Another Easter weekend in Toronto. Last year I went over the same weekend and helped Lil’ Sis move into her apartment. This year, her apartment is all set up in her very natural spa-oasis theme and we went slightly nuts again! More diverse this year, too.
Panera Bread

As per my usual custom, I took a red eye flight leaving Vancouver at midnight and arriving in Toronto at 7a.m.; with the three-hour time difference, it meant if I slept continuously I had only four hours of sleep. Then, in Toronto it’s a …

What a nice weekend we spent in Seattle just before Valentine’s Day! We were a small but fun group consisting of two couples and one more guy and girl. For me, some of the best parts revolved around food and drink. We stayed at the Sheraton downtown which one of our friends so kindly donated his Starwood points to lower the daily rate and we relished the opportunity to stay downtown–we didn’t even (gasp) go to the outlet mall!
Our rooms were on the 33rd floor (a Preferred Guest Level), giving …

Next after Groupon, Living Social (LS) is where I have made the most group-buying purchases. No doubt LS is doing a good business for itself but I’ve noticed they got a fancy new logo (can’t even remember the old one) and differentiating itself with family-oriented Family Edition coupons as well.
I didn’t know about Kreation Artisan Cakes, itself a narrow shop tucked between narrow shops on the west side of Cambie Street between West 17th and 18th Avenue. Their LS deal of $7 for a half dozen cupcakes (reg. $14.25) and …

Boy oh boy, this was quite the big Dineout Vancouver year with 5 dinners, three of which were with friends. In addition to these five, NPY went to one with his family to Maenam and I went to a Winterlicious meal in Toronto; and it was a great chance to get to know a colleague at work through talking about food, swapping stories, learning about places we’re each going to but don’t have the time/stomach/money to go to as well!
hidden tasting bar and social lounge
My “redo” of this year was …

I’m so happy to say that there is a Part II to the Toronto Dineout Reviews I made in early January as I was able to go back for a whirlwind three-day weekend last week.
Osgoode Hall Restaurant
However fun it was to go through Toronto’s Winterlicious menus to find a restaurant downtown to have a celebration lunch, getting a reservation at Osgoode Hall Restaurant was the most appropriate place for us to dine. We were a small party of six: mum and her older brother, me and a cousin just 2 …

One more Hong Kong post, this time in my Dineout Reviews format. Why should I apologize anyway? What has definitely been a “regret” of mine–because I can’t take a good experience as is and am intent on finding life bittersweet–was the dining out. There is so much more I want to do: street-style dining, really fancy HK-style Western, tea buffet at the Hyatt (esp after TFP’s post), etc.! But we did have some really great meals, concentrated in the last few days, funny enough. This really is just an excuse …

With Lil’ Sis with an fabulous and cozy little apartment in Toronto, I can easily extend my stopovers in the city and did just that to start off the year, kicking back in Tee-Oh from January 1 to January 4. I named this post as I did because as it currently stands, I don’t know for sure yet if I’m returning at the end of the month for a long weekend to to attend a “grad” ceremony for Lil’ Sis!
Congee Royal
After a characteristically rough New Year’s Eve at the restaurant, …

A friend of mine, Cari, and I started volunteering on Sunday mornings and it’s just perfect timing after our session to enjoy brunch together and catch each other up with the week’s events. Our tastes in food align and it’s been great fun trying different restaurants while also revisiting the old standbys (think, White Spot). This review covers our 2010 meals.
Jethro’s Fine Grub
I learned about Jethro’s Fine Grub only from going to Urbanspoon.com and asking it for the top Vancouver brunch spots. Jethro’s is a tiny restaurant deep in the …

I thought I might be writing about casual food in terms of the Hong Kong style cafe we were looking forward to trying in Hong Kong but I will write about the bakeries instead. It frustrated NPY but I don’t need a sit-down meal with a side of rice or noodles to call it a meal; I’m happy to nosh on snacks throughout the day and bakeries filled that need for me. Happily, they were trustworthy places for the most part and NPY would join me and pick out some …

Food was one of the points we were amply warned about regarding going on a tour in Beijing. NPY’s parents and sister said it was plain awful and skipping out for a KFC meal was the best one on the Beijing leg of the trip. My relatives who have done several China tours between them said the food was alright, which goes to show you how NPY and I come from different places. My mother, the true Cantonese food snob, doesn’t think much of any other region’s food; she would …