No biting the personnel

We were in Vancouver this past weekend. The first place we stopped at, after Dim Sun at Sun Sui Wah, was Daiso in Richmond. This is the first North-American store of the chain and the most profitable one of all 3000 locations. So… what does Daiso sell? Everything, for less than 2$ a piece, in pastel colors, with broken english. Unlike your average 1$ shop, the quality is surprisingly high. I suspect they make their money by selling some items at a really really high margin to compensate for a loss on others.

In any case, to quote their web site:

Richmond Daiso carries over 50,000 types of products in various styles (over 700,000 individual pieces in total) including: household items, tableware, cutlery, cooking pots and pans, lighting fixtures, rugs, artificial plants, vases, garden tools, shoes, socks, scarves, car accessories, luggage and bags, glassware, porcelain, arts and crafts, bookcases, magazines, stationery, toys, oriental tea, soft drinks, snacks, candies, spices, cosmetics, massage products, electrical and electronic items, and many more.

Frankly, they had soooo many cute things in their stationary, tableware and gift wrapping sections that I had to drag her out of the store. I’ll admit though, I almost bought yarn for a friend. 2$ seemed too good to be true though. Stop on by next time you’re in Vancouver and judge for yourself. The store is a few blocks west of I-99. Make sure to wander the shopping mall too; gems are hidden in there.

P.S.: more on Daiso

In Japan alone, there are over 2,400 stores; and Daiso ranks second to Tokyo Disneyland, receiving higher brand recognition and customer satisfaction among Japanese female consumers than the world famous Sony, McDonald’s, and Toyota.

From p. 72:

The state of matters all over the country was so alarming, that George I. shortened his intended stay in Hanover, and returned in all haste to England. He arriver on the 11th of November, and parliament was summoned to meet on the 8th of December. In the mean time, public meetings were held in every considerable town of the empire, at which petitions were adopted, praying the vengeance of the legislature upon the South-Sea directors, who, by their fraudulent practices, had brought the nation to the brink of ruin. Nobody seemed to imagine that the nation itself was as culpable as the South-Sea company. Nobody blamed the credulity and avarice of the people - the degrading lust of gain, which had swallowed up every nobler quality in the national character, or the infatuation which had made the multitude run their heards with such frantic eagerness into the net held out for them by scheming projectors. These things were never mentioned. The people were a simple, honest, hard-working people, ruined by a gang of robbers, who were to be hanged, drawn, and quartered without mercy.

Although the list has been around for a few years, I stumbled on it once more last night. Close the door, read it and laugh; weeping is optional. I miss Shakespeare. I’ll have to find the list of upcoming productions around here.

Worth 25$? Yes.

Location: Six Seven is located on the ground floor of the Edgewater hotel on Alaskan way. Facing the water, you’d have a great view of West Seattle, Alki beach and the Olympic peninsula on a clear day. Walking in on a Sunday night, we got a table next to a window. Sadly, as in many restaurants which such a view, the strong indoor lighting in the evening reflects so much on the window pane that you can’t fully appreciate the view.

Ambiance: There’s something unique about Six Seven. On the one hand, the staff is trim and dressed in cool black, the music is a mix of jazz and lounge, the plates have funky shapes and the bar area has a cool TV wall setup. It’s a bit like Earth & Ocean. On the other hand, everything is like a fake forest. Yes, including faux wood. Sorry, I’m not a fan.

Wait staff: Our waitress promptly showed up to introduce herself. She then proceeded to inquire whether it was our 1st time at this establishment and to explain, with enthusiasm, that the restaurant was participating in the 25 for 25 program this year. No pressure either way (which is nice since some of the restaurants on the program barely mention the word 25). She was very friendly and efficient; within a few minutes she was back to take our orders. Our only complaint is that we had to ask for bread to be served. You shouldn’t have to ask for bread. Then again, having tasted it, we don’t recommend the bread. We suggest you familiarize yourself with Dahlia bakery instead.

Food: The smoked black cod appetizer was very well received: it had a very nice undertone of sweetness and a pleasing buttery texture. The sunchoke and yukon puree was similarly very nice. While I could have done without the breadstick, the piece of gravlax added contrast to the creamy soup. If you don’t know - I didn’t - sunchoke is also known as Jerusalem artichoke. For main course, we had the mahi and the venison. I’ll admit, the grilled Mahi on a bed of rosti was one of the best grilled fish I’ve had recently. Go for it. Although the venison was good, its preparation wasn’t as perfect. The meat could certainly have been tenderized a lot more. For dessert we had the “Green Tea Panna Cotta” and the “Six Seven Charlotte, Espresso and Raspberry Roll with Spiced Rhubarb Compote”. Both desserts were quickly devoured. The creamy panna cotta had a much stronger flavor of green tea than expected; strong enough that the slight bitterness hinted of macha, condensed green tea. Somehow though, it didn’t have the grainy texture of the powder. If you’re a fan of green tea, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The charlotte, although also a wonderful finish to a great meal, was a tad too sweet for my taste; that was redeemed by the strawberry coulis which added a wonderful touch. As I wrote earlier, avoid the bread: it’s soggy, oily, crustless and short on glutten. Moreover, the dipping vinegar is too young.

Parking: after circling for a few minutes in Belltown we found a parking spot right across from the Edgewater, on the other side of Alaskan Way and the train tracks. Free.

Conclusion: For a different review, you may want to read the Seattle Times’ review. In our opinion, at 25$, the price was right. We’ll revisit.

In this chapter, published in 1852, Charles MacKay discusses the ambiance in the early month of the South-Sea bubble that rocked London in 1720. While the South-Sea company was the most prominent story, many smaller ventures appeared.

From p. 54:

In the mean time, innumerable joint-stock companies started up every where. They soon received the name of Bubbles, the most appropriate that imagination could devise. The populace are often most happy in the nicknames they employ. None could be more apt than that of Bubbles. Some of them lasted for a week or a fortnight, and were no more heard of, while others could not even live out that short span of existence. Every evening produced new schemes, and every morning new projects.

From p. 55:

But the most absurd and preposterous of all, and which shewed, more completely than any other, the utter madness of the people, was one started by an unknown adventurer, entitled, “A company for carrying on an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is.” Were not the fact stated by scores of credible witnesses, it would be impossible to believe that any person could have been duped by such a project. The man of genius who essayed this bold and successful inroad upon public credulity, merely stated in his prospectus that the required capital was half a million, in five thousan shares of 100l. each, deposit 2l. per share. Each subscribe, paying his deposit, would be entitles to 100l. per annum per share. How this immense profit was to be obtained, he did not condescend to inform them at that time, but promised that in a month full particulars should be duly announced, and a call made for the remaining 98l. of the subscription. Next morning, at nice o’clock, this great man opened an office in Cornhill. Crowds of people beset his door, and when he shut up at three o’clock, he found no less than one thousand shares had been subscribed for, and the deposits paid. He was thus, in five hours, the winner of 2000l. He was philosopher enough to be contented with his venture, and set off the same evening for the Continent. He was never heard of again.