Toronto (October 18 - 28)...likely Part 2 of 2

Holy,...okay, when I said there was going to be a second part to my little Toronto adventure, I really didn't expect it to take me so long to put it up. But then again, anyone who knows me well will understand the manifestation of the art of procrastination.

Anyway, I've delayed long enough. I'll probably end up being fairly lazy this time around, which translates to lazy writing (bad grammar, spelling, etc). I'll apologize now. I've also lost a large chunk of the business cards I gathered to a flood at work (yes...blogging at work...bad...very bad...) so I don't have addresses of some of the locations.

Meh, life goes on. Onward and upwards...the sequel to my little adventure.

Thursday - A day to wander around
Thursday started kind of leisurely and ended up busy, which seems to be the cursed format of all my vacations. I had arranged to meet up with my cousin Ailee - we don't get to see each other much - for an afternoon of wandering around.

Since Ailee had a hair appointment and wasn't able to meet up until after 1 PM, I headed out a little earlier than usual and decided to walk up Yonge from Dundas to Yorkville rather than take the Metro.

Propaganda - What is your poo telling you?
Along the way, I ran into a store called Propaganda [686 Yonge St - www.propaganda.bz], a snazzy little novelty store that features a lot of kidult and local artist memorabilia. I really do enjoy stores like this, and if I wasn't on my way to meet my cousin - could have probably spend an hour or so going through the various stuff they had.

But since time was short, I only have one item to highlight, a book called What is Your Poo Telling You? [ISBN-10: 0811857824] by M.D., Anish Sheth and Josh Richman. What is Your Poo Telling You? is a small, brown, hardcover book that humorously goes through the various "types" of poo you will most likely experience in your lifetime. It would make a 6-year-old laugh (I have it on good authority that my sense of humor is like one) or possibly an 80-year-old (I have it on good authority that old people are obsessed with bowel movements).

I did not buy a copy, however, since I was suffering the aftereffects of my spending spree in Montreal like a very bad hangover. Oh well. Worse comes to worse, a copy can be found on Amazon.com, or other poo-related novelty stores near you.

University of Toronto campus - The wandering continues...
I met up with Ailee in Yorkville, and we made our way to the U of T campus so my cousin could pick up her newly printed thesis from the press. Inside the older buildings reminds me of my U of A days - yellowish lighting reflecting off dirty off-white walls and linoleum floors. Reminded me too much of how much I actually disliked university.

The outsides of the buildings are much more appealing, with an abundance of crawling ivy changing various hues of red and gold, hanging over red & brown brick exteriors. The grounds are beautifully green and well kept, and a large assortment of trees and bushes that was a little unexpected. Also, unlike U of A, there are some interesting architectural beasts lingering within the U of T grounds (i.e. "The Peacock").

I've always been curious to see what the campus of other universities are like. I've never gotten the big picture of how U of A measured up to these other learning institutions (was a little upset missing McGill while in Montreal), so I find it interesting to check it out.

Simon Sushi
Once we escaped the claws of the never ending U of T landscape, we decided to stop for a very late lunch. Ailee didn't get a chance to eat yet, and I'm always up for food (even if I'm full). We headed towards Chinatown and stopped at a little sushi shop called Simon Sushi [409 Spadina Ave]. I haven't eaten much sushi since my food poisoning incident in Vancouver last year, but I think I've finally gotten over that episode enough to enjoy a bit of raw fish once again.

We ordered a couple different rolls, some miso soup, and an order of salmon sashimi for me. In the ways of Japanese food, simple, but well prepared and full of flavor. Plus, it always makes me happy when the fish come out completely thawed (I've had partially crystallized tuna & salmon before, which is pretty disgusting).

Kensington Market - Vintage, vintage, vintage...
After lunch, we heading on to Kensington Market. To tell you the truth, I didn't really know what to expect. Every market I've ever been to all over the world have been a little bit different from each other, although a majority of them have been similar to farmer markets - with little stalls to sell wares.

Kensington is really nothing like that. I know a couple people were surprised when I mentioned that it wasn't what I was expecting, but I guess I was still thinking about little stalls. Truly, Kensington is a vintage haven, a dense concentration of little boutique stores that carry a huge assortment of second hand clothes, fabrics, accessories, knick knacks, paddy whacks, and an occasional bone.

Honestly, I'm not very good in vintage stores. I have to know what I'm looking for and be in the hunting mood before I can make any progress in the chaotic environment of a typical vintage store. If not in the mood, my brain just feels like exploding. Unfortunately, neither Ailee nor I were capable of any sort of concentration, so we more or less just walked up and down the streets rather than perusing the multitude of racks and suffering from brain splatter.

The only thing I could say definitively - if you ever need a costume, Kensington would definitely be the place to go.

Maple Leaf Gardens - Ghosts and Goblins
Wow...2/3rds of the way through my day, and not a penny spent (my cousin treated me to yummy lunch). I said goodbye to my cousin (I was meeting up with her family for dinner on Friday anyway), and headed back home to meet up with Tracy for dinner. The clouds were starting to look a little gross as I trudged back. I took a different route and ended up passing the ghostly remains of the Maple Leaf Gardens.

I'm sure in the old days, the Gardens was much more impressive, but now the bricks are stained and cracked, and the building has a tired, forlorn look about it now. I was told that the building had been purchased for a project, but no progress has been made for a while, so for now it stands, lonely and dark, until salvation or destruction comes for it.

Panorama - Cityscapes at night...
I made it home before it started raining. Tracy came home and we ate leftover tuna pizza (I made a second one with the leftover ingrediants) and laksa.

After slouching around, digesting our food, we headed out with Tracy's friend, Brent, to Panorama [51st floor - Manualife Centre - 55 Bloor St West], a bar & lounge famous for it's spectacular panoramic view of the city. The interior is modern, lush, and snazzy, and so dimly lit that if you're eyes have not adjusted, you'll probably end up walking into a patron or too. The exterior walls are floor to ceiling windows with doors that go outside to a patio/balcony on either side of the restaurant.

I ordered a pina colada and could not resist getting the smoked salmon appetizer (smoked salmon addict here). I can't remember the costs (because I don't have the bill), but unsurprisingly, beverages and appetizers are not cheap on the 51st floor. However, I'm also told, the prices are reasonable, considering how other like places (i.e. CN Tower 360), are exorbitantly priced. At the very least, they won't charge you for the elevator ride up the building. Drinks ranged from around $6 - $10, and appetizers, if my lousy memory serves me correctly, around $12 - $18,...I think.

The pina colada had a rum punch stronger than I was accustomed to (not a good drinking night for me), and probably was not the happiest pairing I could have made with smoked salmon, but stuff like that rarely stops me from enjoying anything. Even if there was something wrong with my plate, I wouldn't be able to see it anyway since there was barely any light...lol.

After our drinks and food, we headed out onto the patio. It was cold and windy, though I can see that on a beautiful night, it would be nice to hang out on the large comfy loungers. Though warmth was something to be desired, the skies had cleared, and the rain had stopped. The nightscape of Toronto really was stunning and widely spread. I took some timed exposures, unfortunately, with the wind blowing as hard as it was, most of the pictures ended up being shaky and indistinct.

I think we lasted all of about 10 minutes on the balcony before turning tail and heading back into the warmth of the restaurant. The rum was working quickly through me, and I was probably as bright as Rudolph's nose could ever get. So we called it a night, headed back home, and passed out, content in a warm, though borrowed bed.

Friday - Times a wasting...
Friday was the day I was going to meet up with my relatives for dinner, but I didn't have to meet up with my cousin until 5, so I headed out towards the Distillery District for a bit of sight seeing and a bit of trepidation in my heart as I hear the shopping would be...interesting. If only I had known.

King Street
I took King street to head east, which is heavily speckled with high end home decor & furniture stores. The fact that I'm traveling does wonders for my will power when it comes to this stuff. I'm not interested in lugging back large boxes, or paying a fortune to ship things home, so I avoided the painful torture of drooling over pieces I could not afford to have.

I can see, however, how interior decorators can have a ridiculous amount of fun in Toronto. The variety available is staggering, if expensive.

The Distillery District
I figure it took me about 20 minutes to walk from Dundas/Yonge to the District. I'm a fair slow walker to begin with, and I was going at a snail's pace doing all that window shopping on King Street. When I arrived at the Distillery...I thought I got the wrong place. Rather than a quaint little area, I was staring at the monstrous skeleton of what is soon to be a new condo living building.

I checked my map again which seemed to indicate that the Distillery would be located behind the building, so I skirted around the construction...'lo and behold, the remarkably low brick buildings were sitting quietly in the shadow of the condo.

I know Toronto is all about the fusion of new and old architecture, but it seems kind of a shame that the demand for new housing would manifest in such an obtrusive way. Whatever...probably just me anyway.

Lileo
Lileo was the first stop I made. As soon as I went it, I sensed I would have to keep a very tight reign in on my will power. Must...not...buy. Lileo is a huge loft style store that carries an incredibly diverse amount of...stuff. Clothes, books, novelty items, accessories...the list goes on and on.

Their selection of books, which covers a large range of design, logo, and branding subjects, is impressive. Must...not...buy.

I figure I spent about a good hour and a half loitering in Lileo. That could have been very dangerous for me, and I was so proud of myself for walking away, managing to escape unscathed, wallet intact, and buying conscience clear.

Corktown
I really should have stopped while I was ahead. This next store proved to be my downfall, and in a way, sort of blindsided me as I went in. Corktown is a tiny little jewelry store that carries a variety of unique designer jewelery. Stores like these, I'm usually safe in. For the most part, the jewelery is out of my price range, or do not offer the style of jewelery that intrigues me.

I was lulled into a sense of complacency and as a result, I ended up purchasing a gorgeous, incredibly unique ring for $200. Dear god. They should have signs up with "Dangerous for Shopaholics" on them.

Still reeling from my ridiculous ring purchase, I continued my tour of the Distillery. It was a pretty quiet day, not many people about. I found the brewery, but did not going in for a drink. I still needed to walk home, and walking home drunk in an unfamiliar city would be a pretty bad idea.

So I bypassed the pub, and instead found what was either a haven or hell...depending on which perspective I chose. Before I came to Toronto, I had purchased a little travel book that highlighted some of the most interesting design places to visit. I conveniently forgot it on my kitchen counter, but remembered one picture of a store front that incited a reaction similar to a kid discovering the existence of Disneyland (I wanna go I wanna go I wanna gooooooo...)

Bergo Designs
However, because I forgot the book, I didn't know where it was, or the name of the store. And glory be, as I turn the corner...there it was...Bergo Designs [www.bergo.ca]...the mysterious store front I saw in my little travel book. It was beautiful.

And I was in deep...deep...deep trouble. I'm sure as you're reading this, you're recognizing the downwards spiral of a recovering addicts relapse. And despite my foreknowledge of my turmoil, I went into Bergo Designs, much like a moth drawn to a flame...or an alcoholic to a bottle of vodka.

You know why I was in trouble? Bergo Designs carries one of my favorite kitchen/decor brands...Blomus [www.blomus.com]. Blomus has not been readily available in Edmonton until recently (I've just discovered a couple new shops). I discovered this brand when I was in Calgary and fell in love with the functional, yet minimalistic contemporary designs.

I ended up purchasing about $100 worth of items...a Ritzenhoff tea cup, a measuring tape, a wall mountable notepaper roll holder (whatever), and a couple neat little key chains for souvenirs for my mom & uncle. I spent 2 hours in there, humming and hawing over what I should buy and what I could walk away from. And if you're wondering what on earth I was thinking buying what I did...I use them all...often. Especially that notepaper holder thingy - uses receipt rolls so I can easily make lists. Sounds ridiculous, but I'm amazed how often I use it. I shouldn't be surprised though since I can't remember anything unless I write it down. It's my favorite purchase from Bergo.

Dinnertime - Asian Legend
The clouds were starting to roll in when I started walking back. By the time I got home, it started pouring rain. I guess it was a good thing I left when I did. My poor cousin Sophia got a little lost trying to find my friend's condo, and when we finally met up, it was already close to 6.

My relatives live in North York - so we took the metro up the Yonge line and got off the Sheppard stop. After a brief stop at the house, we headed to Asian Legend [125 Ravel Road, North York www.asianlegend.ca], a Chinese restaurant that specializes in Northern Chinese cuisine.

To tell you the truth, it's been so long, I can't really remember what I ate. The dishes were unusual to what I've become accustomed to in a typical high-end Chinese restaurant - mostly do to the fact my cousins chose non-traditional dishes. As much as I would like to give details...wow...I can't. LOL.

I was impressed with the variety of dishes that Asian Legend offered, both for the seasoned Chinese cuisine connoisseur, or adventurous newbie. Their menus are available online of you'd like to take a peek. If you're in the area and have a hankering for Chinese food, you might want to give it a try.

Saturday - Errand Day
My vacation was quickly wrapping up. The weekend was here, so Tracy was free to come gallivanting with me to fill in my remaining hours in TO. We had a housewarming to attend in the evening, so we thought we would cram in our errands before then.

Breakfast...mmm...bacon
Tracy and I have learned that the two of us are pretty low energy and useless unless we get a good breakfast into our stomachs. Tracy took me to The Senator [249 Victoria Street, www.thesenator.com], Toronto's oldest restaurant, which serves a mean and hearty bacon & egg dish called the Senator Breakfast up until 11:30am for $7.95. I love this little restaurant. The layout is long and skinny, and though I'm not a fan of squishy places, I find the quirkiness of the Senator to be quite appealing (almost a Seinfeld moment here, people).

Once we were fueled up, we went on a rampage of stops that took us back to the Mont Blanc Boutique, through the University of Toronto Campus, and multiple stops in Chinatown to pick up some items for the housewarming.

To Anime or not to Anime...that is the question
While in Chinatown, I stumbled across Toronto's offering of an homage to anime memorabilia. AnimExtreme [315 Spadina Ave, http://store.animextreme.ca] is a typical collector's haven, an underground hole in the wall, crammed to the gills with various toys, dolls, dvds, cosplay, and other like accessories from Japan's unique comic & cartoon genre.

Though I have dabbled in the anime world for almost a decade, I've only hovered at the edge of fandom, because to tell you the truth - the hard core fans scare the crap out of me. LOL. And trust me...this is on the same level as those who get married as Star fleet officers, use "the force" in their daily lives, or play video games until they're hospitalized due to lack of food, water, or sleep.

I lasted all of 5 minutes in AnimExtreme, long enough to grab a couple of presents for friends and make a hasty retreat. There was already a weekend crowd crammed in there, make the little dungeon alarmingly claustrophobic. Tracy was happy to wait for me at the entrance rather than rub elbows with squealing adolescents drooling over overpriced questionable products (some of the items were definitely bootlegs, which seems almost inevitable in stores like these).

This would explain why I make almost all my purchases online now - most straight from Japan (yes, I'm an anime snob and a complete nerd...ahahahha).

Through Queen Street West again...
After stomping through almost every single Chinese supply store for our wishlist items, we stopped at
Active Surplus Electronics [347 Queen West Street, www.activesurplus.com], otherwise known as the "gorilla in the orange shirt store". Active Surplus Electronics carries every knick knack, bobble, thingamajiggy, whachamacallits, whosits, and whatits known to man. I picked up couple dozen test tubes & corks (don't ask me what for, still figuring that one out), and Tracy picked up a little rubber foot for...er...something missing a rubber foot? LOL.

Soooo hungry...
We made our weary way back home, ladened with a ridiculous amount of packages and bags. We dropped our parcels off, cleaned ourselves up and headed back out (with same packages & bags) to the housewarming.

However, taking a cue from our crankiness and rumbling stomachs, we decided to have dinner first rather than try and fill up our empty stomachs with party munchies.

Mmmm...Vietnamese noodle soup - The Peach Garden
I love Vietnamese pho noodle soup...and especially on days where I'm a little tired and cold. So it was a perfect time for a big bowl of pho, from one of the few decent Vietnamese restaurants Tracy could find in the Toronto area.

The Peach Garden [don't know the addy, will have to find out] is a small, mostly clean restaurant, with sturdy furniture, and fast service. Tracy and I could barely hold ourselves upright due to the lack of fuel in our systems. The bowls we ordered came out in less than ten minutes, steaming hot and smelling delicious. And in total silence, we consumed our meals in just as much time.

The regular size is large, with great noodle to meat proportions (I actually finished my noodles before my meat). The meat was varied, and soft, not chewy. The broth, which is key to a great bowl of pho, was an excellent balance, not too salty or bland.

Nothing is more memorable than a meal you have when you're on the edge of starvation. This was definitely one of them. Thanks to the The Peach Garden for saving us from an evening stuffing ourselves at the munchie bar. It was a delicious meal indeed.

Housewarming party - the dangers of Soho lychee liquor...
Now pleasantly full of pho, we headed to Tracy's friend's home. Brent did a spectacular renovation job on his home. Beautiful dark hardwood floors, incredible floor to ceiling cabinets for storage, a beautiful staircase accented with glass panels and steel - it was a labour of love that took him years to complete. And now that it was done, the end result really was stunning and unique.

To help celebrate, Brent stocked a full and complete liquor inventory and featured two martinis for everyone to enjoy: a chocolate martini, and a lychee martini.

I have always been a fan of the lychee fruit and juice, but I never had Soho's Lychee (Litchi) vodka based liqueur before. Brent's recipe included a shot of Soho, a shot of vodka, a shot of lychee syrup, a shot of lychee juice, handful of ice, shaken, not stirred, and a lychee fruit for garnish.

By my third drink, I simplified the recipe to this, 2 shots of juice, 2 shots of Soho, on the rocks. I've always been a fan of sweeter, stronger drinks (girly drinks some will say) such as Baileys, tawney port, and various liqueurs. I stick to the ones that remind me no matter how drunk I am, what I'm drinking is most definitely alcohol. Unfortunately, Soho is NOT one of those liqueurs. It's one of the most dangerous kinds...where it doesn't taste like alcohol at all, but packs a punch at a 21% alcohol (if you go with Brent's recipe, even more so with vodka which sits at around 38-40% alcohol).

So now I've found a new drinking vice. My only savior is that Soho is not very common in pubs.

Sunday - the last day and still no rest...
So it's my last day in Toronto. We had a late night, so Tracy and I had a fairly late morning...well..later anyway. My ride back to the airport didn't leave until 7PM, so it was a last chance day to fit in any remaining sites and shopping I could afford. But before we went anywhere, it was food first and foremost, even it if was more brunch than breakfast.

What's for Brunch? - Shrimp Mee Fun (Fried Noodles)
This time around, I was cooking one of my mom's specialty dishes, Shrimp Mee Fun. Like almost all the dishes I have in my repertoire, the recipe is 80% ingredient preparation, and 20% actual cooking.

Ingredients:
1 package of vermicelli noodles
1/2 cup of dried shrimp
2/3 stalks of green onion OR 1/2 cup of chopped chives
1 cup of sliced BBQ pork
3-4 large eggs
3 cloves of garlic
3-4 shallots
Lots of cooking oil (any will do)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic chili sauce

I usually start off with the dried shrimp. It usually takes about half to 2/3rds of a package, which should be soaked for about 5-10 minutes. When the shrimp is squishy to the touch, either use a mortar & pestal to break them up into smaller, rough bits, or throw them into a small food processor and roughly chop them up.

Peel the cloves of garlic, and chop into small pieces. Peel and chop the shallots - you may leave them in loose rings, or slice again for smaller pieces. Chop your chives or onions into small pieces. Keep these separate from your other ingredients as the chives/onions will be one of the last ingredients you'll add.

Soak the vermicelli noodles in cold water until the noodles are loose and malleable (approximately 10 minutes) and then drain them.

Break all your eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Add about a tsp of salt and/or pepper. In a separate frying pan on medium heat, use the egg batter to make thin omelettes. When they're done, slice the omelettes into thin strips.

Woks are usually best for noodles like this, as they provide a larger frying surface so you can work quickly in high heat and still hold in all your ingredients without messy overflow. Bring your wok to a temperature between medium and high. Pour in a pool of cooking oil about 3" in diameter (approximately 5 tbsp). Add both garlic & shallots and fry until golden. Remove from the wok.

Add the chopped shrimp to the wok. Make sure all the shrimp is covered in the pool of oil...if some are not covered, add more. Cook the shrimp until they become fragrant and then remove.

Add more oil to the existing pool until it's about 4" in diameter. Bring your heat up to high. Add the noodles, shrimp, garlic, & shallots. Fold your noodles over and repeat until your ingredients are well mixed. Add about 2 tbsp of garlic chili sauce (more or less depending on your liking for heat) and mix again. On high heat - this should take about 7-10 minutes for your noodles to be cooked nicely. If you like your noodles slightly crispier, allow the noodles to sit in the wok a little longer before folding.

When your noodles have reached the consistency you like, add the eggs, chives, and BBQ pork as garnish and then serve.

Ooooo...smart, day pass, why didn't we use it yesterday?!
That's right folks...for some reason even though we were all over the downtown core on Saturday, we forgot that rather than walking all that time, we could have used the Metro (gasp). Even better yet, their day pass is only $9 and is good for 2 people for the whole day.

Man, if we had only remembered it for Saturday, we could have saved ourselves a whole lot of pain...

Back to Queen Street West - 3rd time the charm...
We headed back to Queen Street West and once more I visited the Magic Pony (did I mention I love that store?), picked up a couple more Smorkin' Labbits, and then headed east to check out some of the furniture/decor stores I avoided my first time around.

Urban Mode
Urban Mode [145 Tecumseth Street, urbanmode.com] is a high-end little decor store that carries none other than Blomus, thank god I got that out my of system already. Their items are a tad cheaper than Bergo Designs, so if you can't get out to the Distillery District, this place is a great place to go. Thankfully, I wasn't in the mood to buy expensive decor stuff, so we left without making any sacrifices to the alter of shopping.

Morba Corp - They gave my glasses away *sob*
I found a new favorite store...one that I love even more than Bergo Designs or the Magic Pony (yes, you heard me). Morba Corp [667 Queen Street West] is an explosion of eclectic tastes, covering almost every single vice I have (except anime and liqueurs). They carry new & vintage designer decor & furniture, and a huge assortment of knick knacks for your office, kitchen, home, etc. It looks a little bit like a rummage sale, but I could have spent hours in that store (I think we did spent hours in that store) just looking through the "cool" stuff they had.

Unfortunately, I will also remember this store for bringing one of a shopaholic's worse nightmares to reality. I found a couple of beautiful & quirky Ritzenhoff glasses. Normally glasses like these will go for around $35-50 per glass, but they were going for $20. I know what you're thinking - not much of a deal...but good enough for me.

I was so excited...a couple of my Ritzenhoffs broke at home, and I was pleased to have found replacements at a reasonable price. I left the two glasses with the cashier up front to put aside while I look around more. When I was finally ready, a teary eyed sale girl told me she accidentally put my glasses in another customer's bag (FOR FREE!!!!!) ARGH!

Is that not a total kick in the gut? I kind of felt like a little kid whose got her lollipop taken away. After that, I lost all enthusiasm for shopping, deflated like a popped balloon.

Harbourfront Centre - Glass Blowing
So after I lost my shopping mojo, we headed down to the harbour, and took a peek inside the Harbourfront Centre. Several artists were hard at work in their studios, but the area that fascinated me the most was the glass blowing section. A couple artists were working in here, and a small crowd had formed on the balcony above, observing their progress and they heated and then molded a large glass piece.

I've always wanted to try glass blowing, unfortunately, I am NOT skilled at 3-dimensional art, plus I'm extremely accident prone. I don't even want to imagine what kind of trouble I could get into in place with hot metal, hot glass, pointy tools, ovens, and blow torches.

I guess it's my inability to work with materials such as these that only increase my appreciation for those that can. Man, the girl working the glass had pipes on her! LOL.

Random Final Thoughts
So my trip is finally at an end. It's taken me longer to write this damn blog than for me to go on the vacation itself. Figures, huh? I think I'm not made out for this blogging thing. I'm terrible at it. Just some final thought and observations about Toronto in general.

Public Transport
So I found it kind of interesting that both tokens and tickets were available. The tokens are cute little two-tone coins, even smaller than your typical dime. I wanted to keep one as a souvenir, but ended up exchanging with Tracy for a ticket instead.

She told me that tokens were generally hoarded by Torontonian commuters. This is because tokens have no values stamped on them. If the cost of tokens go up, the ones you purchased before are still good. Tickets, however, have the values on them, so if the price changes, the tickets are no longer valid for a trip.

On a side note: I've also discovered I have my own street. How fucking cool is that?! LOL.

Shoppers Drug Mart
I guess there just aren't enough drugs out there or something. I swear it's like Starbucks in Vancouver. Every street has a Shoppers Drug Mart on it. Every mall, every building, every corner. It's crazy. They sell tickets for your popular local attractions such as the zoo or the Hockey Hall of Fame. They're selling groceries, like bread, milk, and eggs, and this past Christmas, the ever desirable Nintendo Wii.

It's a Superstore concept crammed into a corner store format. Interesting indeed.

Hotdogs & Pizza
Okay...I'm not sure if it's just because I'm traveling that I noticed this, but I discovered while walking down the streets of downtown Toronto...Torontonians have a love affair with hot dogs and pizza. More pizza than hot dogs...but they're still there...in brightly light signs in huge, bold, black letters. On every other street (not every street like Shoppers...lol).

And it's not even a name. The signs just say "PIZZA" or "HOT DOGS" or "HOT DOGS & PIZZA". Now there's branding for you. Marketing, eat your heart out.

Toronto (October 18 - 28)...probably Part 1 of 2

Toronto - first trip ever to Eastern...er...Central Canada
So I've been told that Torontonians dislike being referred to the "Eastern" part of Canada, preferring instead to be "Central". All I can do is shrug, since being an Edmontonian, I see anything east of Edmonton as "East" since that's pretty much the direction I had to go in order to get there.

Anyway, I was pretty damned excited, since this was my first time ever going to Toronto & Montreal. My friend Tracy has been living in TO for almost 6 years, and having just bought a condo, I thought I would go and mooch off of her while I while I took a look around.

WestJet Sale Bonanza
Toronto has always been one of those destinations on my list that I wanted to go to, but simply sat low on my priority list. I attribute this to the fact that it costs a ridiculous amount of money to travel within Canada. I mean, don't you find it kind of silly that it's consistently cheaper to fly to San Francisco or Las Vegas for half the cost of a trip to Toronto?

WTF?

Anyway, WestJet decided to have a big seat sale, and since I was looking for an excuse to travel somewhere, I got a ticket to visit Tracy for only $437. A good $300 cheaper than your normal ticket to TO after all the taxes and surcharges. It was still at least $100 more expensive than my trip to San Francisco the previous year, but whatever.

I head out on the 18th after work and took the 6:15 PM flight out. To my surprise, I ran into my co-worker and his wife, who just happened to be on the same flight as me, heading to TO for a wedding weekend.

The flight was a little over 4 hours, and the trip made me wish I had grabbed some food before I left. I should know better than to travel without food, but I guess I was too preoccupied to use my limited brain capacity for memory. No food means I was pretty cranky for most of the flight, and the only thing that saved my sanity was the free BellVu Express TV that allowed me to get my weekly fix of CSI (that and the little packages of munchies they give you).

Toronto Airport Express
I booked a round trip ride into downtown Toronto with the Toronto Airport Express which only cost me around $31 - way cheaper than taking a taxi, and you get 10% if you get your ticket online rather than paying at the kiosk. It's a pretty stress free way to get in as long as you know what your end destination is.

Pontification on Toronto being exactly like Vancouver
I ran into my co-worker and his wife again on the bus. It was just the 3 of us, plus a Vancouverite who had just moved to Toronto. She was a little bit of a stress puppy, unsure if she got the right bus, even though it was 11:30 at night, we were the only bus around, and the bus driver assured her at least 3 times that she got the right bus.

As we drove in, I chatted mostly with my co-worker and his wife about the wedding they were attending and their plans for the wedding. Punctuating our conversation were exclamations from the ex-Vancouverite about how much Toronto was ALMOST EXACTLY like Vancouver, except for the Hockey Hall of Fame...and this building...and that building. They have the same banks! Wow...that's just crazy that they have the same banks in different parts of the same country.

Uhhh...okay...I'm done with this one.

Arrival - Bond Place
Since I was one of the last stops along one of the last routes, the bus driver kindly dropped me of a block away from where my friend was living. I still managed to get lost...missing the little street the main entrance to her building was and ended up instead at the backside entrance on the next street.

It's a fantastic old building with loft style living, but I felt a little bit like I was trying to get into Fort Knox. I first had to buzz in, tell security over the intercom I was here to visit my friend in apt # blah blah blah. Then I would get buzzed in so I could take the 1st elevator up to the lobby area, so security could buzz me through another set of doors to get into the second elevator, which I could take up to my friend's floor.

I'm tired now.

Friday - Just got here and already leaving
Since I came in pretty late the night before, I slept in while Tracy had to go to work. We were planning on catching the 5:00 PM train out to Montreal that evening, so I had to figure out what to do with myself until then. I spent most of my morning unpacking my bag in order to pack a smaller bag for my trip.

Burrito Boyz
I headed out just before noon to meet up with Tracy for lunch. Although her directions were clear, I had to walk around the building once to make sure I got the right entrance. Although I got the right floor, I was confused by the fact there were two offices, so Tracy had to save me from myself and meet me by the elevators. Apparently, both offices were the same company but named differently. Whatever - too much thinking already for a vacation.

I dropped my bag off at her desk and she took me to a little eatery called Burrito Boyz. In case you did figure it out from the name, it's an eatery that specializes in burritos...custom baked burritos that is.

I suppose if you manage to hit this place during a non-busy time, it's a very organized process. However, if you go when I did (the lunch crowd), it's total, utter chaos, with the perfectly organized process interrupted by the idiocies of newbies (like myself) who are unaware of the rules of the system.

Thank god Tracy was with me. LOL.

Burrito Boyz is very much like a sub or donair eatery set up: after picking your basic type of burrito combination (beans, chicken, steak, etc), you can add a multitude of different toppings and sauces to enhance your burrito experience.

Unfortunately for me, I like my custom wrap experiences to be fairly low key - so much so, I seldom add anything from the vast selection of condiments. So I ordered a plain small steak and cheese burrito. I suppose if I didn't panic in the midst of the crushing clientèle, I might have considered adding a little bit of tzaziki sauce, maybe some lettuce, but I just ended up closing off my order and moving on while my incredulous burrito artist took my boring order to get baked.

Once again, Tracy saved me from myself (and the process), by helping me pay for my food (in a separate line), and grabbing my order (same line, but not). When did I get so useless? We then swam out of the sea of hungry people and walked a couple blocks with our little brown bags over to a little park where we could sit down on one of the benches and eat our hot, toasted food.

I was pretty hungry by the time we started eating. There was brief regret over the missing sauce, but I enjoyed the burrito well enough without. The meat was hot and seasoned, the cheesy was smooth and melty. It's a nice satisfying combo. I think they have their sizes mixed up though since this small burrito was freaking huge, and I couldn't even finish it.

Tracy tells me that I was probably the first person who didn't rave over the fabulousness of said burrito, because she had taken most of her endless parade of visitors to Burrito Boyz and every single one loved it.

How do I say it? I just like donairs better. And I should have gotten tzaziki sauce. LOL

Hockey Hall of Fame
I had about 3 hours to kill before Tracy was done at work, so she walked me over to the Hockey Hall of Fame where I planned to wile my time away. A tip if you're buying your ticket, if you have a Shoppers Optimum card, you can get your ticket at a discount from any Shopper Drug Mart. If you're wondering where you can find one - there's one on the same floor as the entrance of the Hall.

I ended up spending around 2 1/2 hours in there, wandering the endless glass displays of venerable memorabilia of various and legendary hockey players. A documentary homage to Wayne Gretzky was playing in the background as I ascended the stairs to enter the room that held the replica Stanley Cup and all subsequent trophies (Hart, Campbell, Lady Byng, etc.). The room that houses the trophies of the hockey elite is old and refined, with a stunning overhead stained glass dome. It reminds me of smoking rooms and old men with cigars and scotch.

The replica Stanley Cup is out in the open where the masses can walk around, touch, hug, or kiss with abandon (as long as you don't tip it over). I prowled in circles around the holy grail for I figure around an hour, picking out the Edmonton Oiler names that were engraved. I took about a dozen pictures of the cup alone (which you won't see yet because I haven't developed the film, occasionally stepping aside so another fan could pose for a memento picture.

After taking a gander at the original cup and subsequent rings that have been removed from the current "real" cup to maintain it overall shape and integrity, I made my way back down the stairs and headed toward the international part of the Hall to locate the infamous luck loonie that helped Canada win Olympic gold in 2002 in both the mens and womens hockey.

I found the display of the loonie itself to be rather...inconspicuous. The story board behind it was massive, but the loonie itself was embedded in a rubber puck and mounted in the darkness of the lit-from-behind story board. After mourning the inadequate display, I moved on to the other side of the Hall which showcased Canadian amateur hockey athletes and housed the play zone for wanna-be hockey players and goalies.

It took me a while to get over my perceived embarrassment (I mean, it's not like I'm going to see anyone there again) before I lined up for the shootout to shoot some pucks at a virtual goalie. Ummm...let's just say I have absolutely no talent in this area and should just stick to watching from the sidelines instead. But it was fun, and I'm glad I stuck around long enough bury my pride to try it out.

On my way out, I got to goggle at a huge display featuring the University of Alberta hockey teams...home town pride...gotta love it.

By the way, if you're wondering where all the pictures are...I didn't take any digital ones. It was too dark and the images kept coming out pixel-ly. I did however take around 24 black & white shots with my manual camera - just too broke to develop them just yet. Soon. I hope.

Got a train to catch...
The weather outside had gotten dark and spitty. After reinforcing my boots with a couple of comfort sole inserts picked up from Shoppers ($14.99 - holy crap), I hoofed it back to Tracy's office to pick her up so we could head to the train station.

We got to the train station just as everyone was lining up to board the train. The guy who was checking our tickets drew a nice happy face on Tracy's ticket. Tracy told him he missed his calling and he laughed and drew a heart on mine...awwww. It's worth a girlish giggle...or two. Of course, I don't have any evidence of said tickets since those portions of the tickets were taken away. *shrug* oh well, life moves on...along with us on the escalator.

Insert Montreal (October 19-21)

Even Mondays on vacation are hard to take...
When I woke up on Monday morning, I was really freaking tired. Even though I was on vacation, I felt obligated to go out and run my "errands" so I wouldn't have to deal them later in the week.

First on my list - I had brought my silver Mont Blanc mechanical pencil with me in hopes of getting it repaired. I dropped it over a year ago, and bits and piece flew as it fell apart. I do a lot of my pencil sketches with it since it holds 0.7mm lead (not very common), so I was completely choked when I couldn't use it.

Toronto holds the only official Mont Blanc Boutique in Canada, so chances were high that they could repair my poor broken pencil. Since the boutique was housed on one of Toronto's mostly highly branded streets, it was my chance to do some window shopping (because I wouldn't be able to afford more than that LOL) and then see what I could do from there.

Younge & Bloor
I took the metro up Younge Street from Dundas station to Bloor station and then headed east along Bloor. Bloor Street is sin city for the superbrand junkies of the world, with stores like Prada, Louis Vitton (I have a cousin in Edmonton who would kill go to into that store), Chanel, & Tiffiny & Co. Thankfully, I don't live for the brands that would require multiple full paychecks to pay off a single suit, so I was very comfortable checking out the window displays while heading to my real destination.

Mont Blanc
The Mont Blanc Boutique is a pretty glass store that is currently marred by the extensive reconstruction going on around it. Roads are being ripped up and rebuilt, so it's a total mess on the outside. Inside is pristine, with glass displays and lights picking out the highlights of pretty shiny objects. Even the sales people are pristine, with perfectly pressed suits and coiffed hair. There were other customers here from the business world, with their Armani suits and Rolex watches. I was tempted to poke these people to see if they were real, and not just realistic mannequins.

I do not looking like your typical Mont Blanc customer, looking a little sloppy in leather jacket, jeans, and wrinkled shirt. I guess it's good thing that I'm accustomed to the "look" I got from a tiny 5'1" asian girl that's telling me that I don't really belong in a "classy" place like this. I get this look often, since I like going into stores like this, but very seldom do I dress like I have money to burn (it's the leather jacket, isn't it?). Not like I give a shit since I've brought my pencil from the other side of the country to get fixed , and like hell I'm going to walk away just because I'm not dressed to code.

Anyway, I dropped the pencil off and headed back out, relieved to have escaped the look of disdain I had to endure. Service would take about a week and would cost me about $91. I could only hope to be able to pick it up before I left.

Cop Copine
After shaking off the sensation that I was somehow an inferior being, I headed into the Yorkville & Cumberland shopping areas. If possible, this area houses even more elite shopping than Bloor, as well as some popular Canadian designers that I know nothing about.

I only came to this area for one store. Cop Copine is a label out of Paris, that is popular for their asymmetrical, slightly quirky designs and practical material choices. The clothes are easy to wash and wear, without the need for dry clean. I'm able to get my Cop Copine fix at home, but it was almost necessary to make the pilgrimage to the only official Cop Copine store in Canada.

The salesgirl there was incredibly friendly and cheery - a lovely change from the chilly atmosphere I had encountered at Mont Blanc. After trying on the entire shop, I found a couple pieces I would have loved to have taken home with me. Unfortunately at almost $400 per piece and no layaway option in sight, I had to walk away, slightly sad & disappointed, but incredibly relieved I didn't fall further into debt.

Laywine's
As I was heading back to Bloor to try and track down the grocery store I was told was a good place to pick up food, I passed by Laywine's [www.laywines.com], a little shop that sells an extensive variety of pens and stationery items.

I love this place. The salespeople here are knowledgeable, friendly, and above all else, patient. It's a great combination for indecisive or inexperienced pen shoppers, and a refreshing change for an experienced one like myself.

I found a gorgeous silver Corinthian fountain pen that wrote like a dream, and I would have bought it if not for the price associated with it - a whopping $625 before taxes. Ouch. I'm beginning to vastly dislike the fact that many of the things I like have disgusting price tags attached.

Manulife Centre - Valu Mart
I'm extremely proud of myself at this point. I haven't spent a dime (I wouldn't have to pay for my Mont Blanc expense until I went to pick up my pencil), and I was nearing the end of my little adventure for the day.

I was planning on making tuna pizza for dinner, so I needed to hit up a grocery store to pick up some ingredients. Tracy told me to go to Valu Mart, which was located in the lower floor at the back of the Manulife Centre. For those from the western part of Canada who are familiar with the monstrosity of Superstore, Valu Mart is the small grocery version that sells the Presidents Choice brands commonly carried by Superstore.

The costs are reasonable, and produce is cheaper than the typical Toronto grocer. It's a good place to go if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

What's for dinner tonight? Tuna pizza
I always have problems eating properly when I travel. This is mostly because either A, I'm in a hotel, or hostel with no way to cook my own food, or B, in staying with someone who gets nervous as soon as I touch a cooking pot.

I am not a bad cook. I'm simply lazy. It's much easier to cook for more than 1 person. When you're b yourself, what's the point? I eat when I'm hungry - most of the time, it's easy stuff that I just shove in my maw while doing my chores. Multi-tasking is a great thing.

Since I was staying with Tracy, I had a chance to actually cook for a change. At least she doesn't get nervous when I pick up a knife, and that's very good for me since I get nervous if someone else is nervous. That's just too much nervousness to be happening in a place where things can cut or burn you.

Anyway, back to dinner. I decided to make tuna pizza. It's a cold dish that is 95% ingredient preparation, and 5% baking. It stays good for a couple days, so you can have it for lunch the next day as well, and getting whole ingredients will give you enough to make 2 full pizzas.

Ingredients
Crust
2 cups of Bisquick (a box can make 3 crusts)
1/2 cup of water

Sauce 1 block of cream cheese (light)
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 tsp of dry dill or 2 tbsp of fresh dill
2 sticks of green onions or chives
1 can of flaked tuna (in water, not oil)

Toppings 1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 orange or yellow pepper
1 cup of grated cheese (whatever your preference)

Make the crust first, as it will cool while you're preparing your sauce and toppings. Mix the Bisquick and water and knead until the consistency is elastic (if it sticking to the bowl and your hands, you'll need to keep going until it sticks to itself).

Spread the dough evenly on a flat baking sheet or pizza pan. you can leave a small crust along the edges if you like, but make sure you don't leave too much dough, or the crust edge will end up being mushy instead of crispy. Bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes until the surface is a light golden brown.

Remove from the stove and let it cool completely before adding any sauce or toppings. This will help maintain the crispiness of the crust. If you add the sauce while the crust is still warm, the overall pizza with end up soggy faster.

For the sauce, mix the cream cheese, mayo, dill weed (if using fresh dill, remove the larger stems), onions/chives, and tuna together (make sure to drain the tuna first before adding) until the consistency is smooth, not chunky. Put this in the fridge to chill while you prepare your toppings.

Wash the bell peppers and cut each of them in half. Remove the core and seeds, and then slice into thin strips. For variety, you can substitute one of the bell peppers with a couple sticks of celery (chopped).

Remove the sauce from the fridge and spread it over the cooled crust evenly. Sprinkle your grated cheese on top (I used the Tex Mex pre-grated package - a good mix and saves time). Then distribute your bell peppers evenly over the crust. And one more handful of grated cheese on top of this and it's ready to be served.

Tuesday - It's raining
Ick. Rain. I had convinced myself that it was okay to just not do anything today and give my poor abused feet a rest. So I literally lazed around all day. I had no desire to slog around in cold, wet rain. I hate rain. Besides, I was justified in staying in during the day because Tracy's fabulous co-worker, Pete, got us tickets to watch the Leafs play in the Air Canada Center that night.

Anyway, Tracy called me up to tell me to meet up with her and Pete at the Irish Embassy [Younge & Wellington] for drinks before we headed off to the game. I guess the day of lethargy didn't help my sense of direction, as I ended up heading north along Younge instead of south, ending up at Wellesley rather than Wellington.

I eventually made it to the Irish Embassy, about a half hour late (lots of time before the 7:30 PM puck drop), squeezed into the bar which was crammed with people, had a pint of Guinness with Tracy & Pete, and then Tracy and I walked a couple blocks down to the Air Canada Centre.

Oilers on the Ice? - Toronto vs. Atlanta
Pete gave us some awesome tickets. Wanna guess where we were? Section 109, row 8, seats 5 & 6. Platinum section, baby. Whoo hoo. I wasn't within spitting distance, but definitely drink tossing distance for sure.

We picked up some food in the Platinum lounge since neither of us had eaten dinner yet. Platinum privileges are fulled decked out in dark woods, stainless steel, and glass, with a wide assortment of goodies to eat, like prime rib sandwiches, sushi, and thai noodles, on top of the regular sports fare of burgers, hot dogs, & fries.

I got the prime rib sandwich special ($13.95) that came with a little snack bag of Vicki's kettle potato chips - I thought it was kind of weird to have a special with no drink, but *shrug* whatever. The prime rib sandwich? Mmmm...prime rib. Enough said.

If you were so lucky to have access to an Executive Suite, then you had the privilege of having your own private little room, with it's own bar, food service, and flat panel TV. Wouldn't want to rub elbows with the common folk, you know what I mean?

I would say the men to women ration for the lower bowl sits at about 10 to 1. In our section alone, I think there were...4 other women...maybe. I picked out 2 from their high-pitched squealing that happened every times the guys were checked into the boards near them. Season tickets have been around this town for so long, that people have transferred possession of their seats on to loved ones before they passed away. It would account for the elder male demographic in my section.

Watching a hockey game in the airy Air Canada Centre was a strange sensation. I'm much more accustomed to years of watching and working Oiler hockey games in the smaller venue of the now called Rexall Place. Perhaps it's the size that makes the difference in the noise level, but as I sat 8 rows from ice level, I was discomforted by the...lack of noise.

I figure it's probably a combination of a few things...the fact that Air Canada is much bigger, it was a weeknight, and the crowd was probably around 75% business. In fact, they even had something called the Suit Cam, a camera that picked out people in their snazzy business suits.

I thought that the Leafs had great tools available to generate noise. Guest spots from famous celebrities and local hockey players asking the crowd to make some noise, witty little cartoons and snippets to make the crowd laugh and cheer, and hilarious intermission activities to make the time go by faster. I kind of wish I had a chance to watch a game during play offs instead...where the stakes are higher, and the energy more intense.

As for the game itself...it was a lot like watching the Oilers play. Shoot the damn puck, dammit! Just shoot...somewhere near the net would be nice. And the power plays were AGONIZING! What no shot on net during that power play? Really? Noooo....

In the end, they managed to tie it up in the dying seconds of the 3rd period and couldn't resolve anything in an exciting overtime period. Thus, I got to watch the Leafs in a shootout. Mat Sundin got poke checked...POKE CHECKED in a shootout...WTF? And the Leafs lost...

*sigh*

Oh well...what can you do.

Wednesday - West Queen West (Spadina to Trinity Bellwoods Park)
I would liken West Queen Street West to be a lot like Whyte Ave on steroids if I hadn't already used that apt description to describe Montreal's rue Saint-Denis. However, don't mistaken me - Queen Street and Saint-Denis aren't really alike at all except maybe in sheer distance, but I found both to be equally addictive.

West Queen West starts at Spadina Avenue and ends at the Trinity Bellwoods Park. My tiny little downtown map only covers up to Bathurst, missing the subsequent 7 or 8 blocks left of this remarkably long shopping street. Not like I mind walking off the map mind you - I just noticed a lot of the downtown maps of Toronto a missing this section, not just my puny but useful little map.

Where Montreal's Saint-Denis is a mid- to high-end and local designer haven, West Queens West is all about obscene variety. Whatever you're looking for (outside of the premium brand names like Prada and Rolex), you'll mostly likely find it all here: clothing, shoe, accessories, jewelery, music, antique, furniture, cafes, restaurants, thrifts, galleries, art supplies, hardware, computer supplies, fabric, beads, goth, leather, and odds & ends (there is actually a store called that). There's no way I'm naming them all - much to lazy, and this blog would be ridiculously longer than it already is.

Scarpino
So I'm still looking for a pair of dress boots since I wore mine to death back home. Tracy recommended Queen West, so this was the top of my shopping list. Scarpino [311 Queen Street West] was the first shoe store I hit and already I hit the jackpot of bankruptcy...lol.

I actually didn't see the boots until I was ready to give up and head out the door. Lucky me, it was on sale and cost me only $114. Yikes.

Rudsak Collection
I didn't buy anything in this particular store (thought I wanted to...I really did). Rudsak Collection [www.rudsak.com] [315 Queen Street West] is the perfect store for you if you have an addiction to trendy leather clothing, bags, and accessories galore. I found a beautiful chocolate brown zip wallet/clutch for the bargain price of $115. Heh.

*sigh* Moving on...

Bodyblue Denim Lab
At this point, I've managed to walk a fair portion of Queen Street West before I made my next informative stop. Jean are my bane and nightmare - which is nothing new, and not an uncommon complaint. I mean who doesn't have a problem finding jeans that fit them?!

Anyway, like may others, I dread trying them on, but since I have nothing but time, I went to the saleperson with only this to say: "I need help finding a pair a jeans because I have no idea where to start."

The girls there were extremely helpful. They gave me a few different pairs to start, so they could get a better idea of what style would fit me best. In the end, we found the perfect fit...the most expensive pair I tried on (figures)...a pair of David Kahn jeans with a price tag of $240.

I walked away from the lovely jeans...because it was too hard of a pill to swallow even for a leaking wallet on vacation like myself.

I think I'm cursed.

Starbucks - Claremont Street
At this point I'm pretty tired. I've marched all the way down Queen Street West, and walked right off my little map, ending up at Claremont Street in the street corner Starbucks, sipping my Grande Iced Chai Tea Latte while I jotted down a couple of random notes on my ripped up paper bag/grocery list left over from my Montreal trip. Mmm...refreshing.

Magic Pony Shop - toy store for kidults
"Kidults", the apt coinage that combines the words "kid" and "adult" into a single noun. Irreverent toys for the kidult generations has become rapidly popular, spawning collectibles such as Munny, and Smorkin' Labbits for the masses.

The Magic Pony Shop [www.magic-pony.com] [694 Queen Street West] is a toy store for adults who are still kids at heart (it is NOT that kind of toy store). Filled with random, funny, satirical toys, books, every day kind of items - you'll find it here.

You know the song from the Toys 'r Us commercials..."I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R Us kid..." I had that running in my head while I wandered around this tiny little store. I ended up buying 4 little Labbit figurines as souvenirs for friends, and a little Munny figurine (about the size of my thumbnail) for myself. It's a very dangerous place for recovering collector-holics like me. Very dangerous.

I love this place. If I had money, I'm sure I would have spent it all on useless funny little toys that would do nothing but collect dust on my desk. There was a cool little exhibit on display by local artist Derrick Hodgson featuring his Mega Wibbied Mindthicket series. The main exhibit piece is constructed of little oddly shaped creatures, construction pieces similar to modular sets. Because the individual pieces are unique in shapes and sizes, the overall construction does not end up being geometric like most modular sets, but irregular and almost organic.

Almost as addictive as Lego, but about 5 times more expensive. To give you and idea...for a 5-piece set (not even modular pieces...just the figures)...you're looking at $125. Ouch.

Did I mention I was cursed?

Carmen's - 2 rings
So everything I've been to, I've bought a ring...and sometimes if the picking are good, I come away with more than one. On my way to Tracy's office, I ran into a little jewelery kiosk called Carmen's. There was a nice assortment of various silver jewelery ranging from rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, as well as different body jewelery as well.

I found 2...one that had an aquamarine (er...I think, maybe not, have to check), and the other that had a labradorite (dark moonstone) that leaned towards a rich blue colour [total=$92].

I give up.

Chinatown After picking Tracy up at work, we walked through Chinatown to pick up groceries for our much anticipated dinner. Chinatown is a great place to go if you need cheap produce, general goods, and about very odd herb, mushroom, dried animal part, or BBQ meat in existence. Just be prepared to fight for you space, since walking around Chinatown after work can be crowded and a bit of an adventure.

What's for dinner tonight? Laksa - curry noodle soup
This was a dinner Tracy and I planned to have when I first booked this trip. We both LOVE laksa - a Malaysian curry based soup noodle dish that our aunt has made our entire lives. I recently discovered, to my delight, a packaged mix of laksa sauce in the local Chinese market very similar to my aunt's made-from-scratch recipe.

Not only does it save an entire day of simmering - it's simplifies the dish to a point that from beginning to end, takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour to put together. Almost all the work is simple preparation of your ingredients.

Ingredients 1 package of vermicelli noodles
1 package of laksa sauce
1/2 a can of coconut milk
8 or more cubes of deep fried tofu
1 roasted chicken (at your supermarket)
3-4 eggs
1/2 cucumber
bean sprouts (optional)
1 cup of large frozen shrimp (optional)
2-3 stalks of green onions (optional)

Start of with your package of laksa sauce. This particular package will tell you to throw the paste into a large soup pot with about 1200 ml of water and bring to a boil. Then you'll add your coconut milk into the mix, and bring to a boil again before turning the heat low.

Thank god for the roasted chicken at the supermarket these days. For around $8.00, you save yourself a few hours worth of work. All you're doing now is shredding the meat of your chicken to strips (store the meat in a container or bowl to be added to your dish later). Throw the large bones into the pot with the laksa sauce as well as any extra juice that would have leaked out of the chicken as you were stripping it, as this will add flavor to your soup. If you don't eat the skin - also add this to the soup. Waste nothing!

If you decide to have shrimp (recommended), blanch, peel, and set aside. Wash & trim your bean sprouts. Wash and chop your green onions. Wash and cut your cucumber in small strips.

Make thin crepe-like omelettes with your eggs. You may add some salt for flavor, but not a lot is necessary. Then slice your omelettes into thin strips (around 1 cm thick - does not need to be exact :) )

Boil your noodles and then drain them. Do not add these to the soup.

Cut your cubes of deep fried tofu into halves and then drop them in the soup. Bring the heat back up on your soup, but not to a boil, and it should be ready to serve.

Now at this point, it's a self-customization process. You just grab a bowl, and put in as much noodles and toppings you like before topping everything off with your soup. Do the soup last as it will heat up all your ingredients.

Enjoy.

Mmmm...laksa. Tasty.

Next up: Toronto (October 18 - 28)...likely Part 2 of 2