charmed, I'm sure

My sister also wanted to check out Charm Modern Thai during the Taste of Yaletown event. Something different this time, but still expecting some really good dishes here.

Phuket Caiprioshka (lychee caiprinha, fresh whole lychees muddled wth Soho and Absolut vodka). So good. So good in fact, my dining buddy might have had a sip. Or two. Or more.

 I chose the Duck sticks (fried duck confit spring rolls served with wok-roasted chili sauce) as my appetizers. So good. Wish there was more duck sticks, that's how good it was.

 My dining buddy ordered Thai Spring Rolls as her starter (vegetarian spring rolls served with homemade carrot sauce). I thought the carrot sauce was sweet plum sauce (?!) My bad.

My dining buddy had the Green Tea Chicken (pan-seared green tea and lemongrass marinated organic chicken breast with orange and ginger glaze served with sauteed vegetables). Interesting flavours, and not in a bad way. Just... interesting.

I had the Tamarind Seared Salmon (pan-seared salmon with spicy, sweet and sour tamarind reduction) as my entree It was a good thing there was a lot of sauce, because the salmon was a little overcooked.

Chocolate chili tort. Wow, that was so smooth, so creamy and rich... I could have eaten that all day.

Mmmm.. vanilla bean tapioca pudding... Good stuff.

taste of yaletown

I've been so busy/stressed out at work that I completely forgot about the Taste of Yaletown event until my sister reminded me. We had passed by r.tl (regional tasting lounge) when we were doing some window shopping and it looked like a nice place to start.

Start the night off right with a drink: The Colour of Money (gin, campari, limoncello, pineapple and lemons juices and peach bitters)

My sister had the wild mushroom risotto with creamy leek and I had the oak barrel smoked duck (below) to start. Really, really loved my smoked duck and the mushroom risotto was SO good.

Ratatouille (zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and sweet peppers served with crispy polenta) was really good.

I had the potato crusted Arctic char (with grilled vegetables, rice pilaf and sauce vierge) for my entree. It was good, just needed a little bit of salt.

Homemade ice-cream sandwich with chocolate ganache and vanilla bean gelato. That was one hard cookie to crumble.

Apple tart with caramel sauce!

go canucks go

  14 rows from centre ice, watching the Vancouver Canucks beat the Minnesota Wild with a score of 5-1.
And the best part? The tickets were free!

cool treats

Ended up going to Daiso to pick up a few things and while we were at Aberdeen Centre, my sister insisted we check this place out. Good choice. I will have to come back and try out other menu items, and not just their dessert. Although, the parfaits look pretty good, too...

My dining buddy had the chocolate crepes (double scoop of chocolate ice-cream served inside Japanese crepes with banana slices on chocolate custard sauce).

I ordered the matcha crepe (green tea ice-cream served inside Japanese crepes with red beans, kanten jelly, and vanilla custard on the side) and was quite pleased with my dish.

fresh start to fall

I didn't realize how big of a grand opening party Joe Fresh was planning until I wandered downtown after work to buy a pair of hand-studded motorcycle leather boots that I was seriously covetting. I got there and a portion of Granville Street was shut down for the free street concert. I had to wade through a crowd of shrieking pubescent 14-year olds freaking out over Stereos and Marianas Trench (had to Google it to see if it was spelt with an apostrophe or not). My ears were ringing at the end of it all. Although, I will admit some of the songs in the Marianas Trench set were catchy. Stereos on the other hand were so auto-tuned, I could barely make out words to their songs. If you even want to call them "songs."

Stereos not singing for a change.

Marianas Trench and actual singing.

i may have a chronic illness

that can only be cured by slurping several bowls of tortilla soup and munching on a few beer-battered shrimp or fish tacos.

A massive chimichanga. It was ginormous and could easily feed a family of four.

 I believe these were pork tamales... can't remember now. All I remember was being so full that I couldn't finish a tamale, so my dining buddy's husband had to eat the other half. Not that he was complaining.

My beer-battered shrimp tacos. So good. But I love the tortilla soup even more.

Delicious tortilla soup. Not too spicy and lots of crunch.

fall obsessions

It's all about leopard print, faux fur and ankle booties for me. 

Leopard faux fur eternity scarf, leopard faux fur coat and tan booties. The leopard faux fur coat and the booties are from Joe Fresh. The coat is incredibly soft and warm. Love it and love the fact that it was only $69! The scarf came from a Yaletown boutique called Fine Finds.

target or bust

It's a little ridiculous that only a 3-hour drive away with a passport in hand, you can find makeup that Canada doesn't even have in stores. WTH?

A little bit of sparkle, some lace and pretty knee-high socks. 'Cause everyone needs knee-high socks.

Pretty sterling silver necklaces that I picked up right before the store closed.

Dr. Pepper lip smackers for giants and cotton candy Paul Frank lip balm!

Yeah, I bought 2 of each colour only because we don't have them in Canada!