Phở Tan Vietnamese Restaurant ~ in Kerrisdale

Raw bits of shaved beef, cooked in broth before your eyes. I first tasted Vietnamese phở in the 1980s. when my family and I came to the left coast from the Canadian prairies, though I learned about Vietnam's popular street food while reading about the country's culture and politics years before during the American War.










At its simplest, phở is a noodle soup made of broth, rice noodles, a few herbs, and either chicken or beef. Historically, people in the south of Vietnam ate it for breakfast and sometimes lunch, whereas those from the north tended to eat it anytime of the day. In Canada, phở is usually consumed for lunch, and often dinner too.


























Along West 41st, in Kerrisdale, is a local favourite spot for phở, called Phở Tan. It's a small place and the decor, like many Vietnamese restaurants, is somewhat kitschy. Service is prompt and friendly. The usual Vietnamese dishes are available but it's the Phở Tai I come for, as do hundreds of others, and it's excellent.

Phở Tan is a small restaurant and during the prime lunch hours it fills up. Dishes come out quickly so wait times, inside by the door, or outside, are relatively brief.

 

Phở Tan is a wonderful neighbourhood gem. Located at 2076 West 41st, it's open most days 10:30 to 20:30. Debit and cash only. No credit cards.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Springtime in Kerrisdale ~ in between the rainstorms the trees are blooming

Rains and winds have battered Canada's left coast for several weeks, with no end in sight. It is depressing.


Yet, between storms, the sun comes out, however briefly, and temperatures rise. Spring is here.

A brief walk through almost any neighbourhood on the south coast, and this particular walk to Kerrisdale in Vancouver, gives evidence of the beauty of the season.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Hiking at Alice Lake Provincial Park ~ Jeem goes out of bounds

Close to Brackendale is the highly popular Alice Lake Provincial Park. In the summer this is one of the province's busiest parks and a favourite for locals and tourists alike. The 411 hectare park was established in 1956. Before that, the area was heavily logged.





The are four fresh water lakes that dominate the park, and Alice Lake is the largest, which isn't saying much as it is only a few hundred metres across at any given point.








There's a walkabout around Alice Lake, which is quite wonderful and easily accessible for most. Along the walk there are many picnic tables, benches and barbecue spots, and it's easy to see why this park is packed with people during the summer months.












It was incredibly warm for the first weekend in March and the skies were a brilliant blue. Signs of spring were everywhere, and it was just what Jeem y Sherry had hoped to find on this brief weekend away from Vancouver.









Alice Lake is surrounded by mountains and forest that can be quite dense in parts. A variety of trails provide for more adventurous hiking and after doing the walking trail around the lake, Sherry y Jeem decided to hike DeBeck's Hill Trail, slightly more difficult and certainly steeper as it made its way up the hill named for a logging company's founder.








Intially Jeem y Sherry were walking together, but as Jeem stopped to take photographs, Sherry walked ahead of Jeem.  Not necessarily a problem, as this often happens on their travels. Ten paces behind, always ten paces behind.









But this time, as the forest enveloped the trail and the sun disappeared in the trees, and the pathway itself narrowed dramatically, Jeem fell further and further behind. Eventually Sherry was nowhere to be seen.















Jeem tried to catch up to Sherry, but to no avail, and, in those moments of transcendental panic that seem to happen to people from Buenos Aires, Jeem began to worry. His major fear was of bears and something he had seen in a video shown in an immigration class he attended. "This is about the time of year  when hibernating bears come out of their winter's slumber and ... they are probably hungry," he thought to himself as he looked around. Nervously.For reasons unclear Jeem decided to venture off the path and cut through the dense forest to meet up with Sherry.



In theory, this might have worked, if only he had any real knowledge of the area, and was prepared, physically, and mentally, to carry out his plan. "It's a short cut," he said aloud in an attempt scare away bears.















And so.... three hours later, Jeem was found, muddied, bloodied, bruised and dehydrated by two park rangers, as he stumbled onto the path not thirty metres from where he started. After a rambling and largely incoherent conversation with the rangers, Jeem was released into the care of Sherry after she promised, on the Argentino's behalf, that he would never visit Alice Lake Provincial Park again.











Alice Lake is a beautiful place, and the trails are great, especially when recalling the sage advice of a much wiser man, "No short cuts!"

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Xoco ~ artisan chocolates in Squamish

Jeem y Sherry were back in Squamish for a brief interlude over the weekend, and the weather was incredible. Sixteen degrees and sunny for much of the day,  and the patio at Howe Sound Brewery was nice indeed.




We walked around town and found, not necessarily for the first time, an amazing little chocolate shop on the main drag called Xoco. Open only a few weeks short of one year, this little mother and son operation features fresh chocolates, and assorted pastries based on chocolate, that are all quite stunning.

Locally owned and operated, with local ingredients where possible, and all handcrafted on-site, Xoco is well worth the visit when in Squamish.

Xoco is another example of why people are talking about Squamish in a new light. No longer a town content to be just a stop along the way to Whistler, or yet another bedroom community for Vancouver, something is happening here, and it's fun to watch its r/evolution. Time will tell if citizens can prevail over developers, but they'll have some great chocolate along the way.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Women's Memorial March on February 14th

The first women’s memorial march was held in 1991 in response to the murder of a Coast Salish woman on Powell Street in Vancouver. Her name is not spoken today out of respect for the wishes of her family. Out of that sense of hopelessness and anger came an annual march on Valentine's Day to express compassion, community, and caring for all women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, unceded Coast Salish Territories.

All these years later, the Women's Memorial March continues to honour the lives of missing and murdered women and all women's lives lost in the Downtown Eastside, and in cities across Canada.

My first encounter with the March took place on Valentine's Day 2010 in Victoria. It was a quiet, powerful experience.



Indigenous women disproportionately continue to go missing or be murdered in our city. Political will to address these tragedies, or the systemic nature of gendered violence, poverty or racism.






In Vancouver the March starts at 12 noon on Sunday, February 14. People of all genders are encouraged to congregate at the corner of Hastings and Main at the Carnegie Community Centre. The March will proceed through the Downtown Eastside, stopping to commemorate at places where women were last seen or found. Speeches by community leaders and activists will take place at the Courthouse.

Photography is discouraged during the March. No political or union flags, banners, leaflets or posters are allowed at this event.