(a)musings — Diffractoids

During the last week of summer (and partially into the fall semester), I went on a road trip with Kevin and Brandon, two very good friends of mine. We planned a week of eating, shopping, and the occasional sightseeing activity. I did not take many photos during the trip, as I prioritized living in the moment and enjoying what the two West Coast cities had to offer, but at the very least I came home with a full stomach and a largely empty wallet.

The 12 hour drive to Vancouver was not as bad as I thought it would be, probably because we divided the driving up between the 3 of us and there was adequate time for sleeping. One issue that I did not realize would be so problematic was the smell inside the car. 3 guys in 1 car for 12 hours straight smells like ass.

We left Edmonton at 6AM to a very cold and rainy morning and with McDonald's and coffee in us we arrived, exhausted, at around 7PM, proceeding then to temporarily pass out at the AirBnb. However, we had other plans for the night and with some effort, all jumped back into the car and drove to Richmond Night Market.

Greeted by a long line and the overwhelming smell of food, we decided to stuff ourselves with the vast array of food Richmond Night Market had to offer. My pharmacy manager warned me about the questionable food sanitation but I really didn't care, it's an experience and if I suffered for it (which luckily, I didn't until I got back), it would be worth it. And it was.

Off the top of my head, the first night we tried takoyaki, chicken karaage, croquettes, ramen, fish sticks, some incredibly gimmicky dry ice fruit drink.

Chicken Karaage. crispy, tender, very nice sweet and sour sauce. 8/10

Fish stick thing. Covered in MSG, tasted like shrimp crackers. 6/10

Dude making ramen. 10/10 concentration. Actual ramen, 6/10, way too salty although the egg was very good.

Croquettes. Crispy exterior, mediocre after the first 2 bites (maybe we should have let them cool down instead of instantly shoving them into our mouths). 7/10

And after feeling incredibly satiated, we drove back home and proceeded to pass out.

DAY 2

Probably the most exhausting day of our entire trip, we started off with the most important meal of the day: breakfast.

Yolks was recommended by a good friend, Will, who said that the breakfast place was the highlight of his trip a few months back. With such a stellar recommendation, we had to give the place a shot and it was a great place to build up the energy that we would need for the rest of the day. I had the poached eggs with truffle oil hashbrowns and they were fantastic. The portion sizes were also pretty big. By the end of the meal, I was stuffed and felt pretty ill-preparerd for our next stop...

Top notch breakfast place. Coffee was good too, albeit a bit too acidic for our tastes.

Fast forward 20 minutes and we were at Spokes to rent bikes and tour Stanley Park. Barring Kevin's emergency washroom fiasco, we rented bikes without a hitch and headed down to the park area. With pleasant weather and a nice bright noontime sun, we became very thirsty and very sweaty. Also, it probably didn't help that we decided to do the whole circle around a second time at a faster pace. Sometimes we're dumb. However, Stanley Park is beautiful and you circle around the park with the ocean on one side of you at all times. It makes me wish we had something like this in Edmonton. Sure, the River Valley is great, but it lacks the great views, big ocean, and the mountain backdrop.

The weather was exceedingly pleasant for a city that gets so much rain.

After returning our bikes, we had lunch at Marutama, a ramen restaurant that specialized in a lighter, chicken based broth. I had the Tamago Ramen, essentially their basic house-made ramen with an egg. Absolutely delicious. If there's one thing Edmonton is missing, it's a good ramen place and I was impressed with Marutama's scratch made noodles and broth.

Tamago Ramen. Much needed electrolyte replenishment in that light yet savory broth.

We then headed down Robson Street and spent the next...4 or 5 hours looking around and shopping. None of us ended up buying anything, but we got some great ideas for food and saw some nice clothes and shops. We also headed down to Gastown to visit some of the smaller and more boutique stores (Roden Gray, Neighbor, Haven, Stussy, Dutil, etc). Really cool vibes from the area but at the end we were exhausted and decided to head back.

On the way back onto Robson and to our car, we mistakenly passed by East Hastings. And I was not aware of how bad a reputation the area actually had until I stepped foot on the street itself. Lines of people sleeping on the ground, shopping carts, garbage bags, and even needles (albeit unopened) on the ground. What shocked me most was how close it was to Gastown, which gives strong Whyte Ave vibes. A busy, vibrant area so close to a really unfortunate, drug-ridden street was so strange. We briskly walked a few blocks farther away, and things turned back to "normal".

After walking back to the car (which was a good 30 mins), we drove to Kyo, an all you can eat sushi/KBBQ spot and proceeded to barely eat any food as we were all close to passing out. We then drove back and immediately fell asleep.

DAY 3

Day 3 Started off with a late start due to fatigue and a difficult sleep due to Kevin's ridiculously loud snoring. We spent most of the day in Richmond, and had breakfast at a place recommended by my Pharmacy Manager. Deer Garden Opened at 11am that day, and we arrived to a line up and a full house within a few minutes of the restaurant opening. Luckily, we were seated immediately and the noodles were fantastic. Definitely worth it. One huge mistake we made though, was underestimating the portion size. All of us ordered extra noodles, and our table looked like this:

After eating the massive helpings of noodles, we headed into Aberdeen Mall, primarily to check out Daiso, a Japanese store that sells (almost) everything for 2 dollars. We also roamed around the mall for a while, but then proceeded to a few more of the stores we wanted to hit along the way. The Reigning Champ Flagship Store and the Wings + Horns Showroom.

I have no pictures of the Reigning Champ store, but think symmetrical, clean, minimalist, bright store with quality basics and sportswear. So nice. Also picked a Tiger of Sweden dress shirt from a surprisingly well stocked store called Ray Rickburn. Then we headed to the Wings + Horns Showroom which was honestly one of my favorite stores. Thoughtfully curated, friendly staff, and a ton of sizes of all their clothes are available as they manufacture all their clothes down the street and the design is done in house where we were shopping. They also carried a large range of Reigning Champ clothes, as they're both owned/produced by the same company.

We ended up coming here again near the end of the trip so that Brandon and Kevin could buy some items as well

I ended up copping their Tokyo Fit Chinos in Olive as well as a Heather Grey Reigning Champ Midweight Sweatshirt. Then we headed to Granville Island to go to a shop called Paper-Ya, where Brandon proceeded to fetishize paper in a way I have never seen before.

We then headed to Vancouver Harbor to kill some time before our restaurant reservation at 5:30pm. We strolled around the harbor area and I managed to snag some of the few photos of this trip that weren't pictures of food.

And then we headed to our reservation, at a restaurant called Miku.

To preface the meal, all three of us decided that on this trip, we would have 1 "splurge" meal, where we have dinner at a very fancy, very expensive restaurant and just enjoy ourselves. Since Brandon spent 4 months in decrepit conditions in Saskatchewan, we decided to go all out with the "Aburi Kaiseki" their most expensive set dinner option. To summarize the experience, it was surreal and the restaurant was incredibly accommodating and very friendly. Shout out to Thomas, our server, who gave us advice on places to go during our stay as well. But nothing compared to the quality, freshness, and flavor of the food we had the opportunity to eat. Here's a brief description of our six courses.

Dinner began with this appetizer, eaten from right to left. A basic salad, picked radishes (I believe) with baby bean sprouts and some INCREDIBLE white sauce, and an oyster with some caviar I cannot for the life of me remember.

On the left, not pictured: A selection of fresh sashimi including cuts of bluefin tuna. Fantastic. In the photo, there are a variety of small dishes including buttery foie gras, a juicy scallop, chicken, beef carpaccio, roasted duck, and a tofu wrap… — On the left, not pictured: A selection of fresh sashimi including cuts of bluefin tuna. Fantastic. In the photo, there are a variety of small dishes including buttery foie gras, a juicy scallop, chicken, beef carpaccio, roasted duck, and a tofu wrapped salad roll.

Sablefish in Miso soup and citrus foam. Probably the best fish I've ever had in my life. It was incredibly juicy and tender, the flavor of the miso complimented the sablefish well and the foam added acidity to keep the dish fresh and balance the hea… — Sablefish in Miso soup and citrus foam. Probably the best fish I've ever had in my life. It was incredibly juicy and tender, the flavor of the miso complimented the sablefish well and the foam added acidity to keep the dish fresh and balance the heavier components.

Stuffed lobster tail and Wagyu Beef. The Stuffed lobster was the best lobster I've ever had. The beef came out a tad chewy despite its red interior and although it was seasoned well, I came out slightly disappointed.

Selection of sushi (from left to right): Yellowtail, flounder fin, beef, and 2 pieces of Miku's famous Salmon Aburi. Every piece was fantastic, but the Salmon Aburi sushi was hands down the best sushi I've ever had. You legitimately have to come to … — Selection of sushi (from left to right): Yellowtail, flounder fin, beef, and 2 pieces of Miku's famous Salmon Aburi. Every piece was fantastic, but the Salmon Aburi sushi was hands down the best sushi I've ever had. You legitimately have to come to Miku just to have that Aburi. Godly.

To finish off, desert, consisting of lime sorbet with sugar garnish and what I recall was a raspberry cake with chocolate and fruit as garnish. Honestly one of the best desserts I've ever had, the lime and the cake was a fantastic combination and th… — To finish off, desert, consisting of lime sorbet with sugar garnish and what I recall was a raspberry cake with chocolate and fruit as garnish. Honestly one of the best desserts I've ever had, the lime and the cake was a fantastic combination and the desert was not overly sugary or heavy.

We finished dinner with immense satisfaction and roamed around downtown Vancouver to digest. Almost foolishly, we decided to go to Nero, a Belgian Waffle place on Robson. It was simultaneously the greatest and worst decision ever. The waffle was better than the ones I've had in Belgium (Thomas, our server, says the owners are Belgian and had essentially perfected the recipe for the waffles), but I was so full I almost felt sick eating it. if you go to Vancouver, GO TO NERO'S ITS AMAZING.

We then walked back to our atrociously expensive parking in the Convention Centre and drove home to conclude another day.

Vancouver Convention Centre lit at night

Day 4

We drove down to Seattle in the morning and paid a quick visit to the outlet mall, which yielded no purchases, so we continued, first into Fremont, then into Seattle proper. In Fremont, we went to Blue Owl Workshop, which was a denim enthusiast's wet dream.

They carried the whole gamut of raw denim, from Naked and Famous to Tellason, 3Sixteen, and Railcar Denim. They also had a massive selection of Japanese demin such as Pure Blue Japan, Momotaro, and Iron Hearts. I was eyeing a sick denim Momotaro but… — They carried the whole gamut of raw denim, from Naked and Famous to Tellason, 3Sixteen, and Railcar Denim. They also had a massive selection of Japanese demin such as Pure Blue Japan, Momotaro, and Iron Hearts. I was eyeing a sick denim Momotaro button down but decided not to drop 200USD on it.

After dropping off our stuff in the hotel, we Uber'd over to Pike Market for lunch, which consisted of the ever-delicious Pike Place Clam Chowder and half a lobster roll. We then walked around Downtown Seattle and looked around at a few stores (Nordstrom's, Nordstrom Rack, Barney's, and Suitsupply). I ended up getting a Billy Reid button down shirt for 80USD. Scoooooooreeee.

After shopping, we walked South to the International District so that Brandon could continue his paper/stationery fetish at Kinokuniya. Appalled at Brandon's explicit sexualization of pens and pencils, Kevin and I explored the bookstore, which contained everything from books (obviously), to manga, to Japanese cookbooks (which Kevin had an evident hard-on for), to body pillow covers (which I stared at longer than I should have). Once Brandon was done spending exorbitant sums of USD on pens, we walked across the street to Mongolian Hotpot, which was good but nothing to write home about, then went to the nearby Uwajimaya Supermarket, which I would describe as a well-organized T&T run by very nice older Japanese Ladies. Having picked up Milkis and Sapporo, we headed back to our hotel, where we watched Naked and Afraid while drinking.

DAY 5

Waking up late and groggy, we drove to Bellevue to check out their mall. Learning that McDonald's has this absurd menu with something called a "McPick" where you can get 20 nuggets for 5 USD, we gorged ourselves and I ended up hoarding in excess of 10 packets of habanero ranch sauce. We then went to a candy shop called Loli and Pops where we became infatuated with this girl named Karen who, as Brandon would say "has the most beautiful smile omg". We then focused on shopping and went to Allen Edmonds, where I bought a pair of Walnut Strands and Brandon came out frustratingly empty-handed because they did not have his color nor his size (RIP). However, our savior UNIQLO also had a store there and we bought as many AIRISM tees we could grab.

After returning to Seattle, the afternoon consisted of heading to Pike Market to hit up another one of our favorites, Piroshky Piroshky, a Russian Bakery we visited 2 years prior during TI4. Unwittingly, both Brandon and I ordered the exact same thing we did 2 years ago, but it was delicious so we didn't care.

We then walked around a bit more downtown, going to Fjallraven, Chrome Industries, and AllSaints. Finally exhausted, we Uber'd to our favorite Pho restaurant in Seattle, Pho Than Brothers, where we were guided to the exact same seats as we had 2 years ago and then, learning our lesson from last time, ordering only the XL Pho and not the extra noodles. Because then we would have died.

For reference, I have legitimately never had a bowl of Pho as big as the one at this place. 2 years ago, we mistakenly ordered the XL Pho with extra noodles (because in Edmonton, you don't really get that much pho for your money) and were unable to … — For reference, I have legitimately never had a bowl of Pho as big as the one at this place. 2 years ago, we mistakenly ordered the XL Pho with extra noodles (because in Edmonton, you don't really get that much pho for your money) and were unable to move half an hour later. This time, we were prepared and only ordered what we could eat.

DAY 6

On the way back from Seattle, we stopped at the Seattle Premium Outlets where Brandon, dissatisfied with the amount of money he had blown thus far, drops 6 bills on a Burberry Jacket. Following that, head back into Vancouver where we go to Wings + Horns again, then into downtown to try the famed Hokkaido Ramen at Santouka.

A much heavier broth compared to Marutama, the Shio ramen was delicious. The pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the broth and the noodles and egg were so well cooked I could eat them all day. Apparently Santouka has great gyoza but I wa… — A much heavier broth compared to Marutama, the Shio ramen was delicious. The pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the broth and the noodles and egg were so well cooked I could eat them all day. Apparently Santouka has great gyoza but I wasn't impressed. Seemed like standard fare gyoza to me, but perhaps it was simply overshadowed by the ramen.

Both impressed and satisfied by the ramen, we headed to our AirBnb and proceeded to pass out until 7:00pm, just in time to go to the Night Market one last time. This time we were accompanied by Sean, our high school friend who now lives in Vancouver, who showed us some of the more interesting eats (fusion wraps and fried octopus) and kept us company during our last night in the city.

That concludes our trip, as the next day was a 12 hour drive back to Edmonton. Overall, Vancouver and Seattle were fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate to go back again. I felt that the 1 week was definitely not enough for the 2 cities and I would have spent at least 1 week in each city if I had the opportunity (and the finances). Frankly, I can't wait to go back and live that carefree, gluttonous lifestyle that I was able to indulge in. It's been a slice, Vancouver & Seattle. See you next time.

Gary

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