not be so good

or it would have a

" By Appointment ............ "

sticker on it.

Anna N · February 20, 2019

11 minutes ago, rotuts said:

what is the Crumby ?

It is a tiny crumb vacuum. I bought it as a bit of a joke. My cleaning lady is flying off to the Bahamas next week leaving behind me and all the snow ice and cold of a Canadian winter. She will be gone for a month. In protest I thought I would show her the replacement I had found for her. Unfortunately this one seems to be defective and despite two sets of new batteries will not turn on. Damn.

rotuts · February 20, 2019

@Anna N

well there you go

Ive never heard of a Crumb Vac

now I have

what are the collection of 4 "" Pads "" on the L ?

I like the new plate

hope to see it soon for your

Lunch

Anna N · February 20, 2019

19 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Anna N

well there you go

Ive never heard of a Crumb Vac

now I have

what are the collection of 4 "" Pads "" on the L ?

I like the new plate

hope to see it soon for your

Lunch

The four pads are small cutting mats. I do love the new plate and shall try to bring it in to some meal preparations soon. Even the vacuum covers seem to be working very well. I have one thoroughly attached to a tile on my coffee table and it doesn’t seem at all anxious to release its grip. I don’t need them. I have no idea when I’ll use them. But that’s the true meaning of retail therapy isn’t it? Buying something you really don’t need with no purpose in mind except sheer enjoyment of the novelty of it all.

Kim Shook · February 20, 2019

Lovely! I'm so glad your day was saved. Completely understand the tears. I'm so stressed out dealing with my mother's problems that the slightest little thing sends me off. Was the table at the restaurant actually carved and glass placed over it? That's what it looked like - gorgeous, if so. Also, Canadian Goodwills are VERY different from ones in the US. I can't imagine one here taking ANYTHING back. "Caveat Emptor" is their motto, I'm sure.

kayb · February 20, 2019

Re: Canada geese

In my location squarely atop the Mississippi Flyway, we get ginormous flocks of Canada geese stopping off at lakes and flooded fields en route one direction or t'other. In the last 20 years, we're seeing increasing numbers of snow geese (which my former boss, who was also one of the region's big farmers, used to refer to as "sky carp"). And in the last couple of years, I'm seeing what appears to be a mixed goose -- varied gray on its back and wings like a Canada, but almost solid white on its underside like a snow. You also see the flocks mixed together roosting in a field -- literally thousands of both breeds (it's still a thrilling site to see a whole field of 'em lift off at almost the same time).

Obviously the two breeds have become quite good friends.

Anna N · February 21, 2019

15 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Lovely! I'm so glad your day was saved. Completely understand the tears. I'm so stressed out dealing with my mother's problems that the slightest little thing sends me off. Was the table at the restaurant actually carved and glass placed over it? That's what it looked like - gorgeous, if so. Also, Canadian Goodwills are VERY different from ones in the US. I can't imagine one here taking ANYTHING back. "Caveat Emptor" is their motto, I'm sure.

The tables are quite beautiful although I couldn’t tell you for sure if they are carved. Another interesting feature of this restaurant is that instead of providing napkins there is a box of tissues on each table. Not as sturdy as napkins but in the way they felt a bit luxurious.

**Smithy** · February 21, 2019

8 hours ago, Anna N said:

The tables are quite beautiful although I couldn’t tell you for sure if they are carved. Another interesting feature of this restaurant is that instead of providing napkins there is a box of tissues on each table. Not as sturdy as napkins but in the way they felt a bit luxurious.

The box of tissues sounds very Egyptian to me. I'm glad you enjoyed the food and the outing - and the goose story is hilarious!

Anna N · February 22, 2019

On 2/20/2019 at 3:55 PM, Anna N said:

Unfortunately this one seems to be defective and despite two sets of new batteries will not turn on. Damn.

Son number two came over this evening put the batteries in the correct way and the thing works. Just felt I had to update everybody who must’ve been worrying about this.😂

Tri2Cook · February 22, 2019

On 2/20/2019 at 2:28 PM, Anna N said:

Kerry first ordered the Kishk but the server returned to say it was not available and so she changed her order to the Hawawashy. I had a taste and it was delicious.

Glad that worked out in the end... now I'll sneak off to google and get it to help me figure out what Kishk and Hawawashy are.

Kim Shook · February 22, 2019

3 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

Glad that worked out in the end... now I'll sneak off to google and get it to help me figure out what Kishk and Hawawashy are.

Me, too. Any luck with the Hawawashy? All I got were pictures of motorcycles. So Kerry didn't get the yogurt sauce, but got a motorcycle instead? Cool. 😁

Anna N · February 22, 2019

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

Me, too. Any luck with the Hawawashy? All I got were pictures of motorcycles. So Kerry didn't get the yogurt sauce, but got a motorcycle instead? Cool. 😁

From the menu which is linked in my post.

Tri2Cook · February 22, 2019

6 hours ago, Anna N said:

From the menu which is linked in my post.

Yep, that you'd linked to the menu made it's way through the dense fog in my head after I'd already posted.

7 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Me, too. Any luck with the Hawawashy? All I got were pictures of motorcycles. So Kerry didn't get the yogurt sauce, but got a motorcycle instead? Cool. 😁

I didn't make it as far as google. As I mentioned above, right after (of course) I posted it occurred to me that the restaurant name was posted as a link so I followed that instead.

**BetD** · February 22, 2019

13 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

Glad that worked out in the end... now I'll sneak off to google and get it to help me figure out what Kishk and Hawawashy are.

I found this when I was searching for the same...

Anna N · February 22, 2019

27 minutes ago, BetD said:

I found this when I was searching for the same...

Thanks. I do think the one at the restaurant was deep-fried rather than baked. You could actually hear things being plunged into the deep fryer and it occurred to me last night that there was no smell of oil in the restaurant. That is quite unusual when things are being deep fried. And I know for a fact that both Kerry and I will turn away from a restaurant if we can smell frying oil, especially if is in need of a change.

liuzhou · February 23, 2019

On 2/21/2019 at 8:59 PM, Anna N said:

Another interesting feature of this restaurant is that instead of providing napkins there is a box of tissues on each table.