Hey Keri,
Im moving to Chinatown - but in Singapore - but I believe all chinatowns no matter where in e world hv e same charm abt them - if u ever swing by Singapore Id love to show you around!!

Shuku and Mel...

Ok..I'm getting a little nervous..."temporary olfactory death" you say?? Hideous smell perserved in candles?? I never knew fruit could be so "out there"...kind of like the "Dr. Evil" of fruit.
Now I know I have to find this evil Dr. Durian and check out the 'air' he leaves behind.

oh yes, durians do stink like hell... Durian is pretty popular in Davao... they have durian candies as well if you want it preserved :)

Err, yeah, I can't even spell my own name. That WAS Shuku. Oops.

And pork buns - actually there's a place right opposite my apartment that sells them. Char siu pau is what we call them if they're steamed, but if they're made from crumbly brownish pastry-like dough and glazed, they're called siu pau. They taste good so it doesn't matter what they're called!

For Bonita and anyone else interested,

If those spiky fruits are durians? You don't have to prepare them at all. You just open and eat, but the trick is to make sure they're ripe. Usually my grandmother would test to see if one end (which end I'm not sure, she just always did) split open. Then you pried the split open with a large butcher's cleaver, opened the hard shell and you'd have several pale yellowish or really buttery-yellow sections of smooth-fleshed fruit in lovely snug hollow depressions. The test - if it is a durian, it will smell. It will smell terribly, hideously strong to European noses and it may cause temporary olfactory death.

It's pretty much the unofficial national fruit where I am; everyone loves it. In fact, when I came home some 6 months ago, there were durians hanging all over the trees. When we travelled down the highway, you could see some which were probably part of the village orchards. I wonder how many of them got stolen! It used to be quite a pastime, I'm assured, by the village boys.

Shuku..thank you very much for the 'prickly-fruit' story. I plan to be in Toronto with my sister next month and will be on the look out for them...how are they prepared? With a wonderful story like that...I can't help but want to know more.

just the things i would get if only we had a chinatown :( but i love the teapot!!

I believe that my bamboo steamer is presently being used by my seven year old daughter as a bed for her tiny dolls. It occasionally is used as a hat, or as a holder for wooden beads. Magic treasures, or secret notes have been hidden in the steamer as well. I love her wonderful imagination.

if i'm not mistaken, we call these pork buns "siopao" (if the buns you were referring to are white in color) here in our country (P.I.)

and we have them in two flavors : asado and bolabola. with it comes a sweet sauce.

steps to eat your siopao are as follows:

(1.) break the bread in two
(2.) pour in sweet sauce
(3.) enjoy

also, you might want to try fried pork buns (we call them fried siopao here) ;)) and cuapao (siopao minus the pork filling)

happy eating!!!

Hey Lynda in 2001 I was in Sydney and my parents and my aunt had dim sum in China Town and then walked around the chinese garden in Darling Harbour. Lovely lovely memories!

i found a place that sells pork buns near where i work -- one of the nicest things about Sydney is the food...

Oh yum! I love pork buns. I'm so hungry now just thinking about pork buns.

So many mentions of chinatown in San Francisco! maybe one day we will do chinatown SF, I will snap photos of colorful food hanging in windows and you will draw them at the cafe in North Beach over espresso. :)

andrea

I have a love affair with pork buns... I get them in Chinatown here in Victoria, and eat them with insane hot sauce. I had that exact tea pot, as well, but the handle on it eventually broke.

Keri,

Perhaps you should come to San Francisco for tea sometime soon.

-Mike

love the teapot. the pork buns look a tad dangerous, though...

I MUST get some of those bamboo steamers!!!!!!!

Before you use the teapot, please be certain to check the lead in the color...I've forgotten the details, but there was a time when it wasn't safe, something to do with the food and drug admin. I recall because I was given a very similar teapot that came with 4 dainty cups and a serving platter, too! I haven't used it yet as I haven't performed the test on mine, but boy is it fun to look at. (It was my grandmother's.)

Neato as pork buns are more familar to me as manapua! Why it's called that I have no clue, but here's one recipe link!
http://starbulletin.com/97/04/09/features/request.html

As always, Keri, enchanting stuff*:)

Bonita, I bet you anything those spiky fruits were durians, especially if they had the most pungent smell on earth when they were open! There's a most interesting story about the fruits too, and it happens to be perfectly true - they only fall at -night- so in the villages, where they have planted durian trees? The children listen for the thud as it hits the ground and -then- they wait for a bit and go grab 'em. Any thief standing under one of those trees ought to beware.

And Keri, that is exactly how my teapot at home is like in my grandmother's house. We've had it for donkeys' years. Things like that are so inexpensive on my side of the world, so they've everywhere. Even in the hawker stalls and restaurants!

Your illustrations are absolutely delightful....they always bring a smile to my face! Thanks Keri!

Totally inspiring! I just love your illustration style, dreamlike. I can hardly wait to attend your HOW conference presentation!

That teapot looks EXACTLY like one my mom has!

I remember winters walking china town in Toronto with my two children. I never had any money. My Japanese sister-in-law would take us all on an "adventure" to china town. We would pretend we were on vacation in the other side of the world. sometimes..we would pretend we were secret agents needing to find a secret message somewhere...or spy on a suspicious looking person. I could always buy something under $5 dollars each for my children so they could do a "show and tell" at school on Mondays. We'd snaffle on to plastic chop sticks...strange 'candy' that had no english on the packaging and of course...mini watercolour sets for $1:50! Looking at the different fruit stands was always fun too..so..we still need to know ten years later...what are those prickly looking things that look like an upset blowfish but are actually a fruit..I think!

I love pork buns! And oolong tea, and tangelos, and pumpernickle bread! And your BRILLIANT illustrations.

I am going to turn myself into a byte, so that I can fly through cyberspace and join you for a bite.

Tea Party!

dropped by and i saw this lovely drawing. thanks for making me smile today :-)

Kate my dear. It would be Toronto, though I might wish it to be SF. I would take you up on any offer for tea.

I will admit to being less daring now with the whipped puffed things. The last one i chose was made completely of whipped butter. Yikes!

The San Francisco Chinatown? Or New York? Or Chicago?

Lie to me--tell me it was not SF, because if you were only an hour away, and I didn't get to buy you tea and ogle brocade silk and show you these amazing whipped cream puff things they have, in the SF Chinatown, I shall be forever heartbroken. ;o)

Kate

Melissa -not sure what you mean by tea baskets?

sarahj- i don't worry about bacteria generally.

talloh- thank you, and yes, just off of spadina on dundas west. a trading co.

anet- pork bun=chinese delicacy, found in any chinese bakery. you will smell them before you see them. sweet egg bun with pork filling. the combination of sugar and salt is addictive. perfect food for when you are shopping and need to eat while on the move. not very healthy mind you but life is better with such indulgences.

i feel silly about asking... but, what is a "pork bun"?

and ooooooo! i like oolong tea!

hiya,

bought your book a few months ago. i'm from toronto as well and found it on while on vacation in a bookstore in l.a. i take it with me whenever i feel uninspired to do anything. it really helps.

did you get that pretty teapot somewhere on spadina?

keep up the good work!!

cool stuff...I've always wondered about those steamers though, I've heard they collect bacteria pretty fast...did I dream that or is that true?

Nice teapot :)

Hi Keri,
It is always fun to get your BLOG...love your art. I was excited to see you book in a kool shop in Royal Oak, Michigan last week. "Hey, I know who this is...."
Bev

I have the same teapot. Mine came in a insulated tea(pot) basket with two cups. Did you notice any tea baskets -- I'm not sure if they're sold anymore?

oooh, how pleasant:)