Eat, drink, shop, & be merry ;)

I can't believe 2011 is almost over, and with that the last few days of my holidays. So far I've spent most of the time watching movies, catching up with friends, eating and shopping.

First I met up with Rasilla and Babybubblz at Aroma Espresso Bar, and tried the white hot chocolate for the first time which was awesome!




On Christmas Eve, I also had an dinner with friends, we kept it simple with store bought rotisserie chicken, spinach & berry salad, roast potatoes, cinnamon raisin bread and apple pie for dessert.



The holidays wouldn't be complete without some wines to accompany the food.




On Christmas Day, I ended up cooking a full dinner for the boyfriend's family...turkey, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, avocado salad...but ended up not taking pics, lol. Mostly because by the time I was done cooking I was too tired to remember and only thought about it after the turkey was already carved.


I also treated myself to a few things for Christmas ;)

First I had spotted these Cookie Monster mitts online and finally found them at Chapters. Granted these are the kids size not adults size, but from the measurements I found it looked like the kids definitely suited my hands better.



The material is surprisingly of good quality - 80% wool. The mitts have a lining which probably accounts for the 20% lining, which helps keep my hands warm and prevents the wool from feeling scratchy.




Esprit had a 50% sale off outerwear the week before Christmas (still on-going) so I picked up down jacket. The only jacket I had previously was the North Face Greenland Parka (see below) which tended to make me look like a shapeless blob that was 100lbs heavier...




I decided to get the Esprit jacket because it had a fitted belt and was nicely tailored so it gave some shape and less bulk. The jackets came in only 3 colours: black, blue, green. I ended up going with the green as black seemed nice but too generic and blue looked like it washed me out.



Stock picture (only black online)



Material is 50% down and 50% feather, so not as high quality as the North Face (100% down), but it is still quite warm.




They also had 40% off the entire store (now 50% for Boxing Week), so I picked up 2 dresses as well which were already discounted so the 40% was additional :)






How did you spend your holidays? If you scored any good shopping deals, do share!

sparkly things and foodie flings

Its been a while but I wanted to share pics of a lovely bracelet I bought from Audrie.



She thoughtfully included a whole bunch of DHC samples, and a cute note :D I love skincare samples especially for brands like DHC where I usually have to buy based on reviews without being able to test them out.

The bracelet - double strand of crystal and mother-of-pearl:






I also have been remiss in sharing food pictures from the recent Summerlicious event in Toronto. Summerlicious is a prix fixe (fixed price) event held by several restaurants twice a year - during winter its called Winterlicious. During the event (which runs for about 3 weeks), they offer a special 3 course menu for a price below what you'd normally pay at their restaurant.

Based on raves from foodie friends I decided to try Far Niente, Mistura, and Senses. I'll have to post on Mistura and Senses later as I don't have all the pictures now but here's the pictures from Far Niente:





Appetizer:
Caprese Salad with Fior di Latte and Crispy Capicollo


I'd never had a Caprese salad before, so from the word "salad" I was actually expecting more greens than cheese, haha. It was good though! I love cheese :D

Bf had the Roasted Tomato Soup with Black Olive Oil Croutons - can't go wrong!



Main course:
Roasted Lamb Sirloin with Faro Ratatouille, Harissa


The bf and me both ordered the same thing and loved it!. Medium rare, just the way we like it, with seasoned brown rice underneath. Only thing I did not like was the rather strong cumin taste in the red sauce.

Dessert:
Chocolate Tartufo, Chocolate Sauce


Good stuff - kinda like a coffee flavoured ice cream dessert :) Bf had the mixed sorbets which we didn't take any pictures off because he said its just ice cream....lol. (He doesn't get why people take pictures of food...sigh)

I must say though the restaurant service was impeccable. The waiter was extremely attentive and impressed the bf (not an easy thing) so we both left happy. Definitely recommended if you're looking for a pleasant comfortable restaurant with excellent service!

korean food & some new stuff

a few questions answered...

you cant beat a food post...i love me a food post!...I find Mandooo to taste like regular tawianese dumplings...i never seen that type of sausage served at a korean restaurant before...very interesting...reminds me of blood sausages which im not tooo fond of...none the less the food loooks super yumskies!

you really think korean food is affordable? i find korean food to be overpriced!!!...that why i tend to make it myself... - xppinkx

hmm I find korean food IS more expensive if compared to other asian food here - Chinese and Vietnamese food is much cheaper. But compared with Western food its still cheaper and fills me up more!

Also i tend to go for the stews which can take hours to make, so i'd rather pay than slave over a stove just for 1 bowl of soup :P I'm not too fond of the pickled stuff.

And according to Gee, these are indeed blood sausages / soondae :)


They had pictures in the menu? I wish the korean restaurant i frequent to also has pictures. So to be on the safe side, I just order bbq. I love the sides, they give out a lot too, can ask for more for free. i love the spicy potatoes! now, i'm cravin for korean food. - jiejie

I know what you mean, actually this is the only authentic Korean place that I've noticed to have pictures. Other places usually have just a list of food, with a brief description.

I usually follow my bf's recommendations since he knows a lot more about Korean food :) I normally order their stews/soups, bibimbap, bulgogi. Soups are a good bet, can't go wrong...as long as its not the oyster soup my bf ordered lol.


The post of Gee makes me crave of mandoos and actually you doing the same! The foods look delicious and i when i back Rome after vacations i must go to korean restaurant. Actually i can't satisfy the curiosity, i don't have any korean restaurant near here, and i can't find stuff to try at home. - Alice

That sucks :( I can't imagine not having access to Korean food now that I like it so much. I guess there isn't too much demand in Rome for it...I do hope you get a chance to try it though!


hey is this on yonge/finch? - jewels

Its on 6068 Yonge St. north of Finch, and its called Man Doo Hyang :)


***

Besides eating, I also picked up the Hello Kitty socks from H&M over the weekend (my excuse being the ankle socks I've had the past few years are loose and keep sliding off my feet in the shoe, which is hugely annoying).




Also, when grocery shopping at the Chinese market I saw this Doraemon bag in the snacks aisle and couldn't resist! It was cheap anyway since it was more like a free bag that came with the wafer biscuits inside. I'm going to use it as a cosmetics bag of course :P




Love the tag even if it is somewhat childish :D




***

It feels like awhile since I did a proper FOTD. But I haven't been satisfied with any of the looks I've worn recently so I'm posting a look from a couple weeks ago (hence the old hairstyle :P) It looks almost the same as the look I did using Everyday Minerals Bubble Tea...but at least these shadows stayed on better than EM, which faded really quickly when used dry.

Stuff used:

[Eyes]

RMK Shiny Mix Eyes in Pale Silver Green - inner corners
MAC Steamy eyeshadow
MAC Parrot eyeshadow
MAC Blue Flame

MAC Beautiful Iris (unfortunately it doesn't show up in the pics, but I used it to blend the crease colour out, giving it a touch of purple)
Kate gel liner in PU-2 purple (to match with Beautiful Iris and the purple contacts)
Blinc mascara

[Lips]

MAC 3N lipstick
MAC Cult Fave lipglass

[Face]

The usual foundation/powder
MAC Emote to contour cheekbones slightly
Everyday Minerals Corner Office blush + Pink Ribbon blush

Despite my best intentions to blog more, i haven't had much to post this week. I did however take some pics when I went to satisfy my craving for mandoo this weekend (due to Gee's recent post :))


Went to this dumpling place in North York with the bf, who loves Korean food:




Starter dishes (which come free)



yes there WERE a lot more dumplings on that plate before I took the picture haha.


Ordered some Korean sausages. They're filled with rice, glass noodles, and some green vegetables (not sure if they are green onions). We ordered the version that came with these other meats in the centre. I love this stuff! :D





The bf ordered the oyster stew. Not impressed with that one. It had barely any oysters in it, even though on the menu you can clearly see over 3-4 oysters in the picture. (False advertising! :S)





I ordered the handmade noodles + dumplings soup - same as what I got the last time, so I knew what to expect. I like their noodles a lot. I'd call them chewy, but that term seems to have negative connotations for some. Basically they have a nice texture, its not too tough but not too soft :)

I wish the restaurant was closer so I could go more often :) Most of the good places are in the downtown area or North York. Korean food is something I could eat anytime, plus its more affordable than Western food.

wedding looks

So if you notice several pics on my older posts are not showing because I exceeded the monthly limit on one of my Photobucket accounts :P Oh well it should be fixed by tomorrow.


I went to a Korean-Chinese wedding about a month ago - the bride and groom were university friends of my bf. Wore this during the day because even though it was in a church, people weren't very dressed up at all:




With these shoes:



Makeup-wise I went for a simple girly look:





I don't have any proper full outfit pictures because I forgot to charge my camera before going so it died early :(.


The dinner was done at a Chinese restaurant, with a Korean ceremony in the middle lol. They also had a lion dance troupe come in right before the start of dinner.

Dinner table before guests arrived:



Chinese wedding style menu with like a million courses:



Only foodie pic I took was of the piglet - because those red eyes just made it looks so evil o.o



Midway through the dinner, they started setting up the table for the Korean ceremony:





It was interesting for me since I didn't know anything about Korean wedding traditions. The chestnuts on the table are for the parents to toss and the wedding couple has to catch as many as they can. The more they catch, the more children they'll be blessed with :P


Overall, everything went well, the only major thing was the crappy (non-existent) sound system that the restaurant provided. The sound kept cutting in and out constantly. So whenever that happened the emcee/master of ceremonies would have to should at the top of his voice :S It was pretty amazing he didn't have a sore throat the next day!

In fact for the photo slideshow of the couple this is what things were reduced to:



LOL basically the guys had to hold up the microphone up to the laptop speakers to get the sound! If I had been the bride at the wedding, I would have turned into a serious bridezilla! Props to the bride and groom for being so good natured and taking everything in stride.

The restaurant refused to take responsibility too for the technical issues even though it was THEIR system. The restaurant only reluctantly gave a minimal discount at the end of the night, and only because the master of ceremonies helped them argue for it. Other than that though, it was an enjoyable wedding.

Outfit - BCBG red dress + JC red heels + red pashmina



I tried curling my hair before but it kinda failed since I hadn't touched a curling iron in 1-2 years.



Some shots of the makeup - I didn't get good ones because I didn't get to take any with daylight.

The idea was to have silvery-grey eyes paired with pale pink lips, but this particular pic is when I got home and had already eaten the gloss off :P




Products used for the looks - going from Day to Night:

Day look:

[Face]

Guerlain L'or Radiance makeup base
Buff'd Foundation in Sand
Silk Naturals' Perfecting Powder
Everyday Minerals concealer in Multitasking
Dior Skinflash Radiance pen in 002 on undereye area

ELF Coy blush
MAC Emote to contour

[Eyes]

MAC Fluidline eyeliner in Blacktrack
Clinique Lash Primer
Kiss Me Heroine Long & Curl Mascara
Filled in brows with MAC Brun eyeshadow

[Lips]

MAC P&P lip conditioner
MAC Lip Erase
MAC Mattene 40s Pink (makes a great base to help the Lancome lipstick stay put all day)
Lancome 302 SOS Pink lipstick




For the night look, all I did was to add makeup on top of my day look:

Removed lipstick (or ate it off)
Touched up foundation / powder on top (which also toned down the existing blush)

and added:

[Face]

Everyday Minerals Soft Touch blush (a lighter shade of pink to match the new lipcolour)

[Lips]

MAC P&P lip conditioner, MAC Lip Erase, Coffret D'or lipstick and gloss in 06 Peach Blossom



[Eyes]

Urban Decay Primer Potion
MAC Electra eyeshadow (silver) all over lid and to line lower lashline
LORAC Shimmer eyeshadow (white) on inner corners
LORAC Dreamy eyeshadow (grey) on outer corners

MAC Technakohl in Greyprint to soften the black liquid liner from earlier and create a more smoky look. Lined top lid and outer half of bottom lid.






P.S. Btw I was wearing Acuvue Define contacts in black that day. I think they are helpful for occasions where pictures are going to be taken because they don't look fake at all (imo) and help your eyes look larger/more awake.

fried rice

Fried rice recipe for Thechas and Yasmine:

1.5 tsp cooking oil
1.5 tsp sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion / 2 small onions, cubed/chopped
2-4 stalks green onions, chopped into fine rings

2 medium finely cubed potatoes
Optional addition/substitute: canned green peas, drained / chopped carrots
Optional addition: chopped white mushrooms

½ lb approx Chinese BBQ pork, cubed same size as potatoes and onions
(or substitute with seasoned, cooked meat of your choice)

4 cups / 3 bowls cooked white rice, must be cooled / from overnight in fridge

2-3 large eggs at room temperature
1.5 tbsp Oyster sauce (or more if you wish)
White pepper to taste


Directions:

Prepare all materials as described above (lol I'm lazy to write out the chopping steps)

Heat the skillet for about 1 min, and add the cooking oil in. Wait for the oil to heat up - you can tell if its done if it bubbles when you stick the tip of a chopstick in the oil.

Add the garlic in and stir-fry it for a little until it starts becoming fragrant.

Add the chopped onions and stir some more. Add in the finely cubed potatoes. Give the onions and potatoes a stir every now and then until they become a bit translucent / soften up a little.

If you parboil the potatoes beforehand it helps speed up the process. Also I find it helps to NOT cover the pan during this process because then the mix stays drier (don't want soggy fried rice do we?)

Once the potatoes and onions start to look about 90% cooked, add in the BBQ pork and stir everything to ensure it all gets heated through.

Make a small well in the centre and add the sesame oil in the centre. Let it heat up a little and toss the green onions on that. If its hot enough they'll sizzle and release lots of aroma :)

Give them a couple mins before mixing them in. At this point you can add the cooked rice into the pan.

Make sure to distribute the ingredients homogenously. Keep stirring as I find it helps make the rice drier and thus less soggy. Add the seasonings (pepper, oyster sauce) whenever you wish.

Once everything is heated through, and the rice is adequately mixed with the other ingredients, and the mix is dry enough:

Make a well in the centre and pour in the beaten eggs. You can let them sit for a minute if you prefer the egg bits to be larger :) OR just stir everything together if you don't mind.

Once the egg and everything else is cooked enough it is ready to be served :)




Other variations:

You can substitute any filling you want, though the more colourful the filling the better it looks :P




Red bell pepper chopped up, chicken instead of bbq pork. I also didn't add any egg deliberately and made a separate egg crepe to wrap around the fried rice. For some reason I always thought this was Japanese, but in Canada I see it only in Korean restaurants and never in Japanese ones. Adding the ketchup on top can be optional but I do love ketchup with egg anyway :)




I wrote the recipe from memory so if i missed anything let me know! And feel free to add your own filling suggestions :)