A&W Root Beer Float, I Love You!

Ahahaha... Title says it all. It's only $2 right now at A&W and it comes in a frosty glass!!! :D Man, I wish we had this in the States :(....

My Vancouver Adventure: Day Two!

Hi all!
Well, it's my 2nd full day here now and it's not like I've never been here before, I have. But this time I have almost a week to just hang out and actually see Vancouver! My bffle, C, is travelling with me this whole trip and we got here, we met up with the rest of our group who will be joining the trainin program too.

So yesterday, C and I headed for Aberdeen with a friend. At first, we took the skytrain in the wrong direction, but we made it to Aberdeen soon enough (haha). We wanted to go to Aberdeen for some dim sum, but I couldn't find the place I went to last time and we were starving so we just picked the first place we saw. We were walking in, then we realized... crap, no pushing carts.. only order forms in Chinese. And let's just say our ability to read is not the best... (ahaha). We pooled together what we knew and by guessing we managed to order 8/9 things correctly! (Haha...BOOYAH!) And the last one actually was better than what we thought it was^^. So props to us! (Lol)

After brunch, we walked around the mall a little bit and we found many anime shops (and I wanted to buy like the entire store, but it was too expensive :'(), which had really cool stuff. C and I also had to exchange money because we had no Canadian dollars left.

Right on the outside strip of the mall next to Aberdeen, YaoHan Centre, we found a currency exchange place who had a rate of 1 to 1 and with no service fee!!!! What a blessing from God! The whole day we were searching for a good place, but they were all .96 or .98 to the dollar and still had $2 or $4 service charge. I was so happy, I was dancing :D (lol!) The place is called Kingmark (Canada) Currency Exchange Inc. The staff was very nice and the exchange was super quick! They have 3 stores in Greater Vancouver. You can check them out at www.kingmark.ca.

We got back to the house we're staying in and our friend made some spaghetti for our dinner! YumYum!^^

I'm hoping to blog more pics so you can SEE more of my adventure! Happy Friday all!

Gyu-Kaku: Japanese BBQ & Happy Hour!

Hi all!

Man, today was an eventful one. Went to Church meeting in the morning, proceeded to the park for the Church family picnic, then headed to the city for an early dinner/happy hour at Gyu-Kaku. Located on E6th Street and Cooper Square by St. Mark's, it's actually quite easy to miss. It's most definitely a hidden gem in the East Village. From 3PM to 6PM is their Happy Hour and all alcoholic drinks are 50% off (meaning about $5 a drink, instead of the usual $10) and many Happy Hour specials on food. They even have a separate menu for Happy Hour.. so awesome (lol). The staff was extremely nice, patient, and helpful. Our server, Karma, explained everything to us, including the menus, the grilling times, the sauces, the drinks, etc. He was just exceptional! It definitely contributed to our great time there.

   

There are many delicious things on the menu, but there are a handful that are must-tries. The Hanger Steak, the Bi Bim Bap, the Swai Fish, and the Rib-Eye Steak. Among the things we ordered, those were absolutely the most delicious. All the BBQ meat were marinated perfectly and even the sauce for the Swai fish was amazing! My friend ordered the liver, which she said was really good, but I wouldn't know because I hate liver (lol). 

  

The picture on the left is my fish.. the foil was blowing up so much and so quickly, I thought that it might actually blow up.. (lol). Thank God it didn't! And it tasted very delicious!^^

The girl with me in the picture on the right might look familiar to you because she was in my last post too! She ordered a drink called the Rainforest, which was very tropical-looking and tasted like pineapple (haha..) and I ordered the Lychee Bellini, which is basically lychee with sparkling wine or something like that. Both were very delicious and not too strong. I found that their drink menu had a pretty good range. Some drinks were pretty light, like the Strawberry Lemonade Vodka and others were much stronger, like their Espresso Float. Overall, I would definitely give this place a 5/5! Even during the regular dining hours, 6PM-9PM, the prices aren't too crazy, but it's most definitely worth it during Happy Hour! Make sure to get a reservation, just in case. A place with food this good and prices this inexpensive can fill up pretty quickly! I just felt a little bad for the other customers because the guys were getting so loud towards the end of our meal... (lol).

P.S. If you plan to go there often, you should get their rewards card. It's $1 for the card and basically you collect points on it. Every $1 is 2 points I think or was it every $2 is 1 point... something like that! (haha..)

BBQ & Roccos Calamari!

Hi all!

Yesterday was super hot, but I ended up going to my friend's house for a BBQ. For once I was being served and didn't have to do anything :P! (lol)



I got so hungry walking to her house and I was so full after all those fishballs, chicken wings, and baby ribs.. mmmmmm^^! (lol) I felt like a fatty afterwards, but whatevs 'cause I didn't eat anything the whole day. (hehe..)

 

Today, I had lunch with a friend at Roccos Calamari. It's a really nice Italian place situated in Fort Hamilton. The calamari was freshly-made and super delicious!!^^ We also ordered the Hot Antipasto for two, which was also very yummy. Eggplant, Jumbo Shrimp, Baked Clams, and Baked Mushroom! Yum Yum! On the left is the Linguine with clams. It wasn't my fave and it tasted much better after I sprinkled lots of cheese on it because the sauce was too watery and it had a very heavy clam taste.. :/

I'm so tired after the long day of yummy food, clothing shopping, and a super exhausting walk to meet with my boss.. I think I'll go to bed now. Goodnight world! Tomorrow (or technically today..), July 1st is Canada's Independence Day (or so I've learned..), so I have an event to attend tomorrow night. Really looking forward to it! :D

Long Day Adventure: Dentist, Shopping, and Dinner With The Fam!

Hi all!

I am so tired, but I still have to pack for my trip! I'm currently surrounded by my massive checklist and clothes and such (lol). Since Delta has gone cheap and now requires me to have to pay $25 for check-in luggage, I've decided to just bring a carry-on. It's not that I'm cheap (if I really needed it, I would've paid for it), but I don't really need to and I can make do with a carry-on bag so why waste $25, right? Exactly!(:

Well today's adventure required a lot of walking. First the dentist (yuck :/ but thank God there was this female assistant there who took me instead of my regular dentist. He's alright but a girl is usually more gentle and considerate), then I went shopping again (as promised! lol). I'll share my jewelry haul with you guys tomorrow! I also got my crossbody bag! FINALLY! (haha..) It'll be in pictures of my Orlando adventure as well so you'll see it then!^^ After shopping almost 4 long hours, I went for dinner with my family. I'll be in Florida on Father's Day (sorry, daddy!), so we celebrated today! I also got him a great card, which he'll get tomorrow! It's a funny card, I think he'll like it(; Here's a pic of my family dinner (@ XO in Chinatown): Yum Yum!

So much has happened today (my color cons came in! I'll be testing them tomorrow and reviewing them sometime next week! :D) and I must resume packing now! More on my Orlando adventure later^^

Busy Busy Wednesday: BookExpo America!

Hi all!

I can't even express what an amazing day I had today. I am so tired, but I really wanted to share my experience with you guys. Today I had the chance to visit the BookExpo America at the Jacob Javits Center. It was by far.. THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE in the NYC (or ever)!!!!! I saw so many publishers and books I grew up with, like American Girl, Captain Underpants, Goosebumps. It was so awesome to be able to see it all in one place, meet some publishers, and authors. Here's some pics to share:

 

This year is the 20th Anniversary of Goosebumps, so Scholastic's booth had a 'Cake with R.L. Stine' event. Congratulations!!! I missed the morning book signing, but I was still able to get the book AND get a photo with R.L. Stine himself! I was sooooo excited! I grew up reading Goosebumps, and I even remember writing stories in Elementary school following his book layouts. I got a little emotional there (haha)..

 

So I was on a line at a booth waiting to get a new book that was debuting and some finger food they were serving, and behind me this guy says something, so I cracked a joke. It led to a whole conversation and now I'm apparently his new assistant! (lol) It turns out that he is Terry Maloney, from timessquare.com. He's a very cool guy, very funny too. He got us into a nice after-party event :D. 

 

They were serving mashed potatoes in a cocktail cup! Haha.. It was so cute! You get to choose between 3 mashed potatoes, then you pick whatever little toppings you want, and lastly you pick between 2 gravies. Oh man.. it was so delicious! On the right is the lovely Grand Central Station ^.^. It's just so grand.. and so pretty.. (lol).

That's all I have for today. I got so many books, it's crazy. Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment in the AM (boohoo!), but afterwards it's back to the BookExpo and maybe work as well..   -sigh- 

Anyways, have a great night! Or morning.. or afternoon.. depending on where you are (lol). 

Monday Randoms: A Pigeon, Spiderman, Horsey, Korean Food, & Jamba Juice! Whoo!

Hi all!

I woke up early this morning to go to my friend's graduation. (-sigh- I am not a morning person.. AT ALL..) But anyway, Woot! Congrats to the Class of 2012! After the graduation, I kept (immediately) running into people I knew (all unplanned!), so it became a very interesting day(: Here's some random pics:

 

My friend's graduation was at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan and when we were leaving, I saw a pigeon walking around, strutting it's stuff. (lol) And right outside the 39th Street exit, Spiderman himself hung on the huge building wall! Who's watching this movie in July? (I actually like the previous actor more :/)

 

When all (very long & not all interesting..) speeches were made, caps were thrown, and pictures (a lot of them) were taken, we journeyed to 32nd Street, Koreatown, for a late lunch. Everybody was starving! (including me.. lol) OH! It was 3PM already (Yeesh!), and while we were passing 34th Street, I saw this giant tennis racket :D.

 

OMG nomnomnom.. We finally made it to the Korean food court in 32nd Street (Ktown) and my noodles were so yummy ^.^!!!! The left half is a dry noodle with a sauteed black bean and onion sauce. The right half is a spicy shrimp and veggie soup with noodles. Both sides are my favorites! (I know, that didn't make sense lol) I love this dish so much!! :D Next to it is the Korean sushi I "stole" from my friend (hehe..). It was alright, not too bad, but not amazing either.

 

After lunch, it so happened that a good friend of mine was around my neighborhood, so we met up for some drinks and just to catch up. First, we were going to Starbucks, but there were so many people! We ended up going to the food court in Whole Foods, in the lower level of the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle. We grabbed some Jamba Juice and sat down to chat. I ordered the new Watermelon Splasher, but the girl made me a Strawberry Banana one.. :( Oh well.. 

They now have a cute blue dog welcoming you in front of the main entrance (lol). It reminded me of Blue's Clues so I took a pic for you guys! So that was my start of the week. Despite today's (kind of) crappy weather, it turned out to be a pretty good day^.^ 

A Saturday Brunch: Alice's Tea Cup!

Hi all!

Today, my best girlfriends and I had a wonderful brunch/afternoon tea at Alice's Tea Cup (Chapter II, on the Upper East Side in Manhattan). Everything was so cute and so nice; we had soooooooo much fun! Birthday shout out to my girl, Amirah! Happy 21st Birthday, hun! Love ya! I won't say too much now, just wanted to share some pics with you guys ;) :

 

We had to wait an hour and a half for our table because we didn't have reservations. Tips: Make a reservation! They're very popular, especially on weekends, so you will have to wait a while, but it's sooo worth it! Also, if you have less than 6 in your party, go early! They only allow reservations for 6+ on weekends, weekdays are okay. 

On the left are the super cute mushroom earrings I found in Anna Belen, where we shopped while waiting for our table. They're so cute! I also got an adorable gold anklet with colorful beads and a little cloudy white butterfly clip. I'll share them next time ^^. The wall seats were beautiful with the soft purple pattern (I love purple!) and little purple cushions (so cute!).

 

I ordered the Bai Hao Oolong tea from Taiwan, which was delicious! And two of my girlfriends shared this afternoon tea set. It's adorable! It's a set for two; with 2 scones, eggs, yogurt with granola, and 2 pots of tea. You pick your own tea and they have an amazing collection of them. There are so many choices, it's unbelievable! 

 

My lovely Grilled Steak Salad was so yummy! I usually do not like those type of greens, but the dressing was a Sweet Chili sauce and it was so good that I ate most of the salad. I really couldn't finish this, it was so filling! My two other girls ordered the 'Alice's Hamburger' with goat cheese, which she claimed "blew her mind" and the BLT on pumpernickel, which was unique and very delicious (not to mention, all the bacon was cooked perfectly!). On the right are the 'Alice's Cookies' that I brought home for my family to enjoy. A few chocolate chip, sugar, vanilla with sprinkle, and cranberry & white chocolate. Very cute and pretty yummy (a little sweet for my taste though). 

 

Even though I was full from my salad, of course I had room for dessert! (haha..) First is the 'Queen of Hearts Lemon Tart', which was awesome! It was sweet from the berries and cream, but tangy and sour from the lemon.. so good.. (lol). On the right is the 'White Rabbit Dark Chocolate Mousse'. Anybody who loves chocolate would love this dessert! It was incredibly chocolatey and so sweet with a little bit of the crunchies from the sprinkles. 

Well that's all my wonderful pics to share. Our waitress was great and we stayed there, eating and chatting for hours (lol). It was an awesome brunch & we'll definitely go back again sometime(^.~). Hopefully, you enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed sharing it. Have a great rest of the weekend, darlings!

Nectarines! Mmmm..

They're so cute! Tiny and sweet(: Yumm Yumm Yumm!

Delish Eats: Red Lobster!

Hi all!

Sorry for the late post :(, I had such a long day. Anyway, enough of the sadness. It's time for some YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. (lol) My friend -- codenamed, The Panda-- and I went out for lunch today at Red Lobster, so I wanted to share my delicious adventure with you guys (I'm drooling as I make this post ;p). This won't be too long I hope! -- mostly pics. Enjoy ^.^!

 

(Sorry if some of my pics aren't as interesting..)

Started with a Caesar salad! They make THE BEST ones. Just the perfect amount of the best Caesar dressing ever and the crunchiest croutons in the world!!!!! ^.^

New England Sampler. OMG THIS WAS AMAZING. Crab-stuffed mushrooms, Fried Calamari, and Bacon-Wrapped Grilled Scallops. OMG.. mmmmmmmm...

Red Lobster has the best biscuits, hands down! If I'm saying that then that means they're really good because I am not a biscuit person. 

Chef's Signature Lobster & Shrimp Linguine Pasta! Oh man.. I can't even begin about this dish. It was amazing and there's no other word to describe it. (lol) The sauce for this pasta was just great(: 

   

This is the 'Create Your Own Lunch' for $12.50 :D! We chose Fried Scallops and Garlic Shrimp Scampi with a Mashed Potato side. The shrimp was (a little too buttery, but..) freaking out of this world!!!! I was at Red Lobster a few months earlier for their 'All You Can Eat Shrimp' promotion and let me tell you, all of it was DELISH! (lol)

The Panda said it looks like a Smiley Face.. I'm not so sure. (Maybe if you turn your head to the right? lol) What do you guys think?

After lunch at Red Lobster in 42nd Street, we walked to Ktown in 32nd Street for Red Mango and my friend proceeded to try breaking my piggy bank by puchasing $15 worth of froyo -.-... 

Oh, I almost forgot! When we were leaving Red Lobster, there was a guy playing a GIANT electric guitar right outside the restaurant. (lol) It was so cool! And he was pretty good too(:

There was also this Nascar event going on in Times Sq today, but I wasn't able to catch any photos for you guys because I was running late. Sorry :(, I'll see if I can get some from The Panda to share!

So, that was my yummy lunch adventure today! I hope you enjoyed this short journey with me! ^.^

Jamba Juice $2 Fruit Refreshers!

Hi all!

Just wanted to share this coupon for Jamba Juice I found online. Only $2 for a sixteen size fruit refresher.

 I loooooooooooooooove Jamba Juice! (lol) This coupon is good for Strawberry Lemonade, Tropical mango (one of my faves!), and the new Watermelon Splash! Mmmmmm... I'm definitely stopping by a few times in the next few weeks (hehe..). The coupon started yesterday and it doesn't end till June 3rd!

Enjoy, my girlies(: