Grant said the Musqueam Nation has been in discussions with the City of Vancouver and the co-developers of the site, Century Holdings Ltd. and Fran and Gary Hackett, and believes they would be supportive of the land-swap solution. The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations said in an emailed statement: “The province is involved and has appointed Geoff Freer as a facilitator to work with the parties.” Grant said three skeletons, one of an adult and two infants, have been found on the site, and the developer has applied for a permit to allow it to remove the remains from the site.

Leaders from the First Nations Summit held a rally Thursday to show their support for the Musqueam Nation, saying it’s yet another example “of disrespect and apathy” the provincial government continues to show first nations people in B.C. “It is unfathomable to believe that even though the complete remains of two Musqueam infants and an adult have been found on the site, little has been done to ensure the site’s protection, said Dan Smith, an executive on the First Nations Summit. “These sites are supposed to be protected. B.C. is all about protecting its heritage sites that only go back 125 years, but when it comes to protecting first nation sites, an attitudinal barrier crops up,” he said. …
(Vancouver Sun) (May 3)

Musqueam Chief Ernie Campbell has indicated that the band would like to see a land swap with the developer Century Group in order to protect the burial ground site known as c̓əsnaʔəm. Ultimately the province must push this discussion forward, even though the City of Vancouver has facilitated discussions between the band and developer. Century Group plans to redevelop the site into HQ Living condominiums.

At Thursday’s rally, Chief Campbell addressed the crowd, along with Chief Kim Baird of the Tsawwassen First Nation, and representatives from other bands. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs and the Assembly of First Nations have expressed their support for the Musqueam’s struggle to protect their burial grounds.

Chief Ernie Campbell told the media that they will occupy the site as long as necessary to protect their ancestors and prevent development.

Full coverage and more updates on the Tuesday, May 8th edition of The City.

• location: Sunset Community 7646 Prince Albert Street Vancouver (Google map)
• capacity: 120
• dimensions: 57.7″ X 28.5″ = 1646 ft2
• price: $20./hr during regular staff hours for non-profit organizations
• additional charges: may apply
• estimated cost for 4 hours: under $150. without P.A.
• contact: (604) 718-6521

Admittedly, the air smelled delicious—a mix of Dolce & Gabbana cologne, Eternity, cigarettes and fine leather goods. And there was a certain charm to walking along old loading bays of a once-thriving warehouse district now inhabited by Vancouver’s beautiful people and professional hockey players. However, that charm quickly dissipated as we walked behind a group of well-dressed young dudes as they drunkenly and loudly bemoaned “fat chicks” who wear “slutty” outfits. You’d think such douchey observations would run out of steam after 30 seconds when the next bone-headed thought entered their minds, such as, “Huh, huh, it would be funny if Red Bull was called Red Balls, huh, huh.” But no, this group of Yaletown’s finest managed to sustain their wicked brand of observational humour for several minutes, until we had to pretend to tie our shoes to put distance between us and them. Then there was the Lamborghini that revved its engine as it waited for the light as if to say “I am Lamborghini, hear me roar!,” the guy with the leather jacket and no-shirt, the woman with the belt-sized skirt and vertigo-inducing high heels, the muffled beats of techno music and more makeup, fake tans and bleached teeth than an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras.

We realize that Yaletown doesn’t have the market cornered on obnoxious behaviour, superficiality and rampant materialism (we’re looking at you, Marpole), but it definitely threw us for a loop. Or maybe that’s just the chemicals from our last Alpha hydroxy acid peel session talking.

Musqueam spokesperson Aaron Wilson says the protest is a grassroots response after talks with the condo developer broke down. He stressed that the demonstration is peaceful. The developer had planned to start digging up intact burials (undisturbed since they were placed there by Musqueam ancestors) on the Marpole Midden and Village site today. Protesters vow to stay until the development plan by Magnum Projects for “HQ concrete homes” is stopped.

The Musqueam consider the Marpole Midden to be “one of the most meaningful storehouses of the history and culture of our people.” Elders say there is evidence of continuous occupation of the midden for more than 4,000 years. Last week, the Musqueam chief and council passed an unanimous resolution demanding that the developer “cease and desist all work at the site until such time that a joint resolution can be found.” More information at: Stop the destruction
(Vancouver Media Co-op) (March 12)

Hearing rumours the 480 is to be eliminated and the 100 extended to UBC. Direct bus from #newwest to UBC in the near future? Interesting…

The #480 is one of the heaviest loading bus routes in the region. When the Canada Line was introduced, most bus routes got shifted around so that the train would do most of the heavy lifting for traffic between Richmond and Vancouver. The UBC route was an exception, since the east west routes that link from Canada Line stations to UBC were already over capacity – especially the #99 B Line along Broadway. The articulated buses from the old #98 B Line were diverted to the #480 – and other routes like the #49, #43, #44 and so on.

Oddly enough I was recently being passed by a southbound #480 on Granville Street in Marpole. It struck me that it is the only survivor of a whole series of bus routes that used to do the somewhat circuitous routing of Granville, South West Marine, Hudson, and then 71st Ave to the Oak Street Bridge

The southern end of the #480 route diagram

What struck me then – and is quite obvious from the map – is that the current routing to Bridgeport Station actually duplicates part of the Canada Line – and that Marine Drive Station is a lot closer. Of course, at one time the #480 would take you to Richmond Centre (Brighouse) and even, on otherwise deadhead runs, all the way to Steveston and Shell (the Richmond Operating Centre). I bemoaned its loss then.

Loadings on the #100 between Marine Drive and 22nd Street stations cannot be anything like those between UBC and the Canada Line on the #480. But maybe the number gets changed if the new routing is different to the dog’s leg of the #480 (41st Ave and Granville) but took the more obviously direct routing of South West Marine Drive. That takes me back to my days working at BC Transit when I was regularly lobbied by the locals along the Drive who feared a direct bus past their doors to UBC. While there is no service bus along that route, I have seen many dead head miles run that way. So perhaps opposition these days is not as strong as it once was?

480 at UBC May 2010 my photo on flickr

One thing is for sure. If there is a reworking of the #100 expect much of it to be short turns UBC to Marine Drive and not a lot of it going all the way to New Westminster!

Afterthoughts

In all fairness to the good folk of SW Marine Drive, I should make it clear that they did not so much oppose a direct bus as express the fear that we (BC Transit) would be persuaded to run a direct bus as a way for the City Engineers to then press for a widening of the Drive to four lanes. At the time I thought that showed a remarkable faith in our resources (even then buses were overcrowded and there weren’t nearly enough of them to meet demand on existing routes) and the City’s willingness to spend money on roads. While I am sure that there were some engineers who would have salivated at the thought, the City Transportation Plan was very clear in its opposition to increasing general purpose traffic capacity. And the same engineers then bitterly opposed any and all suggestions about bus priority in general and bus lanes in particular. It’s all different these days, of course.

The #100 was at that time a very long and highly unreliable route from 22nd Street to the Airport. It operated from the Port Coquitlam Operating Centre as there was simply not enough room at the Oakridge Operating Centre. Though there was no deadheading – it operated on one of the New West – PoCo routes to get to and from home base. Indeed, even now reliability of a UBC – New Westminster route via South West and South East Marine Drives would be a real issue. It does now however run past the new Vancouver Operating Centre – so a lot of revenue and non revenue miles of the present #480 would be saved.

I am not sure about the amount of space on the trains though.

They are located on Granville street close to Richmond. They serve Japanese style of Italian or French food as well as sells dessert, such as cake. I don’t know if you know that we do eat Christmas cake on Christmas day in Japan (maybe only when you’re a child). The shape is not only a log, but also rounded one like a birthday cake.

She bought a log shape one for my birthday. Thank you, my friends!

Christmas Roll Cake Noel Style

Want to see more pictures for this restaurant? click here.

Cafe de l’Orangerie

Address: 8636 Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C. (map)
(Between West 70th and 71st street)
TEL: 604-266-0066
Facebook: page (accessible only when you login)
Twitter: @cafeorangerie

Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/Dinner/Dessert
[Sun - Mon] 9:30 – 21:30
[Tue] 9:30 – 15:00 (1st & 3rd Tuesday on month: closed)
[Wed - Thu] 9:30 – 21:30
[Fri - Sat] 9:30 – 23:00 (sweets & drinks only, after 21:30)

Price Note
- Christmas Roll Cake Noel Style $24.50

We ordered from the month’s special and dinner menu.

My choice, Doria (Japanese rice gratin) from the month’s special.

Collin’s first choice, Deep Fried Chicken Sandwiches with mashed potato

Collin’s second choice (!), Deep Fried Shrimp Sandwiches with mashed potato

Dessert, Chocolate Banana Parfait

Collin said that he was full to eat dessert and would order some cake to go. Guess what? When this parfait came, he was the one who grabbed the cup and was eating. :O Yes, of course, I was trying eating half!

And, when we had strawberry short cake next day, I forgot to take a picture.

Want to see more pictures for this restaurant? click here.

Cafe de l’Orangerie

Address: 8636 Granville Street, Vancouver, B.C. (map)
(Between West 70th and 71st street)
TEL: 604-266-0066
Facebook: page (accessible only when you login)
Twitter: @cafeorangerie

Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/Dinner/Dessert
[Sun - Mon] 9:30 – 21:30
[Tue] 9:30 – 15:30 (1st & 3rd Tuesday on month: closed)
[Wed - Thu] 9:30 – 21:30
[Fri - Sat] 9:30 – 23:00 (sweets & drinks only after 21:30)

Price Note
- Doria $8.75
- Deep Fried Chicken Sandwiches $7.50
- Deep Fried Shrimp Sandwiches $7.50
- Chocolate Banana Parfait $5.80
- Strawberry Short Cake $4.95

• Where: Occupy Deep Cove
Who: Disgruntled residents of the normally peaceful and scenic North Shore waterfront enclave known for its community theatre, kayaking, hiking and mini-doughnuts.
What do they want?: Cheaper mini-doughnuts; less disparity between wealthy retirees and wealthy working couples with no kids; a retina-scan-controlled gate that allows residents in while keeping the weekend riff-raff out.

• Where: Occupy Nanaimo
Who: Dudes and dudettes who are fed up with not just being the 99 per cent, but the 100 per cent of those who don’t control the world’s wealth; jokers, smokers and midnight tokers; dads who wear Kirkland stonewash jeans and white Velcro running shoes from Costco.
What do they want?: Respect; a couple coldies; more people spelling the town’s name correctly; the finish line of the annual Bathtub Race to return to Vancouver’s English Bay like it used to be when people outside of Nanaimo paid attention to it.

• Where: Occupy Marpole
Who: The blue-rinse crowd; people who like to say they live in one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods while living in homes built in 1983; condo-owners who can handle looking directly at Richmond but would never want to live there.
What do they want?: More workshops at the community centre on how to use email; and, ironically, more corporate influence. “Another Starbuck’s would be nice,” says rally organizer Seth Minter. “I mean, I can’t tell you how many blisters I get from my Crocs just so I can enjoy a Pumpkin Spice Latte every day.”

Take, for example, the Steamed Beef Rice Rolls…  The beef filling was sparse as it was, but if you look at the picture closely, you can see that 1/3 of the rice roll didn’t even have any beef filling at all!

Now, not all of their dishes were duds… I did like their version of the Steamed Beef Balls.  Most dim sum restaurants serve it with a small tofu skin layer on the bottom and worcestershire sauce for dipping.  Flamingo wraps the entire meatball in the tofu skin which helps to keep it moist and juicy.

Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of Chicken Feet but I’ve eaten them on a few occasions.  As you can see in the picture, the chicken feet are pretty big but I didn’t find them as soft and melt-in-your-mouth as they are in other dim sum restaurants.

One of the problems with push cart dim sum is that you start to see the same dishes being brought around.  Flamingo serves their dim sum using old-style metal dim sum steamers (haven’t seen these around for a long time).

The Har Gow and Siu Mai were pretty standard… not bad but not great either.

Another dish that we enjoyed was their Deep Fried Shrimp Wontons.  Warning:  don’t order the deep fried wontons at dinner… it’s not the same.  Unlike the ones we had at dim sum, the deep fried wontons at dinner are large deep fried wonton wrappers with barely any filling.

The pan fried shrimp and fish paste patties were pretty good but we were kind of stuffed by the time we got to them.

We usually like getting the steamed bean curd rolls so when we saw it come by on a cart, we had to get it even though we were already stuffed.  Unfortunately, the bean curd sheets were a bit too chewy.

If you’re looking for a nostalgic dim sum outing, Flamingo might be a good choice just for the experience but if you’re just here for the food, you’re better off to stick with their dinner menu.

Food:  dim sum dishes are pretty much hit or miss
Service:  4.5 / 5

7510 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC

We started out with a half order of their Crispy Skin Chicken with Shrimp Chips.  Since our nephew couldn’t eat the shrimp chips, they cheerfully brought them out on a separate dish for the rest of us to nosh on.

I mentioned before about how most Chinese restaurants have “secret menus” and Flamingo is a perfect example.  We felt in the mood for some gai lan with chicken but didn’t see it on the menu so we just asked the waitress and she said no problem.

We like oysters and Flamingo House is one of the few places that we can find oysters served deep fried, pan fried, or in a hot pot.  The hot pot is our favourite by far and the dish comes with a lot of nice, plump oysters and onions.  Perfect for eating with rice.

I always have trouble picking a noodle dish so I wound up with the North and South Style Chow Mein – they basically take two different types of noodles and jumble them all together.

The dish we really wanted to show our nephew was the Taro Duck.  This huge dish was the 1/2 size and I haven’t found a better Taro Duck yet.  We’ve tried the one at Shanghai River but found it to be a little on the skimpy side with the duck and some places use way too much taro. The mushroom based sauce is the kicker.

The great thing I like about Fortune House is that you get a good piece of duck and the taro is soft and is coated the perfect thickness… enough to get the distinct taro flavour but not too thick to be overwhelming or dry.

We couldn’t leave without trying their Chicken in Spicy Pepper Sauce (it’s like jiu yim crab but with chicken instead).  The chicken is addictive like crack but without the negative stereotypes usually associated with crack.

Legal disclaimer: Penny and Rusty’s Food Blog does not endorse the use of crack for recreational purposes… Penny and Rusty’s Food Blog cares.

Another dish that we didn’t see on their menu was the Spicy Green Beans with Minced Pork.  Not overly spicy and the sauce goes great with rice.

So if you don’t see the dish that you want on their menu, just remember to ask… the servers are very friendly and the food’s great.  It’s been a while since I’ve been to their dim sum (they have the old style push carts) – I’ve got to find some time to try it out again.

Take a look at our previous blog entry for Flamingo House.

Food:  5 / 5
Service:  5 / 5

7510 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC

The sun was shining on another Friday afternoon in the city of Vancouver. We all decided to play some street hockey in the Marpole area. So I grabbed my bike and stick, then headed over to the park.

• Citizens presented a petition signed by over 300 people (to be confirmed), stating this: We, the undersigned residents of this neighbourhood, DO NOT want a building of more than 4 stories built in the Lots A5 & 6, Block DL 325 Plan 4061: 8405 – 8435 Granville St.

Below are summaries of comments made to council and others received later by CityHallWatch.

Download PDF: Helten, rezoning 8495 Granville, hearing, 3-May-2011. Simply hover your mouse over the image to reveal controls (stop, rewind, forward). Sorry, speed cannot be adjusted otherwise.

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These are quite representative of many of the speakers’ comments:

CITIZEN 3

• The Safeway arrogance has already been nasty for Vancouver. Marpole should target theirs for a boycott. Targeting all Safeways would be impossible; but locals could focus on a single location. Let them feel the voice of the community.

CITIZEN 1

Re:  Marpole Safeway (8495 Granville) Report and Rezoning

• I want to touch on a couple of specific aspects of the proposed development that have had no, or inadequate attention.  The impact on pedestrians, and the City’s surrender  to Safeway’s demand that nothing be built above their store.  This latter point has a major impact on the resulting building heights on the balance of the site, as explicitly recognised in the report.

First, the pedestrian aspect: 

• The report talks about ‘improving the pedestrian experience’ ( second paragraph on page 6 of the March 1 report, marked P 2).
•  As a very frequent pedestrian in the area let me tell you that this development will worsen the pedestrian experience for me and most others.
•  For those of us southwest of the development the amount of walking necessary to get to Safeway or other merchants east of the development will become longer.
•  Currently it is easy to walk through the Safeway parking lot from the corner of Cornish and 70th, saving time and effort.  If built, that ability will be lost.  It will be necessary to walk to the corner of 70th and Granville to access either Safeway or any other Granville merchants and the Library.
•  Currently the Safeway building is recessed into the lot and is significantly lower than Granville St.  The result of this is that it is now possible to see over top of the lot, really only limited by the distant tree line.  A realtor might describe this as ‘ocean glimpses’, but in any event there is an essentially unobstructed view of the sky.  Some may say – ‘so what’, but that sense of openness is an important characteristic for many of us.  And one which will be destroyed if the project goes ahead.   It is part of what makes Vancouver’s outer neighbourhood areas distinctly different from downtown.  If we had wanted to be in the canyons of the downtown area we would have chosen to live there.
•  Just as a period of silence can be important to a piece of music, so can the absence of a structure be to a neighbourhood environment.  An absence that no amount of fiddling with ‘built form’ or ‘high quality finishes’ can compensate for.
•  Likewise, and more important, is the impact that the proposed structures would have on light on Granville.  This is missed by the woefully inadequate shadow studies that have been displayed from time to time.
•  Until now, from both sides of Granville in the winter, as sunset nears, a beam of golden sunlight suffuses the area.  On the east side of Granville the shops, pedestrians and shoppers take on a golden glow that provides crucial light and warmth.  It is a magical time that makes shopping and walking there an exceptional experience.
•  Of course the developer and planners appear insensitive to, and certainly don’t comment on this, but for ‘locals’, its certain loss, if the development goes ahead, is a matter of sorrow.  If the developer and City are unaware of this, it shows that they really have not done their homework on the development’s impact on the neighbourhood.
•  Loss of a ‘sunlight corridor’ to the neighbourhood is not a trivial matter.
•  The only ‘improvement’ for pedestrians that I can see is the installation of a controlled pedestrian crosswalk in the middle of the block north of 70th.   However that could equally be installed by the City, without the Safeway development, for very little cost.
•  So tell me, as a frequent pedestrian, how my life will be better as the result of this development.  The truth is, it won’t.  My life as a pedestrian will be worse.  And the same will be true for many of my neighbours.

About surrendering to Safeway’s demand to not use the space above their store:

•  The genesis of this is detailed at the top of page 6 of the March 1, 2011 report from the Director of Planning, marked in the package as P 2.
•  It seems to me outrageous to me that this City-admitted undesirable approach would be foisted upon the residents of Marpole as an ‘experiment’.  The experience in Marpole to be assessed before another similar development is permitted in any other location in the City.
•  Wonderful.  Despite the acknowledged lack of attention given Marpole by the City over more than twenty years, we now get to be the subjects of a mode of development that no other area would want or likely permit.
•  It is this bizarre concession by the City that drives the much-opposed height of the development on the rest of the site.   And Safeway’s stated reason for their demand is to ‘reserve the right to develop the space above the store in the future’.  Outrageous!
•  A totally different ‘built form’ (to use the jargon) could provide equivalent density if the space above the store was available to use.  And of course Safeway will use this concession, at the very least in dealings with future City Councils.  And in all likelihood successfully.  For it need not ‘win’ on any technical basis, but just on the reality of the Planning Department and City Council caving in to their demand.
•  This situation is reminiscent of a number of regulatory agencies, both in Canada and the United States, which forgot who their real clients are and instead bent over backwards to satisfy the companies and industries that they were supposed to regulate.  A sorry situation that leaves the individual and community effectively at the mercy of those who they should be protected from.
•  Rejecting this concession would open up a new realm of possibilities where both the community and architect could well come up with a mutually agreeable form of development for this site.
•  I request and urge you to take that approach.

Ebi Sunomono, 2 years ago

Seafood Sunomono, recent

The Sunomono dishes are standard — they’re good, and a nice solid way to start off the meal. The dressing is as it should be: light, vinegary, slightly sweet, and refreshing. The fish and/or shellfish are tasty, the lemon slices always fresh, and the cucumber nice and crunchy. My only gripe would be that there isn’t enough seaweed, but I know a lot of people probably don’t like it so they don’t put a lot… [or any at all, as was the case two years ago, it looks like.]

Chuuka Salad, 2 years ago

The seaweed salad – Chuka Salad on their menu – is also a great choice if you like seaweed. I’m not sure about how it was two years ago, but I had it recently, and it had the pleasant taste of the sea with a tang of sesame (from the seeds, but also from the dressing, I think).

Miso Soup, 2 years ago

Miso Soup is such a basic dish that you’d think it’s really hard to do incorrectly, but Applause’s miso soup unfortunately left much to be desired. There were a few, tiny pieces of tofu and only a couple of shreds of wakame seaweed. There didn’t seem to have been any attempt to garnish it with negi, or green onions, when I went recently… and it was also strangely lacking in flavour. Not sure if that’s because of the miso paste or a problem with the broth, but it was just “meh“.

Edamame, recent

Definitely get the Edamame, if you do typically like it. The portion size was generous, and the sprinkling of salt was just as generous. The plate was warm, as were the beans themselves. That’s how you serve edamame. Both Emme and I enjoyed it, although it is an easy dish to prepare.

Holenso Ohitashi, recent

The Holenso Ohitashi was good as well. The sauce was tasty but light, and of course the katsuobushi (bonito/fish flakes) added a nice aesthetic element, as they traditionally do, and salty kick.

Nasu Dengaku, recent

We also got the Nasu Dengaku, or eggplant baked in a miso sauce, to share between us… Though Emme wasn’t really a fan of the taste. I liked it and thought it was well done, but I have to admit that it was over the top when it came to oil. It tasted just a little too heavy for an appetizer, and the excess of oil killed some of the overall flavour.

Vegetable Gyoza, recent

The Vegetable Gyoza were really delicious. They seem faintly spiced, which really kicks the flavour up a notch and probably fools a lot of people into thinking that the vegetables inside are really delicious… Of course, I love vegetables, so even without the spice, I know I would have though it was awesome. They are a little too greasy, but I liked that they weren’t too chewy but still had a nice, slight crust from being pan-fried. The sauce was good too. I’ve also tried the Ebi Gyoza here, and those dumplings were also really good, so I imagine that any type of gyoza you order are going to be tasty.

Wild Sockeye Salmon Sashimi, 2 years ago

I’m sad to say this, but the first sashimi I ever tried was the Wild Sockeye Salmon Sashimi at Applause… and it has remained a bad memory, if that tells you anything. I was almost put off of sashimi! This sashimi, from two years ago, was definitely old (I know that now, considering all the other sashimi I have eaten). It was very rubbery and hard to bite through; I had such a hard time eating it that I almost didn’t notice the fact that it really had no flavour at all… and it was sockeye salmon!

Tai Sashimi, recent

I haven’t dared to try the salmon sashimi there again after that, but I can say that the other sashimi dishes here are fantastic. The Tai Sashimi has always been perfectly thawed, has a very pleasant taste, and that sought-after “melt-in-your-mouth” quality. The presentation is always quite pretty, as well.

Hokkigai, Hotate, Ebi, Tai Nigiri, 2 years ago

The nigiri sushi, I think, is very hit-and-miss, depending on the pieces you pick. The hokkigai from two years ago was horrid. I could barely get it down my throat, since it was so chewy, tasteless, and just like my salmon sashimi in times of how hard it was, actually. The hotate, though, was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. Applause is actually where I fell in love with the taste of scallops, if that says anything about how good it was. The ebi of two years ago left a lot to be desired (I think it was probably old), but the tai was great… I only started to like red snapper after tasting it, too.

Tai, Hokkigai, Ika, and Ebi Nigiri with Kappa Maki, recent

The most recent nigiri sushi I tasted at Applause were much better. The hokkigai was miles better, and tasted as great as the tai and ebi did. The outlier this time was the ika, which was far chewier than it’s supposed to be, and loaded with wasabi underneath the sashimi piece, as if they were trying to disguise the fact that the ika was just… horrid. Like a tasteless piece of rubber, I’m sorry to say.

The Kappa Maki was very good; well-formed so that they held together until I was ready to eat them, and with crunchy cucumber pieces and, as the rest of the sushi had as well, real sushi rice that was slightly sweet and vinegary. Yumm.

Ebi Mayo

Emme ordered the Ebi Mayo for herself, and was very pleased with the dish. The shrimp had a very nice crunchy exterior but didn’t lose their taste underneath the batter, which was also not too thick nor too thin. You would expect the dish to come out greasy and to be over-filling and heavy, but it was neither things and one of the highlights of Emme’s dinner, I think.

Yakisoba

Emme ordered Yakisoba on our most recent visit, though I’ve had it in the past. It was as I remembered it, though: Very oily, a little bit too heavy… and a little bit too skimpy on the shrimp and chicken! It looks like a lot because of all the mung bean sprouts hidden underneath, so it’s a bit disappointing to dig in and find so little chicken and/or shrimp – and/or any other vegetable, actually!

Putting aside the food for the time being… The ambiance in Applause is actually quite nice. The traditional décor is tastefully done, and the way that they either have screen dividers or cloth tapestries between booths is really fantastic. It’s nice to feel like you have your own little “space” and makes for a more comfortable dining experience, overall. The music is Japanese, which just adds to the authenticity of the place, but it’s never really seemed too loud in the small restaurant, no matter how many groups are in there. It’s also always pleasantly warm in the winter and cool in the summer. (At least they know how to control their thermostat, unlike some other places Emme and I have visited…) Thumbs up for nice décor and ambiance.

The service is also usually pretty good, although on our most recent, it was nothing short of disappointing. There were three waitresses, but they unfortunately were having a difficult time catering to a full restaurant. They are all very friendly, though, and are genuine in their desire to serve you well, as evidenced by how hard they will try to explain a dish clearly when you ask about it. Food is delivered quickly, which is definitely a plus, but you’re effectively abandoned for some time after all of your dishes have arrived — if the restaurant’s slightly busy — which is a bit hard to swallow (like the ika nigiri) when you really need water at some points in your meal. (E.g. Discovering a surprising treasure stash of wasabi under an inedible piece of ika.)

As for value, though… I have to say that I don’t really find Applause’s prices, which are slightly steeper than a number of other fantastic Japanese places, justified in that regard. It truly used to be my favourite Japanese place in Vancouver, because the quality of the sushi did improve over time… but the overall quality, I’m sad to say, has gone down. With the knowledge that I can get fantastic sushi and sashimi elsewhere in Vancouver for even less than what I would pay here, Emme and I won’t be returning to Applause for a while. Don’t let that put you off, though; it is very good. But I can get “very good” elsewhere, and, at the moment, there is nothing that makes Applause stand out above other places – aside from its authenticity (and there are other authentic Japanese places with better food, so…!).

If you’re in Marpole, it’s definitely worth a visit. However, don’t go too far out of your way to give it a try. (I’m still keeping it on my “like” list, though – because I do like it!)

Ambiance: 4

Food: 3.5

Service: 3

Value: 3

Overall: 3

Since our last visit at Bob Likes Thai Food on Sunday, D had been whinning about Pad Thai. So the meat I tried to defrost wasn’t ready by dinner time on Tuesday night and we had to eat out. D jumped up and suggested Talay Thai. It’s a small Thai restaurant that we been to once with our friends back in December. We both loved our first visit so it’s a good time to go again and compare the food.

We ordered Pad Thai, Tom Kha with Chicken (Coconut soup)  and Pad Med Mamuang Himaphan with pork (Stir-fried with roasted cashew nuts, onion and bell peppers in a spicy chili sauce) . We again asked everything to be spicy! We also ordered 2 Thai beer (Singha) and a bowl of brown rice to go with the spicy food.

The Tom Kha Gai was really good. It’s loaded with flavour of lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, Cilantro and fish sauce. It was spiced up with extra fried chili.

The Pad Med Mamuang Himaphan with pork was very fragrant with the chili sauce and the pork and peppers were slightly charred (good sign of nice work sear). The roasted cashew nuts added texture to this stir fried dish.

The Pad Thai was spicy and very very tasty. The flavour was much bolder than that at Bob. The noodle had enough sauce to cover them but the tofu and the egg were nicely charred. Very nice work sear combined with great sauce.

Everything that we ordered:

After the meal, I was really full but D decided to order dessert. Deep Fried Banana with Mango Ice-cream. Call me weird, I am NOT a big fan of mango. Since I was full, I only had a small bite of the deep fried banana and it was VERY good. Crispy outside with soft, warm, sweet, melting banana inside. The mango ice-cream wasn’t bad as well. The temperature contrast was great.

The final bill came up to less than $52 with 2 bottles of beer which was fair for amount of food we had. The waitress was very helpful and very energetic. She did make sure that all the food we ordered were “HOT” (see her writing on the receipt). Since Talay Thai is only 10 min drive from our place, it is definately our go to place for Thai.

So what is so good about the Bombardier Flexity Olympic Line Streetcar?

Urban railcar system is one of the world’s most sustainable mode of transportation. It enables lower energy consumption, decrease land usage, less congestion, fewer accidents and greater accessibility for all passengers. Modern electric streetcar or a magnetic levitation system like Vancouver’s SKytrain are sustainable forms of transportation. Bombardier Transportation claimed its rail car systems “actively maximizing the environmental benefits of rail travel”. They are built on four “cornerstones: energy, efficiency, economy, ecology.” That is why the company had the message “The Climate is Right For Trains” printed on the sides of the two Olympic Line streetcars on trail in Vancouver. Attractive features of the streetcar are low floor entry (even wheelchair riders or small children could easily get on with a minimal effort) and large windows which invite riders to look out the window to not only enjoy the view but also check out the street scene and the shops that are along the streets. Sure beats driving in which your mainly concentration is on the road. The Olympic Line streetcar also traveled at a slow and leisurely speed which was intentionally way under what the streetcar was capable of. For a fast and efficient way of getting from one place to another, there is the Skytrain system which Bombardier also manufactures. Skytrain was built to coincide with Expo 86. The Vancouver’s World’s Fair which has two major themes, transportation and communication.

The Olympic Line Streetcar Has Heritage Values in Vancouver

The city of Vancouver was incorporated in 1886 and the first electric streetcar came into service in 1890, according to Heather Conn’s book Vancouver’s glory years: public transit, 1890-1915. The Vancouver streetcar played a critical role in helping the city to expand and grow. In the beginning, there was only a single line for Main St., Chinatown, Gastown and what is now downtown Vancouver on Granville Street. Then came the Interurban lines in the early 1900s which connected the city core to outlaying areas in Steveston, Burnaby, Surrey etc. Two of these Interurban trains were preserved and restored which The Downtown Historic Railway used as a tourist streetcar service between Granville Island and Science World every summer. The 2010 Olympic Line streetcar also used this same line for its service after the city spent $8 million improving the tracks. One of the original trams, the Interurban bus #1207 was actually built for use in 1905 connecting Marpole and Steveston. Two months after the 2010 Olympic Line finished its run, there is no word on when The Downtown Historic Railway will be in service again. That brings us the interesting question of heritage values of streetcars. It is not just the Good Old Days way of thinking. Streetcars were almost as old as the city of Vancouver itself. These electric trams not only enabled commerce by moving people from their homes to their place of work, especially the line that had daily runs from Marpole to Steveston where the BC fishery industry was. But for those who could afford to have a more leisurely lifestyle, the streetcar was also a convenient way to get shoppers from one specialty store to another. For those reasons and some intangible ones, streetcars have become a symbol of city development and community building. That is where its heritage value comes in and rightfully earned plenty of nostalgia in the hearts of many who have seen it working while growing up in Vancouver. The last of the Vancouver streetcars ceased their operation in when the rubber tires hit the road literally in the late 1950s.

Vancouver’s Granville Island Could be San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf

Much like San Francisco’s Market Street and Fisherman’s Wharf, Vancouver’s downtown core is where a streetcar system like the Olympic Line could really shine. A service from Granville Island to Olympic Village then to Science World, Chinatown, Gastown, Coal Harbor and finally ending at Chilco St. in Stanley Park with a possible sideway track to Yaletown truly make sense. Streetcars for the Arbutus Corridor would someday become a reality too pending on more commercial and residential real estate development. Although right now, there is a great deal of sentiments regarding the return of the streetcar to the Kitsilano, Arbutus, Marpole and Kerrisdale areas.

So what is the official line?

Recently, Gregor Robertson, the Mayor of Vancouver, indicated that the city’s transportation priority should be on the Broadway Corridor, a much more heavily used route. Furthermore, funding opportunities for the Olympic Line simply do not exist at the present time. Mr. Robertson also said that “it will take years to bring back” the Olympic Line, likely after the Evergreen Line is operational in 2014.

Alternative ways to support the Olympic Line

Some commentators have suggested that to make the Olympic Line viable, corporate sponsorship, naming rights and other creative ways to fund the project could be worked out. As a transportation service line, it might have limited use. But as a tourist attraction, a corporate marketing tool, or a nostalgic object of desire, this streetcar could have a much bigger role to play for the community. I think in the long term, the streetcar in Vancouver would become a reality, or at least it should, especially the Granville Island to Gastown route. The extension to UBC would be better served via a faster light rail mode of transportation. If the Olympic Line were to become a more immediate reality, some creative thinking and partnership and marketing skills could make that happen. Personally, I do like to see that happen, instead of waiting for some other factors like the Evergreen Line or the Broadway Corridor transit to determine its fate. Of course, the Olympic Line would have to be fully integrated to the transit network and that could be easily accomplished too. Ultimately, whichever way the streetcar line may end up, to be successful, this sleek guided by rail and on the street transit vehicle would have to focus more on being a streetcar named desire than merely a transportation vehicle. In other words, the Olympic Line could have a greater value in serving a different clientele than those who are looking for a quick way to go from A to B.

Gabriola Petroglyph Design Elements. Source: Adams 2003.

One recent M.A. thesis I was really looking forward to reading is by Amanda Adams entitled Visions cast on stone : a stylistic analysis of the petroglyphs of Gabriola Island, B.C., from UBC Anthropology 2003, and available for free download here.

I was particularly interested to read the instructions she received on proper deportment when visiting the rock art:

Sites were visited in a manner and with a personal code of conduct adhering to Snuneymuxw wishes. Petroglyph sites were not visited at either dawn or dusk. A respectful demeanor was expected as was an “open heart and mind” (Bill Seward, Snuneymuxw elder, personal communication 2002). I was asked to give my full attention to the petroglyphs and their sacredness, not allowing daily distractions to interfere with my concentration on the ancient imagery. These expectations were met to the best of my ability. (18-19)

While many archaeologists are under the impression that there is little to no ethnographic information about petroglyphs, I have long felt that more likely such knowledge is private or highly privileged and not readily shareable.  In this self-serving sense, it was gratifying to see that Adams was able to record some such information:

Snuneymuxw Elder, Bill Seward, asserts that many petroglyphs were made by shamans, hunters and vision seekers (personal communication 2002) while Elder Ellen White maintains that the carvings were places where people both sought and gained power. She explained that “men would be stripped – even in cold weather and laid on top of each petroglyph – learning the spirit world, connecting to the area.” She also noted that the pitted ‘dots’ surrounding several of the carvings were “points of access”, places where one could dip their fingers into pools of “energy” and reservoirs of strength (Archaeology Forum group tour 2002).  (p 13)

Another welcome aspect of Adams’ thesis is her direct comparison to portable art.  While she largely limits herself to the closest sites, such as False Narrows, she at least tries to situate the rock art in relation to the culture-historical sequence in the Gulf of Georgia.  The conventional wisdom on the rock art has always been that it was from the Marpole period, which is when everything exciting allegedly happened in the Gulf, and it is not surprising that Adams reinforces this.  I do question, however, the strength of the association she draws – a lot of Marpole art is really nothing like these petroglyphs.  I also am uncertain about her  audacious suggestion that all of the Gabriola art may have been made in a single generation, or at least a very short period of time, by a single person or a small group of specialists.  For one thing, I would bet we know of less than 10% of the actual rock art on that island.  For another, stylistic cross-dating with this much specificity brings us closer to connoisseurship than to archaeology, and while it can be done and is legitimate, it requires very intense close, even “thick”, description to be compelling.

She also pegs Marpole as being from 2400 to 1000 (14C)  years ago.  I would very much like to see on what basis Marpole can be so defined.  Classic Marpole, as defined by the Beach Grove and Garrison sub-phases, stretches from perhaps 2100 to 1500 years ago — almost one thousand years less.  And, being almost on Vancouver Island where Marpole is regionally expressed less clearly, the Gabriola case must be made even tighter.

I suppose I have a generic objection to the notion that Marpole is a cultural flourescence that then gets expanded to include all the “complex” behaviour seen in the local archaeological record.  Burial cairns, for example, once seen as Marpole type-fossils, are likely both older and more recent than Marpole itself.  We will never understand Marpole if we just use it as a flexible container into which we pour evidence for “complex” behaviour.

Now, all that is a bit unfair to Adams’ thesis, which does not mainly seek to refine our understanding of Marpole.  Yet, as I have mentioned before, M.A. theses are a real backbone of the discipline of archaeology in British Columbia.  About a decade ago or a little more, UBC Anthropology instituted a 50 page limit on their theses, which made me quite apprehensive about whether the UBC MA thesis would continue to be a contribution to knowledge vs. an extended term paper.  I don’t want to pick on Adams’ thesis in this regard, but I suspect she badly needed at least another 50 pages to make her arguments more compelling.  I note she makes extensive use of the substantial 1990 M.A. thesis by Margaret Holm on pre-contact aboriginal art styles – indeed that former M.A. is a necessary precondition, a building-block, for this one. Holm herself relies heavily on Doris Lundy’s excellent 1974 rock art thesis.  Will Adams’  play a similar role in the future?  Time will tell.

I understand where the impetus at UBC to shrink the requirements for their M.A. program came from, and there have been some good theses produced under the new rules. Longer doesn’t equal better of course, but it is much harder and requires more supervision to write something short and good than to write something  long and good.  I don’t believe students or the discipline are particularly well served by an artificial page limit.

In the end, while I remain unconvinced by Adams’ arguments, I do welcome her call for more focused, local study of the rock art of British Columbia.  Regular readers will know I object to the crass treatment of rock art, whether that be in Vancouver or on Gabriola Island itself, and certainly one thing we can take away from this thesis is a heightened sense of the past and continuing spiritual values of these important elements of the national heritage.

I would have welcomed a complete catalogue of original renderings of the petroglyphs of Gabriola Island.

References:

Holm, Margaret 1990 Prehistoric Northwest Coast Art: A Stylistic Analysis of the Archaeological Record. Unpublished MA thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

Lundy, Doris 1974 The Rock Art of the Northwest Coast. Unpublished Master’s thesis. Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby.

So I had to find a place to have brunch there and the only one that I could find was Marpole Grill. I didn’t know anything about this place since I rarely go to the Granville and 70th Avenue area, but I am glad we did have breakfast here. B and C treated me to a great brunch. The Marpole Grill is located at 67th Avenue and Granville, it’s very well decorated (classy and elegant).

It is well attended (we saw a myriad of senior people, but I think that’s just a coincidence) and the waitress was super sweet and very prompt with water and coffee. We had to wait a bit for our orders to come, but I think it was the result of the fact that Marpole Grill has just recently come under new management.

I would come back to the Marpole Grill for brunch for sure. The food was very good, and the service was actually impeccable. If only our brunch had arrived sooner! But that wasn’t the waitress’ fault, I think they are just experiencing what C indicated “teething pains”.