From Cubicles to Custards - in Pursuit of my Passion

'I don't know what I want to do, but I know it's not this'. I struggled with that thought for over two years. I was increasingly dissatisfied with my job as an Information Technology consultant, but I had no idea what I wanted to do in life either.

One thing I do know is that I love baking. What started as a casual suggestion from a friend turned into one of my life's passions. I love the sense of achievement of creating something with my hands, the heavenly smell of freshly baked goods that lingers in my apartment, and the satisfaction I derive from watching people's faces light up when they sink their teeth into something I created.

I don't know why it took me so long, but one day it dawned on me that I should pursue baking as my career. Coming from an engineering and IT background, this is a dramatic change. However, I'm relatively young and single, and now's the best time to be bold and take risks. After much prayers, discussions, debates, and cost-benefit analysis, I quit my job, and three days later, on January 2, 2007, started pastry school.

White Vancouver

Usually when it snows in Vancouver, it only last a few days, before the rain washes it away. This year, however, we're hit by an Arctic front that brought 20cm of snow in 24 hours, and sub-zero temperature for a week. The snow you see in these photos is still here, eight days later ...

The night of the storm


The day after





Me chilling w/ a snowman

Engineering Pilgrimage in Quebec City

Quebec City is located on the North shore of the St Lawrence River. To cross the river, one can take the ferry, or one of two bridges, the newer Pierre Laporte Suspension Bridge, or the historic Quebec Bridge, the object of my pilgrimage.

The construction for the Quebec Bridge started in 1904, but due to design errors, it collapsed on Aug 29, 1907, killing 75 people. After a Royal Commission of Inquiry, construction was underway again. Unfortunately, when the main span was lifted into place on Sept 11, 1916, it collapsed again and killed 13 people. Finally, the bridge was opened on Aug 22, 1919 by the Prince of Wales, almost 12 years after the first collapse. To date, it is still the world’s longest cantilever bridge span, and is the westernmost complete crossing of the St Lawrence River.

In order to commemorate the Quebec Bridge disasters, graduates from Canadian engineer schools were given iron rings to be worn on the pinkies of their dominate hands. They serve as constant reminders of our social responsibilities and that our work must be of the highest quality.

When I received my iron ring upon graduation, I knew the history of the bridge, the story of how they melted the iron from the collapsed bridge to make the early iron rings, and the significance of the ring. However, I always wanted to see this infamous bridge in person. You can imagine my excitement when I found out this bridge is only 10km from where I was living in Quebec City.



The suspension bridge in the back is the Pierre Laporte Bridge, built in 1970 to cope with increased traffic. The beautiful cantilever bridge in front is le Pont du Quebec, and the origin of my iron ring.

YQB Jour 24 - Chinese food in Québec?!

With its strong French heritage, it's not surprising that people in Québec pays a lot of attention to food. My stay here has been a gastronomical ecstasy. However, I will not describe the two to three hours dinners I've had most nights, nor the many bread, pastries, cheeses, and wines I've indulged in. All that you can get in France. Instead, I will focus on a few unique Québécois dishes.

There are a few dishes in Québec that has the word 'Chinese' in them. They are not authentic Chinese food, nor do they incorporate a lot of Chinese ingredients. Rather, from what I've been told, they were food commonly eaten by the Chinese railroad workers during the early 20th century. And those names stuck in Québec.

Chinese Pate - In Québec, it's called 'pâté chinois'. In the rest of the world, it's called 'Shepherd's Pie'.

Chinese Noodles - Macaroni, vegetables, meat, and soy sauce somehow make this western food take on a Chinese name.


Poutine - This is an authentic Québécois food. French fries, gravy, and cheddar cheese curd. If you had it for lunch, you can skip dinner, and probably breakfast the next day. There's enough calories in one serving to fuel an athlete for a World Cup final game, overtime, and a few headbutts.

YQB Jour 23 - Winter in Québec

How cold does Québec get in the winter? I have no idea. But if this picture is any indication, I don't want to be here in February.

YQB Jour 21 - Lost in Translations

Funny quotes from Francophones:

- when explaining the word "rotten" in French
"when a fruit gets so old it becomes alive again"

- when referring to checked luggage on an airplane
"put it in the basement of the plane"

YQB Jour 14 - National Road Race weekend

This year the Canadian Road Bike Championship is being held in Québec City. However, I didn't know that until I was walking home from class earlier this afternoon, and I saw this.

YQB Jour 13 - "I climbed my suitcase"?! and other tales from my French class

Today I just finished my second week of class, and am at the midpoint of my stay here in YQB. I will give you a glimpse into the life of a French immersion student.

The school is located in the heart of the Old Town, 30 minutes walk away from my home. I have four hours of class everyday, and I spend the rest of my day wandering around the city, and doing my homework. The course is focused on conversation, and my biggest challenge is understanding what other people are saying. I learnt a lot of vocabularies in the past two weeks, and I can really feel my French improving. I have not dreamt in French, yet . . .

The majority of students come from Switzerland (German speaking), Mexico, and the USA. It's interesting that the Swiss don't go to the French speaking part of Switzerland or France to learn French, but fly all the way to Canada. They told me the French speakers there are not as welcoming and helpful as Canadians. Also, the courses in Europe are twice as expensive. Finally, by coming to Canada, they get to travel around North America before heading home. Sounds like good reasons to me. Besides those three main countries, there are students from all over the world. For example, I met my first Liechtensteiner here. Not surprisingly, she works at a financial company that manage trusts for "really rich guys".

Most of the students are under 30 years old, and one girl in my class is only 17. At the age of 25, I am already the second oldest person in the class. I feel old.

As for climbing my suitcase, it was a case of confusion cased by multiple definitions of a word. The word "monté" usually mean to climb, like to climb up a mountain or climb into a bus, and that was the only definition I know. So when I saw the sentence "J'ai monté ma valise" in my homework, I was thinking "I climbed up my suitcase"?! What were the authors smoking when they wrote that? However, the word "monté" can also mean to lift up something, like lift a suitcase up to the overhead bin. This is one definition I will remember for a long time.

Finally, we have this strange creature in every classroom. Does anyone know what it is?

YQB Jour 7 - An Introduction to Québec

When I got off the train at YQB, I've been on the road for six days, getting only five hours of fitful sleep each night. I was tired and getting agitated. I didn't care to admire the stained-glass ceiling of the historical train station, nor was I interested in the sculpture and fountain outside. I just wanted to get to my home for the next four weeks, shower, and get a good night's sleep. I strapped on my backpack, readied my map, and started the last three kilometres to a real bed. As soon as I pushed open the doors, the first thing that greeted me was not the fragrance of flowers in bloom, nor was it the romantic sound of the French language. It was the heat. The unexpected, sweltering, humid heat. I tried to cheer myself up by telling myself that I get to spend four weeks in the most European city in North America, and I ought to enjoy every aspect of it.

The first aspect of Europeaness I experienced was getting lost in the hopelessly confusing and winding streets. After I finally found my bearings, I had to deal with the terrain. Part of YQB, including where I'll be staying, is on top of a cliff. The train station is not. There are numerous steep roads and staircases that connect the upper and lower parts of the city. By the time I climbed the equivalent of a five stories building with my heavy backpack, I was ready to aggressively vocalize my feelings. However, I promised myself I will speak French at all time while in YQB. Since I don't know the French words for 'cliff' or 'stairs', nor do I know how to swear in French, I kept my mouth shut and kept walking. I would later find out it was 36°C including humidity that afternoon.



45 minutes later, I arrived at the neighbourhood I'll be staying at. It's a very quiet residential area, with lots of trees and beautiful old townhouses. I found the house, rang the bell, and a cheerful Québécoise greeted me. Before I could take off my backpack and rest my weary legs, I realized, to my dismay, her apartment is up a flight of steep narrow stairs, on the second floor.



En fin, je suis arrivé!

YQB Jour 6 - Vancouver to Quebec: Power Sightseeing

During my trip from Vancouver to Quebec, I stopped in Sudbury and Ottawa both for logistic reasons and to cram in some sightseeing.

Sudbury is a mining city in Northern Ontario. It started some 1.85 billion years ago, when a giant asteroid hit the region and produced the mineral-rich Sudbury Basin. Today, Sudbury is a major producer of nickel. I visited the mining museum, and the famous Big Nickel. Based on my 10 hours visit, I find the people warm and hospitable, though the drivers aggressive. The town is very spread out, so be prepared to walk a lot.



Ottawa is pretty, and the traffic surprisingly light. I seldom have to wait for cars when I jaywalk. :) Unlike Sudbury, Ottawa is very walkable, and there are many trails along the rivers and canal. After two days of exhaustive power sightseeing, I treated myself to an Ottawa special, the Beaver Tail. It's a fried dough twice the size of your palm, topped with sugar and cinnamon. Yummy!