Well, well, well.
It is good to know that after five years we are still at it – sharing our food adventures and part of our lives with every one. It had been a really long journey to say the least from the first very simple blog post I wrote (Hello World) back on January 5th, 2006.
2010 had been another year of growth for chowtimes. Having written one post after another almost everyday, it is kind of hard to pinpoint that one thing that contributes to the increase in readership. With 2.7 million pageviews in 2010 alone, we are just glad that there are more than a few people who finds the stories on chowtimes interesting enough to return to check what Suanne, Nanzaro, Arkensen and Ben had been up to. I keep telling people that chowtimes readers are following a soup opera. LOL!
Thanks a lot for the support and encouragement everyone!
It is these things that we find that extra ounce of energy to write another post when the mind and body just yearns to be “normal”. You know …
like being a coach potato or take up a hobby like kayaking. Something you normal people does.
Looking back, the previous year had been a year of crazy ideas and putting these ideas into being. Yeah, the biggest thing we had ever done was the 8GTCC (Eight Great Tradition of Chinese Cuisine) series of dinners. It was well received and the response was beyond our wildest initial expectations. I used the word “our” because while chowtimes was the name used to organize the dinners, it was the collective talent of the 8GTCC team that made it happen.
We managed to organize dinners for three (Hunan, Jiangsu and Cantonese) of the eight tradition Chinese cuisines until life took over and I did not have the time to continue with the rest. It was all my fault really. The 8GTCC team was eager but I was too worn out to do anything … and the team was too polite to prod me. LOL!
I hope I had not dampened the enthusiasms of the 8GTCC team but yeah, I will get cracking on the next in the series, real soon. I started it, I got to end it correctly.
But I want to thank fmed, Dylan, LotusRapper, Joe, Keev, Grayelf, JS and TS for all the work done do far.
Last year, Suanne published her cookbook. It is called Diversely Delicious with the recipes that were posted on chowtimes in 2009. A great majority of the recipes were from the Richmond Community Kitchens with contributions from Minoo, Charlene, Karen, Suanne and the members of the community kitchens.
The Richmond Community Kitchens had been a source of great recipes for chowtimes for which we are grateful for. These recipes contribute a lot more to the richness of topics we have on the site, not to mention is where we get a lot of learnings about the finer points of food.
We are just amazed with the great work done by the Richmond Community Kitchens led by Minoo with a host of dedicated volunteers behind her. Amazing work.
Our 15 minutes of fame. LOL! Vancouver Sun published a write up on chowtimes. That was in November, not too long ago. The exposure from the article resulted in quite a bit of increase in the number of visitors. We hit over 12,500 pageviews on that day it was published. Yeah, that subheading of 8500 hits per day was instantly out dated the day the news article were published. Thanks a lot, Mia, for the shout out.
Coincidentally today, on chowtimes’ 5th birthday, the site will be featured on TV. LOL! If all things goes well, it will be on Fairchild’s Timeline Magazine. It is a Chinese program but we spoke in English. So you can follow that show a bit.
So yeah … it had been an eventful past year for chowtimes. And we know all these happened because of your support and encouragement … and more importantly your friendship and connecting with us. Thanks again from the bottom of our hearts!
For this year, I have a few big thing up my sleeve. It will be some earth moving stuff and will make some of your jaws drop. LOL! I don’t want to tell you what now because I want to surprise you all.
Anyway, here are some interesting statistics that I want to share with you:
Most Read Posts (Q4 2010)
- How to Cook Basmati Brown Rice
- Penang Delight Cafe on Rupert and 22nd Avenue, Vancouver
- Whipped Shortbread Cookies
- Steamed Banana Cake
- Fresh Fruit Cake
- Beef Stroganoff
- Moist Chocolate Cake
- Cassava Cake (Kuih Ubi Kayu)
- Mui Ngo Gai Vietnamese Restaurant on Nanaimo and Broadway, Vancouver
- Steamed Rice Cakes (Pak Thong Koh)
- YY Village on Anderson Road, Richmond
- Yaohan Center Food Court — Go After 6PM
- Fraser Park Restaurant — Hard to Find in Burnaby
- Delicious Chinese Cuisine on Kingsway, Between Victoria and Knight, Vancouver
- The Best Chinese Dishes in Vancouver
- Vancouver Tibet Kitchen on Fraser and 50th
Top Commenters (All Time)
- LotusRapper (885)
- Chubbypanda (325)
- Crispy Lechon (317)
- fmed (300)
- Buddha Girl (230)
- grayelf (178)
- etranger (161)
- Jessica (160)
- Marike (152)
- eatingclubvancouver_js (143)
- Elaine (128)
- Jonnek (123)
- HM (111)
- RobynT (109)
- Chris (107)
- Windy (96)
- Jennifer (88)
- kevin (85)
- Eat. Travel. Eat! (85)
- Pinoy Gourmet (146)
- timetochow (76)
- Michelle (75)
- eric (75)
- sally (73)
- Winnie (73)
- Lissa (67)
50 Most Commented Posts (All Time):
- Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony Rehearsal — Free Tickets – 308 comments
- Moist Chocolate Cake – 131 comments
- Penang Delight Cafe on Rupert and 22nd Avenue, Vancouver – 130 comments
- Steamed Banana Cake – 92 comments
- Fraser Park Restaurant — Hard to Find in Burnaby – 81 comments
- Steamed Rice Cakes (Pak Thong Koh) – 74 comments
- Looking at Richmond’s Food Courts in a Different Light — The Parker Place Food Court – 70 comments
- Mui Ngo Gai Vietnamese Restaurant on Nanaimo and Broadway, Vancouver – 70 comments
- Sweet Soy Pudding (Tou Foo Fa) – 68 comments
- Blogroll of Vancouver Food Blogs – 60 comments
- Pacific Plaza Food Court, Richmond – 59 comments
- Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle in Aberdeen Centre, Richmond – 56 comments
- [CRA 2010 Signature Dish] Xiao Long Bao 小籠飽 from Wang’s Shanghai Cuisine – 55 comments
- Chinese Sponge Cake – 54 comments
- Tiem Banh Dong Khanh (a.k.a. Tung Hing Bakery) on Kingsway, Vancouver – 54 comments
- Zen Fine Chinese Cuisine on No 1 Road and Moncton, Richmond – 53 comments
- How Much Do You Tip? – 52 comments
- Yaohan Center Food Court — Go After 6PM – 52 comments
- Tri-Pot Taiwanese Street Snack on Alderbridge Way, Richmond – 51 comments
- Help Us Make Up a Dinner Table: Luda on East Hastings and Slocan – 51 comments
- Sunlock Garden Restaurant on Fraser and East 27th Ave, Vancouver – 49 comments
- Fresh Fruit Cake – 48 comments
- Chow Times on The Vancouver Sun – 47 comments
- Weekend Musings (July 17th, 2010) – 46 comments
- Golden Phoenix Seafood Restaurant on Nanaimo and Broadway, Vancouver – 46 comments
- Any Tips For Vacation To Seattle? – 45 comments
- Weekend Musings (03-Apr-2010) – 45 comments
- “Wind Sand” Chicken Wings from Parker Place Food Court – 45 comments
- Shawarma from Abdul’s on Kingsway – 43 comments
- 12B Underground Kitchen – 43 comments
- Hot Luck on Kingsway Near Willingdon, Burnaby – 43 comments
- Beijing Cuisine on Cambie and Sexsmith, Richmond – 43 comments
- Wilton Cake Decorating Level 1 – 42 comments
- Alaskan King Crab from Kirin Mandarin Restaurant in Downtown Vancouver – 42 comments
- Dim Sum 101 in South Ocean Seafood Restaurant on Garden City and Alexandra, Richmond – 42 comments
- Shoryumen and Fumisen and Bakudanyaki Food Trucks in Richmond – 41 comments
- T-Hut Cafe Chinese Restaurant on Fraser and 48th Ave, Vancouver – 41 comments
- Nine Dishes on 960 Kingsway, Vancouver – 41 comments
- Good Choice Restaurant on Fraser and 44th, Vancouver – 41 comments
- Dinner at Top Gun J&C on McKim Way and Garden City, Richmond – 41 comments
- Ho Yuen Restaurant on Hazelbridge Way and Capstan Way, Richmond – 40 comments
- Peaceful Restaurant on West Broadway at Cambie, Vancouver – 40 comments
- Ba Le Deli and Bakery on Kingsway and Fraser, Vancouver – 40 comments
- Green Lemongrass Vietnamese Cuisine on Kingsway, Vancouver – 40 comments
- [CRA 2010 Signature Dish] Braised Lobster and Taro Noodle Hotpot 龍蝦芋絲煲 and
Baked Live Pink Scallops 葡汁焗游水帶子 from Ken’s Chinese Restaurant on Kingsway, Vancouver – 40 comments - Steamed Rice Cake – 39 comments
- Japadog in Downtown Vancouver – 39 comments
- Friendly Banners Restaurant in Broadmoor, Richmond – 39 comments
- Sun Yee Cafe on East Hastings and Lakewood Drive, Vancouver – 39 comments
- Shredded Dried Pork (a.k.a. Meat Floss) – 38 comments
Congrats on Chowtimes’ 5 year anniversary! I truly enjoy reading all you and your family’s dining adventures and am always looking forward to new posts everytime I log on. Thanks for putting all the hard work into this blog and all the organized dinners throughout the years! I’m sure it has been greatly appreciated by all Chowtimes readers (me included). The recognition you guys have and will be receiving are all deserved! I wish you guys all the success in the coming years and look forward to continually reading about all your adventures!
It takes a lot of dedication to have this blog going for five years straight! Good job Ben! Keep up the good work and congrats =)
Thats not fair. If we add my old comments using my old handle, I will be number 1 for sure beating LR. LOL.
Congratulations Ben and Suanne. Wow 5 yrs and still going strong. Your blog actually started me on my food blog addiction in a good way. Many many times I have visited a restaurant after reading your blog post. I’m happy to say that I have yet to be disappointed with your recommendations. Your food porn and witty remarks are the hallmark of Chowtimes. You’re still getting some gotcha’s with your lemon-water joke. Overall, Chowtimes is my number 1 favorite blog and I hope for your continued success. Happy 5th Anniversary.
OMG, 885 posts (886 after this one) ?!? I need a ……. life :-O
Hey Crispy, on a car forum that I’m on, I’m approaching 23,000 posts (forum join date 2004).
Congrats Ben & Suanne on a significant milestone, and endless thanks for your dedication and hardwork to make CT and its community what it is. Here’s to another 5 yrs …..
I remember when I first discovered Chowtimes in 2007. It was one of the lone food blogs out there. Now I am hooked on it and read it every morning. Great work! Keep it up!
Congrats Ben and Suanne! You’re an OB (Original Blogger). Way before the explosion of food blogs in the past couple of years in Vancouver. Thanks for leading the way and sharing your stories.
Long live Chowtimes! I think that your photo essays did indeed pave the way for the newer crop bloggers and established a benchmark.
Many, many congrats, Ben and Suanne!
Heartiest congratulations Ben and Suanne! Chowtimes definitely ranks high on my list of favourite bookmarks. I gladly tell everyone I know about your blog and many of us now rely on Chowtimes to point us to new places to eat. Thank you very much for performing an amazing community service – your tireless effort is much appreciated =)
Congratulations! 5 years of blogging isn’t easy! Keep up the good work.
Happy Birthday!
Your blog is a wonderful and always so enjoyable to read. Thanks for your dedication.
There was a funny episode of the show “Good Guys” recently, which featured a food blogger/criminal. Asked if he started his food blog to pass time while traveling between cat-burgling jobs, he retorted:
“Actually, I became a cat burglar to support my blog!”
Hope it never comes down to that for you! Congratulations on your continued success. I admire your steadfastness daily as I read your posts.
Wow five years already! Congrats!
Amazing job! Congratulations and thanks for your dedication in sharing your food adventures with us readers!
Happy 5th Birthday Chowtimes! I look forward to the next 5!
Felicitations on this great benchmark. I look forward to many more hours whiled away on Chowtimes. Happy New Year to the four of you also!
Congrats on 5 years. I’ve been a long time reader, since day one, and really enjoy your travel logs as well as restaurant reviews and commentary. Keep up the good work
Happy 5th Anniversary Chowtimes,Dont ever let the occasional Troll spoil your day and I believe what makes Chowtimes so successful is your informal humorous style,There are way too many stuffy,serious bloggers out there.Best Wishes
Congratulation. It is great to see such dedication to produce create and delicious content.
Congrats! I read your blog everyday while I eat my breakfast!
Keep up the good work!
=)
congratulations… you inspired a lot of new food bloggers (myself included), but like ppl say.. nothing beats the original… thanks for sharing you adventures through out the years!!
Here’s Ben & Suanne when they were newbie bloggers:
http://chowtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/_MG_2639.jpg
Hehehe … LotusRapper: Look at me. I think I can still wear 28/29 size pants then. See what 5 years of food blogging does to one’s body. Ben
I was around size 32/33 in 2006. Now I’m 33/34. Look what 5 years of following Chowtimes does to one’s body ! LOL
Congratulations Ben & Suanne.
It really is a labor of love, and I highly admire you for constantly posting, day after day, week after week, month after month!
Congrats Chowtimes!
Thank you for your continuous posts. Reading your blog has been a routine I look forward to each and every day =)
Congratulations! Chowtimes is ancient in internet-time. ;D
Oh my goodness, I turn away for a minute and this is what I missed — congratulations on your 5th anniversary! And of course, I am looking forward to more and more and more and more. . .
Hi Ben and Suanne,
Just caught your television appearance on Fairchild. Congratulations to you on five fabulous years. Here’s to many, many more successful years! Look forward to seeing you soon.
Hi Lily: So how was it? I hope I did not make myself look like a fool on TV. 🙂 Wow, the wave of traffic the moment the words “chowtimes.com” was flashed on the screen. We had something like 2-3 hits per second for 20 minutes before it slowed. Most of them from Ontario. The next (more important) wave will come at 10PM when it gets shown again in the West Coast. Ben
Hi Ben and Suanne,
Not only do you not look like a fool, I thought you and Suanne made a very dashing couple. The boys looked very smart too! It was a well-done piece. Could have been a little longer so that it could have been a featured piece, rather than being aired at the end. I think all your your hard work and contribution to the rich mosaiac of what is Canadian society merit you that as the very least. IMHO…
Hi Lily: Oh really, we look dashing? Excuse me while I go watch the documentary again and try to admire ourselves on TV. LOL! I thought I looked fat. Ben
Hi Ben, Nope – I stand by my words…
Congratulations Ben and Suanne! All your hard work and the love for food has resonated through the people of Vancouver!
Hi Doug: Thanks! Go home early and watch yourself on TV? LOL! Remember Fairchild TV interviewed you during the 8GTCC Hunan Dinner in Alvin Garden? You were on the documentary … kekeke, playing second fiddle to me. There is a repeat at 10PM today. Ben
That was epic embarrassment for me! That was an entertaining story about Chowtimes and the shocking moment is when Suanne actually talked! Lol
Hi Doug: No, I thought you did very well on TV. Thanks for the nice words about chowtimes. LOL! Oh, you had never heard Suanne talked huh? 🙂 Ben
Hi EVERYONE:
Thanks for all the well wishes and kind words. They are encouraging for Suanne and I! 🙂
Ben
Congrats on 5 years! I’ve been a long time reader and I love the honesty that you review your restaurants. I’ve discovered a lot of restaurants through you. Here’s to another 5 years!
Congrats Ben & Susanne! 5 yrs is a long period of time! you guys are awesome!
i just caught the last bit of the fairchild tv show about you guys! i screamed and my sister came out and want to it on tv too! hehe
Hehehe … we managed to record the documentary on the PVR today. I need next to figure out how to copy this out to the computer. Ben
Congratulations!!! You two have done such an amazing job and I can’t even imagine how you two keep up the blog. Whoa. Penang Delight is the first restaurant of the top 50 comments? I guess your enthusiasm for doing it right may have got everyone excited and that we really need places like this put on radar. Now, I only wished I caught that documentary. Darn.
Congrats Ben and Suanne! 5 years – What a great achievement!
Congrats Ben and Suanne! It’s been great reading your blog for almost two years now! 5 years is certainly a long period of time! I just got two a few days ago. Can’t wait to see what you have on your sleeves for this year.