This is making me hungry: LEE

Best restaurant food, ever. Yes. Ever. (So far.) My only complaint was that it was too dark for me to admire and go all paparazzo on my food. I wish I had better pictures. D: We even got a few glimpses of the master himself, Susur Lee. Next time maybe I’ll have the courage to go talk to him. X) /fangirl

Patchy’s drink was apparently good; I didn’t partake, having a bit of a headache, so I had water. Service was really good; they kept refilling my water. X)

Japanese Margarita: Moonstone plum sake, Jose Cuervo gold tequila, triple sec, fresh limes

Jing and I shared the goat cheese tart to start. While, to be honest, its looks were underwhelming, it was lovely. Warm, fresh, and flavourful. I think it was a great way to start off the meal, and half of it was enough; considering that the main was much bigger than I expected.

Mexican goat cheese tart: black olive, tomato, red pepper, eggplant, jalapeno, & tomatillo

Patchy ordered the feature appetizer which was not sharable, so I have no idea how it tasted. But it did look quite nice.

Oyster Shot

Next up was my favourite; well, I also loved the dessert. I can’t choose >_<! This was a simple dish, but it was sooooooo good. The steak was amazing, and the ponzu made it even better; the mushrooms were great enough on their own too. Angels trumpeted over my shoulder.

Korean style skirt steak: garlic mushrooms & spicy ponzu

Jing ordered the shrimp, which was also very flavourful; honestly, I’m a bit biased because I was enjoying my steak so much I didn’t have much attention for much else at the time. :p

Garlic tiger shrimp: spicy tomato jam, potato pea croquette, soya bean crumb, cucumber & mango salad

Finally, dessert! I’ve been wanting to try this forever, and it didn’t disappoint. At this point, I died and went to heaven. X) Had the biggest smile on my face, the food was that good. The cake was nice and warm, and rich without being too overbearing. The ice cream was sinfully delicious, with the crumble giving it some welcome texture; and the strawberries went along well too! Equilibrium at its finest.

Molten chocolate cake

Patchy got the tong yuen dumplings, which looked really cute and scrumptious. I think I might try that next time. (Who am I kidding, I LOVE the molten chocolate cake too much. D:)

Tong yuen sweet rice dumplings

Jing ordered the apple tart which she had trouble finishing, because it was a pretty heavy dessert and large in portion size. Didn’t seem that ecstatic about it either.

Apple tart

LEE is officially my favourite restaurant. >:)

Winter Break 2011

An eventful one, for sure. : ) I felt like it was much too short, but maybe I was just packing in way too much to do. Well, at less than 2 weeks, IT WAS MUCH TOO SHORT. Here are some highlights.

Photographed my Christmas tree. My default role in Christmas setup. :p I’m pretty enamoured with this picture; might make some of my pics Christmas cards for next year. That sounds like it would be a great new tradition for me.

This year was the first one where I did most of my Christmas shopping online; this turned out to be much less stressful than the little bit of irl shopping I did. But it was nice to go to Eaton and see the gorgeously decorated Christmas tree.

Eaton Centre really outdid itself this year; there were giant luminescent reindeer! I loved these, and hope they come back next year. : )

These weren’t all the gifts, but I had fun wrapping them. Especially JY’s giant Toblerone (even though it wasn’t really. :D ). I felt very creative, not a feeling I get often.

I also participated in Reddit’s Secret Santa which was a great experience (but the wait for both sending/receiving killed me. F5F5F5F5.). It was pretty cool sending a real life orangered, a bit like sending an inside joke/secret. X)

This year was a great one for presents! I got some really thoughtful ones in addition to the satisfyingly shiny things. I loved the hand-knitted winter gear, and my personal favourite is the Calvin & Hobbes anthology, which I shall love forever and forever and may never actually open. Ilu guys, you know who you are. <3

I also went to town for Boxing Day this year, mostly because I needed winter clothes for work. But oh my, it was crazy. Still don’t know how that ^ –which was only part 1, I suppose, but still– translated into:

THIS. Cue evil laughter. I don’t even want to know what the total was. And I made good, rational choices too; I could have gone craaaazy, but I didn’t. >_>

Of course, in accompaniment to all these material/aesthetic pleasures, there was the priceless company of family and great friends throughout, which I cherish the most, and put the fun in all these funtimes. I wanted to fit in as much as possible before I took off for the winter, and I think I was successful. It was a blast, guys. :D

Epic events took place. Much rage was exchanged. I still want my name on this board. D:

Hotpot was had without any ‘incidents’. Duets were sung. And I don’t care what you say, I won. I WON THIS. That is all.

A Slightly Pretentious Review For A Slightly Pretentious Dinner: Canoe

For anyone who hasn’t heard of Canoe, it once was the best restaurant in Toronto. X) But the view is quite nice, as it’s located in the TD tower downtown.

With the glasses of rosy retrospection, I can say that Canoe was ok. It definitely fell below expectations, no question; but the flaws were pretty recurrent. We chose the tasting menu (with cocktails or wine); you’d expect it to be the highlights, the best that the restaurant has to offer, really. But I certainly hope this is not the best that Canoe has to offer. I think the major issue might have been that they tried to keep to a theme for the whole meal, which really was their undoing. EVERYTHING was too sweet! Either that or their owner owns an orchard…

The Crazy Horse sake accompanying the amuse bouche was the best drink of the night, everything else really was too sweet in addition to the food that was already pretty sweet. The amuse bouche was this little blini with smoked salmon, some sweet glaze, some creme fraîche, (maybe some dill). Once again, the word is sweet. Not in a good way.

Amuse Bouche

This followed up by some scallop ceviche; a pretty dish, but only pretty ok in flavour. It was relatively novel; but everything just tasted too much of apple and sweetness. The horseradish was probably the culprit. I would have preferred something warmer, too. :/

Qualicum Beach Scallop Ceviche: Apple Cider Seaweed, Horseradish, Fresh & Preserved Apple

Next up was my favourite course, the artichoke soup with pork belly. It was creamy and warm, which was welcome because we were really cold. D: I found it really balanced, with great depth in flavour and texture. I enjoyed all the components; they went so well together! Without a doubt, the best course of the night.

Jerusalem Artichoke Soup: Crispy Artichoke, Sunflower Seed Oil, Maple Braised Pork Belly

Intermezzo: a palate cleanser, which was meh. I wanted to go back to warm soup. :/

Intermezzo: Apple Cider Granita

Next up were the main courses; everyone (except myself) chose the venison. I tried the meat though, it was pretty juicy and flavourful. So not bad?

Green Alder Roasted Venison: Spaghetti Squash, Chestnut Tourtière, & Huckleberries

I don’t know why I chose the fish, to be honest. :/ Fish is something I’m picky about at restaurants because it can be really bland for my taste. I guess I thought, this would be a good place to try it; though considering the way the food was going, I shouldn’t have really had that much hope. But it was okay. More than the fish itself, I loved the accompanying components, which were amazing. I love beets, and these were done quite well.

Purdy's Deep Water Char: Molasses Glazed Salsify, Cookstown Beets, Cranberry Shallot Compote, & Borscht Jus

Dessert was satisfactory. Ice cream was good, but it tasted mostly like french vanilla to me. :/ I couldn’t tell it was supposed to be wildflower. Pears would have been so much better with a bit more salt, and less sugar. I want to poach pears sometime…

Caramel Poached Niagara Pears: Birch Caramel, Almond Cookie Pecans, Wild Flower Ice Cream

Petit fours ended our meal; chocolate (in brownie and bar form) and berries, effectively. Happy camper with this one. X)

Petit Fours

TL;DR: The view was nice, but needed a sweater. Soup was awesome, cocktails not so much. Needs other flavours besides ‘apple’ or ‘sweet’. Perhaps forgo the tasting menu entirely.

Ottawa Bucket List

Nicely settling in to my work routine, and working through my photo-editing backlog, I’m raring to go for the weekend. :D So I spent a few hours working on a bucket list. Opinions are welcome!

Touristy Stuff

  • Tour Parliament Hill
  • Tour Museums (Civilization, War, Science and Tech, National Gallery, Royal Mint, Aviation and Space, Nature, Diefenbunker)
  • Take pics of Rideau Canal, prob during Winterlude
  • Walk along Confederation Boulevard; see Rideau Hall, 24 Sussex Drive :d
  • Visit the Astrolabe to take pics
  • Explore the Byward market and the courtyards (York with the patios; Jeanne-d’Arc with the dancing bear; Tin House Court)
  • Gatineau Park maybe when it’s warmer?
  • Visit Rideau Centre

Food & Drink

  • Have a beavertail in the Market
  • Shawarma Palace and/or Maroush
  • The Works for burgers
  • S&G fries for poutine
  • Go to Zaphod Beeblebrox’s and have a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster :D
  • Get breakfast at the Sconewitch sometime
  • Get sandwiches from La Bottega and Dirienzo’s
  • Maybe Domus Cafe (local/seasonal high-end)
  • The Manx (pub)
  • Ahora (mexican)
  • Make Ginnie jealous at Oh So Good!(desserts)
  • Chez Lucien
  • Kettleman’s Bagel Co.
  • Fraser Cafe
  • Wellington Gastropub
  • New Pho Bo Ga La
  • Habesha
  • Rangoli
  • Chips & Dairy/So Good/Rideau Restaurant
  • Genji/Sushi 88
  • La Porto A Casa/ZaZaZa
  • Art Is In Bakery
  • Murray Street maybe
  • Atelier, maybe to celebrate the end of my work-term ;p

NTS: Maybe find a YMCA before I embark on that second section…

First Day!

Ottawa/Gatineau is really cold. Really, really, my-face-is-going-to-fall-off cold. T____T The walk to the bus stop is pretty short, more so than I expected, and so is the bus ride, which thankfully drops me off right in front of the building. X) The buses seem pretty frequent. Also got to see a beautiful view of Parliament Hill as we rode on the bridge over the river. :D

Work is also pretty cool, with really friendly supervisors and an eternally youthful coworker, and I get my own half of a cubicle. >:) Certainly a complete change of environment from the island. It still hasn’t really settled in that I work in Gatineau. :/ Still internally surprised that I have to write down ‘Quebec’ and not Ontario, or that I have to place my lunch order in French at Timmie’s (“…..duo-wrap du poulet….svp….o_o”). While I’m relatively…competent, I really want to be more confident with that, it’s just really weird when I have to say things in a ‘real life’ vs. ‘non-educational’ setting. >_<

I also managed to get lost for about an hour after work attempting to find the bus station to get home. :/ Hopefully that goes better tomorrow. Also can’t wait for my roommate to get here, and the weekend, so I can get out and DO STUFF. :D (I say that, but by the time it comes around, I might just want to…sleep. Or something. I’m still settling into routine, right now my mind is a virtual to-do list.)

Starting Anew

2012 is starting off with a much more drastic change than most! I’m all moved into my lovely new place in Ottawa which I’m subletting for the term from a high school friend of mine, and I start my co-op job (research, more on that later?) on Tuesday.

With the past week of low-key revelry with family and friends (more on that later too?) and the unexpected early departure (was supposed to arrive tomorrow), I haven’t really had the time to do much else but pack. In between the swing to and fro from excitement (OMG Parliament Hill and museums and food and attractions) and depression (OMG so lonely and new and not Toronto), I really only can say that:

1) I can’t wait to get to know Ottawa and do all there is to do. :D

2) I will miss you all terribly. D: See you Family Day weekend.

And oh yeah, happy new year everyone!

WINTER IS COMING

OMG I’ve become such a Game of Thrones fangirl. AHHHHH. Only 2 more eps left, and then I need to get my hands on the books. <3

Couldn’t help it.

Once broke my heart, but Pan Am hurt me baaaaaaaaad D:, though I’m behind, so I’m talking about Niko and Kate. T__T Why CIAAAAAAA? WHY’D YOU HAVE TO BREAK THEM UPPPPPP?

            

Ouch. </3 ;____________;

Sorry for the tumblr-y post, btw. :p

Albertosaurus has a modified Type II survivorship curve? I DON’T CARE.

Well I do until precisely 10 pm Thursday, but T___T I can’t take it anymoreeeeee.

Studying for this long is always killer, even though I KNOW I don’t want to be in the back-to-back exam boat (Had enough back-to-back last week.) It’s even harder when all my book shipments came in D: and now I have about 7 books sitting there on my shelf crying ‘Read us! Read us!‘.

Speaking of shipments, I hope the rest will come in soon enough. And then one more physical trip to a specific place for gifts and I’m done with Christmas shopping! Honestly, I walked into a mall last weekend to do some shopping with my Dad and brother, and I wanted to off myself by the end of it. Did not buy that much either. It was just really claustrophobia-inducingly packed, and I much prefer online, where I did most of my Christmas shopping this year. Xmas tree and all the trappings got put up this weekend, and I can’t wait to turn on the music and wrap my presents! Pics later, hopefully. >:D

Even signed up for Secret Santa this year, so I’m also compulsively checking on that shipment to see if it reached my giftee. Hope they like it. Still feeling really intimidated by all those Kindles and giant boxes full of individually wrapped packages and what not. X)

Studying now = dolefully staring at my Evol/Eco readings while compulsively F5ing Gmail/Facebook/Reddit.

On the TV front, Awkward. and Pan Am are two new series I’ve gotten into! :D I am really surprised at how much I enjoy those. Well, Awkward. is relatively childish and annoying, but it’s one of those dramarama shows that are nice and shallow so you don’t get too engaged; at least the first season wrapped up relatively concisely. Pan Am was the one I thought I would be bored by, because I couldn’t figure out what it was really ABOUT. But apparently, it’s about enough to keep me interested. Also, Once broke my heart (ahahaha see what I did there) and WHY CAN’T ALICIA AND KALINDA JUST BE FRIENDS AGAIN??

I don’t remember the last time I read a book that wasn’t a textbook.

It’s because when I read things that aren’t textbooks I feel guilty because I could be reading my, well, readings. But I can watch TV while I eat, because I can’t study and eat at the same time…not the most logical of relations, I know.

Once Upon A Time has added some whimsy to the Sunday TV lineup of my life. A fantasy show about amnesiac fairy tale characters stuck in the real world in a small town, it’s certainly quite different from any other fantasy show I’ve seen in a while. So far, it’s mostly been plot set up; I’m not entirely sure where it’ll be going, but I know they can only go episodic for so long before they have to start making things up (because they get their inspiration from fairy tale characters). But it’s got Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin, who I both like and was waiting for to work together (because they look alike so much)!

I’ve decided, in the interest of not becoming a complete shut-in, that I should probably limit my viewing to mostly TV shows for the TV season and then go with dramas/anime in the off-seasons. D: It’s pretty hard to keep up both, and I’ve set aside so many other TV shows already that I plan on watching later.

TV lineup as of now

Sunday:
The Good Wife
Once Upon A Time

Monday:
How I Met Your Mother
House
Castle

Tuesday:
Glee
New Girl
Ringer
Unforgettable

Wednesday:
Modern Family
Top Chef: Texas

Thursday:
The Big Bang Theory
The Office
Community (don’t know what will happen to this with recent events)
Person of Interest

Friday:
Grimm

I can’t say I love all of these shows equally, but I love them enough to keep watching. :D

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