Hola amigos!

Look! Promise Kept! A post! And even better, a post about FOOOOOOD.

When I was at home I was spoiled with so much wonderful wonderful food from my mama’s kitchen, my auntie Maggie’s Christmas meal — aided by the rest of my aunties, and then of course all the restaurant outings with friends and family. So due to the huge amount of pictures, I’ve decided to break it up into three sections with each section coming out in the next few days.

Since my family’s recipes are so awesome, I’d like to actually share some with ya’ll, so I’m going to look those up tonight and today I’m bringing you my restaurant outings :

So let’s start with my first stop on the trip — as per usual — Cora’s!

This time around I was fortunate enough to get to go to Cora’s twice! I went the first time with the delightful Tubbs family who always accompanies me there for breakfast.  I made sure to order my classic “Good Morning” breakfast with a very large fruit cup — I wish they made fruit cups without any kind of melon in them, melons suck. We had a great time talking about Tami’s impending due date, TJ’s work, my future goals, and Ray and Linda’s house plans.  It was a delightful conversation with a wonderful family, and I can’t thank them enough for starting such a great tradition with me that I hope to continue for years to come!

So the second time I went to Cora’s I went with my BFFL (Lol) Carrie, and after our huge meals and accompanying fruit cups — we indulged in ChocoBanana crepes. They were a bit too chocolatey for my liking — believe it or not — but they were delicious.  The cream on the top is just amazing, it’s really light and airy while still having a really rich vanilla cream flavour… I could seriously drink a cup of that stuff…….

So a few days into my trip I met up with my friend Annie for dinner at a restaurant called Padmanadi that has an all vegetarian menu.  You can imagine my distaste at the sound of vegetables, but Annie insisted they made mock meat, and that it was awesome, so I agreed to check it out, cause that’s what life is all about!!!

So from left to right, top to bottom we have : Lemon “Chicken”, Sweet & Sour “Pork” and Salty “Chicken” with plum sauce.   We also ordered my favorite “dining out” side dish : rice (You can’t ruin rice…)

While this wouldn’t be my first choice — which would obviously be meat — I definitely enjoyed the idea behind the restaurant, and the flavors they had for both the lemon chicken and the sweet & sour pork were awesome.  The salty chicken was a little too salty for my liking, but I think that was a given.  The “meat” tasted like what it was supposed to taste like, but it’s pretty impossible to duplicate the texture, so I’ll keep those thoughts to myself haha.  All and all it was a really great experience, combined with awesome chats with Annie — who like me loves the Millennium Trilogy! — and I can’t wait til Comic-Con in July with her and Mike! Wheeew!

I was lucky to get to visit with my Uncle Bob & his kids, and attend a birthday party for my dear friend Alex at Boston Pizza — a place I didn’t really miss being in Van, but quite enjoyed with such great company!

When I went with my fam, my cousin Jordan and I split our classic perogy pizza with a side of Thai Chicken Bites.  It was an awesome meal catching up with Jordan and although my mouth was on fire after indulging in both of these, it was well worth it.  Thanks again Uncle Bob!

On December 29th of 2010, my dearest friend Alexandra turned 22.  Alex and I have been friends since we were in grade 6 and have years and years of stories that we love to rehash every time we see each other, which leaves us rolling over on the floor laughing.  This night I was particularly lucky because I also got to spend time with some of my former Maurice-Lavallee classmates like Stephanie, Danie and Anne, and their boyfriends. It was nice to see everyone and hear what they’ve been up to these days, and what’s next for them.  I try never to miss Alex’s birthday because it tends to be the one time of year we get to see each other, and I hope to catch it again next year, and the one after that.

So back to the food — I had the thai chicken bites again and decided to go for my restaurant staple — Yam Fries.  I started eating these like 4 years ago at the Keg and love the almost creamy texture of yams, mixed with the spicy mayos that accompany them.  Well let me tell you, these were disgusting.  They were almost burnt tasting, they were really soggy and floppy, and the mayo was super greasy.  I had to eat them though because the chicken bites were too spicy! Oh well! You win some you lose some.

A few years ago I went on a first date with a certain guy who had my heart for two years.  I’ve got tons I could say about him, but suffice to say, the best part about our relationship was the food, and in the “divorce” I think I got the restaurant.

Originally suggested to us by our mutual friend, we went to the Calgary Trail Noodle House for our first date, and then returned nearly every week for two years.

This place has stayed my favorite restaurant for many reasons, from the amazing vietnamese food (Deep fried Wontons & Pan Fried Lemongrass Beef) to the wonderful staff who have come to know me, and always ask me how everything is going in Vancouver, making me feel so welcome — it’s just.. ah. I love it.

So here we have my classic dish, Number 56, after a successful de-onionization.  I hate onions, but I love the taste they add to food. I’m weird I know. But this dish. Oh me, oh my. It is deeelicious.  I love the cold tomato on the side – such a nice touch when the beef gets too spicy for my sensitive little mouth haha.

Courtney and Mason joined me for what I called my early birthday dinner in Edmonton.  I hadn’t been to CTNH since I had gotten to Edmonton and felt like I was really missing out.  They each ordered my other favorite dish — Number 50, the grilled chicken on rice with grilled shrimp & spring roll.  Court also had the salad rolls that she gulped down faster than I could get through my wontons — finally a girl besides Janet who can keep up with my mass food consumption.  It was a really nice dinner with great company and I can’t wait to see the both of them again.  (And talk about baby drop offs..)

Well that is it for this post! I’ll be sharing more ASAP!

Now it’s time to keep applying for jobs, shower and get ready for the Masquerade Impact Awards! All of the wonderful EBM students worked their asses off to make this happen and I can’t wait to see the acrobats, the music, and the show! Not to mention, all of the desserts are gonna be awesome!!!

Peace,Love&Cookies.

P.♥