You must go to : T.H.I.S Place

Off the beaten path is a cute little store, nested between new business pop-ups (Quest Hair e.g. )

THIS stands for To Be Happy is Simple.

I entered and immediately loved the decor and atmosphere. There was only one guy there at that point ( the owner) Tom something or other. They had really cute rice crispie offerings in honour of easter. CUTE (sorry it was blurry, I was moving around too much taking in the SCENERY)

On their counter in cute jars were other snackables.

They are a fruit bar? And they specialize in food with fruit. As Tom said CHOCOLATE is like a fruit.... Above is their menu. As you can see the prices listed is SUPER cheap for a BOTIQUE/ speciality coffee shop. Everything is freshly made too.

They have cute zen like sitting areas.

I ordered a chili hot chocolate with homemade whip cream.

Since they get their chocolate from BC and it is not powder based Tom told me he could tweak the heat of the chili to whatever I wanted. It was in the AM so I asked for medium heat. The drink was delicious and as you can see there is that darker rim of colour right under the whip cream. THAT IS ALL COCO BUTTER. delicious. I usually have hot chocolate from TIMMIE HOES and their hot chocolate is watery and yields a chalky consistency especially at the end where the powder was not mixed properly. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE HERE . Loved the drink, delicious, just the right amount of sweetness, deep coco taste and heat.

I sat right by this huge piece of art as I was doing my essay. VERY MOTIVATIONAL.

Their washroom was VERY clean and their soap was yummy smelling. They even had body spray available to you. I love a good clean washroom.

Here is another shot at the decor and layout of the place. They have books here that you can read as well. (I saw one about cats and The Life of Pi)

I also went for a popsicle. Tom suggested a marbled one with creamy coconut and blueberries. IT WAS DIVINE. I wanted more. It is never too cold to have one of these babies.

I love how at the end of your Popsicle they remind you its from T.H.I.S Place. GENIUS.

Tom actually has a degree in nutrition. NO wonder his stuff is so good =)

OVERALL I would say come here LOTS. Service is good, good convo, good atmosphere, good drinks and food.


APRIL 2013
Went back again and again and my new favorite is now the salted carmel hot chocolate with pink Himalayan salt.

THIS is a must drink! it cost $4.75 but well worth it esp with their home made whip cream. The salt is so different and so savoury. Makes my mouth water. This pink salt is delicious .

Japonais Bistro on Jasper Ave

Website: Click Here 


I first found out about this place on FACEBOOK actually when they were doing a promo for their opening with a draw to win 100 gift card. A friend on facebook (don't remember which one) had shared the post and I went to the page. I then went on urbanspoon and saw that it was one of the top 10 most talk about restaurants. This place replaced a pre-existing bar and actually kept most of the DECOR and furniture.

The chopsticks were higher quality then most restaurants I have been to. Also their napkins are super thick.

We got iced green tea. I think they just poured hot tea into a cup of ice.

After much deliberation I went for the lunch special: Deluxe lunch omakaze $19.99. "I'm in your hands" treatment allows the chefs that day to prepare your meal of many small dishes. Jono went for the Traditional Bento Box $14.95. 

He had sashimi, sushi, california roll, mixed tempura and miso with salad. The waitress didn't actually give him is miso  till the end of the meal... SHE SAID SHE FORGOT. The tempura was ok I didn't really eat anything else of his plate. He said it was ok but not exceptional compared to VEGAS where he is currently attending law  school at. 

Here is a snap shot of my lunch. They had a tomato with flakes on it. Some sweet egg slices with this sauce on it. I got two oysters which I put tabasco sauce in. And these two battered shrimp that was deep fried. THE BULLDOG sauce was not to my liking. The chicken kraggae was just tasted like KFC. In all I was super hungry after this meal.

I went for a small dessert. A mochi ice cream $2.95 for the two. I had a green tea and red bean. tehy were good even Jono thought so. I also saw another co-worker eating there, she told me she spent 70 some dollars between her and her friend eating one roll and a platter. EXPENSIVE and she didn't think it was all that great either for  the price paid and the HYPE. we both enjoyed the mochi but SHE made a valid point, you can get the same thing at TNT for under $3 for 8 of them.

Would I come back. I guess so they have so many rolls (EXPENSIVE) and I haven't tried them yet but I don't think I would make an effort to go.... I would probably only go if others suggested or I was in the area and FAMOSO or EARLS wasn't open......

PS did I mention they charged JONO twice for his tea. SIGH and also their service was slow considering there was only two other tables with people there at the time.

how to survive: that god-awful friend

SHE is a MEAN GIRL

NOTE: this is going to be a DEEP one

Ever felt like that "friend" of yours is actually a "mean girl". That behind every smile and every gesture she is actually undermining who you are and sabotaging your future. Ever feel that you had to keep that "friend" around because she knows all your other friends and she seems to have the upper hand in everything. I have had a few of those kind of "friends". They literally suck the life out of you, you don't know when they will strike next. At times they seem like your best friend, the whisper to you about how you guys will shape the world and how you and her are "the real deal".

This is the kind of friend who makes you feel good about yourself only to tear you down the next moment so that you realize SHE has all the power and SHE can affect you in any way she chooses.
This "friend" is often in disguise, she can be the one that is over the top nice always saying praises about you to your face but is spreading lies and horror stories about you behind your back. This is "the friend" that makes you do all the leg work telling you she will help you out and then takes all THE GLORY and leaves you in the dust.

There is this "one friend" in my life right now. She comes across as fun, bubbly and "will do anything" for you type. She hides behind her supposed innocence and lack of cultural understanding but in reality she knows how to make people do her work. She constantly talks about how "well connected" she is, name dropping this and that and who and what. She causally mentions how wealthy she is all the time and how she feels for me and my "desperate" situation.

I think friendship is a give and a take but when it becomes all give or all take IT MUST END. This "friend" of mine constantly puts up promises or return... "if you do this for me" ... I will.... But she never follows through. Don't underestimate her, she may look like she is harmless but NO she is always conniving always finding a way to BE ON TOP. She will listen in our your conversations and BUTT in when she isn't asked. She will then put you down in front of others or cut you out of the conversation.

What can you do when you have this kind of a "friend" who lies to you, takes advantage of you and puts you down. I guess one problem lies in yourself, why do you still keep this "Friend" around? Simple answer is, the consequences of not keeping her around. You let that girl run free and she will try and make your life hell, you think she is making your life miserable now or spreading lies about you wait till you tell her to her face how horrible she is.

The way to handle or "HOW TO SURVIVE that GOD AWFUL FRIEND" is really to beat her at her own game. To stand up for yourself and give her a taste of her own medicine. I guess this is exactly what Lindsay Lohan did in her movie MEAN GIRLS. The key is to remember who your real friends are and keep them close.

Maybe this will come to bite me later on in life  but for now, I am going to stand up and WHEN SHE PUTS ME DOWN in front of others, taking my hard work and success as her own. I will put her in her place. I must keep telling myself to not let her cheat off of me, not let her make me do her homework. She is only nice to you when she has no one else around.

So how to survive that GOD AWFUL FRIEND?
You can A. tell her off out right and see a semester filled with drama.
               B. ignore it and keep letting her ride you and feel like shit all the time
              C. beat her at her own game and NEVER let your guard down.

This is the friend that will hate you and try to sabotage your success so don't feel bad giving her a TASTE of her own medicine.

*note: I am not saying to be cruel or mean, just to stand up for yourself... If she tells the professor she did all the work when she did none, plaining state she is lying right then and there. I am sure it will make you feel that much better instead of bottling it up and hating on someone else.

** keep you friends close but your ENEMIES even closer**

Pasta Frenzy Night: Chianti Cafe On Whyte

LET THERE BE CAKE and PASTA 

Click HERE for their website

After a long day of finishing a 17 page essay and overtime work for Dustin we decided to treat ourselves and head to Chiantis on whyte. Monday and Tuesday's are their pasta frenzy nights but we were lucky enough to come just at the right time. We arrived with only two groups ahead of us and the wait time was only 5 min. In fact they are really good at moving people in and out of the restaurant.

Here is where you put your name down on the wait list

The doors we walked through, very old school.

We finally got seated and these were the two menus. (wine and food)

We got our complimentary buns. They were hot when they first came and the insides soft and fresh. However, the bread itself was slightly dry and the butter that came with it was hard. It resulted in some messy butter spreading business. 

I already knew what I wanted. Recalling some high school memories of eating there often (I went to OSA) I chose right away the DIABLO.  Dustin took some time but decided on a dish with veal and tortellini. 

The Diablo has:

Spinach Noodles, Chicken, Artichokes, Red Peppers and Spinach in a Spicy Pesto Cream Sauce

I personally thought that the quality of the pasta has gone done since I first tasted it more than 4 years ago.

As you can see from my close shot the fettucini is not cooked thoroughly all the way through. Also, a lot of the strands were stuck together. CHEF RAMSAY WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED. Otherwise it was pretty good. The pesto in the sauce was not a strong as before but the creme sauce was delicious. The chicken was a tad bit dry but in the creme sauce made it good. There were a few artichoke hearts in it and the red pepper was a good color contrast. 

This was what dustin got: Alla Romanoff

Veal filled Noodles, Bacon and Mushrooms in a Creamy Tomato Sauce

There really wasn't that much veal stuck in there but it still tasted good. The bacon added a smokey after taste to the creamy tomato sauce. DELICIOUS combo. 

As you can see here I found ONE pea in my pasta... IT WAS NOT SUPPOSE TO BE THERE.

After eating (I couldn't finish mine) we went for dessert. BTW the plate was pretty big and when you finish a plate you will be bloated!!!

This is their dessert menu that is not on their website.  I went for the chocolate rasberry ganache. YUM YUM YUM Dustin went for the special the chocolate mouse in a wine cup topped with whip cream.

I enjoy the choc powder randomly sprinkled everywhere. The choco in the mousse is quite STRONG perfect with a nice strong cup of coffee.

There was some hidden strawberry underneath the callebaut choco (delicious) and the crust was made from an oreo cookie.


Overall very enjoyable.

Instead of paying $14.99 for each plate of pasta we paid $9.99. The Ganache was $4.99 for the slice and dustin's mousse was the special for $2.99.

In total after tax it was $30 something. I guess not bad for a night out with dessert.

Rushing to RUSH a fine dining experience

A while back I had headed to calgary for a weekend trip in celebration of Dustin's birthday. I went to one restaurant that I can never forget. In honor of Dustin's BIG 2.5 we decided to go full out and spend monies to our content... even if it meant we would be broke after the weekend. (please refer to upcoming post for our other adventures in calgary that weekend) 

I googled FINE DINING in calgary and found a place downtown calgary called : Rush

LOCATION: 100-207 9 Ave SW , Calgary, AB T2P1K3

Type of Food: Fine dining Western

For more pictures of their food and info visit their website: Click HERE 

We walk in and good thing we made reservations ahead of time. We were asked immediately by a friendly waiter if we wanted "bubbly or still water". Dustin who always had tap water was CONFUSED (lol) We also got complimentary champagne since it was a birthday event.(save $10 each woot) 

To start off we got what I call TRI-BREAD.

As you can see it is LEGITlY TRI ! It is three different types of bread put together My favorite is that almost purprle lump there. I don't remember what it is made out of just remember it had lots of flavour and when paired with WHIPPED butter it was DIVINE. WE consumed 2 plates of this tri bread before our appi came.

We went for scallops for our appi and for $16.50 I thought that there would be more than 2 ! Yes these scallops were GINORMOUS, SUCCULENT and DIVINE but I was very scarred at the price and how much you get. This is fine dinning I guess. (AKA made for skinny or anorexic people) The little bits of bacons was awesome alongside with some cashews that were split open. The apple fennel slaw decorated these scallops adding more flavour. 

Earlier that day I had already had 3 meals but I was still H-U-N-G-R-Y. The appi did not help with the hunger I was still craving. We looked at the mains and went for the most expensive ones... I was hoping that I would get a bigger portion.

Off course Dustin went for some steak like main I think its the 45 Day aged heritage angus beef tenderloin. $42.50 His main was actually pretty big.

I went for the albertan rack of lamb with gras pistas, balsamic lentils and spring vegetables. The presentation was awesome and the food is delicious. Too BAD it was sooo little. I had to chew extra small bites so I didn't finish early and look at Dustin eat his food. This main was $39

WA BANG. I was still hungry but it was great flavor, great service.

I would definitely come back. AGAIN AND AGAIN but I probably need a real job for that. I didn't get a dessert since I had order a gourmet one from a nearby bakeshop.

Cyber Warfare: N Korea

Look at CTV's news article: Click Here

With recent news on Visa network problems and other online malicious malware that has plagued our online network and identity I read about South Korea's cyber attack last week.

 In the 21st Century alot of what we do it ONLINE, we bank online, we chat online we trust the computer and the securities in place. WE blog and share information online and put pictures of ourselves. We shop online and buy stocks and trade. So when there is a cyber attack, I feel as if my hard earned identity, money and status can be easily taken away .... LIKE THAT *snaps fingers*

There is strong implications that the cyber attack in S Korea was instigated by a  team of "cyber warriors" from N Korea. Scary thoughts..... To be honest when I think of N Korea I just think of Kim Kong Il a scary and short dictator.

I also think of poverty and third world country conditions. Like the article I find it silly almost that North Korea could be capable of launching an attack of that scale ONLINE. N Korea is very impoverished and has limited outside contact with the world. Their average income is $1,190 on average versus S Korea which is $22, 000 average a year.

However, as the article goes on to explain NORTH KOREA is putting an emphasis on IT, with a supposed 3000 hackers. The article says they are sending malware to USA and S Korea so I guess Canada might be safe from N Korean attacks.

A Little Trip to Korea (flashback)

After reading recent events of hacking in South Korea it promoted me to look back at my visit to Korea a few years ago and how our tour came close to the 38th // which divides North and South.

Korean airlines is one of my favourite airlines. Unlike China airlines, their seats are not falling apart and their air line hostesses are not snotty and ugly. Their food are also above par compared to most airlines. Here they give you a choice of western style or korean style dinner. I chose the bi bim bap off course.

My tour included me learning how to make kimchi and dressing up in traditional garb.

Who could miss out eating ginseng chicken hot pot style. S Korea is known for their ginseng and I even went to a ginseng museum. They believed the roots look like people and can provide you with great health and herbal remedies.

I love all the side dishes that Korean people have at ever meal

They also had some crazy monuments like this huge conch shell.

my visit included going to some historical places such as an imperial palace

OFF COURSE as a starbucks fan I had to go to one in korea. They had liquid sugar which i find to be pretty awesome.

We also went to a place dedicated to future technologies such as a talking fridge and robots.

They also got a pretty wicked theme park. Including animals such as dancing bears as well as a liger. They also had a waterpark themed portion and lots of things you can pose with =)

I think in the future I really need to head back to Korea not only for its eats but also for its shopping.