What to Expect on my Asia Trip ~ a short itinerary PART ONE

So as you all know I will be jetting of to ASIA LAND in about 8 days. I am actually jumping up and down as I write this. ( I have been exited for the last 3 months) Dustin hasn't gotten exited yet and probably won't until we head for the airport. So planning an extensive trip is really taxing and exhausting and VERY EXPENSIVE. In addition to make sure your trip is P.E.R.F.E.C.T it takes a lot of time and effort.

In the next 8 days I am going to accomplish the following tasks:
1. Star the Master Cleanse
         Yup I attempting that extreme cleanse and I will post results and how I felt each day though I am only doing it for 8 days instead of the recommended 10 to 20 days. I don't think I could last.        Worked wonders on beyonce!

2. Get my eyebrows threaded
         Your eyebrows are key to shaping your face and looking good. I also heard they last longer. I just  booked an appointment at Choice Salon & Spa because it is so close to work I work. They boast a wide arrange of services including threading. Click Here to go to their website for a list of service and price.

3. Va Va Voom with a new set of Extensions
        I find that when I get eye lash extensions my life becomes EASIER. I feel like I don't need anything but my BB cream on and I look great. It is effortless and helps me save time. WHOPPEE and makes my eyes pop. Using extensions I don't have to worry bout my falsies falling in the middle of dinner or what not. I booked an appointment at L. Lash Bar for a full set. They have reasonable prices and I have had my eyelashes done there before.

This is a photo off of their website. It looks like this Asian could get nice lashes so It is only reasonable to assume I could too.  =)


4. Dye my hair so my nasty roots are gone
        I do go to  the salon to get my hair done but really I don't want to pay 300 dollars again. So I bought the new garnier hair dye box for DIY at home. I went for red since it is my favorite color. I will not belch my hair this time either before using it so I will see how red I can get it without super damaging my hair. This new line by garnier is said to be super gentle since its ammonia free.

5. Whiten them pearlies 
        I am also whitening my teeth using Crest White Strips a level 4. I couldn't do level 5 I am already suffering at level 4. It is much cheaper then getting it done at a dental office but WE SHALL SEE how good it is. I have already done 3 days and today is the 4th. Dustin said my teeth are SUPER WHITE already but I don't think so. I want to see how white I can go without getting my teeth capped.
I have super sensitive teeth so I usually give up in 2 days. This time I went to the dentist and he gave me a polyer cream that is suppose to help.

my flavor is vanilla 

6. Get your Relax ON with massage
      I am getting super tense and stressed from all this planning so I am planning a double massage for Dustin and I before we leave. I need to get all my kinks out before I board the 14 hour plane ride.


7. Get my dogs groomed
      Oreo's hair grows like weeds and I need to get him trimmed before I leave or else he will look like a mop and smell horrible.

8. clean house and pack
     Cleaning house is essential. The worst is coming home to a stinky nasty dirty house after a MONTH.

9. get my nails DID
got my nails down a Dollhouse Hair Boutique by Rowan. They are pure gell and DELISH and so me. Not bad for $60

MORE TO COME LATER.... OFF TO THE GYM (how will I do gyming while on the master cleanse?)


also I will put up a short itinerary of my TOP highlights of my trip and what I will be expecting.....

Moose Factory: Gluttonous Galore

So I dunno why I am really into the all you can eat recently. I didn't even feel that particularly hungry but Dustin and I ventured to Moose Factory on Calgary Trail around 5pm and began our gluttonous feast.

Their brunch which ends at 2pm would have been more suitable for Dustin a brekie lover. But for me I love MEAT and lunch/ dinner food. The cost for this all you can eat buffet is $26.99 a person and you still had to tip. YIKES the asian me was grimacing at this point.

 we got sat down at a two person table with enough space for you to bring multiple plates to you table.

 they had a salad or cold dishes spread going. I loved the smoked salmon offering. Though I have tasted better, it wasn't bad at all.

 they also have a variety of soups. I went for the split pea and ham. IT tasted alright but slightly too heavy on the salt.

 This was my plate number one. I still had the pile it on mentality though I could go back to get more again and again. I THINK there might be a 2 hour period you can eat I am unsure. I had their bun, they weren't warm but fresh enough. I had their ribs which were ok juicy but not the same as Montana's. For some reason I was really addicted to their rice which really is probably a variation of Uncle Ben's. Even their vegetables were smothered in butter. I also had their dark turkey meat. I particularly enjoyed it since it was SAUCY and moist.

 I was totally enjoying myself till I found this little GEM in my food. Now note I do not have any white hair. EWWWW this is one of the downsides of having buffet.... HAIRS (pukes in mouth a bit)

 My second plate I finally got their prime rib. IT had some seasoning on the outside and it was quite fatty. (which I like) However, this is not even comparable to the one I always get at Milestones which is so tender it melts in your mouth and you get an explosion of flavor. This one NOT SO MUCH. I went for the seafood cold salad which I think they just used a frozen pack.

 By my last plate I was not able to fill my plate to the brim. Went for lighter affair and watermelon since a lot of their stuff I found to be a bit salty.

 the decor was kinda cool really enjoyed the hue chandelier .

 We then headed to the dessert table which is separate from the rest of the buffet.

 There was also a chocolate fountain. I wish they had bananas though!
I went for bread pudding which actually tasted like a soggy cinnamon bun but STILL tastes delicious. Their carrot cake though cute was not yummy. It lacked the spices and was quite dry.
At this point, the food level was rising up my throat. It was definitely time to go.

Overall, I guess not bad for getting a entree soup main and dessert. The hair really put me off but what can you do. IS this better than the all you can eat hot pot? WEll not really depends on your mood and what you wanna go for. I think I should just wait the 8 days and eat all you can eat in Asia at the 5 star hotel!! (more to come on that)

Food Taste: 7.5/10
Food Quality and Presentation: 6/ 10
Service: 5/10  (waitress didn't really come back to fill your drink or take your plates away)
Atmosphere: 7/10 (it was clean)

Throw back Thursday: Mix it Up Manicure

I didn't get to post my manicure monday photo so I decided to do it now. It really has been awhile since I posted since I had finals and when I have to study I am not motivated to do much else. In fact, this is the last sem of my undergrad so I wasn't motivated to study much either.

So I was trying to use my nail stickers (cheetah print) I have never used it before so I messed up and somehow they got stuck to each other. I was only able to salvage 4 prints from the whole lot of 12.

I then decided to spice it up by adding different colors. I went for a color that POPPED (bright pinkish red) and a darker colour a slated grey. The nail polish was from JULEP and the sticker was a VIVI brand that I got from one of my many ebay purchases a while back. (stopped ebaying since it took forever to get here and since Im going to ASIA LAND IN 12 days I decided I could wait)

Also while you do your nails its nice to have few drinks of the bubbly. (unless you are a cheap drunk like me) 

THIS IS THE FINAL LOOK.
Obviously I lack the skills to do my own nails but HEY from far ish away they look lovely and really who is really really staring at your hands non-stop.... (probably me...)

 yeah i need to clean this nail up around the ages... painted over the line

 I kinda really enjoy this look its FIERCE in its own right but still girly with that pop of dark redish pink.

OH i also found this little gem at super store. Its so cute I probably won't even want to open it (I WILL SOON PUT UP A BLOG POST ON WHAT IM BRINGING AS NECESSITIES TO ASIA-LAND) 

I leave you with this picture.... this is what happens when you are not studying really hard. (needed my charger so dustin plugged it in and OREO climbed on) =P 

All You Can Eat Hot Pot: King Noodle & Hot Pot

So right before final I was craving the soup. Rerain and I ventured to a dingy little place called King Noodle and Hot Pot. I heard from my co-worker THIS WAS THE PLACE for hot pot. It was around 5 pm when we arrived and there was only 3 other tables occupied other than ours. The price for an all you can eat for anyone over a certain height (pretty much age of 12 unless you are super tall or short) is 23.99.

 the building itself looks super old and ghetto.  it is near 97th street so I guess that is a given. ( yikes my hand got in the way)

You get this ordering sheet. some items cost extra like certain broths.

We had to share a burner .

what the rest of the restaurant looks like. It wasn't too dirty on the inside at all. Quite clean actually.

here are the variety of sauces they offer. YUM to the mashed up garlic.

Rerain and I pretty much got every sauce available.

we went for spicy both sides. but since its halved you can choose. We should have chosen the clear broth since this one was sOOO oily my stomach hurt. 

We ordered platters of meat for lamb, different beefs and even different seafood.

I think their seafood can be a hit or miss some of it tastes fresh(er) while others were super fishy.

we had some sides such as this rice and some chinese sausage and triple fat meat.

our food was cooking. rerain ordered too much noodle types and we just couldn't finish it.

we also got ice cream (blueberry cheese cake)


All in all not bad for 23.99 plus tip. There was tons of vegs too and if I was hungrier I would love this place even more. I am an advent hot pot cooker myself at home so I think you should only come if you are really into meat and get lots of it. Don't just get the spicy one unless you don't want to be able to taste anything. I was so full after this I passed out. =)

This isn't a bad place at all. I don't know if it ever gets packed because I went on a weekday 30 min after they opened. They are relatively fast with bringing out your meat and veg etc. The only limitation is a 2 hour eating time. SO EAT FAST.

Izakaya Tomo: Tapas and Appi Style Dinner

After some intense hot yoga today @ moksha yoga Dustin pointed out a new japanese restaurant that opened in the same complex. I decided to come back in the PM for a taste of the izakaya style establishment. Jono and a co-worker Aaron had told me to come and I decided that even though I was going to Tokyo in 23 days and ENJOY far BETTER food I could still give this place a try.


FROM WIKI:
An izakaya (居酒屋^?) is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. They are casual places for after-work drinking.

outdoor shot of the place. Its a little place that could easily be missed. 

Entering the establishment you see the word TOMO in chinese/ japanese script meaning friend. It has a very rustic feel with lots of wood. They have a pretty high and darkened ceiling. 

They have japanese writing on the walls as decoration. It adds a clean cut and classy feel to the place. 

The above were shots of their menu. They also of a "drinks" menu. 

Dustin @ Tomo looking pleased. At this point we had finally got a table after waiting more than 20 min. This wait is usually acceptable to me HOWEVER there was 3 other tables that sat empty as "Reserved" While we were there, only one of these tables were filled. There were also "TROLLERS" aka people who had finished their food and just sat there forever. There was 2 such people who saw us waiting for a table and saw us wait for 15 min while they just sat there.  They had finished their food and drinks and just sat and watch us stand there. SIGH I guess next time I should make a reservation or what not. I think such a small establishment shouldn't have reservations unless it is for a party of 6 or more. 

Here is some of their cutlery . a cute little pot for the soya sauce and little dish for you to mix your wasabi. The chopsticks themselves seem high in quality. 

Dustin and I ordered an array of foods hoping to get a taste of what this restaurant would be like. The picture above is the curry udon. $8.95 It tastes ok not too infused with flavor (I am use to more stronger tasting curries ) I guess it was a soup so the flavor is toned down a bit. There was some shredded pork in it and some QQ udon noodles. (QQ is how I  and other Taiwanese people describe the consistency and the feel of a noodle not too soft not too chewy JUST RIGHT) I was afraid to get a sliver from the wooden spoon so I tried not to use it. 

Wow looks like we got huge slabs of mackerel "Aburi saba" for $4.45.  

This is what it actually looked like on the dish. SMALL must have been a minnow sized fish =P
The actual slices were quite tasty though esp with the little bit of ginger and green onion slices. I was tempted to eat the leaf it was on BECAUSE I WAS THAT HUNGRY 

Next we decided to go for the "Crispy Taco Yaki" $6.95 This was one of the highlights of the evening. I would say there was about 1 to 2 mid sized octopus chunks in each of these balls. I loved the japanese mayo used and the flakes on top seemed to move and flutter. 

It was super hot though but juicy and filling. I loved the sauce. DELICIOUS and I would definitely order this one again .

From the salad side of the menu we went for "Nama Harumaki" $6.95 which has smoked salmon in it as well as veggies like cucumber, avocado green leaves etc. It was sitting in a bath of "Special dressing". Whatever it is IT WAS YUM. This dish was refreshing and I loved the taste of smoked salmon as an aftertaste. 

Though this place is not known for its rolls we decided to go for two rolls anyways just to gage their quality. We went for the "Tempura Shrimp Roll" you can add your own toppings for the outside. Seasme is free tobiko is $1 and any other is $2 +. The actual roll cost $8.95 by itself. 

This roll was ok but it as falling apart even as the server brought it to the table. 

Same goes for our chop chop roll that we got with tobiko. The rolls were not well formed but I actually thought the chop chop roll wasn't too bad. $7.95

We ordered dessert and she gave us two wooden spoons and napkins. But as you can see there is already a stain on this supposed "NEW NAPKIN" EW. 

The "sweet potato and ice cream" These caramelized sweet potatoes had caramel sugar on it I think and they were still pipping hot. This was great contrast to the cold vanilla ice cream that it is paired with. The sugar strands looked almost like HAIR ewww thank god it tasted delicious. $5.95

Ice Cream Puff $6.95 looked lovely on the menu this is what it looked like when it came.

Not exactly the same as the menu picture but still pretty good in presentation. I love the mochi they have here it had sesame seeds on it unlike the menu picture. Unlike the picture the piece (puff) was not fully on it was just leaning on the icecream. The green tea "matcha" ice cream was light in flavor and not what I was use to. This was great for Dustin who hates really strong tasting green tea food products. I like the red bean paring since it was not super sweet.  This dessert was very enjoyable. A KEEPER and will order next time. 

Then our bill came. I WAS STILL HUNGRY either I  EAT alot or maybe the portions were too small.
I will come back again to try their other offerings before I JUDGE this place as disappointment or recommend. 

SERVICE: 3.5/5
FOOD: 3/5 (so far)
ATMOSPHERE: 4/5