Food

Yesterday was my friend Julie’s birthday party and she threw an adorable tea party potluck. She made the macaroons (above) herself, and they were delicious!

These savoury bites were from Costco (love that place haha). I didn’t get photos of all the dishes, but there were a lot of cookies, scones, some cupcakes, cream puffs – much more food than any of us could finish – I still have some leftover treats!

Julie also made these ham, cheese and raisin mini croissants. Not pictured, she made awesome cucumber sandwiches (which I almost made, so phew that I didn’t because mine would be not as tasty as hers!) I did however make curried tuna salad with golden raisins on rye bread (mini sandwiches) and they tasted okay (yay for my non-existent culinary skills)!

This teapot is sitting on top of a mini candle to keep it warm! What a cute idea.

We all got to drink out of a collection  of gorgeous bone china teacups. I need to get myself a few

Lastly, here’s the birthday card I made for Julie, featuring her own pun! I bought the Cricut Teddy Bear Parade Cartridge so now my Create a Critter creatures can dress up in fancy costumes like the koala shown here! =)

Mike and I tried the #1 restaurant in Hong Kong on Tripadvisor – and it was very easy to see why. It originates in Taiwan, but has branches all along the Pacific rim (maybe one will open in Vancouver?) It once ranked as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world by the New York Times, and the one we went to in Tsim Sha Tsui received one Michelin star when it first opened.

The food was quite good, but I was blown away by the service. Maybe it’s just because I’m used to being ignored in a Chinese restaurant, but the waitresses were very friendly from the start. Here are some examples of why I thought the service was so great:

• Waitresses poured tea for us… not just the first time, but throughout the meal
• They refilled our tea pot for us – without us asking
• Not only did the menu have English, it had pictures for every single item
• They asked what order we wanted the food brought out
• Any backpacks (or large bags) were covered by a large napkin so that sauce wouldn’t get on them
• They switched our plates for “dessert”
• They actually wipe down the tables – there weren’t those yucky reused white tablecloths
• The waitress waited for us to pay, instead of rushing us out
• Clean washroom!

This place was made famous by their xiao long bao. I won’t say it’s the best I’ve ever had, but it was pretty delish.

We went for a late lunch at 2pm so luckily there was no wait, as I hear there’s usually a long queue. We weren’t even that hungry at the time, but we finished everything. The price was quite affordable too! It was about $25 CDN for the two of us (comparable to Vancouver anyway… I still haven’t gotten over how cheap other food in Hong Kong is).

In short, if I ever find myself really hungry in Asia in a country where I can’t speak the language, I just have to find a Din Tai Fung branch and point to the pictures. At least I won’t starve!

Quite possibly the best part of having a few days off work is that fact that I can go wherever I want for lunch. Basically, anywhere not on campus or anywhere near campus because I am so sick of food from the SUB. Since I could have lunch anywhere I wanted, a few days ago I went to the best place for lunch ever – Meat and Bread in Gastown.

This place is amazing. I go to the one at the corner of Hastings and Cambie – don’t let the line-up intimidate you, it moves fairly quickly!  Mike and I had the sandwiches to go, because it’s impossible finding parking in that area that doesn’t cost a fortune.

Every day they have a different special. This can be found online before you head out. On the day I went, they had braised lamb shoulder – super juicy, melts in your mouth, downright delicious.

They also have a few sandwiches that are on the menu every day – it’s a small menu but the few things they do, they do right. The most amazing classic is the porchetta sandwich. You have to see their huge chunks of meat to believe it. They have a crispy layer on top that they chop up and division evenly so everyone has a bit. It tastes just heavenly… surprises me every time I take a bite. I’m making myself hungry just from writing this post.

Today marks the third year from Mike and my first date! And yes, to all those people telling me October 17th is no longer my “real” anniversary… it’s the one we’re celebrating because our wedding anniversary will be around our birthdays and that’s just way too many things to celebrate at once.

To celebrate, we had dinner at Baru Latino. I’d passed by it often and saw there was usually a good crowd there so it seemed like a good place to try. The food did not disappoint. To start, we had a plate of plantanitos, which I have never tried before. Basically, it’s deep-fried plantain (kind of like banana) slathered in cheese and guacamole goodness. Mike was worried it would be super rich and filling, but it was actually a perfect appetizer. Just enough taste without being too heavy.

I’m a sucker for duck, so naturally I ordered the chepen duck for my main dish. It was cooked almost to perfection (there was just one piece that was slightly overdone) and paired very well with passion fruit mojo, grilled pear, and cassava frits on top of cilantro rice.

Mike had the paella, complete with chorizo, chicken, mussels, prawns, scallops and halibut. It was a bit spicy for my taste, but Mike enjoyed it. The size of their mussels was very impressive! I kept thinking I actually had two in each shell. My biggest regret about going to Baru was that we were too full for dessert and didn’t get to try any! We both greatly enjoyed the food and we’ll definitely be back for more.

Happy thanksgiving everyone! Mike and I had a few friends over for games and turkey tonight.

We made good use of these “Trudeau Duo Tone Floral Wine Charms“… though somehow Megan managed to drink from my glass anyway =P

Derry practiced his begging tricks early on in the day. He even put on a bow tie for the occasion.

Also, I made game pieces of my friends and me for our gameplay today! They were quite the hit… using just metal binder clips and cardboard printouts of our pictures.

Starvin’ Marvin looked delicious straight out of the oven… he was 11.5 lbs!

Above is our happy little family! Derry may have been a little distracted by the turkey.

Always thankful for family, friends and good food!