Caramel Egg Pudding

California Coastal Cruise Day 3- San Francisco

2013-05-16T09:16:00.002-04:00

Because of our late arrival the previous day, we were given a few more hours in San Francisco to compensate for that. I had missed my booked Alcatraz night tour the day before due to the delay. Luckily, we were able to use those tickets for a day tour instead, which worked out great since it was a beautiful day (cold temperatures aside). Alcatraz is, of course, the famous abandoned prison

California Coastal Cruise Day 2 - San Francisco

2013-05-14T13:52:00.004-04:00

California was a lot colder than I expected, and Day 2 was no exception. The rough weather made the first few days a terribly rocky ride on the ship. After a very rocky night at sea, I was really craving some continental breakfast. Most days, we opted for the sit-down breakfast rather than the buffet. The breakfast menu is the same everyday with the addition of two daily

California Coastal Cruise Day 1

2013-05-10T13:36:00.001-04:00

On a beautiful but chilly Saturday morning, we boarded the Sapphire Princess for a 7-night California Coastal Cruise! I was more than happy with our stateroom, which was definitely larger expected. I slept incredibly well for my entire trip, probably thanks to the gentle rocking motion of the ship. Cute display at the buffet line. After checking out our room, we headed

Los Angeles Revisit

2013-05-08T22:06:00.002-04:00

This blog is going to be travel-focused for the next little while because I went on two trips in April, the first being the Golden State! I was so glad to be leaving the awful weather in Toronto (freezing rain in April!?). Our plane had to be de-iced before taking off, causing an hour-long delay. My mom and I stayed with relatives for two days before boarding a 7-night California Coastal

Brunch @ Elle m'a dit

2013-05-07T19:17:00.003-04:00

I was looking for a brunch/lunch place around the Baldwin area and since Kinton Ramen had a huge line out the door, I settled with Elle M'a Dit. This brunch happened a month ago, but I've just gotten the news that this lovely Alsatian restaurant has closed down! I was majorly craving waffles so I was delighted to see chicken & waffles ($13) on the menu- buttermilk fried chicken breast with

沙龍廚房 Solar Kitchen (Macau)

2013-04-07T15:57:00.002-04:00

Finally on my last post of my Asia trip over the holidays (and I'm just about to go on my next trip in a few days time!) I was super stoked when my dad booked a private kitchen dinner for my family, something that I've never experienced before. Don't be fooled by the restaurant's location in a dark, narrow alleyway- the interior is bright, modern and comfortable. The owner is a photographer

Yamamoto Japanese Cuisine

2013-04-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of all you can eat Japanese food. But recently, the owner of Watami (which I frequent) opened a new Japanese restaurant in Market Village, so I figured I should give it a try. Yamamoto actually replaced Mongolian Grill, and the large and spacious layout still seemed a little odd to me for a Japanese restaurant. For dinner, the price is $21.99 for Monday to

御膳房 The Tasting Room by Galliot (Macau)

2013-03-31T20:01:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I'm still blogging about my Asia trip from three months ago, but I'm determined to finish it before I go on my next vacation in April! Anyway, I'm always interested to try restaurants in casinos, even though they can be a real hit or miss. On this occasion, I had lunch with my parents at the Tasting Room by Galliot, located inside the City of Dreams (where the House of Dancing

Prohibition Gastrohouse

2013-03-26T18:36:00.000-04:00

Sandy, Mel and I tried out Prohibition Gastrohouse for a belated birthday celebration. Mel had the open-faced sloppy joséphine ($15) - duck fat confit lamb shank, spicy antipasto-aioli, shredded iceberg and focaccia. She particularly liked the bread. Unfortunately, I didn't try any of it because of the lamb. Sandy and I shared two things- the first being the funghi flatbread ($17)

Butao Ramen (Hong Kong)

2013-03-22T15:22:00.003-04:00

If you think that there's been a ramen craze in Toronto, let me assure you that the situation is even crazier in Hong Kong! Given my limited time in Hong Kong (and limited stomach capacity), I had to go with the best of the best! And I hear from good authority that Butao is just that! They sell a mere 200 bowls a day and 2-hour-plus long lines are not uncommon. I was told that the Causeway Bay

Crystal Jade Revisit (Hong Kong)

2013-03-18T15:53:00.000-04:00

Quick post about a revisit to Crystal Jade, one of my favourite chains in Asia. I came here after another long day of shopping at Harbour City. Even though it was after 9 pm, we still had to wait for more than 30 minutes for a table. Chicken soup ($52 HKD)- pretty expensive for a bowl of soup, in comparison to the other things we ordered. It was a little too oily for my liking.

Playa Cabana

2013-03-15T19:00:00.001-04:00

We celebrated Mel's birthday at Playa Cabana this year for some good Mexican eats. The restaurant is very small and popular so reservations are a must! We had some drinks to start off the night- from left to right: Playa Paloma ($9) - a traditional Mexican margarita with Grapefruit infused Tromba blanco Amber agave ($8) - secret house margarita made with El Jimador reposado 100% de agave,

Imperial Court 金殿堂 (Macau)

2013-03-13T12:07:00.000-04:00

My favourite thing to do on the weekends in Macau is to try out new dim sum places with my family. My 92 year-old grandpa practically nags us to go every weekend! This time around, I decided to try a more upscale dim sum restaurant inside MGM Grand Macau. On a side note, I find MGM Grand much nicer than many of the new casinos that opened in the last few years. Hokkaido conpoy and spring

Buca Osteria & Enoteca

2013-03-11T14:15:00.002-04:00

I'm not kidding when I say that I've been dying to go to Buca for awhile. But every time I make a reservation, something always comes up to thwart my plans! Finally, I got a chance to try Buca during my last (ever) reading week. The restaurant itself is a little hard to locate because it's tucked in an alleyway across the street from Wvrst. We managed to get a 5:30 pm reservation on a

Fat Siu Lau 2 (Macau)

2013-03-05T21:33:00.001-05:00

Fat Siu Lau is an upscale Portuguese restaurant in Macau with many years of history. They have several locations all over the city and this was (surprisingly) my first experience here. Sangria ($190 MOP for a jug here) is the default beverage in any typical Portuguese restaurant in Macau and I drink it all the time in the summer. This one was quite tasty. Some bread to start off the

The Pawn (Hong Kong)

2013-03-04T23:43:00.001-05:00

The Pawn in Wan Chai is aptly named for a pawn-shop turned restaurant serving up elevated British fare. The building that it's housed in is quite unique and the architectural influence from the British colonial days is quite evident here. We quickly devoured the warm bread, served with two blocks of butter, sea salt, and black pepper. There's nothing I like more than warm, spongy bread to

Dayali 大鸭梨

2013-03-03T15:12:00.002-05:00

For Chinese New Year this year, my family went to Dayali, a restaurant chain from Beijing. We came during the biggest snow storm of the year, and as a result, didn't have to wait for a seat. I hear the wait is normally quite long, and they don't take reservations for less than 6 people. There are two sets of prices for the entire menu- one for VIPs, where everything is a little cheaper. VIP

The Mon + Häagen-Dazs (Hong Kong)

2013-02-26T13:12:00.002-05:00

I've wanted to try the Mon in Causeway Bay ever since my trip to Asia two years ago. I ran out of time then, but fortunately I was able to fit it into my schedule this time around. The Mon is popular izakaya style restaurant and the decor really reminded me of another izakaya that I went to in New York City (and what a great meal that was!) They're often fully booked, but curiously the day

Winterlicious @ Starfish

2013-02-23T23:45:00.003-05:00

This year, I only managed to make it to one Winterlicious meal- a $35 dinner at Starfish. And sadly the experience was a disappointing one. Two of my friends had the winter vegetable and fish chowder to start. It tasted like canned tomato soup to me, but my friend enjoyed it. I had the house smoked haddock fishcakes with roasted chioggia beets, pickled haricot beans, and sweet

KAFKA Sweets & Gourmandises (Macau)

2013-02-17T21:31:00.001-05:00

I heard it through the grapevine that a new Parisian cake shop has opened up in Macau to great fanfare! Suffice to say that KAFKA is one of the most buzzed about places in 2012, and I loved it so much that I went twice during my short visit to Macau over the holidays. Pictured above is their green tea latte ($36 MOP) which I had on both of my visits! Their orange juice ($30 MOP) is

My Kingston Diaries (Part II)

2013-02-14T12:28:00.002-05:00

For our second day in Kingston, we slept in and headed straight for lunch around noon. Our first destination was Grecos, a local favourite for Greek delicacies. I wanted to save some bread to go with the soup we ordered, but I couldn't help but finish it all before the soup arrived. The three of us opted to share everything. First up, the French onion soup ($4.95) looked wonderful but

My Kingston Diaries (Part I)

2013-02-12T10:29:00.000-05:00

Kingston is a cute little town, but honestly there's not much to do, especially on a snowy weekend. Mona and I recently went to visit Alexa for a weekend and, in the absence of activities, we ended up eating all the time! I swear, there was not a moment during those two days that I felt hungry! We started the day at Tommy's, a 24-hour retro-style diner for a delicious greasy breakfast!

Brunch @ Le Select Bistro

2013-02-10T22:51:00.002-05:00

I love brunch, but I absolutely hate waking up early, and I hate waiting (especially in the winter). Luckily for me, Le Select Bistro takes reservations, and on this occasion our party of 6 was seated at the back room (which I did not even know existed). The vibe is exactly how I imagined a European bistro should be, and it's the perfect atmosphere for a lazy Saturday brunch. I was starving

St. Betty (Hong Kong)

2013-02-04T20:43:00.001-05:00

I was very determined to go high tea at least once in Hong Kong. After some extensive research, I decided on St. Betty, which is located in IFC Mall. What a great place to catch a break from shopping! High tea is priced at $398 HKD for two. I had South African Honeybush, while Jeremy had Earl Grey tea. We had a very light lunch in anticipation of all this food! I couldn't wait to dig

何洪記 Ho Hung Kee (Hong Kong)

2013-01-31T13:17:00.001-05:00

I had made plans for high tea later in the afternoon so we randomly found a spot to eat a snack. Little did I know that Ho Hung Kee is an extremely popular restaurant that has held 1 Michelin star for five consecutive years! Even though the restaurant is famous for their wonton noodles, we were craving rice noodle rolls that day. So we ended up getting rice noodle rolls filled with