HOCKEY VS. BIRTHDAY DINNER
SHOT WITH FUJI XPRO-3 - XF23MM F2.0
C’mon, there was no way I was not going to watch the Gold medal game between Canada and Czechia last night… birthday dinner be damned. Brilliant hockey.
Congratulations @teamcanadawjc 🥇🏆🏒
THY NAME IS CORONAVIRUS
With half of my wife’s extended family still in China, this years celebration held at Noble Seafood Restaurant was a bit of a quieter affair. My mother-in-law made it safely back from Shanghai a couple of weeks ago but her siblings are currently stuck waiting for the coronavirus epidemic to get sorted out so they can get flights back to Toronto and Sweden.
The vibe at Noble was a few degrees less than the typical new year’s meal. It wasn’t quite as busy or frantic as it might have been. Even a week ago (pre WHO emergency declaration) there were those that figured a celebration at home was a safer choice.
Still, it was decently busy and we united to put on a good show of overconsumption. Good times were had; crab, lobster, fish and abalone with a dash of pig and chicken were on the menu (12 courses in all). Believe me, no one went home hungry. Red envelopes were shared. Next year, we hope that we will all be together and Corona can go back to being the name of an imported Mexican beer. Until then, enjoy the pics and stay safe.
SHOT WITH FUJI X-PR02, XF35MM F/1.4
FAREWELL MANDARIN
Last Saturday we enjoyed what would be our final family celebration at the Mandarin Golf & Country Club. After a more then 20 year run, the Mandarin officially closed its doors.
For as long as I can remember, the Mandarin has played host to our family gatherings. From weddings, to funerals, baby celebrations to casual Sunday dim-sum, the Mandarin has been the one constant in our gastronomical life. The food was always very good, in fact many times it was brilliant. The crab done 3-ways was the stuff of legend; spring onion, garlic and curry. The trifecta of crustacean bliss.
It was my father-in-law's club, actually his former club. After many years as a member, the annual fees no longer made sense in this post Tiger Woods era where there are more golf clubs then golfers. The for members only restriction never seemed to apply to the Zee family. Thank God.
With its best before date long past due, the Mandarin was still charming. I was quite sure over the last couple of years that the leaky urinals in the men's bathroom would one day explode and sink the entire club house. They survived intact. The high tech, sensor controlled automatic paper towel dispenser however worked perfectly right to the very last day. Each time dispensing the perfect amount of paper into your wet hands. It almost felt like it was done out of a sense of pride for the glory days when everything was shiny and perfect and new.
The images below were taken a couple of weeks back. Our last dim-sum at the Mandarin. It was a lovely autumn day. The food was delicious. We knew the clock was ticking for our final dinner, a 50th wedding anniversary celebration for my in-laws, but the menu needed to be settled, the amount agreed to. Three tables of twelve. Somehow we would squeeze everyone in. They would make it work, as they always did.
SHOT WITH FUJI X100T
