Valerie Mah This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. In Toronto, dim sum adds up to fine dining

   www.pittsburghfirst.com/pg/042 - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/6/2004   Last Visited: 10/24/2004

   From more than a dozen dim sum options, Valerie Mah, a former school principal, historian for the Toronto Chinese community and our tour guide, chose two examples.
   
   At the Golden Regency, a restaurant seating 360, we were served a fine, fragrant jasmine tea, a radish cake pastry, a crispy fried shrimp roll and a Shu Mai pork dumpling.
   ...
   Tour guide Valerie Mah may be reached by e-mail: vmah@ican.com.

2. 2. TheStar.com - Lunar delights

   www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Cont - [Cached]

   Published on: 1/29/2005   Last Visited: 1/29/2005

   Dumplings and other delightful dim sum specialties , along with the fact that Chinese Lunar New Year is fast approaching , are the reason I'm sitting beside Valerie Mah this wintry morning at Perfect Chinese Restaurant. It's located in a small strip plaza at 4386 Sheppard Ave. E. in Scarborough.
   
   We chat as small steamers filled with sticky rice, steamed spare ribs, curried squid and, of course, assorted dumplings such as shrimp-filled har gow, beef-stuffed siu mai and pan-fried vegetable pot-stickers arrive in swift succession.
   
   This is just one of several local eateries offering dim sum where Mah regularly meets friends or escorts visitors like the 20 American food writers who recently came to town. Wielding chopsticks, we dip into our array of dumpling and non-dumpling snacks that comprise this wondrous style of eating.
   
   Mah was born and raised in Brockville, where her family owned and operated a linen-tablecloth Chinese-Canadian restaurant called New York for 55 years. This energetic, gregarious woman recently retired after a more than 40-year career in education, nine of those as an elementary school principal in downtown Toronto.
   
   She has always been active in the Chinese community and now devotes even more time to the work she's been doing for years as T.O.'s primo Chinese historian and cultural expert.
   
   Our conversation turns to Year of the Rooster, which begins Feb. 9 and lasts 15 days. Mah has some pointers for roosters: folks born in the years 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993 and 2005. "A moderately happy year is in store for you," she begins cautiously, adding with optimism, "This is a time to make a splendid comeback."
   
   Lunar New Year is a huge celebration for the 50,000-plus members of Toronto's Chinese community. Naturally, much of it revolves around food.
   
   "There's lots of eating," says Mah enthusiastically.
   ...
   When it comes to dumplings, which are also a popular New Year's food, Mah has favourite spots for this dim sum treat.