Paradise Found: Our trip to El Nido--last day

Day 4

After breakfast of tapsilog (beef, fried rice and egg), danggit (dried fish), and puto bungbong (a purple colored steamed rice cake), we headed for the docks for a final jackfish feeding. This was about 8:45am and our bags will be picked up from our rooms by 10:30am. There was a group of folks who, instead of feeding, were going to snorkel and swim with the jackfish. Why didn’t I think of that? After deciding that I could make a run for it and get all ready in less than two hours, I went back to our room, took out my swim wear and snorkels from our already-packed bags and headed out to swim with the jackfish. It was a decision I will never regret—not that I would have any reason to, the boat will not leave us right?!  It brought me such joy to be able to swim up close with these big black creatures (and other fish we would normally see in a marine aquarium) and snorkel one last time. I do not know when I would be able to go snorkeling again. I did not want to leave, but after I had my fill, I ran back to our room, showered and put my wet swim gear back into the luggage. By this time, hubby and the girls had gone off to a coconut hat making class where they were shown how to make beautiful hats out of coconut leaves. To make it more fun, they fashioned some dragon flies and crickets to put on top of the hats. By 11:30am we were set to ride the boat back to the main island. Before taking off, though, they had to weigh all of us again with our luggage and I was afraid to look at the scale. I am sure my weight would reflect all the food I feasted on! But I carried with me my backpack and camera on the scale just so the real number will not be revealed. Ha!

And so we went, from the small boat to the big boat, to the jeepney and the 20-seater plane back to Manila. We may have been a few pounds heavier (or maybe not, seafood is light, right?) but we will always cherish the wonderful memories we had at El Nido.

Paradise Found: Our trip to El Nido--Day 3 at Lagen, Dibuluan and sunset cruise

Day 3

We went to Lagen Island on the third day. We secured a babysitter to watch over the girls for about 3 hours while we went hiking and snorkeling. The hike itself was challenging.  Our guide, Ike, helped us through the trails, where we saw ancient trees such as the Antipolo with leaves bigger than 12-inch pies! The roots of the giant trees rose about 5 feet from the ground. The path was steep and rocky. It would have been a very tough hike for the girls. I did not see any long-tailed Macaques, which hubby and DD-2 claimed to have seen at our resort. After our 40-minute jungle hike, we reached the other end of the island--a beautiful beach with fantastic cliffs. The sight made the hike even more fulfilling! Ike radioed a boat to come pick us up and take us around the island back to where the girls were waiting. I did not think I could have managed another 40-minute hike back. I need more exercise!  Meanwhile, the girls lounged at the infinity pool while waiting for us. We swam a little in the pool before we headed to another island, Dibuluan, for more snorkeling and to have lunch. I have a feeling the islands wanted me to stay, for again, we had a crab dish they called Seafood Fantasia. I will fantasize about this for sure in the months to come.

Our babysitter stayed behind in Dibuluan while we headed off to another island, Entalula. Hubby and I took turns snorkeling while the girls enjoyed playing with sand castles, sand ice cream and whatever else their imaginations allowed. We stayed in a big Nipa hut which had chaise lounges and hammocks.

We then went back to Miniloc where we took off for our sunset cruise. We headed out close to the South China sea and waited for the sun to set. The girls were a bit bored and wanted the sun to set already. I made sure I took a couple of Gravol to counter my sea-sickness while we were drifting. When the sun finally set, it was glorious! The colors were oh so beautiful, another perfect creation. Beautiful images like those really make you count your blessings!

To end the day, we had dinner of crispy pata (fried pork legs). How can they make me leave now?! The skin was crispy and the meat tender. I kept coming back for more suka/toyo (vinegar/soy sauce) with onions, garlic and red pepper. As we were having our crepes and tea for dessert, the cultural show began. The girls really enjoyed the Pandango and Tinikling dances. We were not brave enough to try these with the dancers, though.

Paradise Found: Our trip to El Nido--Day 2 island hopping at Snake island, Cudugnon cave, and Shimizu island

Day 2

After our breakfast of bibingka (another type of rice cake) the next day, we started our activities with feeding the jackfish (locally known as talakitok). At the dock, there was a pail of fish leftovers which were handled by tongs (hands for the non-squeamish) and fed to the jackfish. It was a sight to see! The jackfish were about 2-3 feet long and the feeding frenzy lasted only under ten minutes. After the feeding, we got ready for our scheduled island hopping tour and some snorkeling in the afternoon. We first went to Snake island, which has an S-shaped sandbar, clearly visible during low tide.  A 5-minute hike to the top gave us a better view. The hike was not too steep and the girls managed it well with our help. We were off to Cudugnon cave after. To get inside the cave, we had to tuck our knees to our chest and roll over to get through a hole as big as a couple of backpacks.  There was light from the top which allowed us to see the beautiful rock formations. We even posed inside what locals called the Mickey Mouse formation-- a smaller cave shaped like Mickey’s head.

Afterwards, we took a boat to one of the islands by the Big lagoon, where the entire beach was reserved for our private lunch.  What can I say? That was the life!  Our waiter, Ray prepared some soup and green mango salad to start with. We had smoked tanguigue and freshly baked bread as well. Then, we had grilled feast of tilapia, skewered shrimp, and pork chop. We ended with banana cake and maja blanca (coconut pudding). Ray left us to enjoy our meal and to swim and relax until we were ready to be picked up.  There was an attendant who stayed with us and radioed the boat to come pick us up when we were done.

We went snorkeling at Shimizu island next. Our guide, Raymond had a buoy for the girls to hold on to while hubby and I went snorkeling. We had some bread handy and schools of Matangbaka (purse-eye scad fish) gathered around us to the girls delight. Sadly, a lot of the corals had been damaged. There were some nice species that you can still see while snorkeling, though. Definitely diving would have allowed one to see more (including the resident sea turtles and whale sharks) but hubby decided not to leave us girls to go on a dive. The girls were too young to go on an intro dive with me, so we had to settle for snorkeling.  We went back to the resort for a dinner of chili crabs, grilled oysters, grilled shrimp, crispy crablets and perfectly-cooked palitaw (yet another type of rice cake)!  Ahhh….crabs… I can definitely live on crabs. If you promise not to tell anyone, I will say that I can eat 2-3 whole crabs in one sitting. But my family already knows this so they pretty much leave me to enjoy my crabs which take me over an hour to savour.

Darling Daughter #2 (DD-2) was not feeling well this day. Her fever and energy was on and off but we got clearance from the resident doctor for the day’s activities. He did check up on her twice (and twice more daily from then on) to make sure she was ok. I brought medicine with me, but the clinic was sufficiently stocked as well. Even for instances like these, the resort had us covered. DD-2 was better the next day.

Paradise found: Our trip to El Nido--Day 1 at Miniloc's Big and Small lagoon

To get to paradise, we had to take a 16 hour trip to Hong Kong, a 3 hour layover, a 2 hour trip to Manila, an hour and a half ride on a 20-seater plane, a jeepney ride, a big boat ride and finally, a transfer to a smaller boat.

Day 1

Getting to Miniloc Island in El Nido, Palawan took many months of planning. We had to do the booking and payments remotely but it was definitely worth all the trouble. A few days after Christmas last year, we headed off to El Nido. We arrived early at the terminal. The lounge of Island Transvoyager was nice and muffins and coffee were served. Because we were riding a small aircraft, there was a very strict luggage allowance policy. They weighed all of us and luggage for each passenger could not exceed 10kg.  Riding a 20-seater was not as scary as I thought it would be. I actually got some nice aerial shots of the islands, the seats were not cramped and there was enough space with one person per row on each side of the plane.

At LIO airport, we were greeted by locals singing beside a carabao-pulled cart. The kids have never seen a carabao up close. Snacks of kutchinta (rice cake) and coffee were served and the girls relaxed on the “duyan” (hammock) while waiting for our jeepney ride.  The jeepneys were slightly bigger than the usual, to fit the taller resort guests, we were told. Upon reaching the pier, we got into our lifejackets and our boat. Our guide, Raymond, promptly handed us towels to make sure that we were prepared in case we got wet. We then transferred to a smaller boat so that we could get closer to the island. We were really amazed at the conservation efforts of the El Nido resorts. They did not use anchors so as not to damage the corals.

We were again greeted by song, welcome drinks and coconut leaf leis. The girls were very excited about the other activities to come. We then got to go to our cottage which was on stilts above the waters of Bacuit Bay. It was lovely. Nicely decorated with indigenous materials, it had a loft which would be the girls’ room for the next three days. Outside, there was a lounging area on the porch where I would later enjoy drinking my coffee or tea while looking out into the waters.

We promptly arranged our activities with our coordinators. While this was to be a relaxing trip, we had to have some sort of a schedule to make the most out of our vacation. And to have somebody prepare this for us was absolutely liberating! All we had to do was show up! I wondered if I could bring them home.

After our lunch of crispy crablets, adobo (a local chicken dish), and garlic rice (among other buffet delights), we had our dessert of halo-halo (made of shaved ice, milk, and mixed sweets and fruits). Then, we were off to check out the Big lagoon and Small lagoon. These had been the settings of a few Survivor episodes and Amazing Race ones as well. At the Big Lagoon, we saw limestone cliffs up close and our guide explained to us how El Nido got its name. El Nido is Spanish for “the nest.” Swifts make nests inside these limestone cliffs which gatherers are able to sell for about US$5,000.00 per kilo! These are often used in Chinese soups. It has been quite a while since I had Nido soup but I wouldn’t say I particularly liked it.

We fell in love with the Small lagoon. Our guide managed to find a big enough kayak for all of us to fit in. Darling Daughter #2 (DD-2) sat in front of me and Darling Daughter #1 (DD-1) sat behind me. Our guide handed hubby the oar and when I asked if I would paddle, he said, no, I needed my hands free to take pictures. Love this guide! Hubby kept saying how strong and masculine he was, paddling for all four of us that DD-1 had to say, ok already! To get to the Small lagoon, we had to pass an opening just big enough to fit our kayak. The waters were emerald and very serene. We felt we had to whisper or else we would ruin that beautiful calm. The cliffs were majestic and there were sprinkles of lush trees on them. We were in awe. It felt like we were in a movie. How can such beautiful places exist in real life? The feeling was surreal and I couldn’t help but be thankful that we were able to see and experience this magical place. I hope I took enough pictures to remind the girls of this trip when they are older. Better yet, I hope that image is etched in their memories like it is forever etched in mine.

The girls just played on the beach when we got back to the resort and then we enjoyed a buffet dinner of grilled white snapper, tuna steak and mango crepe for dessert.  Our waiter, Arnel, advised us that they had some soy milk shipped just for us since we advised them that DD-1 was lactose intolerant. Now, that is what I call service! 

Back in our room, the cleaning staff left us a print out of a local legend, which we read to the kids before sending them to bed.  Amazing attention to detail!

Just go with the snow

I think we have finally accepted that we live in a country with snow. We used to dread winter especially since our first one was filled with snowstorms and cold snaps starting in October and ending in May. The past couple of winters have been quite mild, so that might have helped with acceptance. You may want to check in with me next year to see if I still feel the same.

Coming from a tropical country, we have always found it unusual that some people actually looked forward to winter. Why would people want to be dressed up in layers and have their nose, cheeks and fingers frozen? But last winter, we decided to join them. We bought a couple of mini-luges and actually waited for snow days so we could play! Never mind that it would take 30 minutes to get dressed to go out. Never mind that sometimes, one of the kids would need to go to the washroom AFTER we had put on their snow wear. We would go to the nearby park with a small hill and ride our luge. Oh what fun!

This winter, we even ventured to go snow tubing! Darling Daughter# 2 (DD-2) was finally tall enough to ride the lift, so off we went. Having had a heavy breakfast, we arrived at the park before noon. We decided we could only go on three rides, and that turned out to be a good decision. The lines were long and each run took us about 30 minutes—25 minutes queue, under a minute on the lift, a couple of minutes getting set up at the top so we could connect our tubes together, then a 10 second ride down the hill. It was awesome! We tried different runs, but three was just right for us. To line up for more would have killed the joy of it all.

DD-2 did manage to almost send me into a heart attack by tossing about in her tube while she was on the lift. I must’ve sounded like a broken record with all the instructions and safety warnings prior to the ride. Could she have tuned me out? Mind you, she was all still the first two times on the lift. It was on the third ride that she became more daring. Tip: do not say hello or call out to the kids (even when you are issuing a warning) while on the lift. They tend to turn around to look at you! I heaved a sigh of relief when she got to the top all safe and sound. She did get an earful from me and big sister, so hopefully she learned her lesson. After the third run, we had just enough energy for a little more snow play before heading out for a late lunch and nap time. Tip #2: this is a good activity to get the kids to eat more and nap right away!

It is not quite March yet, but it almost feels like spring. There is this tiny bit of sadness that we are almost out of snow. I didn’t realize that snow could grow on you. And while summer remains to be my favorite season, we now have more reasons not to dread winter. Bring on the snow days!

Summers past--our first trip to Montreal part 2

Day 3

We walked around Rue St-Catherine and the Underground city. The Underground city was huge! Something like 3 stories of shopping from the ground down! Window shopping was the main activity of the day although I managed to get a few items here and there. Lunch at Schwartz’s was a bus ride away. There was such a long line! For a corned beef sandwich? Really?! We stood in line for 30 minutes before we finally got inside the store. This had better be good! Hubby really liked the smoked meat and I was on the neutral side. I bought some Montréal steak spices, though, to take home. The sandwiches were huge and the meat was tender and very tasty.  Spices encrusted the edge of each slice of meat. I can see why this is an institution, a must-go-to place when you are in town.

After more walking around, we had dinner at this Thai restaurant at the mall. A friend recommended this and it was good, indeed! However, I wouldn’t say it was better than some of my favorite Thai places in Toronto.

Day 4

Breakfast was at St-Viateur bagel on the day we left because what is a Montréal experience without bagels? There is something about Montréal bagels that I think would make you a loyalist. No other bagel would be good enough after you’ve tried one. I guess this is how New Yorkers feel about their bagels, too.

Before heading home, we passed by St Joseph’s oratory. Such a beautiful church! By the time we found a parking spot, it was already DD-1’s nap time. So, hubby pushed the stroller up the hill and was panting by the time we got to the top of the church. Praying for strength took on a literal meaning! It would have helped if we had stopped to ask if there was another way to get to the top. Because on the way down, we saw there were escalators and elevators. Oh well. We would have to think of it as burning off all the poutine we had eaten! We lit some candles in the prayer room. There were probably thousands of crutches on the walls, presumably from all those who came and were healed. We also checked out Brother Andre’s house and got some holy oil and water to bring home.

The ride home was pleasantly uneventful. We came back with less stuff than we had brought in the beginning (well, less diapers, milk and baby food). We did have more memories and a wonderful birthday trip. J'ai adoré Montréal.

Montreal on Dwellable

Summers past--our first trip to Montreal (part 1)

When the winter blues start to set in, I try to recall what we have done in summers past just to bring some sunshine back in my mind. Here's an account of our first trip to Montréal 5 summers ago. I started writing this soon after the trip but I just never got around to finishing it. I have now finished polishing up that account. It will seem that this happened just recently, but I will not fool you into thinking my memory was not at all affected by 2 C-sections.

Montréal Trip

Day 1:

The day started off just like any other but it wasn’t, because it was my birthday.  We were up and about at around 6:30 a.m., done with breakfast at around 7 and ready for the road by 7:30.  Hubby had packed most of the stuff the night before, three-fourths of which belonged to Darling Daughter (DD-1) who was 15 months at the time. We had her play yard, 2 pillows,  Elmo and Winnie the Pooh, diaper bag with diapers and wipes (of course!), formula, bottles, stroller…  we had a full car!  But as things would normally go, DD-1 had the final say as to when it was time to leave – and that was 8:30.

Montréal was a good 550 km away and was, by far, our longest road trip back then.  Hubby was the designated driver and I, the navigatress.  We did not have a GPS then and had to rely on good-old Map Quest. So yes, that made me a good navigatress. Once in a while DD-1 would get antsy so I would hand her a “new” toy from the bag to keep her occupied. See, I needed to bring all that stuff!  Some two hundred km from our destination, we stopped over for lunch at KFC (or PFK in French), refueled the car and stretched our cramped legs. We were in Montréal by 2:30, but thanks to the traffic (which was reminiscent of Manila’s) and the French-language-only road signs, we didn’t make it to our hotel until 3:30.

Montréal was packed.  Hubby swears that half of Toronto must’ve gone there too, which would explain the traffic.  And although it was not nearly as ethnically diverse as Toronto (there were few visible minorities, so we felt we really stood out), the locals weren’t as snooty as we thought they would be.

We had a good walk-about.  We went to the Tourist Information Centre to get some maps.  Then, we went to the subway station to get ride-all-you-can tickets for the next few days.  We capped off the evening with a poutine dinner at La Belle Province, one of the favorite hangout spots of McGill University students, or so I was told. Did I mention that we also packed about a dozen jars of baby food?

Day 2:

After giving DD-1 her morning milk, we promptly went to the subway station, which was two blocks from our hotel, to go to our first destination, the Latin Quarter.  Getting around was tough, not because of the subway system, which was pretty good, but because of the child and handicapped un-friendly access.  There were no elevators or ramps for wheelchairs and strollers!  Or at least we did not see them. Most of the trains were three flights of stairs from street level!!! DD-1 decided to nap in the stroller so we had to carry the stroller down to get to the trains. It was a workout, indeed!

We had brunch at Brioche Lyonnaise. We went French, of course.  Hubby had the salmon crepe and I had the chicken crepe.  This spot is not only known for their crepes but also their ”bowls” of café au lait.

Later on, we went around Old Montréal, Vieux Port and Bonsecours Market. It was very charming with cobbled steps and horse-drawn carriages. We had a nice time just walking and DD-1 was perfectly happy in her stroller.

Dinner was at La Belle Province (again!) for more poutine--we were in Quebec, after all!

Montreal on Dwellable

Ode to Buffalo Wings

Days before the most recent Super Bowl, various fliers and advertisements called out to me:  Chicken wings on special! What would Super Bowl be without chicken wings? I love Buffalo wings! Love it, love it, love it! Super Bowl was just another excuse to have some wings. I have searched high and low for the best wings and I take every chance I get to try a new place which has this on the menu. I do try honey garlic or barbeque sauce but I will always choose Buffalo-style wings over these. I found the best wings (at least at this point in my life) at their birthplace--Anchor Bar in (where else?) Buffalo, NY. Apparently, the owner, Teressa prepared this for a group of customers who came in late one night for a meal. She fried some wings (which were originally meant to be used for stock) then put some of her special sauce. And so, Buffalo wings were born. Thank you, Teressa!

For our anniversary a few years back, the family crossed over to Buffalo to have lunch at Anchor Bar. We really did not plan to shop or do anything else but have lunch there. Braving traffic at the Peace Bridge, we drove over to satisfy the craving I had not been able to appease ever since I saw an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featuring this place.

They were the best Buffalo wings I ever had. The kids had spaghetti and meatballs while hubby and I had a double (20 pieces) medium order. We did not dare order their “Suicidal” sauce. After all, I wanted to enjoy my wings, not burn my mouth. Our order came in a heaping platter with celery and bleu cheese. I couldn’t wait to dig in! Hubby prefers the drumette and I like the middle “flat.” He can be my wing man, anytime! (Sorry, I had to put that in--even at the risk of revealing the era I’m from, haha.) The skin was crispy, the meat was tender and juicy and the sauce was absolutely great! These wings were certainly worth driving to Buffalo for!

Since I cannot drive over to Buffalo all the time, I had to find a local alternative. Duff’s Famous Wings comes close. Duff's originated in NY, too, and we are all too glad they have branches here! We went to the Bayview location where parking can be a challenge, but again, for Buffalo wings, it was worth the effort. The wings are a bit smaller, but they are great as well, especially with the staple celery and bleu cheese. We did not go for the Death or heaven-forbid, Armageddon sauce. We stuck with our usual 20-piece medium (and at Duff’s “medium is hot”).

As you can see, I will go through lengths to get my Buffalo wings. I choose this for anniversaries and birthdays. My favorite chips? PC Buffalo Wings and Bleu cheese flavored chips.

Manila treats

Just before leaving work this afternoon, my friend asked me for some pastry recommendations from Manila. I managed to give her a couple before I had to pack up. On the ride home, I had planned to just chill and think of nothing in particular... then, I started thinking about treats from Manila. I figured I should just write about them and try to remember the joy I felt when I had them just over a month ago rather than focus on these hunger pangs.

Here are my top three all-time favourite pastries from Manila:

1. Mary Grace cheese roll.  I remember snacking on this after our wedding ceremony to tide us over until the reception.  Biting into this, you get a burst of sweetness from the sugar sprinkled on top coupled with saltiness from the soft strip of cheese inside. The buttery dough is light and pillow-soft. I think this is best eaten when warm so that the cheese melts in your mouth.  Hubby prefers their Edam cheese ensaimada which my mom got, but I am not too fond of Edam. I will take cheese roll any day. I can eat three in one sitting, but I will not admit that.

2. Silvanas from House of Silvanas. Light and buttery, these silvanas are such a delight to eat. Now this is one you have to eat cold. Flavourful buttercream is sandwiched between a couple of crunchy-chewy cashew-meringue wafers and coated with cookie crumbs. There are different flavours but I prefer the original.

3. Becky's kitchen brownies. Thanks to my cousin, I managed to get a hold of a box during our visit. These are best served warm, but we devoured them for breakfast, not heated, straight from the box, while waiting for our plane. The kids loved them, too! They were moist, chewy, chocolatey, yummy.

There are many more pastries and sweets that I like and surely there may be more that are even better than what I had listed above but these are the treats I HAD to have on our last trip. Now if someone can manage to send me a box or two of any (or all) of these, know that you will make my day.

Fromage: my Winterlicious excursions to date

Hubby and I tend to shy away from cheese and by that I mean Valentine’s (and year-round) cheese. Nothing against profession of love, we just choose to keep such things private. That’s just us. Don’t get me wrong, we do celebrate Valentine’s. We just do it a few days earlier-- at Winterlicious where we can get prix fixe dinners at fine dining restos.

For Winterlicious 2006 we went to La Maquette at King St. We had our first anniversary dinner there and enjoyed it so much we had to go back. Twice. I love sirloin steak. So, sirloin steak it was. Yes, yes, while I am adventurous, there are times when I cannot resist going back to food I love to eat. Do not get me started on Buffalo Wings.

Winterlicious 2007 was not so exciting. I can barely remember what we ate at Richlee’s at Eglington. It had good reviews but the mussels failed to impress.

Winterlicious 2008 took us to Café Maroc (The bar at Sultan’s Tent ) at Front St. They had good-sized portions and was good value for money. You would not get one piece of shrimp on a big white plate with fancy sauce painted around it. Instead, we got Maftoul to start with. These are rolled pastry shaped like Moroccan cigars filled with a mixture of spicy beef and some veggies. Served warm and crispy, it was an absolute delight! Main course was tender, juicy, fall-off-the-bone beef short rib braised with Moroccan spices. Hubby had braised lamb on couscous. Equally good and wonderful comfort food on a snowy night. Traditional Moroccan cookies capped our dinner.

Winterlicious 2009 was at North 44. The Ahi tuna was a refreshing starter. It was delicately seared outside and freshly pink inside.  This was followed by a wonderful, wonderful salmon that was quite tasty. The only complaint I had was that the skin lay on top of the sauce. So while in the beginning it was all nice and crispy, by the time I was done savouring my dish, it had gone soggy. I figured it was alright to have the rich and creamy Crème brulee for dessert. After all, I had been eating healthy fish, right?

For Winterlicious 2010 we went with another Mark McEwan classic--Bymark. I chose fish all the way again starting with a sesame-crusted Yellow Fin tuna sashimi. It went exquisitely well with the apple and miso sauce. Pan-seared black cod was up next. The fish was fresh and perfectly paired with roasted garlic. And for dessert...how do I start describing the Crisp Apple Tarte Tatin? It was heavenly. I can still taste the caramelized apple with cream and fried apple sticks on top of crunchy phyllo. Yum!

We went to Pangaea in Yorkville for Winterlicious 2011. Crispy and perfectly cooked Calamari and just-the-right spice aioli starters were good. Tender, tasty Striploin was better. But what I will always remember was how good the Callebaut hot chocolate with orange and almond biscotti was. It was so heavenly I wanted to have seconds and thirds! The exquisite hot chocolate was from Bernard Callebaut’s chocolaterie . It was oh so smooth, rich and just plain heavenly. The vanilla bean marshmallow floating on the hot choco made it even more divine.

Winterlicious 2012. I pretty much decide where we will go every year, mainly because I enjoy doing this! Once in a while, I do let hubby surprise me and book our date with constant reviews being emailed to him, haha!  When I was deciding where to go this year, I caught a re-run of the Iron Chef bacon battle between Bobby Flay and Susur Lee. It ended in a draw. Now that’s my sign. Lee’s it will be this time. Chef Lee trained his staff well and each dish was presented with a very enticing description. Lee’s pot stickers were, well, pot stickers. The sauce had just the right amount of tang and went really well with the dish.  Hubby regrets not having the ginger and onion crusted Mahi Mahi. It was well worth the need to gargle with mouthwash soon after the meal! The croquette was a good side to this very tasty dish. A nice glass of Gewurtzraminer would have completed the meal. Dessert was a wonderful mound of hot banana chocolate cake with home-made (should I say, restaurant-made?) vanilla ice cream. Handshakes to Chef Lee marked our compliments to the chef.

We do not let summer pass without going to Summerlicious either. I will always have an occasion handy for summer, an excuse to have a fancy dinner. But that line-up will be saved for another time.

Those are our Winterlicious adventures to date. And no, we will not have cheese with that, thanks.

Cabin fever

I refuse to be brought down by cabin fever! Every winter, we would try to take the kids to one or two winter carnivals. Yes, it was a bit difficult to go on midway rides all bundled up in our winter down and hubby always froze during the Ferris Wheel rides, but we went anyway. The kids always had tons of fun!

Last Sunday we went to the Vaughan Winterfest. We started our morning with a CN mini-train ride and then moved on to more exciting rides such as Spinner and the Sizzler. My husband and I realized that our stomachs are no longer as strong as they used to be. I used to be able to go on roller coaster rides as many as four times in a row! But well, with names like Spinner and THE Sizzler, what did we expect?!  With swaying knees and slightly queasy stomachs, we made our way to watch the Max and Ruby show. After all, we had to rest, right? Max was really the cutest little bunny! I actually enjoyed the show!

There were some nice photo ops throughout the entire event. My kind of thing! There were ice sculptures kids could pose in and Puss n Boots made an appearance. The Star Wars Storm Troopers also went around in their white battle gear. They were probably the warmest creatures there, albeit not too comfy. Then again, who is comfy in winter wear?

We also checked out the different info tables but skipped Pizza-making class, face painting and the hockey booth. We had just the right amount of fun and play then we were ready for a nice Middle-Eastern lunch.  After having our crunchy falafel, juicy chicken breast kebab and freshly baked pita bread, our pre-schooler was just about ready for her nap. Not bad for a Sunday outing. Back to our “cabin.”

Remembering Hong Kong

My first plane ride was to Hong Kong when I was 7 years old. I have vague memories of the whole trip but since I had a plated picture (yes, those plates with pictures which are displayed on the shelves!) of myself about to ride a cable car, my recollection of the whole trip is--riding a cable car. No memories of Buddhist temples or ferries or rickshaws. My daughters were each 6 months old when they rode the plane for the first time. I doubt they will recall any of those trips, but as my mom said, I will remember them.

For bigger trips (or slightly costlier local ones), hubby and I often consider if the kids would remember the experience. If the trip was for them and  if they were too young for certain activities, then we would postpone the adventure. If the trip was for us, then, off we would go (especially if kids stay and eat free!). Traveling with kids is a whole other story but I always say that these trips and outings bond us together and create family memories.

As for the plate, I threw it out when we were packing our stuff to migrate to Canada. I have some yellowing prints of that trip left, but the bulky plate is in a landfill in Manila.