Pasta and Tinsle

Thursday was a busy day!

I spent the morning on the computer trying to get my brain in gear writing this blog. For some reason yesterday it was hard work.

Nancylee and John collected us at lunch time for a drive out to Burnaby to Antons Pasta Bar. This unpretentious restaurant is a popular eating spot for lovers of authentic northern Italian food. It's so popular that at the evening dinner times there is a line up along the street waiting for a table. As we arrived late for lunch the rush of diners had eaten so we were able to be seated at once. By reputation the dishes are large so we only ordered two dishes to share between the four of us. With a starter salad and garlic bead to share it proved to be ample food for us.

Our appetites suitably sated we drove the short distance to Bosa Foods an Italian warehouse style market opened in 2006. It's the least likly looking super market store I have ever seen. Here imported Italian foods, staples, delicacies, fresh products and luxuries are displayed in abundance. Nancylee and John stack their shopping cart with goodies while Nancy and I just wander about. Johns ancestry is half Italian courtesy of his father, Ralph. Shopping over we headed home.

After a post lunch snooze and a little telly we headed off once more but not to Richmond's Silver City. (the cinema) but back into Vancouvers East side to Tinsle Town a comfortable 12 screen cinema complex in a failed shopping mall. The cavernous complex with its empty shops is solely supported by the cinema and Mcdonalds. A few of the shops are being used as art gallery's.

The film we wanted to see was only showing here. 'Slumdog Millionaire' was not bought up by all cinema chains as it was not expected to be a great success. it's a modest budget British film produced by Danny Boyle. Since its release the cinemas have been packed. Its a story of poverty, greed, corruption and love and shows the under life and slums of India in graphic detail. The Juvenile leads of the film were literally plucked from the slums. How refreshing, much better than their parents spending the money. They were not paid but given a better life by putting them through school. The adult leads were Dev Patel a Londoner, Anil Kapoor and Feida Pinto. The story is of a young Chai Wallah (tea boy) who goes on India's version of 'Who wants to be a Millionaire' hoping his lost love will see and find him. He beats all odds and wins only to be accused of cheating. The story unfold telling how he came to know all the answers. It's fast moving, sad, gritty and funny enough to balance the action. The film has already won a Golden Globe and is up for 10 Oscar nominations. A great film I recommend you see it.
It was 10pm by the time we left the cinema and we all realised we were eaten. It was a long time since lunch at Antons so we headed back to Richmond to Nancylee and Johns favourite late night eatery, a Small Chinese restaurant called Alleluia.

Weather update.......temperature hovering around zero Mist and fog swirling in and out. Snow disappeared from Richmond except for small dirty piles. Still a surprising amount of snow lying in Vancouver especially on the Est side and across in Burnaby. Oh and 40 to 60% chance of more snow on aturday and Sunday.