Christmas always gets a foot in the door through popular Advent Calendars popping up in aisles before Halloween, as if every single Canadian household had to stock up for an emergency holiday kit.

Feng shrugs as if he is privy to top-secret information, like the People’s Republic of China plan to invade Canada using the MERBALP method—Massive Exports of Red Beans and Lotus Paste.

A few years ago, I read a post from an American expat who explained how much she missed pumpkins.
“Pumpkins?” I thought. “Okay… Huh, why?”

It’s amazing how combinations of spices can turn an ordinary mix or grains and vegetables into something super yummy. So, slow cooking 101: know your spices.

I wish I had believed in the power of the slow cooker earlier.

“I have no idea hat to make!” I bawled. “I’m so fucking sick and tired of buying food, cutting food, cooking food, cleaning up food!”

The Byward Market is a gorgeous display of local products and colourful fruits and vegetables, especially toward the end of the summer. Just for the (free) pleasure to the eyes, it is worth a stroll.

If you think about it, Tim Hortons is just another franchised restaurant serving coffee and donuts. Yet, Canadians almost feel it’s a patriotic duty to get a double-double at Timmies rather than at McDonalds, Starbucks or—gasp—brew coffee at home.

My culinary journey started when I left Nantes. In Asia, Latin America or North America, I discovered staple food and dishes that were completely new to me. Here is my advice to start a culinary adventure, at home or abroad.

Because I didn’t grow up in Canada, I sometime don’t get what all the fuss is about. These “treats” weren’t part of my childhood and it’s harder to adopt them later in life. Or maybe I’m just a picky French girl after all. So here are some foods Canadians seem to be crazy about… and I don’t get why!

I must have walked/driven by the Merivale Fish Market thousands of times, but I had never tried it. I didn’t even know what kind of food they had exactly—well, fish, obviously, but I wasn’t sure what kind of place it was.
Well, now we’ve been there. Verdict? Good fish but I found the restaurant overpriced and the service wasn’t great.

The day after Canada Day, a friend of mine and I headed to Chinatown for a sushi lunch. Our first choice was Sushi 88 but it was closed for the day, so we went next door to Yummy Sushi, an all-you-can-eat sushi place I had never tried.

Ottawa is addicted to Phở, the Vietnamese soup. A few years ago, one phở restaurant opened, then another one, and another one… and now phở places can be found from Chinatown to the far suburbs of Kanata. Really, what’s not to like? Phở restaurants are typically cheap if not very fancy, and I guess the soup is quite comforting during our long winters.

I’m not your typical cordon bleu French cook, but I tend to stay away from supermarket bakeries because the lists of ingredients they use scare me. So once in a while, I bake. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated: I usually follow recipes loosely (seriously, who has all the ingredients on hand?) and hope for the best.

I usually avoid eating in the Byward Market because some of Ottawa’s worse restaurants operate there, and because food can be pricey and mediocre. I always feel for tourists who end up there and pay big bucks for bad food. But sometimes, there are nice surprises.

To a lot of French, food in North America means junk food. But as I realized when I came to Canada, there is a huge difference between your usual sad-looking fast-food combo and the food served in local greasy spoons.
Yes, there is such a thing as a good burger.

Ottawa finally caught up with the sushi craze and sushi joints have been popping up all over the town. But we are not Vancouver, and here there are mostly two ways to satisfy your sushi cravings: picking up a box of assorted sushi at SushiGo, Go For Sushi or whatever combination of these keywords; or hitting one of the more or less “authentic” all-you-can-eat sushi buffets.

When I think of restaurant areas, the downtown part of Bank Street isn’t the place that comes to mind first. To me, Bank Street equals great bakeries and a long string of coffee shops—not great food. But on a cold Friday night, my favourite foodie partner and I didn’t want to walk too far so we ended up at Taste Ramen+Fusion, a new restaurant that took the place of the old Ichibei.