stenoodie

Weekly Photo Challenge: Magic

Posted on November 18, 2016 by stenoodie

Snow Museum, Hokkaido, Japan. October 2016

Last month when I was vacationing in Hokkaido, Japan, one of the destinations on our itinerary was visiting the Snow Museum located in Asahikawa, Hokkaido Prefecture. Inside of this museum there was a long winding staircase that led to a wishing fountain, a hallway full of glassed in icicles reminiscent of a winder wonderland, a cathedral fit for weddings, many magnificent dining rooms, and a gift shop, among many other things. The entire space was very magical-like and reminded me of the setting in the movie Frozen. One of the things I saw in the gift shop was this pretty little (Christmas) tree decorated with crystals. Continue reading →

Posted in Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged Asahikawa, crystals, 雪の美術館, gift shop, Hokkaido, Japan, magic, Snow Museum, tree made of crystals, vacation in Hokkaido, weekly photo challenge | 2 Comments

South Korea 2016 Day 5: Eating & Sightseeing in Myeongdong

Posted on November 17, 2016 by stenoodie

Cheese chicken galbi in Myeongdong! 😀

Day 5 Korea. Sept 18, 2016

Today started off with a happy bang! After casually getting up around 8:30 a.m., we got ready and went out at 11 a.m. to have breakfast in Myeongdong.

I was looking for a rice porridge shop or something that would serve local Korean cuisine and I was elated when I came across a dakgalbi shop! What excited me was that this was the spicy chicken galbi with cheese fondue that I had been wanting to try since seeing it in other people’s photos on instagram in Toronto several months back. Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged beef sashimi, chicken dakgalbi, dakgalbi, Eating cheese chicken galbi, Egg Bun, 馬場洞烤肉街, 龍門家韓牛, Fresh Cheese Chicken Galbi, Grilled corn on a stick, Gusttimo Flower Gelato, Korean barbecue at 龍門家韓牛, Korean flower gelato, Meat Market, Myeongdong, Myeongdong street eats, ribeye, spicy chicken galbi, spicy chicken galbi with cheese, Yoogane | 12 Comments

South Korea 2016 Day 4: Arrival in Myeongdong, Seoul

Posted on November 16, 2016 by stenoodie

Myeongdong subway station, Seoul

Day 4 Korea. Sept 17, 2016

Today we left Gangneung and headed to Seoul!

First of all, since Gyeongpo Beach (and actually Gangneung itself) is well known for their majestic sunrises for being located out east, we got up at 5:45 a.m. to try to catch the sunrise from our room. According to Google, the sun would be rising at 6:07 a.m. Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged Bus from Gangneung to Dong Seul, 디디치킨 (DD Chicken), Grilled pork skin, Hangang Park, Hangang Park night market food, KBBQ in Myeongdong, Korean fried chicken and beer Myeongdong, Korean subway map, Line Friends giant teddy bear Myeongdong, Loco Quan 401 Restaurant, Matcha and vanilla 32 cm soft serve cone, Myeongdong, Myeongdong street eats, nangyemon, Seoul, Seoul subway map, sunrise Soo Hotel, T-money card, travel blog | 6 Comments

Hotel Review: Loisir Hotel Seoul Myeongdong (South Korea)

Posted on November 15, 2016 by stenoodie

Loisir Hotel Seoul Myeongdong located at 115 Toegye-ro, Chungmuro 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu, 서울특별시 South Korea

On our fourth and fifth day in South Korea in 2016, we stayed at Loisir Hotel in Myeongdong, Seoul. Loisir Hotel is located in the heart of Myeongdong which made it extremely convenient and easy to travel around this popular shopping and eating district during our two full days there. I had been to Myeongdong before but really appreciated how close our hotel was to this major part of Seoul.

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Posted in Hotel Reviews | Tagged 115 Toegye-ro, Chungmuro 1(il)-ga, Hotel Reviews, 서울특별시 South Korea, Jung-gu, Loisir Hotel, Loisir Hotel Seoul Myeongdong (South Korea), Seoul Myeongdong, South Korea | 10 Comments

Thirsty Cactus Cantina & Grill in Hamilton

Posted on November 14, 2016 by stenoodie

Thirsty Cactus Cantina & Grill Brunswick Stew

Thirsty Cactus Cantina & Grill located at 2 King Street East in Hamilton

After a long and fun hike to Dundas Peak and Tew’s Falls in Hamilton, we scouted for a place close by to have a late lunch. Thanks to Google Maps, we were able to find a Mexican restaurant that was rated highly and seemed quite promising!

After just 10 minutes of driving, we arrived at the restaurant. Thirsty Cactus Cantina & Grill turned out to be a really cute and local eatery on the corner of Kind Street W and Miller’s Lane that specialized in Southern and Mexican food. Continue reading →

Posted in Food | Tagged 2 King Street East, @thirstyc twitter, Bang Bang Shrimp, Brunswick Stew, Cajun Fried Catfish, Complimentary cheesy nachos, complimentary nachos, Dundas, food blog, foodie, Hamilton, Hamilton restaurants, local eats in Hamilton, Mexican, Mexican restaurants in Hamilton, restaurant review, Southern Comfort Meets South of the Border, Southwest, Thirsty Cactus, Thirsty Cactus Cantina & Grill | Leave a comment

T-Swirl Crêpe (Markham) [Defunct]

Posted on November 13, 2016 by stenoodie

T-Swirl Crêpe located at 1056-28 South Unionville Avenue in Markham

I have seen all of the photos of T-Swirl Crêpe floating around on instagram and thus when Coreen and I were due for a catch-up, I decided that we meet here and so we could try out these crepe creations!

T-Swirl Crêpe is located at the outside plaza at Langham Square. It is tucked into the northeast corner of the plaza, so be sure to keep this in mind when looking for it.

Continue reading →

Posted in Food | Tagged 1056-28 South Unionville Avenue, crepes, crepes in Markham, food blog, foodie, Markham, Okinawa Hot Dog savory crepe, restaurant review, savory crepes, sweet crepes, T-Swirl Crêpe, T-Swirl Crêpe menu and prices, T-Swirl Crepe Markham, T-Swirl Fruits Cocktail sweet crepe | 3 Comments

Morals Village Mississauga Grand Opening Event

Posted on November 12, 2016 by stenoodie

Morals Village Mississauga located at 2-1177 Central Parkway W in Mississauga

On November 10, I had the pleasure to be invited to attend the Grand Opening Event of Morals Village opening their fourth location in Mississauga! This hot pot restaurant franchise originated in China with more than 600 stores and since has expanded to Toronto. They currently have three shops in the Greater Toronto Area with a planned fifth shop to open in Ottawa next year! It’s an exciting time for hot pot restaurants in Toronto and especially for those who like to hot pot! Continue reading →

Posted in Complimentary Adventures, Food | Tagged 10 year Special Spicy soup base, 2-1177 Central Parkway W, @swevenmedia twitter, A-grade Beef tongue, A-Grade Beef Tripe, Chinese, Deep-sea spicy fish fillet, food blog, foodie, Grand Opening Event, Homemade pork bone soup base, hot pot, Mississauga, Morals Village Mississauga, Morals Village Mississauga Grand Opening Event, Morals Village Mississauga reviews, Morals Village review, Mountain Cliff Wild Mushroom soup base, restaurant review, Signature Green Pepper Soup base, Sweet Tomato Ox Soup Base | 3 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Tiny

Posted on November 11, 2016 by stenoodie

Okhotsk Ryu-hyo Museum, Hokkaido, Japan. October 2016

This is not the best photo or representation of these cute little food figurines, but these are pieces of art work that are always tiny and miniature sized! You may have seen them before in souvenir shops or art & craft stores but I always admire how creative and detailed these little pieces of works are. They are tiny versions of the food that we eat! Super cute. 🙂 These ones are miniature bowls of ramen, chirashi, and uni! Continue reading →

Posted in Weekly Photo Challenge | Tagged cute, Hokkaido, Japan, miniature food, Okhotsk Ryu-hyo Museum, tiny, tiny food | 9 Comments

CSRAO Convention 2016 Recap

Posted on November 10, 2016 by stenoodie

CSRAO Convention 2016

This year’s CSRAO Convention was held at the Oakham House at Ryerson University at 55 Gould Street in Toronto. CSRAO (Chartered Shorthand Reporters’ Association of Ontario) is the second oldest association of professional stenographic reporters in North America and governs the standards and development of working shorthand reporters in the province of Ontario. I had been to the CSRAO Convention in previous years but this was my first time attending again in a while.

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