Author Archives: Ed Sum

08.02.17
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Ed’s Picks of the 2017 Victoria Fringe Festival

From the sister site, Otakunoculture, I offer my picks of the 2017 Victoria Fringe Festival season.

Ed Sum's avatarOtaku no Culture

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The 2017 Victoria Fringe Festival has one show where any paranormal enthusiast must not miss. Fake Ghost Tours will no doubt tickle the funny bone in its satire of an industry that I feel has gone too far. I will say more on this later. After picking up a program guide and thumbing through, I have found my picks for this year.

With no surprise, Mystical Wishes Puppet Company, has been invited back with two productions later this year, in November, with special performances of Shadow Performances and Space Hippo. Although listed as part of the Fringe show, they bear honourable mention to mark the calendar for.

But for the week of August 23 to Sept 3rd, there’s plenty of variety to enjoy. But I have to begin with a fuller reveal of my top choice:

Fake Ghost Tours
Whells Phargo Productions

This walking…

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07.12.17
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Get Your Nom Noms with The Cookie Guy

IMG_19261122 Blanshard St
Victoria, BC
Phone: (778) 430-4444

Not too many dessert type shops exist in Downtown Victoria proper. While plenty of chocolatiers are sprinkled around the touristy areas, namely Roger’s, Oh Sugar and Empire Doughnuts, these companies fills a gap.  There’s other operations I’ve walked by, but am I being picky? I’ve often wondered if other delectable confectioneries will set up shop to sate my sweet tooth.

The Cookie Guy fills in a much needed gap which certainly satisfies my inner cookie monster when that craving comes. Best of all, they make them just like grandma! Even better, they are warm, soft and oh so gooey. Their turnaround is very fast since it is all baked in-store; Honestly, you can not get any fresher than this!

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06.28.17
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2017 Feast Food+Film – Creole & Chinese Delights

FEAST-Logo-design-website-4-02

Feast Food+Film is a three-day movie festival in Victoria, BC taking place in mid-June I generally do not miss. Some years are better than others in terms of how many movies I can see (tickets are $25 each). Sadly, James is losing interest in going to anything culinary and is very frugal these days. Also, at least for me, when a few of the movies / documentaries are quickly getting offered on VOD or Streaming services to view, my decision over what to see on a big screen is getting difficult. I want to save money too, but I’ll be missing getting to enjoy the tapa-sized tasters are offered at these events.

I did not have to view Cook Up the Storm, but a little voice in my head said go see it.

The organizers at the Victoria Film Festival never fail to tickle my taste-buds. I really enjoyed Bugs on the Menu from last year, and while nothing as exotic was offered this year, I had a well-made documentary in Commanding the Table to give me a quick history lesson on creole food. I love this style of cuisine and will go out of my way for it. To learn more about one of the early pioneers behind raising the bar on this style of cooking was engaging.

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06.21.17
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[Seattle, WA] Good Golly, I Miss Going to Molly Moon’s Ice Cream

Molly Moon’s Ice Cream
(Multiple Locations)
Seattle, WA

The only difference between Victoria, BC’s Cold Comfort operation to Seattle, WA’s Molly Moon’s is perhaps the latter has several operations than one. The quality of the cream is similar (both are hand-crafted in store), the service is super friendly and the variety … perhaps the same. During a wet Pacific Northwest night, the craving for ice cream certainly hit me.

Now that summer is here, I’m reflecting on which ice cream parlors I miss. Both operations have a cozy place to hang out in, and I have to say they are equal in exceptional variety and quality!

Sustainability is key to both operation’s success. While there were issues with my home-based operation not able to provide exacting details to satisfy the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirement to provide sufficient labeling to sell in groceries, I’m sure at Molly Moon’s they could if they wanted to.

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05.31.17
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The Songhees Have a Beat at Victoria Clipper

this-is-canadas-first-aboriginal-food-truckSonghees Seafood & Steam
Victoria Clipper Terminal
254 Belleville St
Victoria, BC

Visitors arriving at Victoria, BC via The Clipper will be in for a treat! Not only are they arriving in a city originally occupied by this First Nation, but also they have an opportunity to partake in this culture’s yummy in my tummy traditions. From fried bread (I love this over Naan) to salmon, their selection is delectable. Their homemade jam (usually made from blackberries) makes for a perfect dip with the bread they offer. At the end of the day, they may give away the leftover supply so a fresh batch can be made for the next. For this dough, it’s best experienced warm than cold. With my extra piece which I could not finish, I got to try both extremes.

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In what this place supplies is basically comfort food. You’ll find french fries too (I don’t believe this is a cultural product, but that’s okay), and I had their version of poutine and it was very filling. The fries were very good, and the paprika mayo dipping sauce certainly helped make this dish over the top!

Next time, though, I will have to try one of their burger combinations. There’s the choice between salmon and portabella as the main source of protein, and both sound good. My money is on the latter on my next visit. As much as I love bison, I find it hard to believe that some of these creatures roamed to this land during the last Ice Age to settle here. They may have but I find prairie type of oxen better tasting!

3½ Blokes out of 5

05.17.17
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Defining Tacofino, or finding it in a Maze of Mexican Diners in One City Block?

Tacofino_Logo_colour-1_400x400787 Fort St
Victoria, BC
Phone: (778) 406-1787

I think too many Mexican “taco” centric diners are located too close to one another in Victoria, BC. When one operation is busy, the hungry taco consumer can easily walk across the street to another to find a place to sit down for a bite. Located within the same city block is La Taquisa, Tacofino. La Taqueria and La Fiesta Cafe. In terms which operation stands out, none of them truly do. Well, maybe La Fiesta since they have Mexi-Fries (taters), and a condiment station with freshly made toppings (which range from mild to hot) but for the others, they all tout the same thing: locally sourced ingredients. Each of them have their own spin.

Tacofino began their operation in Tofino, the west coast of Vancouver Island and have broadened to a large franchise operation which includes Vancouver. The others have their own stories, but in brief Taqueria is from the mainland and Taquisa is family-owned. Each have their own range of goods. I simply rolled a dice to decide where I wanted to go and landed on ‘fino for bite.

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