During isolation, I tried my best to use my time being quarantined wisely by trying to learn as much as I can. One of my frustrations is not learning Photoshop when I was younger and I’ve always been putting it off. So I took some classes at Udemy and got the basics down and decided to create some posters for the Banh Mi shop I work at.
Being a fan of basketball and growing up in the 90s, there’s nothing better than watching Netflix’s The Last Dance, which concluded last Sunday. Inspired by my love for this and graphic design, I decided to create some posters for Banh Mi T.O. which incorporates elements from both. Drop a line and let me know what you think. Also, follow us on Instagram @Banh_Mi_TO
Everybody knows Toronto is an expensive place to live in. I saw a lot of numbers on the internet and was very anxious before making the move to Canada because of it. People were telling me that an apartment is around 1700CAD on average and I was scared because it was a bit out of my comfort zone.
So I made an actual monthly calculation of living expenses in Toronto and here are some tips on how to cut back while still being able to have some on the side.
Living: This was the toughest part of our move. When we first arrived in Toronto, we rented an Airbnb for 1 week and luckily, we were able to find a home within our first 3 days. Bringing a pet with us, people have been telling us it would be more difficult to look for a place because some places are not pet-friendly. Surprisingly, it was very seldom that we encountered places that weren’t. My suggestion is looking at KijijiandCraigslist while you still haven’t gotten to Canada. This helps a lot. Also, check out some of the property management websites like Metcap and Akelius.
Groceries: Groceries in Toronto are awesome because they’re clean, have almost everything and have great prices. My suggestion is download the Flipp app. This app collects all the flyers and coupons and allows you to look for items and stores that are having deals on these items. My go-to supermarkets are No Frills, Fresh Co and the groceries in Chinatown. They have fresh vegetables, fruits and meat.
Diningand eating out: Toronto is a diverse city that has plenty of options. If you want to try different types of food on a budget, I suggest using sites like Groupon to get the best deals. Also, for take-out, some restaurants offer great deals during specific times. Apps like RitualFoodora and SkipTheDishes sometimes have great deals up to 50% off. A lot of restaurants Downtown also offer great deals on their lunch menus.
Transportation: Get a Presto pass. This is a reloadable card that let’s you take any number of trips, in any direction, for two hours after you tap your card to pay a fare. After the two hours are up, you will be charged another fare the next time you tap. One trip is 3.25CAD. If you’re using it everyday, better get a monthly unlimited pass that costs 155CAD. Ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft also randomly give you 25% sometimes that you can use for a number of rides.
Clothing: Winter clothes can be expensive but is a necessary expense given Toronto’s harsh winters. My favorite places to shop for winter stuff is Uniqlo. Their down goose jackets will set you back around 250CAD and it’s totally worth it. Also, you might want to invest in their Heattech™, which comes in warm™, extra warm™ and ultra warm™. SVP Sports is also another place that has great deals on clothes and footwear all the time.
Appliances and Furniture: Try Kijiji and Facebook groups to score some great deals on appliances. Ikea also sells furniture at a good price.
Job Hunting: This is probably the most important part. Before moving to Canada, try to get a Canadian number using burner apps. This will allow you to apply for jobs before moving and allow potential employers to contact you. Create an account on Indeed.ca because this is where a lot of potential employers look for candidates. Download Jobspotter app. It is an app that lets you take photos of the help wanted sign you see on store fronts and in exchange, you get Amazon cash.
Entertainment and Learning: One thing I loved instantly about Toronto is the staggering amount of free things you can do in the city. The Toronto Public Library has a ton of workshops for learning like Adobe Photoshop to Gardening. The parks also have free movie nights during the summer where you can watch films under the stars.
I hope this guide helps new immigrants to adjust faster and adapt to life in the city. It truly is a wonderful, multicultural place that is brimming with opportunities.
If you have a few more questions or reactions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will try my best to give you an answer..
As you all know, Toronto is famously cold 8 months of the year. That’s why Torontonians appreciate summer more. During the summer, you can see everybody soaking up the sun on the patios, drinking, hanging out with friends and enjoying the long summer days.
Summers in Toronto are filled with a ton of events and things to do.
Here are a list of things to do. If you feel I missed out, don’t hesitate to drop a comment below.
Drop by Toronto Island. – The only way to get to the island is by taking a ferry or a water taxi. I recommend the ferry just cause it’s cheaper. The Jack Layton Ferry Terminal is located between Bay Street and Yonge Street on Queens Quay. Ferry tickets can be purchased on the city side at the terminal or bought online. Head to https://www.torontoisland.com/ferry.php for more info.
Catch a free movie in the park. – Summer nights are nice to enjoy at any of our wonderful parks watching a classic movie. Check your local listings for available times and schedules.
See the stars in the TIFF. – The Toronto International Film Festival is one, if not, the most widely recognized film festivals in the world. Here, you will be able to see both high budget films and independently-produced movies. Some of the world’s most famous celebrities come to TIFF too to premiere their movies. Be sure to line up for tickets early because they sell out fast.
Caribana – Caribana is one of Toronto’s premiere events during the summer. People dress up in all kinds of feathers, stones and sequins and join the parade that starts out at the Exhibition Place.
Music Festivals – Veld, OVO Fest and a whole lot more. These ones are the ones I’m most looking forward to.
at the Matty Matheson fest last September
Wu-Tang is for the children
4. CNE – The Canadian National Exhibition, also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during the final 18 days leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, the first Monday in September. It is filled with lots of carnival rides, food festivals, air shows and concerts.
5. Food Festivals – Food festivals abound in the city during this time. Every culture’s food has a festival in the city during the summer months. From Taste of Danforth to Taste of Manila, all the cultures are represented here.
Being stuck at home during this Covid19 crisis got me thinking about Anthony Bourdain’s Canadian episodes. I never really paid much attention to it before, and now with all this free time on my hands, I re-watched all the episodes that featured The Great White North. I decided to write a blog about these episodes and share some of my favourite quotes and quips he made which either made me laugh out loud or made me think and reflect on what it must be like to be able to witness these things. Apart from all these, I would also share my thoughts on each episode and my personal takeaway.
No Reservations S02E04 Quebec, First aired April 16, 2006
First episode on our list takes us to the French city of Montreal. Anthony Bourdain starts off this episode introducing Canada as a country, asking “Who are the Canadians? They talk like us, they look like us, they walk among us, they live next to us, but they’re different.” Screen cuts to a random guy in a bar saying “That’s a good thing.”
In this episode, Anthony Bourdain visits a duck farm with his chef friend, buys some chef supplies, eats poutine, visits a maple syrup themed bed and breakfast, joins an Inuit family in the north to be their guest, teaches a class in Montreal Culinary Institute and ends it on high note playing hockey.
On eating Foie Gras: “As soon as you taste it, any concerns you have about Daffy and Donald go right out the window.”
On visiting a duck processing plant: “Duck dissection at sector 7G.”
Sector 7G
On eating at Chef Martin Picard’s restaurant: “Notice the redness on my face, the glazed look the blissed out expression, only now slowly beginning to give way to fear. There’s more and more and it’s so good. My liver now beginning to resemble the principal ingredient in this post-apocalyptic onslaught of all things delicious.”
“I’d like to introduce you to that indigenous and magical dish for which every Quebecker holds a rightly special place in their heart. It’s called poutine. To experience this conceptually nightmarish yet thoroughly wonderful gastronomic train wreck, my friend takes me to La Banquise.”
“Food that’s thematically disgusting and isn’t pretty yet is utterly desirable and delicious. Its one of the classics of the genre.
“Meat, cheese and fries, all on one fork, I feel so dirty and yet so alive, it’s like forbidden love, a clandestine sex in a public place, you know you shouldn’t be doing it but it feels so damn good.
When he tried the Three Amigos poutine in La Banquise: “Yet the most disturbing of the bunch is the three amigos, which surprisingly combines four types of non-premium meat in one type of dish, are they really amigos?
On visiting Sucrerie de la Montagne, amaple themed bar/resto/factory/bed and breakfast by Pierre Faucher: “In my twisted imagination, I’m imagining a cult of maple worshiping followers, shallow graves, vats of Kool-aid, hidden meth labs and a film shooting lumber jack facials too somewhere in this very compound.”
When he visited an Inuit family in Northern Quebec, he took a chartered plane, where he quipped: “I love these safety lessons before take off. Try to avoid vomiting with terror during violent turbulence in the pitch freaking black hundreds of miles from anywhere where there’s nothing but ice flows and permafrost down there.
When he put on a fur coat: “I look like Robin Williams in a Speedo.”
I Look like Robin Williams in a Speedo.
When he partook in an Inuit family’s seal meal he described it as: “At the same time, both horror movie and heart-warming, a mix of blood spattered butchery and nourishment. He was offered the best part, the eyeball, which he described as “An act of pure generosity and kindness to an honored guess.”
“An act of pure generosity and kindness to an honored guess.”
When he was asked to be a guest lecturer at the Montreal Culinary Institute he asked the students what he said was a great conversation piece for chefs whenever they’re drinking: If you knew this was going to be your last meal on earth, what would it be?
I thought about this long and hard and came up with something very simple: A steaming bowl of Pho on the streets of Saigon, with a bottle of my favorite beer, San Miguel.
The final scene of this episode was him ignoring all good advice and good sense, played ice hockey. It was horrible, but it sure made for great TV. His take on hockey? “I think this is a sport better enjoyed at a bar rather than from the ice. (Last scene was him being dragged off the ice.) Funny enough, I’ve left a few bars this way too.”
I found this episode light, funny and full of witty jokes only Bourdain can deliver. The way he described poutine as something that shouldn’t be but is incredibly delicious is also something I found amusing. I also love how he connected with the Inuit family and how he went outside of his comfort zone and ate the seal eyeball. He showed respect and I always loved that about him. The last quote about leaving bars this way too was especially funny to me because I can relate to it.
No Reservations S04E03 Vancouver, First aired January 21, 2008
Season 4 takes us to the beautiful city of Vancouver, which Bourdain calls one of the coolest cities in the world. “Sure it rains all the time and there’s no shortage of vegetarians and they have a public beach filled with albino leaves. Yet it recently ranked the most livable city in the world. The list makers have their reasons and of course, I have mine. It’s a restaurant town, a foodie town, a chef town. A proverbial melting pot where the elements don’t melt too much and lose distinct flavors.”
In this episode, Bourdain tries Japadog, goes to EA Sport’s HQ, tries snowboarding and plays an extra in a movie.
On Japadog: “Seaweed sprinkles wasabi mayo and daikon radish. The reason for Japadog’s name is crudely obvious yet gratifying. If life has taught us anything, mystery meat in a tube form, mark of quality.
In Whistler, nothing really quotable. Tony did not enjoy his time there because he expected powdery slopes and all he got was rain.
When Anthony Bourdain visited EA Sport’s headquarters, he asked if he can be in the FIFA Street game. I like the concept of this game because the characters’ facial features are exaggerated, resulting in a more cartoon-y version of the players, mixing part Dr. Seuss, part Tim Burton.
Tony then made a remark on Vancouver being Hollywood North. He visited a film set, where he played a medical technician in Uwe Boll’s Far Cry, a German film based on a video game.
Also worth noting is Anthony Bourdain hung out with three prominent Vancouver chefs and ate at each of their restaurants. Rangoli by Chef Vikram Vij, Tojo’s Restaurant by Chef Hidekazu Tojo, which included a tuna toro steak with freshly ground wasabi that took a huge amount of self-restraint on my part not to lick the computer screen and Chef Pino Posteraro, who he visited and had a home-cooked meal.
The theme of this episode was what made a city cool? A few visits from this New Yorker certainly adds cool points to any location.
I’ll be honest, I found this episode a bit boring. I’m not a big fan of him going to fine dining restaurants because it doesn’t feel accessible. The acting scene was cheesy and self-indulgent. I loved the EA HQ visit though and the fact that they turned him into a video-game character.
The Layover S02E05 Toronto, First aired December 17, 2012
Gooderham Building in the background
Without a doubt, my favorite episode on this list, Toronto. I’ve watched this episode countless times and even visited some of the restaurants on this list. I look forward to visiting it all once this Covid-19 thing ends.
On the city’s Hog Town nickname and the slaughterhouses that used to be there: “If you listen you can almost hear them screaming through the ages. I’m hungry.”
Bourdain trying pea meal bacon sandwich at Carousel Bakery. “Accept no substitutes.”
The New Yorker visited Tosho Knife Arts (934 Bathurst St, Toronto), a specialty store that sells beautiful steel knives.
“I find this experience very frustrating because there’s a little voice in my head all the time saying ‘You must have all of these.’ “By tactical knives, you’re saying these are people knives.” “That’s a personality altering knife. Movies are made about knife like that. They talk to you: ‘Don’t leave me in the drawer, Tony. Use me. They’re talking about you Tony, they don’t respect you. Teach them a lesson, Tony.”
Tony spent the afternoon on a patio in Ronnie’s Local 069 (69 Nassau St, Toronto) at Kensington Market.
“Do not Instagram this place.”
Being a child of a record executive, Tony has a general passion for music, more specifically punk music. One of his stops in the city was Hits and Misses, which has since closed.
“For me, you’d get the album, which, chances are, you’ve been waiting for. You’d sit there and look at it, ‘What are they trying to tell me with this picture? There’s an entire story in the cover art'”
“Evening approaches, like the slow crawl of the wounded bonobo dragging himself across the jungle floor with a knife between his teeth and a bad attitude.”
At Black Hoof, Bourdain took shots of bourbon from a bone marrow. Sadly, The Black Hoof has closed down since this episode aired.
After eating at the Black Hoof and taking in this ungodly practice, Tony retorts, “I’m gonna wake up tomorrow all drunk and hungover and covered in fat. Again. I hate when that happens.”
“Extremely anti-social and against all standards of decency so I guess we should probably do it.”
Tony goes on to drink at Cold Tea in Kensington Market (60 Kensington Ave, Toronto) and eat poutine with Toronto local punk band Fucked Up at Poutini’s on Queen West (1112 Queen St W, Toronto). Poutine, he says, “Oohh that’s good. Morally wrong, but good.”
He then got asked which was better, Montreal or Toronto? “I’m not getting involved in that.” says Bourdain without hesitation. I thought this was hilarious.
Following day, after a night of heavy drinking:
“The hangover scene. So, here we go, let’s play out this dreary sham of a scenario one more time, just in case we haven’t beaten it to death for like eight years.” “Oooh, I’m so hungover. What will I do to mitigate the results of my hilarious chronic alcoholism?”
He had his hangover meal in Parkdale, at a shawarma joint called Bacchus Rotti, which like a lot of things on this episode, has already permanently closed down.
Show ends with Bourdain saying. “Hogtown. Hogtown, eh? Fuck your town, and my town, and Funkytown and Flavortown for that matter, bitches. I want to go to Hogtown.”
I’m a little biased but this is probably my favorite episode just because it’s set in Toronto. I tried Carousel and I wasn’t a fan of pea meal bacon in general. I find it dry and boring to eat. I still love my regular bacon. I find the Tosho Knife Arts fascinating. One of the books Tony’s written is Get Jiro, which is a graphic novel. It is sold in Tosho KNife Arts as well. Taking shots from a bone marrow appealed to me because it looked dirty and decadent. I still go back to this episode from time to time. The quotes are still unbelievably funny no matter how many times I’ve heard them.
The Layover S01E06 Montreal, First aired December 26, 2011
“This is a great country because of this city. Without Montreal, Canada would be hopeless. It’s where the cool kids hang.”
Tony starts this trip with a hearty breakfast at Beautys Luncheonette (93 Mont-Royal West Montreal). This restaurant has been open since 1942 and claims to have invented breakfast in this city. Breakfast was not served in Montreal before they opened.
Bourdain then went on to suggest also trying the bagels at the famousSt-Viateur Bagel Shop(263 St-Viateur O, Motreal). Before taking a hilarious jab at cafes with laptops, “If you are a citizen of the people’s republic of Laptopistan, and like sitting for hours, sipping a latte, listening to Tracy Chapman, and twirling your soul patch while perusing your Twitter feed, maybe Club Social works for you. Personally I’d rather dunk my head in boiling duck fat.” He really despises hipsters, with burning passion.
“So the great debate: who has the better bagel, New York or Montreal? It’s a completely ridiculous apple and oranges discussion.… I’m a New Yorker so you know where my allegiance lies. But I think it’s unfair to both quite magnificent products to try to compare them.”
Of course, Bourdain, being an author, first and foremost, capitalizes on the opportunity to endorse an independent bookstore. “Hey, like books? I know I do. In fact, I recently became a publisher of fine books and hopefully some of them will be sold at fine independent bookstores like this one.” Appetite Books (388 Victoria Ave, Westmount, Quebec) is a small, independent, niche bookstore that offers an extensive collection of cookbooks and food-related literature, in both French and English, to satisfy the everyday cook, the passionate gourmet, and the professional chef.
It’s worth noting Anthony Bourdain is a huge fan of food-related literature as evidenced numerous times in his various shows.
Uncle Tony then went on to indulge in his deep love for cheese. If there’s anything he loves more than food porn books, it’s cheese (“You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”)
“”The greatest, single crime against food is they make it so fucking difficult to make cheese as good as it should be.”
He suggestedLa Fromagerie Atwater (134 Atwater Ave, Montreal), where they sell over 850 different kinds of cheese.
Tony’s guide: “This place was always touristy. You know, in that lame kind of people covered in chrome paint standing still.” AB: “I hate those people. Elbowed a mime on the way over. The human statues? Get a job. GET. A. JOB.”
Tony then went on to meet up with his friends, chefs David Mcmillan and Frederic Morin. “Known and remembered, often with damaged brains, by chefs everywhere. These guys are legendary for putting the hurt on visiting chefs. And their restaurant,Joe Beef (2491 Notre-Dame St W, Montreal), is the perfect place to do that.”
“If rowing a boat with muscly women, any of whom could easily snap your neck, does not appeal, then perhaps the highest point in Montreal, Mount Royal, might be more fun.”
The two chefs took him boating, which clearly he didn’t enjoy. They then took him for a drink, pea soup and pork knuckle to Brasserie Capri (2687 Wellington St, Montreal) “A pub, a Canadian pub, a Quebecois pub and exactly, EXACTLY, what I like. Get rid of that clock. You’re ruining my buzz, man.”
“What society would not benefit from having these kinds of places?”
The main event: sucking down oysters and good wine at Joe Beef. “Mention their names to any chefs who they have ever hosted and there will be an embarrassing anecdote. Unconsciousness, public nudity, scandal, deliciousness.”
“If I were a reasonable man, a smart man, I would have retreated to my hotel long ago. But I am a flawed vessel. I carry within me, as so many do, the seeds of my own destruction. A Rumsfeldian delusional belief in my own infallibility.”
Bourdain then went to Big in Japan (4175 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal, Quebec), which according to him is the premiere service provider for drunk-ass chefs after work: “It’s like going into the doctor’s office and he’s got stirrups and he’s putting on the gloves and some machine starts whirring, you’ve got a pretty good idea what comes next.”
He then went on to get some tacos at Grumman’78 (630 Courcelle St, Montreal, Quebec) When he found out he had some vegetarian taco, he hilariously said “I’m so ashamed. I feel so dirty.”
After tacos, it was back to drinking into oblivion. “There was, to the best of my recollection, no karaoke, no lap dances, no drunk dialing of my fourth grade social studies teacher.”
“You can’t not do this when you come to Montreal. Not just Canada’s oldest but arguably, the best at this magical pastrami like substance.”
Anthony Bourdain drinking scenes never gets old. Hungover and body aching, Tony ends the show on a high note and soldiered on to the legendary deli, Schwartz (3895 St Laurent Blvd, Montreal).
I felt Tony enjoyed this episode because he got to hang out with his friends. Not included in my write up was his knee-slapping drunk conversation about Celine Dion with Chef Martin Picard in the back of a pick-up truck.
AB: “So you’re saying, Celine Dion, she’s a revered national hero. An expression of Quebec aspiration and pride.” MP: “She’s the greatest all over the world.” AB: “In maybe some alternate Canadian universe. Would you fuck her?” MP: “You don’t have to fuck her! Why would you want to fuck her? That doesn’t make sense!”
I’m a big fan of old school restaurants that have been around for decades like Schwartz and Basserie Capri. I’m a sucker for halcyon days and nostalgia and I guess that is why this episode appeals to me. Plus, Bourdain getting drunk makes for great TV.
Parts Unknown S01E04 Quebec, First aired May 5, 2013
The show starts with a warning in French. “The food you are about to see is of high grade quality and deliciousness. Served in portions unfamiliar to the average diner. It may be dangerous for average human consumption. The host is a trained professional. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.”
From CNN Parts Unknown
And off to the races we go.
Bourdain travels to the Quebec accompanied by chefs Frédéric Morin, David McMillan and Martin Picard, who you remember from such shows as the one before this The Layover and No Reservations. This time, their focus is on excess. How much foie gras, truffle, sweetbreads, maple syrup, duck fat, sausage, astoundingly ripe cheese, caviar, beaver, and donkey can they eat? Only one way to find out.
From CNN Parts Unknown
Bourdain goes ice fishing with Chefs Frédéric Morin and David McMillan and goes back to their seemingly ramshackle cabin with their catch, where, upon entering inside, you realize the set up is as impressive as any five-star dining restaurant as anywhere in the world. Here, they indulge in the first of many, many gourmet meals in this episode accompanied by many fine wines and liquers. Exceptional food like oysters, ox-tail, chilled lobster ala Parisienne, topped with truffles and Lièvre à la Royale, which Tony mouth wateringly describes as “devilishly difficult, boneless, wild hare in a sauce of its own blood, a generous heaping of fresh black truffle, garnished with thick slabs of seared foie gras.”, cheese, Cuban cigars and “a dessert as rare as it gets, a dinosaur-era monster long believed extinct” – gateau marjolaine, layers of almond and hazelnut meringue, chocolate and butter cream.
“Without getting too snobby or elitist, eating off vintage tableware is one of the great joys in life.”
“Really, is there a billionaire or a despot anywhere on earth who at this precise moment is eating better than us?”
“The seared foie is perched atop an ethereal suspension of potato puree.”
Introducing Martin Picard to the Ride of the Valkyrie, Bourdain uses an amalgamation of hyperbole and epic references saying “Once every few decades, maybe every century, a nation will produce a hero. An Escoffier. A Mohammed Ali. A Dalai Lama. Joey Ramone. Someone who changes everything about their chosen field. Who changes the whole landscape. Life after them is never the same. Martin Picard is such a man. A heretofore unencountered hybrid of rugged outdoorsman, veteran chef with many years of fine dining experience, renegade, innovator. He is one of the most influential chefs in North America.”
“Martin, along with an encyclopedic knowledge of fine wines and an inexplicable attachment to the music of Celine Dion (a reference to their hilarious conversation about Celine Dion on the Layover Montreal episode), is a big believer in honoring history and tradition.”
Him and Tony went beaver-trapping and caught one within a few minutes.
“When you eat beaver, you understand that it’s beaver.”First time eating beaver. “There’s a joke around here somewhere but to tell you the truth, the stuff is just too good.”“These hearty culinarians of the north like to frolic in the snow and ice. More accurately, they like to obey their genetic Quebecois imperative to risk dental and maxillofacial injury by skating around, slapping at a hard disk, trying to drive it in each others general direction. I believe they call this sport hockey.”
Post pick-up hockey meal.
Bourdain then travels by rail and romanticizes the experience.
“Montreal to Quebec City by rail. A hundred sixty miles of wintery vistas whip pass the windows, evocative for some, of another time.”
Tony then proceeds to eat at Le Continental 26 (Rue Saint Louis, Québec)
“Shrimp cocktail. Not a deconstructed shrimp cocktail, mind you, but shrimp cocktail. The way Jesus wants you to eat them.”
Across town, he goes to another thing entirely, the younger, wilder L’Affaire est Ketchup (46 Rue Saint-Joseph E, Québec). “At this point in my life, I just don’t know any more. Are these young cooks, young servers, these dedicated entrepreneurs…are they hipsters? Or am I just a cranky old fuck who thinks anybody below the age of 30 is a hipster?”
As a show, I think Parts Unknown has best production value in terms of budget, execution and storytelling. It wasn’t always about food, but more about the culture, the politics and history of a particular place. This all culminated in the Hanoi episode, where dad, sorry, Uncle Tony had Bun Cha with President Obama.
With that being said, I think this episode isn’t really for me. Too much high-brow cuisine, which I appreciate but it’s not as accessible. I find the cabin scene cool though. And the way they indulged inside that cabin was amazing. Of course, seeing Tony reunited with his chef friends also had the makings of great TV. I loved the nostalgia of taking a long distance train ride. I feel it’s one of the best things you can do in life.
Parts Unknown S011E03 Newfoundland, First aired May 13, 2018
Bourdain once again travels with terrible twosome of Frédéric Morin and David McMillan, who you may remember from such shows as this one, or the Layover or No Reservations.
Bourdain asks questions about the 1992 shutdown of the cod industry by the Canadian Government and the impact it had on life in Newfoundland. This is what I love about Parts Unknown. It not only shows the food porn but also the issues surrounding the destination.
They then went on to go fishing in the Atlantic and it was a triumphant scene. If you’ve been following Anthony Bourdain’s shows for a while, there is a long running joke on the fishing scenes to which he hilariously remarked “Well, I think that’s the most successful fishing scene I’ve had in many years.”
The trio then went on to have a delicious seafood dinner at celebrated restaurant Raymond’s (95 Water St.) in St. John’s, which serves highly localized, wildly creative menu. They start off with seafood tower, which consisted of snow crabs, razor clams, museels, capelin and sea urchin. Followed by crispy cod bladder, cod fillet and Jigg’s dinner reinvented into a pasta dish.
They then head to St. Pierre and Miquelon. Bourdain asks how long the flight was, to which the ticket lady says 45 minutes. “45 minutes? That’s enough to see all the good films Michael Bay ever made.” Classic Bourdain wit. High. Lar. Rious.
Upon his return to Newfoundland, the three friends went to a local dive bar and participated in a tradition of kissing a cod fish before taking shots with locals and being declared honorary Newfoundlanders. In a poem said before the shots, there’s one poignant moment where the bartender says:
So here’s a health to your company, and one to my lass, Let’s drink and be merry all out of one glass; Let’s drink and be merry all grieve to refrain, For we may or might never all meet here again.
That last line hit me pretty hard.
“For we may or might never all meet here again.”
This episode for me started slow at first but gradually picks up and finishes strong in the last scene. I love the ending. Looking back it was fitting, beautiful and poignant.
I hope you enjoyed this blog. It was fun re-watching these episodes. On that note, I’ll leave you with some more of my favourite episodes of Anthony Bourdain:
All episodes in Vietnam. It’s not secret Anthony Bourdain loved Vietnam. He always said it was his favourite place.
No Reservations S06E21 Back to Beirut – When they filmed in Lebanon in 2006, they found themselves in the middle of a conflict. This is a special episode because it provided insights on the uncertainty of the time and the danger. Despite this, he has nothing but love for the city. In this clip, he speaks to Larry King about the experience.
The Layover S01E02 New York – Bourdain in his home city. It was pulsating with so much energy and though he hated the Layover format, he was home.
Parts Unknown S11E05 Hong Kong – My favourite city in the world. Bonus was he got to work with legendary cinematographer, Christopher Doyle.
I took advantage of my current geographical situation to visit one of the world’s cultural capitals, New York City. I was there a week. It was August and summer was in full swing. The heat was oppressive but it didn’t stop us from having a good time.
f course, when you’re in NY, you’re going to dig deep into the underbelly and try to eat as much as you can and see as much as possible. Checked out some classic restaurants and headed to the most touristy sites and of course, had to pop my head into some of the world’s finest boutiques. Everything they say about New York is true. My favourite quote, though, is by author and journalist, Tom Wolfe: “One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.”
There really is magic in the New York air.
Here are the places we went to:
Food: Murray’s Bagels Katz Delicattsen David’s Brisket House Do or Dive Xi’an Famous Foods Grey’s Papaya Shake Shack Levain Bakery Juliana’s Barney Greengrass Momofoku Ramen Takumen Famous Famiglia Pizza Prince Street Pizza
Stores: Kith NYC Nike SOHO Flight Club
Sites and Museums: MET American Museum of Natural History Brooklyn Bridge Park DUMBO Biggie Mural in Bed-Stuy Paul’s Boutique Album cover in SoHo
As you can see, these are all pretty basic. But just being there gives you a feeling like no other place in the world can. Wish we could do this every year. Not in the summer though, it was scorching. The heat and humidity was oppressive and it will fuck you up one time.
Also, freetoursbyfoot.com was quite informative. I learned about this tour because I was looking for a walking tour that won’t break the bank and they’re the first thing that comes up online. I’m pretty sure there are others. Joining their tour, it gave context to the things you’re seeing. We joined the one in Wall Street and the guide was knowledgeable and interesting.
Cars that have been repurposed and given a new life are a common sight in Kensington Market. VERY HIPSTER.
Most travel blogs will tell you to explore these two neighborhoods together. And they’re right. But also, how much food can you REALLY eat? But if you only have a limited time to see this part of town, might as well do it all in one day, eh?
Kensington Market is a neighborhood in Toronto that houses an eclectic mix of vintage shops, bakeries, off-beat restaurants, coffee shops, an independent brewery, a few bars and quirky shops. It gets extremely packed during the weekends on those long summer days where you just want to hang out in the patio with a cold pint, dreaming of halcyon days.
The reason why I like this place is because, to me, it’s a microcosm of what the city of Toronto is: a collection of culturally diverse shops, colourful street art, patios and old houses in Victorian style architecture.
As you make your way east, you will reach Chinatown on Spadina Ave. where it is a whole different vibe. Here, you will see a lot of restaurants serving food from China’s 8 great cuisines.
Here are some of my favourites from these two areas:
Dirty Bird
79 Kensington Ave.Tel no. (647) 345-2473
Like I always say, chicken and waffles is the best combo since Snoop and Martha. Their fried chicken is the way chicken should be, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Their waffles are soft and have a certain crunch to them. The interior walls are painted in black, giving it an industrial vibe.
RASTA PASTA
61 Kensington Ave.Tel no.(647) 501-4505
Aside from the clever name, this is an example of what Toronto is: an mix of two totally different unrelated cuisines, beautifully coming together to form a completely new thing. Their specialty is the aptly named Rasta Pasta($15) – gnocchi sauteed in Marinara sauce or alfredo mixed with Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and salt fish.
PANCHO’S BAKERY
214 Augusta Ave.
Pancho’s Bakery has been around for over 10 years and serves delicious churros. Churros are fried dough snacks that are dipped in chocolate or caramel not unlike donuts.
Great with a cup of coffee in the morning or afternoon.
Hey Noodles is one of my go-to places in Toronto. They serve Chongqing-style street noodles. The broth is spicy and numbing (You can choose your level). The Chinese peppercorn gives it the unique flavor associated with that part of China (similar to Sichuanese cuisine). I usually order the pork intestine noodles. They also give free noodle refill for dine-in. Vegan options are also available.
HOUSE OF GOURMET
484 Dundas West, (416) 217 0167
Hong Kong style breakfast
From what I understand, House of Gourmet has been opened in Downtown for a long time. They specialize in in congee, noodle soups and barbecue. I usually go to this place for their Hong Kong-style soy sauce western breakfast. Macaroni with some ham in light chicken broth. It’s not really that good but it takes me back to my favourite city in the world – Hong Kong. They also serve HK style milk tea.
Their congee and noodles on the other hand, are good. After a night of heavy drinking, this will sober you right up and remedy your hangover.
SONIC BOOM 215 Spadina Ave. Toronto
Remember the good old days of record shops where you buy your cd’s like Virgin Records and HMV that have gone the way of the dinosaurs? I miss holding a record or a cd and thinking to myself, while looking at the cover, “What is the cover trying to tell me? What can I expect when I open this?” Sonic Boom allows you to play the record before you decide to purchase just like the record stores of the past.
Sonic Boom is an indie record shop that has a wide selection of vinyl, band tees, a mini bar and a small concert stage. They also sell quirky stuff like what you get from typical hipster shops.
I love this kind of shop and am happy to see it still thriving because it gives off a sense of community and I feel that can only be good.
I’ve always listened to rap and hip hop. Always been fascinated by the double entendres, the word play, the showmanship and the braggadocio that is all part of the culture.
Drake aka Champagne Papi aka Wheelchair Jimmy aka Aubrey Graham is the unofficial mascot of Toronto, or as he anointed it, the 6ix. In fact, according to this article on Billboard.com, he was responsible for 5% of Toronto’s tourism economy. I’ve been listening to Drake from time (Toronto slang right there😉). Back then, I don’t really get the Toronto references in his songs, but I was fortunate enough to be able to move to the 6ix. Now, I listened again to his songs and I finally understood the references.
So here are my SIX favorites from the 6 God himself:
“Kennedy Road taught me not to trust people like you.”
Kennedy Road is a notoriously, rough neighborhood in the suburb of Scarborough.
2. “How did I finesse this all from Jane and Weston?”
Jane and Weston is another notoriously bad part of Toronto. In this line, Drake is stating he “started from the bottom”😉 and he avoided the pitfalls of growing up in a rough neighborhood and “made it.”😉
3. “Been flowin’ stupid since Vince Carter was on some through the legs arm in the hoop shit”
In this line, Champagne Papi is referencing the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk competition that Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, won. Often called the greatest Slam Dunk competition in history. Vince came up with a between-the-legs dunk as well as putting his entire-arm-in-the-hoop dunk. Back then this was such a big deal as these were never seen before. He did it with such flair, style and power. It was nothing short of majestic seeing that.
Back to my original point, Drake is simply stating he has been rapping since 2000.
On a side note, for more about information about Vince Carter’s impact in the city of Toronto, watch The Carter Effect on Netflix.
4. “The city gets stronger when everybody is speakin’ not when everybody out here beefin'”
This is a reference to his publicized quarrel with fellow Toronto-native, The Weeknd. In this line, Aubrey is saying it would benefit everyone in terms of making more collaborative music, exchanging ideas and improving the overall scene in Toronto, if there was no bad blood between them.
5. “Queen Street visions that nobody believed in.”
I’m partial to this line just cause I live in the area. But personally, I think it’s a bad ass line. According to Genius.com Queen Street is “filled with centers for Canadian broadcasting, music, fashion, performance, and the visual arts.” Meaning if you made it in Queen West, you’re deeply part of Toronto culture.
6. “Eating like I’mseated at Swish, Joso’s, and Sotto’s”
Swish was an upscale Korean restaurant serving comfort food and signature drinks in a hip space with exposed brick. Joso’s is an upscale seafood/ Italian restaurant where the cover for Drake’s album Take Care was shot. Sotto’s is Sotto Sotto, another Italian seafood restaurant where celebrity sightings are a regular thing.
Side note: I celebrated my first birthday in Toronto in Joso’s, of course I had to recreate the famous Take Care cover.
I’ve been a sports fan as far back as I can remember, basketball in particular, played it, watched it, studied it and loved it. I guess it’s part of growing up in the Philippines. Basketball is our unofficial religion.
One of the perks of moving to North America was to be able to watch the NBA live. I haven’t been able to yet but getting to witness the Raptors historic run was quite an experience. I was lucky enough to be able to watch a championship parade in my adopted home. In June 13, 2019, the Raptors won their first championship since they first entered the NBA. It was an amazing experience. Being downtown, with the whole city celebrating, it was unforgettable.
Just being able to watch the Raptors go through every obstacle after years of heartbreak from LeBron, winning by a game winner against the 76ers in the second round and overcoming a 0-2 lead by the Milwaukee Bucks was electrifying. I was on the edge of my seat for the most part of my first few months here in Canada.
Here are my top 5 favourite moments in no particular order:
Watching the game at Jurassic Park
Seeing cool murals all over the city.
Horns blaring all over Downtown after completing a comeback against Milwaukee and booking the first trip to the Finals.
Championship parade.
Pandemonium on King Street the night the Raptors won the chip.
YIUTUBE 