Get Away

Seattle has much to offer. Breath-taking views, delicious food, and an energetic, yet laid back vibe is what summarizes the city best. Most of my trip with le boyfriend comprised walking around the hilly downtown area, getting lost, and finding some really great places to eat. I was an overstuffed turkey by the end of it, but I am definitely not complaining. We were blessed with one fleeting day of gorgeous weather, and the next day came the downpour, but I suppose that's the beauty of it all. 

Poutine Crawl

Yesterday was probably one of the most unhealthiest days of my life, but also one of the most delicious and satisfying. A member from my student club caught wind of the Poutine Challenge that's taking place in Vancouver, so we decided to partake and try some very unique spins on your typical Montreal poutine. 

The first place we went to was the Hidden Tasting Bar, located at the Westin Grand Hotel. Of course, we were there for the Lobster Poutine, which sounded sinfully good. Our server warned us that it was fairly large, and splitting between two people was a better idea. However, I'm quite greedy when it comes to food and decided to get one all to myself.

I know it doesn't look very big, but I was really full after finishing it. It was VERY delicious, and came with butter poached lobster and a side of salad. I throughly enjoyed every bite of it and would definitely go back for more-- who wouldn't want to try a butter poached lobster poutine again, right?

Lobster Poutine

The second place we went to was a sports bar called Red Card. The poutine featured there was very different from your average poutine (as was the common theme of the challenge). Instead of beef gravy and the usual cheese curds, it came with a mild Madras chicken curry, mozzarella cheese, carrots, and was garnished with cilantro. Just thinking about this poutine is making my mouth water. I would even say it was better than the first, and of course, I would definitely recommend trying this poutine before it's gone (it was specially created for this challenge).

Red Card Poutine

Since we were way too full after eating TWO poutines, we decided to try one more place and call it a night. We went to a place called Between Two Buns in the lovely Yaletown right on Homer Street. This poutine, again, was very different and very unsual. The Kennebec Kahuna poutine was specially created for this challenge as well. The ingredient list featured crispy Kennebec fries, spicy Albacore tuna, a poached egg, avocado mousse, and tomatoes, and was topped with green onions.

Honestly, this was hands down my favourite poutine out of all three.  I loved how fresh everything tasted and it wasn't as heavy as the other two poutines. The spicy kick to it was also a pleasant surprise. Despite being over-stuffed by the end of it, the experience was definitely worth it. The only thing I regret is not getting an extra one to go, haha.
 

Kennebec Kahuna Poutine

There are more restaurants that are enlisted for the poutine challenge, and I would recommend checking out vancouverfoodster.com for a list of the competitors. Even though I haven't tried all of the poutines, I'm sure that each and every one is really delicious, which makes it very challenging to narrow it down to one winner. Having said that, may the best poutine win!

Thanks for reading =)

Mandalay Lounge & Steakhouse

Spring is finally here! And since the sun has been shining I've been soaking it up as much as possible. So, the other day, my mum and I decided that staying indoors was a waste and we headed out to Steveston to grab some lunch.
We were walking around and trying to figure out where to eat, and many disagreements later, we happened to see the Mandalay tucked behind another restaurant.



 The restaurant couldn't have a better view. It's located right by the water (right on the pier), so it definitely gains huge bonus points based on that alone. The set up of the place was really nice too. It has a really urban vibe with a splash of authenticity.
There was a fair amount to choose from on their lunch menu, but we knew right away what we wanted. So, we started with the Chicken Satay skewers, which was a real palate pleaser.

What drew us to the place were their rice bowls (they had a copy of the menu outside), so I got the Thai Red Seafood Curry Rice bowl (pictured first) and my mum got the Spicy Chicken and Peanut Rice bowl. Both were just sooo delicious. For chicken lovers, I would definitely recommend the rice bowl that my mum got because it was packed with flavour, and it wasn't ridiculously spicy either. 

I have to fianlly comment on the service that we received. My mum and I were both really impressed with the server that we had (in fact, it was just her serving the lunch rush). She was extremely professional, but she was so bubbly and friendly, and truly made our experience much more enjoyable.

As a whole, I think the Mandalay is really worth checking out. I'm definitely going back for more yummy goodness!

Anyway, thank you again for reading =)

A Drop of Sunshine

(Siren's Jacket, Joe Fresh Sweater, Gifted Silk Scarf, Style & Co Pants, Aldo Purse)

I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to another gorgeous day yesterday. I dread rain so much, but that was such a treat. I had to work yesterday so I quickly threw on some clothes and rushed out the door. So, this is what I ended up wearing to go to work.

After I got home, I just knew I'd regret it if I didn't take advantage of the sunshine, so my mum and I decided to go for a drive around our little town. We went to the boating docks, which happens to be one of my favourite places in our area. It's always so serene and peaceful there, but boy was it cold! We then walked around and found a nice little spot to take a few pictures, uninterrupted. It's always so weird when people gwak at you haha.

In any case, the point of our outing was to enjoy the bit of sunshine that we had. As I've said before, days like yesterday are precious, so I'm glad that we took advantage of the good weather despite it being so nippy.

Anyway, thought I'd share a quick post, even though it was a bit pointless, but I must admit that I really do enjoy blogging =). Well, I hope everyone had a great day, and always, thanks for reading!

<3

 

Of Trees and Cheesecake

I've always wanted to check out this coffee shop located on the corner of Granville and Hastings in Vancouver. They're apparently known for their cheesecake, and since I looove indulging in its yummy goodness, I decided yesterday was the perfect day to treat myself to this delectable dessert. So, I dragged my classmates with me to Trees Coffee during our down- time in between our tutorial and lecture. 

The cafe had a bunch of differet cheesecake flavours to choose from, and I was quite overwhelmed with their selection. Just a few of what I can remember included Mocah, Original New York style cheesecake, Key Lime, Sin, and (correct me if I'm wrong) Peanut Butter. Yuuum. I ended up going for Sin because my classmate recommended it and I ordered warm apple cider to go along with it.

Needless to say, it was just sooo sinfully delicious-- the cheesecake that is. It definitely lived up to its name haha. It was a marble cheesecake with cranberries, and would have gone really well with a strawberry topping, but I decided to skip that. Regardless, that was good cheesecake, and it hit the spot! The apple cider was really good too, and the fact that I had a cinnamon stick in my drink made it so much better =D

 

I managed to snap a few pictures of the cafe before we left. It was really packed in there, so I didn't want to take up too much time and infringe on people's space. I must say that I loved the set up of the place. It's just a cosy nook in the heart of downtown where all the trendy people would seem to gravitate to. I'm definitely going back for more because of their extensive tea collection, and of course, for their cheesecake.

So, if you're ever in Vancouver, I think this place deserves a chance. The staff is amazingly friendly, and their food and drink is just amazingly good, and the location itself is pretty convenient. I'm sure you won't regret it!
Well, thank you again for taking the time to read my blog. I hope you all have a wonderful day =)

In her shoes

(Joe Sweater, Jessica Simpson Jeggings, Bryan's Scarf, AE Jacket)

I have a huge midterm tomorrow, and I feel like I'm completely screwed because I haven't been able to focus on studying AT ALL. I somehow always seem to find myself in this situation, and then I kick myself later on. Oops. So, I was being a bad student and skipped class today to get my stuff in order. I only hope I don't regret it later on =_=

Anyway, my mum and I went out on a spotaneous shopping trip yesterday. What I really needed to get done was some boring bank work and buy some running shoes and sweatpants to wear to the gym. I'm a huge noob when it comes to exercising, and I'm really quite terrified to step foot in that huge gym with all of those gym pros, but I think I should just suck it up and do this for myself. I'm just way too lazy when it comes to physical exercise, and it's high time I get myself in shape and boost my stamina. 

Well, obviously when I was looking around for running shoes, I got distracted and started shopping around for other stuff as well. I ended up finding these super cute shoes in some random Chinese store in one of our local malls, and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the price, so I really couldn't resist. I'm extremely indecisive, which meant that choosing between the two colours was next to impossible, so I ended up grabbing both. In total, I spent 11 bucks! I can't wait for it to stop being so cold so that I can wear them whenever I please. For now, I'll stick to boots, thank you very much.

I hope I didn't bore you all to death with my pointless jargon, but I was quite excited to share my new purchase with you. Anyway, I need to stop procrastinating and go back to studying. Zombie day here I come.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day! =)

Here comes the sun

(Forever 21 Jeans, Aldo Boots American Eagle Jacket, Ardene Scarf)

Today was just simply gorgeous as the sun finally graced us with its presence. We've had some really terrible weather here in Vancouver these past few weeks, so days like today are precious. I decided to cart my bulky camera to class, and in between my tutorial and lecture, I dragged my classmates with me to Canada Place just to get a glimpse of what the view would be like. Since I'm obsessed with our mountains, I absolutely had to take these pictures. I somehow always manage to look like such a baby in pictures, but my awesome friend Maya was sweet enough to take a few pictures of me, so I decided I'd put these up. (Thanks Maya!)

I love walking around here on a nice day. Today was a little chilly, but it was so worth the view. 

And just for fun, here are a couple of shots of my brunch before I left home today. I quickly whipped up my "world famous" (haha) omelette sandwich, which is oh so easy to make. In case anyone is wondering, all I have in there is cilantro (which I use when I run out of parsley), green chillies, roasted red peppers and garlic seasoning from Club House, and pepper jack cheese. It's really quick to make and really yummy... well at least I think so.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful day, and as always, thank you for reading!