Retail Therapy Pacific-style

When “happy food” is not enough to get rid of stress, sometimes, it is time to try some retail therapy.  We had not been to Pacific Mall in Markham for ages so last week, we decided to see what was new. We got there before noon and we decided to have some dimsum first before going around. There was a long wait list at Golden Regency and we were number 81!!! Okay, I don’t know when they started counting. Maybe this was from yesterday’s sheet of paper? Really, there were about 7 groups ahead of us and of course, getting a table depended on how many you were in your party. We got seated 15-20 minutes after. It was good dimsum, though not the best I’ve ever had. Communicating to the folks pushing the carts was a bit tricky.  One had to gesture and just try to interpret what they were trying to tell you.  The kids enjoyed the shrimp dumpling (hargow) and fried squid tentacles. I enjoyed the dishes as well, but my favorite taro puff had a tad bit too much 5-spice. A dozen dimsum containers later, we were finally done with our meal.


At the Heritage court stage

We went around Heritage court where they have the food court and other stalls. We were drawn in by the wonderful aroma of freshly-made waffles. We were planning to get some but were distracted by Beard Papa’s after making our rounds. I don’t know where else in Toronto they have this, but we usually get their yummy cream puffs in California. So, we were quite excited! Of course, I ordered mocha (check out my other favorite mocha treat: Desserts for the Stressed). They inject the cream only upon taking your order. The pastry tasted fresh and the cream was not too sweet. It was delightful!

With a box of cream puffs to take home, we made our way through the different aisles. Everything you need for your phone, you can find in this place. It was amazing! Each aisle had tons of cellphone shops.  I wish I hadn’t gotten my cellphone screen protector at the other mall! I didn’t dare check the price to save myself from feeling bad about my purchase. I am sure it was half the price!  There were also plenty of clothing and optical shops, Chinese/Korean DVD stalls, and Bubble Tea joints! Speaking of Bubble tea, we had to get ourselves some slushies with tapioca pearls—perfect for sipping while we browsed through the stores. DD#1 got papaya and the rest of us had mango. We happily sipped our drinks with chewy black tapioca pearls; mine even had fresh mini mango cubes. Yum!

I did not end up shopping for a lot of stuff, but it was a fulfilling trip. Power walking in the mall to burn off the dimsum, and having bubble tea and cream puff while checking out stores we rarely see were therapeutic as well.