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.