Which Toronto Chinatown is better? Uptown or Downtown? I test both.
It is rare for me to visit Toronto’s downtown Chinatown because I live in North-East Toronto, where we have the highest concentration of Mainland Chinese in Toronto. Today we went to MEC.ca (Mountain Equipment Co-op) for cycling gear, so stopped and had lunch in Chinatown at Spadina and Dundas. Having not been there for many years, it was interesting.
Democracy in Canada does not usually directly affect individuals in our society. Usually it is when something goes awry that one sees democracy in action. I guess we take democracy for granted, until it is somehow revoked. Some people look for trouble and get arrested, while the rest of us lead law abiding lives and stay out of trouble. For the average citizen jury duty breaks the veneer of average living and brings democracy to the fore. Jury duty is when your average citizen is called to potentially be selected as a juror for a court case. Mandated by law and therefore mandatory for all citizens over 18 years old, citizens are randomly selected for jury duty, and again randomly selected to become an actual juror. In a world of technology, where certainty and sharp contrasts prevail, I found this randomness surprisingly refreshing.
Ten bad driving habits, by Chen Xin, People Daily, equally applicable here in Toronto, Canada
As a lifelong resident of Toronto I can attest that many fellow Torontonians wonder out loud why Chinese drivers are so terrible. I am one of them. As I live in Scarborough, a heavily Chinese area of Toronto, there are certain major intersections that I avoid due to a very high proportion of Chinese drivers that approach 100%. As my ethnic background is Chinese, I have ruled out genetics. Moreover I know many Canadian born Chinese, or Huayi, that are excellent drivers. Further, anyone from Hong Kong can attest to the prowess of their local driving skill. So why are Chinese drivers so terrible?
My local grocery store Chung Hing at Kennedy Road and Finch Avenue in Scarborough/Toronto, Canada was held up by gunpoint yesterday, Saturday February 20, 2011 at around 16:10 in the afternoon. Five black guys, faces hidden behind bandanas and guns drawn, marched into the store and demanded cash. The cash registers were locked. While these thieves would rather steal for a living, they also risk the lives of those that shop and work at this store. For me, my wife and two kids had just checked out. They were petrified. A single police car with one officer arrived just as my wife left the store. An hour later a neighbour reported that there were 12 police cars at the store, now long closed for the day.
Sometimes our Canadian multiculturalism goes a little too far, even for a Chinese Canadian like myself. Here in Toronto, Canada and especially in Scarborough, my area of the world is biased towards Chinese, especially from the Mainland. Nofrills, a local big box grocer, decides to put Billy Bee Honey, 1 litre bottle on sale for $6.88CAD. This is high quality Canadian honey, which I have used for many years without issue. At the store I pick up four bottles and head to the cash, only to find that those I picked up are not the ones advertised on sale. The difference between the two: the advertised honey has an English-Chinese label and the one I picked up has an English only label. It was annoying to have to drop my bottles of honey at the cash, reenter the store and purchase what Nofrills calls “ethnic” Billy Bee honey. I am all for ethnic but please do not discriminate against English only labels and products. Nofrills, intended or not, you need a smack upside the head.
Billy Bee Honey: Bottle on the right called ethnic is on sale, the one on the left is not
The Chinese character Dai/Tai: the earth/dirt, a field, to share, a saber (weapon)
dai/da4i (Mandarin)/Tai (Cantonese, Japanese)/Thài(Gan, Jiangxi)/Tè (Hokkien)/?ái or ??i (Vietnamese)/Dae (Korean): Ranked 57 of the 100 most common Chinese surnames (2006), gaining from 64th in 1990
Jiucai (garlic chives) in bloom, growing at our front doorstep, Sony H4, macro 4x zoom
This hardy Chinese herb seems to grow everywhere near our house in Toronto, Canada, self seeding without assistance. Jiucai is also called garlic chives. Put it into soup, stews, omelets, and jiaozi. You chop it down but leave the roots and it will grow back, multiple times in a season. Somehow this dainty little plant has moved to many sections of our backyard and have proliferated, but the most convenient is a clump near our front door. So handy yet tasty.
So pathetic are the driving standards in China that there are a huge number of crashes. China is a world leader in vehicular crashes per capita. If only there were some rules that everyone followed. I propose simple ones such as drive/ride on the right side of the road and stop at traffic lights. It seems like total chaos if there are not enough police around to hand out and collect tickets. I find this video quite amusing, but should not, because people in the video get seriously hurt and cars and bikes get damaged. It is funny because sadly it does reflect what we saw on Chinese roads when we visited China.
Ruby Chinese Restaurant is very popular in Scarborough, but recently has sanitation issues.
My uncle’s favourite Chinese restaurant is Ruby Chinese Restaurant, Toronto, Canada, at Finch and McCowan. I have eaten there many times, and had good service and good quality. Mistakes occur in any venture, and restaurants are no exception. This week Ruby was cited for a bad salmonella outbreak that sicked 36 people and was closed by Toronto Public Health. It then failed a second inspection.
Just east of Reesor Road and Steeles Avenue, Toronto, Canada, Go north on Reesor Road for the entrance. Enter and the road will fork. Take the right road. Pass a house on the left. On the left, look for a tall narrow, rectangular statue of Mary, called “Our Lady of Peace”. Dad is at the base of this statue. Section 8, plot L1030. Born May 27, 1940
