Alyssa Marie Umbal
Food for Thought: Biryani
January 11, 2022By: Tamanna T., Staff Writer Staying inside during Vancouver’s recent cold snap inspired me to make some dishes from India, my home country. Ever since I was young, biryani was made at my house on special occasions, so I decided to try and make it on Christmas. Biryani is a culmination of everything aromatic — from the spices to the rice, a specialty of the dish is being able to distinguish each smell separately. Biryani is said to be native to Persian cuisine, and was brought to India by the Mughals. A legend states that one of emperor Shah Jahan’s wives,…
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Food for Thought: Dan tat
December 1, 2021By: Nancy La, News Editor Words alone are not enough to describe my affinity for egg tarts, or dan tat. A well-made, fresh out of the oven dan tat is the perfect mini pastry humankind has ever created. Nothing else…
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Food for Thought: Aloo Parathas
November 21, 2021By: Tamanna T., Staff Writer Growing up in a Punjabi household, my mom would cook different dals and curries for school every morning. My favourite thing to eat with them were aloo parathas. “Aloo” translates to potato, while “paratha” is…
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Food for Thought: Leche flan
November 8, 2021By: Charlene Aviles, Staff Writer During high school, I wanted to learn more about my culture. Once a month, my teacher supervised a Filipino potluck for students. Since this tradition helped me stay connected with my cultural roots, I helped…
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Food for Thought: Mooncakes and the importance of reunion
September 20, 2021By: Nancy La, News Editor While others anticipate fall as the time for pumpkin spice lattes, September brings me a whole different reason to be excited: the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year, it is on September 21. When I was growing…
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Food for Thought: Quali-tea masala chai
September 12, 2021By: Tamanna T., Staff Writer Chai, more specifically masala chai, is a staple in every Indian household. Made with numerous herbs and spices, like cardamom (my favourite spice) and cloves, the aroma has become calming and nostalgic to me. Chai…
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Food for Thought: The bittersweet past of Vietnamese coffee
August 2, 2021By: Nancy La, Staff Writer Every morning, I would wake up to my mom making Vietnamese coffee. Thick, fudgy condensed milk softening the descent of black coffee as it dripped down from the metal phin filter definitely made for a…
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Food for Thought: Boodle Fight
July 24, 2021By: Charlene Aviles, Peak Associate Many of my family members live in different countries, so there are few occasions where we can all gather together. Whenever I visit my parents’ hometowns in the Philippines, my relatives always greet us with…
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The Bright-er Side: Guest lecturers have improved my learning experience
July 21, 2021By: Sara Wong, Arts & Culture Editor As happy as I am to return to in-person classes, a part of me will miss remote learning. Besides not having to commute anywhere and living in loungewear 24/7, I’ve enjoyed Zoom classes…
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What Grinds Our Gears: Paying for printing
July 12, 2021By: Victoria Belway, SFU Student I transferred to SFU in Fall 2020 from Douglas College, and this semester I had my first in-person class at SFU. It was exciting to have my first real-life university experience, until I discovered some…
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