Archive for September 26th, 2011

September 26, 2011

The Great Dessert Search, Edition No. 3: Crème Brûlée Shooter from Glowbal

VANCOUVER — How can you make custard with a burnt sugar top even better? Add an ounce of liquor, in the form of Crème de Cacao and Bailey’s, and you will find yourself with more than a few repeat visitors.

Creme Brulee Shooter - Glowbal Vancouver

Glowbal's signature dessert shooter is $8 worth of bliss.

That’s what’s happened with the dessert shooter at Glowbal, a Yaletown spot that’s known for its beautiful patrons and dependable food. Residents in Vancouver’s hip neighbourhood drop into Glowbal for Sunday brunch and weekend dinners, with the seafood choices changing often and usually being the highlight of the entrée selections. One of restaurant’s signature offerings, though, has nothing to do with what comes on a plate. It’s the restaurant’s signature Crème Brûlée Shooter, which I first tried in 2005 and have kept coming back for since.

The drink is usually served from Thursdays to Saturdays, with the kitchen preparing the custard and the bar staff the shot of liquor. Each serving of custard is placed on top of the liquor in a two-ounce glass. Once prepared, the glasses are slid into a refrigerator until Vancouverites come asking.

MORE GREAT DESSERTS: GRANDMA LAMBE’S APPLE PIES

When served, diners are given a dessert spoon to crack the burnt sugar and to swirl the custard around in the liquor before throwing it back. It’s absolutely marvellous, a ticklish and decadent sensation for the mouth.

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September 26, 2011

The future according to Bruce Poon Tip

In tumultuous times, with the world economy seemingly teetering on disaster and upheaval coursing across the planet, Bruce Poon Tip’s mind leaps forward. While so many others are ruminating on the problems of today, the founder of GAP Adventures is focused on the decades ahead as he thinks about decisions that need to be made for Earth circa 2031 or so.

Bruce_Poon_Tip

Bruce Poon Tip will speak Tuesday at the Future of Tourism Conference in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of GAP Adventures)

Poon Tip, leader of one of the most successful travel companies in the world and a Canadian triumph, is constantly working for bigger goals. Hence this remarkable statement about his company: “We haven’t even begun doing what I want to do.”

Consider that GAP employs more than 1,350 people globally, is the leading adventure company in the world and is a model of good corporate citizenship, and you have to wonder what Poon Tip has up his iPhone’s sleeve. On Tuesday, we will find out some of his plans, including details of GAP’s first North American tour offering.

“The Future of Tourism” conference at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre (189 Yonge Street) isn’t about introducing products, however. Nor is it about reveling in GAP’s success. Poon Tip is gathering industry leaders on World Tourism Day to discuss what he believes is the most important issue for the trade: How to properly deal with the anticipated boom in business that will take place in the next decade.

Despite the economic turmoil and the retrenching of pocket books in the U.S. and elsewhere, Poon Tip says travel is expected to double by 2025 and the industry needs to be ready for the growth.

“We’re going to talk about how business models and companies have to change in order to be sustainable,” he said in a phone conversation the other day. “We see extreme hot spots that aren’t prepared for it or don’t have the infrastructure to support the growth.”

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