Food at Maclaren's mediocre? Not the smoked salmon sandwich.

It's kind of going around that everything on the menu (other than the drinks) is mediocre at Maclaren's on Elgin. I mean, the draw of the place are the wide screen TVs (for sports viewing) and the pool tables. Strangly though, the smoked salmon sandwich is really good. It comes with chunks of smoked salmon, not slices of it. It's almost like a salmon steak sandwich. The only thing is that the salmon tends not to be able to stay in the sandwich, so your hands smell like you've gone fishing, not a good idea if you intend to shoot pool after that.

Maybe the rest of the menu's gotten better too, I mean it could just be me having bad experiences from before, and the salmon's just improved with the rest of it?

West Coast Celtic Originally From Ottawa

Amazing band. It was a fantastic show at the Irish Village and the band had as much fun as the crowd, this being a homecoming show, sort of. I had so much fun I'm almost tempted to travel just to see them again. You know it when a band has it together when they've got that something extra compared to the run of the mill - both chemistry and synergy as a group.

While I'm at this, I might as well do a shameless plug for a friend of mine. They (the Reverb Syndicate) are doing a CD release show on September 23rd at Zaphod's. It's a totally different type of music from west coast celtic, but they too have lots of fun playing what they enjoy, so it'll be cool (a.k.a. groovy or wicked for you time-travelling types). www.thereverbsyndicate.ca

Strongly recommended: Won Ton House (Ottawa)

Finally got to try this restaurant on Wellington west of Parkdale. Recent gentrification of the area has continued unabatedly but this place, like the Bagel Shop across the street, has been around for years through the ups and downs.

All I can say is that I'm definitely going to be back there again. The food is good, and the dining room cosier and friendlier than the large Chinese restaurants in town, yet better maintained than many of the smaller ones. It's much more than just Won Ton, so don't let that rather simplistic name fool you. It's a full-fledged restaurant.

Singaporean style buffet in Ontario

The only way to describe what a Singaporean style buffet is to someone in Canada is to go for one. The closest I've seen is at a place called Mandarin (www.mandarinbuffet.com). They have a number of locations across Ontario. I stopped by their Pickering location on the way back from Toronto. It's just behind the Petro Canada Station at the corner of Kingston Road and Brock Road, convenient if you are connecting between the 407 and the 401. Roast beef, barbecued pork, sushi, prime rib, mussels, fresh shrimps (Singaporeans read: prawns), chicken curry, deep-fried shrimps and scallops, "everything you could want" salad, your usual chinese dishes, black forest cake, cream caramel, bread pudding, ice cream. There's also the usual "Canadian" chinese food such as chicken balls, egg rolls, hot and sour soup. The wonton is not all that great but everything else was delightful.

Kitty Lake Cabin

We arrived at the Algonquin Park Shall Lake ranger station (pass office) at about noon only to be greeted by the largest number of black flies I have seen in the 4 years I've been in Canada. Apparently the ranger knew what he was doing as he was wearing a really good bug jacket. I thought I could tough it out but all my tropical jungle experience did not help this day. "You picked the peak weekend for bugs," the ranger said.

Fortunately we only had a short paddle to the Kitty Lake cabin, which is in fact before the short 90 metres portage across to Kitty Lake from Farm Lake. The cabin is amazing inside. There are four bunk beds, a picnic table, a wood burning stove (which we did not use as it was way too warm), and enough space for two small tents (not that we were going to erect any). The black flies gave way to mosquitoes at sunset. Good thing we had a cabin and the drums we brought with us to entertain ourselves. Sunday was a little better for bugs as it was a little sunnier. But one finds them swarming in the shade away from the wind, as we did on the protected side of a point on Booth Lake that morning.

Sunbeam Lake lives up to its name

On Saturday, we set off for Algonquin Park early with the rain still pouring down. When it did not get any better by the time we got to Tim Hortons at Renfrew, we were all prepared to get to Algonquin Park but not put our canoes into the water and maybe do something else instead.

We arrived at Canoe Lake at about noon. The rain had stopped, but the persistently overcast sky suggested that more might be to come. The wind had also subsided a little but it was still going to be a tough paddle upwind all the way to Sunbeam Lake. We decided to make a go of it. After all, the weather forecast was for sunshine on Monday.

The paddle up Canoe Lake was not easy (read: extremely difficult for novice paddlers) with the gusty North-westerly bearing down our way. Despite the bad weather, I was pretty confident about getting to the campsite by six. Exactly one year ago, we did a trip up to Littledoe Lake without much difficulty and Sunbeam Lake looks just a little further with two more portages through Vanishing Pond. Hopefully the pond will not vanish on us, but we were told that at this time of the year, water levels should be high enough for it to be navigable.

It wasn't much fun paddling in this weather, no fun at all. Overcast, gloomy, windy. Well, we got to the eastern end of Littledoe Lake and paddled into the creek leading up towards Sunbeam Lake. After the first portage, the route becomes interesting. Marshes everywhere and it was unclear which way to go. You really have to look for the slow flow of the water to eke out an idea as to where upstream is. Be prepared for some turns around marshes and deciding between ramming through narrow/shallow sections or carrying across. It's a maze of sorts. If the weather wasn't so miserable and if we weren't pressed for time to get to camp before light fades, this should actually have been quite fun.

Our second portage took us to Sunbeam Lake, and just as we were appearing at the end of the portage trail, the sun came through the clouds for the first time that day. Sunbeam Lake lives up to its name. There are 2 campsites on islands on Sunbeam Lake. The more easterly one appears to be superior but it was already occupied when we arrived. We were kind of not in the mood of looking around anymore, so we settled for a site on high ground on the south shore with a west-facing view off a cliff. The other island campsite (which we visited the next day) faced east. Depending on the wind direction, bugs and temperature, one could be better than the other. The island one had more space. As it turned out, it got rather cold for two evenings in a row and we probably made the wrong choice of campsite. Fortunately I had lots of warm clothing with me. I could hear the ice and snow falling on my tent fly Saturday night and snow squalls were a regular feature for most of Sunday morning.

Sunday night seemed like an endless echo of strong winds blowing from the west. When we woke up Monday to a chilly morning, we were worried that we would have another difficult day ahead of us. Fortunately, the sky cleared up by about 11, and we had an excellent paddle out with the wind behind out backs and what seemed in contrast to the two days before, wonderful partly cloudy weather. We even had ample time to take pity on those paddling our way upwind. Stopping at Wilno Tavern for delightful polish food on the way back capped a trip I would not want to have missed, despite the almost wintry weather in May.

Stars on Ice and Playoff Hockey

Stars on Ice is on tour again. And it's also time for playoff hockey. Just having a look at the schedule for Stars on Ice makes me think how tough they must be having it. 12 cities in 20 days. That's more intense touring than the NHL players have been doing since the format's been revamped to intentionally reduce travelling.

I had the good fortune of making it to the event at Scotiabank Place (formerly Corel Centre) free of charge, volunteering. If you want to see Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko, Jennifer Robinson, ..., this is the event not to miss. Lots of fancy moves, looks like lots of fun but definitely no less technically demanding than competitive figure skating.

Ottawa's slugging it out with Tampa Bay, Calgary with Anaheim, and we'll see how Montreal does again on Monday after thrashing Carolina 6-1. After the olympic disappointment both sides of the 49th parallel (largely due to the players' strike last year resulting in the lack of match practice, no?), the fans are back, all but Leafs fans. No, Toronto does not get to represent Canada in the competition for the Stanley Cup this year.

The removal of Corel's name from the arena in Ottawa continues the slow fade of a name that once faced off with Microsoft in the ring. But you know what? Corel is going IPO again, for the second time in its history. Don't believe me? Check out http://www.corel.com/ yourself.

Luskville Falls again (This blog is one year old!)

In April 2005, this blog came into existence with a post on the Luskville Falls trail. I am happy to say that I made it there again a year and a day after. Did I see any difference? Firstly, unlike last year, there was absolutely no trace of snow left anywhere. The falls looked a little more of a torrent and the day was just beautiful, more beautiful than last year I think. I forgot to bring my camera this time so no pictures, unfortunately. The warmest winter ever recorded in Canada might have something to do with it.

So where are the falls exactly? They are on the west side of the Eardley escarpment overlooking the Ottawa River and can be accessed via the 148. Coming from Ottawa/Aylmer, turn right at the gravel/mud Chemin de L'Hotel de Ville shortly after where the 148 becomes dual carraigeway and park along the road, then walk towards the falls past the ranch (where you can rent horses to ride, by the way). There should be quite a number of cars there at this time of the year. Google maps "Luskville, Quebec" and you will find it. If you have reached Luskville proper, you've passed Chemin de L'Hotel de Ville.

Going on an adventure? File a trip plan with safetrip.ca

Having a trip plan filed with someone before going on an adventure has always been good practice. Now, trip planning goes online with the launch of safetrip.ca. It's great that something like this is now available online. From what I can tell, Safe Trip Canada is more of a west coast outfit at the moment. I don't know enough about search and rescue to know for sure, but it might be beneficial for someone to start something like this in central or eastern Canada. Leave me a comment if you think it's something worth doing.

Genji Sushi is become a habit in Ottawa

Genji Sushi, a family run place on Lisgar between Elgin and Metcalfe is reasonably good for sushi and tempura. It's not top-of-the-line Japanese food, but well worth the price. $20 to $30 buys you an excellent meal in a casual, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. They keep filling your cups with green tea even after you have finished your meal, so you can stay and converse as long as you want. They have been open since December and appears to be increasingly popular. From their accents, I think they they are from Hong Kong. So long as you don't mind your Japanese food a little chinese style, that should not matter. And in case you equate chinese style food with "dunked in oil" junk, it's not like that at all - this is fine cuisine.

Get Real Christianity

There is a new wave of "get real" Christianity happening these days, accompanied by an surge in artistic expressions of biblical faith. I just returned from a conference on the evolving church in Toronto featuring Chris Seay, Donald Miller, and Brian McLaren. To some, post-modern christianity may be an oxymoron, but questions over terminology and debates over micro vs. meta narratives aside, I think there is much good to be said about getting real about one's faith. I'll allow the keynote speakers to speak for themselves online. Chris Seay is the pastor/lead elder of Ecclesia, Donald Miller is a writer and the author of the groundbreaking Blue Like Jazz and Brian McLaren's blog speaks for himself.

The way to avoid Rideau Street traffic

I learnt something new today. The way to avoid heavy traffic along Rideau Street is to use Laurier Avenue instead, connecting via Charlotte Street just west of Cummings Bridge. Charlotte is the street that leads to Strathcona Park.

Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant - Toronto

Another good place for dimsum in Toronto. Everything is above average for a very reasonable price. Be prepared to wait a little while for a table on the weekends though, as it does get rather busy. Nevertheless, the dining hall is large enough to ensure a regular turnover of guests. The restaurant also provides a leaflet in English explaining dimsum to guests, which comes in really useful. Despite the obvious efforts put in to cater to the "caucasian market", it remains very popular amongst the local chinese community, which is testimony to the quality of food. www.brightpearlseafood.com

Real Thailand for Real in Toronto

It's real thai food at Real Thailand on Bloor just west of Spadina in Toronto. I'm impressed with the lamb and chicken curries especially. Directly opposite the Dominions grocery store in the Annex, it lives up to its somewhat boastful sounding name by delivering amazingly delicious dishes in a casual and relaxed atmosphere. And in case you are wondering what the portraits at the back of the restaurant are about, a review dating back to 2000 on their website www.realthailand.ca explains it all.

Getting profiled. OkCupid. Hmm...

Wired News ran an article in February on OkCupid, which I only now managed to get to due to the ridiculous backlog of email newsletters in my inbox. The mention of SHORT quizzes sparked my interest, so off to their URL I went. Ten minutes later, I've been told that I'm apparently what they call a slow dancer. Way cool.

The Slow Dancer Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLDm) Steady, reliable, and cradling her tenderly. Take a deep breath, and let it out real easy...you are The Slow Dancer. Your focus is love, not sex, and for your age, you have average experience. But you're a great, thoughtful guy, and your love life improves every year. There's also a powerful elimination process working in your favor: most Playboy types get stuck raising unwanted kids before you even begin settling down. The women left over will be hot and yours. Your ideal woman is someone intimate, intelligent, and very supportive. While you're not exactly the life of the party, you do thrive in small groups of smart people. Your circle of friends is extra tight and it's HIGHLY likely they're just like you. You appreciate symmetry in relationships. ALWAYS AVOID: The Battleaxe CONSIDER: The Maid of Honor or The Sonnet Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.

The Scone Witch

It takes a little bit of witchery to get the scones baked right. That's exactly what the Scone Witch at the corner of Albert and Lyon has done. It's a nice little place for breakfast. They'll keep you coming back for the different flavoured scones. I can't wait to try the meal scones (a sort of larger scone with smoked salmon or whatever). The staff are nice and friendly and the whole experience is very homelike. It's not a very big place though, and filled up quite rapidly just after 11 this morning. Somehow the scones reminded me of this really cute bakery (butter tarts, yeah!) across the police station in Renfrew. Another unforgettable place.

St. Louis Bar and Grill at Davisville

I can't believe I couldn't remember this place from the time I lived in Toronto. Now that I've seen it again, "Right, that's where it is." This standalone establishment is as much a part of this historic stretch of Yonge Street as James Street Feed Company is of Bank Street in Ottawa. It cannot be missed on the west side of Yonge Street in between Davisville and Eglinton, one of the few places left along Yonge Street with it's own parking (even though it was a miserly 6 or 7 lots). I found it after parking in one of the side streets east of Yonge, finding to my delight free parking (1 hour limit) in a city where this is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity.

Riding on past glory - King's Garden?

King's Garden Chinese Cuisine used to be one of the best places to have dimsum on a weekend morning in Toronto. Still at 214 King W just across from the Roy Thomson Hall, it seemed to disappoint a little this Sunday. Perhaps it had to do with the high expectations it commanded or the fact that they had changed the menu since I was last there. While innovation is commendable, in this particular case it might have been at the expense of a formula that worked just too well. The quality is still respectable, but it set me back by about $30 for what I would consider a premium price to pay for an A-minus in an increasingly competitive market for dimsum in the rapidly expanding TO.

Missionfest Toronto

The first thing that struck me about Missionfest Toronto is the diversity of the Christian spectrum, ranging from people I would collaborate with anytime to those I would be embarrassed to be associated with. The communities of Christendom encompass all types, from the moderate to the extreme, from the genteel to the gruff, artists, intellectuals, missionaries, politicians and businessmen. It was a solemn reminder that God reaches out to everyone and this is no time to get proud. In a sense, Missionfest Toronto was very much a microcosm of the city, a melting pot of cultures and societies, and in this case of doctrines and expressions of worship as well. It was an excellent example of how we can be different and still be united. Even though a distinct generation gap can be discerned, young and old gathered, celebrated and worshipped together in many cases. In the end, it was an amazing discovery experience for me. There's a lot to process, consider and pray about. Was there anything that irked me? Well, there was a tendency as would be expected in an event of this nature to be overly spiritual sounding in the rhetoric. At times I really felt that it distracted from the message.

Thai Restaurant en route to Toronto

There is a nice little Thai restaurant by the name of Desiam on the way to Toronto at Pickering which is very inexpensive. The food is authentically Thai and is a welcome change from the usual fast food stops along the 401 between Ottawa and Toronto. Although Pickering is almost Toronto, it is a convenient place to stop especially if you are making your way up to the 407 via Brock Road (Durham regional road 1). The restaurant is in the middle of the mall to the east of Brock Road along Pickering Parkway. It's about halfway to Staples (at the east end) from the Brock Road turn off and is next to the only other restaurant in the complex.

Warmest winter ever recorded in Canada

Yes, it's official. This is the warmest winter in Canada since temperatures were first recorded in 1948. Come to think of it, it was a really strange winter. I managed a good week's worth of skiing between Christmas and the New Year, then all of a sudden it started to rain in the first week of January. It kind of felt a little like fall all over again, or even a little like spring. The dead of winter which usually plagues January never came, apparently because the wind patterns that bring the cold air from the polar ice caps were "stuck" (apologies for the non-technical language) over the North American continent. Apparently the phenomenon did not affect the Europe or Asia.

It was more or less back to normal in February, but by March it became apparent that the ski season was coming to an end much earlier than normal when the slopes started to report spring conditions. The Rideau canal opened for skating barely a day in December before closing due to the rain, reopening just in time for Winterlude in February. I've been out on the canal only twice. Pity. It's now closed and doesn't look like it's going to open again till next year.

Earthquake in Ottawa? What earthquake?

It's always interesting when an earthquake has come and gone without you knowing it ever happened. It came to my notice when a friend of mine currently in Tokyo asked me about it. With the way the news media is nowadays, it is often that someone on the other side of the globe knows more about the happenings in one's neighbourhood than someone living here.

Apparently it happened at 8.39 pm on February 24 and registered 4.5 on the Richter scale. I was at Mont Tremblant at the time and felt none of the trembling, even though the epicentre was somewhere between Ottawa and where I was. Close to Thurso actually, where that horrible pulp and paper factory is. It appeared to be operating fine as I was passing by it on the way home on Sunday. The unmistakable odour was as pungent as usual.

According to news reports, someone living a couple of blocks from my place in Centretown actually reported, "The whole house was shaking violently," she said. "It started around 8:40 and lasted a good two minutes ... at least a minute ... we were all holding on to the dishes." Well, when I got home, there were no signs anything had moved an inch.

Mont Tremblant downhill runs: difficulty update

Another fabulous day at Tremblant. I'm what you would call an average intermediate skier, so I have a good feel as to which black diamonds are managable for non-experts at Mont Tremblant. As usual, snow conditions make all the difference when it comes to skiing, so the following information should only be taken as a rough guide.

The black diamonds on the Le Soleil side tend to be a little more difficult that most others, but depending on the snow conditions, Tiguidou is likely to be the easiest of them all. It also provides a more convenient route than the blue Toboggan run to the little lodge halfway down.

South side: the easiest runs are McCulloch, Kandahar, and Taschereau. Attempt the rest only after mastering these three.

North side: the easiest runs are Geant and Duncan Haut. Variable conditions can occur on the other runs so be careful.

Condo at Mont Tremblant

It was a weekend well worth remembering. Lots of great fun on Mont Tremblant. And the condo we stayed at as a group was just phenomenal. Jardin du Village it was called. Great location: short drive to the slopes, cross-country trail at the door, ski rentals across the street, skating on the lake just a short walk away, and the local grocery store down the street. Great interior: fireplace, full kitchen, lots of room, what more can you ask for. Well, there was only one shower even though there were two bathtubs and three WCs. Surely it would not have cost that much more to install a second shower.

Alight at Night at Upper Canada Village

This was probably the only spot open on the night of Jan 1. Anyway, it was a delightfully Christmas-ty thing to do. Singing carols at the old Christ Church and watching the baker put the bread into the old brick oven. Don't forget to get in line early for the bread at 7 pm at the souvenir store, for it sells out fast! The oven is only big enough for 120 loaves, and this particular evening, he made just 80.

The other buildings were closed, unlike during the day in summer, and the ground was just a little icy (no fresh snow). However, for an admission fee of only $4, it was well worth it. www.uppercanadavillage.com