Dim Sum - a true hearts delight on Cameron St.

Dim Sum are the Chinese equivalent Spanish tapas. Little plates of joy. Upon being seated you get the Dim Sum menu and a pen. You check off what you want and it whisked off to the kitchen where they make up your order. Each dish comes from it's own section and you're charged accordingly. There is plenty to choose from adventurous to not so much. Scootor and I always order the same stuff every time. When something comes up that looks interesting we swap it out for something else.

We order:

Har Gow - delicious steamed shrimp balls wrapped in a thin rice shell.

Sticky Rice - Rice and meat steamed in a lotus leaf.

Rice Rolls - Rice dough stuffed with BBQ Pork and steamed.

Spring Rolls - Stuffed with chicken & Taro.

The new guy was Shrimp Dumplings stuffed Chinese mushrooms. A Very good choice!

There are some items on the menu that are NOT for the faint of heart. Tripe is one we haven't tried yet nor have we tried chicken feet. My dearest Papa loved chicken feet. Every Friday our neighbor Marilyn would send my father over a little package of the chickens feet, gizzard, liver, and heart. Having survived the Holocaust food had a whole set of strings attached to it. I can still see him, chicken foot in his hand nibbling each little toe for all the meat there was to be had. Being his eating buddy he would share shnibbles of his package with me like a mother bird feeding her chick. No, he didn't chew it first. Our first dim sum debacle was at the Chrystal Palace on King in Waterloo. I ordered what I misread as Phoenix Prawns,only to have it be Phoenix PAWS - the evil chicken feet. I am sure I'm brave enough now to try them but not a whole order.

So when people ask me where do I go for Dim Sum I tell them Cameron is very good but very expensive. Chrystal Palace is just slightly less good but they have a much better selection.

The choice is now your's.

TTFN

Meg

EVE'S Chocolates - Yummy truffles

I went to the dentist yesterday for some cleaning and filling. (They knock me out for all procedures as I am REALLY Dentalphobic). Earlier that day he stopped in at Eve's Chocolates for a happy

wake up present which I greatly appreciated not having had chocolate of any kind in months. They were warn and smooth and delicious. I had to rush back today to get more! They are still terrific. If you store your chocolate in the fridge let it come to room temperature before you eat. Cold chocolate doesn't have as much flavor. The Truffles and so much more can be had at: EVE'S CHOCOLATES - 75 KING ST. WATERLOO. It is one of cute little boutique shops down the side of Waterloo Square. Their phone number is519-747-0999. If you need an occasion to give chocolates

to your sweetie, for me Happy Friday was a good one.

TTFN

Meg

Our Vet has her office at the Williamsburg Plaza. Friday we had to stop in and get drugs for Puggy Molly. We noticed that a new Japanese Resto was having it's grand opening. We decided to try it out for lunch on Saturday.

Tomoya

325 Max Becker Dr. UNIT 102

Kitchener

519-749-9997

Scootor and I have a two pronged attack when dealing with Japanese Places. The first visit we order just appetizers the second visit we order Sushi. We ordered Gyoza( the Japanese version of pot stickers) Veggie Tempura, Yaki Tori(chicken on a skewer) which came atop a cute little brazier with a tea candle inside to keep the chicken warm, Calamari(squid) fried Oysters, and a salad bar. The dressing was so wonderful I drank what was left. Everything was terrific. The fried stuff was relatively grease free, the Gyoza were vegetarian and delicious, the Yaki Tori was yummy. Scoot and I thought it could have used a bit more sauce. The Calamari was totally unlike what I had imagined when I ordered it. It was all tentacles. Squid has a tendency to be very chewy but this, while al dente was very good. The Tempura was light and crisp. The veggies were also al dente which isn't my preference but Scoot likes his veggies crunchy. Now for the Oysters. I had my first experience with Oyster at the age of 12. I was staying in New York with my friend Karen Burke Murphy. Her father took us all out to Luchows, a famous eatery that has been around for ages. Her father, the head of the household, ordered for all of us. I was about as stunned as a 12 year old could be. I'd been ordering for myself for 10 years so what the hell is going on here? When the Apps. came I was presented with 6 Oysters on the half shell not only raw but still alive. I'd seen my parents eat clams on the half shell before but a shrimp cocktail was about as adventurous as I had gotten. I watched to see how it was done picked up a shell and knocked her back. It was like a giant phlegm ball. I chewed and chewed and I couldn't get it down. I finally had to spit it out into my CLOTH napkin. I offered the 5 remaining to everyone at the table. Faux pas yet again. Nobody EVER shared food of another's plate. It just wasn't done. I was so N.O.C.M.D.

Back to the Oysters. They came 6 on a lovely long plate with a nice ribbon of BBQ sauce. I ordered them because I feel it's silly to let a 12 year old dictate what a 60 year old can eat.

DRUM ROLL please. I bravely picked up the smallest Oyster and took a bite. It wasn't bad, good almost. Scoot picked one up and eyed it suspiciously. He popped it in his mouth and chewed. You'd have thought I have made him eat fishy Play Dough. He was not impressed, not one bit.

The remaining Oyster were mine by default and I ate every one. They weren't fishy but briny like the ocean. Maybe when I go to NOLA I'll be able to order an Oyster Po' Boy and not disgrace myself.

This place has the makings of a very nice place. You should go out and give it a try.

TTFN

Meg

Creme Brulee - Creme Brulee - I could eat you every day

The Keg is the Keg. It makes no apologies it is a steak house. Our Friday night dinner group has eaten there before and while the food is good(Red meat and lots of it) the noise is deafening. After a table change to one of the several alcoves we could sufficiently talk and be heard.

We all ordered our meat and sat back to wait for our carnivorous repast. Starters came and were universally good. I had a Caesar salad w/o croutons (I'm trying not to do wheat) and a whole lot of Parmesan cheese on top. It was very nice. Crisp lettuce. Scouter ordered a Flat-bread with tomato-basil salsa, mozzarella and a Balsamic reduction. Everyone loved it except me due to the wheat thing. It being Lobster Fest at the Keg their new App. was an Escargot dish with chunks of lobster covered with cheese. Tracy, who normally always shares, gobbled down the whole thing.

Tracy and her mother Marilyn took advantage of the Lobster Fest and ordered the Lobster encrusted Sirloin. I ordered the Filet Mignon without the bacon wrap and with steamed veggies and Asparagus. Gino, Tracy's father and Scoot ordered ribs and chicken. My steak was cooked perfectly. I like my meat blue rare and blue rare it came. Marilyn and Tracy liked their meat well enough but in a move I totally missed Tracy was persuaded to order something else. It had a seafood "crust'' but instead of all Lobster there were shrimp on top with "some" lobster. It was OK. Gino who isn't a complained was fine with his dinner but Scootor found both the ribs and the chicken were dry. Interestingly there was a half cob of corn wrapped in bacon on the plate suffering from a monumental lack of flavor. On the negative side I don't like their meat rub and would have preferred my steak au naturel. On the VERY positive side I really liked the BBQ sauce.

Drum roll please..........................................For dessert we had Creme Brulee. Oh my God it was delicious. It is the standard by which all Creme Brunets should be judged. No fruit or coulis or anything else that doesn't belong. Just plain light delicious custard and nothing else. The next time we go I'm just eating Creme Brulee.

So, dinner for 2 ended up at $93.00 with drinks, food, and dessert.

God that Creme Brulee - YUMMO!