Savouring Summer: From Gatherings to Quiet Moments

Recapping the summer that fed my soul spent with friends, family, events and finding me😛. I got to do the things I love but never seemed to have the time such as reading, arts & crafts and yes a little home reorganizing and cleaning (it's truly another therapy second to cooking). 

Magic happened at the start of my summer. When your worlds collide... my two close friends meet for the first time-- sharing a love for food, names of their daughters 😉 and get this ... same birthdate (phhhshh...👊💥) @lisaeats @ninanmurmur.

What an amazing Sunday it was hanging out with these two special gals and their families on such a beautiful day🌞! Kept it cool and refreshing with Chinese shredded chicken and cold noodles (手撕鸡冷面) DIY bar-- hand-shredded chicken (marinated in soy and oyster sauces, black vinegar, garlic, onions, chili oil and sesame oil) served over top your choice of thin wheat noodles or green bean clear noodles and a myriad of sides (cucumber, shredded potato and carrot salad, pickled lettuce stem and 5-spice marinated beancurd), toppings (chopped green onions, cilantro and garlic) and sauces (concocted base- creamy sesame soy and vinegar sauce, and individual sauces to customize to your tastes). Loved it 💓!

DIY is best!

And to top it off, my beautiful friend Lisa brought a yummy spread of classic and popular Chinese soup desserts from @sweetturtledesserts in Time Square, Richmond Hill. It was just the perfect sweet finish!

Look at that gorgeous spread 😍

What a fantastic event in late July- The Proof Block Party #theproofblockparty with my lovely friend @lisa.eats! A great line up of brands were highlighted including Best Buy, Sony, Catelli, Audible, Pace Salsa and some small Canadian businesses selling press on nails, baked goods and scrunchies! Plus cool dance and singing performances from established TikTok stars🌟 

Lots of cool freebies to tote home too! So much fun!

The neck fan from JisuLife was my best friend all summer!

Loved that we were just around the corner from Little Portugal, for a nice stroll and window shopping!

The internationally renowned street artist Vhils (Alexandre Farto) has created a mural in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighbourhood – on 1628 Dundas St. West (just west of Brock Ave.) – honouring Portuguese “cleaning ladies” and their labour activism through the Cleaners’ Action movement in the 1970s-80s.

Mural honouring Cleaners’ Action

So fresh, it's so fresh... exciting 🎜🎶🌿Thoroughly enjoyed a homecooked Vietnamese dinner at our family's friends' place with a spread of crispy spring rolls cha gio, Viet jambon garden salad with shrimps and quail eggs served with honey mustard vinaigrette and the main attraction- pho🍜with the usual suspects as DIY! The best part was knowing all their fresh herbs🌿and some produce came straight from their beloved backyard garden!

The colours and freshness- WOW!

Eggplants, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, chives and herbs, and less usual crops such as white bittermelon, okra and high fiber sweet potato leaves (they recommend blanching and mix with two mashed boiled eggs slightly dressed with fish sauce-- a poor man's village food that is nutritious as it is delicious😋👍)... so inspired by their extensive pick-out-of-your-own-garden I may try my hand on potting a few faves next spring and have my own fresh bounty!

Eggplants, white bitter melon, okra and cheery tomatoes, oh my!

A cool space, a cool summer social event connecting fellow innovators, and meeting the YSpace and SmartTO community with founders, mentors, and change-makers! And seeing some of the cool products to market that came from here. Thank you for the invite Judy Wong, YSpace Program Advisor with @ninanmurmur 👐

YSpace in Markham is an innovation hub and business incubator located at York University in Toronto. It supports entrepreneurs, startups, and innovators by providing resources, mentorship, and a collaborative environment with programs that spans across scaling innovative technologies, agri-food businesses into mass retail to diversity-focused initiatives like ELLA powered by Desjardins for women-led businesses and Black Entrepreneurship Alliance (BEA) for Black-led businesses💥.
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As Toronto’s newest transportation and mobility hub led by York University in partnership with Centennial College, SmartTO empowers startups and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to develop, test and prototype advanced automotive technologies and smart mobility solutions through accessing state-of-the-art equipment, and world-renowned expertise.

York Region who has been instrumental in the initial phases of the YSpace food entrepreneur program has developed their own- a new Agri-Food Start-Up Program. I have been in touch with program organizers to support this initiative by sharing. Are you or anyone you know an aspiring food entrepreneur from an equity-deserving (Member of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, women, 2SLGTBQI+) or Indigenous community? The York Region Agri-Food Start-Up Program is here to help you build or grow your food business!

This FREE program offers:
☑️ Mentorship, training & business planning
☑️ Subsidized commercial kitchen access
☑️ Indigenous-led support & community engagement

The program runs from September 2025 to March 2026 and entrepreneurs must meet all of the following criteria to apply:

· Identify as Indigenous of a member of an equity-deserving group (e.g., Member of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, women, 2SLGTBQI+)
· Be a Canadian or Permanent Resident
· Be an Ontario resident
· Be 18 years or older
· Have a food product concept or early-stage product
· Be in the pre-revenue or early-revenue stage (less than $25,000 annual sales)
· Commit to completing the full 14-week program (4 to 6 hours per week)
· Demonstrate readiness to learn through coaching, workshops, and peer mentorship

🔗 Apply by 11:59 p.m. on September 17th, 2025: yorklink.ca/FoodStartup

yorklink.ca/FoodStartup

Susan's Savour-It!... Susan's Favourites😄... in my neighbouring Willowdale hood. It was such a pleasure curating a neighbourhood walk with a food crawl of diverse cheap eat treasures for someone unfamiliar with this north end of the subway line #finchandyonge. Each armed with $20, how far did it go?

Sang Ji Bao for their signature Shanghai pan fried pork soup bao $7.99 for 4 at 5461 Yonge Street.

Maki Mart for $2.95 vegetarian and $3.95 sushi hand rolls at 5371 Yonge Street.

Kim A La Carte, the only surviving food cart from the defunct decade old City A La Carte street food vendor project for Korean snacks such as rice cake skewers in both teriyaki and spicy sauce $2 each, fried seaweed rolls kim-mari 3 pcs $3 and custard filled waffle fish 2 pcs $4.50. 5323 Yonge Street.

WPZ Sweet Lab for $2.99 grape and hawthorn tanghulu which are skewered fruits coated in heated sugar syrup, and hardens in the cold. Since it was super hot out 🥵, we had a short window to eat. Tanghulu has been made since the Song dynasty and remains popular throughout northern China. 5418 Yonge Street #5.

Aitaiker for Taiwanese popular street snack popcorn chicken in salt and pepper flavour $8.49 at 5418 Yonge Street #21.

So how did we fare?-- $40.86 before taxes which is not bad considering the many and varied cuisine hot spots we hit for little eats. It was filling and so much fun this way, nibbling, talking, walking and digesting!

The blue JisuLife fan was a saviour this summer on my many hot walks 🥵

Note: This Tolman sweet apple tree 🍎🌿on Yonge near North York Centre (sturdy and long living) with the huge sit-inside cavity is the last remaining from the orchard that Gibson established in 1832 and is found in a parkette just to the east of Gibson House, which is a designated heritage site. First time I noticed it in my 20 years living in the community😄!

Did you know Aug 22nd is National Bao Day? I have been honoured to be Taiwanese pop up street vendor Jian Dan Kitchen's mentor and menu consultant throughout in the planning of their many major food festival attendance this summer. @jiandankitchen2023 got a spot last minute at the Toronto 2025 TAIWANfest and started featuring their delicious Taiwanese gua bao with a twist at Harbourfront Centre.

Here are some shots from @torontodragonfestival @nathanphillipssquare. Their signature Popcorn Chicken, 3 must-try Gua Bao and cool refreshing drinks have been big hits 💢.

12-Hour Maple Braised Pork Belly Bao and Wintermelon Aiyu 😋

The too cool crew Jian Dan Kitchen

Having time to read was such a treat this summer... lounging in the backyard under clear blue skies :)

Scored yuuuge after 4 years of endless searching for a rustic terracotta pot (no can do with the common planters sold at big box stores) to fill a big empty spot on my front veranda (and cover an unwashable calcite on our flatstones), and one that won't break the bank. My dilemma compounded when it became clear I could not get a real plant or tree under full shade.

Loving the old world, countryside and European decor, I had ordered a faux 6ft olive tree for my living room last year (Bed & Beyond) and it's fab (I got countless compliments on how real it looks)! Two weeks ago, an Amazon search yielded a lovely 7ft artificial olive tree on sale that would be perfect on the porch 😍. It came, I assembled and fluffed it and then blaringly, two planters were in tall order!

I am a pottery enthusiast💗. I remember in Greece last summer thinking why can't we find these urns and planters here, and why the ones we can are so boring!! Well, imagine my excitement when I came across Pottery Land on FB, and seeing the copious selection of gorgeous handcrafted terracotta and clay pots to choose from just a short distance into Woodbridge and produced with traditional methods by local artisans #100%ontariomade! Each one unique and full of character! The two ringed pot outdoors (DxH- 16"x18.5") and smaller 3 handled pot indoors (12"x14") were $140 total with 20% off at the time, which is a steal of a deal😇! 

Pottery Barn sells their large pots from $600 to 1K+, and Pottery Land's friendly owner says a nearby shop has theirs going for $1K. Who can afford that??? They opened just 2 months ago, and are looking forward to a busy season. I was like a girl in the candy store. So very happy!! Check them out for the perfect pot for your plants indoors or out!

🌿 Terracotta Plant Pots | Clay Planters 🌿
Visit Pottery Land at: 6751 Hwy 7 W, Woodbridge, ON L4L 1A5

Miniature building is on a level of it's own #respect #thedevilisinthedetails

A proud moment Haha! 

Taa Daaaaaa...... !

Will have to find more time for my next set- Garden Life :D

So grateful for the many savourable moments of summer sunshine, smiles and self-care. As we head into cooler weather ahead-- think big batch cooking, comfort foods and pantry cooking, stay tuned with my next post on Hong Kong style Russian Borscht soup- the perfect fall weather friend in a bowl with a fusion Chinese twist🥣!

Chinese Braised Pork Knuckles and Hocks

 

Chinese braised pork knuckles (猪脚红烧) is a classic comfort dish in many regions of China and in Taiwan, popular for its rich flavour, gelatinous texture, and symbolic meaning of prosperity and family unity. You can also make with bone-in or boneless pork hock. They are especially prized in Chinese cooking because this off cut is loaded with collagen-  a structural protein found in connective tissues, skin, tendons, and cartilage. 

The pork knuckle (also called pork feet or trotter) or pork hock (aka ham hock or shin) is slowly braised until the skin becomes soft and bouncy, the tendons turn silky, and the sauce clings beautifully with the collagen melting into, naturally thickening the sauce. I find as the Chinese gets older (including myself), that very charm of collagen richness is why we come back to this dish over and over again. Beyond culinary, it also carries a cultural reputation for being restorative and beautifying- for joint health, postpartum recovery (strengthening and nourishing), and skin and beauty by improving elasticity and reduce wrinkles. Yep, I remember those early days after having the twins and my last son, with my mom's endless pots of braised pork feet in vinegar and ginger- with whole pieces of ginger that I had to eat too- and daily lol.

Collagen in braised pork knuckles is what makes the dish rich, sticky, and satisfying- both in texture and mouthfeel. They are savoury, aromatic, slightly sweet, and deeply umami with meltingly tender skin and tendon. And it's affordable (average $1.99/lb for knuckles/hocks) and so simple to prepare!

Two-Hour Braised Pork Knuckles with Boiled Eggs

You can easily buy braised pork knuckles and hocks in the prepared section of a Chinese supermarket.

Foody Mart on Bamburgh Circle

Chinese Braised Pork Knuckles or Hocks

Serves 6

4 pork knuckles or 2 bone-in hocks, approx. 1100 g (skin on)
6 slices ginger

1 green onion, cut into three pieces 
2 tsp. salt
6 cloves garlic, rough chopped or halved
2 shallots, sliced
1 Tbsp. oil
2 star anise
4 bay leaves
1 small cinnamon stick
½ cup light soy sauce
½ cup dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine
½ tsp. white pepper powder
40g rock sugar
1 L water
boiled eggs, optional

Remove any hairs still on the skin of the pork knuckles or hocks.

Blanche the pork by bringing some water to a boil, enough to cover the pork knuckles/hock. Add 2 tsp. salt, 2 slices of ginger and the green onions. When the water boils, put the pork in. Let it parboil for 15 minutes; remove and submerse in ice water or cold water for two mins. Remove from water and let them rest.

Prepare braising liquid by adding 1 Tbsp. oil to a pot. Add 4 slices ginger, garlic, shallots and stir-fry until aromatic. Add both soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, rock sugar, star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon stick.

Add the pork and about 1 L of water (the water should cover the knuckles and hocks). Cover and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the temperature to low. Braise for two hours. Stir occasionally. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

Note: If adding boiled eggs, boil eggs in advance, peel and add them to the pot during the last 15 minutes cooking time. The longer the pork and eggs sit in the braised liquid, the more flavourful., thus tastier after resting overnight in fridge.

This is so good served with steamed rice, pickled preserved vegetables and some stir-fried greens on the side. So satisfying!

Here are some images for preparations with bone-in pork or ham hock:

I missed removing some hair (but can be done after cooking if you don't mind)

Remember pork hock and knuckles are first skin and tendon which is collagen-rich, then meat and little fat! So feel good about eating it for your skin, youth and overall health!

Note: While eating collagen doesn’t directly “add collagen” to your skin, the gelatin and amino acids (glycine, proline, hydroxyproline) support connective tissue health, may help joint comfort, and can contribute to a protein-rich diet.

And if you can't get around making this for yourself, double up with taking it out on a budget. 📢 The $10 Challenge! I am talking about this delicious braised pork knuckle meal! So happy to discover and finally try the famous braised pork knuckles at Hou Kee Chinese Bistro (on Yonge near Finch), a small eat in and take out place for a steal at $9.99 which includes steamed rice, side of stir fried cabbage, ½ soy sauce egg and pickled preserved vegetables. Hearty portions, delicious tender flavour… Really satisfying! 

They brought out a fresh tray of pork knuckles ready to be sliced, and the fatty skin just glistened and jiggled- Yum! Being a lover of intestines, I also got the mixed meat combo for $1 more and really enjoyed their chewy tenderness. A steady line up of take out customers but the service was quick and friendly. Nostalgic comfort food at it's best and affordable, give them a try!

Hou Kee Bistro (Yonge and Finch)

📢 $10 美食挑戰！

今天要大推這份超值又美味的滷豬腳飯！

超開心終於吃到傳說中的滷豬腳，地點就在 Yonge 靠近 Finch 的好記隆江豬腳飯，小小的店面提供內用和外帶，只要 $9.99 就能吃到一整份：白飯、炒高麗菜、半顆滷蛋和酸菜配菜，份量實在、味道香濃，滿滿幸福感！

剛好看到老闆端出一大盤剛滷好的豬腳準備切片，那晶亮又微微抖動的豬皮…真的超誘人！

身為內臟類愛好者，我還加點了綜合滷味（只要多 $1），那種彈牙的口感真的讓人欲罷不能！

店裡外帶人潮穩定，但出餐速度快，服務也很親切～

這就是懷舊的中式家常味，美味又不傷荷包，絕對值得一試！

Full Recipe:

Chinese Braised Pork Knuckles or Hocks

Serves 6

4 pork knuckles or 2 bone-in hocks, approx. 1100 g (skin on)
6 slices ginger

1 green onion, cut into three pieces 
2 tsp. salt
6 cloves garlic, rough chopped or halved
2 shallots, sliced
1 Tbsp. oil
2 star anise
4 bay leaves
1 small cinnamon stick
½ cup light soy sauce
½ cup dark soy sauce
2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine
½ tsp. white pepper powder
40g rock sugar
1 L water
boiled eggs, optional

Remove any hairs still on the skin of the pork knuckles or hocks.

Blanche the pork by bringing some water to a boil, enough to cover the pork knuckles/hock. Add 2 tsp. salt, 2 slices of ginger and the green onions. When the water boils, put the pork in. Let it parboil for 15 minutes; remove and submerse in ice water or cold water for two mins. Remove from water and let them rest.

Prepare braising liquid by adding 1 Tbsp. oil to a pot. Add 4 slices ginger, garlic, shallots and stir-fry until aromatic. Add both soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, rock sugar, star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon stick.

Add the pork and about 1 L of water (the water should cover the knuckles and hocks). Cover and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the temperature to low. Braise for two hours. Stir occasionally. Remove and let cool slightly before serving.

Note: If adding boiled eggs, boil eggs in advance, peel and add them to the pot during the last 15 minutes cooking time. The longer the pork and eggs sit in the braised liquid, the more flavourful., thus tastier after resting overnight in fridge.