World Street Food, Hong Kong Style, but only in Canada…
I was in Toronto this past weekend to visit my mother in the hospital; she had a major surgery and is on the road to recovery.
Between the hospital visits, I was able to sneak into the Pacific Mall, billed as the largest indoor Asian mall in North America. It is a shopping attraction that incorporates a traditional Pacific-style market with 400 stores, selling a large variety of retail goods as well as herbs, prepared Chinese foods and entertainment.
In case you have never been to Toronto, it is the largest city in Canada and one of the most multicultural cities in the world. There are 6 Chinese districts alone in the metro Toronto area, with a population of close to 6 million.
While at the mall with my nephew, Tim, he was interested in getting ice cream; I was more interested in getting to the food court to see the latest food trends and to have something to eat, as it was almost noon. There were 40 plus eateries in the mall and I was looking for a quick bite and something different than the usual fare. We walked around several times and found several juice bars featuring iced tea, bubble tea, and blended fruits but we are not in mood for juice. Finally we came across some stations with everything from BBQ duck, noodles, and dumplings, to stir fry. It was so busy, people were everywhere and we tried to find a table first before we ordered.
We finally settled for a place called Shark’s Fin City and ordered beef brisket with steamed rice, and Tim ordered BBQ duck with steamed rice too. I simply love beef brisket with noodles – it makes a great snack. It took less than 5 minutes before my order arrived and it also came with a Coke for $5.50 plus tax. The food was good and hot, in a small 6” container, just right for lunch. We finished our food in very tight quarters and ate fast. We also had to share the table with two other people; we did not mind because as we were just glad to have somewhere to sit.
While we were eating we heard a big bang from a one of the noodle shops near us. We walked over and saw the owner Ken, using martial (as much as culinary) arts, in his made-to-order hand-pulled noodle demonstration at the front of the store. He slapped the dough, and pulled it along, yielding many delicate noodles. It was a unique form of art as much as an experience for the customers. I thought about inviting him to UMass for a demonstration. Sure, I wanted to try his fresh noodles but there was too long a line up to wait.
At last, at the insistence of Tim, we stopped by his favorite ice cream shop, Yutopia; it turned out to be a build-it-yourself, non-fat frozen yogurt, with fresh toppings. My nephew finally got what he craved and was very happy. I told him that he can come to UMass and have something like this daily.
The whole dining experience reminded me of my childhood, eating at a busy street corner in Hong Kong; only now the food is in smaller portions, much healthier. . . and only as far away as Canada.
This is Ken Toong and thank you for keeping UMass Dining at the top.
Ken Toong
Director
Contact Ken at ktoong@mail.aux.umass.edu
You can follow Ken Toong on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/KenToong