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Edmonton Journal
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Edmonton Journal
Three to Eat: Hot and 'oishii' Japanese morsels at Taste of Edmonton
Article content Big Sugar put on a delightfully bumpin' opening night show at Taste of Edmonton Thursday — double-neck guitar action, huge crowd — but besides Gordie Johnson asking us to be his 'honey bunny,' mostly all I was dreaming about was the Japanese cuisine I'd be having for breakfast. Article content 'Hajimemashite' means nice to meet you in Japanese, which is exactly how you'll feel if you dive into any of these, written up here in increasing order of pure yum, also known as 'oishii,' Article content Article content A buff mix of soba noodles, carrots, cabbage, sesame seeds and bite-sized chicken morsels in sauce, this substantive box of delicious will fill you up pretty fast. Standard yet excellent fare — just make sure and eat it while it's hot. A promising start, let's move on. Article content Dragon Ball from Sushi, Tokyo Noodle House (Booth 13, 4 tickets) Article content Not so much next door as continuing one giant booth, these deep-friend, decent-sized balls are even better than they look, a textural explosion of crunchy, chewy and just a little bit fiery via the spicy mayo criss-crossed over top. These first two items are seriously enough for a decent lunch alone, but… Article content Flamed Salmon Nigiri, Takopo (Booth 3, 4 tickets) Article content Well, here's the best-tasting thing I've had so far at ToE: salmon on steamed rice with an incredible mayo sauce on top. Each piece is hand-flamed, so you get a little pyro show as well. But once you put it in your mouth — bam — smoky, salty as the shimmering sea and almost dessert gooey. I found myself talking to my food, thanking it for its service like Mari Kondo or, really, just experiencing a general, Buddhist sort of gratitude which extended to all the hardworking people around the festival making this sensual wonderland happen. Seriously, this nigiri is that good! Doesn't hurt that it looks like bacon. Article content Article content
CTV News
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Taste of Edmonton kicks off with more than 200 menu items for hungry Edmontonians
Edmonton restaurants have taken over Churchill Square for the annual Taste of Edmonton festival. Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Loading the player instance is taking more time than usual Taste of Edmonton opened to hungry patrons on Thursday. For the next 11 days, Churchill Square will be home to more than 50 restaurants, a kids area, beer and spirits garden, a craft market, and more than 185 performing artists will come through the festival. Officials say there are more than 200 items on the menu as they welcome 10 new restaurants to the festival. Canadian rockers Big Sugar will take to the stage on Thursday for the first night of the festival, and Trooper will play the festival on July 26. A full list of participating restaurants and performers is available online. Taste of Edmonton runs until July 27.
Express Tribune
30-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
The bitter cost of sweetness
As the sugar industry continues to thrive at the expense of depleting Pakistan's water resources, there is no justification for incentivising it further. However, a sound policy could focus on rewarding efficient water use. photo: file Listen to article Washington has a very Pakistan-like sugar problem, and for decades, US citizens have paid a premium for their home-grown sugar. Inspired by Soviet practices, the US sugar programme, authorised by the 2002 Farm Bill, sets a minimum price level for sugar – one that is significantly higher than international prices – while simultaneously imposing tariff-driven controls on sugar imports. The result: wealth transfer from consumers to protected producers who channel taxpayers' money back into campaign coffers. Big Sugar invests heavily in lobbying and political contributions to maintain the status quo and deter any regulatory oversight. Allied industries that depend on sugar have been directly affected by this long-standing protectionist measure. Hershey Company and other confectioners have been moving their factories out of the US and into Canada and Mexico. Thanks to this sour 'sugary' deal, the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo in the US use high fructose corn syrup in their soft drinks instead of sugar, unlike the rest of the world. It is interesting to note that, like the US's 2002 Farm Bill, a similar protectionist policy was introduced in the same year in Pakistan. In 2002, an executive order was passed barring the establishment of new sugar mills or the expansion of existing mills in the districts of Multan, Pakpattan, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Okara. By 2006, the Punjab government placed a complete ban on setting up new sugar mills or expanding existing ones, citing concerns over new mills encroaching on Pakistan's cotton belt. This policy effectively froze the sugar industry, leaving it entirely in the hands of a mere dozen families. Now fast-forward to 2025 – cotton farmers are shifting to sugarcane due to its lower manpower requirements, resilience against climate change, and resistance to disease, unlike cotton. The ban under the Punjab Industries (Control on Establishment and Enlargement) Act, 1963, failed to save the cotton industry and instead created severe distortions in resource allocation and management. Sugarcane, a highly water-intensive crop requiring 18-20 hours of irrigation for proper growth, is depleting groundwater reserves; not to mention that sugarcane fields are breeding grounds for pests that damage cotton crops. Due to a protectionist approach over the years, the sugar ecosystem is plagued with inefficiencies. When international sugar prices are high, the government sets higher domestic prices, and when international prices are low, financial subsidies are provided to sugar mills to keep them competitive. Despite these economic distortions, Pakistan's sugar sector still does not produce enough to sustain long-term exports. Pakistan's total sugar production for the current financial year is forecast at 6.8 million tonnes, while consumption is expected to be about 6.7 million tonnes. With a mere 1.5% of stocks contributing to buffer reserves, there is no room for sustained exports in this sector. If buffer stocks are exported, it will leave the country vulnerable to demand shocks, inevitably leading to the costly import of white sugar later. This means that over the past two decades, Pakistan has traded a forex-earning cotton crop for domestically consumed white sugar. Moreover, if water pricing were factored into the cost of sugar production, it would be highly uneconomical to produce sugar locally at all. This calls for drawing parallels with another domestic sector – the fertiliser industry. Fertiliser manufacturers have historically enjoyed protectionism and benefited from subsidised gas, just as the sugar industry enjoys access to free water. International fertiliser prices for di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) could, in theory, bring substantial foreign exchange earnings, but there is a permanent ban on its export. The reasoning behind this ban is to prevent domestic shortages, ensuring availability for local agriculture – a precaution Pakistan fails to take with sugar, leading to periodic market crises. Taking a cue from the fertiliser industry, Pakistan should impose a permanent ban on sugar exports. Though this goes against free-market principles, it is necessary to prevent the country from repeatedly exporting sugar at low prices and then importing it back at higher costs. As the sugar industry continues to thrive at the expense of depleting Pakistan's precious water resources, there is no justification for incentivising it further. However, a sound policy could focus on rewarding efficient water use and replenishing aquifers rather than providing production-linked incentives. Rather than restricting the output and size of sugar mills, as is currently the case, quotas should be set on water usage, and its cost should be reflected in the price of sugar. Like the US government, Pakistan must introduce a mandate ensuring that the sugar industry operates on a zero-net-cost basis to the federal government in the short run. In the long run, it must also account for hidden ecological damage, ensuring the industry bears the full cost of its environmental impact. THE WRITER IS A CAMBRIDGE GRADUATE AND IS WORKING AS A STRATEGY CONSULTANT
