The Lee Family Meets Three Torontonian Ladies

August 11, 2010

in blog meet-up,eating out,family,God,My story,travel

I’ve had many blogger meet-ups before. But I’ve never once had a blogger meet-up with my family. Yesterday afternoon was a first for me, and it wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be. In fact, it was quite marvelous.

You know I love my daddy and mommy. I may be 22 years old, but I’m still a baby and start missing my parents if I don’t hear from them for more than a day. But…there are times when my parents embarrass me. Ahem. Please don’t give me that disapproving eye. I’m sure that every son and daughter will attest to that. Sometimes, parents can just be so darn embarrassing.

When Aletheia of La Fille Naturalle found out that my family and I would be driving up to Toronto, her hometown, she immediately insisted that we meet up. She even made a trip back home from her university at Waterloo—right in the middle of her final exams—just to meet us!

Actually, even if she hadn’t asked first, I would have dragged her out by the hair, because I’ve always felt like we had some connection, and not just because she is friends with Valerie, a church friend of mine at USC.
Aletheia Zoe Chiang. Love. That. Girl. I love her because she’s real. I love her because she’s so brutally straightforward. I love her because she’s wildly impatient and emotional. I love her because she loves the Lord in a sincere, passionate way which I admire. I love her because…well, she reminds me of me, almost. We even walk at the same pace, and talk with the same exaggerated facial expressions.

Anyway. Aletheia met us for lunch in downtown Toronto with her two church friends, Katherine and Ellie. She chose a Moroccan restaurant called The Sultan’s Tent & Cafe Moroc:
It’s barely a tent, but it certainly did look like it belonged to a sultan!
Just check out the elaborate, grandiose decorations!
Unfortunately, the website or restaurant or someone gave us the wrong address, so we got lost and made the three of them wait for us for almost 2 hours. I felt so bad, but they were all really patient and nice about it. I’m guessing they spent that time to observe the interior design and menu, because when we arrived, they hardly seemed impressed anymore.
By they way, this is Katherine:
She’s a Hongkie, and she’s studying to be a nurse. She’s about a decade older than she looks. A demure, gentle soul.

This is Ellie:
Ellie is also a student here. She moved from Taiwan just 5 years ago, so her Mandarin was perfect. She seemed really intelligent, and she was incredibly warm and friendly.

I couldn’t wait to meet Aletheia and her friends. But I was definitely worried about my parents. I mean, they can’t even speak proper English. And my dad is a pastor…I was kind of worried that he might start preaching in the middle of our lunch. In his painfully, horribly, broken English. Oh dear.

But I worried for nothing. Because my parents and Aletheia hit it off right away. Aletheia and her friends are just the kind of people you warm up to immediately. The minute Aletheia saw my dad, she greeted him in her halting, accentuated Chinese—sending my mom into giggles. “She’s so adorable!” my mom gushed.

And my dad did end up preaching. But the conversation never got awkward or one-sided. Aletheia surprisingly understood my parents perfectly, so between Ellie’s and my few necessary translations, there were barely any language barriers. I attribute it to the fact that we all shared a common faith, thus speaking a common language. My dad got really excited to meet three young ladies who would listen to him so raptly:
Look at how enthusiastic he is! He even tried to use as much English as possible, and it wasn’t all that painful, because Aletheia made up for it by practicing her Chinese, too.
My brother was the only odd one out, but he entertained himself by diligently texting his girlfriend back home:
Cafe Moroc has a lunch special: a 3-course meal for just $15. What a deal! It’s better than restaurant week!

For my first course, I got the Maftoul:
Hand-rolled Moroccan “cigars”: hot crispy pastry stuffed with mildly spiced beef, cashews and raisins, and dressed in Chipotle Aioli.Absolutely delicious—hot, crunchy, and stuffed with perfectly seasoned beef. I thought that spicy chipotle aioli drizzled on top was a great complement—creamy and zazzy, yet not overwhelming.

My mom and a few others got the Harira soup:
A hearty broth of chickpeas, lentils, and Moroccan spices. I had a few sips, but chickpeas aren’t really my thing. My mom loved it, but I thought it was just okay.

Aletheia was the only one who didn’t get the 3-course deal, because she’s special like that. She got the hummus with pita chips for appetizer:
And the Cafe Salad for her entree, but she asked for extra olives and avocados, just like any good food blogger would.Baby lettuces with fresh-cut vegetables, cherry tomatoes, and cremini balsamic mushrooms. Dressed in a champagne and pomegranate vinaigrette.

Meanwhile, I got the Mango Salmon for my entree:
Pan-seared 5-ounce salmon with mango salsa, served with saffron basmati rice and Moroccan-style roasted root vegetables.
I loved the salmon, especially the fresh, zesty mango salsa on top, but I was a bit disappointed that the root vegetables were just carrots and potatoes. I was hoping that they would be a bit more interesting, like sweet potatoes and beets.
The rice was okay, but a tad bit mushy and bland.

My dad ordered the Roast Chicken Pita:
Julienned roasted Chicken breast wrapped tightly with avocado, vine ripe tomatoes, Boston lettuce, red onions, olive and pine nut pesto.
And my mom ordered the Grilled Vegetable Pita:
A mixture of seasoned grilled vegetables, broiled with Swiss cheese, fig jam, cardamom yogurt, and wrapped with fresh Boston lettuce and vine ripe tomatoes.
Look at that! I almost wished I had ordered this. I can’t ever say no to fig jam and cardamom yogurt! I was surprised when my mom ordered this, because she usually goes for the meatier dishes.

My brother, predictably, ordered the Moroc Steak Baguette:
AAA Angus New York Sirloin, seasoned and grilled, blanketed with caramelized onions, and dressed with horseradish mayonnaise. I didn’t get to taste it, but he said it was good.

Dessert for me and my dad was Dried Fruits and Nuts:
Chocolate-dipped apricots and Walnut-stuffed Figs. I gave the apricots to Aletheia because she had no dessert, and I don’t really like dried apricots much. The figs were good—chewy, sweet, and crunchy inside—but nothing spectacular.

My mom and brother got the Brulee Royale:
Rich and creamy Creme brulee.
This was great! I was pleased to find it with a proper hard blow-torched crust, a thin layer of burnt sugar candy that you had to break through with a spoon. It was a first time for my mom though, and she thought she was given a dupe.

Ellie got the Moroccan Treats:
Traditional Moroccan cookies, with orange slices dusted with cinnamon and powdered sugar. I kind of thought that the orange was random, but hey, gotta throw a fruit in there for vitamins, I suppose.

By the time the lunch was over, we were one big happy family.
That’s what is so great about meeting people of a common faith—no matter what age, background, or experiences you might have, we are bonded by something more penetrating than blood. I guess that’s why in the church, we call each other brothers and sisters. We share the same blood—the blood of Jesus Christ.
After the 3-course lunch, we set out into Toronto.
We had only a couple of hours left before we all needed to head out to our own respective ways, but we put it to diligent use by just walking up the streets of Toronto. Apparently there is nothing much to do in Toronto, except to just absorb the city life (Hey Susan! I waved at you, wherever you are, as I walked by!).
You know what I love about Toronto? The multi-ethnicity. It was so freaking cool: one minute, we were surrounded by Indian shops and restaurants; the next, Ethiopian; then Korean; then Middle-Eastern; then Chinese…I was amazed by the variety of races gathered together in one small city, all living in harmony!
I also loved that they had a separate track for the cyclists:
Toronto is such a vibrant city, but with a certain orderliness to it all. People here are busy, motivated, and hard-working, but really open and friendly as well. And as my dad said, “I already know I like Toronto…because I really like three Torontonian ladies.”