Trip Report: ORD-SFO

I had some extra time in ORD, so I wandered over to Terminal 2 to check out their vertical garden. It was an interesting set up with these columns growing different plants. There were also signs saying which airport restaurants used these plants. I hope my guacamole from Tortas Frontera included some of this airport cilantro!

Next flight was on a newly painted United 757 (with Continental globe).

I had my usual water with lemon.

And the choice was between the usual salad (southwestern chicken) or sandwich (hot chicken). Both came with mushroom brie soup, which could have been served hotter. The salad came with breadsticks, but they were a different variety from last time's grissini. These were longer and thinner, and sesame flavored.

We ended up with the same warm chocolate chip cookie. Flight attendant also offered tea or coffee, and I took tea in this new blue mug (not the old cup and saucer).

Trip Report: YQB-ORD

Canada truly felt like a foreign country, not just the United State's half-brother, up until the very end. Where else would you have an airline called Air Inuit?

Or an airport with a business center with free wifi and computers and privacy dividers, and cushy armchairs looking out onto the tarmac?

Coming from San Francisco, I would also miss the snow, which turned everything so clean looking and bright. Despite the amenities, this airport doesn't have US Immigration and Customs pre-clearance unlike other Canadian airports. When you have pre-clearance, there are US Immigration and Customs agents in the airport, so when you pass through, you are technically in the United States and your flight is treated like a domestic flight. Since Quebec City (YQB) is small and doesn't have this facility, our little airplane would land in the International Terminal. Quite an experience looking up at the Asiana Boeing 777 parked next to you!

At 880 miles and nearly 3 hours scheduled time, the flight from YQB to ORD is probably the longest flight I've ever been on a regional jet. And this was not one of the newer regional jets; this was on an ERJ145, with overhead bins on only one side of the plane and a single seat on the other. Still, I was prepared with my breakfast courtesy the Hilton Quebec buffet and the Porter Airlines lounge snacks.

At ORD, I stopped by Rick Bayless's Tortas Frontera, where I had chips, guacamole, and two salsas for $5. I thought this was a decent value, as everything was fresh tasting and delicious (if a bit salty).

Lodging Review: Hilton Quebec

I used points again for a room at the Hilton Quebec. Overall it was a nice stay, with friendly service and updated rooms. I also got turndown service which included chocolates, a bottle of water, the curtains drawn, the lights turned on, and the TV set to the jazz music channel!

Being on the 21st floor of a hotel already situated on a hill gave me great views. My view was onto the newer part of the city and the Laurentian mountains and river. If I had paid even more points, I could have gotten a view of Vieux Quebec or the Parliament building.

I was on an Executive Floor, but unfortunately the Executive Lounge was closed for another week or so. Instead, I was given vouchers for the full buffet in the downstairs restaurant (vs. continental breakfast in the lounge), and two $5 vouchers for the bar. I redeemed these for a bottle of water both days.

The breakfast was good, including scrambled eggs that were actually creamy and tasted like real egg. I don't think I've ever experienced this before in a buffet! Overall, though, I thought that the Hilton Garden Inn's breakfast was even nicer, because I could get made-to-order eggs (or crepe, french toast, etc.) in addition to the buffet.

The staff, in particular the enthusiastic hostess, was very kind in assisting me with my breakfast for the morning of my departure. I asked them the first day what I should do, since I had an early flight that meant I would leave before the restaurant opened. They gave me a box, like a rectangular Happy Meal box decorated with various clip art of food, and said I could load it up with things and just keep it in my room.

I didn't realize that my room didn't have a mini fridge (unlike the Hilton Garden Inn where you are guaranteed a fridge and a microwave worldwide) so I had to eat the yogurt right away. But the rest I had either the morning I left, or on the nearly 3 hr flight from Quebec City to Chicago with only beverage service.

Quebec City Eats: Chez Ashton

A tale of two poutines. My first experience was the $23 foie gras laden version at Au Pied de Cochon (review here). My next experience was the $4.50 version that came in a foil tin at Chez Ashton, said by some to be the originator of poutine.

Chez Ashton is decorated like an unabashedly fast food chain, although my poutine and hamburger were made to order. Wait at the counter with your tray until they bring out your food.

I ordered an "Ashton" single burger (can also get double), and a mini sized poutine. Yes, believe it or not, this is the mini size. You can also order bibi size (even smaller), or regular which is larger and comes in a circular foil container. The Ashton burger ($3.40) improves on the regular hamburger by adding a slice of yellow processed cheese and the house sauce (like Big Mac sauce). Iceberg lettuce, tomato slice, and thinly sliced onions are standard.

My mini poutine usually costs $5.65, however Chez Ashton has a special discount on poutine for January: the colder it is, the bigger the discount. Today the discount was 20%!

I quite enjoyed the burger as it was well seasoned, the cheese was thick, and the vegetables fresh. The poutine... Well, I think poutine just might not be for me. The fries in this poutine got a little more crisp than Au Pied de Cochon's and Big Smoke Burger's (I read in Lonely Planet that poutine fries are supposed to be soggy). The cheese curds were decidedly cheesy, but the gravy wasn't richly flavored though it was served at a nice, hot temperature. I think poutine is not for me because I like my fries crispy on the outside. When they're soggy, and then further swimming in gravy so they become even more soggy, I just don't see the point of why they are fries anymore.

Quebec City Beautiful

Just a few pictures showing how beautiful Quebec City is. I don't know what it looks like in the other seasons, but it looks magical covered in snow.

Quebec City Eats: Aux Anciens Canadiens

Besides my breakfast on Porter Airlines, I had only had a croissant today and so by 4pm was rather hungry. Thankfully, I passed by a restaurant I had read about called Aux Anciens Canadiens with dinner specials between 4pm and 5:45pm. It's housed in what is supposedly the oldest building Vieux Quebec Upper Town, built in 1675-1676.

I was the only one in the restaurant between during the time I ate! No fighting the crowds as Lonely Planet had predicted. Such are the joys of traveling in the low season.

The dinner special includes soup, dessert, and beer or wine; mine was $19.95, compared to $39 for just the main course a la carte. to start, you choose either the pea soup or the soup of the day (today was cream of mushroom). I learned later that pea soup is quite typical of Quebec. I also chose to have beer with dinner.

For my main course, I chose the "Tourtiere du Lac St-Jean aux gibiers et son mijote de bison et faisan" which I learned is also a traditional Quebec dish. It is a meat pie made up of buffalo, pheasant, and potentially other game, and some potatoes. It was served piping hot and very good. There was also an odd side dish of apples stewed with tomatoes, and shredded cabbage with snap peas on top.

For dessert you have a choice of sherbert, maple syrup pie, and dessert of the day which was some kind of an apple dessert with maple cream. I chose the maple syrup pie of course, served with fresh whipped cream. The pie was extremely sweet, so much so that the maple flavor was masked. But I liked the texture a lot; the crust was flaky and there was a light crunchy crust on top as well which must have developed in the baking process. I also learned that maple syrup pie is something that is considered "Quebec."

The service was friendly and professional, with each course cleared promptly and the next one brought out at the correct temperature (though the soup could have been a little hotter). The bread they served looked like sliced white bread, with some slices warmed up and the other slices toasted with butter and garlic. I sometimes couldn't tell if this was fine dining or home cooking. Regardless, if you come for the dinner special, it's a great value.

Trip Report: YTZ-YQB

I added on a visit to Quebec City when I learned that it is Quebec City on which the Canada pavilion of EPCOT is based! I chose to fly Porter Airlines, because I was curious to try a new airline (for me), and while I would have flown Air Canada to stay within Star Alliance, the cheapest tickets weren't mileage-earning so my loyalty went out the window.

Porter flies from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ), which is spitting distance from downtown Toronto. The airline offers a free shuttle from the Fairmont Royal York Hotel at Union Station. The buses are painted with graphics advertising their service to Quebec City (YQB), my destination! You'll see a lot of their raccoon mascot, Mr. Porter.

The shuttle takes you to what is probably the world's shortest ferry ride.












Here's the view from the ferry just as we left the mainland dock. You can see how close our destination already is, the island on which the airport is located.












After a very quick check in, you go through security and into the waiting area. It's like a big lounge, with plenty of seats, power outlets, a variety of Canadian newspapers, customer service agents...












...and a snack area with shortbread cookies, smoked almonds, bottled water, juices and soft drinks, Starbucks drip coffee, and automatic espresso machines. The "everyone's a VIP" attitude reminded me of my experience flying Bangkok Airways in Thailand (trip report here).

This was breakfast for me (plus seconds and thirds on the nuts and cookies).












Porter flies a fleet of Bombardier Q400s. Bombardier is based in Montreal, and the Q400s are manufactured in the Toronto area.

On this 1 hr 20 min flight, the flight attendants served drinks (in glassware, unless you get bottled water like me), and a breakfast snack box. I really liked the packaging with Mr. Porter on it, especially the water bottle where he's snorkeling in water.

Inside of the box was an Apple and Blackberry organic yogurt, a real chocolate chip muffin with a REAL crust on top (this is no Sara Lee muffin!), a towelette, napkin, and plastic spoon.












I would definitely fly Porter again. They often have discount codes on the homepage of their website, so be on the lookout for those.

Sign Language: expert trainspotting

Toronto is served by an efficient network of subway, buses, and street cars. However, the signage for these modes of transit are confusing as they look so similar to one another. Each one is the front view of the vehicle - a squarish object with two feet extending downwards. In particular, the streetcar icon could very easily be interpreted as a bus.

I do give props to the Toronto Transit Commission for sticking to an old school logo and not updating it with a swoosh, motion-representing graphic, or icon that resembles the London Underground, as many other transit systems have done.

Sign Language: polite passengers

I love these Priority Seating signs on the Toronto subway. They actually show the audience of the sign, that is, the person who is being asked to give up his or her seat. The stick figure looks is gesturing so kindly towards the elderly (hunched over), disabled, blind, and pregnant. The narrative is effective, compared to the traditional signs which just show icons of the people to whom you should yield your seat.

Toronto Eats: city snacking tour, Chinatown stop

Our final stop was Chinatown, which is adjacent to Kensington Market. We only had time for a brief walk through Chinatown, so I just grabbed a bun from Hong Kong Bakery.

I chose a custard-filled pineapple bun, and it was excellent. The "pineapple" topping crumbled nicely with each bite, while the custard filling was plentiful and rich.