Sorry for the lack of posts...

As the title says, I'm soooooo sorry for not keeping this blog up to date recently. I've just been really busy with a lot of family issues, relationship stuff and work related stressors. But don't worry, I'm still here and hopefully I'll be back to my good ol' baking/cooking self in the months to come.

I think I just need to take a breather, and then I'll come back refreshed and good as new :)

Olympic Fever 2010

Yay! I know it's been a while, but that's just because I've been busy finishing up my final semester of nursing school! I can't believe I'm graduating on April 30th! It seems like only yesterday I entered university with wide-eyes and a belief that school would never end.

Also, I've been enjoying the crazy Vancouver Olympic festivities that are all around me! Living around the area, it's hard not to fall prey to the Olympic buzz and when you immerse yourself in the crowd, you can't help but get just a little bit excited. I had actually purchased a pair of tickets to the Olympics to watch my favorite winter sport... no, not hockey... CURLING! I seriously love that game... it's a blast to watch on TV and I was ready to take the next step and watch it in person. I've been counting down the days to watch the Olympic game with my dad, and enjoy downtown Vancouver.The event was held at the Vancouver Olympic Center, and it was great! There were 3 games going on at the same time... Great Britain vs. Sweden; Russia vs. Denmark; and China vs. Switzerland! It was hard to watch all at the same time, so I mostly focused on China's game. It was so energizing to hear the crowd go wild over curling. I thought that I was the only one who was enthusiastic about this game (because whenever I talk to my friends about it, they just don't understand why I'm so in love with the sport) but to be in a crowd full of people cheering on the skip and sweepers... I felt at home! These people understood the love of the game! In the end China beat Switzerland 8-6! It was a nail-biter, but I knew China would pull it off.

After the game, I hung out downtown with my pop to watch the Olympic flame in the cauldron roar away. There were also booths around Robson for taking pictures with the Olympic torch, so we did that too. I would have liked to try the free zip-line, but the line-up was ~6hours long! Oh well, there were better things to do with my time than line up for a chance to zoom across the sky held by a rope. My dad and I really enjoyed the downtown atmosphere and the amazing lights and such... so, we decided to head back downtown the next day and bring along my sisters and mom. We walked around Robson and did a little window shopping (Olympic souvenirs are quite pricey); then we headed back to the Olympic cauldron. We took a different route to get to the torch... and it's a good thing we did, otherwise I wouldn't have seen the most awesome shrub ever!

The most amazing shrub... I just had to take a photo.

I sure hope the Canadian-pride and communal spirit that I saw downtown continues on even after the Olympics. It was a great, once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'll never forget it.

Daring Bakers: On the Spot

Okay, this is just a quick post... but I've been featured as a DB Member on the official Daring Bakers Website (http://thedaringkitchen.com/)! Yay!

Update: I'm no longer in the spotlight :( but you can still read my stuff if you click link Here.

7 Traits: An Award/Meme

I've been given this Meme from my gal Palidor over at http://crazyasiangal.blogspot.com/, thank you very much... I haven't done a meme in quite some time :)

Here are the rules of this Meme:

1. Acknowledge the person who gave you the award (thanks Palidor!)
   
2. Nominate 7 other blogs
3. Share 7 personality traits

Here are my nominees... I'd sure love to find out what there 7 personality traits may be.
- Steph at Obsessed with Baking
- Small Small Baker at Small Small Baker
- Camille at Rtemis
- Gattina at Kitchen Unplugged
- Irene at Irene's Rumbles
- Sheryl at Crispy Waffle
- Belachan at Little Corner of Mine

And now one with rule #3... listing my personality traits

1. I guess one would call me a realist. In terms of guessing what the future holds, I'm not really an optimist, or a pessimist but I like to analyze the situations around me in order to determine what would be the most rationally occurring event. If you ask me whether the glass is "half-empty" or "half-full" my response would have to be in relation to the question... "well, did you recently pour water into the glass or take a sip from the glass?"

2. Obsessive, I am definitely an obsessive individual. Once I've set my mind to complete something I must do it, or else I will most definitely beat myself up about not completing it. I can never do anything without putting my whole heart and all my effort into it... if I go for a run with the mentality of completing a 10k, I can't cut my run short or else I feel like a lazy bum.

3. Perfectionist, this is probably the best/worst trait for me to have. Whenever I bake and something goes right I am very proud of myself and ready to great the world head-on... however, when something goes wrong during my time in the kitchen, everything goes downhill. I start to get bummed out because I start believing that I can't accomplish my baking/cooking task, and then my mind starts to wander which results in the inevitable baking/cooking failure... an impossible to present dish

4. Egocentric, again, not a very nice trait but it is me none-the-less. Although I do occasionally enjoy making others around me happy I am a very self-centered individual. If I'm not happy, I really must remove myself from big social settings, lest I make the rest of the group uncomfortable... yes, I'm sometimes a downer who always wants her own way.

5. Thrifty, this is probably the most prominent trait I express. I am Asian through and through, I will often stop by the supermarket even if I don't intend to purchase anything, simply so that I can walk through all the aisles and gather coupons that can be utilized at other times when the products are on sale... because on sale + coupon = major savings!! I am one of those people who take shampoos/soaps from hotels; asks for extra packs of peanuts on planes and saves them for an off-flight snack sometime during my vacation; and yes, I have asked for a refill on my "bottom-less fries" simply to ask the waitress to pack them to go... Also, my fave place to shop is called McFrugal's... so that's saying something :P

6. Distractable, it doesn't really take much to get me off topic and keep me off topic. I don't know what's wrong with the rails in my brain, but one's you hit the track-switch I'm off on a tangent with no capability of return unless you remind me where I was. I blame the internet, who invented this "tabbing application"? It is seriously a major cause for ADD. I can go on the web with the only intention of checking my e-mail, and then randomly end up on facebook, craigslist, ebay and attempting to buy merchandise from thinkgeek.com!!! AAAAHHH!

7. Indecisive, it seems that my friends and I share this trait. Don't ask us what we do on our nights out because we certainly don't know until we're actually doing it! Many of our conversations go a little something like this...
"Do you guys want to see a movie?"
"sure, if you want to"
"I'm okay with going, if you are"
"I guess we can go then"
"why not" ... and so on, and so forth... crazy, no?

Anyways, so that's pretty much me. Woah, I never realized that almost all of my traits are negative... dude that's not cool. Oh well, I'm not going to bother changing it... so I guess my 8th trait would have been laziness :P

What to do during a heat wave??

AAHHH!! Just managed to survive a 6-day heat wave with my sanity intact, but just barely. I actually took a girls-only trip to Whistler with a couple friends and the heat was so intense (reaching aroung 40C) that we actually saw a forest fire on the mountain!!! I can't believe that this is going to be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games! Hopefully there'll be more cool weather and some real snow by the time the games roll around.

But anyways, after coming back from the Whistler trip with my friends, I decided to treat my family to a recipe that we hadn't enjoyed in a long time. Something simple, easy and refreshing to help us cope with the unbearable heat. Ais Kacang!! YEAY! My sisters simply love this dessert, the shaved ice and evaporated milk, ice cream and other various ingredients. My youngest sister really loves grinding the shaver and watching the little snow-like pieces of ice drop from the machine... soo cute!!

I also made some cendol because I love the pandan flavor, and it tastes so good with the coconut milk and shaved ice!! It reminds me of being in Singapore! AAHHH!! I really want to go back sometime soon. The recipe for Cendol I used can be found at Rose's Kitchen. The only alterations I made to this recipe were to add about 1/4-1/3 cup of rice flour to the mix, in order to make a firmer and more chewy cendol. I know they look like greenish-turds but they are seriously delicious!

The ingredients we used for our Ais Kacang were: shaved ice, coconut milk, evaporated milk, gula melaka syrup, cendol, halo-halo, jackfruit, sweetened red beans, vanilla ice cream, and creamed corn!! It would have been nice to have some grass-jelly or durian to add in, but all-in-all it was a great way to beat the summer heat, and a lot of fun to design our own personal desserts... we must do it again soon!

AAHH! Sorry for the lack of postage...

I know it's been quite a while since I last posted a recipe or anything on my site, but don't worry. I'm not about to close-shop on my beloved blog. I'm just a bit caught up with the condo move-in at the moment. I'm planning to move in by the end of August; the mortgage has gone through and all the financing looks to be in order so now all I have to do is find some affordable furniture to stock the place with :P Well, just to keep you guys interested I'll post a couple pics of the place... and the kitchen! It's a 3-bedroom condo with a huge living/dining room and a kitchen that comes with a stainless steel fridge, microwave and OVEN!! My place is on the 2nd story of this 4 story building, which is good because I'm not a huge fan of heights. Yay! I'm so excited to be moving into my new place, but also a little freaked out by the entire process... well, anyways... here are the pictures.

Oooo, so bright and cheery!! Can't wait to move in for good :)

This is the spacious living room... a beautiful "blank canvas", just imagine the design possibilities

What cooking adventures will be had with this new oven?? We'll have to wait and see!

Yup, I'm quite excited about my kitchen... probably the first room in the condo that will be completely furnished within the first week of moving :P

A beautiful walk-way just beside my new residence, it leads out to the nearby shopping center and movie-plex!

YEEEEE!! I'm so excited to move in and start being more independent. I will have to have my family and my little doggie over to visit as much as possible... otherwise, living alone and cooking for myself will become uber-tedious! AAHHH and imagine all the crazy bakes that I won't be able to share with my family :( I guess I'll just have to do a lot more surprise visits (with treats in-hand) to my family and friends.

Tamara's Block Party '09

Hmmm... what do you do, when you're bored at home and need to beat the summer, mid-week blues?? Head out to your local new-channel's block-party of course :P


On July 15th, my family attended the local news-station's bbq, picnic, block-party, shin-dig hosted by their weather woman. The party was held at Queen's Park and incidentally the weather was perfect, not too sunny and not too cool. Normally, I'm not one to stand in line for 1 1/2 hours to be one of the first 1,500 people to a party but this was a different story. You see, my family can never pass up the chance to get free food :P And if you were one of the first 1,500 people at the party you'd get a free dinner made by Mr. Mike's Steakhouse and Grill. Also, this party was the site of the release of the 3rd collectors pin for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics... and, having already collected pins 1 and 2, we couldn't just pass up the chance to get the next installment! That'd be crazy!

We had no idea how many people would actually be attending this bbq/picnic thing, but when we arrived (an hour and a half before the tents opened) the line up was already about 400people long. By the time the block-party opened it's doors, the line up had grown to triple it's size! The entire park was filled with a really squiggly, swervy line-up of probably more than 1,500 people! I sure hope that everyone who took time out of their day to line-up got at least a pin or a free-meal... I know I would be peeved if, after waiting 2+hours in the sun, I ended up getting nothing.

When I first stepped in-line, at around 3:00pm I wasn't hungry at all. But, by the time we actually got into the "free-food" line-up, it was 5:00pm and the smell of the freshly grilled burgers was tantalizing my taste buds and making my stomach grumble. I had never tried Mr. Mike's before, I often drive by their Langley location but have always brushed it off as being "just another steakhouse". Sadly, they did not serve up steak (I didn't think they would, because that'd mean grilling up 1,500 steaks for free... probably putting them in debt :P). But, they did serve up a mean burger with a side of caesar salad. The burger was "Mike's Classic", an angus steak burger placed on a bbq-toasted garlic frenchbread, topped with cheese, a pickle and an amazing burger sauce (I'd say even better than White Spot's Triple-O sauce! *gasp* I know!). The burger was huge, and I actually needed help finishing it off... the bread was so delicious, and has now made me a fan of serving burgers on garlic baguettes. Great idea Mr. Mikes!! Great idea :) When I move into my condo, I'll be closer to the local Mr. Mikes, so maybe I'll become a regular... I wonder if they'll serve just the french bread just by itself??

AAHHH!! This burger was AMAZING!

Anyways, the block-party itself was fantastic. The musical performers were called "Dr. Strangelove" and they played an amazing array of oldies, but with a contemporary twist. A couple MJ songs were played, some Aerosmith, some Janice Joplin and a couple folk-country-tunes. It was fun to see the little tykes running around the playground and the water-park section of Queen's Park. All-in-all, this was a fun outing for the family... sometimes it's tough to convince my sisters to get their butts out of their computer chairs and get some fresh air :P

Another Month, Another Run!

It's another month and I have enjoyed spending today running a 10k around Fort Langley with my Dad and a friend that I talked into running with me :) She's been taking a training course for the Sun Run (which is coming up in April) and I figured that this race would be a good form of "homework" for her... maybe she'll get extra credit :P

The weather was perfect for the race. Although it was chilly in the morning, by the time the race started at 9:00am the sun was beaming down it's lovely warmth on all of the participants. The course started in the heart of Historic Fort Langley (I guess that's why they call it the Historic Half Marathon, 10k and 5k) wove through the township of Langley, down Glover Road, Telegraph Trail and back via 88ave to the actual Pioneer Fort in Langley.

It took a while to warm-up but once I got into the swing of things I kept my pace rather well. The course for the Historic had a lot more hills than last months Chilly Chase, but thankfully since the Chilly Chase I began training running up and down hills. Reaching the pioneer fort at the race's end was exhilarating. The crowd was much larger than at the Chilly Chase, so there were a lot more people cheering the racers on. At the end of the race all participants were awarded with a neat medal and there were plenty of healthy refreshments of fruits, dessert tofu, juice, water and buns... and of course Tim Horton's was there handing out their amazing coffee and Timbits.

My next race is the Sun Run, which is a 10k and I'm not too worried about it; but what's really making me nervous is the BMO Vancouver 1/2 Marathon that I'm going to do in May. Hopefully by then I'll have worked on my stamina and will be able to complete the race in under 2.5 hours... but only time will tell.

For more information visit the race webpage.

I do recommend you sign up for this race if you're in the area; it's a lot of fun, especially if you're running with someone you know. But even if you run alone, I find that runners tend to be very friendly people (I've met many runners and shared stories with them as we waited in the pre-race washroom line-up!).

My Race Results:
25th overall (out of 243 10k runners)
7th female finisher (out of 164)
2nd female finisher between 20-29years of age (out of 37)
Chip-Time: 51 minutes 13 seconds

A New Oven!

It seems like oh so long ago, my poor old cream-colored oven konked out on me and I was left with nothing to do but bake in my teeny-weeny toaster oven. Finally, after 3 months of being ovenless (woah... that's 1/4 of a year!) I have my brand new shiny oven. It's a Kenmore, and so far I'm very pleased with it power. The stove-range has a middle burner that you can attach a griddle to. You can probably guess that means I'll be doing a lot more frying :P

But onto the oven, and it's amazingness. It preheats to 350 degrees within 2minutes! That's light-speed compared to the 7-8 minutes it would take my old oven to reach the right temperature. Although I do miss my old oven, this new one is slowly growing on me. I can't wait to test out all of the functions; like the broiling, grilling, self-cleaning!! Yeah! And just in time for me to bake that lovely concoction for the DB challenge.

Awards!

I actually received this award on January 10th, '09 (from a great blogger herself: Palidor) To be given this award by her is truly humbling... so, thank you sooooo much!!!

I don't know if I'm suppose to pass this one on or not (there weren't any instructions to) but I will anyways!

1) Camille of Rtemis-Epicurus
2) Lily of Hearth and Home
3) Cher of The Baker Who Cooks
4) Happy Home Baking
5) Baking Fiend

I'm always checking out what's new with these bloggers, so you should to! Get inspired to create amazing fun in the kitchen :)

First Race of the Year: Chilly Chase 10k

Having participated in the Vancouver Sun Run in '08, I decided that I would take up a couple more races in '09 as a sort of resolution. Yes, I'm one of those avid runners who simply loves the feeling of the road/treadmill beneath my feet, but just haven't gotten around to signing-up (and paying) to participate in many races. Last year's 10k Sun Run was fun, and I got a fancy t-shirt as part of the registration package, and so for the first race of the year I decided to do another 10k and participated in the Chilly Chase.

My dad ran the race last year, and he kind of sold it to me by stating that once you finish the race they serve up Tim Horton's Chilli! Ah... the truly Canadian way, finishing a race and enjoying Timmy's. My dad decided to run the 5k (as the race offered the option of 5, 10, 15k) and so after the wonderfully scenic run through Langley on a brisk Sunday morning, I met up with my dad around the chilli cookhouse. This race was so much fun, and the weather was wonderful. I was worried at first that there would be a lot of icy patches on the roads (since there was still a lot of snow lingering about) but surprisingly the race course was ice-free! Another concern of mine was the crazy fog that had been making driving around Langley very difficult; but, for some strange reason, the fog decided to dissappear on race day. We were a very lucky bunch of runners!

I managed to convince a friend of mine to join the race with me, which was lots of fun. Running is always more enjoyable when you're doing it with others, and to see the look of accomplishment on your friends' faces after a race well run is very satisfying indeed. So, anyways... I think I should probably get back to baking something... or at least cooking something. (Oh, and of course prepping myself to run the 10k Historic Marathon in Langley!)

For more information about the Chilly Chase: Click HERE

My Race Results:
45th overall (out of 169 10k runners)
17th female finisher (out of 103)
6th female finisher between 20-29 years of age
Chip-Time: 50 minutes 44 seconds

Sadness in the Kitchen...

I know, strange title for a post eh? But seriously I'm not in a great mood. My oven just decided that it'd die on me three days ago and with all my free time (having finished exams) I've been forced to do all of my baking via a toaster oven... it is simply not the same.

All-in-all, I suppose I should be proud of my oven for having survived this long; it's pretty old. The oven came with the house when we bought it 15years ago, so I'd say it's outlived it's shelf-life... but still, so many fond memories.

I first noticed something was terribly wrong when I used the knobs to adjust the oven's temperature for baking and the numbers would get all screwy. Usually, twisting the knob to the right would result in the degrees increasing by increments of 5; but for some strange reason it would increase a bit and then as you continue turning the knob, the numbers would jump back down to zero. Annoying I know, but this I could live with; I just had to give my precious oven some coaxing and the baker's loving touch and eventually the temperature would be just right. This craziness continued for 2-months, and then just three days ago I awoke to my oven's cries for help.

The timer alarm started beeping incessently, and to stop it I would have to press the "stop-timer" button every 2 minutes (otherwise it would start beeping again). I guess the buttons couldn't handle the multiple pokes, and then eventually they broke :(

So, now I am ovenless; and although I've had many people offer to lend me their's (people are so sweet) I will forever miss my almond-colored gas oven...

P.S. On a happier note, I'm leaving for Arizona (only for a week's vacation) and won't be back until after Christmas. So, I just wanted to say "MERRY CHRISTMAS" and "HAPPY BAKING... I mean HAPPY NEW YEARS!"

Awards!

Isn't it nice when someone awards you for something you love to do?! Thanks to Steph from Obsessed With Baking for giving me this nice award ...

And I would like to pass this one on to:

1. Crazy Asian Gal
2. Camille of Rtemis
3. Janet Is Hungry
4. Lucy of Sweets Savories etc. <-- I noticed you've already got this award, but your blog is so much fun to read I think you deserve it again :)

5. Lily's Wai Sek Hong

All of these blogs are amazing to read, so if you have the chance go and check them out!

Eating Natto!

Some of you may be asking, "What is Natto?! Does such a word even exist?" The answer is, "It's fermented soybean, and yes it does!" :P

I was wondering around downtown Vancouver with a friend of mine when we stumbled upon a lovely little Japanese Grocery Store on Robson Street. It's kind of hard to miss, since it has two giant boxes of Pocky plastered to the entrance way (seriously... want to see the picture? click here). So I wandered inside, because I am a true foodie... and all foodies know that you can't just walk by a grocery store and not go inside! And so, it was in this Japanese store that I stumbled upon the triple-pack styrofoam boxes that encase the wonderous food known as natto...

I took the package home and wasn't quite sure how to eat it. I had heard about this interesting Japanese food from a couple Japanese friends (some saying it was good, other's saying that it was the devil's puke) but it was only after reading Gintama, and seeing one of the characters (Sa-chan) always holding a bowl of natto, that I dared to try the smelly beans.

If you want to see how natto is traditionally eaten, I recommend you do what I did... watch it on youtube... or for more reliable sources check out wikipedia :P

Inside the styrofoam package is the fermented soy beans, along with a packet of mustard and a packet of soy sauce.

Start by unveiling the beans. The slime coating is sticky... be careful not to get it all over your placemat, shirt and/or friends.

Add in the mustard and soy sauce packets. Then stir the mixture vigorously with your chopsticks about 15 times.

Note the gooey-ness... be glad you cannot smell the stinky-ness.

Eaten by itself, natto is a force to be reckoned with. It has a very pungent smell; but if you can get past that, you will probably enjoy the bean's taste. Adding the natto to rice helps to mellow out the flavor, while also increasing the ability to pick up the slimey buggers with your chopsticks.

I'm not sure what it is with me and food that has a slightly "off" aroma. I do like durian, and stinky tofu... and I actually really liked the natto. The only thing I didn't like about the natto was that it got all over my face; I'm not even joking. The little strings of sticky stuff were hanging off my chin by the end of the meal; so, after eating, I had to go to the washroom and wash my face... and while I was there, brush my teeth (lest someone be unfortunate enough to get a whiff of my "natto breath").

So my verdict for natto: I like it! But I'll have to remember to only snack on it when I have access to a clean washroom and toothpaste :P

I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by Camille at Rtemis. Her blog is quite the epicurean feast for the eyes. I simply love reading her posts and I really enjoyed reading her tag-post. I'm sure anyone who reads my blog, will love reading hers... go visit! Anywho, on with the tag... here are 7 random facts about yours truly:

1. I'm addicted to Gintama, both the anime and the manga!
2. My favorite genre of music is indie/brit rock
3. My current favorite TV show is Dr. Who!
4. I'm a 3rd year nursing student (one more year to go! Woot!)
5. I love dressing up and trick-or-treating (yes, I still do it... even though I'm in my 20's)
6. I can literally spend one-and-a-half hours in the grocery store and not buy anything *gasp* I know... but apparently I'm super picky about a) quality b) quantity c) price
7. I've been to 3 comedy clubs in the past 2 weeks and have loved every single show!

You're It!:
Crazy Asian Gal
Fried Wontons 4 U
Noob Cook
Obsessed With Baking
Somewhere in Singapore
The Weather Down Here <-- my friend has just recently become a blogger! only one post thus far, but still I'm proud *sniff*
So Good Blog

Here are the rules for tagging.
Link to my blog (tagger) on your blog.
Give seven facts about yourself.
Tag another seven blogs by leaving a comment on their blog and letting them know they were tagged and listing them (and their blogs) on your blog.

Betty Crocker E-Book!

How awesome is it to have more free stuff?! Betty Crocker seems to be jumping on the free e-book band-wagon and I couldn't be happier. So, here's the link to another fantastic cookbook with tons of recipes, enjoy!

Whole Wheat Baking

To check my past posts regarding free e-books, click here.

Yay! Another Free online Cookbook from Pillsbury

This will be a very quick post. I just wanted to let all the people who read my blog to know: firstly, you're all awesome and secondly, there's another Pillsbury e-book online! Yay! I know how much I love free cook-books, so I'm posting the web-link for anyone who cares to click and be amazed by the amazing generosity of a big-corporation like Pillsbury to be providing their members with free recipes! Anywho... here's the link: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gm/pies/

If you would like to get links to Pillsbury's past e-books, simply click here to link to my past post.

Oh where has the summer gone? Fun ol' Picture Show

I'm sitting here trying to think about where exactly my summer has disappeared to. For some reason, it seemed as though the 2 months of freedom flew by at lightening speed, and now I'm hitting the books and working on assignments. I decided to rummage through a bunch of photos that I'd taken over the course of the summer, and, this may sound crazy but, it already brings back memories of fun in the sun. So, here are just a couple pictures that remind me of the great times of summer 2008.

Hanging out in Cali; Disneyland and Six-flags

PNE fun... rides, candied apples and mini donuts



Downtown at Yuk Yuks, and the best Durian Milkshake in Chinatown :)

Travelling to Whistler Village with Jacques... don't let your dog drive :P


Hiking through Lost Lake, and being confused by crazy signs

Treating ourselves to Rocky Mountain ice cream, eating straight from the tub!

Driving down to Oregon... but having to leave Jacques at the kennel :( Look at him trying to fly away!

Checking in to Embassy Suites in time for their Manager's Special... free alcoholic beverages and appetizers! Ooo... mushroom antipasto and sweet bread with balsamic vinegar

Going Outlet shopping in the tax-free state, and treating myself to a Rocky Mountain Caramel Apple! Of course, I had to stop by Le Gourmet Chef and take a look around

Late-night chinese take-out from Panda Express... I still prefer Manchu Wok better :P

Complimentary, hot-breakfast... complete with made-to-order omelets. Yum!

"If you build it, they will come"... somehow, us Asians always manage to seek-out the Asian Supermarkets in town. This Vietnamese market had loads of mooncakes on sale (of course we bought some... tax free remember!), and even bubble tea powder!!! And look at all the rice cakes *drool*

Being gangsta at Denny's... yup, the waitress thought we were strange but whatevs

Heading to the Night Market to indulge in more asian goodies. Stationary, stuffies and of course FOOD!

Albeit, I did way more this summer than just travel around from place-to-place and stuff myself full of their food and buy up all of their merchandise. I worked at KFC (and yes, I've tried the veggie burger... tastes like fish), did 12hr shifts at the hospital, hung out in Vancouver, walked the dog, ran 10k four times a week, cooked, partied, hung out with the sisters, watched a butt-load of HK films, went to the movies, dined in/dined out... and of course tried to sleep.