Dinner and BBT

Above Image from chowtimes.com

Tonite, I met up with Vince and Meryl in Richmond for dinner cos I wanted to try out a new place called Dinesty. It is a new Taiwanese restaurant and I have heard great reviews about this place. We were to meet at 545 but of course, those 2 were running 20 minutes late and I grabbed a table as soon as I got there cos it was getting busy which meant I ended up waiting 30 minutes for them. I was feeling really bad after 20 minutes so I decided to order steamed pork dumplings and a chinese green onion pancake to start cos I was starving. Finally the two arrived and I had already went through the menu and the two items I had to order were chicken with basil in 3 spice sauce (cos this is my fave dish at Vogue) and stewed pork in brown sauce with tofu and eggs (this is my fave dish that HonHon makes for me!). There were so many menu items, we couldn't decide what else to order but Vince decided to order another entree to try (shredded pork with hoisin sauce and pancakes, altho it seemed more like crepes - a good choice and one I was eyeing on) and we ordered a few more snack/side dishes to share. OMG, there was a lot of food but we wanted to try a bit of everything! If Jas wasn't feeling so sick and we had the extra person, there wouldn't have been so many leftovers cos what we ordered would have been perfect for 4 adults. Oh well, it's ok cos we could take the leftovers home for lunch the next day. I didn't really want to take anything BUT the stewed pork in brown sauce with tofu and egg altho there were no eggs left! Gosh, we were so stuffed but it was all so yummy! Except for the stir fried prawns with green onions and carrots - that was a bit plain and boring plus I could have done a much better job at home with those prawns! But overall, it was pretty darn good :) Def a fave place to eat and I agree with V & M, some of the dishes are very similar to Northern Dynasty (also located in Richmond). Next week, we are going to go for Malaysian! cos one of their fave little Malaysian restaurant is closing it's doors! I love that both of them really enjoy food and trying new places! Which is why I thought to text them about trying out a this new restaurant and of course, both would never turn down a meal :) After a very stuffed meal, we decided to finish the night off (still staying with the Taiwanese theme) with BBT at Pearl Castle Cafe as it is known for being one of the best BBT places. I ordered a hot coconut bubble tea and I figured the "bubble" meant it came with pears cos at 5.50 it better be included, to my surprise it did not come with pearls and to add pearls (or the other stuff) it costs an extra $0.50!! Whadaelle?? I asked our waitress what "bubble" meant than if it didn't mean pearls (cos most places serve "bubble tea" as tea with pearls altho on most menus, tea drinks aren't listed as bubble tea) and she said it means bubbles in the drink cos they shake it up before serving creating air pockets which technically are bubbles.....???? Wow, I guess I learned a thing or two about bubble tea! The place was quite busy and it was def a full house with a crowd lining out the door but I wouldn't come here again unless someone (like Vince or Meryl) wanted to come here for bbt only cos the crowd was much too young (and obnoxious) and the drink cost are highway robbery! But it was a nice night of trying out new food and catching up. Meryl wasn't feeling well so we called it an early nite so she could get some rest. This weekend is suppose to be a splendid weekend with sunshine and warm temperatures, we are going to get together on Sunday and get on our bikes to hit some trails! Will be fun! Check out photos of our dishes on my flickr account!

Kat Von D - High Voltage Tattoo

I just finished reading the book High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D. It's pretty much like an autobiography, she leads a pretty interesting life and it's cool to see how down to earth she is. Would love to get a tatt done by her :)

Sunshine

Sweet, I'm def. gonna head out on my bike this weekend, I can't believe we are going to get sunshine and warm temperatures this weekend! AWESOME!!!

SIP Lounge

Tonite, Jas and I headed over to SIP lounge on Granville cos I wanted to try it out and we haven't seen each other in ages! No, not really, it's only been a couple of weeks I think but it feels like ages! Jas isn't feeling too well, she's got a cold but she took some meds and made it out. Jas managed to get off early (430) and we headed over to Granville street, omg, the construction is horrid! On some parts of Granville, there are no sidewalks and it was very dangerous to walk on. Hopefully, this construction will be done soon cos now I will not go down Granville until it is! Jas and I had a really hard time walking on the gravel, almost tripping and falling into the rubble as we headed towards the lounge. After what seemd like a long journey, we arrived and got a nice table on the right side, we decided to share a few plates as it was a bit too early for dinner but I could not drink my martinis without food. We ordered Amaretto Green Beans, Prawn and Crab Cakes and Beer Battered Fries - all so very yummy and a good size to share! I ordered a couple of drinks, a Flirtini and a Peach Blossom - super yummy altho I def preferred the Flirtini (absolut raspberri, alize red, raspberry puree and citrus). The ambiance is quite nice, the staff were great and I guess it was still early plus the construction outside made the lounge empty which means it was pretty quiet. It's a really cool place to have drinks and appy's and I would def go back! It's going to be one of my fave lounges in Vancouver I think :) It was a great evening of catching up with Jas and she was so sweet in treating me out this time! Thank you to pieces! Next one is on me and a home cooked meal or two! I wanted to take photos of the food, drinks and construction but I forgot to grab my camera this morning. Oh well, next time!

Vancouver's Umbrella

Since it rains so much here in Vancouver and these past few months, the weather has not been too kind I decided it was time to own a well built and sturdy umbrella. I have gone through a few Totes umbrellas and a Fulton umbrella - this one lasting longer than the Totes! But I find that the Totes brand cannot withstand the Vancouver rains or winds! I decided to check out The Umbrella Shop and pick up a two fold auto in a pink with a special fabric called Fonewr Nano (super durable water/oil/dirt repellent fabric) for $24.95. My umbrella has a lifetime warranty (perfect) and TUS will repair the umbrella at either no cost or a very small cost depending on what needs to be repaired. That is GREAT news since I have replaced quite a number of Totes umbrellas at their cost! The only downside to my new umbrella is that it can only open automatically and I have to manually close the umbrella. This will be a pain since I usually have my hands full and would prefer that it opens and closes but TUS does not carry their own branded open/close umbrellas. If I could justify myself on spending more money, I would have gone with one of these:

The pattern above is the Vancouver skyline designed by a local artist, Barbara Wood and it is made in Vancouver. TUS has a small selection of their own branded umbrellas which are made in Vancouver but unfortuantely none of their folding umbrellas are made locally but they are designed by TUS. Vancouver skyline umbrella priced at $84.95 - it's not that bad considering I've spent more than $100 on my crappy umbrellas. Oh well, maybe next fall as Vancity's rainy season should be lightening up!

Sony Slashes the Price of the PlayStation 2

Sony Slashes the Price of the PlayStation 2

Posted using ShareThis

Wow a $100 price drop on the PS2, maybe in near future there will be a price drop on the PS3! I would def buy one if I could get it for under $300!

Sun Filled Shopping Afternoon on Main Street

This afternoon, after a tummy filled brunch, I decided I needed to walk off some of the eggs, potatoes and lobster! I had planned to walk over Commercial drive to do some grocery shopping or window shopping but before heading out, I checked my Yahoo account and received an email from Voltage Land stating some of the Tokidoki for Hello Kitty items were 50% off! I decided I would do some walking along Main Street instead so before I left, I called VL to confirm the sale price and if there was stock in the store for this particular item. VL put one on hold for me and I told them I would be coming down shortly to pick it up. I asked Kay if she wanted to come but she had plans to hit the beach with a couple of friends. It was def a nice day to walk along Main Street as the sun was out and it wasn't too cold. My first stop was Voltage Land to pick up my cute Kitten Kitty Keitei for $50 (reg $100) and I put enough coins in the parking meter to allow myself to walk for an hour along Main. It was a nice walk and there are some new stores / restaurants along Main Street. I made a quick stop at Shaktea for a green fruit tea to go and I stopped into quite a few boutiques but believe it or not, did not find much on the rack or on sale. I was a bit surprised that I found a dress at Narcissist Design Co. as I normally do not pick up anything in that boutique. I do love their dresses but I cannot spend that amount of money on a dress even though they are beautifully designed and made! I always try to wait for a sale but when the sale is here, I can never find anything in my size. Lucky for me, these dresses just got marked down again and the price was within my budget! Reg $235, sale $118 and down to $49. The dress is made up of 52% silk and 48% cotton, it is going to be the perfect summer dress! Also another local designer and a fave of mine, JY opened up a boutique called Two of Hearts a couple months ago and I hadn't had the chance to check out it out, to my surprise there wasn't anything in her line that caught my eye. Maybe her entire spring/summer line is not out yet? I will check back in a few weeks and maybe there will be something .... I just love her designs, they are so pretty and flirty! It was a great day and I'm happy to have gotten out as the weather is forecasted for rain on Monday.

Brunch at The Cannery

Today I met up with my dear friend, Marie for brunch at The Cannery cos we haven't seen each other in ages and we both really enjoy an excellent seafood brunch! It has been much too long since we've last seen each other and even though we haven't seen each other in so long, I love that we can pick up from where we left off. We have the most amazing friendship and the best time together. We are going to try to have brunch every 2 months or so but I figure that will probably not happen as we both have such busy crazy lives. For brunch, we both decided we HAD to order the Cannery Lobster Benedict and it was a good decision as it was so yummy and def we would go back for that delish dish! We had an amazing view of the water and it was such a beautiful day with no clouds and only sunshine. I am so glad we decided to have brunch today and not yesterday as it is def a much nicer day today. We were at the restaurant for 2 1/2 hours catching up and by the time we left, we were one of the last tables to leave! Before we left, I had won a Lobster Oil and I am so excited about that! Last time, HonHon and I went to the Cannery for dinner, we were both in awe with the lobster oil served with the bread! It has amazing flavours and def a great compliment for bread dipping.....mmmm.... can't wait to crack that open! It was such a nice meal and so good to see Marie. Our next brunch will be at Glowbal as her co-worker mentioned that their lobster benedict is one of the best in Vancouver and better than The Cannery so we will have to decide for ourselves :) Gosh, I am so stuffed but worth it!

Art Star + Sudanese Twins

Tonite, I caught the late show with Vince and Meryl at Tinseltown, Cinemark Theatres for the documentary "Art Star + Sudanese Twins". A very interesting documentary ....

Lake House

Wow!! The Lake House is a really good movie! I'm a bit surprised as I wasn't expecting too much since it starred Keanu Reeves (and he is known for sappy love movies) but it's actually a really good movie with an interesting plot line. I do enjoy watching the connection between Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, it's def pretty sexy! I did find the ending not possible and bit confusing (which year where they really in??!!??) But if you love either actors and love stories, this is def a must see!

Synopsis: Feeling that it's time for a change in her life, Dr. Kate Forster (SANDRA BULLOCK) leaves the suburban Illinois locale where she completed her residency and takes a job at a busy Chicago hospital. One thing she is reluctant to leave behind is the uniquely beautiful house she's been renting - a spacious and artfully designed refuge with large windows that overlook a placid lake. It's a place in which she felt her true self. It is a winter morning in 2006. On her way to the city, Kate leaves a note in the mailbox for house's next tenant, asking him to forward her mail and noting that the inexplicable painted paw prints he might notice by the front door were there when she moved in. But when the next tenant arrives, he sees a much different picture. Alex Wyler (KEANU REEVES), a talented but frustrated architect working at a nearby construction site, finds the lake house badly neglected: dusty, dirty and overgrown with weeds. And no sign of paw prints anywhere. The house has special meaning for Alex. In a happier time it was built by his estranged father (CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), a renowned architect who allowed his professional acclaim to grow at the expense of his family life. Alex feels a sense of peace here now and commits to restoring the property to its original beauty. He disregards Kate's note until, days later, while painting the weather-beaten jetty he sees a stray dog run across the fresh paint and then towards the entrance of the house, leaving paw prints exactly where she said they'd be. Baffled, Alex writes back, saying that the house had no occupant before him and wondering how she could have known about the dog; while Kate, who just left it a week ago, imagines he is playing some kind of joke on her and fires back a reply. Just for argument's sake, what day is it there? April 14, 2004. No, she says. It's April 14, 2006. The same day, two years apart. Can this be happening? As Kate and Alex continue to correspond through the lake house's mailbox they confirm that they are, incredibly, impossibly, living two years apart, and each at a time in their lives when they are struggling with past disappointments and trying to make a new start. Sharing this unusual bond, they reveal more of themselves to one another with each passing week - their secrets, their doubts and dreams, until they find themselves falling in love. Determined to bridge the distance between them at last and unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary connection, they tempt fate by arranging to meet. But, by trying to join their two separate worlds, they could risk losing each other forever. Feeling that it's time for a change in her life, Dr. Kate Forster (SANDRA BULLOCK) leaves the suburban Illinois locale where she completed her residency and takes a job at a busy Chicago hospital. ...

Heaven on Earth and Dinner

Tonite, I went over to Vince and Meryl's for dinner cos we had decided last minute to grab dinner but we couldn't decide where to go and they had a huge pot of leftover spaghetti sauce in the fridge. I would never turn down a home cooked meal esp by V & M! So yummy! Funny thing is that I had a craving for spaghetti but when I looked in my freezer I realized I had no ground meat :( I didn't feel like driving or walking (in the rain) to pick up ground meat so I figured if I have to go out, I might as well head out for dinner instead. If Kay was home for dinner, I would have ordered take out but she had plans and would be home after 10pm. Since V & M usually have a later dinner than I, 7ish, I decided to have a salad served with nuts around 6pm which is a good thing cos we didn't end up eating until past 730! I was to bring the parmasean cheese and a movie while they provided spaghetti and red wine (mmmm....wine). What a great way to end a long work week! Dinner, movie and a glass or two of red wine! Since I can get free hollywood movies d/l into my ipod, I couldn't justify or decide on which movie to rent so I decided to go with an artsy film, Heaven on Earth by Deepa Mehta and that was a great choice cos Meryl had wanted to rent and watch this one! Dinner was fabulous and the movie is pretty interesting altho at first I didn't really understand the story about the "husband/cobra" but in the end, I finally understood it. It is an interesting movie about Chand, a young Indian Punjabi woman who finds herself in an absuive arranged marriage with an Indo-Canadian man. Such a poweful story about a woman on her own to find her strength and courage. It was a great nite and I was happy to end the week with such good food, movie and great company! Oh yes, mustn't forget V & M picked up something for me at the Steveston Village from a little pottery or art shop, a Japanese tea cup - how beautiful and I love collecting anything with the kanji character "love". Thank you!!!

Plot (Heave On Earth)

Opening with an ecstatic, vibrantly coloured celebration marking the impending nuptials of Chand (Bollywood star Preity Zinta, who delivers one of the year's finest and most courageous performances), Deepa Mehta's powerful and visceral Heaven on Earth quickly shifts gears. The minute its heroine gets off a plane in Toronto to meet her new husband, Rocky (Vansh Bhardwaj, who's impossibly good in his first film role), the colour scheme greys, and virtually all scenes (even outdoor ones) appear to be lit by fluorescent lights. This twilight world is fitting, because there's something off-putting about Rocky's family.
Deepa Mehta has always had a particular gift for portraying unique families and their subtle power dynamics. Still, Heaven on Earth may be her strongest work to date because of her insistence on the collective liability for the acts of a lone individual. Rocky's coldness and horrific temper may be the primary causes of Chand's unhappiness, but he has numerous – albeit often passive – accomplices, most importantly his domineering mother.
Desperate and unable to contact her family, Chand turns to a fellow factory worker, Rosa, who gives her a magical potion that will make whomever drinks it fall in love with Chand immediately. With this elixir, Mehta injects an element of magic realism, and the film morphs into a portrait of Chand's deeply divided mental state. It is an inspired and audacious strategy. Mehta and her collaborators further exacerbate the sense of unease by invoking the elements of domestic comedy: the precocious kids, the ineffectual, aging patron, and the nosy, pushy mother. But while the recipe for conventional, chaotic marital happiness is present, everything is off-kilter. Pranks aren't funny, they're malicious, and ineffectiveness turns into tacit approval.
Simply put, this is a brilliant work by one of our most daring filmmakers, humanist and empathetic even toward its villains, yet at the same time a universal indictment, refusing to let any of us off the hook.

Swimming!

Tonite, Kay and I went swimming and it feels great! I am so glad that I decided to go afterwork even though I was having such a horrendous day and feeling like crap. Every since I quit smoking, life has been dark and very dark. I have been moody, feeling very low and hating myself for it. I had decided yesterday (during lunch since I didn't go for a walk) that I needed to add some exercise in my routine. Any type of activity will help when you are feeling low on energy, keeping an exercise routine in your daily life is def a way to improve your health, mood and well your life! I think I will try to swim at least 3 times a week and I am even considering hitting the Grouse Grind this spring/summer! That GG summer was the best summer ever! My body never looked so awesome and HAWT! hehehe....

Spring Has Arrived & HB!

What lovely weekend weather we had in Vancouver! I can't believe we were lucky enough to have sun for the entire weekend! Too bad, rain is forecasted for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday tho :( I didn't really do much except run errands and do my grocery shopping for the week. I am really hoping that the weather is nice for following weekend as this Saturday is the Farmer's Market, it would be nice to have some sunshine and no rain for once! This weekend was really about doing nothing and even tho it was so beautiful out, I really wanted to do as litlle as possible. I have been doing some overtime this past week that and this quit smoking thing has been tough on me all week. I did get out in the sun for a bit but not for outdoor fun or fit activity. Oh well, maybe next weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GINGER!

She turns one today!

Wine & Dine

Tonite was an awesome nite with good food, great wine and awesome company! We had a wine and dine night at Charly's new condo in New West which was so nice of him to host. Wow, his new place is gorgeous and it's got an incredible view plus the complex is made to feel like a Yaletown condo. Tonite was an idea that came about our love of wine, food and SALT tasting room. I gathered up all my bestest buds and each one of us brought over a bottle of wine to share and something to go with the wine. It was all very delish and all the cheeses and breads, mmmm so yummy! I picked up 2 small olive loaves mady by Terra Breads and a mango and papaya cheese to share which was a big hit! There was so much bread, cheese, wine and hot appetizers, I think I may have eaten enough calories to last over the weekend. It was great fun and we are planning to do this again maybe at Shel & Kitty's place next for a BBQ and to finish off the wine! We had so many bottles we didn't even get through it all! A great way to end a very long and tiring week! Photos to be posted!

Documentary

Artful Dodger : an article by CBC.ca about the documentary called,

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins

I def want to catch this movie which opens in Vancouver, March 27.

Spring Break Visit!

It was so nice to finally see Michael, Darlene and their beautiful girls, Hailee and Linnea! They are in Vancouver for spring break (relocated to Tumbler Ridge, BC) and I haven't seen them in over 5 years! Esp the girls, Hailee - whom I've only meet a couple of times when she was just a baby plus Linnea who I haven't met cos she is 2 and born in Tumbler Ridge! Those girls are adorable, I can't believe how fast they have grown and how much time has passed. It was lovely time and good to catch up. Michael and Darlene are getting married sometime this year - that is wonderful since it's been a long time coming. Both confirmed they are going to raise their family in the quaint town of Tumbler Ridge with no plans on moving back to Vancouver and maybe, in a few years, another baby?? Michael has mellowed out quite a bit, he's matured a little (esp when it comes to family and life - buying their very first house!), he is a great father and a loving husband. I am a bit surprised to see the changes esp with his attitude but very happy for him. Although some things don't change like he still acts like a kid (esp around his kids), he still has a bunch of Audis in his back/front yards and he is still driving a Audi (shocking that it made it to Vancouver without falling apart!). He did upgrade to a driveable (not rundown fixer upper) Audi, a newer model in silver with leather seats and all the gadgets of course! I'm happy to get the chance to see them before they drive back up. It's too bad HonHon isn't in town and Kay was not around for this visit cos Mike and Dar would not have recognized Kay, she's grown a few inches and a few years since and they haven't seen HonHon in ages! Maybe we will do a road trip up to see them sometime..... no probably not - 10 hours on the road is much too long for me!

Crazy Weather'd Weekend

What crazy weather we've had over this weekend!

Saturday
Can't believe it but I woke up at 8am on a Saturday morning :( Kay as usual was still sleeping like a pig and even though I was not quiet around the house, she didn't awake. Around 11am, V & M finally rang to say they were on their way to the market, I left the house without Kay and arrived in 10 minutes. I underestimate the coldness of the weather and was not dressed warmly enough. I only really had one thing that I really needed to pick up from the market and that was The Granola King's Hazelnut Granola, it is super FANtastic & FABulously delicious! I eat this with my yogurt with fruit every morning, nothing beats this granola! Before heading home, I picked up a cinnamon bun from Blackberry Hill cos it's a tradition to leave with one of these gigantic buns! Usually, Kay will have one and sometimes I'll get one for myself or I'll take a bite out of hers but she didn't come out to help so this is ALL MINE. Good timing on leaving cos once I left, it started raining and coming down hard. I was def not prepared for this rain nor dressed for it. Kay finally woke up when I arrived home and during the afternoon as Kay was getting ready for her dinner plans, I just sat back and relaxed on the couch. I don't usually chauffeur her around but she needed a ride tonite cos she was in charge of picking up the b'day cake and dinner plans were out in Richmond. I hate driving to Richmond on a weekend cos the traffic is terrible and people in Richmond do not know how to drive!! But I love her to pieces and if driving her to Richmond means spending a little bit more time with her on the weekend well I'll do it. It's strange to me tho, how she now has such a busy social life and she's going to dinners with friends just like me. She is growing up too fast :( After I helped pick out her outfit and after many hours in the bathroom getting ready, we were finally ready to go. DQ to pick up her ice cream cake, over to Superstore (Richmond) to pick up a few items since we were already out and we had some time before her meeting time, then over to Grandpa's house to pick up a camera cos she didn't want to carry her SLR around. We were stuck in traffic for 30 minutes before finally reaching her destination, Tropika at Aberdeen Centre. Once I dropped her off, I went straight home to enjoy the quiet time and the entire suite to myself! It was lovely, kicked back and watched movies and waited until it was time to pick her up. It was a nice nite to myself and I do enjoy these moments.

Sunday
Most of the day was spent either on the couch or cleaning the bathroom and kitchen. We had the strangest weather today, thankfully I woke up at noon to catch up on yesterday's sleep and when I looked out the window, it was SNOWING. I figured this would be a good day to stay in and clean house plus catch up on some TV time. We had plans to visit my father for dinner but there was no way I would be driving out in the snow, my tires won't make it. After a couple of hours, the snow stopped and the sun came out! WTF?? By 5pm, it started to turn grey and clouds were forming which would eventually lead to rain and not just rain, a downpour of rain mixed with hail / snow by dinner time! Kay and I decided to pick up a few items from Superstore before visiting my dad. Gosh, was it ever super busy and we were not pleased to be there again! We walked thru the front door to dad's apartment and this lovely smell of home cooking hit our noses, daddy was making stew pork, mmmm... one of his finest dishes! It was so nice to have a home cooked meal from dad since we haven't had one of those in ages! Plus on the way there, we were trying to figure out where to go for dinner which lead to us wanting Pho but homecooked dinner is much tastier and healthier! It was good to spend some time with dad since we haven't seen him since October! It was nice and relaxing weekend!

Japanese

Tonite, I had dinner plans with Vince and Meryl, altho it was suppose to be more of us (Shel & Kitty double booked themselves and Kay bailed out last minute) at a Kiyo Sushi in Richmond. This place is pretty good and has been around for a long time, I have been eating here since 2001. For the past few weeks, I have been craving for Japanese food and even tho the 3 of them bailed, we decided to keep the dinner plans actually I would have gone without Vince and Meryl if they had decided to bail too! Once inside, we decided to share a sashimi platter but each to order a couple of sides for our own, I decided to order a real crab California roll and a spicy scallop roll. Mmmm.... so delish! Yesterday, I had a japadog - terimayo and went over to a japanese store called Konbiniya on Robson street to pick up some japanese snacks! Yes the last two days have been filled with alot of japanese products! :) After dinner, we headed over to a new coffee shop called Bean Around The World Coffee on Cambie Road, a block from Aberdeen to have coffee and dessert. We ordered our coffee and dessert, a the guy that made our drinks and brought over the desserts was very creative, my cake had a very interesting design like Hello Kitty! Once we got our coffee/dessert, we started chatting and catching up and I managed to convince them to join me on Saturday morning for the Winter's Market at Wise Hall. I am quite excited about this upcoming market as the newsletter mentioned there will be a variety of vegetables and more locally produced goodies. Altho the weather isn't going to be so nice, rain and more rain but hopefully, it won't be too cold!

Welcome Home Daddy!!

Tonite, Kay and I headed over to Richmond to meet daddy and all. Daddy arrived back to Vancouver early this morning and Eton (the boy) wanted to take everyone out for dinner cos he got a job and he's making big bucks. No not really, he's making less than $10 an hour but it's his first real job and he was being very generous. I think it was so sweet and I couldn't believe how much the bill ended up costing! The food wasn't so great and neither was the service but you can't expect the best service in a chinese restaurant esp in Richmond! The restaurant was quite busy and we were stuck in a small room with way too many tables in the room with one wait staff. Omg, it was not good. Plus all the dishes tasted the same! How is that possible??But it was a good to see daddy and family, my dad looks good and he says it's his last trip but I don't believe that! We decided to head home after dinner cos it is a work/school nite and we would visit some time over the weekend. Daddy looks good and I think he's pretty well rested but I give him a few weeks before my brother or the boy/lady stress him out again! Oh well, c'est la vie!

Contact Case Holder

How cute is this? My HK contact case holder :) has finally arrived! So much cuter in person than the photo!

Sanrio

Hello Kitty Soft Contact Lens Case: Pink

Item #13064 BEST SELLER
$16.00

This adorable pink Hello Kitty contact case is fun-tastic! Perfect for overnights, or even those emergencies where you have to take them out when you are on the road. One lens for Kitty, and one for Bear. Easy to keep track of, and there's even a cute little mirror inside!

Weekend in San Francisco

What a weekend we had in San Francisco! It was so nice to get away for the weekend and spend time with good friends. I wish we had a bit more time though cos it went by so fast! I will def have to go back and visit plus the plane ride wasn't too long, only 2 hours there and 2 hours and 20 back. There was so much but I'll just write the highlights of each day!

Friday

Arrived around 8ish and went straight towards the shuttles to catch a ride directly to our hotel. By the time we arrived and checked into the hotel, Hotel Metropolis (cheapest rate in downtown SF Union Square at CDN $120/night), I was craving for a cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory! I wish we had one in Vancouver but then I would not be able to control myself and would have to eat cheesecake every weekend. That is not good cos these cheesecakes are HUGE and full of fat and sugar and probably a zillion calories! Gosh, the restaurant was super busy and packed, we didn't want to wait so we ordered a cheesecake to go. It was a long night and although we wanted to explore Union Square (super busy kind of like Robson street in Vancouver), we were both really tired and decided to call it a night.

Saturday

In the morning, we woke up super early (not on purpose) cos we could not sleep! Our hotel is on the border of expensive downtown and Hastings Street, Vancouver which meant we had some loud and crazy neighbors. It was so noisy throughout the nite and really strange how different it was in front of our hotel. Walking out the front entrance, you must go left cos left is the high end shopping district and right is Hastings Street. Since we were up early, we decided to do a bit of exploring in our neighborhood, we were thinking about taking the trolley to Fisherman's Wharf but the cost is $5 and we didn't think the walk would be too bad. Gosh, did we ever do a lot of walking! We walked from Union Square, Market street to check out a couple of stores and then up the hill towards Fisherman's Wharf. Not realizing how far and wide downtown SF is, we ended up walking through Chinatown which was pretty cool and the architecture in the city is amazing. So much to see but our goal was to get ourselves to Fisherman's Wharf. It seems that we were walking thru Chinatown for a long time but we finally got directions towards Fisherman's Wharf. But instead, we ended up walking thru another neighborhood, Italy town where we saw more amazing buildings, restaurants and cute little boutiques. Again, we asked for direction and we were close! We ended up walking thru another neighborhood filled with really beautiful homes, heritage homes and we could feel and smell the ocean and knew we were close. The buildings were beautiful, a mix of modern and vintage, keeping the city's heritage. Finally, we arrived at Fisherman's Wharf and it wasn't too busy cos it was still early but the the crowds of tourists were forming. We walked through Pier 39 (Fisherman's Wharf) to check out all the shops and restaurants, we wanted to eat lunch there so we needed to see what suited our tastebuds and within our budget! We ended up a restaurant called Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, yes like the movie, Forrest Gump. Mostly known for shrimp, other items are served as well. We split a shrimp platter - which was amazing and both of us ordered a side, Jas ordered a side of veggies while I opted to go with a seafood chowder. After lunch, we decided to figure our way back to Union Square and do some shopping! We managed to figure out a route back to union square by taking a street car back downtown for $1.50 instead of spending $5 on the trolley. Our driver was like a mini tour guide, he gave us a bit of history or story to every stop we took. It was really cool! Once we reached our stop, we got off at Virgin Records cos VR is closing down (all the North American VRs are!) and a 30% off everything sale was going on in the entire store. We did some more shopping and wandering around Union Square ending up at Westfield, a huge shopping mall! Lots of stores and gosh all the damage that could be done! Lucky for us, we did so much walking and not that much shopping, I only ended up picking some souvenirs, gifts for the girls, Pumas for myself and a Hollister top on SALE - woot woot! Hollister in Vancouver had NADA on sale :( After a very long day, we decided it was time to head back to the hotel to rest up before the reception at Freeman's place in Oakland. We figured out how to take the BART to Freeman's place and it wasn't that bad nor too far of a walk but it seems that no one in Oakland walks from the station. We could see why, it wasn't particularly the safest or nicest neighborhood and there was NO ONE out walking! Once we arrived in their neighborhood, we found Freeman's loft and it was amazing! The loft is a huge corner unit with a private roof deck which had some amazing views and there was so much space up there, they even purchased a heat lamp for this occasion. Thank goodness for that cos it can get pretty chilly in the evening. We had a lovely time and meeting all of Freeman's close friends and family. It was a small and intimate gathering and we felt so honoured to be there and be part of this beautiful event.

Sunday

Again, we woke up early to beautiful sunny weather in SF while Vancouver was cold and wet! Atho it was early, we decided to wait until lunch before hitting Jack in the Box for a sourdough jack and curly fries! Last nite, we made lunch plans with Free but in the morning plans had changed, it was decided that we would meet Tanya and friend for brunch and Free would meet us after at their Boba tea house, Tapioca Express in Berkeley. After JB, we headed over to Westfield to exchange the Hollister top (picked out the wrong size!!) and raced back to the hotel cos Tanya had rang us on Jas's cell, she was waiting at the hotel. Once in the car, we were not quite sure where to go cos Tanya and Gene wanted brunch but they also wanted to show us around the Marina. The drive to the Marina was really nice and San Fran is quite a beautiful city, once at the Marina, we noticed how similar it is to the OC or Yaletown with beautiful and snotty people and lots of cute boutiques. Gene found a place for brunch and it was super packed! Good brunch and great company, once we finished our meal, we decided to go for a walk and walk down to the ocean. I took some great scenic photos of the Golden Gate bridge and after the walk, which again was a lot of walking, we decided to head over to Berkeley for Boba tea. At Tapioca Express, we ordered some boba tea and appy's like fried chicken, mmm delish! Free had to drop off his cousins at the SF airport so he left first and we made plans to meet him for dinner. Tanya had a bit of work to do before leaving the tea house so Jas and I wandered down the street to this quaint little bookstore and I picked up a bibliography of Christian Dior by Marie France Pochna for only $10 USD. We decided to head back to Free and Tanya's loft to rest and relax on their couch. We girls chatted and talked and tried to decide where to have dinner, Lake (Free's wife) wanted asian and Tanya was craving hamburgers, we decided to Thai food. Gene had to catch a plane back to Los Angeles so he did not end up joining us for dinner and Free got back late (due to traffic coming back from SFO) so we snacked on nuts while Free took a quick power nap. The Thai restaurant we went to was quite yummy and the dishes were pretty interesting, a good mix of flavours but def not authentic thai, more asian fusion thai but still very yummy. After dinner, Free & Lake insisted on driving us back to the hotel and we got a scenic ride back, stopping by Treasure Island for some beautiful shots of the Oakland Bay bridge. It was really really cold but I did get one good shot! It was a great Sunday and it was so awesome spending it with such great people!

Monday

We checked out of the hotel a bit early (11ish) and decided to have a hearty American breakfast at a 50's dinner close to the hotel. Gosh, was it ever greasy but so good and oh so much food! We didn't have any plans so we just did a bit more wandering around Union Square, Free was suppose to meet us earlier but he didn't have a car and realize he had to meet the plumber which meant he wouldn't make it out until after 2pm. He really wanted to see us before we left so he made every effort to meet with us. We decided on having an early dinner so we could catch each other before we left for Vancouver. Our plane was due to leave at 7.55pm and we planned on taking the BART to the airport cos it would only cost us $4 where taking a taxi (at least $45) or a shuttle ($20) was a bit too much. Jas and I walked around Union Square a bit more and explored more shops, we didn't realize how many stores there were! We didn't buy anything of course cos most of these stores are high end designer stores. After shopping and walking, we decided to head over to Macy's and work our way up to the Cheesecake Factory located on the rooftop. I had to have one last cheesecake before we left SF cos we don't have cheesecake THIS GOOD in Vancouver. Free finally called us to say he was heading down by BART to meet up with us, we told him we were at the CF and he could join us there. Thank goodness, we decided to eat a bit before we left even tho we weren't that hungry, I did not realize how late it was going to be by the time we reached home! Of course, I had a cheesecake before we left but the portions (even lunch size) were humongous so thank goodness Free finished my pizza and I took the last 1/3 of my cheesecake to go. I figured I could enjoy it while I was waiting for our flight but I ended up throwing it out before checking in! Oh well, it was probably a good idea not to finish it! It was a lovely weekend and def not long enough! I am very excited for Free and Lake and wish them all the luck, happiness, prosperity and love in the world, I'm so glad he found someone so perfect for him cos he is awesome!!! Will def need to go back and spend more time in San Fran, maybe a family vacation :) Lots of photos but haven't edited them, will try to post them soon!

Bon Voyage!

My BFF and her little sister are on a plane right now getting ready for take off. Both are heading over to Hong Kong for 3 1/2 weeks to party and vacation. Wish I could go but my asia trip is planned for Feb 2010 right around the Olympics 2010, I do not want to be here when that is happening in Vancouver. I am really saddened that she is gone for so long but also happy to know she will be enjoying herself and spending quality time. I already miss her and she hasn't even left the runway! She just sent me a text and I almost burst out into tears (a bit emotional due to the no smoking) but didn't cos I was walking down Robson, it is such a beautiful sunny day and hopefully, San Fran will have the same kind of weather! Wow, only one more sleep and I'm off to San Fran with my other BFF :)

Quit Smoking

Today is my first day without a cigarette and I'm not doing too bad. I am using Nicorette to help with my addiction and hopefully, it will help keep me away from cigarettes. This is probably the 10th time I've quit and it is so hard, I hate this addiction. I hope to have the same strength as HonHon, he's quit since July and going strong. Wish me luck!

Happy 1 Year!

Today as mentioned, is Meryl and Vince's one year anniversary!

Jas and I headed over to their place for a home cook asian dinner and we hadn't seen Meryl since before they left for their trip which was in November! Meryl cooked a lovely asian dinner filled with rice (cooked in chicken stock), asian veggies, beef curry, steamed chicken served with ginger and hot sauce and soup. To compliment the meal, Shel brought over 2 bottles of wine, one red and one white, both from small Okanagan wineries. I usually don't drink white wine but I really enjoyed this one, it was filled with fruits and very sweet. Very yummy. After dinner, Meryl served a lovely asian dessert filled with logan and lycees complimented with a fruit syrup. I didn't have any cos the fruit came from cans and I don't eat anything from a tin can. No one had cupcakes (which is ok cos I get to take the leftovers home) but I had a Diva cupcake - mmmm....yummy! After dinner, we chit chatted for a few hours and it was a lovely evening with great friends, it's too bad Shel's wife couldn't make it! There's always next time!

Cupcakes and Shopping

This afternoon, I drove over to Cupcakes on Broadway to pick up half a dozen cupcakes for tonite's dessert and a 4" chocolate cake for Meryl and Vince. Today (well 29th) is their 1 year anniversary and I'm sure they both do not even realize it! Jas had mentioned it the other day and I couldn't believe it so I had to look it up on my blog. Yep the 29th (which happens every 4 years) is there anniversary! After picking up the cupcakes and cake, I went across the street to browse thru a couple of clothing stores cos one of them, Lakshmi Boutique, had these amazing dresses in the display window. I ended up picking up 2 tops (1 at half off the sale price being $10!) from the sale rack. I really love their items, very sexy, feminie and unique. I picked out a gold top with black trim for Freeman's reception this weekend as in his evite, it called for no jeans and to dress up (cocktail party at his loft). I was planning on wearing a black dress but I think I'll go with the gold top and a pair of black pants. So pretty, can't wait to wear it!

Dinner and a First Meeting

Tonite, I had dinner with KD and I persuaded Jas to come along as a buffer cos I had just recently had dinner with KD and didn't think I could take in the conversation all by myself. I decided on Congee Noodle House on Broadway cos it was closed for so many months and it has finally reopened. Wow, it had a mini makeover, never seen the restaurant so clean and now offering fresh and live seafood. Menu stayed the same and the food was pretty much the same, it also seems that most of the staff were the same. We chatted, well KD mostly chatted and we just enjoyed the meal. Of course, it was my treat (as I owed her a dinner) and would only allow Jas to pay $5 cos I dragged her along.

After dinner, I drove over to Kay's BFF's house to pick her up cos it was getting late and on the way there, I decided it would be a good idea to meet her friend's mom as she is always feeding and taking care of Kay when she is over there. Kay spends a lot of time over there and I really like Tash cos she's been brought up similar to Kay and she's a really good girl. I figure her mom must be as cool as me :) We (Tash's mom and I) ended up talking for an hour and a half! She is def really cool and very fun, we have a lot in common and she's def one cool mama! Just like me! :)

HB and Back 2 Work

Wow, this week has gone by fast! I can't believe I am back to work tomorrow! It has been a great visit and it is always nice to see HonHon even if it's only every 4 months! For the week, we did family things together what normal families usually do during a week but for us, it's a luxury cos HonHon is not here in the city on a full time basis. The week goes by so quickly when he's in town but the weeks leading up to his visit go so slowly. His next visit will be June or July and I'm sure once it gets closer, it will be by in no time!

Tonite, we celebrated my brother's 30th birthday, well his birthday was last week and he had celebrated his birthday for few days with his friends. Mom, Grams, and I took him out for dinner at Vivacity in Richmond cos they serve the best Peking duck and that is where he wanted to have dinner. Before taking him out for dinner, we had picked up a fresh cream fruit cake at Pine Cake House on Hastings. It was nice to see my brother since we don't see him that often and I hoped he enjoyed his dinner and his birthday cake.

The Flavor Bible

The Flavor Bible

What an interesting book about food! This is def a keeper and a must have in every kitchen for every chef in the home.

Has arrived!

My Louis Vuitton Montaigne bag has arrived and it is so beautiful!! I love it!! I am so happy to get this gift and it's all thanks to my HonHon, he is the bestest! So excited to use my new handbag!

White Oleander

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

What an interesting novel, I have seen the movie years earlier but a co-worker mentioned this novel and suggested I read it as she found the writing mesmerizing. I completely agree, Janet Fitch is a beautiful writer, all her words flow and almost seems like she's writing poetry. Truly an amazing writer and I'm def a fan. The novel is def more interesting than the movie, although I love Michelle Pfeiffer and her role in the film. A def must read.

Hopcott Farms

Today, HonHon and I drove out to Pitt Meadows to visit the Hopcott Farms to pick up a roasting chicken cos I agreed that we would roast a chicken this time he's in town. Last nite, we made BBQ pork "chai siu" and it was a lot of work but worth it cos it is always so much yummier than take out or restaurant BBQ pork! I hadn't made in such a long time so the first batch was a bit off (first time broiling in this oven and we doubled the recipe this time cos HonHon wanted to) but we got it the second time. I wasn't too thrilled about driving out to Pitt Meadows since I'm a Vancity girl but he drove there and back plus google map's directions were not too bad or far from his condo. We left for PM in mid-day, the traffic wasn't too bad and it really wasn't that far, only about 25 minutes in the good traffic. Once we arrived, I was super excited to see what the selection of local meat was and it was great to see such a large selection of meats. We ended up with $68 worth of meat which included a roast chicken, a couple of bone in chicken breasts, some NY grilling steaks, peperoni sticks for Kay and of course, a few bone (smoked) treats for Ginger! We went home after the trip to butcher's (farm) to drop off the meat in the fridge before heading downtown to Holt Renfrew. At HR, we went over to the men's section to see how much it would cost for a made to measure suit, a designer starts at $2400 and a non-designer $1000! That was a bit more than what HonHon wanted to spend so we walked around to see what was left in the winter sales but nada. We went upstairs to check out Harry Rosen but again, not much left as all the spring items are out and if there were any good deals on winter items, it was either not his size or still too much or not what he was looking for. After our shopping, we decided to head home and spend the rest of evening with Kay. We roasted our chicken and gosh, was it ever delish! Super yummy! Both Kay and HonHon are spoiled when he's in town cos Kay and I don't normally eat like this and Kay was super happy about all this food and WHITE RICE - WOW!! hehehe, enjoy the photos, it really is as yummy as it looks!

Welcome Jacob!

Congrats to Tim and Kelly!

Baby Jacob arrived on Feb. 10th at 11:14 PM :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Ok, I do find this "holiday" a bit overrated and it's more commercial than any other holiday cos companies like Hallmark et la, convinces us that the more love = more money spent on us is HOW MUCH they truly care and love us. Really it is just another day but I do have to use, I do try to get another present out of this day from HonHon! But really, every day should be celebrated, non?

Today, we all woke up quite late in the day as we do when HonHon is back in town so we didn't get to do too much before our dinner plans. We spent the afternoon at home with Kay before we (HonHon and I) went downtown, dinner reservations at Aria at the Westin at 7pm. But before heading to dinner, we had plans to stop by Holt Renfrew (at PC - check out the Men's custom made suits) and Louis Vuitton for my v'day and b'day presents! It's hard to go shopping downtown on the weekends cos I work downtown and so on my weekends I don't want to be downtown! As I predicted, the Louis Vuitton store was extremely busy and so busy that the entrance from Georgia Street was closed, leaving only the hotel entrance to the boutique. There was a security guard allowing people in and out of the store and huge line ups at the cash desk. Luckily, we managed to sneak by and get into the store right away, I realized I wasn't going to get much help but luckily Hideko, my usual SA, saw us and greeted us but she was already busy with a handful of customers. She sent over another SA named David and he was actually quite helpful even though, the two items I was hoping to get were sold out in my colours. I didn't think there would be much left as Valentine's day is one of the busiest shopping days of the year esp in the LV boutique. David showed us a red Montaigne bag in the Epi line (the only one left in Vancouver) and even though I was very tempted to pick it up in the red, I asked if there were any black ones left, he said he had checked and only 2 left in Canada, both in Toronto, ON. We could order it and it would be here sometime next week but he told us to think about it. The red is nice but I really wanted the black one, I couldn't believe I had these items in my hands a few weeks before. But of course, if limited colours come in and you don't buy them right away, you lose out. The demand for other Louis Vuitton items meant there was no rush in producing the Montaigne bag so whatever they get is what they have until who knows when! We decided to walk around the boutique a bit more, left LV to "think" about buying the Montaigne in Toronto, headed over to the Gucci boutique to see what was available there, found nothing and headed back to LV. This time there were no problems getting back in as the boutique was closing in 30 minutes. We found David and gave him the go ahead on ordering the Montaigne from Toronto. As we waited for David to confirm the order, we walked over to the Epi line since HonHon said we could not leave LV empty handed and insisted I pick out a wallet. Cos I had wanted a pink or blue French Wallet in the Vernis line but none were available, I decided to look for a wallet in the Epi line cos another SA at the counter showed us a few pieces. It was a tough choice between a black Koala wallet or the Tresor wallet in black but I decided since I had already owned a Koala, I found the Tresor a bit more practical. David returned to confirm the order and it would arrive on Thursday of this upcoming week. I was ecstatic!! We high fived as he realized how happy I was to hear that I would be getting the bag and that I was picking up a matching wallet! (told him how my LV handbag and accessories were stolen last December) I can't wait to get the handbag, my HonHon is the BESTEST! He truly made my Valentine's day spectacular and we hadn't even started dinner yet. (Did I mention Louis Vuitton has raised the prices?!? I think it's a conspiracy, last month prices were down but it seems the mark ups always happen around this time of the year!!)

After Louis Vuitton, we stopped by Cupcakes on Thurlow Street to pick up our V'day dessert, yummy Valentine's cupcakes! Since it was too late to stop by Holt Renfrew, we decided to headed over to T&T to pick up some items for Kay before going for dinner at Aria. Once at Aria, I ordered from the Valentine's menu but HonHon decided to try the roast duck breast from polderside farms on an asiago & thyme risotto & candied apple jus and the appetizer was the tuna tower deconstructed: the “original” broken down to enjoy; ahi tuna, side stripe shrimp and avocado with a sesame vinaigrette. It was very delish and we both enjoyed our meals! Thank you HonHon for a wonderful and lovely Valentine's Day :) MUCH LOVE 2 U xoxo