Poké Bowls at Poke Eats!

Poke Eats

Poke Eats located at 4750 Yonge St, Unit 118 in Toronto

Poke Eats is a brand new restaurant that has opened up in the midtown area of Yonge and Sheppard in a new commercial complex that serves poké bowls!  As far as I know, there isn’t any other Hawaiian poke bowl restaurant in this part of Toronto yet and I was very grateful to be able to try out this two-week old restaurant.  Poké bowls are a Hawaiian-inspired dish that contain marinated raw fish, assorted vegetables, and sauce on top of rice.   Continue reading

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First Time at Paintlounge Markham!

Paintlounge Markham

Paintlounge Markham located at 118 Main Street Markham North in Markham

This was my first time painting at Paintlounge and in particular, their Markham studio!  We had wanted to take a painting workshop and I bought this Groupon a couple of months ago.  The Paintlounge website shows a selection of ‘easy’, ‘moderate’, and ‘challenge’ paintings for you to choose from to paint at the studio during weeknights.  The process to booking a time slot on their website to redeem the Groupon coupon code was seamless and easy too. Continue reading

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New Ma La Tang Noodle Soups at Spicy Mafia [Defunct]

Spicy Mafia Ma La Tang Noodle Soups

Spicy Mafia located at 20 Gibson Drive, Unit 111A in Markham

Spicy Mafia (得裝麻辣燙), a restaurant that specializes in hot pot and mini hot pots, now has a brand new item on their menu!  They now serve “ma la tang” customizable noodle soups for lunch and dinner (they also offer delivery).  The idea is simple enough:  You choose from the wide array of 39 toppings in their fridge and place it on a provided plate.  The staff then weighs it for you, at a cost of $8.99/lb.   Continue reading

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Ume Omakase at Shoushin!

Shoushin omakase

Shoushin located at 3328 Yonge St in Toronto

I haven’t tried many Japanese omakase meals in Toronto so it was definitely a treat to be able to enjoy this chef-custom-chosen “I’ll leave it to you” meal at Shoushin for Valentine’s Day this year.  I have to thank my SO for making the reservation ahead of time since V Day is always a hectic day for restaurant bookings.   Continue reading

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Against the Odds

Ai Wei Wei Grapes

Ai Wei Wei Grapes, AGO. August 2013

A little more than three years ago, when the Ai Wei Wei exhibit was being shown at the Art Gallery of Ontario, my friends and I went there to view it.  One of the art pieces at the exhibit included this nearly impossible and ‘against the odds’ piece called Grapes.  He used Qing Dynasty furniture which was made without nails using traditional woodworking techniques to create this piece.   Continue reading

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Macarons at Butter Avenue [Defunct]

Butter Avenue macarons

Butter Avenue located at 477 Queen Street West in Toronto

Thanks to @cfooodie and Butter Avenue who were hosting a contest during the winter holidays, I was able to win myself a box of macarons from Butter Avenue!  Yay! 😀  I had known about and seen this pastisserie that sold macarons and other delicate baked goods many times but and wanted to try them out so this turned out to be the perfect chance to do so!  Thank you again for the lovely gift. ^_^   Continue reading

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Winterlicious 2017 Restaurant #2: Batch

 Batch Toronto

Batch located at 75 Victoria St in Toronto

Holly, Joyce, and I made reservations to enjoy a Winterlicious dinner at Batch on a Tuesday evening.  This was the evening where Toronto had freezing rain warnings and lots of falling ice later in the evening due to the warmer temperatures but we all still made it safely into the Batch restaurant which featured a brewery and was a “microbrewery” restaurant.   Continue reading

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadow

 Shadows in Luxembourg

Luxembourg, Luxembourg. April 2016

Why didn’t anyone give me a heads up that the Weekly Photo Challenges are now going to be posted on Wednesdays?! XD  No more Friday WPCs after this post.  I quite liked the challenges to be scheduled on Fridays — they were like a end-of-the week celebration post and usually the days when I work from home and thus could be ready to post right at noon when the challenge goes up.  But alas, things change.   Continue reading

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Hotel Review: Comfort Inn & Suites Collingwood

I’ve gotten into the habit of reviewing the hotels that I stay at recently so here is the review for my stay at Comfort Inn & Suites Collingwood!  The address is 4 Balsam St, Collingwood.   Continue reading

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Congee Queen (Hwy 7 & Leslie)

Congee Queen (Hwy 7 & Leslie)

Congee Queen located at 230 Commerce Valley Dr E, Unit #1 in Markham

Upon coming back from our Blue Mountain trip, we both were in need some of comfort food and veggies, so we went to Congee Queen at Highway 7 and Leslie (皇后名粥) in Markham for some reliable Chinese comfort food.

It was my first time to this location of the congee/rice/noodle franchise chain and I really liked the interior design of this shop!   Continue reading

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