An Amazing Breakfast at Tubbie’s and Lunch with Relatives at Hot Peppers in Scarborough, Ontario

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Woodbridge and Scarborough, Ontario

An Amazing Breakfast at Tubbie’s and Lunch with Relatives at Hot Peppers in Scarborough, Ontario

It is our last full day in Canada and, naturally, we liked to make the most of it. It started off beautifully with Sylvia informing us that we wanted to take us out for breakfast. Now Llew had already eaten his “Daily Special”—toast with preserves and coffee. But I had not eaten yet…so when Sylvia made her offer, I was quite happy to take her up on it. Llew declined but when we twisted his arm, he agreed to come along with us for the company. And so off we went.

Breakfast at Tubbie’s:

The three of us made our way into Tubbie’s (a very appropriately named place) if one went by the size of the portions being served to the customers. Sylvia told us that it is a superb place for breakfast and one that she often took her kids to when they were growing up. It reminded me very much of IKEA in his menu and its portion size. I could not resist the waffles (as they would be the last I would have, probably, before my return to India). Sylvia decided to order a mimosa (as it made her feel as if she were on a cruise, she said!), I had a hot chocolate and Llew had a decaff Americano. Because he had already eaten breakfast, he ordered nothing else, but I went for the waffles with apple-cinnamon compote (as I had already had them with strawberries on a couple of occasions), whipped cream and maple syrup. They were delicious. Sylvia chose pancakes but hardly had two bites of them and was done! In the end, it was not so much what we chose or what we ate but our knowledge of the fact that all good things must come to an end and that our lovely stay with Sylvia in Canada would soon come to a close. Tomorrow, at this time, we’d be in a cab and on our way to Pearson Airport for the start of Phase Five (the final phase) of our North American travels. We were full to bursting when we got up to leave and the thought of having yet another big meal in store for us was somewhat daunting.

Meeting a Long-Lost Cousin and Lunching with Him and His Family:

When we returned to Sylvia’s home, we had barely half an hour to get ourselves organized for the next part of our day—a meeting with one of my Mum’s long-lost relatives. It was purely by chance that I had inquired of my own cousin, Lancy, just a few days ago, as to whether or not he is in touch with Alex, my late Mum Edith’s cousin, as I remembered that they had once worked together. When Lancy told me that he still had Alex’s number, I requested him to find out if Alex would be open to meeting us.

I was absolutely delighted when Alex called, two days ago, to introduce himself to me again and to invite us very warmly to his home. As I had not seen him in ages, I was really keen to make the effort to take public transport to his place. But Alex was kind enough to save us that trouble and offered to come over to Sylvia’s in Woodbridge to pick us up. Accordingly, we made plans to see him and his wife, Lidwyn (Liddy), at their home and since Alex suggested that we have lunch with them, we knew the rest of our day was spoken for.

Alex did arrive on schedule, we were ready for him and with Sylvia also accompanying us, off we went in his car to Scarborough. It was a drive of about an hour, but we spent the entire time chatting about old times. I was able to ask Alex many questions about the relationship between my mother and him. He explained to me that his late father Peter (also known as Babusha) was my late mother Edith’s first cousin. Their mothers (i.e. my grandmother Valerie and his grandmother Machu) were sisters. Peter was Machu’s son. Her other children were Johnny, Daisy and Robert. I remembered Daily and Robert well as my mother was very close to them. That made Alex my Mum’s second cousin and it would make Alex and me third cousins! Still, despite the somewhat distant connection, I was delighted to make contact with someone from my Mum’s side of the family as I have a large cohort of cousins (to whom I am still very close) on my Dad’s side but just a handful of folks on my Mum’s side.

A Lovely Natter in Alex’s Home in Scarborough:

When we arrived at Alex’s place, we were re-introduced to his wife, Liddy, whom I had also last seen at least fifteen years ago (when my Mother was an a visit to Canada with us). I was also pleased to see that Alex had invited my cousin Lancy and his wife, Ilene, too for lunch. After a very lovely natter, first in their living room and later in their fully-finished basement with its cozy bar and den, we had drinks and an array of nibbles that Liddy put out. We also took a lot of pictures and generally had a grand time. But, after Alex made reservations at a local Chinese restaurant for us to go out and eat, we left, about two hours later.

Lunch at Hot Peppers Chinese Restaurant:

And so, the whole lot of us landed up at a modest Chinese restaurant called Hot Peppers which was just a ten minute drive away. Alex knew the manager well and seemed like a regular in the place. We left all the ordering to him and, in his experienced hands, we had an array of appetizers followed by a range of mains. There was something for everyone as we had fish, chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, vegetables, and really nice beignets with chocolate sauce for dessert. The food was really tasty and with all the nattering and the laughter at the table, we had ourselves a really lovely afternoon. Fortunately, at the end of it, Lancy and Ilene offered to drop us home as we were not too far en route to their place—this saved Alex the trouble of dropping us back.

And so, our last full day in Canada came to an end. In fact, Ryan actually found the time to take me to Michael’s, the craft store, as I needed to buy some colored candles and fall silk flowers—I was very pleased that I found them quite easily.

Watching the Presidential Debate at Ryan’s House:

spent the rest of the evening, packing all our possessions (there wasn’t much to pack as we had just a small backpack each). But then, we knew that the much looked forward-to debate was later in the evening—at 9.00 pm. It was at this point that we discovered that Sylvia’s TV was not working as her entire internet system was down.

so, we had no choice but to go to Ryan’s place as we were hell bent on watching the debate between Trump and Harris. Ten minutes later, we were at Ryan’s place, poised in front of his TV and also getting a nice tour of his home. The debate went off very well. I have to say that knowing how awful a speaker Trump is usually, I was amazed at how well he had been prepped and how superbly he conducted himself. Harris, of course, was her usual assured self. She was articulate, elegant, confident and her responses were filled with solid material—not fluff.

soon as the debate ended, Ryan dropped us back to his mother’s place and we wished each other goodnight and went to bed—but not before setting our alarms as we had a fairly early start for the boarding of our flight to New York early tomorrow.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.

Exploring Downtown Toronto’s Harbor Front, Vietnamese Lunch near Chinatown, Afternoon Tea with a College Classmate, Slap-Up Dinner at Moxie’s in Vaughn

Monday, September 9, 2024

Downtown Toronto, Canada

Exploring Downtown Toronto’s Harbor Front, Vietnamese Lunch near Chinatown, Afternoon Tea with a College Classmate, Slap-Up Dinner at Moxie’s in Vaughn

Considering we were on our second-last day in Canada with nothing until the evening on our itinerary, I suggested to Llew that we spend the day in the city. He was more than happy to comply and, after breakfast, we set out on our own to discover parts of the city with which we were unfamiliar. I used Lonely Planet and Google to figure out the places to which we should head and, accordingly, we made our plans.

Taking Public Transport to the City:

Of course, getting to the city from Woodbridge, where we are located, is a challenge in itself as it is very far away—it’s not just the distance, but the time it takes to get to the city as well as the expense that is daunting. It involves taking an Uber to the Subway station. This is a good 20 minutes’ away by car. Then, there is the long subway ride as the subway station is, in fact, the very last stop on the line. And, once we get off the Subway in the city, we still have to walk or take a bus to wherever we wish to go. Thankfully, we were not required to go through this commute daily—or it would be very off-putting

, we called for the Uber and made our way to the subway stop and then figured out where and how to buy our tickets and board our train, The thing about subway systems is that they are basically the same all over the world. So, if you have used a subway service in one country, you are more than familiar with the drill. It did not take us long to find our platform and our train and we were on our way. However, once we got off the subway station, we discovered that the place to which we were headed (Kensington Street Market)—was, in fact, too far to walk to. We’d actually have to take a bus to get there! So, we asked around and found out that there was a bus outside the subway station that we could take. We rode on it for about ten minutes and, finally, finally, we were at our destination! Yes, indeed, it was a huge production!

Exploring Kensington Street Market:

Kensington Market is hopping and heaving, it appears, at the weekends. Basically, ‘Market’ is a bit of a misnomer—it is more of an area or a locality. It comprises of a couple of side streets (off Spadina), that is filled with interesting stores that appeal to very young and very hip, tastes. There are vintage clothing boutiques, music stores, one-of-a-kind craftsy designer shops selling jewelry and home décor (ceramics, paintings, etc.) and a few restaurants and bars which, I imagine, would be great fun to frequent in the dark. However, on a Monday morning, the place was as dead as a dodo! There was absolutely no one there and I mean no one. It was after 11.00 am when we arrived there, but most of the shops were only just opening and so many of the eateries were still closed. We soon realized that we had made a mistake heading to this place as there was absolutely nothing of any interest to us.

Heading to the Harbor Front:

On the other hand, we did want to salvage our day—especially as we had spent half the day getting to the city! So, on an impulse, I suggested to Llew that we go to the Harbor Front—as this was also featured as one of the attractions of the city. Llew thought it made sense.

So, off we went, on another bus going downtown, in the direction of the Harbor. We rode all down the length of Spadina which is the heart of Chinatown. It gave me the idea that we ought to come back to this part of the city later for lunch. The conductor on the bus was very helpful and told us exactly where to get off.

Once we were at the Harbor Front, on a very cloudy, highly overcast day, when there was a pleasant nip in the air (and we were suitably attired, so not uncomfortable at all), we found ourselves surrounded by skyscrapers, while a few blocks ahead of us, we could already see the water and the many craft in the harbor.

The Promenade was great to walk along at a time when there was hardly another soul out there. We passed by the varied watercraft and even saw a seaplane take off. Boats, yachts, etc, of varied style and size bobbed or were buoyed in the water. As we reached the end of the promenade, we realized that, on the other side, were beautiful perennial gardens that had clearly demarcated walking paths through them. Of course, then we had to go through them and explore the gardens. I was delighted for there were all sorts of recognizable autumnal flowers and plants that I do not see in India—black-eyed Susan, purple coneflower, butterfly bush, Autumn Joy Sedum, Joe Pye weed, the last of the day-lillies, lots of astilbe and plenty of hosta of varied shade and leaf size and even the last roses of summer. On reading a sign put up at the park, I discovered that the entire garden had been designed around the six movements of a sonata by J.S. Bach. It was quite innovative indeed and very creatively conceived with paths that curved tightly like a nautilus shell or offered places to pause under shady trees which sported strategically-placed benches. It was definitely the most delightful part of our day.

When we had covered the entire pavement garden, we crossed the main road and spying a Walgreens, decided to go in there for a quick browse We were there for about fifteen minutes before Llew told me that he felt hungry and wanted to go out in search of lunch. I suggested we get on the same bus and alight near our subway station and find a place there for Vietnamese food as I felt a great desire to eat a steaming bowl of Pho.

Lunch In Chinatown:

As it turned out, we found a bus that would take us back to our subway stop and not too far from it, we actually found a Vietnamese eatery that was called Vietnamese Happy Noodle! A quick look at the menu proclaimed that it sold Pho! I was very excited indeed. Llew and I settled down to study the menu and, I found to my even greater delight, that there was pho and another one of my favorite things in the world to eat—Singaporean Curried Laksa. So, of course, I had to order that too. Llew and I then split the two bowls between the two of us. I have to say that although we were both very hungry and had done a lot of walking and had built up an appetite, the bowls were so gigantic that we could barely manage to eat half of each bowl. Naturally, we requested the rest packed up for us to be carried away in doggie bags! And with those treasures under our arms, we walked back to the subway station and made the reverse journey home.

We were supposed to reach home by 4.00 pm as my friend Delilah and her husband were expected to come and see us. And we did indeed reach my 4.00 pm.

Afternoon Tea with Delilah and Francisco:

Not even half an hour after we reached Woodbridge, Delilah and Frisco appeared at our door and were all set to take us out for Afternoon Tea. Delilah’s daughter had identified a really nice coffee shop where we could sit quietly and catch up. It turned out to be a Turkish place called Cappadocia Coffee Shop and indeed, it was the perfect choice of place. For one thing, it was empty, for another, we could chat and sit for as long as we liked without feeling the pressure of having to leave soon and thirdly, we had the very attentive care of a female waitress who took our order. In the end, in addition to tea and coffee, we chose to share a Middle Eastern dessert called Kunafa, which is also one of my favorite things to eat. While Llew is familiar with it, the other two had never heard of it but were willing to try it. And that was what we did. We ordered kunafa and then shared it. Everyone knows that it is a very rich dessert with varying textures and flavors. Made with very fine strands like vermicelli which is almost fried, a flat pancake is sandwiched with molten mozzarella cheese. The whole thing is then soaked in a syrup flavored with orange blossom honey and sprinkled with toasted pistachio nuts. If it sounds super-rich, it’s because that’s what it is. Fortunately, everyone enjoyed it very much and as we chatted about everything under the sun, we had a really lovely two hours together.

Delilah and Francisco then dropped us back to Woodbridge where we had another evening’s plan ahead of us. We were taking our hostess Sylvia, her son Ryan and his wife Sharon, for dinner as a way of saying Thank you to her for her hospitality to us and to Ryan and Sharon chauffeuring us all over the place throughout the length of our stay in Woodbridge. But first, as we had a little time ahead of us before dinner, we switched on the TV to find out that the Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will be on tomorrow. As we did not wish to miss it, we also listened to what the talking heads had to say about tomorrow’s show.

at Moxie’s with Close Friends:

We told our guests to choose the place at which they would like to eat as we are not familiar with the local possibilities. Sylvia initially thought about Earl’s, a fine dining place in Vaughn known for its steaks. However, when we entered, we were told that there was a wait of at least 40 minutes. Now that was much too long for us to wait for our dinner and so we had to think of another place. Fortunately, Moxie’s was in the same complex. And so, that was where we went. Moxie’s is also a fine dining place but much less crowded and quiet enough for us to have a lovely quiet meal together.

The meal was just lovely except for one small glitch. We started off with drinks for the table and then ordered. We had ⁠Sweet Potato Fries by way of an appetizer and then ordered our Mains: Tuna Poke Bowl (Sharon), ⁠Sirloin Steak with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Vegetables (Llew and Sylvia), ⁠Soup (Boston Clam Chowder), Salad (Mixed Strawberry Salad) with baguette (Me) and ⁠Steak Frites (with chimichurri sauce for Ryan. For dessert, we dug our spoons into a White Chocolate Brownie with vanilla ice-cream topped with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Sooooo Goooood! The glitch came in the form of fried quinoa sprinkled over my strawberry salad which was really hard (although it was meant to be crisp) and felt like tiny pebbles in my mouth. They did a real number on my teeth and, of course, I could not eat my salad. My soup, however, was very good and I was very grateful at the opportunity to eat New England Clam Chowder which is also one of my favorite things to eat. So, food-wise, you can see that I really enjoyed a number of my favorite items—and all on one single day! How lucky can one gal get?

All that was left for us, after a fun meal, was to get back home and go straight to bed. We thanked Ryan and Sharon for all their help in driving us all over the place and then we went down to the basement to bed.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.

Mass in Woodbridge, Visit to the McMichael Art Collection in Kleinburg, Visit to a British Grocery Store in Oakville, Visit to Llew’s Aunt Josephine and Sunday Family Dinner at Home

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Woodbridge, Kleinburg and Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Mass in Woodbridge, Visit to the McMichael Art Collection in Kleinburg, Visit to a British Grocery Store in Oakville, Visit to Llew’s Aunt Josephine and Sunday Family Dinner at Home

We had an extraordinarily eventful day! Starting from the Get-go, when we had our breakfasts and left for the 10.30 am Mass (Ryan drove us there and stayed for the Mass), till we went to bed at night, we were on the Go, Go, Go.

Mass at St. Catherine of Assisi Church:

As Ryan drove us to church, we left home just ten minutes before Mass began. It was a nice service with the added gift, given to each of us, of an icon of Our Blessed Mother as today is her Feast Day. If we were still in Bandra, we’d be celebrating Bandra Feast today as the Birthday of our Lady is celebrated world-wide. We queued up after Mass to receive the icon (one per family) but I took a second one for Russel.

A Wonderful Visit to the McMichael Art Collection:

After Mass, we made a quick detour to pick up Sharon, Ryan’s wife, and then with her in the car, we drove to our next port of call: The McMichael Art Collection which is not far from Sylvia’s place in Vaughn. It’s in the small town of Kleinburg, Ontario, which was about a half hour’s drive away.

I had never even heard of this museum, but Sylvia informed me that her late husband, Tony, was very keen for us to visit this place. Had he still been living, we’d have all made an excursion to this venue together. As it was, Sylvia decided to honor his wishes and pay for us to enjoy a visit there. I was fortunate enough to be given a free ticket to enter on the strength of my Met ID card. Sylvia treated the rest to tickets—again, in accordance with Tony’s wishes.

From the time we entered the vast property that houses this collection, I was charmed. For one thing, it is delightfully isolated, in a non-residential part of Ontario. Set in a sprawling wooded property, the approach is a long driveway, both sides of which have been converted into a sculpture garden. Had we time, we could have strolled through the property to admire the sculptural work, as a lot of visitors seemed to be doing. The grounds were already showing evidence of the arrival of Autumn. There were maple trees already exhibiting splashes of vivid red and many trees had already yellowed. Appropriately, there was also a lovely nip in the air, so that I was grateful for my light down jacket and scarf. I love fall fashion and I feel sorry that I no longer get to wear scarves or blazers.

Since time was of the essence, we headed straight for the car park. Just a little later, we were entering the lovely modern building that was custom-designed to house a collection of Canadian Art. The collection was started by Robert and Signe McMichael in 1952, when the couple purchased land in the village of Kleinburg. Moved by the natural environment, the McMichaels began collecting works of art by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, who also drew inspiration from the natural landscape. In 1965, when they offered their home and artwork to the Province of Ontario, their collection comprised 194 paintings. Today, there are 6,500 items in the permanent collection. Even before we entered, we took a picture by a sculpture of a polar bear with her calf. It set the tone beautifully for the items on display inside.

Once inside and after our tickets had been purchased (Sylvia’s treat), we got to know that there was a docent tour to be given shortly. We decided to take it and were treated to a lovely walk-through of a special exhibition entitled, “River of Dreams: Impressionism on the St. Lawrence”. We were stunned by this exhibition as it introduced us to the Quebecois artists who followed in France’s Impressionist tradition to produce works that appropriated their techniques and colors but juxtaposed them against Canadian themes and subjects. We saw Impressionist Works by A Y Jackson, James Wilson Morrice, Frederick Varley, Emily Carr, Franklin Carmichael, A J Casson, Lionel Fitzgerald, Lauren Harris, Mullen, etc. in the special exhibition. These have traveled from Montreal to Toronto as the museum there is being renovated. These artists were known as the School of Seven. The guide was highly knowledgeable and she took us through each of the artists represented in the exhibition pointing out landscapes, country pass-times and pleasures, seasonal variations in Nature, etc. Very canvas followed the subtle pastel shades of the French Impressionists and their fondness for blurred lines. We loved the work on display and were truly charmed by it. I also discovered that one of the most famous of Canadian artists is Tom Thomson and that I own a beautiful reversible silk scarf (a Christmas gift from a friend in Bombay) that depicts his depiction of a ‘Forest in Fall’. I was just thrilled when I saw similar scarves depicting his work in the gift shop. I’m pretty certain my scarf was bought here in Canada and presented to me. I will now treat it with renewed respect!

When we finished viewing the special exhibition, we walked through several galleries where we recognized the work of indigenous Canadian artists such as Nerval Morrisseau (whose work we had seen in the AGO). But we did not linger too long as we had a number of other places to cover. Still, overall, the McMichael Collection had been a true revelation to me and I was so delighted I became introduced to Canada’s Impressionists—for who knew of them earlier? Indeed, everything about this museum was wonderful. We LOVED the place—the property (wide-spread sculpture gardens), the architectural design, the layout and curation, the guided tour and the gift shop.

to the British Grocery Store:

A few days ago, while we were chatting, someone had mentioned that there is a store here in Toronto that stocks and sells British groceries. Of course, then, I was very keen to visit it as I was looking for Lyle’s Golden Syrup. I do not get this product in India or in the USA. It is only in the UK that I can stock up on it. Hence, this was on the agenda for me as a must-buy item in Canada.

I was fortunate that Ryan agreed to drive me to a place called Oakville, which turned out to be a really beautiful town with the most enticing shops. Seriously, were I alone or had I more time on my hands, I could have spent an entire morning browsing in those one-of-a-kind boutiques and shops. But the rest of the company with me was not so inclined. So, we found the British store, Ryan dropped us off and went to park and I felt like a kid in a candy store once I was inside. I did find my Golden Syrup and also Colman’s mustard powder, Bisto gravy granules with onion flavor, Border’s Dark chocolate covered ginger biscuits and a couple of other items that I absolutely cannot do without. So, in the end, it was a very successful trip and certainly worth the search and the drive for it.

Visit to an Elderly Aunt:

As we were not far away at all, Llew decided to go and pay a visit to his only surviving aunt on his mother’s side, his Aunt Josephine (his late mother’s late brother John’s wife). She happened to be in an assisted living community and, having received the address and directions from her daughter, Irene, we went to see her. The rest of our group stayed in the car parked outside as we did not intend our visit to be very long.

Aunt Josephine was at the very end of a game of bingo when we found her inside. She is now 96 years old but seems perfectly coherent and lucid in her conversation with us. I am not entirely sure she recognized us or knew who we were, but she chatted away with us as if she had known us forever. We gave her the bouquet of flowers that Llew had picked up for her and at the end of the visit, she invited us to come over to her room—which we did. It is a very cozy and comfortable space, filled with photographs of her family members and personal mementoes, including pictures of her husband, Llew’s Uncle John. It was a brief but very enjoyable visit with her and we were very glad we carved out the time to include this visit as well.

A Family Dinner in Woodbridge:

We had been surviving on snacks that we picked up from the British store (chocolate biscuits, British crisps) and water—so, by the time we reached home, we were starving. As we knew we had a big dinner coming, we had a light late lunch. I made myself a toasted sandwich with cream cheese and had a nice cup of tea.

Later, in the evening, after we had showered and freshened up, Sylvia’s two sons, Ryan and Wayne, their wives Sharon and Amelia and their children came over to her place for dinner as they have been doing every Sunday for decades. Even though Tony is no more (perhaps, all the more reason, because Sylvia is now alone), they come in on a Sunday bringing food with them and their children—six teenagers in number (three for each son). The cousins, of course, have the time of their lives when they are together and the adults are free to gab and catch up with the events of the week.

By the time we decided to have dinner, I found out that Chinese take-out had been ordered as well as pepperoni pizza for the teens. We filled our plates and then sat down to eat as the chattering continued.

And so a very eventful and packed day came to a close. The days are flying and although it is amazing how much we are managing to fit into our stay here in Canada, it is still astonishing to me how quickly Phase Four of our travels will come to an end and we will be headed back to the USA for the start of Phase Five. We really do intend to make the most of our last days here.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.