Author Archives: Ed Sum

05.19.16
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You’re an Olo to my Heart in Victoria’s Chinatown

soupOlo Restaurant
509 Fisgard St.
Victoria, BC
(250) 590-8795

There are weeks where I go solo because James is broke, and OLO moves to the top of my hit list since a certain buddy prefers to eat on a budget and I’ve been moving towards the sky’s the limit. At least we agree on one thing: hitting operations who prefer to source all their ingredients locally. And they love sustainability! This establishment used to be known as Ulla (with a similar mandate) and just following what they offered made me wish I was making more money to afford eating here. The offerings are delectable and reasonably well-priced, but I rarely haunt Chinatown (real spirits notwithstanding). When I heard they (as OLO) were one of the six establishments working in concert with bringing Bugs on the Menu, I knew this was a restaurant to finally hit.

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I was visiting to specifically try their caramel cricket crunch sorbet. But that’s a dessert item, and since I was here, I pondered hard over what I could have that would classify as a light lunch instead of a dinner-sized meal.

For sheer comfort and relaxation, this place is excellent! I loved the decor, food and ambience (and hopefully they will still have the Squid Ink Chitarra when I decide to return). The menu varies every few months, and I’ve been waiting long until they offered something I was after. Just when I want to visit requires me to keep tabs. I love restaurants that offer dishes to challenge the taste buds.

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05.17.16
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La Taqueria Pinche vs La Taquisa

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Victoria‘s La Taquisa is facing stiff competition with Vancouver‘s La Taqueria Pinche now on the island. The former operation has two seafood offerings (cod and shrimp), the latter has one (albacore tuna). As for beef, the latter has three different cuts to choose from: flank, cheeks and tongue. I’m in bovine heaven! The only thing our home-grown operation offers, in addition, are burritos and even then I’m not sure that’s enough for me to be loyal.

Ever since I visited their Broughton street operation and had a few sloppily made tacos, I never had the desire to go back. Back when they were a food truck style operation at Cook St., better care and attention to the product was made. I’m fairly sure I lost my custom (matching frame) sunglasses there and none of the staff were all that helpful when I returned to check. This happened a few years ago, and I left feeling unimpressed.

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05.14.16
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Bug Appetite! Bugs on the Menu Victoria Debut and Where to Eat Them!

Bugs_on_the_Menu_-_The_Vic_Poster_for_Web_2_250f94b0a36d369d5b4497e974f0aed8

The Vic Theatre
808 Douglas Street.
Victoria, BC

May 15, 2016, 7pm

Bugs on the Menu is a very eye-opening documentary about entomophagy, the art of eating insects. While not everyone like the-the idea of snacking on, for example, crickets, other countries around the world are already preparing it in culinary ways. In a grander sense, not every culture has the infrastructure required to raise farm animals like chickens, pigs and cattle (the big three) for feeding a civilization. When compared to the smaller environmental and ecological footprint required to cultivate these smaller creatures, the evidence of which is easier to grow is very clear.

This film began with a discussion of water conservation, and the massive droughts that some parts of the world face. Before I knew it, the discussion about how insects can be made as a new food source was in full force. It also makes a very compelling argument for changing over to a different organism to sustain a growing population, and in what I liked, just where people can go to try these insects is peppered throughout the film. When prepared right, they can add spice to any dish, including rice!

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05.12.16
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You Don’t Have to Be Afraid of “Bugs on the Menu” at The Vic Theatre May 13th!

Bugs_on_the_Menu_-_The_Vic_Poster_for_Web_2_250f94b0a36d369d5b4497e974f0aed8Plays at The Vic Theatre
808 Douglas Street.
Victoria, BC

May 13, 2016, 7pm
May 15, 2016, 7pm

Food samples will be offered before the screening of this film.

Director Ian Toews and Producer Mark Bradley will be present for a Q&A afterwards.

If you give me a home where edible bugs roam, I can easily snack on them all day like popcorn. Not everyone is keen on the concept, but I’m open to the idea of nibbling on mealworms or crickets. Some folks think of it as just a gimmick to add to the gross factor, but when the apocalypse comes and most of the traditional livestock are gone, irradiated, just what else can a person eat? It’s almost as simple as digging in one’s back yard!

Or you better know the difference between edible fungi and the poisonous ones. Eating insects should not be a shocker. I point out one famous scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Dr. René Belloq had some bug climb into his mouth and it never came out. Not even in editing did Steven Spielberg consider cutting that scene out or using a different take (who knows how many times that moment was filmed). If actor Paul Freeman was ever asked about that one scene, I’m sure he’d say it was delicious!

The documentary Bugs on the Menu looks at a new movement of cultivating sustainability in the food market that’s taking place all around the world. Instead of the traditional meats and “the harm” animal rights advocates are opining about, humanity can find a new way of sustaining itself by growing certain bugs for human consumption. People can’t randomly capture them in the wild for concerns over what kind of toxins may be in them, so they have to be raised. Documentarian Ian Toews travels to South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana to learn about what’s being farmed. From Mopane caterpillars to termites, the thought of trying to eat the latter will have some folks gagging at the thought. No, I doubt Indy would have been able to eat his way out of a red soldier ant brigade, but the fourth (and lamented) film in this series did come to mind.

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05.05.16
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Will There be Further Adventures of Ape Man and Fish Boy for Victoria, BC?

ape man and fish boyEach Adventure of Ape Man and the Fish Boy will no doubt be different and I certainly like to see them again. On May 3rd, they were billed as a duo of secret agents and on May 4th (the show I attended), they are performers going on a trip through time to undo a misfire as they took to the Intrepid Theatre Club stage to play … well, they did not even get that far in a funny way.

This act is still in development and in what I saw, I loved the camaraderie Rod Peter Jr. (Atomic Vaudeville) and Charlie Ross (One Man Star Wars) shared on stage. They’re buddies in real life and the concept they are shaping (mixing a hint of mime, pre-recorded cabaret-style music and geeky stand-up) feels like a blend of what I loved seeing from the days of the Carol Burnett Show when Harvey Korman and Tim Conway took to stage for their acts. In reality, they are working in the absurdist theatre medium, like in Monty Python. In the cinematic sense, I can see a style reminiscent of Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan’s show in Michael Winterbottom’s movie, The Trip. I could tell they’re fellow nerds (my Spidey sense kicked in) when they were riffing on recent pop culture products like Back to the Future, Batman, Doctor Who and Mad Max, to name a few. I look forward to keeping tabs on where this new comedic duo will go next. There’s a possibility of taking the show to Vancouver and Toronto according to Peter Jr. He also mentioned the thought of testing it out in the Fringe theatre circuit before going nationwide.

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05.04.16
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Ayo-oooga! Let’s Set Sail to Indonesian Styled Fast Food

ayo IMG_20151020_160902535_HDRAyo Eat
Market Square
Unit 140 – 560 Johnson St.
 Victoria, BC
(250) 590-4231

If Indonesian food simply means adding prawn chips to the dish then I’m sold! Ayo operates out of a corner space in Market Square and the small space should not be a deterrent when the space downstairs is a stage to sit, snack and relax in. In any season, this hub is a nice place to visit. I miss it; I frequented this space more in my youth during the early 90’s when Island Fantasy Comic Shop occupied the lower quarters beneath this food operation. Ever since they closed their doors, I don’t frequent this space as often.

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