Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

News stories from the Renfrew-Collingwood community in East Vancouver

Category Archives: Arts & Culture


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Celebration red bean soup: Recipe for a traditional Chinese dessert

BY JULIE CHENG

Red bean soup is a traditional dessert served at the end of Chinese banquets and family dinners. Photo by Trevor Molag
Red bean soup is a traditional dessert served at the end of Chinese banquets and family dinners. Photo by Trevor Molag

I come from a family of great home cooks, from my grandmother to my dad to my sisters. My mom was a terrible cook, and I take after her. When, in the December issue of the RCC News, I committed to learning to cook red bean soup and one day share it with friends and family, this really was a way for me to discover how to make some traditional Chinese foods from my youth.

Off I went to Chula Vista Grocery, where I found a pack of what I thought was adzuki beans, the main ingredient for this classic dessert that was so often served at the end of many family meals, including Lunar New Year. Good thing I double checked with the owner, because he kindly pointed me to a different package of red beans.

I’m happy to report that I recently served red bean soup at a family dinner to commemorate Dong, a Chinese festival that occurs on the winter solstice, with a recipe adapted from The Woks of Life. I don’t really remember having the orange zest or tapioca from this recipe in my red bean soup over the years, though I do remember my grandmom putting in dried orange peel.

In my own recipe, I substituted rock cane sugar (concentrated sugar cane extract, available at places like Banana Grove), which comes in slabs and has a deeper flavour than regular sugar. The ginger was my own addition. To give this a creamy flavour, I sometimes add a swirl of oat milk in the bowl.

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you. If you have your own traditional red bean soup recipe, I’d love to hear from you. Any tips and tricks would be very much appreciated – just email rccnews-editorial@cnh.bc.ca.

Ingredients for Red Bean Soup

(Serves 6 to 8)

1 cup (250 ml) adzuki beans, rinsed then soaked for 8 hours or overnight

2 inches (5 cm) fresh ginger, smashed with back of a knife

6 cups (1.5 l) water

1 slab (2 oz/50 g) cane sugar, or to taste

1 tbsp (15 ml) tapioca pearls (optional)

Oat milk (optional)

1. Rinse then soak 1 cup of adzuki beans in water for 8 hours or overnight. Recipe photos by Julie Cheng
Rinse then soak 1 cup of adzuki beans in water for 8 hours or overnight. Recipe photos by Julie Cheng
Smash 2 inches of fresh ginger with the back of a knife.
Smash 2 inches of fresh ginger with the back of a knife.
Place adzuki beans, ginger and 6 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.
Place adzuki beans, ginger and 6 cups of water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour.
Remove ginger. With potato masher or immersion blender, blend mixture until desired smoothness.
Remove ginger. With a potato masher or immersion blender, blend mixture until desired smoothness.
Add 1 slab of cane sugar, or to taste.
Add 1 slab of cane sugar, or to taste.
Add tapioca pearls and simmer another 30 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.
Add tapioca pearls and simmer another 30 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.


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Local model train shop Central Hobbies for sale as owner retires

Go-to destination for train enthusiasts from all over B.C. and beyond

BY PAUL REID

Kathy and Hal at Central Hobbies are looking forward to retirement. Photo by Paul Reid
Kathy and Hal at Central Hobbies are looking forward to retirement. Photo by Paul Reid

“Every train has a caboose,” quipped a customer, in reference to Hal’s upcoming retirement.

“Now that’s something I’ll miss,” says Hal to me, ”all the little fun remarks just like that.”

Yes, the caboose is here for Central Hobbies (located at 2825 Grandview Highway and Renfrew). Hal will surely miss his long-time customers, and they, him. For the past 35 years, Hal and his Central Hobbies have been the go-to destination for train enthusiasts from all over British Columbia and beyond.

You see, Central Hobbies is like a mecca for train-heads. Take Calvin, who alerted us to the store’s closing in his online post:

“I managed to find some downtime to make the pilgrimage into Vancouver to visit Central Hobbies, which is slated to close in June 2023.

“Where I live, there isn’t a model train-focused hobby shop, so you can imagine dropping me into the midst of a store the size of Central Hobbies would be much like shooting me into space. I spent over two hours browsing the store … I even had to step outside one time to collect myself – the selection was just THAT wild! I felt like a kid again.”

Every now and then a celebrity comes to Central Hobbies - Kathy and Rod Stewart. August 2014 Central Hobbies News
Every now and then a celebrity
comes to the store – Kathy and Rod Stewart. August 2014 Central Hobbies News

So I met with Hal and yes, it’s true. “Body says it’s time,” he tells me. So, this spring, Hal and his gang (Kathy and Bill) will be preparing to wrap things up. For Hal, the owner, this means he has put Central Hobbies up for sale. Know anybody? How about that gent talking to Kathy in this photo here? He might have some cash.

Kathy has been with Hal at Central Hobbies for about 25 years. “When she started, she knew nothing. Now, she runs the store.” Hal and Kathy definitely will retire whether the store sells or not. Bill, well, I hear Hal might throw him in with the deal.

The price? That too you can iron out with Hal, but you might be looking at somewhere around a million dollars, as that is about the value of the current stock. The buyer would also receive the excellent reputation and connections that Hal and the gang have been building all these years.

And the return on investment. Fugget about it. I’ll leave that to you and Hal to discuss, but with sales booming more than ever right across North America, it sounds like the new owner will stand to pull in a fairly pretty penny.

Hal had always loved trains – ever since he was a young boy. So, later on in his life, when the opportunity to buy Gary’s Train Centre (on Broadway) presented itself, Hal jumped at the chance. Actually, he was hesitant at first, but with the encouragement of a friend, Hal went all aboard, bought Gary’s, and soon, Central Hobbies was to be born here in Renfrew-Collingwood.

So that’s the latest news from Central Hobbies. Hal, Kathy, Bill – wishing you all the best! To our readers, keep your ear to the track when it comes to a new owner.


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Collingwood Corner: Collingwood Theatre at 4926 Joyce Street

BY LORETTA HOUBEN

Did you know that a theatre was located at 488, then 4926 Joyce Road, now Joyce Street, from 1914 until 1934, according to the BC Directories? I’ve been researching this mystery for a while and recently located a few clues. One of them was discovered in the Greater Vancouver Chinook newspaper, courtesy of the University of B.C. Archives online (see photo 1).

Photo 1: May 18, 1912. The map shows the location of Collingwood Theatre. Image from UBC Archives online

The second clue was discovered when I placed a photo from the Vancouver archives in my photo editor and enlarged and clarified it, discovering a building that I believe to be the Collingwood Theatre (photo 2). You can’t see it until you zoom in, and I was startled to find it when I’d never noticed it before.

Photo 2: 1913, looking north on Joyce Road. Photo courtesy of Loretta Houben, from Vancouver Archives

The theatre was near Wellington Avenue and Joyce Street, and by looking at another image (photo 3), I have deduced that this picture shows a view of Wellington and Joyce that was taken in 1913 and is from the collection of Mrs. Walter S. Baird, courtesy of the Vancouver Archives. If it weren’t for Mrs. Baird, we wouldn’t have any scenes of Joyce Road from the 1910 era. You can see a house on the left side of the photo that stood beside the theatre. I assume it was built in 1913 as it appears in the 1913 photo, and it appears in the directories the following year.

Photo 3: 1913 Joyce Road. Photo from Vancouver Archives

The Collingwood Theatre is mentioned rarely in newspapers of the time. It was managed by Cecil R. Hall, who lived on Aberdeen Street, as shown in the 1930 directory. However, by 1932 the theatre was no longer operating, according to the directory. Cecil Hall had moved to North Vancouver and became the operator of the Lonsdale Theatre.

The property on which the Collingwood Theatre once operated for 19 years is now for sale for a hefty price. Things are always changing in Collingwood!

Loretta Houben enjoys solving mysteries in the Collingwood area, where she has lived for 55 years.

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