Dinner and Dessert

Tonite, we headed out for dinner at a (supposedly) high end chinese restaurant called Kingford Seafood Restaurant in Richmond. Grams wanted to test the dishes out cos she still hadn't decided on where she wanted to hold her "big 90th" birthday. Mom and I had already made reservations at Imperial Chinese Seafood Restaurant located in downtown Vancouver for her birthday as she had somewhat decided on there a couple of weeks ago. For a mere $800 you can have the privacy of your own room with 2 or 3 tables. It's one of the BEST chinese seafood restaurants in Vancouver and it is def one of the most elegant and "high class" ones in the city. Altho she had somewhat made a tentative decision on having it there, a MJ friend mentioned KSR had really good seafood dishes so we thought we would test it out and see how the food and the restaurant was. OMG, we did not like it at all, we were not impressed with the food or presentation of the dishes, the ambiance nor the wait staff, customer service kinda lacked. Plus some of the dishes we order could have been ordered from a HK cafe! Not impressed at all. Def scratched off the list and onto the next unless of course, grams has decided on ICSR. After dinner, we decided to head over to this little dessert place on Kingsway cos I mentioned it to my mom once and she wanted to try it out to see if it was any good. My mom's friend, Auntie Cece is coming into town (again!) tomorrow and if it's any good, she thought Auntie Cece would probably like it. My aunt likes to eat and drink and eat while in Vancouver, oh yes and shop, shop until you drop! Once inside the dessert place, we sat down, made our choices, the girl took our orders and you wouldn't believe who walked in! Rhoda and Jess! How funny is that? We were talking about them and how the girls introduced me to this little place and now it's one of my fave places to go for dessert! Rhoda and Jess pulled up a table and a couple of chairs to join us and it was a really nice to see them.

Bogart's Chophouse

Tonite I had another Dine Out at Bogart's Chophouse on West Broadway with KD. I didn't have high expectations of this place cos last nite, BQ mentioned that he had gone to Bogart's last year for DO and he was not at all impressed. It seems that Bogart's had 2 DO menus, a $28 (on the vancouver tourism website) and a newly added $38 menu. Not much difference but I choose the $38 menu as there was a tenderloin on that menu. Once we had decided, we both order the seafood soup to start, we tried to order a couple of appetizers off their regular menu but they were not taking any orders from the regular menu, they were only doing DO menu for the nite. WTF? I couldn't believe it, you could not order from the regular menu? To me, I was not impressed, what does that say about the food and the chefs in the kitchen? Can't handle the DO menus and the regular menus??!!?? The soup wasn't too bad altho the one I had last nite was much better than tonite's esp since the one at HSG was a chowder and it was creamed based while the BC's seafood soup was a tomato based. I had the tenderloin (similar to the dish from HSG) but what a difference! My tenderloin was too burnt and crispy on the outside and way too salty. The veggies and the sides were lukewarm as if it could had been sitting for a while. The staff were not as attentive as I hoped for and I guess one reason could cos they were super busy??!!?? I don't know about it, I'm glad to say I've been to Bogart's but will not go back again. Not too impressed with the food nor the ambiance. More photos on my flickr account.

Hamilton Street Grill

Tonite, BQ and I headed over to Hamilton Street Grill for Dine Out. Our reservations were at 530pm cos we both worked downtown and could walk to Yaletown within 20 or 30 minutes. It was a cold night so the walk wasn't too pleasant but def worth the walk. Dinner was fabulous and it was def a great choice. Both of us really enjoyed our meals and every plate was just perfect. We both started off with the smoked seafood chowder (so good and the seafood was def fresh, fresh, fresh!), for the entree we both had filet migon wrapped in bacon served with bearnaise sauce, roasted garlic mash and veggies and for dessert, I went with the chocolate mousse (light dessert cos I knew I would be stuffed from the entree) while BQ went for the warm gingerbread pudding with caramel sauce and pumpkin and ginger gelato. Ohmygosh, the gelato was amazing and incredibly tasty, I would def go back for the ginger gelato, delish! I must send my cousin a FB msg and thank her for suggesting this place, it was def worth it and I would go back again for their regular menu. I should have brought my camera to take photos cos the food looked as amazing as it tasted, it was great to see BQ and I'm sure we'll have many more Dine Outs again next year! We both really enjoy food :)

Obama comes to Canada Feb 19

Last Updated: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:17 PM ET
CBC News

U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Canada on Feb. 19, the White House announced on Wednesday, his first official trip abroad.

"Canada is a vitally important ally," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. "The president looks forward to the opportunity to speak with Prime Minister Harper and visit our neighbour to the north."

Obama had already pledged his first official foreign trip would be to Canada but had not specified a date.

No details of the visit were announced. Former president George W. Bush made his first foreign visit to Mexico.

Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke with Obama following his inauguration and congratulated him.

The Prime Minister's Office said Harper and Obama discussed the economy, his upcoming trip to Canada, energy, environment and the war in Afghanistan.

A recent poll, conducted before Obama took the oath of office Jan. 20, showed large support for the new president, with 81 per cent of Canadians holding a positive view of him.

What??!!??

Click to enlarge

Saturday Shopping

What a day we had today! Rhoda and I decided to head over to Richmond to do some shopping but before that, we had to help out my brother cos he got his car towed the day before. We had to give him a ride to the towing company cos he woke up too late in the day and his friend could not pick him up. Gosh, the towing place was so far! All the way on the other side of Richmond and the tow guy was slow and a bit of an @ss so my brother was getting a bit pissed. But in the end, he got his car back and it actually started! After helping my brother out, we headed over to Lansdowne Centre cos I wanted to pick up a bagel slicer at Home Outfitters (yes I need one cos I almost sliced my hand the other day!) and Future Shop to check out the Acer Aspire in pink (of course!). Lucky for me, Rhoda found the last bagel slicer and only $3.99! It's just a small clear plastic container that holds your bagel and you use your knife (slots in the sides) to slice the bagel in half, perfect! After bagel slicer purchase, we headed over to FS to check out the Acer and it was as pretty as I thought it was plus, perfect for what I need it for and it can easily be carried in my purse. It was on sale for $399.99 and there were 3 left but we decided to head over to Aberdeen Centre first to pick up some stuff from Daiso and I could think about purchasing this item or not. It was so busy and the traffic was bumper to bumper, we decided to leave the car at Lansdowne and walk over to Aberdeen! It's not too far of a walk and only took us about 8 minutes! We realized it was the night before Chinese New Year Eve so everyone was out getting ready for the CNY. Once we arrived to Daiso, Rhoda picked up some stuff and then we decided to walk thru the centre cos there were tons of tables (like a sidewalk sale) with lots of Chinese New Year stuff. I ended up picking up some lucky red envelopes (for $1.00/pack) and a good luck paper for my desk at the office. I try to get one every year and my desk is decorated with a lot of personal items :) After our walk, I got a call from Vince cos he was at place setting up my cable and DVR. I decided to pick up the Acer before heading home and a notebook mouse by Logitech in PINK of course! It is so small and pretty and PINK. Before we got back to my place, we stopped by a Chinese restaurant to pick up some take out for dinner and when we arrived, Vince had finished setting up my TV and DVR. He didn't really know how to work this so hopefully, it's all hooked up correctly. After dinner, Vince and I decided to head over to Metrotown to watch Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Rhoda decided to bail on the movie so it was just the two of us. I was afraid I really wouldn't understand the movie since I really hadn't watch the first two but apparently this is the prequel of the series. Perfect! The movie was quite interesting and it was def more mid evil than the first two (I've caught bits and pieces of the second one on TV). There was not a lot of special effects done in the movie which means it wasn't as gory as I thought it would be. After the movie, we both felt like some tea and dessert so we decided to stop off at this new asian dessert place that Rhoda introduced me to. It's super yummy and they have a lot of Hong Kony style desserts served with coconut milk, fresh fruit and sago. Super and oh so yummy! As we enjoyed our desserts, we chatted about his trip, his trippy dream and life without his wife (could be a reason why he's not sleeping too well) and general life topics, it's always nice to catch up with Vince - one on one. By 1:30 am, I was getting tired and we decided to call it a night. Overall, a very productive day and now I must get ready for CNY.

Salt Tasting Room

Tonight, I went out for another dine out vancouver at Salt Tasting Room ($28 menu) in gastown with my good friend, CJ. This place is a hidden gem in the grungy dingy and dark hidden alley called "Blood Alley". But if you are brave enough to venture out into the alley and check this place out, it's def worth it! The wine, food and atmosphere is dynamic and has a great vibe. It can get really busy by 8pm, usually a packed house so reservations are recommended. Love it, def one of my fave spots to relax, drink and eat with great company.

Aria at Westin

Tonight, I met up with my cousin Nadine at Aria at Westin on Robson street. It's terrible how often we see each other and I'm embarrassed to say, we only meet up once a year! Usually during this event and it's all about the food, we both really enjoy dining out and having a lovely glass of wine. We chose Aria cos it had a $28 menu and we both did not want to spend any amount more. She works right across the street from Aria, which is very convenient! We didn't have high expectations of the food due to last year's dine out at Zin on Robson. But surprisingly, the food was really good and portions were nice sized. I loved the dessert, it was their version of a ferreror rocher! Sooo yummy and delish, and dessert is my fave part of the meal. During our meal, we caught up on each other's lives and talked about what was going on with each other. We agreed that we must get together more often than once a year, it's funny and very strange how she only works 10 minutes from my office and we only see each other once or twice a year! It was a great night and we ended it with a promise to see each other next month cos I would love to drop by and see their not so new townhouse!

Axis

OMG! Just cut off 6 inches of hair and I feel so light and so short even though it's not that short cos I can put my hair in a ponytail and the hair is right at the collarbone. Wow, so much hair GONE but it feels good cos I don't feel the dry or see the split ends. I went to Jimmy (whom I've seen before), he's a bit more expensive than what I normally spend for a haircut but he's really good and within reason for what you could pay for a haircut downtown! Worth every single penny, my new cut is amazing and everyone in the office loves it. Plus taking off this much length has taken off a few years off my face! That is always a nice thing!

Baby Shower

Tonight, Rhoda and I headed over to Tim's house for a baby shower. I can't believe he's going to be a daddy! We are all very excited for him and we know he's going to make a great dad. Tonight, for me, this was many "firsts" like meeting his wife, visiting his not so new home and meeting his group of friends. Altho Rhoda knows some of his friends and I recognize a couple of people - guess we hung out at one time or another with them due to common friends in high school back in the days, it was def an interesting night. He and his wife live in a nice and new area, the townhouse was modern but a bit small (to my standards) and I didn't like how the garage was designed (tandem garage) but I guess with limited space and the desire (the builders) to build as much as they could, I can see why it was designed this way. A lot of wasted space as they only own one car but Tim has big plans to make half of the garage a "boys" room. But we had a good time and it was nice to catch up. Before we left, we got a very interesting party favour, baby Coronas with a drink umbrella! Such a Tim thing to do!

Vancouver

Wow, look at this!?! How cool is this? Picture taken early morning at Cypress Mountain.

Happy Birthday Jas!

Happy Birthday Jas!

Tonight, we celebrated Jas's birthday, her actual birthday is Monday but we are celebrating it early cos she will be taking the day off to spend it with her parents on Monday. As a tradition, we always book reservations at a restaurant with a Dine Out menu. This year, she chose to try Quattro on 4th and we were very excited to do so cos I heard some really great reviews about this place and the food. You have to book early (esp if you want to dine on a weekend) cos during Dine Out, all the good times/dates get reserved really quick, usually within a few days. We had a lovely meal and it was so nice to catch up with Vince. His significant other was still on holidays visiting her family so it was just the 3 of us and we haven't done that in a long time! After dinner, we headed back to Jas's place to cut the cake (I picked up a really cute and pretty cake from Cupcakes) and she opened her gift. We stayed a few hours longer just to catch up on life. I hope she had a splendid birthday and it's always so nice to get together with good friends!

Late Xmas Party

Tonight, I went to Rhoda's company "celebrate the beginnings of a new year" party at Baci's in Burnaby. It was a bit different from last year (and less people) but still very much a lot of fun. Germans know how to drink and can def handle their alcohol. I think Rhoda did a great job at planning the party and everyone had a great time!

Nikon D40 SLR

Kay has been wanting a digital SLR camera for herself for quite some time. She is an avid photographer (or as I would call her, a photo whore!) and she loves playing around with the camera, taking shots and loves to edit her photos with editing software. She's actually quite talented and has a pretty good eye behind the camera. As Rhoda was looking for the big prize for her company party, we noticed there was a dramatic price drop on the Nikon D40 SLR - a compact and lightweight SLR, great camera to learn as a beginner. Priced usually around $450 - $500, it was on sale at Future Shop for $399, it was an extended boxing day sale price! Wow, we couldn't believe it! We tried to get one for her party but it seemed FS only had stock in the Ontario warehouse and it would take a few days to ship but Rhoda needed it for Saturday night. We ended up at London Drugs and the best deal offered was $430, well we decided to call Broadway Camera and see if they had any in stock and what they were selling it. The SA was nice enough to offer us the same price as LD but not FS. Camera, lens, memory card and software at a total cost of $520. Not bad for a pretty nice camera! Kay was so excited, she started snapping pictures and I know it may seem biased but she really has a great eye and def with some nuturing, she could do really well. I am really happy to see her enjoy something so artistic and I def don't mind helping her in that direction. My parents never allowed me to purse my art dreams and aspirations which clearly made a negative impact on my life. I know Kay will take good care of this camera cos she PAID FOR IT. That's right, I used her savings and I and my mom (grams) gave her an early b'day gift to cover the rest. She is one LUCKY GIRL!

First LV

Jas finally did it! She picked up her very first Louis Vuitton and I am so proud. For the last 10 years, she has been wanting to buy a handbag and every time we go into the boutique, she cannot justify spending that amount of money on a handbag. But she can drop a few hundred dollars on a Coach bag here and there and I always say, why don't you save the money and pick up a LV instead? But she never listened and now after all this time, she finally decide to do it. All those Coach bags in her closet are now going to sit there as she won't use them again and haven't done so in quite some time. At first, she wanted to pick up the LV Monogram bucket bag and I didn't like that particular style but the petite bag was way too small for her frame. I told her that the Damier Canvas was much better suited for her and she should consider investing in that print. The print is classic, not too flashy or screaming a designer bag and even though this style only had the petite bucket, I thought she should go for another style. I told her to take a look at the handbags on the LV website and then go into the store to take a look at the pieces in person. I suggested the Hampstead MM in the damier print, Rhoda owns this one and it's perfect sized with lots of rom for everyday use. She didn't love it on the website but I told her she needed to go in and look at it. Today at lunch, we met up at the LV boutique to look over the monogram bucket bag again (still don't like it), finally she decided to take my advice and looked at the Hampstead. Once she had it on her shoulder and stood in front of the mirror, she realized it was the perfect bag! She bought it and the total was a bit more than she wanted to pay but I convinced her this was an investment and she would get many years out of this handbag. I hope she loves it, loves it when she gets home and won't return the handbag.

Specs:

Damier Canvas - Ebony

Tag No. N51204

Hampstead MM

$1290

White Weekend

What a white weekend we had! All weekend, the snow continued to fall over our city causing major traffic delays and transit/road chaos. Of course, mother nature did give us a few breaks in between, teasing us with rain and clouds but the white stuff always came back and sometimes with a vengeance! On Saturday, Rhoda and I decided to head out anyways and we were in luck, Jess is in Jamaica and we got to borrow her SUV to drive in the snow covered city. We had a bit of time before the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens so we headed over to Richmond IKEA. I had a $10 GC which I thought I could use or find something on sale but nope, I didn't and there wasn't anything that I needed. After our short trip at IKEA, we decided to go shopping at Richmond Centre and of course, again, I did not leave empty handed :( I found a couple of great deals, picking up a pretty black leather jewelry case at Danier ($19.99) and a jersey shrug ($40.00) at Aritzia. After walking through the entire mall, we decided to make a quick stop at Starbucks for some coffee before heading over to the Festival of Lights. As soon as we drove into Vancouver, the snow had started to fall and quite heavily making the roads very WHITE. It was quite a beautiful sight at VanDusen with the lights and the snow but really really cold! My feet were freezing and I was wearing the wrong jacket for this festival as it didn't keep me warm plus I didn't have any gloves which means my hands were freezing and felt a bit frost bitten! It would have be nice to have stayed longer to enjoy all the beautiful lights but it was super cold and snowy! I didn't bring my camera so I didn't get to take any photos but Rhoda did and she got tons of great shots, will post them as soon as I get them from her. Once we finished looking at all the lights, we realized that Rhoda lost a set of keys attached to her sis's keychain, oops! There was no way we would find them and we obviously didn't hear them fall cos of the snow!!! But hopefully, someone will turn them in if they find them .... we were planning on stopping at Superstore before heading back to my place for dinner but we decided against it and I thought it was best if Rhoda went straight home since the roads were becoming icy and slippery and traffic was piling up on the main roads. After she dropped me off, I made a quick stiry fry with what I had left in the fridge. Since being snowed in and no access to my car, I didn't have much left in the fridge. It was a quiet night at home and I shoveled the driveway/sidwalks before calling it a nite. Sunday didn't seem so bad outside cos it had rained a bit over nite and washed most of the snow away. Mom and I decided to go over to Superstore cos we both needed to pick up groceries. We first stopped by Commercial drive so my mom could pick up some veggies and I grabbed my fave kind of yogurt, Fraser Meadow - Organic Plain Yogurt, 1.5% MF. Fraser Meadow, def one of the best yogurts made locally! We headed over to Superstore and as always it was CRAZY BUSY, I usually don't pick up too many veggies or fruits there but the Farmer's Market got cancelled cos of the snow so I had to pick up my veggies/fruits for the week. Mom and I decided to have something hot before heading over to Cheong Lee Market (where she gets her asian veggies/fruits) but that might have not been such a good idea cos it started to snow and hard. Not just lightly fluffy snow, hard icy bits that stuck to the car, ground, lights, street posts etc. We had only stopped in the cafe for about 40 minutes and when we went outside, we couldn't even see my mom's car cos it was covered in snow!!! We quickly picked up her asian veggies next door and started the drive home, gosh, it was a bit scary cos all you could see in front of you was WHITENESS, I kid you not, it was snowing so hard that it was difficult to see more than a block in front of you!! Lucky we weren't too far from home and I was glad to be back as there were tons of traffic jams and cars getting stuck on the slopes in our area. But I just heard on the news that it's gonna rain tonite and tomorrow, the temperatures are going to warm up which means we should all be weary of the future flooding!!! Better than snow I guess......

Dine Out Vancouver 2009

I am super excited about Dine Out Vancouver 2009! I have a list of restaurants that I can't wait to try and hoping they will be participating!

Quattro
CinCin

Not sure if any of the steakhouses will be in it this year but if so, would love to try Hy's or Bogart's or Morton's .....

Can't wait to book the reservations and that is one reason why I'm looking forward to Monday morning :)

MAC Cosmetics x Hello Kitty Collection

I am super excited about this collection which will be available soon into this new year! I will probably have to pick up most of this collection! So EXCITED!!!

From Nitrolicious

Rumors have been circulating the blogs about the MAC Cosmetics and Hello Kitty collaboration for a min already, finally the news was confirmed. The limited edition collection will be available at MAC’s website on February 10, 2009 and in MAC US stores on February 12, 2009 (just in time for Valentine’s Day too!) and overseas stores in March 2009- mark your calendars ladies this collection is going to fly off the counters! Not only did they create a range of cosmetics, there’s also a line of accessories: a Petite Makeup Bag ($22), a medium Makeup Bag ($35), a plush doll ($42), purse mirror ($22), three-brush collection ($49.50), a mirrored key clip ($16), beaded bracelet ($34), a tote ($45) and soft vanity kit ($55).

The Hello Kitty collection consists of two collections: the Hello Kitty Colour Collection and the more high-end Hello Kitty Kouture. The Hello Kitty Colour Collection includes “six shades of lipstick with names like Fashion Mews and Strayin’, each $14; six Lipglass shades, each $14; and two tinted lip conditioners, $14.50 each; two eye shadow palettes, which each contain four shades and retail for $38; two shades of pigment are $19.50 each, and two Reflects Glitter stockkeeping units — one blue, one pink — are $17.50 each. Four Glitter Eye Liners, each $16.50, two shades of Beauty Powder, each $22; three shades of nail polish, each $11; a black mascara, $12, and false lashes, $12, round out the color offerings. Shades range from pinks and turquoises to lavenders and greens.”

The Hello Kitty Kouture collection is more of a high-end line and great for collectors as well. The range consists of “two shades of Dazzleglass, each $28, each feature a reusable silver chain pendant with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals on black with a pink crystal bow. Sheer Mystery Powder, $90 and available in three shades, is packaged in a silver powder compact with Hello Kitty outlined in white Swarovski crystals with a pink crystal bow on a black background.”

Louis Vuitton

Ooh new colours (spring 09) are available in the vernis (my fave!) collection for their accessories! Must check out Louis Vuitton boutique on Monday :) Already a good start for the 2009!! Check out my blog for the new accessories that I must have!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I rang in the new year with my bestest girlfriends and it's a great way to start 2009 since I am happy to see 2008 gone! Hopefully this year will bring me and everyone close to me prosperity, happiness and luck!

We started off dinner in Yaletown at a Mexican restaurant called Tequila Kitchen, Rhoda and I shared a NYE sampler set menu and it consisted of a bit of everything on their menu and an alcoholic drink. Since we were in a Mexican restaurant, I decided to try their house sangria with tequila, omg the tequila was STRONG! Since Rhoda is driving and isn't a drunkass drinker, she ordered me a red wine since I could not handle another one of those sangria! Food and company was FABulous and after dinner, we decided to head over to Jasmine's condo to ring in the new year and so we could drink some more! Rhoda and I brought some fruity liquer and cranberry juice but I think I had the most! About 1am, the snow had started to fall and by 3am, Rhoda and I decided to head home and let Jasmine sleep! It was a fun night and I'm so happy to have spent it with my girls! Wishing everyone a wonderful and happy new year!!