Wednesday was my girls nite out. It was an Asian theme. I decided that because I'm partially Vietnamese it would be a good idea to bring a Vietnamese dish. There was four of us. I decided on Vietnamese subs. I thought it is easily sharable. I was going to get four different flavours and cut them into four pieces. That way everyone gets to try all the flavours.
I thought it was easy. I just have to go to the store and wait a few minutes while they make my sandwiches. Well, it wasn't that easy. I went to Ba Le at Fraser and Kingsway because it was on my way home. I got in there and was deciding on which sandwiches to get. Right after I decided, the girl at the counter told me they are out of bread. I was floored. This has never happened to me before. A sandwich shop out of their essential ingredient?? I had to decide what to do because I was in a time crunch to get to my friend's house. There is another Ba Le shop in Chinatown. I got the phone number from the Fraser street location and called them. The phone kept on ringing and ringing. I thought they were just busy to pick up their phone. I decided because it wasn't that far away I would just go there. I drove by and saw their 'closed' sign. I pulled over and pulled ou my iphone and did a search for other places that would sell reasonably tasting subs. I got some ideas from a foodie forum. They listed Paris Bakery on Commercial Drive and Au Petit Cafe on Main St. I wasn't sure about the quality of sub from Paris Bakery and it was out of my way. So I didn't go there. I was on Main st already so I headed south to Au Petit Cafe. It is located at about 32nd and Main. I got a parking spot right in front of the restaurant. I peaked at their business hours sign. They are closed on Wednesdays. My last choice was Chong Lee Market on 22nd and Rupert. I have had subs there before and it's pretty good. I was thinking for some reason I couldn't get the subs there I can just get some Chinese take out. I got there and was looking at the sub menu. A lady said HI to me. I told her I wanted some subs. She said they were sold out. How can this be? Four different locations and I couldn't get any subs. It's either super busy for them because everyone wants Viet subs instead of leftover turkey or I have extremely bad luck. I guess no viet subs for us that night. I ended up getting some chow mein, chicken wings and honey garlic spare ribs.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Day 351: Christmas Hangover
Dec 25
During they day I did some house cleaning and relaxed a bit. We had a small family dinner with just a few cousins and an aunt and uncle. Of course being the non-traditional family, we had a Vietnamese noodle soup which has some veggies and beef. There was also some homemade spring rolls. For dessert we had some vanilla ice cream. With my ice cream, I added some chocolate syrup, blackberries and whipped cream.
Dec 26
I wanted to do some Boxing Day shopping. My first stop was to get a Ryan Kesler shirt for my friend in downtown. That store opened at 9am. I didn't want to lose out on getting a good deal on this shirt. I got there at about 9:30am and there wasn't anyone at the store so I didn't have much competition. My next destination was the Canucks store at Rogers Arena. They had a sale of 20-40% off everything in the store. I got a few things. I had to rest up for my big dinner.
The dinner was at my mom's cousins' house in Burnaby. They live in a nice large house so they can fit lots of people. This was an opportunity to see and spend some time with my second cousins. There was about 30+ people in attendance and about 10 of us were 'kids'. I arrived a bit late because my dad worked till 6:30pm and we didn't get there till about 7:15pm. Once we got there, some of my cousins were playing Funenglish. It is a new game and fun in a large group. I was so hungry when I got there. Luckily the food was ready and everyone there was ready to eat. There was so much food. It was all so delicious. There was spinach dip with garlic bread, green salad with a vinaigrette dressing, green bean salad, Vietnamese beef stew, sirloin steak, potato salad, ribs and fried shrimp. Of course, I had to save some space for dessert. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of main course, but I got my camera ready for the dessert.
The cake was from a bakery. My very talented aunt made some of the desserts. She made the cream puffs, creme caramel and the cheesecake. The fruit was good replenishment after some dancing.
My cousins and I spent our time together playing games. We played Funenglish, Taboo and, the highlight, was playing Kinect. One cousin brought his Xbox and his new Kinect. We played the dancing game (I don't know the exact name of the game). One cousin had to start us off by showing us to to play the game. Once he got going, some aunts and uncles joined in. It was fun watching 50-60 year old people dancing hip hop.
After two weeks of eating and 'celebrating Christmas', I'm suffering from a Christmas hangover. I have to listen to QMFM to get my Christmas fix. Now since I have attended my last Christmas party, there will be no more Christmas cookies and cakes. Next excuse for indulging in more food: new years eve!!
During they day I did some house cleaning and relaxed a bit. We had a small family dinner with just a few cousins and an aunt and uncle. Of course being the non-traditional family, we had a Vietnamese noodle soup which has some veggies and beef. There was also some homemade spring rolls. For dessert we had some vanilla ice cream. With my ice cream, I added some chocolate syrup, blackberries and whipped cream.
Dec 26
I wanted to do some Boxing Day shopping. My first stop was to get a Ryan Kesler shirt for my friend in downtown. That store opened at 9am. I didn't want to lose out on getting a good deal on this shirt. I got there at about 9:30am and there wasn't anyone at the store so I didn't have much competition. My next destination was the Canucks store at Rogers Arena. They had a sale of 20-40% off everything in the store. I got a few things. I had to rest up for my big dinner.
The dinner was at my mom's cousins' house in Burnaby. They live in a nice large house so they can fit lots of people. This was an opportunity to see and spend some time with my second cousins. There was about 30+ people in attendance and about 10 of us were 'kids'. I arrived a bit late because my dad worked till 6:30pm and we didn't get there till about 7:15pm. Once we got there, some of my cousins were playing Funenglish. It is a new game and fun in a large group. I was so hungry when I got there. Luckily the food was ready and everyone there was ready to eat. There was so much food. It was all so delicious. There was spinach dip with garlic bread, green salad with a vinaigrette dressing, green bean salad, Vietnamese beef stew, sirloin steak, potato salad, ribs and fried shrimp. Of course, I had to save some space for dessert. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of main course, but I got my camera ready for the dessert.
The cake was from a bakery. My very talented aunt made some of the desserts. She made the cream puffs, creme caramel and the cheesecake. The fruit was good replenishment after some dancing.
My cousins and I spent our time together playing games. We played Funenglish, Taboo and, the highlight, was playing Kinect. One cousin brought his Xbox and his new Kinect. We played the dancing game (I don't know the exact name of the game). One cousin had to start us off by showing us to to play the game. Once he got going, some aunts and uncles joined in. It was fun watching 50-60 year old people dancing hip hop.
After two weeks of eating and 'celebrating Christmas', I'm suffering from a Christmas hangover. I have to listen to QMFM to get my Christmas fix. Now since I have attended my last Christmas party, there will be no more Christmas cookies and cakes. Next excuse for indulging in more food: new years eve!!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Day 350: Christmas Week
It has been a busy week for me.
Dec 17
My mom's company Christmas dinner. She retired this year. They also invite their retirees to come join them for Christmas dinner. Because my mom has worked there for almost 30 years, they gave her a special present as a reward for working there for so many years. I have been going to these dinners for many years. It's quite entertaining for little kids. But for someone my age, it's ok. It's more about the food for me. It's at a Chinese restaurant and it's a 12 course meal similar to wedding banquets.
Dec 18
My dinner at Phnom Phenh.
http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com/2010/12/phnom-penh.html
Dec 19
Christmas brunch at a friend's house. It was nice to see them again. I haven't seen in a few months. The brunch consists of pancakes, eggs, sausages, bacon and some fruit. There were many of their friends that I haven't met before. They had a gingerbread cookie building competition. It was really neat to see people's creations. There were lots of candy that you can use to decorate the gingerbread. One guy used a jelly bean to represent baby jesus. Another guy put two cookies together to make a race track. We stayed there for a few hours then went home to rest.
Dec 20
I got together with one group of friends for dinner. This dinner was about a month in the planning. There is 7 of us and it's hard to coordinate schedules. Dec 20 is a Monday and some of us has Mondays off. It was at one friend's house. We went over to make the dinner. It is fun to learn to cook together and eat together. For dinner we had a salad, mashed potatoes, green beans and a roast. It was so tasty!!
Dec 21
There is a group of friends who we get together every Christmas. This year we had our dinner at Boston Pizza and it was also pasta Tuesday. But I didn't feel like pasta. This dinner was also planned well in advance. I wouldn't think that I wouldn't be feeling like eating pasta that night. I had a whole rack of ribs with a side of veggies, garlic bread and a side salad. I didn't realized how hungry I was. After the rack of ribs, I was still hungry. But I didn't order anything after my meal. We had a small gift exchange after dinner.
Dec 22
I went to a birthday dinner. I was a small dinner. After dinner, we had some birthday cake.
Dec 23
We got invited to another Christmas dinner. The invite said 7 pm. We only know one couple there. We wanted to time it so when they arrive, we will be there too. We arrived a bit earlier than them. We got there about 7:30ish. The party wasn't really set up yet. Not everyone was there. It was supposed to be a potluck dinner. I was so hungry by the time I got there. We didn't start eating till a bit past 8pm. There was some Chinese take out, pizza, salad, pasta, mussels, some Phillipino dishes, fruit tarts and yule log. There was also a gift exchange. We had to leave early because we had to work early the next day.
Dec 24
It was a half work day for me. It was so easy to work a 4 hour shift. After work, I came home and took a nap. I woke up and had lunch. I went to dinner tonight. It was a simple dinner. Future Shop and Best Buy had their boxing day sale start tonight. I bought a few items. It took awhile because they site kept on crashing. Too many people are on these sites on Christmas eve ;)
Dec 17
My mom's company Christmas dinner. She retired this year. They also invite their retirees to come join them for Christmas dinner. Because my mom has worked there for almost 30 years, they gave her a special present as a reward for working there for so many years. I have been going to these dinners for many years. It's quite entertaining for little kids. But for someone my age, it's ok. It's more about the food for me. It's at a Chinese restaurant and it's a 12 course meal similar to wedding banquets.
Dec 18
My dinner at Phnom Phenh.
http://lisa-restaurants.blogspot.com/2010/12/phnom-penh.html
Dec 19
Christmas brunch at a friend's house. It was nice to see them again. I haven't seen in a few months. The brunch consists of pancakes, eggs, sausages, bacon and some fruit. There were many of their friends that I haven't met before. They had a gingerbread cookie building competition. It was really neat to see people's creations. There were lots of candy that you can use to decorate the gingerbread. One guy used a jelly bean to represent baby jesus. Another guy put two cookies together to make a race track. We stayed there for a few hours then went home to rest.
Dec 20
I got together with one group of friends for dinner. This dinner was about a month in the planning. There is 7 of us and it's hard to coordinate schedules. Dec 20 is a Monday and some of us has Mondays off. It was at one friend's house. We went over to make the dinner. It is fun to learn to cook together and eat together. For dinner we had a salad, mashed potatoes, green beans and a roast. It was so tasty!!
Dec 21
There is a group of friends who we get together every Christmas. This year we had our dinner at Boston Pizza and it was also pasta Tuesday. But I didn't feel like pasta. This dinner was also planned well in advance. I wouldn't think that I wouldn't be feeling like eating pasta that night. I had a whole rack of ribs with a side of veggies, garlic bread and a side salad. I didn't realized how hungry I was. After the rack of ribs, I was still hungry. But I didn't order anything after my meal. We had a small gift exchange after dinner.
Dec 22
I went to a birthday dinner. I was a small dinner. After dinner, we had some birthday cake.
Dec 23
We got invited to another Christmas dinner. The invite said 7 pm. We only know one couple there. We wanted to time it so when they arrive, we will be there too. We arrived a bit earlier than them. We got there about 7:30ish. The party wasn't really set up yet. Not everyone was there. It was supposed to be a potluck dinner. I was so hungry by the time I got there. We didn't start eating till a bit past 8pm. There was some Chinese take out, pizza, salad, pasta, mussels, some Phillipino dishes, fruit tarts and yule log. There was also a gift exchange. We had to leave early because we had to work early the next day.
Dec 24
It was a half work day for me. It was so easy to work a 4 hour shift. After work, I came home and took a nap. I woke up and had lunch. I went to dinner tonight. It was a simple dinner. Future Shop and Best Buy had their boxing day sale start tonight. I bought a few items. It took awhile because they site kept on crashing. Too many people are on these sites on Christmas eve ;)
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Day 348: "I Wish You Enough!"
(c) 2001 Bob Perks
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye."
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Day 347: New Work Company Policy
http://lisasfunnies.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-work-company-policy.html
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Day 346: Family Hot Pot
Tonight we had a family dinner. It was supposed to be a Christmas dinner. But we don't really celebrate Christmas and we don't eat turkey or ham. Christmas is another reason for our family to get together. We tried really hard to set a date as close to Christmas as possible. It was so difficult with so many people's schedule to work with. Tonight was the night that most of us can meet.
We have the non-traditional Christmas meal. We decide what to eat. It's not always the same meal every year. It's usually a variation of Chinese and Vietnamese food. Tonight was hot pot. There were veggies, which include bok choy and Chinese spinach. There was pork, beef, seafood, liver, tofu and tripe. There was so much food. I would put a little of each type of food in the hot pot and let it cook. A few minutes later the food was ready. We dipped it with a hoison sauce mix. My aunties mixed hoison sauce with some other sauces (I'm not sure what sauces they are). There is a system to cooking in the hot pot. I just thought I can just drop the variety of food in the pot and pick it up when it's ready. When I did that, my mom would be telling me that I did it all wrong. When the water boils, you can put in the veggies, but not with any meat. You have to take out all the veggies then put in the meat. The meat takes just a minute or two to cook. There is also vermicelli and you can eat it with the soup. After the meal, there usually is some type of fruit. Tonight it was pear and baby mandarin oranges. I love the baby mandarin oranges. It's so easy to peel and it's sweet. There was a few seeds in it, but that's ok.
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