Summer! You are here! I don’t believe in using the calendar to define summer’s beginning; rather, I use these two events: my first sunburn, followed by my first purchase of sunscreen. You’d think I’d have learned by now to reverse the two, but once again, I am pink, and now slathering on the 50 spf with reckless abandon. Lesson learned (until I do it again next year).
Yesterday started off with a plan that spiraled from genius to dumb in just a few seconds. I was spending the day with a group of food lovers from Seattle, and since I’d need to include at least one new place for this post and wasn’t meeting the group until 10am, I decided to show up at Aberdeen Centre ahead of time and grab a pre-dim sum breakfast in the food court. I got up early, published my post, made my way to Richmond, and discovered that Aberdeen is not yet open at 9:15am, as probably all malls are….? I don’t know malls very well, obviously.
Yesterday, after I’d finished working out, I was so, so hungry and specifically craving Shanghainese food.
The Problem: I was alone, a situation not conducive to the family-style servings of dishes in Shanghainese restaurants. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to make friends with three or four strangers on the street and invite them to dinner.
If you go looking for a good sunset, you’ll rarely find it. If you go looking for an HK-style café on River Road around 4:30pm, however, you could be treated to this!
Yesterday I learned several things:
I have a new baby cousin. Welcome to the world, Sadie Louise!
The Oval has a beautiful new café, complete with cookies I will be eating far too regularly.
My new cycling gloves work well in the rain. Very well indeed.
Finally, my hand-eye coordination is apparently very poor, and affects my ability to order food.
I was coughing when I wrote this. I’m probably coughing while you read this. And if you think you hear a seal barking aggressively from a rocky island in the ocean, it’s not a seal. It’s me. I can’t stop coughing.
I was lamenting about this to a friend yesterday, and she suggested I visit a Chinese herbalist. There’s a shop in Aberdeen Centre, so I headed there to find both medicine and lunch. At this point, I’m up for trying anything.
I’d like to say I discovered a new gem, but I didn’t. Some readers did.
I’ve been to Aberdeen quite a few times now, but I usually scurry up to the food court, into Daiso to buy yet another item for my kitchen, or to one of the various restaurants skirting the outer walls. I hadn’t given much thought to the grocery store located in one of its far corners, tucked away from the mall’s vibrant, fountain-filled centre.
Yesterday I ate my 83rd meal, and did so in front of an OMNI camera. I’ve done this a couple of times now, and finally turned my camera on them. During the experience, I started thinking about just how much I’ve learned over the past 3 months. For instance:
I finally made it to Bubble Queen! A couple of weeks ago I tried to find it, ended up wandering aimlessly around Pacific Plaza, and eventually wound up in the mall’s food court instead. This time I was determined, and STILL ended up lost for awhile! Then I remembered that someone had told me it’s down McKim Way, NOT Odlin (as the map states, thanks for nothing, Google) and finally I had success. Both my friend and I ordered a drink, and of course we got a bubble waffle.
Lindsay Anderson has worked as a film set caterer, served as the head cook for up to 120 tree planters, and recently completed a Master's in Food Culture and Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy.
