A Scarborough Blog

2012-02-07T17:21:00.001-05:00

Sprinkle Donut from Country Style @ Markham & Lawrence

2012-02-06T22:43:00.000-05:00

Mmm... Sprinkle donut.

FYI: Country Style has WiFi but I couldn't find any plugs for my computer.

Not a "Hasty Market" Market

2012-02-05T22:06:00.001-05:00

Literally whited-out the "Hasty." ...And not even in yellow.

fishy, fishy, fishy

2012-02-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

Doesn't this garbage rather resemble a fishy?

Clara's To Do List

2012-02-01T13:36:00.001-05:00

(March 28, 2009)

1. ~~See an ocean.~~
a) ~~Touch an ocean.~~
b) ~~Swim in an ocean.~~
2. Have tea in England.
3. Eat sushi in Japan.
4. Drink Guinness in Ireland.
5. Devour spaghetti in Italy.
6. ~~See a panda in China.~~
7. Witness a rocket launch.
8. Go to Stone Henge.
9. Go to the Great Pyramids.
10. ~~Go to the Great Wall.~~
11. Go to the Incan Ruins.
12. Watch the Northern Lights.
13. Write a book.
a) Win an award.
b) Write as many books in as many different genres as I can.

(Jan. 12, 2011)

14. Earn a Master's Degree (preferably other than a Master's in Education).
15. Truly travel Canada.
a) Anne of Green Gables & potatoes in PEI.
b) Seafood in the Maritimes.
c) Polar bears in Churchill.
d) Bread in the Prairies.
e) Peyto Lake in Alberta.
f) Rocky Mountains & Stanley Park in British Columbia.
g) Mounties in the Yukon/Northwest Territories.
16. Not be a teacher for more than 5 years consecutively.
17. Get married. I'm working on this one... :)
18. Make a lasting difference.

(Feb. 1, 2012) [probably in the order in which they'll be completed)

19. Practice a martial art (and tai chi counts).
20. Learn how to cook (Chinese, vegetarian, and vegan meals).
21. Swim with dolphins.
22. Participate in a true polar bear swim.
23. Complete a triathlon.
24. Be (at least orally) fluent in another language.
25. Do something absolutely terrifying (e.g. hang-gliding, skydiving, bungee jumping, etc...)..
26. Visit (and fully experience) a nudist colony.
27. Write a novel.

See Below 16/17

2011-12-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
P.S. No more resolutions for now.

Aquatics Harmonization 15/17

2011-12-29T11:30:00.001-05:00

Swimming at the Y 14/17

2011-12-27T03:02:00.003-05:00

Maybe it's the red hair or maybe it's my small stature, or maybe it's just that I don't usually fit the demographics of lane swims, but old white guys always talk to me while I'm swimming--or rather while I'm catching my breath standing near the wall, more accurately.

Now, I am definitely not trying to say that I object to speaking to older gentlemen. Certainly not! It's just I have found that this is a noticeable trend when I'm swimming. No other activity has me more noticed by old white guys.

While in Ottawa, I had a older man start conversation with me in between my morning lengths. He went on to explain to me that he was a champion swimmer back in the day before he had surgery. Then he started correcting my strokes, which obviously would have meant he was watching me swim. Now I took his advice and accepted that he was a good swimmer, but I was only 18 and he was watching me swim. Just a bit odd.

When I switched from morning swims to lunchtime swims in third and fourth year, another white man struck up conversation with me. He also had pointers for my strokes and then commented on how much better I had become through practice (I saw him every Monday at lunch, you see, and I suppose he, too, was watching me swim).

The old white guys at the pool where I work also often talk to me.

But when I really noticed this trend of being approached was today. I was at the Y swimming because I did not feel like working out with Kangdi. After completing 50 lengths, I decided I would swim a 100.

While I waiting on the wall for a moment, this man from the next lane over called out "Are you a Libra?" I replied no that I was a Taurus, which led him to reply "Oh, I thought you were a Libra like me!" He started asking me about how many lengths I was doing, how often I swam, and how many times I frequented the Y. All innocent questions, I suppose, but a tad creepy, no?

Now I realize these old white guys probably have pure intentions, but I really never get any old white guy attention except at the pool. I always reply politely and practice good conversation skills, but it is a tad odd, don't you think?

Szechuan Legend Delivery 13/17

2011-12-26T21:51:00.004-05:00

Tofu and eggplant! Yum!

My kryptonite: kung pao shrimp!

Non-spicy chicken of some sort.

Spicy beef!

It took over an hour for our food to arrive, and when it did the dishes were in smaller portions and didn't taste as good as sitting down in a restaurant. If you really don't feel like going out, ordering in from Szechuan Legend in an option, but I would recommend going into the restaurant in person.

See Below 12/17

2011-12-25T11:20:00.001-05:00

MERRY

CHRISTMAS

Zoo 11/17

2011-12-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

Midnight Wrapping Monster 10/17

2011-12-23T02:32:00.000-05:00

I wrapped these presents while watching two and a half episodes of Felicity. Good night!

Winter(?) in Rouge Park 9/17

2011-12-22T22:58:00.002-05:00

So, it's officially winter. You can definitely tell by the weather. *sarcasm* Nonetheless, it was a good day to go for a walk in Rouge Park.

Starting the trek up the hill. It's the trail after the Celebration Forest. There are so many trails in Rouge Park that it's quite tough to stay on an official one. We followed Orchard Trail back, though.

The world seemed much more vivid with my
sunglasses so I took a picture will a lens in front
of the camera.

And this is what the forest looks like without the
sunglasses lens. Beautiful, but more dull.

Bah! So lovely!

These trees just look so magical. I think I want to take engagement photos in Rouge Park. I googled "engagement photos 'rouge park' toronto" and I think this session best matches what I'd want in engagement photos. More silliness need, though.

You can see the hydro lines go all the way back.

Some ice, just in case you weren't feeling wintery.

New boardwalk on the Orchard Trail. Harper was happier to walk in the mud.

Little Rouge Creek. It was moving so fast! What a great sound!

I think this is best picture I took. I wish I had brought my fancy camera! I took all these photos with my phone. :)

Dinner 8/17

2011-12-21T19:59:00.001-05:00

Kangdi and I weren't sure what to eat for dinner. We thought about Lucky's and even went so far as to write down what we would order for take out (chili chicken, vegetable pakora, hot and sour soup...). Then we considered the delicious kung pao shrimp from Szechuan Legend. We even considered going to Tangerine even though I'd very recently been there.

Then, Kangdi abruptly said, "I'll cook dinner!" And cook dinner he did. A feast!

Left to Right: Spicy, green beans & fishy tofu, Deep-fried battered shrimp, and Stir-fried broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, & shrimp. A feast!

Something 7/17

2011-12-20T13:01:00.004-05:00

I miss these balloons at STC!!

Bluffs in December 6/17

2011-12-19T17:26:00.013-05:00

Tiny sand bluffs.

Kangdi's family.

The Scarborough flag.

Beemer the Red Nosed BMW. (Note: Green & Red.)

These are the beautifully whimsical murals that are found on the Bluffer's Park bathroom pavilion. The inscription on the mural reads: W.S.N.C.C G.T. Project. I believe this means that these murals were painted by volunteers from the West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre and that they were part of a Graffiti Transformation project. Anyone have any more information about them?

ScarbSpeak 5/17

2011-12-18T08:57:00.001-05:00

"What is he?"

"What was she?"

I believe it's only in Scarborough that people use these phrases to ask the nationality / race of another person.

Example:
One: "I got hit on at the mall by a creepy guy."

Two: "What was he?"

One: "An old white guy."

Thunder in December? 4/17

2011-12-15T14:52:00.005-05:00

You have got to be kidding me.

Weather, there are 10 days until Christmas. Don't be ridiculous.

Tangerine & Cake @ Markham & Ellesmere 3/17

2011-12-14T23:30:00.000-05:00

On a rainy December night, a couple friends and I planned to eat dinner at Tangerine Asian Cuisine--a Hakka place in the new-ish plaza at Markham and Ellesmere. It was a celebration of sorts; an end-of-exams-feast, if you will. Coming from downtown, Sam and I took the subway, RT, then Highland Creek bus to the restaurant, where we met Jess.

I have written about hakka food in Scarborough so many times! But I just love the stuff so much! Having frequented Tangerine before, we knew the food was good and the location was better. Perhaps not the caliber of Lucky's (hard to beat its spicy Scarborough charm) but Tangerine is still delicious and is located in a more convenient spot for my friends and I.

When dining at hakka restaurants, can always order to classics: chili chicken, vegetable pakora, and chop suey, but it's nice to spice (nice use of words) it up sometimes! We each ordered a dish to be shared and there were a few dishes I hadn't tried before.

Chili Vegetable Ball: Jess found it unnerving that these meatball phonies did not taste like meat, but if you're expecting a deep-fried, carb-filled, dense potato-things, then you'll like them! The sauce was flavourful and spicy!

Manchurian Tofu with Mix Vegetable: The sauce was tasty and the vegetables were crisp, but I would have liked more tofu. As well, at Tangerine knives aren't given out, which means you have to devour that whole Chinese vegetable at once. That can be tricky and messy.

Shrimp Shanghai Noodle: The noodles had a good texture and there were lots of shrimp. It was a little bit plain, but still worth eating. I think I've been eating at my (Chinese) fiance's house too much. I'm starting to feel like ordering noodles or fried rice at a restaurant is kind a waste of money. At Tangerine, you receive bowls of white rice for free!

Total Damage: Roughly $10 per person, plus there was a sizable amount of leftovers; I like it!

Tangerine is a bit of a franchise, too. There are also locations in Markham and in Whitby. Check out the website! The website also has menus, hakka history, and lots of information about the food.

Lucky's will always hold a special place in my heart, but I'm going to rate Tangerine the same as Lucky's: *** and a half / ****.

DESSERT

Not wanting to end our night quite yet, we headed across the parking lot to Coffee Culture, a classy-esque coffee house.

But on the way, right beside Coffee Culture, we saw this:

So Into Cupcakes? I'm so into cupcakes! When did this get here?!

I did a little bit of searching and found that this cupcakery opened only last weekend. There's a Facebook page with lots of pictures if you want check that out. I will have to peruse this bakery soon!

On to the main event...

CAKE!

I definitely could have found a better angle to display the cake, but I suppose I was in too much of a rush to eat them! Us three shared, two pieces of cake, and ordered tea. (I had Earl Grey and it was lovely.)

The cake on the left is a chocolate truffle cake, I believe, whereas the cake on the right was more of a mousse cake. The right cake was absolutely, mouth-watering, smooth and decadently delicious. The left cake was good too, but it was no right cake.

And for some holiday cheer, we were sitting beside the fire.

Oranges 2/17

2011-12-08T21:15:00.008-05:00

Ever notice that at the Scarborough Town Centre bus station, the little hallway between the terminal and ticket kiosk smells like oranges?

Explanation, anyone?

Resolution Failure

2011-12-04T09:02:00.004-05:00

At 13/14 blog entries, I obviously failed my November Resolution. So let's make way for my December Resolution: 17 entries!

And I'm slowly going back and polishing (/finishing) the November blog entries I half-did.

Snow!!! 13/14

2011-11-30T13:55:00.001-05:00

Last week I finished up my practicum at an elementary school. It was a great experience and I missed it immediately Monday morning as I woke up knowing I had to go to school. From teacher to student--an uneasy jump. So, I decided on my day off, I would return to the school to volunteer. I'm not the student teacher anymore, so my job is to sit and try and find things to do. But I love it all the same. (And I'm trying my hand at this thing called networking; it's difficult!)

While the class was doing some silent reading, I was finishing the marking for a few assignments left over from last week.

"It's snowing!" someone exclaimed. I looked out the window only to find a few flakes dancing on the wind.

Not exciting.

They're a Girl's Best Friend 12/14

2011-11-28T22:08:00.004-05:00

There's a sparkly thing on my finger that has been commanding my attention as of late but I'm going to retroactively add some blog entries to attempt to fulfill my November resolution.

Peppermint Hot Chocolate! 11/14

2011-11-27T22:12:00.002-05:00

It's days like this that I long for where I lived in Ottawa. I was in walking distance of a couple restaurants, a couple bars, a bakery, a bank, a library, my school, Starbucks. In Scarborough, the Starbucks that is closest to me is all the way close to Scarborough Town Centre. (The same "plaza" as the Cora's!)

Scarborough, I suppose, is truly a suburb. But when I think of suburbs I think of giant houses, located on giant streets, found in giant residential areas. The nearest Loblaws, where everyone is forced to shop, is at least a ten minute drive away. Scarborough is not a downtown core by any means, but it doesn't feel like a suburb.

Except when it comes to having nice restaurants, nice bars, bakeries, banks, libraries, school, and Starbucks in easy walking distance.

(If someone call find me a place in Toronto with a small town feel, like I've discussed, I would be eternally grateful.)

For now, here are some Christmas flavoured drinks:

And yes, my sister was to embarrassed for me to take pictures IN Starbucks so we had to wait until we returned to the car.

Maybe I Just Don't Like Korean Barbecue 10/14

2011-11-26T22:37:00.002-05:00

I always feel weird speaking ill of restaurants which everyone seems to enjoy. But, I just really didn't like my experience at Chako, a Korean barbecue restaurant, located at Midland and McNicoll.

So maybe it's just that I don't like Korean barbecue. (And let me remind you that I'm vegetarian so that may colour my judgement, as well.)

A Nickel for Your Thoughts 9/14

2011-11-25T22:41:00.003-05:00

Excuse me Wind, that is not how you spell "nickel."

And oddly enough, I have only seen this ad misspelled on Scarborough bus ads. ("Nickel" is spelled correctly on TV ads and in the subway. Hmm...)

Snow! (8/14)

2011-11-18T00:30:00.001-05:00

The time of year when snow is still somewhat exciting.

Moxie's at STC* (7/14)

2011-11-17T07:23:00.003-05:00

*That would be Scarborough Town Centre. But I can't see why you wouldn't know that, considering this is a Scarborough blog...

My friends and I visited Moxie's a couple weeks ago for dinner. We wanted to see a movie afterward, so we picked a restaurant around STC. I'm not the biggest fan of Boston Pizza and we didn't think of Jack Astor's or St. Louis, so our logical move was Moxie's. It's a fancy-"ish" restaurant, with moderate to good food at somewhat expensive prices. I think what you're paying for is a diverse menu and the "classy" atmosphere.

It's a nice place to meet up with friends but I wouldn't go out of my way to go to Moxie's. But I digress.

I had a hard time choosing what I wanted to eat. Being vegetarian at Moxie's is difficult. Good thing I started eating fish and they let me order off the lunch menu. I present to you a Grilled Salmon Sandwich for $13. I thoroughly enjoyed demi-pita with spring mix (I was craving veggies!)

Once we found out that we could order from the lunch menu, Sam ordered Fish Tacos. She said they were good but are better at St. Louis. The breading on the fish was a little off-putting and there was too much sauce.

Pree ordered a veggie burger and fries--a solid vegetarian combo. While the French fries were delicious (I tried some) Pree said the burger had too much sauce--which I'm guessing is the basil pesto. The salad you see in the background was a mistake courtesy of our server; she was definitely off her game. She forgot to get a drink, she spilled some food, and she gave Pree a salad instead of fries. She apologized profusely, which may have further proven how off her game she was.

Lyn also ordered a veggie burger. She said the same thing about too much sauce and added that the chefs topped the burger with too many onions. I remember her saying something about not even being able to really taste the burger. That's when Pree quipped that she had removes a bunch of the onion from her meal.

For dessert we shared the Tasting Trio--white chocolate brownie, chocolate espresso mousse, and sticky toffee pudding. I can only really speak of the toffee pudding because I loved it so much I didn't want to waste my time with the other desserts. Seriously... it's that good.

So, overall, Moxie's is a nice place to go for dinner. It has some areas in which it lacks (saucy burgers) but the food is generally good. Not sure if you're appreciate the prices for what you're getting but I'll give it *** / ****. (I could never be a food critic because I'm too soft!)

Fuzzlecakes! (6/14)

2011-11-13T21:05:00.011-05:00

Fuzzlecakes are a something that my friends and I have done before. I've even blogged about it adn gave it its own story ("Pajacis")! Here's the little blurb I wrote two years ago, which pretty much is the blurb I would have written now.

This weekend, Sam, Jess, and I made our own fuzzlecakes. "Fuzzlecakes" actually originate from seventh grade, I think, when I did something that offended Jess and she threatened that she'd make me eat a fuzzlecake. No one knew what that was, so she started envisioned what this cake could be--a disgusting pastry made with bird poop. Pretty darn awesome and not at all weird, right? For our fuzzlecakes we basically made cupcakes and topped them with yucky-looking, yummy-tasting candy. Here are the fruits of our labour. Fuzzlecakes

Step 1: Make the chocolate cupcakes and ice them with chocolate icing (dirt)!

Step 2: Add green sugar (grass).

Step 3: Place some candy peanuts (clumps of gross).

Step 4: Maybe affix a few candy rocks and Cloddhoppers (pebbles and poop).

Step 5: If you're feeling dandy, put on some chocolate almond candy (poop?!).

Step 6: Eggies (bird eggs)!

Aren't they beautiful?!

Scarborough, This Is How You Stay Classy On the Bus (5/14)

2011-11-11T00:06:00.003-05:00

1. Touch as many people as you can. Squish through passengers when there obviously isn't room. When people are short, hold the pole above their heads to leave your arm resting on their shoulders. When trying to exit a busy bus, don't wait until the bus has stopped; push your way through!

2. Talk about people on the bus while you're on the bus. For bonus class, loudly talk about the body odour of the person standing next to you.

3. Play your MP3 player at full volume. If half the bus can't hear you, turn it up! An added challenge is listening to your beautifully noisy tunes with your dumb-expensive headphones resting neatly around your neck (not on your ears, of course).

4. You've had a hard day of school/work/working out. You deserve to sprawl out! To be the class envy of everyone around you, reach your arms across the seats beside you, let your legs out into the aisle, and carefully toss your bag on a seat. The epitome of class is when you don't offer these seats to anyone else.

Any other rules?

Before It's Winter... (4/14)

2011-11-09T23:56:00.002-05:00

Let me upload some autumn pictures I took back at the end of September.

Photos taken in Rouge Park.

A Revisit to Big Meal Sushi (3/14)

2011-11-08T17:01:00.005-05:00

The last time I visited Big Meal I gave it an okay review. And while I haven't reversed what wrote, I am going to add to it.

I do still agree that the service is fairly slow, but it is getting better. Kangdi and I spoke to the owners and they told us they were in the process of hiring a new chef and a few new servers. And besides, we didn't have any shrimp tempura fiascoes or orange juice conundrums. So on the service front, better.

You can tell that the owners are working really hard to improve their restaurant. For instance, this time when I ordered mango pudding, the dessert came with a few little mango globes on top. I thought they were neat, but Kangdi likened them to pimples. Filled with mango juice surrounded by a gelatinuous layer, they pop in your mouth.

I'm definitely going to keep my eye on Big Meal. The food and service is improving! (...But the price still doesn't quite match the quality.)

Rats! Now I'm craving sushi! Anyone fancy a visit to Big Meal?

So now that Halloween is over... 2/14

2011-11-03T22:23:00.001-04:00

It's time for Christmas!
But even I have to admit, it seems a little early for Christmas. Maybe wait until after Remembrance Day?

(Photos taken at Scarborough Town Centre.)

A Last Vestige of Halloween & A Resolution 1/14

2011-11-01T19:36:00.007-04:00

As we were driving out of Kennedy Commons we saw this. I would be surprised if no one called the police!
_____________________________________________________
So, this blog is no stranger to resolutions. We've the December Resolution and the Reading Week Resolution. Considering I've been perhaps slacking a tad on my blogging, I'm introducing a November Resolution. I am going to blog twice as many times as I did in October. This means there will be 14 blog posts for the month of November. This should be interesting because I'm also in teachers' college practicum for this entire month. Good luck to me!

The Death of Halloween

2011-10-31T19:36:00.015-04:00

SEVEN TRICK-OR-TREATERS

SEVEN

ONLY SEVEN

I remember when I was younger there would be swarms of trick-or-treaters. You'd meet countless classmates as you stalk the streets and driveways. Now anxious hander-outers have to wait patiently at the window for the few seven dressed up kiddies. What's happened?

o Is Halloween too dangerous now? Parents are too paranoid?
o Is it a Scarborough thing? Changing demographics? New Canadians not wanting to give out free candy?
o Is it just that Kangdi's house is on a street with few children?

So, how many trick-or-treaters did you have?
Or maybe a better question is: How did you celebrate Halloween this year?

Well, in any case...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Don't Give Your Money to Premier Fitness

2011-10-28T17:11:00.006-04:00

For those who are looking for a new gym, or perhaps already at a gym, let this be a warning to you. Read your gym contracts. Not carefully analysing the contract and trusting business ethics, caused my boyfriend Kangdi to be scammed out of $111.90.

From the Lovely YMCA to the Lacklustre Premier Fitness
Mid-September of last year Kangdi decided to make a move from the YMCA to Premier Fitness, after the Y substantially increased its membership fee. Although Premier's equipment was not as good as the Y's, nor was it maintained, and the staff weren't friendly either, Kangdi was seduced by the cheap price of about $420 flat for the year (around $35 a month, with no registration fee).

After finding himself not wanting to ever work out at Premier, Kangdi decided to just bite the bullet and pay for the Y.

I worked out once at Premier with him, and let me assure you, it's not a happy gym. The front desk people are not nice and the gym environment is not a happy place. Moreover, they don't even refill their disinfectant spray or their bathroom soap!

No Renewal, Please
Fast forward to the beginning of September. Premier's head office called Kangdi to ask if he wanted to renew his year membership. Obviously, he said no. Head office said okay and that was it.

Almost two months later Kangdi received another phone call from Premier. Apparently his payments hadn't gone throught.

"What payments?" he asked, since he hadn't renewed his contract and hadn't been to the gym in months.

Since the year contract was up in September, Premier had been charging his account bi-weekly ever since without notice.

It didn't matter that Kangdi told the head office he was done with Premier. They kept charging him!

Then Cancel My Membership Right Now, Please
"Well sir, you can't cancel your membership with an outstanding balance. And we're going to keep charging you until you physically go to the gym and cancel. Over the phone doesn't count. Your contract automatically renews. Keep in mind that you need to give 30 days before you cancel."

In Short
o Equipment * / **** (They did have equipment, even if most of it was broken.)
o Staff * / **** (They did have staff walking around, but they were not at all friendly.)
o Ethics 0 / **** (They did have a contract, so legally they're fine, but it's just not good business.)

Overall half a * / ****.

And we're not the only ones complaining:
>>Premier Fitness leads in gym complaints, CBC

Fish & Chips at St. Andrew's

2011-10-19T10:19:00.011-04:00

Fancy black pudding, Scottish meat pie, or a deep-fried Mars bar? Or maybe mealie or haggis? Or perhaps just a plate of fish and chips? Then St. Andrew's is the place for you.

It's a little eatery in a not so grand looking plaza. On the south side of Ellesmere, near McCowan, is this traditional Scottish restaurant.

Close up of deep-fried fish
deliciousness!

It's located next to a pet food shop and a convenience store--an unsuspecting place. With a small storefront bordered by a sign with bold blue writing and a Scottish flag, it's pretty easy to miss.

I visited St. Andrew's with my friend Samantha after I was having a craving for fish and chips. It's an easy walk from Scarborough Town Centre. As we walked along Ellesmere, we started doubting that we knew where to go. Unsuspecting and easy to miss, as I said.

But we spotted the Scottish flag and knew we were on the right track.

St. Andrew's Fish & Chips is not much to look at on the inside. As you enter there is a counter for take-out. I distinctly remember waiting there when I was little. To the right, there is a little hall lined with black and white pictures.

In the dining room, it's hard not to notice that the main clientele of St. Andrew's is old white people. Must mean it's good, right?

Tables are covered with red clothes and beige walls are covered with pictures of Scotland.

Being the cheap Scarborough folk we are, Samantha and I opted for "best deal" at St. Andrews: two haddock fillets with chips. I ordered just the a la carte fish and chips and Samantha ordered the dinner option. We shared the sides that came along with dinner.

(To see the menu, click here!)

Thin, dense, fresh Scottish bread. Mmm...

Mushie peas! One of the side dishes out of a selection of mushie peas, of course, cole slaw, or pickled beets. I have a sneaking suspicion they weren't vegetarian but I didn't ask I just ate.

The fish and the chips! The fish was very breaded and very good. The chips were obviously cut fresh, and were tasty but not super fantastic.

The aftermath.

Our dinner was delicious! I would definitely recommend and I would definitely frequent again. It's a real traditional sort of fish and chips place.

I'm going to rate it *** and a half / ****.

A Delicious Spooktacular Pumpkin Spice Donut

2011-10-17T18:06:00.001-04:00

Pumpkin Spice Donut: 80 cents
Phone that Takes Pictures: 290 dollars
Embarrassing Your Sister While You Take Pictures of a Donut in a Busy Subway Station: Priceless

Big Meal Sushi

2011-10-12T11:23:00.014-04:00

Since this place is a new business, and I love sushi, I reviewed it again!
Click here to see how it's getting better!

Located at Kennedy and McNicoll, Big Meal has taken over Nikada Sushi Robata. Big Meal also serves sushi. Bento boxes for lunch and all-you-can-eat for dinner. We visited at dinnertime.

I wish every meal could start with green tea and miso soup!

Appetizers of octopus ball (mostly breading), baked scallop? (delicious!), and chicken pieces ("just okay"), and clam (good)!

Shrimp tempura! Funny thing about the shrimp, we originally ordered four. Then we ate them all, so we ordered six more. Maybe half an hour later when no shrimp had arrived, we inquired and then said we wanted four. We waited and waited and waited and with no shrimp we stopped a server and told them we were still waiting for our four pieces of shrimp tempura. Then maybe ten minutes later a giant pile of shrimp tempura was brought to our table. Sheesh! We only wanted four!

An assortment of sashimi. I am not a sashimi expert but this was good.

Seaweed salad!

Sushi! Not spectacular, but pretty yummy!

Deepfried tofu. The fishy skin (?) flutters on top due to the heat of the tofu. It was a little bit disconcerting but I ate it anyways.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but the first orange juice is Tropicana. Kangdi was excited when he took a sip and it was delicious, fresh-tasting orange juice. So, he ordered another one. Except, the second glass of juice he ordered was a cheap, sugary, from concentrate orange punch. Disappointing.

Dessert: Japanese cake (very squishy), sesame ice-cream ("okay"), and mango pudding (sweet!).

Overall, these were the major factors when I was considering how to rate Big Meal:
o the shrimp tempura fiasco and the orange juice conundrum
o the slow service
o the somewhat expensive price ($21 for dinner)
o satisfactory to good food

As well, this restaurant just opened two weeks ago, and when I visited they hadn't yet set up their credit and debit machines so Big Meal is currently Cash Only.

I'm going to give ** and a half / ****. The quality of food and service doesn't quite match the expensive price. But I'm definitely willing to give it another try!

A Thanksgiving Walk in Guildwood Park

2011-10-09T15:58:00.009-04:00

Located between the Guildwood Parkway and Lake Ontario is the picturesque park, Guildwood. While having a fantastic view of the lake and being home to beautiful gardens and trees, Guildwood is also a sort of dumping ground for old and rejected statues.
And what a lovely day it was to visit such a park. This bride and groom picked an excellent place and time to have their wedding. So lucky to have this gorgeous weather!
I feel like the trees must have been confused. Rather warm for such red and yellow leaves!
As we ventured into the park, we discovered this old log cabin. And when I say old, I mean old. It's the oldest building in Scarborough, and second oldest in Toronto. It was built in 1795 and built for John Graves Simcoe, who first commisioned the survey of Scarborough.
There's such a sense of history in Guildwood Park.
Scarborough can be a beautiful place.

Ppoouuttiinnee!!

2011-10-06T21:57:00.001-04:00

I suppose I was missing Ottawa and the poutine truck that was near my house.

And while this was no poutine truck poutine, this poutine I bought at St. Louis more than satisfied my craving. Thick cut French fries with melted, though not squeaky, cheese curds all smothered in savoury gravy. Delicious! (Plus, it was a lot better than the "fries with grated cheese and gravy" that was offered at the now closed SoGo Bar.)

P.S. I'm going to try and update multiple times this weekend.

Weekend Desserts

2011-09-25T19:14:00.002-04:00

Friday Night

A banana split from Cafe Mirage shared among three friends and me.

Saturday

A slice of green tea cake, a slice of strawberry cheesecake, and mango pudding from T & T shared among Kangdi, his cousin, and me.

signs of fall

2011-09-21T14:01:00.004-04:00

I've giving myself 15 minutes to do this blog entry. Here goes!

It took 19 minutes to download, edit, and upload these photos! Now time to run because I'm off to see the Lion King in 3D!

Rainy Day Hot Chocolate

2011-09-19T17:36:00.001-04:00

Today was just one of those days that beckoned hot chocolate.

Because I didn't have any hot chocolate mix, I used cocoa powder and this recipe.

Think tomorrow will be a nicer day?

An Exercise In Figuring Things Out

2011-09-11T12:03:00.005-04:00

My blog is about Scarborough, yes. But it is also peppered with entries of self-reflection and trepidation.

I wonder if the May 10, 2010 Clara would be happy that I am in teachers' college, considering I've said for my whole life that teaching would be an fabulous career but also a sign that I failed as a writer.

May 10, 2010 Clara still had had hope that I might stop doubting myself and put words to pages.

I think August 10, 2010 Clara would sigh disappointingly but ultimately understandingly about my decision to pursue a career in education. But would want me to work harder at adding that "magical" element to my life.

January 12, 2011 Clara would desperately be trying to remind myself that at 22 there is a lot more life to live.

And March 22, 2011 Clara would probably　just be sad I didn't make it to graduation. (Might also be telling me to calm down for becoming so pessimistic after only two days of teachers' college.)

But whatever the thoughts of past mes, I still fall asleep questioning my education decision and wondering if I'll ever get off my butt and start writing.

Areas of Exploration:
o a certificate in Creative Writing from U of T
o a master's in Creative Writing from UBC
o a master's in Creative Writing from a university in Dublin

Hmm...

Dam, I'm Back at School

2011-09-07T20:51:00.003-04:00

*HINT* This is not in Scarborough.

Bakery Story

2011-08-30T09:35:00.004-04:00

Recently I bought a new cellphone. This is exciting in and of itself because I've always had a crummy phone. And while I do love my Xperia Mini Pro, this purchase has led to an addiction--the game...

Bakery Story!
My sister tells me this is a new level of food porn. While this may sound kind of shady, I am definitely addicted to food porn. And you may be too if you're here for the food posts. For me, my addiction includes food blogs, Food Network shows, food photography, and now my Bakery Story game.

I have really enjoyed making virtual Cinnamon Rolls, Sugar Cookies, Strawberry Cheesecakes, and Lemonade, Earl Grey Tea and Cappuccino. Designing my own bakery layout has also been a lot of fun. Even though I love this game to an embarrassing degree, virtual bakeries are only so good. Now I crave a real bakery.

Unfortunately, cute little bakery/cafes are not commonplace in Scarborough. I settled for Michel's Baguette at Scarborough Town Centre.

Apple juice, coffee, a cinnamon roll and an almond croissant. Shared with my sister.

My mall breakfast was delicious, but I'm still craving cute bakery/cafes.

Anyone been to any of these places?
o Gerhard's Cafe at Bellamy and Ellesmere
o Fabian's Cafe at Markham, between Ellesmere and Lawrence
o Francesca Italian Bakery at McCowan and Sheppard

Or any other places in Scarborough?

An August Ice Storm

2011-08-22T16:32:00.002-04:00

Hail!

What a crazy awesome storm!

Filipino Food @ Barrio Fiesta

2011-08-08T18:03:00.004-04:00

This was my first time ever trying Filipino food. And I liked it! I find the cuisine stewed, meaty and innovative--as in infusing different ingredients and spices. But then again, what do I know?

For $7.49, you can choose two dishes and rice or noodles. I went with fish (on the right) and vegetables (on the left). I really liked the sweet and sour fish and the veggies were good, as well. They weren't vegetarian as they were cooked with pieces of meat but I enjoyed the variety, which included vegetables I had never heard of.

I've walked past Barrio Fiesta many a time, but have always been too scared to try it. In fact, I've only ever entered the store to buy bus tokens. However, Kangdi was hungry and the restaurant was close, so off we went to! Here's Ada's food! Stewed fish, stewed beef, and noodles! The noodles are delicious; I would recommend them.

The restaurant is sort of a cafeteria style. You go up to the counter and point to the items you want that are slowly stewing in metal containers. Kangdi chose stewed beef, stewed chick, and noodles!

Barrio Fiesta is located in a plaza at Lapsley (between Neilson and Markham) and Sheppard. (The same plaza in which resides Roti and Pelau.) It's a small sort of place with a fair amount of seating. It's not much to look at, but it seems quite popular. Not knowing much about Filipino cuisine, let's say I'd give it a rating of *** / ****. I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

Korean Food @ Bow Bulgogi House

2011-08-07T17:58:00.004-04:00

This was my second time ever trying Korean food. And I liked it! I find the cuisine fresh, flavourful and distinct--as opposed to the one pot cooking methods of many Chinese dishes. But then again, what do I know?

The traditional Korean appetizers that are served before every meal. (Tofu, kimchi, potatoes, radishes, etc...)

A sort of Korean sushi. Made with beef, but half of ours was made without on account of my vegetarianism.

My post-devouring research skills tell me that this is called "bibimbap," which is literally translated as "mixed meal." This signature Korean dish is a bowl of warm white rice, topped with juilenned vegetables, a raw or fried egg, and sliced meat. Mine obviously didn't contain the latter.

And the "mixed" part of the name comes from stirring the ingredients all together before you eat it!

Ada's meal: pork bone soup. From what I understand, it's another Korean staple.

Cold noodles. I'm not sure how much Kangdi enjoyed this because he kept trying to steal Ada's food.

Bow Bulgogi House is located in a plaza at Kennedy and Sheppard. (The same plaza in which resides Very Fair Chinese Restaurant.) It's a small sort of place with a fair amount of seating. It's not much to look at, but it's quite popular. Not knowing much about Korean cuisine, let's say I'd give it a rating of *** / ****. I would definitely recommend giving it a try!

From a Ravine to a Dog Park with a Side of Shark Week

2011-07-31T21:36:00.010-04:00

What?! Another update so soon?! But, of course!

And in case you don't believe me that my computer is a dinosaur, I will add times as I update.
8:52 p.m. I've finally downloaded the photos from my email account. (I used Kangdi's iPhone and then emailed the pictures to myself.)

This is the view under the Ellesmere bridge, between Neilson and Orton Park. The ravine is home to this section of the Highland Creek.

9:10 p.m. Now I'm eating yogurt and watching Great White Shark Invasion while I'm working on this blog post. Interesting Shark Fact: Great whites sun bathe in shallow water and can actually tan.

Shocking to me, there are lots of fish in this creek. Looks like Harper noticed!

It's so easy to forget that Toronto was a completely wild region at one point. For a much longer period of time than it has been a city, too.

9:26 p.m.I've uploaded most of the photos. Now I'm starting to resize and add captions. Interesting Shark Fact: There has been an incredible increase in shark attacks over the past few years. The top reasons why include global warming, conservation improving amount of prey, and babies remaining and maturing in the warmer beach water.

Action shot!

Bluffs are everywhere in Scarborough, not just at the "Scarborough Bluffs."

9:41 p.m. Interesting Shark Fact: Shark nets have been in Australia waters since the 1930s. It's political suicide to propose removing them, but the nests stop and kill not only dangerous sharks, but also docile sharks, seals, and fish.

These gravel paths are fairly new. I remember venturing down the ravine in middle school, and falling over rocks and dirt paths. This is definitely now a much easier walk in the park.

10:12 p.m. I'm starting to become sleepy! Interesting Shark Fact: Shark atopsosies have revealed that sharks have toxic flesh. Even baby sharks have been found incredibly high levels of toxic metals, like mercury.

Doesn't this look like a dead deer? Don't worry; it's not! Just a weird looking tree trunk.

10:30 p.m. True I'm also watching shark shows, but this slow computer is so SLOW. Interesting Shark Fact: Beware of fish tacos in Mexico. Apparently sharks often are trapped in fish nets. Since shark meat isn't desirable and because anglers don't want to waste, the meat is ground up and put into tacos.

And the Botany Hill Dog Park! It's basically a fenced in section of field. There are a couple of benches, but this park is very uninteresting. We brought Harper here to socialize with some other dogs. Unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures, but I promise it's not a very exciting place. I know how nice off leash dog parks are, though, interesting or not.

10:59 p.m. Oi! Almost done! I just need to go back and polish and edit. Sadly, the shark shows are over for tonight.

11:27 p.m. Started watching Mythbusters, but going to sleep soon. Good night!

So, It's Been a Month

2011-07-29T18:26:00.001-04:00

Yikes!

I haven't updated in a month. Madness! My laptop battery completely died and I've been putting off buying a new one. The computer currently at my disposal is fairly ancient and demented. Thus, blogging is tres annoying.

But, I'm going to get off my butt and buy a battery soon. I promise.

For now, enjoy this colourful slushie!

2011-06-29T04:41:00.004-04:00

Live a little;
write a little.

My First Vietnamese Sandwich (Delicious!)

2011-06-23T22:18:00.002-04:00

I have always heard of these cheap sandwiches you can buy at Vietnamese restaurants. I had never had one, but I had been craving them it all the same. And yesterday, I finally ate one.

This vegetarian sandwich cost $2 and it was filled with toppings like chopped cilantro, sliced carrots, slivered cucumbers, tofu pieces and a spicy spread. It was delicious!

So delicious, in fact, that I completely forgot to take a picture until I was done my sandwich.

But I will eat here again, so hopefully there will be many more pictures!

Banh Mi Nguyen Huong, the Vietnamese sandwich shop, is located just outside of T & T at Middlefield and Steeles.

Misty Nights in Scarborough

2011-06-22T22:39:00.004-04:00

Swirly Fog

The Sketchy "Lines" in the Middle of the Road Freak Me Out

Narrow Creaky Bridge

The Distance Disappears

All of the Lights

These photos were taken at about ten o'clock at night in and around Old Finch and Morningside. Creepy, no?

I've written about Old Finch before. It's a underdeveloped, rural road with no lights and abandoned barns and churches. You can find this area in northeastern Scarborough.

And tonight the fog made it extra eerie. I wanted to take pictures of the Hillside Church but Kangdi insisted that I could not using his phone (he's superstitious about these things). Considering I didn't have my own camera, I settled for these shots.

A Scarborough Directory

2011-06-20T19:53:00.001-04:00

I *think* I've completed A Scarborough Directory!

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Graceful Vegetarian Restaurant

2011-06-20T09:15:00.010-04:00

The Entrance to Pacific Mall
Picture by Andrew Currie

Though this place is not actually located IN Scarborough, it's close enough! You can find this small Chinese restaurant just north of Pacific Mall, which is located at Kennedy and Steeles. I should definitely have a post about PMall, but for now only the Graceful Vegetarian Restaurant.

A couple Saturdays ago, my friend planned a karaoke night. For some pre-singing nourishment, we decided to check out a vegetarian restaurant a friend knew.

Except, she didn't know where it was.

We all met at Pacific Mall. We knew the vegetarian eatery was past Market Village so we headed up that way. But from there, we had no idea.

Then I had a great idea. I should call Kangdi! He'd know!

Fortunately, he knew the name of the restaurant so we could ask someone. Unfortunately, he didn't know the name in English.

Armed with the knowledge that were looking for a place called "Fa Hai," we set out to find someone who would know where it was.

First we asked a lady at a small magazine shop in Market Village. She didn't know.

Flustered, we didn't know who else to ask.

Then I saw a group of young Chinese kids. I bet they know PMall inside out, I said.

One of my brave friends approached them saying "Fa Hai." Not a speaker of Mandarin, who knows what she was actually saying. But eventually they deciphered it and directed us toward the end of the mall.

We exited and then walked along a sidewalk, passing multiple restaurants, but no vegetarian restaurant in sight. We didn't even know its English name.

"Where is it?"

Almost ready to turn around and find a new place to eat, we went to get a better look at the restaurant at the end the row.

And, success!

So, in short, the Graceful Vegetarian Restaurant may be difficult to find.

But once you do, the vegetarian food is delicious!

Vegetarian Shark's Fin & Golden Mushroom Soup

Smoked Vegetarian Goose Meat

Deep Fried Egg Bean Curd

Mock Shrimp with Cashew Nut

Mock Tender Beef in Yellow Curry Sauce in Hot Pot

Fried Rice Noodle with Mock Beef in XO Sauce

The food was delicious! Most of the mock meat simluated the taste and texture of meat, too. I think real beef is chewier, but I've been vegetarian so long that I could be wrong about that.

About three quarters of the dishes are vegan, too. Our server explained that if there was egg in a dish, the title would include the word "egg."

All in all, it was definitely worth the expensive price.

Can't wait to go back for dim sum! Check out the menu here!

**** / **** (Though, I could be biased due to my vegetarianism.)

And I've added this to A Scarborough Directory.

P.S. My laptop went down to 0% without exploding. Still need a new battery, but it works just fine when plugged into the wall.

Unintentional Break

2011-06-12T19:49:00.005-04:00

Hello Frequent Viewers of A Scarborough Blog,

Just swinging in the clouds... Credit to
Paparuchas!

We are currently experiencing a laptop with a diminishing battery--"Plugged in, Not Charging" are the scary little words on the bottom right hand corner of my screen. From 36% battery power, it's now down to 4%. Thus, I have not been using my laptop and have been taking a "let's bury my head in the sand until it goes away" kind of approach. This week, I'll try and solve this problem. (I need a new battery? Those are expensive, aren't they?) I'm currently using a really old desktop with limited abilities and limited speed.

However, for the record, I have worked a bit on a new feature called "A Scarborough Directory." It's quite the project, but I'm basically cataloguing my experiences with Scarborough restaurants and parks.

I have a few blog posts in the works as well:
o Fine Dining Disappointments in Scarborough: Chophouse
o Fine Dining Disappointments in Scarborough: Baton Rouge
o Graceful Vegetarian Restaurant

But if you need just a little more Scarblogging in your life, perhaps you should check out me on Twitter. (Follow me!)

In other news, I am now the proud owner of a journalism degree. So... what now? I'll take suggestions!

Sincerely,
Clara

The Royal Chinese Restaurant at Birchmount and Sheppard

2011-06-02T13:02:00.012-04:00

As some of you may know, while I'm trying to figure out just what it is I want to do with my life, I work as a lifeguard and swimming instructor. It's really an excellent part-time job--good hours, good people & good pay. However, one of the really annoying things about being a lifeguard is keeping certifications up to date.

When I was 16 I earned my NLS (National Lifeguarding Service). It's basically the qualification needed to be lifeguard. And every two years it expires, so you have to re-certify it. This consists of showing all the physical skills (picking up a 20 pound brick from the bottom of the pool, towing a spinal victim after doing a deep water spinal rollover, etc) and demonstrating all the lifesaving skills (CPR, first aid, etc).

This is really just my long-winded way of saying that after I did my NLS Recert on Saturday, I was hungry!

I actually really wanted to check out this nicer restaurant because I've had quite a few people directed to this blog while they were searching for it (these Chinese food seekers are brought to my post: Curious Things at Birchmount and Sheppard).

This restaurant used to be located in a smaller space further east on Sheppard Avenue, in a plaza with stores like Daily Mart, Mattress 4 You, and the Lulu Villa Spa. This little plaza just west of Midland Avenue seems in danger of getting the wrecking ball, courtesy of the controversial, confounding, and ultimately apparently killed Transit City.

From what Kangdi and his cousin tell me, the new location of Royal Chinese is pretty much the same as the old one--crowded seating, inadequate service, and very tasty and "authentic" food.

For non-Mandarin or Cantonese speakers, it may be a little difficult to dine at this restaurant, but it's doable with some patience, and maybe some aggressiveness.

Complimentary green tea and ginseng soup. Standard, but nice to receive.

We arrived at 7 p.m. on Saturday night--a terrible time to come for dinner. We ended up having the wait for half an hour. Unfortunately, there really isn't any room at the entrance of the restaurant. Eager diners, us included, were crammed at the front. We went outside for a bit, but we didn't want to miss the calling of our number.

Chinese* people like to put medicinal ingredients in their soup!
*I don't actually know if this is true** of all Chinese people.
**And I actually only know that ginseng was in the soup.

At first glance, Royal Chinese looks like it's a massive establishment. But really, there are just mirrors on every wall, creating the illusion of more people. Kangdi told me that these mirrors are good feng shui.

There are also strips of coloured paper on the wall--in neon orange, neon pink, neon green, and neon lime--describing in Chinese characters the different dishes of the restaurant. My Chinese is limited so I can't give you any examples of the descriptions.

Chili Salt Pork Chop for $8.95. I don't eat pork but Kangdi told me it
was quite good but not fantastic. He thinks the pieces of pork were
bigger before and tasted better.

While sitting at a small square table, squished against a mirrored wall, I came to some conclusions about western fine dining versus Asian fine dining. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I see some major differences.

Chicken and Shrimp Fried Rice for $13.95. I was really hungry so I
gobbled up the shrimp portion. But Kangdi and Ada, my Chinese dining
companions, told me that this dish wasn't all that great. I love how it
looks like a yin-yang symbol, though!

1. Asian restaurants always seem more focused on the food than on the decor. (I find Chinese cooking is basically doing whatever you can to the food to make it taste good. Western fine dining focuses more on expensive/inventive/fresh ingredients and cooking them perfectly.)

2. In a western restaurant, you expect excellent service and a comfortable, ambient, and roomy seating space. (In Chinese restaurants, fine or otherwise, often you will find that the table cloths are a pile of plastic sheets--the top one removed after each messy meal.)

3. If an Asian fine dining establishment is busy, it's noisy. If a western fine dining establishment is busy, it's buzzing.

Szechuan Eggplant and Tofu Hot Pot for $8.95. I thought this
was pretty good! I think Kangdi and Ada agreed with me, too.
Did you know, Szechuan and Sichuan are the same word? One is
Cantonese and the other is Mandarin, respectively.

Although there are differences, Chinese dining is still fun and delicious!

Two lobsters for $26.95. Messy, but quite yummy!

In summer 2008, still being a very strict vegetarian (my 2008 visit to China made me a little more lenient) I decided that I should try lobster for at least once in my life. So, my sister and I headed off to Red Lobster.

I have to say, I didn't much enjoy our lobster dinner. It was okay, but I didn't think lobster was anything special. Lobster was not worth breaking my vegetarianism.

Now I've kind of decided that my conscience is sound by eating fish, and I've even cheated a bit by eating chicken wings--though, I hope to stop this. Kangdi asked me if I had ever eaten lobster, and I told him about my mediocre experience at Red Lobster.

He energetically explained to me that white people do not know how to make lobster.

"What did you have on it?" he asked with a sly grin. "Just butter?!"

He assured me that Chinese people really know how to cook a lobster. And, I'd have to agree. Though hard to eat with chopsticks, the lobster was definitely much yummier than I remember from somewhat plain Red Lobster.

Oranges! The only place I've ever finished a meal and received
oranges is here and Lucky's. Hmm?

What a nice meal after a tiring training. *** to *** and a half/****!

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

2011-05-31T10:08:00.007-04:00

These are the ingredients to make Cinnamon Sugar Cookies!

(This is obviously not a post about Scarborough.)

As I tweeted about on Friday, I decided to make cookies from a recipe I found online.

My boyfriend, who works in a high school, called me to say that he had a hankering for cookies, but the cafeteria was selling cookies for the ridiculous price of $1.25 each.

"That's so overpriced!" he exclaimed. "Can you make me some cookies?"

From my previous baking posts you may have noticed that I enjoy playing with the food more than baking it in the first place (a la Cocktail Cupcakes, Squirrel Cookies, and Bears at the Beach Cupcakes). But, I decided to give it a go.

Now, an important part of baking is planning what you are going to bake so you have the appropriate ingredients. With this cookie request sprung on me, I wasn't at all sure what I actually had available.

After sifting through my sister's baking stuff, I realized we didn't have much. Cue the super easy cinnamon sugar cookies. I had sugar, eggs, flour, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. I could make cookies!

With this super easy recipe, there aren't many steps to take.

Firstly, combine all the dry ingredients.

Secondly, cream together all the wet ingredients (adding in the egg and vanilla last).

Thirdly, slowly add flour mixture to the egg mixture. Beware, this dough is extremely delicious.

Fourthly, once you've mixed (or beaten) all the ingredients together, take a teaspoon and make little balls of cookie dough.

Fifthly, the fun part!

In a bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Then roll the unbaked cookies in the mixture, like you do with truffles!

Bake for ten minutes in a 350' oven. And voila!

If I made this recipe again, I would dial down the cinnamon a bit, chill the dough first and bake for a shorter amount of time. But all in all, I give these cookies a solid B+.

But, unfortunately, the first thing my boyfriend said when he saw them was: "Where are the chocolate pieces?"

Boo...

As for the recipe...

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
From JustJENN with my added suggestions.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

For Coating:
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350' F.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. Cream together the butter and the sugars until mixed. Add the egg and the vanilla. (I used an electric mixer on low speed. Is this acceptable, oh baking experts of the world?)
4. Slowly add the dry mixture into the wet mixture. Keep mixing until the batter/dough is well blended. (Is there a technical difference between batter and dough?)
5. Chill batter/dough in fridge until cooled. I am told this helps to make chewier cookies.
6. Use a spoon to make round pre-cookies.
7. In a separate bowl, stir together the coating ingredients.
8. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on the cookies and then place on a parchment covered cookie sheet. (I didn't have parchment paper, so I thought it best to grease the sheet before placing the cookies.)
9. Bake for 10 minutes.

Happy First Birthday, A Scarborough Blog

2011-05-30T17:44:00.002-04:00

I started this blog back on May 26, 2010. Since then I have blogged 183 times. I went through all 183 entries and picked my favourites!:

o From Ashbridge's Bay to Bluffer's Park on June 23, 2010

o Samosa King (Embassy Restaurant) on July 6, 2010

o A Tale of Two Breakfasts: Best Friends Chinese Food Restaurant on August 8, 2010

& A Tale of Two Breakfasts: Markham Station on August 8, 2010

o Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree on December 18, 2010

o Cocktail Cupcakes on May 9, 2011

According to my Blogspot statistics, the most popular pages during the past year were:
1. Cora's in Scarborough on August 30, 2010

2. Seoul BBQ Korean Barbecue on June 25, 2010

3. From Ashbridge's Bay to the Scarborough Bluffs on June 23, 2010

And according the my Blogspot statistics, the most popular pages during the past month were:
1. Very Fair Chinese Restaurant at Kennedy & Sheppard on May 12, 2010

2. Go for Tea at Midland and McNicoll on April 28, 2011

3. From Ashbridge's Bay to the Scarborough Bluffs on June 23, 2010

Here's a small graph to show this blog's popularity:

Hopefully that little blue lines keeps going up, and up, and up!

Milliken Park

2011-05-26T15:39:00.008-04:00

I initially only added to my blog the link to the slideshow of these following photos. But I checked my blog's statistics, and no one was actually clicking the link. I want to show off my photos, so I decided to add in a few more pictures to the entry!
This is Milliken Park at McCowan and Steeles.

Flappy Geese in the Park's Pond.

Fountain!

Fishies!

Reeds & Clouds

Harper on a Hill I

Harper on a Hill II

Thirsty Harper!

Woods Beside the Pond

No Kite Flying!

I Always Wanted to Have a Weeping Willow Tree

Click here to view the slideshow on Flickr!

Backyard Baby Bunnies!

2011-05-24T22:06:00.002-04:00

While my Facebook newsfeed is filled with updates from friends going on fantastic trans-Atlantic trips, from friends participating in fantastic internships and from friends working at fantastic jobs, these bunnies happily fill the fantastic void in my life.

Harper, Kangdi's dog, sniffed up their nest and Kangdi rescued the bunnies and shooed Harper away. I named the one with the white spot on its head Lucy and the other two are Benjamin and Tiny Tim.

Watermelon: I Own You

2011-05-24T10:44:00.002-04:00

As you may recall, I recently had an unfortunate experience with a watermelon from Walmart.

Thankfully I got my revenge on that devious fruit, who liquefied onto my counter, walls, floor and feet.

Watermelon Juice!

This delicious beverage is from Szechuan Legend, which is located near Midland and Finch.

My Garden on a Sunny Day

2011-05-20T13:19:00.025-04:00

I'm not quite sure if maybe it's because gardens are a western idea, but I don't really see many manicured beds of flowers or collections of whimsical creatures in my neighbourhood. Maybe it's not a Scarborough thing, though. Maybe gardens and gnomes are out of horticultural fashion?

In high school, I really wanted to buy a pink flamingo to put on my lawn. I searched in every home/garden/renovation/discount store I knew, but I never found one.

I think I may be a horticultural fashion rebel. Gardens and garden creatures are just so lovely. Seriously, how can you not fall in love with the face of that giggly gnome. But, then again, it could be just me.

My dad, who works outside of Scarborough in a mainly white small town, says that there's an activity there called "gnoming." It is the unauthorized trading of gnomes and other garden creatures between neighbours.

One day you have stone turtle and the next day the turtle is replaced with a family of seven dwarfs. Gnoming in Scarborough, or at least in my neighbourhood, wouldn't be very fruitful, unfortunately.

I know my parents used to put a lot of effort into planting flowers and taking care of the yard. But lately, the garden has fallen a bit into disarray. I think they would be motivated by some friendly neighbourly garden competition, but my street is a dandelion-loving kind of place, if you know what I mean.

I really do have a love for flowers, though. I remember reading The Secret Garden when I was younger and just wishing I could live in a small house inside a big overgrown garden. Roses here, ivy there, tulips everywhere. And, of course, a sleeping gnome or two.

I suppose I still have that dream, but suburban life has taken over, even for me. I've done a sacrilegious self-gnoming and traded in birdbaths for balconies and forget-me-nots for elevators. Condo living is my new dream.

(Yes, I know that's a dilapidated birdhouse, but birdbath sounds much more poetic.)

I can't stop my love for the gnomes, though.

If I have a condo in Scarborough, or anywhere else for that matter, I'll be sure to have a few gnomes hanging around in and beside flowerpots. I am, remember, a horticultural rebel.

(Like my relic of a recycling bin?)

Because, really, what could be better than a little sunny "garden" loving? I wouldn't want to live without it!

Rainy Days, Cafe Teas, & Bowling Balls

2011-05-16T19:46:00.009-04:00

On such a dreary day, I think I'll update in black and white. Unfortunately, I hear the rain and cloud is going to last for some time, too.

Despite the weather, my friends and I ventured off to Cafe Mirage for some lunch and to Kennedy Bowl for some bowling.

Hot tea seems like the appropriate drink for a rainy day.

Just what is it that makes black and white photos so dramatic and artsy?

Anyways, our meals were all variations of the same thing. Firstly is a Californian vegetarian wrap, with a Caesar salad. Next is mine: a Mediterranean wrap, with organic greens (the wrap was utterly tasty). And lastly is a tuna wrap, with chicken gumbo soup.

And for dessert, a five layer chocolate cake with three forks. It was exactly what you'd expect from a five layer chocolate cake--decadent deliciousness.

Then we quickly caught the Kennedy bus and traveled from Kennedy Commons to Lawrence.

Kennedy Bowl is in a large plaza, filled with Asian grocery stores, discount shops, and a "fish house." The sign for the bowling alley is so small you might miss it! Can you spot it?

The fourth friend met us at the bowling alley. I'm glad we all braved the dreariness because it was an excellent day!

The Facts:
o Cafe Mirage is in Kennedy Commons, roughly at Kennedy and Progress.
o I've written about here once before.
o It's a nice and quiet place during the day, compared the crowded and noisy place it is during the night.
o Service is still slow.
o Food is still fairly good and reasonably priced.

o Kennedy Bowl is located at Kennedy and Lawrence.
o It is quite the shady looking place.
o Some of the lanes are pretty senile and mess things up randomly.
o It's not high tech but it gets the job done.

Very Fair Chinese Restaurant at Kennedy & Sheppard

2011-05-12T21:27:00.000-04:00

DIM SUM!!!

Notable Mentions:
o There are carts, but you can also order using a menu.
o It's a pretty noisy eating establishment--lots of chatty older Chinese people.
o Located in a plaza at Kennedy and Sheppard, you can find Very Fair down the stairs of a business building.
o The food is pretty delicious!
o The food is fairly well priced.
o It's a dim sum fav.
o I would rate it *** and a half/****.

Scarborough Gem

2011-05-10T09:30:00.002-04:00

Oi! I haven't posted a Scarborough Gem in so long. The last one was in December and it was about a man at a Chinese supermarket paying for $17.86 of groceries with small change.

This Scarborough Gem was also taken at a grocery store--Metro.

Remember, a Scarborough Gem is anything that makes you say: "Only in Scarborough."

I bet it was another store stealing 'em.

Cocktail Cupcakes

2011-05-09T09:57:00.004-04:00

On Saturday night, my friend Samantha and I celebrated our birthdays with a cocktail party at her house.

I decided to bake cupcakes for Samantha, much like last year. It took a little bit of pondering before I figured out this year's theme.

Cocktail cupcakes for a cocktail party! It just makes sense! So, now how to make them? Vibrant colours is an excellent place to start.

I'm not really a baking savant. Okay, I'm not at all a baking savant. But I do like being creative! So I used a chocolate cake mix to create my idea.

Blue icing, a candy orange slice, and a maraschino cherry make the blue hawaii on the left. White icing, coconut shavings, a piece of pineapple, and a maraschino cherry make the pina colada at the back. Pink icing and a candy lime piece make the margarita on the left. Minty green icing and chocolate powder make the grasshopper at the front.

I think they turned out quite well, if I do say so myself. :)

Mother's Day Trilliums

2011-05-08T21:40:00.010-04:00

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

For Mother's Day, my sister and I took my mom for a walk through Rouge Park. I spotted so many trilliums! It was an excellent way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon. What did you do?

Trillium Facts:
o These flowers are technically called Trillium grandiflorum. (Well, at least I think they are. I'm not a botanist!)
o Trilliums are Ontario's official provincial emblem.
o It is actually not illegal to pick trilliums in Ontario. Picking the white, three-petaled flowers is only illegal in parks.
o It can take at least seven years for a trillium to flower for the first time.
o Trilliums are a favourite food of white-tailed deer.

Remezzo Italian Bistro

2011-05-07T09:17:00.001-04:00

	Remezzo is a fine Italian eatery, located in a plaza at the south west corner of Warden and Sheppard. With an Asian supermarket and a McDonalds also in the plaza, Remezzo looks to be a little out of place. Heck, even in Scarborough, it seems a little out of place.
Though it's impossible to know how well this fine restaurant is doing, it has been around since 1976, welcoming visitors with its emerald sign and fancy gold font. Wanting to dine at a nicer restaurant for my birthday, I went with my family on Monday.

It is quite a classy looking place. There is elevated seating with dark wood tables and chairs. The emerald from the sign is a prominent colour in the restaurant. On a Monday night around 7 p.m., it was nicely busy with diners.

Being my birthday and all, my sister and I started the meal with a cocktail:

They weren't cocktails so much as mixed drinks. But I enjoyed my Seabreeze all the same. It was sweet, fruity and delicious--and such a fantastic electric blue colour.

As for the appetizers:

Coconut Shrimp
Very tasty!

Bruschetta with Chevre
Why have I never tried this before? Excellent!

Complimentary Bread
Warm and fluffy.

The entrées:

Butternut Squash Ravioli
My sister and I both ordered this dish. We found the garlic too overpowering; we couldn't even really taste the squash. It was quite good, nonetheless!

Chicken Florentine
My mom had no complaints with her pasta.

Linguini Di Mare
Neither did my dad with his.

New York Striploin
Kangdi ordered a steak, of course. He said it was good but nothing special.

Linguini Louisiana
My sister's boyfriend, Jeff, said, in his best restaurant reviewer voice: "I was disappointed with the tiger shrimp. They brought the pasta down, but the sausage brought it back up again."

The desserts:

Lemon Meringue Pie
I love lemon meringue pie and I was not disappointed.

Tiramisu
Good, but not fantastic. (Jeff's enjoying taking a bite.)

As a fine dining establish, I give a strong **/****.
o The service was not fabulous, though it was good.
o The food was not fabulous either, though it was good.
o The ambiance was very nice, but perhaps not what you'd expect at a high-end restaurant.

As a restaurant in Scarborough, I give a *** and a half/****.
o It was clean, stylish and elegant.
o For the callibre of food, the prices are quite excellent.
o You will have a lovely time.

Morningside Park on a Wednesday Afternoon

2011-05-04T20:57:00.007-04:00

For more pictures of Morningside Park, click here!

I Promise This Really Happened & I'm Sorry I Didn't Take Any Photos

2011-05-01T13:53:00.015-04:00

Today, while cutting into a watermelon, it exploded.
My friend Lynda decided to have a potluck dinner to celebrate her birthday. I thought watermelon would be a good thing to bring. So, this morning I asked my dad if he would take me to buy a watermelon.

As we pulled in to Walmart, I complained about not buying produce from an actual grocery store. My father assured me that Walmart has a high turnover rate and that the fruits and vegetables are fresh. Given that he had given me the drive, I reluctantly agreed.

In the store, I spotted the big bin filled with watermelons.

"How do you tell if a watermelon is fresh?" I asked.

"I don't know," answered my dad.

"Okay... I'll just pick this one," I slowly said as I picked up a round green watermelon and placed it in the cart. "It looks alright."

How wrong I was...

After perusing Walmart for socks and bubble wands, we purchased our items and returned home.

Luckily I decided to precut the watermelon as opposed to bringing the thing to Lynda's.

(What a disaster it would have been to bring an exploding watermelon...)

Having never cut a watermelon in half, I tentatively held the knife with a hand on either side.

I remember saying: "It smells like a pumpkin!"

But what did I know? I'd never sliced a watermelon before. Maybe a pumpkin smell was normal...?

As, I struggled with the top half, the knife easily started to slide through to the bottom.

Pink juice started to dribble out, but I continued to cut...

Until tons of pink juice exploded out of the watermelon. Watermelon juice on the counter; watermelon juice on the floors; watermelon juice on my toes.

It was as if the watermelon threw up on me.

Inside the melon was like the inside of a cave. Over a third of the fruit's flesh had liquefied, leaving gapping centres. The rest of the slightly putrid pink fruit hung on the sides like stalactite.

Something like this would happen to me.

We returned the watermelon to Walmart and received a refund of $4.97. With two managers refusing to speak to us and one cashier telling us there was nothing she could do, I am certain I will never buy produce from Walmart again.

Anything like this ever happen to you?

Go for Tea at Midland and McNicoll

2011-04-28T17:38:00.005-04:00

Go for Tea is a bubble tea place, located at Midland and McNicoll. Along with bubble tea, steeped tea, iced tea, slushies and smoothies, Go for Tea also serves meals, snacks and desserts.

Before entering the restaurant, this is the sign that greets you. (Bahaha!)

The drinks: pink = strawberry yogurt drink, orange = mango slush, white = coconut milk iced black tea.

I suppose this is standard at bubble tea places, but I love how you can order toast! On top is condensed milk and it was delicious! So sweet and fluffy.

I'm a sucker for creme brulee. It was definitely not the best creme brulee I've ever eaten, but it was good enough to eat and enjoy.

While us two girls shared the desserts, Kangdi ordered popcorn chicken. Crazy guy. It smelled kind of funny to me, but he liked it.

Go for Tea has a chic, modern kind of ambience. On the restaurant's website, it is described as a combination of "western and eastern culture." It's dark and romantically lit--a good place for a date with your significant other(s) or just a place to hang out with friends. It's also open until 3 a.m. for those with a midnight craving.

All these snacks cost about $45. It's a little pricey, but the excellent atmosphere makes up for it. However, keep in mind that it is a tad on the dim and noisy side.

I'll give a strong ***/****.

Szechuan Legend at Midland & Finch

2011-04-26T12:48:00.011-04:00

Just north of Finch on Midland is an "authentic" Chinese restaurant called Szechuan Legend. You can see the orange sign facing the road, as you pass by on Finch. It's a medium-sized restaurant in a plaza filled with Chinese eateries and shops.

Fungus! Sadly, I don't know a prettier term to describe this. But it's delicious, no? It's one of those foods that my Chinese boyfriend has me try, but I think I'm going to hate. Fungus: I Definitely enjoy, though.

My vegetarian kryptonite: Kung Pow Shrimp. So. Good.

Some kind of spicy beef dish.

Intestines. Sometimes I'm happy I'm vegetarian simply because I have a good reason to decline consuming "interesting" food, like intestines. But apparently it's excellent!

Although I could only eat the first two plates, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. Being white and from Canada, I can't really attest to how "authentic" the taste is, but my boyfriend and his cousin, who are both from northern China, frequent this place, with positive reviews.

We've often gone after a late night movie for a midnight snack. It's a popular place amongst Chinese-Scarberians.

There are a couple things to be wary of, though:
1. The staff speak Mandarin and may not be fluent in English
2. The Sichuan pepper is known as being numbing, not spicy. So if you can't feel your tongue, don't worry; it's normal.
3. Most of the dishes are numbing and spciy.

It's a clean and stylish restaurant, with reasonable prices. We ordered these four dishes, green tea, and a small pint of beer for under $45.

Because they make my kryptonite at Szechuan Legend, I'm going to have to give a generous ****/****.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T22:03:00.003-04:00

Spotted: A Deer in Rouge Park

2011-04-23T11:31:00.004-04:00

While on a walk through Rouge Park, Kangdi and I got lost.

We started out by walking by trees, valleys and creeks on the Orchard Trail. That brought us to a plain area, where there were wetlands and railway tracks. After playing with Harper for a bit--throwing a ball down a hill and throwing a plastic bottle into a pond--we decided to head back.

Not wanting to take the same route, we tried walking along a hydro field. No dice. We weren't going where we wanted to be going. Instead of turning around and taking the Orchard Trail, Kangdi assured me we could cut across the forest and end up back at our car.

So, we entered the trees and tried to walk in a straight line. We saw the remnants of a campfire and paintball shelters. Then, we saw a white tail bouncing out of nowhere--a deer!

We were able to capture a few pictures on Kangdi's iPhone before Harper realized what we were looking at. Off he went, chasing the deer. Then we saw another deer, chasing Harper! Being the wimp Harper is, he turned around and ran back to us.

I'm definitely a city girl. This was the first time I've ever seen a wild deer. I've always seen those road signs featuring deer, but I didn't think they actually lived in the City. Crazy.

Actually, apparently there's a problem with hunting in Rouge Park. I found an article and a CBC video about hunting in this urban park. Because poaching within in a city sounds like a great idea.

And I didn't even believe there were deer in the Rouge.

By the Numbers

2011-04-11T08:55:00.001-04:00

It's excellent going back and seeing how much smaller the numbers are now.

o My last big journalism assignment is DONE
o My last undergrad class is DONE
o My last undergrad essay is DONE
o 2 days till my last undergrad exam
o 6 days till I return home to Scarborough
o 57 days till I receive my Bachelor of Journalism

I'm almost:
-30-
/end inside journalism joke

How Scarborough Really Got Its Name

2011-04-03T08:17:00.006-04:00

Okay, we know Scarborough, Ontario was named after Scarborough, England. But what was Scarborough, England named after?

Firstly, the name used to be: Skarðaborg.

Two Viking brothers, named Thorgils and Kormak, founded the region in 966 A.D. Thorgils was nicknamed Skarthi (or Skarði) because he had a harelip (or cleft lip). The brothers' settlement was then named after Thorgils, hence the "Skarða."

In Old Norse, the word Borg means castle or fortified town.

So, the name Scarborough actually means: Harelip's Fort.

And there you go: your history lesson of the day.

Sources:
- The Skarthi Legend
- Scarborough's History
- Viking Placenames

Pickering Nuclear Generating Station

2011-03-27T17:50:00.009-04:00

So, this isn't in Scarborough. BUT I took some pictures and I just wanted to share them with you, even if they're out of this blog's jurisdiction.

This week for my journalism course called Capital News Online, I'm the producer for a story about how Canada is responding to the intensified worries about nuclear energy, following the crisis in Japan.

As I was already going to be in Scarborough this weekend, I took it upon myself to head out to the Pickering power plant to capture some photos for the story.

Kangdi and I took Harper and were delighted to find that there's a wonderful park directly beside the plant. It was a great couple hours out AND I did school work.

This park is actually incredibly interesting. Upon entering, there's a big open field. In the distance you can see the power plant, the beach (on Lake Ontario), a wind turbine and a big hill.

What is up that big hill?

Faces in hydro poles! Apparently it was a project to commemorate the Aboriginal people who lived in the area before European settlers came along.

For more information about the installation, click here!

Sho, sho, sho: The sound of a wind turbine.

After getting up close and personal with largest wind turbine in North America, I like these things! Why are people so opposed to having them in their communities?

And now for pictures of the nuclear plant:

I took a lot more photos but I didn't want to bombard my blog with them.
So, click here for more pictures!

Umm...

2011-03-23T16:19:00.000-04:00

So I love how there's better weather in Ottawa right now than there is in Toronto.

We have -1'C temperatures and sunny skies.

Toronto: -5'C and snow.

I might even go for a walk in the sunshine. How lovely!

P.S. I'm going home this weekend for a training, so I will have some Scarborough content soon!

The End Is Nigh

2011-03-22T02:04:00.005-04:00

Do you ever feel like school is all about proving yourself over and over and over again? Here I am in my final weeks of my undergrad and all I can think is: haven't I done enough yet?

Believe me, I've learned a lot from journalism. What I want to do; what I don't want to do; what I can do; what I can do well; what I want to do well. I've also acquired a nice set of skills. Do I really need to write a 3000 word article with 15 live sources? Can't you just believe me that I've learned?

My minors have been so helpful at shaping how I see the world. I was always interested in Aboriginal issues, but now I feel empowered by the knowledge I've gained. And I feel a responsibility to support Aboriginal rights and Aboriginal arts. I know the facts; I know the context; I know the literature. How will writing a 12 page paper prove this to you? Can't you just believe me?

As for my philosophy minor: I now know that I need to think about things in concrete terms. Abstract thinking is not my forte, neither is it how I want to spend my life in academia--wondering about things but not making a difference.

This year has also affirmed and reaffirmed certain things for me.

While the work I do as a public relations intern is incredibly important, it just doesn't leave me fulfilled. I love the people I've met and I've learned so many positive (and negative) things about the queer community, but I just won't enjoy a life in communications.

Volunteering in a kindergarten classroom makes me happy and leaves me with a sense of accomplishment. Not to mention, kids are so damn funny and cute! This experience has led me to finally give in to what friends and family had been telling me for years--become a teacher!

And finally, my ongoing internship with a food and travel magazine has taught me that my life as a writer doesn't end if I become a teacher. (It has also taught me that I'm a pretty good proofreader. Hire me?!)

All three experiences were me giving my time away for free, too.

It definitely is the procrastination talking, but just give me my degree! I've proven myself enough.

A Friday Night in Ottawa: Poutine & Castaway

2011-03-12T11:51:00.015-05:00

Caption: See Title
PS:

until my last class of my undergraduate degree! :)

No More School, Please

2011-03-05T12:17:00.000-05:00

I want to go on another adventure! I'm tired of school...

Back in Ottawa

2011-02-28T22:35:00.003-05:00

After waiting over an hour and a half in the cold and rain for a Greyhound, which was supposed to arrive at 6.55 a.m., I caught a bus back to Ottawa. (I will be a happy lady if I never have to take the Greyhound again.)

>>The Scarborough Greyhound Station (Is Terrible)

But alas, I'm now nice and warm in Ottawa.

And here are some lovely numbers of significance:

o 29 days till my last big journalism assignment is due

o 35 days till my last undergrad class

o 35 days till my last undergrad essay is due

o 44 days till my last undergrad exam

o 47 days till I return home to Scarborough

o 100 days till I receive my Bachelor of Journalism

Reading Week Post #7: Coffee Culture

2011-02-27T16:54:00.006-05:00

Various drinks and sandwiches at Coffee Culture, which is located at Markham and Ellesmere. It's a cute little place with nice food. I had a great time here on Saturday with my friends, but I can't remember what anyone ordered. It all looks great, though. Don't you think?

I've never heard of Coffee Culture but apparently they're all over the place! Have you ever been?

I'd give *** and a half/****.

Reading Week Post #6: Mongolian Hot Pot

2011-02-25T12:36:00.020-05:00

Mongolian Hot Pot is located at Warden and Huntingwood.

Pot that is hot and steamy!

This place is my kind of heaven. I love hot pot and this restaurant does it amazingly! But, what are in those shelves?

That's right. Shelves of hot pot additives. Vegetables, tofu, meat and noodles. All buffet. Awesome.

My kind of heaven.

Food to be boiled in the hot pot. Yum!

Dipping a piece of tofu with spinach into the sauce. I'm drooling as I write this.

I have to give Mongolian Hot Pot *** and a half/****. It is pricey, but the meal I had was excellent!

Reading Week Post #5: Spring Fever

2011-02-24T22:35:00.005-05:00

Winter storm my butt! I want spring.

Reading Week Post #4: "Am I a Dork for Taking Pictures of a Car Wash?"

2011-02-23T15:37:00.001-05:00

The No Touch car wash at Warden and Highway 401.

Ever since I was young, I have loved car washes. Is that strange?

It's our turn!

Presoak!

Water, water, water!

And this is, of course, the best step. Soap!

Riiinse!

The stage where your car gets blasted with air.

The End!

Reading Week Post #3: ADT Capitalizing on Tragedy

2011-02-22T21:55:00.007-05:00

Late Saturday morning, two men, one armed with a gun, broke into a house at 150 Burrows Blvd., near Sheppard and Markham--my neighbourhood.

It has been called an home invasion and it caused the death of a 16-year-old girl. The teen, who was disabled, passed away on Sunday.

The men apparently broke into the home where the teen lived with her mother and they demanded a package of some sort.

The whole incident seems really shady, but it is above all a tragedy.

Fast forward to today at around 3 p.m., where my sister and I heard a knock at the door. I peeked through the curtains to see who it was. A tall man, holding a clipboard, stood outside our home. He glanced up and saw me.

"Rats!" I said. "Now I have to answer." I opened the door to greet the man.

He said "hello" and that he was with ADT security. He was canvassing the neighbourhood for the alarm company. Then he asked if I heard what happened down the street--the home invasion.

I thought maybe he wanted me to complete a survey or something...

But, in actuality, he was trying to sell a security system, in light of the tragedy in my neighbourhood.

Seriously? Using a tragedy to instill fear and then to sell alarms?

The world these days.

In the news:
- 16-year-old disabled girl dies day after home mistakenly invaded, the Toronto Observer
- Disabled teen's cause of death still undetermined, the Toronto Sun
- Police seek 2 men in violent home invasion, CTV News

Reading Week Post #2: China Cottage

2011-02-21T05:32:00.008-05:00

Following the hakka momentum after eating at Lucky's, I decided I wanted to try another Indian-style Chinese food restaurant. I'd been reading things about China Cottage, so off I went.

It's located at Pharmacy and Ellesmere.

Upon entering the eatery, to greet you there's a smiling Buddha and a poster proclaiming China Cottage as the only hakka restaurant in Toronto to be nominated by the "Top 100 Chinese Restaurants."

I was excited.

China Cottage is a small, dimly-lit, cozy kind of restaurant. The walls are decorated with Chinese and Thai statues and art. It's a classy looking restaurant. It definitely stands out against the busier/noisier/shabbier Lucky's and Federick's.

And I stand by my notion that hakka food is Scarborough's regional cuisine. There were all sorts of people from all sorts of cultural backgrounds eating at China Cottage. Hakka brings people together!

After taking a seat at a redwood table, I perused the menu. Our server promptly came over to table and took our order:

Vegetable Pakora in Manchurian Sauce

These were flat! I'm definitely not an expert in hakka cuisine, but I've never seen a flat pakora! They were delicious nonetheless. Could have been spicier and contained more than simply smashed potato and chopped up pepper, but I enjoyed them thoroughly. The pakoras definitely needed that sauce, though.

Vegetable Chop Suey in Szechuan Sauce

I just love this dish! The crunchy noodles topped with veggies and a delicious sauce. Yum!

While the portions at China Cottage are smaller than those at Lucky's, I found the Cottage's food more fresh tasting.

Although, it's definitely not as spicy. I had to add extra pepper to this dish. Still delicious, but if I had to give a recommendation: less sauce to lessen the sogginess and more spiciness!

Chilli Tofu

From reading many reviews about hakka food, most people claim that the quality of the chilli chicken is the determining factor if a restaurant is good. But since I don't eat chicken, I ordered chilli tofu to try and see what all the fuss is about.

I found this dish okay. I didn't taste any spice, whatsoever. But the tofu retained a hard texture, despite the gooey sauce. I was impressed.

I ate many pieces, but I probably wouldn't spend $8 again for saucy tofu.

All in all, I think I'd give China Cottage ***/****.

Kangdi thought the food all vaguely tasted the same. I'm not sure I agree, but the chilli sauce on the tofu and the Manchurian sauce for the pakora did both look oddly similar...

We also don't think we ordered the best items on the menu. So I think we'll go back again. But not anytime soon. I am hakka'd out!

(Sorry for missing yesterday's post; I'll try and write twice today. Perhaps I'll even post about something not food related. Shock!)

Reading Week Post #1: Cookies!

2011-02-19T13:59:00.009-05:00

After just relaxing around the house for the morning of my first day of Reading Week, my sister proposed that we make smorgasbord cookies! Using a traditional chocolate chip recipe, we added in all the odds and ends in my sister's baking pantry. We even separated the batches to add in more random deliciousness.

In these: Reese's Pieces, chocolate chips, oatmeal and walnuts.

In these: chocolate chunks, butterscotch chips and pecans.

The chocolate chunk cookies are the six at the top and the Reese's Pieces cookies are the six at the bottom.

YUM
I'll update with something more Scarborough-themed tomorrow. Have a wonderful Saturday!

The World Has Turned into Puddles

2011-02-18T12:14:00.002-05:00

On this gloriously warm-ish and sunny-ish day, I am heading home, from Ottawa to Scarborough, for my Reading Week.

I hereby promise I will (try and) update everyday while I'm at home!

See you tomorrow!

Lucky's at Lawrence and Scarborough Golf Club

2011-02-15T09:17:00.012-05:00

As I mentioned before, Lucky's was my introduction to hakka-style food. After a long week at Cedarbrae, friends and I would often head to Lucky's for dinner. With Bollywood movies playing on overhead screens, Chinese paintings on the wall, and tables set as if in someone's dining room, Lucky's is an interesting place.

And I've always said, nothing brings the cultures together like hakka. When I went to Lucky's this past Saturday, tables were filled with families, couples, friends and parties of all nationalities. With the sheer number of hakka restaurants in Scarborough, I might even go so far as to call it Scarborough's regional cuisine.

If you don't believe me, visit a hakka establishment and look around at the people dining.

And in my opinion, Lucky Chinese Restaurant is the best. (But I'm open to any recommendations of other/better places!)

Deciding to not partake in the Indian movies and the hustle and bustle of Saturday diners, Kangdi and I ordered our food to go. We did wait an incredibly long time for our dinner, so I would suggest calling in advance and going to pick up. Lucky's is a popular place.

And with good reason! The food is delicious! We ordered vegetable Cantonese chow mein (left), chilli chicken (right), vegetable pakoras (lower), and hot and sour soup (in second photo). The food was extremely greasy, but extremely tasty.

The pakoras had the right amount of spice and the right amount of spiciness. The noodles were too greasy and they didn't have enough vegetables, but I still enjoyed them thoroughly.

Kangdi liked the soup and the chilli chicken. Our four dishes came to about $30.

If you'd like to look at more of the food, here's a menu. Their number, to order in advance, is 416-431-0383.

It should be noted that there are actually two Lucky's locations. There's the one I visited, at Lawrence and Scarborough Golf Club, but there's also a location at Lawrence and Midland. I went to this other Lucky's and didn't like it as much, but that was a while ago.

All and all, I'd give Lucky's *** and a half / ****. One can always improve, right?

I would love to try all the hakka restaurants in Scarborough. Any suggestions?

A Snowy Day in Rouge Park

2011-01-31T13:42:00.012-05:00

On Sunday, despite the chill in the air, Kangdi (guy), Harper (dog) and I (blogger) went for a walk in Rouge Park.

Snowy Riverbank

See Harper run!

Here's a close-up for viewing variety.

And another close-up.

With the river frozen solid, we walked on the ice instead of the path.

Frozen. (Looks like a frog, don't you think?)

Riverbank

Harper's Snowy Nose

For those who know Rouge Park, we took the Cedar Trail starting at the north trail head. We then traveled south on Little Rouge Creek before turning back.

For those who don't know Rouge Park, here are some helpful links:
- Google Map of the area: Old Finch Avenue and Meadowvale Road
- Map of the Cedar Trail
- The Rouge Park Website

Nikada Sushi Robata

2011-01-19T12:13:00.009-05:00

This place closed down and recently re-opened as Big Meal. You can check out my blog entry about this new sushi place by clicking here.
This all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant, located at 1883 McNicoll Ave near Kennedy and McNicoll, has been receiving a lot of negative Internet attention. On a trip home last weekend, I went here for lunch. And to be honest, I didn't really see the problems all the critics kept listing.

Yes, like most AYCE places, the dishes are filled with too much rice.

Yes, the servers do wear movement restricting outfits, which may slow the speed at which you receive your food.

Yes, I never went to Nikada prior to it becoming AYCE so I can't compare the current quality to before the owners made the switch.

But, I thoroughly enjoyed my food and didn't really have any complaints. The dining room was stylish and roomy with an the sushi chefs "cooking" behind a counter. Plus, the bathroom was stylish and clean. I always say you can check the true quality of a place by how they keep their washrooms.

I was really jonesing for a salad and this hit the spot. I just love Japanese-style salad dressings.

You can't eat sushi without green tea and miso soup. Nothing spectacular about either of these, but I finished them in no time at all.

Close-up of the soup (which had no tofu in it; is this normal?) and a spicy salmon hand roll in the background. I just decided to start eating fish again (for my health) and I have to say this roll was delicious!

I don't quite remember the name of these pretty salmon sushi rolls, but they do look like roses.

An array of the other sushi rolls we ordered. I really like spicy salmon, I have discovered. The cucumber and avocado rolls were very good, as well. I've eaten many avocado and cucumber rolls in my life and these stood out as some of the freshest.

Here are some of cooked dishes. I ordered the barbecue vegetables, which were very tasty. Obviously barbecuing vegetables is an easy task, but the light drizzle of sauce on top made these veggies superb. I even ordered two more skewers!

Our server forgot to tell us that lunch also included seaweed salad and shrimp tempura. I didn't capture the shrimp but here's the salad. Both were quite good. Though, the salad was pretty salty.

I'm sure I missed a few other dishes, along with our small bowls of green tea ice-cream, but when you're enjoying your food, you forget!

Note: No sashimi during lunch.

Overall, I would say that the food at Nikada isn't spectacular but it isn't a disappointment either. I'd go again. The overall damage was around $33 for two people for lunch, after tip and tax. I'll give a *** / ****.

Clara's To Do List

2011-01-12T15:44:00.005-05:00

(March 28, 2009)

1. See an ocean.
a) Touch an ocean.
b) Swim in an ocean.
2. Have tea in England.
3. Eat sushi in Japan.
4. Drink Guinness in Ireland.
5. Devour spaghetti in Italy.
~~6. See a panda in China.~~
7. Witness a rocket launch.
8. Go to Stone Henge.
9. Go to the Great Pyramids.
~~10. Go to the Great Wall.~~
11. Go to the Incan Ruins.
12. Watch the Northern Lights.
13. Write a book.
a) Win an award.
b) Write as many books in as many different genres as I can.

(Jan. 12, 2011)

14. Earn a Master's Degree (preferably other than a Master's in Education).
15. Truly travel Canada.
a) Anne of Green Gables & potatoes in PEI.
b) Seafood in the Maritimes.
c) Polar bears in Churchill.
d) Bread in the Prairies.
e) Peyto Lake in Alberta.
f) Rocky Mountains & Stanley Park in British Columbia.
g) Mounties in the Yukon/Northwest Territories.
16. Not be a teacher for more than 5 years consecutively.
17. Get married.
18. Make a lasting difference.

To Be Continued...

Ducks at the Scarborough Bluffs

2010-12-31T16:45:00.016-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!

Ducks for 2011!

Christmas Baking: Take Two

2010-12-26T22:03:00.002-05:00

I've developed a pretty nasty cold over the past few days, so updating my blog turned into more of a hassle/annoyance than something I enjoyed doing. However, I am going away to a family Christmas get together tomorrow for a few days, so I thought I should leave an entry today. I'm still battling this stupid cold...

To the cheesecake! (I promise I made this before the coughing began.)

You need cheese to make cheesecake.

I thought this photo was going to come out well, with the sparkle of the sugar. I was wrong.

Mix it all together!

Don't forget the eggs!

Did I mention that I was making a lemon cheesecake?

Extract the juices! (That sounds creepy.)

My sister and I shared the cheesecake batter. She added chocolate chips to her half and poured the mixture over Oreo cookies. I poured my lemon mixture over gingersnaps.

How do you eat Oreos?

Bake, you mini cheesecakes!

My sister's boyfriend made a mini cheesecake using the microwave. It was not horrible, but tasted too much like cheese.

The mini cheesecakes in all their glory!

Waaaaaaall-e! Eeeeeeva!

The End!

I hope you enjoyed my Facebook-esque update. I shall update in a few days!

Christmas

2010-12-25T16:49:00.002-05:00

I drank a lot of Buckley's today--and not because I wanted to; believe me.

Merry Christmas