SOMEDAY NOT TOO SOON!

Rol San is a popular restaurant recently moved from the east side of Toronto’s famous Spadina Avenue to the less fashionable west side( in my own prejudiced opinion), minutes south of El Mocambo where The Stones performed an unplanned concert a million years ago. The family owned dim sum eatery has dished out the small dishes to hungry families and lovers of good food for decades. Local chefs who need to chill after cooking in their own kitchens will finish their long days there and at least one former Toronto Raptor, Serge Ibaka made some non NBA fans happy after he was spotted there when he toiled artfully for the local basketball millionaires.

One recent Friday I made my way there to secure a table for 3, as expected the dining room before noon was already filled with a United Nations of dim sum lovers, some regulars but increasingly tourists again and even business persons from other cities and countries. I am there to await Morty and Maurice’s arrival two mature Jewish guys who enjoy dim as I sometimes crave a medium corned beef sandwich with hot mustard on the onion bun from a bakery that no longer exists, the old bakery facility is being converted into a condo development 5 minutes from where I attended elementary school. If I would win a sizeable lottery it might be where I would choose my next home to be.

Morty who is almost 90 years young is off to another luxury cruise vacation which will see him eventually in Monaco where he and his romantic partner have friends. It has been and remains a fabulous life. Maurice is a younger man who graciously chauffeurs his older friend around the city when the romantic partner needs some time for herself. I am Chinese so I mark the dishes that we will lunch on making certain the braised chicken feet platter is ordered for Morty, it recalls the wings and assorted chicken parts that his mom used for her chicken soup. I can understand 100% but I no longer dine on chicken feet having moved on to pork and beef cheeks. The dining room is loud, claustrophobic in feel until the planned expansion into an adjoining building is completed in a few months time but we three try to catch up our news, Morty approaches the topic with levity but at his age the future of his watch collection is obviously an awkward discussion that needs to be attempted. He has convinced his grandson to be the final authority for who will inherit what when the fateful moment occurs. I was the guy who convinced M to shed his bogus Omega for something more genuine, which turned out to be a Nicolas Rieussec watch from Montblanc and at least 8 other nifty enthusiasts’ timepieces, a few purchased on trips around the world. On this day he is sporting an Omega Black ceramic SMP on an OEM nato strap which he has not taken off his wrist since he received my endorsement for the new watch purchased from a friend who won the object at a charity event. Our friend Maurice is a MBA essentially retired, with one significant client, he is a fella who chooses to not wear a watch but not for lack of adequate funds. I suggest Morty leave definite instructions for the SMP to pass along to Maurice as a small nostalgic gesture someday in the distant future. I intend to leave my most modestly priced watch to one of the richest guys that I know. He claims to love timepieces but also announces loudly that he is too cheap and smart to be a watch enthusiast, that watch guys are “bananas”! My wife insists that my plan has one serious flaw, she is convinced that my rich friend might check out sooner than I, lol. The Fates are not ours to foretell.