Canucks StanleyCupcakes

For all you Canucks fans out there!! Tribute for tonight explosive game!!!! 

If you're wondering about the hanging jersey behind me, it was my sister holding up hers as my photo op. :) 

 The line up!!

One of my favorites!!! :) 

Mmm.... Butter Chicken me up!

Butter Chicken. Where do I begin... you take top spot out of all the curries out there (at least for me anyways)!! I mean I like variety, trying new things and all but when it comes to foods I love -- I'll order it every time. This is one of those times! I try butter chicken at almost all places that serve it and I always seem to keep going back to this one place. Funny story behind how I was recommended to go there: At my previous job, on the first day, a co-worker was listing out all the places that were nearby where I could grab lunch.... Japanese down the street, sandwich place around the corner, the list goes on, and oh! the Indian place where the shady hotel is... Obviously I had to try the Indian place where the shady hotel is!! Best decision EVERRRR! It's called Choice Fast Food. Trust me given the name and location I was a bit skeptical at first but food often -NO- always speaks for itself! :)  

This place is always packed during lunch.. there's always a wait and people getting take-out. Here's a picture of the store front I took today. You can't tell in the picture, but the line-up was to the door!

Lets talk food, they have 10 menu items (Butter Chicken, Chicken Tandoori, Lamb Curry.. just to name a few), some sides (Chicken or Veggie Samosas, Potato Patties), and drinks (Pop, Mango shake, Masala Chai tea). The great thing is that there is always a menu item on special depending on the day of the week. Wednesday is my favorite and you guessed it -- its BUTTER CHICKEN DAY!!! Normally its $8.49 and on special its $7.49. Not a huge difference but you can get yourself 2 veggie samosas or 2 potato patties for $1.50... so what I'm trying to say is you can get more food! hahaha... if you can manage to fit it all. I feel they are pretty generous with the amount of chicken and sauce they give you. All too often those food court places are WAY too stingy and I leave feeling unsatisfied or hungry! :( 

This place is a no frills kind of a place. You order at the cashier and take your own seat and get your own water. They bring you your order and that's that. Just wanted to get that in there although I'm sure you can tell it's not fancy from what I've already said about it. haha... 

Okay, here's the menu:

The food!!!! :9 (side note - the salad side is nothing special, but that's not what I'm there for anyways!)

Butter Chicken is creamy and has very good flavour!! I often find myself running out of rice/naan to polish off all the sauce. I make sure I take extra sauce with whatever is remaining. Its an art! :) 

My polished off dish: 

Needless to say we left with smiling faces and happy stomachs! :)

ps. I have tried the Chicken Tandoori ... i don't recommend it because it's a little dry for my taste.. hahaha...

Justin Bieber nail polish

So who would've thought that even Justin Bieber would have his own collection of OPI nail polishes? I guess teenage girls would go gaga over it (if they haven't already.. okay I'm pretty sure that happened already). I mean even I wanted to get one just for fun! :) I got this one a while back (so excuse the dust that have gathered on the bottle) hahaa..  

 I got mine at my local Shoppers Drug Mart. They didn't have many choices since they were snatched up pretty quickly! But I had my eye on this colour from the beginning and turns out I got the last one! so hooray for me! This one is called "My Lifesaver". For the complete One Less Lonely Girl collection see their website. 

Here's how it looks on: 

Pretty cute and true to the colour you see in the bottle. I've noticed OPI or maybe just Nicole by OPI is introducing a new "perfect stroke brush". Which essentially is a fatter brush so you don't need to make as many strokes as before. The brush for mine had a bit of a flaw because some of the hairs were longer than they should've been, but if you do two coats then the unevenness is not noticeable. I actually kind of prefer the fatter brush since I haven't had great experiences with the thinner OPI brushes anyways. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly it dried since my other OPI polishes take quite long and that's one of the main reason why I prefer essie nail polishes more. All in all, I'm happy with the colour, the new brush, and how fast this one dried :) 

Maybe its time I go out and get some more! :O wooohooooooo......

Skoah products

Last year I got a gift card to Skoah which is one of many spa places in Vancouver. I've never been to a spa before so I'm not the best person to recommend where people should go, but the feel of Skoah is less commercialized then the other ones I've looked in to. To be honest with all the group buy coupons out their for spas I'm pretty sure I'll try a few other places before going to Skoah again. However, I must say the service at the Yaletown one is amazing! The girl who gave me my facial was awesome and didn't hard sell me into buying products afterwards, but I loved the cleanser she was using on me so much so that I had to get it! If you have dry skin you'll probably like this too!

I've tried many cleansers in the past - some were meh, some were too drying, and others were good but didn't do as good of a job after my skin got used to it. I thought I was cursed at this point... haha.. Luckily, the one from Skoah didn't disappoint. It's very refreshing (with its cucumber scent) and its oh so moisturizing formula. In fact, the product looks like a moisturizure and feels like one against my face. Although, those attributes are nothing special, the way it leaves my skin feeling is! My face feels so smooth and soft after using it. I've been using it ever since I got it. It's been more than half a year now and the love affair is still going strong! <3 The bottle is $25 which isn't too bad considering how long its lasted. I'm thinking of replenishing already - that's how much I love it! ;) it's called Kleansing Lotion.  

On the same visit I also got a toner. I've never used toners in the past simply because I never saw a need for one, but the girl was saying how it balances the pH in your skin so I gave it a try. I got the one she was using on me its called Tonik. The bottle is pretty much the same at the cleanser (seen above) but with a spray rather than the pump. Apparently balancing the pH prevents your skin from being too acidic causing flaking or too alkaline causing breakouts - info from their website. To be honest I've been using this toner for a while now and I've had times where my skin was flaky, but that could be a combination of my not so very hydrating night cream. I'm not sure if I'll be repurchasing but we'll see when I have no more and if my face misses it or not.  peace out :)

Takoyaki goodness

Mmm... takoyaki! I just love making these not to mention EATING THEM!!! they're amazing - just the perfect combination of textures and flavours in my mouth.. nom nom nom!!! I've been on the search high and low for a takoyaki machine (for a good deal) for the pass year and a half! Finally my wish was answered! The Japanese convenient store on Robson (Konbiniya) was having their anniversary sale and the takoyaki machine was 50% off! Here's the catch - they only sold 5 every Saturday of that one month and believe you me there were A LOT of people who wanted to get it. Cut throat competition! My friend went there to line up at least one hour before the store opened but there were already more then 5 people waiting in line. So the next Saturday she went there even earlier. When I got there I saw her and her sister already in line! Turns out she brought her sister along so she can get one for herself and one for me.. so thoughtful! you know when you have a good friend when______. kind of a moment! :) Every time I think of the good deal we got I always say "that was the best $20 I have EVER spent"! Definitely well worth it if you love takoyaki!!!

Here are some pictures of the takoyaki we made for dinner last night: 

The machine all ready to go :) 

 The batter cooking! my sister put Char Siu in some of them :D

Flipping! 

TADA! super delicious

We were surprised just how easy it was to make! No more waiting for night market to roll around before we can sink our teeth into some good octopus puffs (I try to avoid calling them octopus balls because people seem to always get the wrong idea). I don't blame them I guess ;p

Jello pop

So I was recommended this drink and I must say it's pretty cool! Before you open the can you have to shake it hard a few times to break up the jello inside. It's like drinking jello that fizzy... quite different and interesting for the taste buds! :) Can be found at T&T supermarkets and it comes in two flavors: lemon and orange.  Here are some pics of the can and the drink. 

                                         Love how the cat is demonstrating the shaking...

To bad you can't really see the jello in this pic :( I think I over shook it this time..

I recommend the orange flavor! I thought the lemon one was okay but not as good as the orange. Any awesome drinks out there I should know about? Leave me a comment! I think it's time to explore ;) 

Peanut butter cup cookies

These little things are absolutely amazing! I can probably pop them in my mouth all day long but then I guess I wouldn't want to be talking with my mouth full all the time. hahaha.. Anyways, they are super easy to make and will for sure be a hit if peanut butter cups is your thing. I first saw this on a magazine cover and though to myself "I totally have to make these for Easter"! It's perfect since those mini Reese's peanut butter cups aren't available year round, but Easter is one of those times where they ARE around. Coincidence? I think not! ;) Besides, the finished product looks like mini baskets.. no? If you add something for the handle I guess..

here's a picture of the ones I made awhile back! Notice the one with mini eggs.. yummm.. I can taste them already! Can't wait to make these again :9 

Recipe can be found on http://loveandcooking.blogspot.com/2004/11/peanut-butter-cup-cookies.html. Seriously worth giving it a try!