January 12th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

I have been looking forward to posting my first profile here on BananaViews – the idea being to highlight food people that I admire, people who inspire me, have influenced my culinary experiences, and who are simply interesting.

Margaret (pictured left) is one of my inspirations. She lives her life with genuine gusto and lots of it. There isn’t much that will stop her from living like that every moment of the day – not even though she’s been suffering from fibromyalgia, which causes severe and sometimes constant chronic pain, for about half of her life.

Margaret was my Aunt, until divorce made her Not-Auntie Margaret, as we joke about these days since technically she is no longer related. She is also Casey’s mom, a docent at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, an undisputed dynamo in her kitchen, which she inherited naturally from her dad, Henry, who in his 80s is still fierce with a wok. I will share some of his recipes in future.

Margaret is also an avid traveler and has logged more miles in the air than most domestic flight attendants. Her next trip will be in Phileas Fogg fashion – an around the world excursion – and knowing Margaret, she will take much more than 80 days to indulge in all the food choices the world offers her.

Margaret is my mentor on how to live life to the fullest. She    has been my guide through good times and bad and most importantly, she is my friend. Margaret and her husband Milo are pictured at right going bananas.

I recently asked Margaret a few food questions. Of course I should have known better than to expect a one word answer from a fellow foodist. Her answers, unedited, below:

1. Last supper question. "If you were going to die tomorrow, what would you want for your last meal on earth?" Hmmmm, I’d have a feast instead of just a simple meal! My 2 favourite words are buf-fet :0) Included will definitely be mangoes from around the world, oysters, prawns, lobsters, Kobe beef, uni, perfectly ripened fruits like strawberries, pears, watermelon, mangosteen, persimmon, coconut, cantaloupe, Hami melon, lychee; “some” veggies, although I can skip them. I’d like to die while eating!

2. Most over-rated food. Very long list! Artisan anything: cheeses from a single cow, or sheep from a single patch, Kobe beef (I know it’s on my last meal wish), organic wine, “raw” food, $15+/lb sea salt, SOME fusion foods, FOAM SAUCE!!!!! Yuck, I don’t want to eat anything that looks like someone spit on my food!

3. Most under-rated food. Another long list! Good, simple, fresh food/fruits: fruits off the tree/vine, fresh green beans, chicken with not much meat but tons of flavour, un-adulterated potatoes; food that tastes like food! I can honestly rant about #2 & #3 since I’ve had all those food items.

4. Favourite breakfast? Mango and/or fresh fruits, with or without nice plain yoghurt, glass of fresh squeezed OJ (preferable squeezed by some hunk’s thighs Ha Ha) and COFFEEEEEE!

5. Midnight snack? That’s almost like a dog’s breakfast for me! Mixed unsalted roasted nuts, good ramen, chicken soup, coffee, hot chocolate, bagel chips; all depends on how hungry I am and how far I have to crawl to where the food is.

6. What’s your favourite food movie? Several. Tampopo, Babette’s Feast, Big Night, Eating Raul, Mostly Martha (German original), Eat Drink Man Woman, The Islands Project (2007 Canadian doc.) etc.

7. What kitchen item can you not live without? Espresso maker/French press. Oh, you mean for cooking?! A good stainless pot, I can cook anything in one pot.

8. How do you take your coffee? Ready for this? Black as the night, strong as sin, hot as hell and sweet (without sugar) as love. Yeah, I like my drinks strong and my men weak ;0)

9. Most memorable meal? Too many to count, some elaborate meals, some simple ones. As far as memory goes, I’d have to say the last “feast” we had with my mother in June, 2009; it was so good to watch her enjoy the food and the company, and to watch her laugh. She died 6 weeks later.

10. What/where do you want to eat next? Next, I want to travel the world for a moving feast. Coming soon to a buffet table near me!!! But first, I’m going to have a pancetta/shallots/red pepper/egg white omelette, and mixed beans salad, with strong coffee all from my kitchen – lunch time!

I’m happy to introduce you to Margaret. She might already know you. As I’ve mentioned, she gets around! We are encouraging Margaret to write a blog during her big global trip. I’ll update with a link when that happens.

Thanks Margaret for being my first profile victim. I hope it didn’t hurt too much.

December 31st, 2009 by Dawn Becker

It’s new year’s eve and I suppose a quick glance behind before stepping into the wonders 2010 will bring is in order. But just a glance. Not a lingering look at what was, as what’s about to be brings so much promise and opportunity and far better it than longing for what was left behind. Hope of good things like what I will eat in 2010!!

Thinking back, in these last weeks of 2009, I have seen Karen K twice, both Daniel and Mark at two of their holiday parties, and Katie who came over for what I am dubbing the “Night of Too Many Bottles”. Had ridiculously-priced but beautifully crystal clear gin martinis at the Four Season’s bar with Annie. Ate a fat athletic-sized breakfast with Julian and Cole that made us happily lazy before they left for Christmas with their dad. Roasted my first whole duck with Casey. Had a merry gay Christmas at Robbie’s where I was elected last minute to cook a tenderloin dinner and found myself volunteering to make a porcini mushroom red wine sauce with what was on hand. It was delicious by the way. And so much more. All of this in the last weeks of what I thought was an unremarkable 2009. I guess it wasn’t. And that’s what looking back helps us do. To appreciate where we are now, we need to see where we came from.

In looking ahead to 2010, I am excited about some of the topics I want to explore like stinky tasty foods. I am also sacrificing my body (not really) to sample as many packaged instant soup noodles as I can handle. Of course I will share the highlights of my discovery here. There’s many to try as you can see from this shelf at T&T Supermarket and even more at other stores in the GTA.

We call them dolly noodles or gung zai min, I think because many of the packages have doll-like icons on them. I’ve even found one that has no MSG. And did you know there’s a World Instant Noodles Association?? Oh, just a teaser now.

When I was in Tokyo, one of my favourite stops was to go to the 7-Eleven and see what kind of food they had on their shelves. No stale taquitos there my friends. Just glorious rows of noodles and steam buns and fish balls on sticks and rice bundles and so on. I once tasted a package of instant noodles that had actual meat in it – it was in a foil pouch for freshness – and that little slice of pork belly that slicked my instant soup with it’s fatty juices was such a delight. I knew I wasn’t eating 4-star out of the styrofoam container but the idea that the Japanese go the extra mile even with instant noodles fascinated me and made it far tastier than it probably deserves to be remembered. Back then I didn’t think to photograph the package as I thought it would be readily available. To my dismay I have not found that type of packaged noodle with actual meat since, at least not in Toronto. More research is in order and on deck for 2010. Amongst other things. So remember to check back here often.

Happy new year everyone. Kampai!

December 29th, 2009 by Dawn Becker

My cousin Casey changed his life over 6 years ago when he decided to leave his hometown of Vancouver for the bigger and better things that the Tdot could offer him. Six years ago my life changed too when I decided to get divorced. The timing couldn’t have been worse or better for Casey to come. He had nowhere to go so he stayed with me in the chaos of our family house that was falling apart, before my ex and I physically separated homes. The tension inside the house could have been cut with a chainsaw and with full knowledge of this, Casey came and stayed anyway.

It was a difficult time and Casey was a pillar for me. Before this, the last time I really remember Casey he was a 5-year old brat that I hadn’t seen since. So we made fresh bonds and super quick. Julian and Cole were very very little and the burden of my difficult decision was made easier having Casey there to eat, drink and laugh with. And that we did. In fact, we haven’t stopped.

When I was a kid, I tried so hard to fit in, in hopes that people would forget that I was Chinese. I was determined to be Canadian even though I looked different, because I am Canadian. I never saw my world through Chinese eyes and I have once or twice put “NO” on job applications that asked if I was a visible minority. After all those years of hiding in my westernized skin, I didn’t feel like a minority.

As I’ve mentioned, growing up Chinese in Vancouver, you don’t feel different since our “look” is the majority at least in the neighbourhoods we lived in and frequented. Toronto is more visibly multicultural and back then we were definitely minorities, especially in the suburbs where our family could afford to settle. I lost what it meant to be Asian out of self-preservation or survival needs.

Now that those days are gone, I’ve had to struggle to stay connected with my Asian roots, without a guide. Casey opened the doors because he was frankly more Chinese than I was – and my mother will never let me forget that, however incapable she was of bridging that gap for me, but that’s another story.

As Casey explored the amazing cultural treasures that our great city had to offer, I followed him. He introduced me to travelers from abroad, some Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, and more. It was a time of wonderful exploration for me as well and I started to embrace my culture and see how unique my experience was by being both Chinese and Canadian.

Casey and I have been lucky enough to travel together to Tokyo (pictured above in 2005) and New York twice, both intense eating destinations. He is constantly amazing me with his unique perspective on life. He was there when I had the emotional task of tossing my little sister’s ashes at Centre Island, opening the box of ashes when I couldn’t bear to do it myself. He has been there for my children stepping in to be the most important male figure on this side of our family. They think of him as their friend rather than mine. In English, Casey is technically my cousin, but in Chinese terms, he is really my brother. And I couldn’t be happier for that.

December 16th, 2009 by Dawn Becker

You might think it’s funny that superstar Canadian comedian, Russell Peters, is the source of my inspiration for writing about food and culture in Toronto. I was watching his DVD, Red, White and Brown at Scott’s cottage this summer. In between fits of laughter, Peters’ commentary about race and culture that were so hilarious, were made more so because of the accuracy of his statements. What hit home in his comedy sketch was his explanation that race and culture are different. Russell Peters is Indian (his race), actually he more specifically says Anglo-Indian. But when he first stepped off the plane in India he realized he was sooo Canadian (his culture). And how he tells it will make you pee your pants. If you’ve never experienced this, I highly recommend you get to know Russell Peters by watching his stand-up routines.

I would add that while our nationality might define us, it’s our cultural attitudes, usually passed on to us by our parents and our environment, that really shape us. Growing up Chinese in Vancouver was like living in a bubble. Visible minority? What were they talking about? More than half the kids in my graduating class at Windermere High School were Asian (as defined in the Usage Note). (I just blew the dust off my annual and actually counted the faces. Man, those were some bad hair days.)

As kids, we moved back and forth from Vancouver to Toronto, a few times because of my dad’s work. The first move to a small suburb of Toronto, when I was about nine, was total culture shock. This was the 80’s and ours was one of maybe four Asian families in the whole school and for the first time I understood what discrimination felt like. Of course that’s all different now.

There were stages along the way when being Chinese was cool thanks to TV and movies for the depiction of us as kick ass, cool, don’t-mess-with-the-Triad type of characters. There were times when having an Asian girlfriend was a marker stating how worldly you were. The term we used for guys like that was “yellow fever”. They had yellow fever and in a reverse sort of discrimination, this really worked for me as a young adult new to the Tdot. Needless to say, I did learn to truly embrace my culture. I am yellow on the outside and white (western thinking) on the inside and that makes me a “banana”.

There are other terms out there. For instance, my not-Auntie Margaret says my American Uncle Milo is an egg (both pictured above). He’s white on the outside, but hard core yellow on the inside. I must say, he’s got a greater understanding of all things Asian than most Canadian-born Chinese, which brings me to the next term: CBC. Nope, not the national broadcasting station. Not only am I a banana, I’m also CBC, Canadian-born Chinese, which is different from being a Konger (that’s easy – from Hong Kong). And I don’t think people use the term FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) any more which is more derogatory because newcomers don’t call themselves FOBs. See terms are fine if you’re from the same family. The way my gay friends can call each other fags and how I can say banana in a positive way embracing all that it stands for because we’re in the family. Again, watch Russell Peters. He can explain it better, and in a much funnier way, than I can.

So that’s kind of the crux of this blog in a nutshell. I look forward to sharing with you my experiences with food and culture in Toronto from a banana’s perspective. Post #1 down, thousands more to go!!