Deep Freeze 2013

Before the sixth annual Deep Freeze Festival kicked off, Christy Morin, Artistic Director, told the Edmonton Journal, “It’s really turning into a great Edmonton community festival.” I couldn’t agree more, as one would be hard pressed to find a better example of a free, family-friendly winter event that gives Edmontonians a great reason to venture outside and interact with our climate, in a way that doesn’t break the bank (here’s looking at you, Metropolis).

The always popular horse and carriage

Mack and I took the bus over to the Alberta Avenue community yesterday afternoon to take part in the festivities. The weather was cooperating, with temperatures falling in between last year’s equivalent of a spring thaw, and 2011’s shockingly cold conditions.

Bannock making

Although there was a lot to see and do, there were still a lot of things in progress at that time. For example, some of the thaw huts, constructed to try and capture the sun’s warmth, were still being put together.

Thaw hut under construction

Mack enjoys the warmth of one of the completed huts

The chainsaws and chisels were also out in full force over in the ice sculpting compound, the artists still in the midst of creating their pieces of work. Some of the shapes relating to this year’s “Wild West” theme were starting to come through – a cactus here, a horse there.

Carving in progress

It was a theme that was carried through many of the other exhibits, from the horse and carriage snow sculpture to the gold mine ice slide, to the amazing pistol-shaped ice bar.

Beautiful snow sculpture

Ice bar

In the outdoor saloon

I think Deep Freeze excels in offering active programming. Kids and adults alike were having a blast trying to beat log sawing times, trying their hand at curling, or skating on the ice surface.

Log sawing

Olde tyme curling

Mack and I were most looking forward to watching the deep freezer races, where old freezers strapped with skis were pushed across a snowy track. We’ve missed this event over the past few years, but were glad to finally catch it – it looked like so much fun!

See those freezers go!

Congrats to the organizers for a great event – Deep Freeze is one festival that just seems like it gets better and better every year!

2012 Sturgeon Valley Food & Wine Festival

The newest food and wine festival on the scene is the Sturgeon Valley Food & Wine Festival, held this past Saturday for the very first time. Given the rising number of these types of events, it was very important that the Sturgeon Valley edition differentiate itself somehow. At first glance, it definitely edges out the others in terms of venue. The Enjoy Centre, with its glass ceiling and gorgeous sconces, outdoes both the Shaw and Expo Centre.

Sturgeon Valley Food & Wine Festival

Mack and I were invited to attend for free, and were also lucky enough to receive $20 in sampling tickets. That said, I am not sold on this model (which is the same as the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival), which charges admission cost and additional dollars for sampling tickets. As a patron, I’d much rather pay a steeper ticket price for an all-inclusive event.

For our admission period of 4-6:30pm, we found the crowds a bit sparse, but this was to our advantage – no lines, ample seating, and we felt we had more time and space to converse with the reps. I know at the Rocky Mountain Festival in the past, I have felt a bit claustrophobic at times, and somewhat rushed at certain tables with others jockeying in for samples.

Enjoy Centre (can you spot Phil and Robyn?)

There were about two dozen liquor and food vendors, but only three tables sampling wine. This was likely due to the fact that the festival ran over the same weekend as Co-Op’s Grape Escape, which featured sixty wine and spirits producers.

Because wine was not as prominent, it definitely drew our attention to the range of beers and spirits highlighted. Notably, this was our first encounter with Ribstone Creek Brewery, which, although no longer Alberta’s newest beer (that distinction probably belongs to Hog’s Head now), we were happy to learn about. It seems the founder wanted to build some sort of business in his hometown of Edgerton, Alberta, and settled on a brewery. It has already won some awards (silver for best domestic lager at the Calgary Beer Fest), and based on our taste, did find it to be quite a light beer (even for me, as a non-beer drinker).

Ribstone Creek Brewery

We were also introduced to Solstice Botanical Vodka, a new vodka distilled by Yukon Brewery, which makes it the first craft brewery in Canada which is now also a craft distiller. The company wanted to make a unique spirit that combined herbs and berries available in the area, and with the guise of a local herbologist, steeped raspberries, rosehip and sage with the vodka to create the final product. It was noticeably smoother than more mainstream vodkas, though still probably a bit too harsh for me to sip straight up.

Solstice Botanical Vodka

The first of the two wine vendors we patronized featured BC wine blends from Backyard Vineyard under the name Nosey Neighbour. Both the red and white we tried were pretty easy drinking wines.

Nosey Neighbour

On the other side of the spectrum was Chinese Happy Wine. A blend of white wine and Osmanthus flower, the vendor described it as a dessert wine. While it was sweet, the lingering aftertaste was not a memorable one (I also had to wonder at the price point – I’ve never seen a dessert wine priced at $8.70 a bottle).

Chinese Happy Wine

Of course, we were also able to try some of the food offerings. Most of the restaurants represented are located in St. Albert, great for us given we don’t often frequent eateries in that area. First up was a teaser of mac and cheese and baked beans from La Crema Cafe and Smokehouse. Mack commented on the Velveeta-like consistency of the sauce, but we both really enjoyed the smoky-sweet beans with bits of bacon stirred in.

Mac and beans from La Crema Cafe and Smokehouse

Darcy’s Meat Market enticed us with their display, and we chose to try their applewood smoked pulled pork slider and handmade beef jerky. Neither was the most elegant to consume at an event like this, though we did our best. The slider could have used more sauce to bind and flavour the meat, while I prefer my jerky a little more dehydrated.

Honey garlic jerky and pulled pork slider from Darcy’s Meat Market

The star of the food samples was from The River House (though I don’t have a usable photo, unfortunately). Their braised short rib was hot, tender and delicious.

As a whole, we had a great experience. The Sturgeon Valley Food & Wine Festival has ample room to expand, both in the areas of food and drink. That said, hopefully they can manage their growth and maintain their great hospitality and the intimate nature of the event. Thanks again to the organizers for the invitation!

LitFest 2012: Roaring Twenties

After returning from a weeklong jaunt to BC late Tuesday night, there were certainly more productive things we could have done on Wednesday, such as grocery shopping. But with the promise of a whisky tasting and burlesque, we threw practicality to the wind and headed to Roast Coffehouse after work yesterday.

LitFest, Canada’s only non-fiction festival, were throwing a Roaring Twenties party to kick off this year’s festival. Mack and I were fortunate to receive guest invitations, and were so glad we were able to make it.

Roaring Twenties hosts Jennifer Cockrall-King and Tracy Hyatt in their Twenties finery

Roast accommodated the modest crowd well, its brick and Edison-bulb glow well-suited to the theme of the night. The thoughtful program also encouraged mingling and movement through the space, with well-timed breaks between the readings and performances.

Though the event advertised a number of readings, the evening was so much more than that. Ottawa-based sommelier and independent whisky expert Davin de Kergommeaux kicked things off with an introduction to Canadian whiskies by reading an excerpt from his book, Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert. He noted that we are experiencing a “renaissance for Canadian whiskies”, and encouraged the crowd to partake in one (or several) of the eight whiskies being poured at the event. We also learned that adding ice and even water (gasp!) to whiskies is acceptable, depending on your palate.

Mack enjoys his whisky sour

While I have to say I much preferred the whisky sour cocktail poured for us to start, it was interesting to compare and contrast several whiskies in a short period of time. Our favourite turned out to be Gibson’s Finest 100th Grey Cup anniversary edition. Made from their 12 year old whisky, a dash of maple syrup was added for a link to Canadiana. Smooth and subtly sweet, it was the easiest drinking of the whiskies we tried straight up.

Gibson’s Finest line-up

Edmonton-based author Curtis Gillespie added his own sense of history with a reading from his current book, Almost There: the Family Vacation, Then and Now. He described it as part-memoir, recounting his own remarkable trips growing up, leading to perhaps the most memorable moment of the night – an anecdote involving a squirmy four year old, a car seat, and a severed finger.

Almost There

After each of the brief readings, as LitFest Chair Jennifer Cockrall-King put it, they offered a “sprinkling of sin”. That is, performances from the ladies of Capital City Burlesque.

Some of the ladies of Capital City Burlesque

Congratulations to the organizers for a fantastic opening event! But this was just the beginning – there are over 30 different events happening over the next ten days. I know I’m looking forward to Food Matters on October 27, 2012 that will be highlighting examples of local food production. Thanks again to LitFest for the invitation!

Recap: What the Truck?! @ Churchill Square

September 8, 2012 saw the biggest What the Truck?! take place in Churchill Square. Twelve trucks congregated downtown for our final hurrah for the 2012 season.

WTT @ Churchill Square

As with our penultimate event on Victoria Promenade, we again lucked out with the weather. And though it started out unbearably hot, the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings in the early evening soon made the conditions absolutely ideal for an outdoor food festival.

Enjoying summer

There were other benefits to setting up on Churchill Square, which made it immediately obvious why it is Edmonton’s de facto events space – the infrastructure, which includes built-in power hook-ups, on-site washrooms and a multitude of seating options is efficient, and cost-effective. It also does, in a way, spoil us for any other location in the city, but given the pop-up nature of the event, we hope you’re willing to bear with us in the future!

Lots of seating

Loved that newly-married Nadine and Glyn stopped by!

That said, we also recognized that in order to even attempt an event at Churchill Square, we needed to have our biggest turnout yet to not only animate the area but also enough people to patronize the trucks. Thankfully, we were thrilled for the support we received that night. One of the pieces of feedback we did receive was that people appreciated the expanse of the location – lines had enough room to breathe, and those browsing through menus could do so fairly easily. We do have to thank Northlands for stepping up and lending us stanchions for this event – they did wonders for directing and managing lines!

Yay, stanchions!

The trucks all deserve a standing ovation for what they did that night – all twelve absolutely rocked it, serving the huge crowds tirelessly and with grace to spare. We are very lucky to have such a great food truck community in Edmonton that seems to be getting bigger by the season! Among our WTT newcomers this time around were Little Village, Yellowbird Cafe and Bully.

Little Village

Nachos from Yellowbird Cafe

Bully is the shiniest new truck on the scene, the city’s first American-style truck. I tried their grilled salmon served on salad – the fish was deliciously flaky, with a nicely seared crust. The portion was so big that I didn’t have room for any other savoury dishes that night!

Bully

Buttermilk and basil marinated salmon from Bully

This time around, we also had volunteers helping us out with set-up and clean-up. Especially when things got going, it was great to have extra pairs of hands changing garbage cans so we could ensure the Square stayed spic and span. Thanks again to Brittney, Fel, Kathy, Kim, Patrick, Su and Thom for all of your help!

Some of our great volunteers – Kim, Thom and Patrick

It was great to work DJs Raebot and wijit, who really helped set the tone for the evening. No doubt Churchill is a large space, but their tunes helped bring it all together.

DJs Raebot and wijit

Thanks to everyone who came out to What the Truck?! in 2012, and to those who voted us Edmonton’s number one pop-up event in Vue Weekly’s Best of Edmonton poll. We really appreciate the support!

Churchill Square

And though we might be done for the year, that doesn’t mean all of the trucks are! Bully, Drift and Little Village among others will be serving into October. Keep the truck love going!

Check out the full photoset here.

City Market Report: Week 18 (plus Cornfest!)

We were blessed with another beautiful market day on Saturday, which always feels fortunate the later in the year that we get. Shoppers were our enjoying the sunshine at the City Market, though I wasn’t one of them myself!

Beautiful day

I was volunteering for Downtown Edmonton Community League’s Cornfest (more on that later), so Mack did the shopping and the picture snapping this week.

Beets at Sundog Organic

Kale at Sundog Organic

Assorted squash at Riverbend Gardens

Peach display at Steve & Dan’s

Lovely fruit basket from Steve & Dan’s

I did stop by the Fork and Spoon Brigade about halfway through my shift, to satiate myself with one of their hearty breakfast in a bowls.

Eggs, potatoes, bacon and cheese – how can one go wrong with that combination?

Over at Beaver Hills House Park on 105 Street and Jasper Avenue, my community league had organized our annual harvest tradition of Cornfest. Although this event has preceded the city-wide Community League Day, in the last few years, we now plan for it to coincide with that date.

We love #yegdt!

Sobeys on 104 Street had generously donated the corn, which we cooked and handed out for free. I didn’t think to count the boxes before, but needless to say, we shucked A LOT of corn.

Shucking corn

For whatever reason, it wasn’t as busy as last year, when we ran out of corn about an hour earlier than expected. But those who did come out seemed to enjoy themselves all the same!

Steaming hot corn

Enjoying corn

There were also children’s activities, with corn husk doll-making lessons, a Downtown in Bloom awards ceremony, and opportunities for people to pick up their community league membership for 2013. But if you missed us, DECL will be at the City Market again on September 22, 2012 with a membership sales table.

Laurissa shows off her corn husk doll

MLA Laurie Blakeman hands out Downtown in Bloom awards

Chris mans the membership table

Hope you enjoyed your community league activities as well!

September 8, 2012 What the Truck?! @ Churchill Square

Churchill Square is a beguiling landmark in Edmonton. I think most people would argue that we need a large, open, centrally accessible space in our city, a blank slate that could be transformed into any number of things. It would be hard to argue against the opinion that part of the reason why we have become known as festival city is because of Churchill Square – from mid-June until mid-August, those that wander by will almost surely find some sort of entertainment to capture their attention.

The Works in Churchill Square

That said, for most of the year, Churchill Square still lies frustratingly vacant. City Council has tried to solve this problem, by providing funding to the Edmonton Arts Council to program the Square on a year-round basis. But the difficulty isn’t just about making something – anything – happen, but the stark reality that Churchill is an indomitably large area. And for most festivals without massive installations, staging, or the magnitude to draw hundreds of patrons, it really is a challenging space to animate and encourage a vibrancy that befits Edmonton’s town square.

Churchill Square

When Mack and I first approached the City last spring with our idea for a food truck festival, the events planners immediately directed us to Churchill Square. In a way, it made sense – the level, concrete pad was perfect for vehicles, and the concrete staircase on the west side was essentially built-in seating. It’s one of the most transit accessible locations in the city, visible from the street and located in a dense neighbourhood.

But that June, with only seven participating trucks, it just didn’t fit the scope of What the Truck?! at the time. Churchill Square seemed a little too obvious for a venue. Besides, we really loved the pop-up, roving idea of a festival based around mobile vendors, taking advantage of underutilized spaces in Edmonton and demonstrating the possibilities of thinking outside the box.

Our first WTT was located in one of Edmonton’s gems, Beaver Hills House Park

Fast forward fourteen months, and in many ways, we have come a long way – food trucks are on their way to becoming mainstream in Edmonton. The ten trucks that participated in What the Truck?! at Victoria Promenade in August were absolutely mobbed. Then a week later, Food Network’s popular Eat St. came calling, really highlighting that our scene features some trucks that can stand proudly amongst some of North America’s best street eats.

Drift filming Eat Street!
Drift on filming day

So when Mack and I were scouting locations for our final What the Truck?! this season, Churchill Square was at the top of our list. Building on our momentum from Old Strathcona, 104 Street and Victoria Promenade, we think Edmonton’s food trucks are finally ready to take on the Square.

What: What the Truck?!, Edmonton’s food truck extravaganza
When: Saturday, September 8, 2012
Where: Sir Winston Churchill Square
Time: 5-9pm

Not only will this be our biggest event ever, with a total of twelve trucks, but it will also involve three vendors new to What the Truck?!: Little Village, Yellowbird Cafe and Bully.

Little Village is one of Edmonton’s newest food trucks

The menu is now up – just make sure you’re not hungry when you peruse it! Hope to see you down at Churchill Square on Saturday!

Until Next Year: The Village of the Fringed

The 31st annual Edmonton International Fringe Festival came to a close on Sunday, and it smashed records all the way through. After years of stalled ticket sales, something seems to have changed in the market for ticketed shows: 104,142 tickets were sold in 2011 and 112, 006 in 2012. Great weather is only one factor, so I’d be interested to know how the organizers come to understand these breakthroughs. But whatever the explanation, congrats to the Fringe for this amazing feat!

Fringe alley

We headed back to the grounds on the weekend, and thankfully, the food was better on this occasion. The green onion cakes aren’t an annual tradition for us like they are for some other regulars, but we enjoyed them as a quick snack while waiting in line.

Green onion cakes

We also had a chance to dine at the Little Village Food Truck, tucked behind the beer garden by the tracks. Hopefully, if the Fringe reconfigures the food vendors next year, the trucks can be a little more prominent along the main strip!

Little Village Food Truck

Anyway, I really enjoyed the roasted lamb over potatoes – tasty, and remarkably easy to eat, and Mack liked his drunken pork sandwich.

Roasted lamb over potatoes

Drunken pork sandwich

This was the first year in quite some time that Mack and I missed out on getting a Frequent Fringer pass, but it probably worked out for the better because of time constraints. We did end up making it out to eight shows, however. Three stood out for us the most:

Medicine: TJ Dawe’s most personal play I have ever seen focused on his inner demons, and the journey he undertook to understand and exorcise them. As usual, Dawe wowed the crowd with his wit, rhythmic storytelling and the depth of his revelation. I was glad to see that it was held over!
The Popular Principles of Hypnosis: written and performed by two recent MacEwan Theatre grads, it may not have been the most polished show or even all that plausible, but it was one of the most earnestly performed, and utterly charming. I look forward to seeing Mathew Bittroff and Jayce Mckenzie at future Fringes!
Harold of Galactus: I wasn’t certain that the long and narrow BYOV at the Varscona would work, but the energy of Mark Meer and Chris Craddock carried through the room. It was amazing to see the improv masters build a complete superhero origin story inspired by an audience’s suggestion.

Of the eight shows we took in, we only received programs for three of the shows. Did others find that their productions were paperless as well? Perhaps that was a trend this year, or just a coincidence for us?

Also on the rise this year was the #yegfringe hash tag. It’ll be interesting to see if the Fringe embraces this in the future – I’d love to see a Twitter fall at the Arts Barns! I know the festival shies away from “sanctioning” reviews, but there is precedence – I remember the pre-renovated Arts Barns housing internet cafes (before smart phones became ubiquitous) encouraging patrons to post their reviews on online forums.

Arts Barns

In all, it was a great Fringe! See you all next year!

Recap: Truck Stop – Pulled Pork Throwdown!

On August 15, 2012, What the Truck?! held its ever Truck Stop: Throwdown Edition. We didn’t know what the turnout would be like, given it was scheduled on a Wednesday in a packed summer calendar. But we were fortunate to have glorious weather, great coverage in anticipation of the event, and partnership with a wonderful charity.

Behind the Archives

As mentioned in a previous post, the competition aspect of this Truck Stop had been born from the reality that certain items commonly appeared on the menus of trucks. We were thrilled when The Act, Nomad and Smokehouse BBQ embraced our idea, and agreed to put their pulled pork pride on the line for a good cause.

Vote for your favourite!

Given we were holding the event at the Edmonton Public Schools Archives, the Edmonton Public Schools Foundation was a natural fit. But more than that, their support for early learning initiatives and full-day kindergarten, vital to getting “bean sprouts” (as Director Sandra Woitas calls them) off on the right track, is without a doubt a worthy charity.

Dick Mather Park, adjacent to the Archives

Diners were free to try as few or as many sliders as they wanted for $4 a pop, while the opportunity to vote for their favourite required a $2 donation to the Foundation.

The liens grew fast and furiously, but the mood was light, and the crowds seemed to be enjoying the sunshine. We even had some food truck veterans drop by, happy to be on the other side of the window for a change!

Kara and Nevin of Drift

In the end, The Act took home the prize, earning the most votes from discerning diners.

The Act’s winning slider

But no question, with a total of $1800 raised (from a combination of donations from voters and the trucks), the real winners of the evening are the school children who will be supported by the Foundation’s work. A big thanks to the Edmonton Public Schools Archive for permitting us the use of their parking lot, the three trucks who were a part of our inaugural Throwdown Edition, and the team at Edmonton Public Schools for being a great partner.

And if you missed this Truck Stop, not to worry – you can look forward to our final What the Truck?! of the season next week. On September 8, 2012, a dozen trucks will be colonizing Churchill Square from 5-9pm. More details here.

First Impressions of The Village of the Fringed

Mack and I spent our Sunday at the Fringe. It was another scorcher, which meant many roving artists lucky enough to score an air-conditioned venue made sure to mention it in their elevator pitches.

Mack does his best village child impression

We took in three shows (the best of the bunch was Seven Ways to Die: A Love Story), but had plenty of time in between to explore the site to uncover what was new for this festival this year.

A packed McIntyre Park

Fringe Daily Discount Booth

I really like the idea of a discounted ticket booth – where tickets to a number of performances, posted daily, are offered at a discounted rate. Over the past few years, the Fringe has been targeting those who have never before attended a ticketed play. Between the “First time Fringer” sessions and now, the opportunity to pick up tickets for half price (given that cost might be a deterrent for some), I think the organizers are doing a wonderful job. I’ll be curious to see what the uptake on this booth is.

Daily Discount Booth (located near the train tracks)

New ETS policy

Something I am not a fan of, however, is the change to the ETS policy with regards to the festival. In the past, flashing one’s Fringe program was enough to grant two people a ride home after 6pm. Similarly, those with a “Fringe benefits” sticker (obtained with a donation at the gates) were granted the same privilege. We’re assuming that perhaps this service was abused, because the festival has now drastically changed the system. This year, in lieu of the program or sticker, after 4pm, patrons are required to exchange a printed voucher from the program at one of three on-site Information Services booths for one ticket.

Transit vouchers

For Mack and I (and I would imagine the majority of those who share programs between them), it means one of us still has to pay for transit fare. Shouldn’t we be encouraging alternative forms of transportation, not deterring their use? In a way, this also disadvantages BYOVs (which continue to flourish outside of the Old Strathcona neighbourhood), as patrons attending “off-site” shows are not able to exchange their voucher. The City may be promoting cycling to the Fringe this year, with sparkly new bike racks that take up parking real estate, but it does seem to be one step forward, two steps back.

New bicycle racks right on Whyte

Food Trucks

Food trucks really are taking over the city, given they are now infringing on our long-standing festivals! Little Village Food Truck is on-site for those looking to satisfy their mobile cuisine craving, as well as Bo Thai, who participated in our Truck Stop last year.

That said, I was disappointed with a pad thai ($7) I ordered on Sunday. After a long wait and curt service, I found the dish sorely lacking in tofu and egg.

Pad Thai from Bo Thai

Mack fared better with his non-food truck fare from Zaika, back again this year. He ordered a butter chicken combo ($10), and though slightly pricier than my pick, it was well worth it, given the generous amount of tender chicken and the crispy samosa.

Butter chicken from Zaika

As a whole, the food offerings seem to be down in number when compared with last year, but maybe that’s just our perception. Of course, there’s always the option of a meal at a neighbouring eatery, as we indulged in after our last Fringe show that evening.

Poutine from The Next Act (it was nice to be in the restaurant for a change, instead of in front of the truck!)

We’ll be back at the main grounds on Friday (I’m looking forward to seeing TJ Dawe’s Medicine, while Mack has his sights set on Magnetmonton), but we did get another hit of Fringe tonight at #YEGprov (playing at BYOV 13). It was a first: Mack’s first on-stage appearance at a Fringe performance!

Mack’s cameo in the “Actor’s Nightmare” game

It was a fun show, and I especially enjoyed the exercise when the actors had to pick up on one another’s stories. Look for Brittney and Adam to guest star on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Happy Fringing!

Hot in Hawrelak: Heritage Days 2012

Summers in Edmonton are ripe with tradition, and for us, the Heritage Days are a seasonal fixture. The throngs of people revelling in the whirlwind of diversity is intoxicating as much as the sights and sounds of the festival itself. And really, it is the best place in the city to sample foods of over eighty cultures all in one place – a huge al fresco food crawl, if you will.

Nicaraguan dancers

Last year, Mack and I made it a mission to only sample dishes we had never tried before. It worked reasonably well to open our palates up to new tastes, but this year, we were a bit more lax, indulging in old favourites alongside novel ones. Thom joined us at the festival this year, just as open to our explorations!

Mack’s favourite perogies from Ukraine

But boy, was it ever hot on that Monday – probably the warmest day we had ever been down at Hawrelak. It was probably too hot to really enjoy ourselves, as we seized whatever opportunity we had to duck into the shade. As a result, many of our food tickets were used in the vain attempt to try to cool our body temperature – cold drinks, watermelon slices, frozen bananas. Perhaps not the best use of our tickets taste-wise, but I can tell you – I don’t think a mango slush has ever tasted better.

Frozen bananas from Peru

Food-wise, my favourite item that we tasted that day was courtesy of the Taiwan pavilion. A few months ago, Sunny Yang, the Public Relations Director for the Edmonton Taiwanese Association, contacted me and asked if I wanted a complimentary tour of their food offerings at Heritage Days this year. I happily accepted, and we met up with him that day.

Taiwan pavilion

Sunny introduced us to Joanne Liu, the volunteer in charge of their most unique savoury offering, what they called a Taiwan hamburger.

Joanne presents a Taiwan hamburger

A flat steamed bun was lined with barbecue pork, lettuce, onion, radish, carrots and parsley. It was not only a healthy alternative to much of the deep fried fare available, but a tasty one at that. Joanne said it was a dish she would make her kids to snack on, filled with whatever she might have on hand. It’s the type of sandwich that New York’s BaoHaus and San Francisco’s Chairman Bao have helped make popular – maybe it’s time an Edmonton restaurant or truck take it on full time?

Taiwan hamburger

We also got to try the mashu rice ball dessert, made from rice flour. One encased red bean paste, rolled in coconut, while the other featured a centre of green bean paste with black sesame seeds on the outside. Mrs. Chen was the veteran volunteer in charge of making these fresh throughout the festival. Mack and Thom commented on how filling they were; the mashu are deceivingly small, but dense, and not too sweet.

Taiwan mashu

Even though these items have been on their menu for several years, I’m embarrassed to admit that without this invitation, I probably would have gone even longer without trying them myself. Thanks again to Sunny and the hospitality of the Taiwan pavilion volunteers! I will be back next year.

We continued our food tour in Nepal, trying their Kukhurako Masu chicken curry. It was far from being boneless (as advertised in the menu), but was served in the most delectable sauce. Unlike some curries, the heat was palatable, but more prominent was the flavour from long-simmered onions, garlic and other spices.

Kukhurako Masu chicken curry

Mack wasn’t able to indulge in Congo’s curious spinach and peanut butter dish, but Thom and I gave it a go. The peanut butter was too faint for it to be memorable, but we were glad to have finally sampled it.

Spinach and peanut butter

Having gone through the menu the day before, Mack singled out Venezuela’s Tequenos as a must try. Why? The ambiguous description: “deep-fried wheat cheese fingers served with pink sauce.” It turned out the translation probably needed some work, as they were essentially just battered cheese sticks. We found the cheese to be on the sour side; it really wasn’t for us.

Tequenos

Our day ended not with a plate, but with a game. Throughout the afternoon, my sister had been texting me updates of the Canada/US women’s soccer game. When she told me it was tied and going into extra time, I dragged Thom and Mack to the only TV on-site at the Telus booth to watch the rest of the game. Although the outcome wasn’t what we wanted, it was neat to be able to watch it alongside other patriotic fans.

Go Canada Go!

Kudos to the Heritage Days organizers for another great year!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: