Sunday, January 30, 2011

OMFG SQUEE!

you had me at 'dessert buffet'

What: Griffins Restaurant
Where: at the Hotel Vancouver
When: Dinner time
Why: Vancouver Dineout 2011

There are few things in life that can cause my heart to skip a beat, and hearing the sweet words, "dessert buffet" is one of them. It only took me 5 minutes to make the reservations (thank you Opentable!) and me and my sister found ourselves practically skipping to the restaurant on a Sunday night. Now, this is not to take away from the actual dinner that we feasted on: My sister enjoyed her seafood chowder and salmon entree (perfectly cooked and fresh) and I thoroughly savoured the onion tart and artichoke ravioli. I have to admit, I was starting to feel a little full from dinner, but I made sure there was enough room somewhere above my liver for dessert. Four different types of desserts to sample and we happily waddled our way home.

My dining partner in crime has the Chef's special soup of the day: seafood chowder
I ordered the Caramelized Onion Tart house-made served with tomato jam and frisee salad
Grilled West Coast Salmon blue crab and corn croquette, leek fondue.
Artichoke Ravioli ratatouille, grilled asparagus, white wine cream.
Chocolate mint mousse cake
Strawberry apple custard cake with coconut
White and milk chocolate mousse cup
Can never go wrong with flan!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

100 days

What: 100 Days
Where: At the Opus Hotel
When: Dinner
Why: Vancouver Dineout 2011 is on!

100 Days takes over from where the Elixar Bistro use to be at the Opus Hotel. A unique collaboration of graffiti art and food, this pop restaurant serves up Mediterranean fare inspired by the artwork on the walls. I'm not quite sure how this concept works, but the food was great.

This totally reminds of Jem, from Jem and the Holograms cartoon show back in the 1980's. It's the hair.

My dining buddy had the Italian Onion Soup: osso bucco broth, wild mushrooms, cippolini onions, fontina & mozzarella crust. Comfort food at its best.
I ordered the Smoked Tuna Carpaccio ‘Nicoise:’ poached quails egg, capers, olives, baby tomato vinaigrette. Absolutely delicious. This dish reminded me of how much I love tuna.
 My dining buddy ordered the Stuffed chicken breast served with vegetables. Excuse the flash; the lighting was pretty bad inside and the weak flame from the candle centerpiece didn't help the situation.
My entree was the Lobster & Crab ‘Mac & Cheese’ Atlantic lobster, Dungeoness crab, gratin cheese crust & Hennessy lobster bisque. So good but also so very rich and filling.
The Baked Apple Pie à la mode (individual apple pie, house made cheddar cheese ice cream) looked really good and smelled delicious.
For my dessert, I pretty much devoured the Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie served with vanilla ice-cream. 

Side note: At one point during dinner, I looked up from my mac & cheese and guess who was standing less than an arm's length away from my table? George Stroumboulopoulos. That totally made my night ♥

Friday, January 28, 2011

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

a moment of silence


"What matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -- but rather, how well have we loved."

Monday, January 10, 2011

elin king x h&m

 

I love the clean, simple silhouettes of this collection. Everything can be easily incorporated into your closet without a moment's hesitation. These are pieces that will become fast favourites, your go-to items that you instinctively reach for when you can't decide what to wear. I especially love the long dress with asymmetrical sleeves; it's beyond gorgeous.

The catch: this 11-piece  H&M collection is only available in Sweden. Which leaves me with two choices: hop on a plane or become fast friends with someone in Sweden. So... who wants to be my friend?

Click here to see the rest of the collection.

tell your homeboys


See below for the original version. It's 10x better as a song. For realz. 

Saturday, January 8, 2011

put a ring on it

My inspiration for jewellery:


While I like pretty, delicate pieces, I also like something with a little more weight to it; something that could cause some damage, if I were to punch someone in the face. I like to be prepared.


Photos courtesy of weheartit

Friday, January 7, 2011

always in vogue

It's official: Emmanuelle Alt will be the new French Vogue editor-in-chief. 
She's got some big Manolo Blahniks to fill.

Monday, January 3, 2011

new year, new beginnings

Every year, I sit down and think about the resolutions that I should make and every year, a few make it through to the end, but the majority are forgotten or ignored entirely. Generally, my resolutions tend to be small or trivial changes; something that I can, hopefully, incorporate into my everyday life, without too much effort required. And every year, when December rolls around, I look back and wonder what I've done in the last 365 days.

But, this year is going to be different. Because this year, I'm not going to let fear hold me back. This time, I'm going to jump in with both feet and hopefully, I'll have someplace solid to land.



Photo courtesy of stock.xchng

Sunday, January 2, 2011

alternative to dim sum

So, what was suppose to be dim sum brunch on Sunday morning with my girl, Shar, turned out to be a gong show at Kirin Restaurant as the horde of people waiting in the lounge area ALL had reservations and were patiently/impatiently waiting for their tables. Unfortunately for us, with no reservations, this meant that we weren't going to be seated until 1 o'clock that afternoon. After much texting back and forth, we decided on Peaceful Restaurant on Broadway for Szechuan cuisine. It turned out to be a scrumptious and filling brunch, although the bamboo shoots in the "cat ears" dish tasted a little woodsy.

Sliced potato wrapped in pan-fried flatbread.
Xiao long bao! Best eaten when it's still hot!

"Cat ears" noodles stir fried with slices of pork, green snow peas, fungus, carrots and bamboo shoots.

Spicy wonton and spinach.




We also exchanged Christmas presents, since we couldn't get together before the holidays, due to busy schedules. I got her the Urban Decay Naked palette that's been sold out everywhere for months now and she got me these lovely gifts:

I didn't break my lipgloss ban for 2011, since my friend got this for me as a present! Always wanted to try this, too!
I was actually looking at this exact same hard case at Sephora.com when I initially got my iPhone. Love it when friends think alike
Last, but not least: Handmade (minus the frame) on her own letterpress. How cool is that?! BEST PRESENT EVAR! I ♥ it immensely, typo and all. This makes me smile ever time I read it.


PS: the lyrics are from the song, "Such Great Heights" from Postal Service, one of my favourite songs of all time. 

 

Saturday, January 1, 2011

MMXI

Happy New Year everyone! 
 Wishing you happiness, health and success in 2011!

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng