Out & About #867 | Genmaicha Truffles, Chinguacousy Park + Gong Cha Brampton

White chocolate, which is truthfully less of a chocolate than it is cocoa butter, earns little affinity from me beyond its versatility in baking assignments.

Four white chocolate Lindt truffles remained in my gifted Wobble Tin. Reluctant to consume them in this obnoxiously sweet state, they were placed in a microwave-safe bowl with a handful of Blancor couverture, then a splash of heavy cream. 

​The bowl's constituents were zapped until melted, and perhaps suffered too drastic of a temperature change. The cream had begun to boil. Stirring quickly, I eased the solution towards uniformity, at which point Paragon's Genmaicha powder was incorporated.

After chilling for two hours, Genmaicha Nama truffles emerged. These were more pliable than the typical nama-choco, which is often sliced into thin squares and infused with alcohol. As expected though, they offered superior flavour to plain white chocolate.

​Three back-to-back days of clicking later, I was keen to escape my room for fresh air. It was time to tackle some errands.

​Ill-fitting skates prompted a trip to the closest Decathlon location. Though I had the opportunity to visit Activate last month, this would be my first time stepping into the sporting goods retailer in the adjacent space.

​Holiday tunes continued to play inside Bramalea City Centre. A lofty tree, sponsored by Decathlon, greeted us at the mall-side entrance of the store. A snaking lineup and toilet paper thinner than that of McDonald's greeted me at the washrooms - neither element would have been witnessed at Square One, mind you.

​For at least a year, I had bookmarked Chinguacousy Park as a destination of interest. The skate trail had appeared quite attractive when viewed on Google Maps.

​We had first pulled into the largely vacant asphalt lot of Mount Chinguacousy, but pointed back towards the Central Park/Hanover Road entrance for skate trail access. Following in the steps - or rather, tire marks, of an exiting maintenance vehicle, I accidentally weaved onto a pedestrian pathway for the Petting Zoo. Thankfully, I managed to exit onto the Chinguacousy Park Pond overpass, which joined the nearby parking lot.

​Around the 4 PM mark, we made our way over to the rink. Frankly, it was more reminscent of an embryo than a rink. With the exception of the comparatively roomier north and south ends, the area was very narrow and difficult to maneuver. These flaws were emphasized by skaters waddling in all directions and halting without warning.

​The zamboni had departed the scene just as I laced up my skates. Without any railings or tables - or even dry seating for changing in and out of activity-specific footwear, for that matter - in proximity, I requested assistance for my descent onto ice.
Padding about the skate trail was minimal, and protruded out at right angles instead of aligning seamlessly with the rounded concrete perimeter. The ice, which had been resurfaced just a few minutes prior, had already turned bumpy and uncomfortable. Hockey skates whizzed about me: a large majority of the rink's visitors were high schoolers experimenting with backward travel and practicing stops. The next dominant user group were inexperienced skaters, those that fearfully wobbled about while clinging onto others in the same group for dear life.

It wasn't long before I deduced the trail unenjoyable for further rounds. The ice was horrible, and the unpredictability of other users was unnerving. The scene was a severe departure from the organized nature of Celebration Square.

​Strings of overhead bulbs would likely contribute a cozy atmosphere in the later hours of the evening, but we didn't stick around long enough to confirm the suspicion.

Given the nature of Boxing Day (and Boxing Week), I opted to distance myself from Square One and all its presumed, post-COVID chaos. Alas, my h̶e̶a̶r̶t̶ stomach yearned for Gong Cha.

​Just when I thought I was limited to the Sussex Centre outpost, Google Maps informed me of a newer location near Peel Village.

2J Brown Sugar Oolong Milk Tea at 30% sugar with tapioca removed as a no-brainer. Intrigued by their new turquois-tinted lineup, I also took to a regular-sized Mint Chocolate Smoothie at 50% sugar. Both were fantastic, removing skepticism surrounding the newness of the shop. In fact, their execution of 30% sweetness was even better than Square One's, which often emerges too sweet.

During our stay, an Original Croffle is requested. The dessert was served on a skewer, piping hot and dusted liberally with icing sugar. When brought close, one would be enveloped in the comforting essences of buttery, leavened dough and ice cream parlour sweetness.

The first bite entailed an Injeolmi Bingsoo type of reaction: a powder cloud that dispersed onto the table and into my hair. The second was a wonderfully toasty sensation, characterized by an airy, waffle-esque cross-section and mildly flakey surface. Sparse bits of toasted sugar could be perceived as well, evoking the Croissant Taiyaki experience of (the original) Snowy Village.

​Seating adopted the form of one large communal table and two smaller two-seaters. An accessible stall could be found at the back of the bubble tea shop, with the cavity across exclusively used for toiletry storage.

​Given the location's ease of parking, superior crafting capabilities, and proper seating, I'd be open to subsequent visits should I find myself in the area again. Should that opportunity arise, a visit to the nearby upscale Playdium wouldn't be a bad idea either.