Platform Espresso Bar located at 4450 Hwy 7 in Unionville
October 24, 2017: Platform Espresso Bar is a brand new cafe newly opened in Markham as of October 10, 2017. They are a cafe that serves all kinds of coffee including specialty coffee, pour-overs (drip coffee), lattes, teas, as well as food and dessert. Currently, they have a brunch menu available for their soft opening but will soon serve a full menu with more food options.
I had the pleasure to Continue reading
located at 20 Gibson Dr Unit 111A in Markham
October 23, 2017: Funny story because I was actually supposed to at Dagu Rice Noodle here twice on a complimentary basis (one for an Instagram contest prize and another for a tasting event) but what happened was that the deadline to attend the tasting event expired (I had to book the time myself and I thought I had until the rest of October to go but the deadline was Oct. 20). Thus, when I messaged the social media agency (they were the ones who hosted the contest), they told me to just go in for a blogger’s tasting… which is Continue reading
Yan Woo Soya Bean located at 4390 Steeles Ave E, Unit H6 in Markham
October 22, 2017: After our day trip to Whittamore’s Farm and before dinner, we stopped by Market Village for a snack. We went to Yan Woo Soya Bean, another long-standing Chinese shop that serves traditional soybean products like soybean pudding (they call it “puddy” at the shop), soybean milk, and other items by bulk or individually.
I remember coming to Yan Woo Soya Bean (人和豆腐) with my Continue reading
Whittamore’s Farm located at 8100 Steeles Ave E in Markham
October 22, 2017: This past weekend, we went to visit Whittamore’s Farm before it closes down at the end of this season in 2017. (Why are so many long-standing businesses closing in Markham? 😦 )
I believe I should have visited Whittamore’s Farm as a child in school during field trips but I can’t be certain (I think I might have picked strawberries here with family in 2000). Nevertheless, if I hadn’t visited as a Continue reading
Sam’s Congee Delight located at 4390 Steeles Ave E, Unit B57 in Markham
October 21, 2017: The title of this blog post says it all: the long-standing Sam’s Congee Delight is moving out of the 20-plus-year-old Market Village plaza to a new location shortly. Sam’s Congee Delight (黃三記) serves congee, steamed rice rolls, fried dough, and desserts and has done so for thousands of customers since it opened in the 1990s. This small no frills restaurant (that has lines out the door during every weekend for lunch) will be moving to 7354 Woodbine Ave. (Woodbine/Denison Northwest corner) due to the eventual closure of Market Village (official date still Continue reading
Tianmen Mountain National Park, China. September 2017
On our trip to Zhangjaijie, China last month to see the beautiful and majestic Tianmen Mountain (天門山), we had to take a bus and long cable car ride in order to get to the very top of the mountain to see the views. (From Wikipedia: Tianmen Mountain Cableway is claimed in tourist publications as the “longest passenger cableway of high mountains in the world”.) What did we do after we were done sightseeing and photographing the beauty of the tall gigantic mountains? We took two separate smaller mini vans down back to the bottom! The rounded roads of these mountains may frighten a few people. The bus drivers had to be Continue reading
Spiced Steak & Garlic Salsa Verde with Roasted Fingerlings and Cheesy Kale Chips
October 19, 2017: For my 19th meal from Chefs Plate, I selected the Spiced Steak & Garlic Salsa Verde from their weekly changing roster of meals. All ingredients from the Chefs Plate meals are farm-fresh ingredients from local Canadian businesses and designed to be balanced and nutritious. The sole reason I wanted to try making this dish was because it featured cheesy kale chips as one of its sides! I love cheesy items and this kale chip was something that I had never Continue reading
Italian Sausage Pasta Bake with Ricotta Cheese and a Baby Spinach Salad
October 18, 2017: For my 18th meal from Chefs Plate, I made an Italian Sausage Pasta Bake. Chefs Plate is a meal subscription service that delivers fresh and local pre-portioned and pre-measured ingredients in chef-inspired recipes for you to cook at home.
This Italian Sausage Pasta Bake had a difficulty level of “easy” and had a prep time of 30 minutes. This was a very Continue reading
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Oshawa Downtown located at 67 Simcoe St N in Oshawa
October 8, 2017: Another relaxing getaway means another hotel stay! This time, we stayed in downtown Oshawa at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Oshawa Downtown. I haven’t stayed in a Holiday Inn in some time and I was super impressed with this one!
There was ample onsite parking and it was a low-level building — only about six floors or so. The lobby was spacious, so classy, and chic-looking Continue reading
Baxters Landing located at 419 King W in Oshawa
October 8, 2017: In September, I was lucky enough to win an Instagram contest for a free dinner for two at Baxters Landing in Oshawa, Ontario. This was perfect since I had wanted to see the salmon run in Port Hope and it allowed us to have a short getaway trip to Oshawa for the Thanksgiving long weekend while getting to claim this dinner prize too.
The contest holder, @to_finest, and Baxters Landing carried out the contest process out smoothly and easily for me Continue reading
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