All Entries in the "Other Categories" Category
Office Potluck — October 2009
At work we have a social committee which is pretty active. They organizes various events to build relationships at work. Some of the events that they organizes very well is the hockey pool and the office potluck.
We do this once every quarter and it is always a success no matter how many times we do it. This is one event that has the most participation of all events.
The way we do it is to randomly split the office into two groups. Each of the two groups will be contributing to one potluck. So there are two potlucks held on different dates and everyone contributes on one of the potluck but gets to eat on both potlucks.
Everyone can contribute to the potluck by bringing a homemade dish. For anyone who doesn’t want to bring a homemade dish, they can buy them or pay $20 so that the committee can use the money to buy on their part.
At the end of the potluck, the Social Committee will put up an online poll to gather votes for the best of categories.
My contribution this time is Baked Char Siu Bau. Actually, it was Suanne who made it. You guys know I don’t cook. Suanne makes really moist Char Siu Bau and am glad to say it was one of the favourites. This is not gonna win any prizes this time — that much I can tell you though.
If you want the recipe to this, you can find it here:
After the buns are made, let rest for 30 minutes and brush with beaten egg (egg wash). Bake in a preheated 325F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
This dish above looks set to be the winner this time. This is called Russian Sushi!
I don’t know if this is a made-up name or what. But it sure looked the prettiest.
This is another pretty unique dish. I wanted so much to try it but when it got to my turn, they were all gone. This is … More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Make a Difference
I know this has nothing to do with food but I came across this video that is so moving that I simply had to share with you. Get a Kleenex and click Play.
Suanne
Complimentary Dessert from Tamarind Hill in North Vancouver
Hi All:
How would you like desserts like this … for free?
Coconut Crepes from Tamarind Hill
Tamarind Hill will be giving a complimentary dessert for every $35 spent in their new restaurant in North Vancouver.
We visited the Tamarind Hill on Lonsdale Ave about two months ago mainly because we wanted to check out if this new restaurant was as good as the popular restaurant in New Westminster. It was … even though the North Van restaurant is smaller than the first one in New West. We had blogged about our experiences here:
- The first Tamarind Hill on 6th Ave in New Westminster
- The new Tamarind Hill on Lonsdale Ave in North Vancouver
I wanted to let you know that our visit to the Tamarind Hill in North Van was unannounced. The staff did not realize who we were during the visit even though they noticed our camera. I think they assumed we were tourists because they asked us where we were from.
We paid for our meal. We are not paid in kind or money for this arrangement. We did because we wanted to give value to chowtimes readers — that reason and that reason only!
Tamarind Hill only realized that we had visited their restaurant after we posted our experiences on chowtimes and wrote to us about it. We took the opportunity to propose something that will benefit all parties … a free dessert to drive chowtimes readers to go out of the way to give Tamarind Hill a chance to show what they have to offer.
The details are simple: … More on following page. Click here to continue reading
How To Make Bento and Get Your Kid Ready For School in 5 Minutes
This is so funny that I just had to share this you.
The Japanese crazy creativity never ceases to amaze me. I came across this YouTube video from the KookyCulinary who in turn actually it from another blog called Just Bento.
The video is in … More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Emirates Airbus A380
Here is something about travel and a little about food too. I received this series of pictures from the folks at work of the new Airbus A380 of the Emirates. I think you will enjoy marveling at these pictures as much as I did.
Working in the airline industry we are very well aware of the buzz caused by the Airbus A380 when it was first delivered to Singapore Airlines. With the Airbus A380, the Emirates has taken air travel to new heights.
The Airbus A380 is the worlds largest passenger airliner in the world. Each plan can carry a minimum of 500 passengers. It can even squeeze in over 800 passengers if configured to be all economy class.
The plane is not only wide body but it is also fully double decker. So, not many airports are configured to handle the passenger load that big. For instance, the Airbus A380 require a airport gate with at least three aerobridges to make sure they can move that many passengers without excessive lines.
I get to travel business class on mission if I need to work directly with the airline. I still remember the awesome flight on Singapore Airlines’ Raffles Class which I blogged about here.
The Emirates is a whole new thing altogether. Too bad I am managing only internal projects these days or else I would want to volunteer to work with the Emirates!
The Emirates even has a shower spa! Can you beat that? That would come in handy for a 12 hour flight from Toronto to Dubai for sure.
BTW, you know how much First Class from Toronto to Dubai and return costs? It is sixteen thousand dollars … $16,000 Canadian. Come to think of it, it is not too expensive considering the same 1st class flight on Air Canada is already $13,000.
Alright, I’ll let you enjoy these pictures. The food images are at the end of this post … More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Seville: Hotels in Spain
We don’t normally post about hotels but we will make it an exception this time. This is because we were so pleased with the hotels in Spain throughout.
We were particularly impressed with the hotel in Seville. Even though it was a last minute booking, we managed to snag a hotel called the Best Western Cervantes Hotel right in the middle of old Seville. It was just €50. We did not expect much especially with a “Best Western” name to it. We selected this primarily because of the low price, location and the reviews we found on Trip Advisor.
The Cervantes Hotel is located right in the old city. Despite the name, the streets were meticulously maintained and kept spotless clean. It was a quiet section with hardly any cars. One thing that struck us is how narrow the streets are here. It is just enough for 1 car.
View Larger Map
It is hopeless having a map of Seville. Look at it. We got more lost using the map than not using it. After a while we just threw away the map and just ask for the general direction. It is a good thing that the old city in Seville is small. You can easily walk to all the major tourist sites.
We had come to learn to rely on the blue H signs outside of all hotels. That denotes the star ratings of the hotels in Spain. I learned from our guide book that hotels are highly regulated. When you see a three star, you really get a three star hotel. (US hotels are the worse I find when it comes to ratings).
They have the room rates posted clearly on the check in counter. It is a requirement by law to protect guests.
Regardless, when you book for a room, compare the rates between what is available on the web (expedia, orbitz, hotels and such) and direct with the hotel.
Here is our experience. We started off with 3 nights in Barcelona. When we wanted to extend our stay to 6 nights, we were quoted by our travel agent €150 per night — we said thanks but no thanks. When we got to Barcelona we asked the hotel and was told it is €110 per night. I then checked the web and the lowest quote I found was just €75. So, I booked the additional nights on my notebook (connected to the hotel’s wifi) right there and then at the hotel checkin counter. They were cool about it.
If you care to see, here are some of the shots we took of our hotel in Seville: More on following page. Click here to continue reading
Seville: From Barcelona via Girona on Ryanair
I am picking up from where I left off on our vacation in Spain this summer. This is a continuation from our first stop in Barcelona (link to to the entire series here).
After spending six days in Barcelona, I was flip-flopping about where to head to next. On one hand I think Suanne would love London but I also wanted to go to Morocco. Alternatively, we could go to Seville with the primary objective of dining at the alternative El Bulli.
So I went and try to book a flight to London. But it was so expensive when I booked it just 2 days before. The cheapest was something €300 per person return. So it immediately kiboshed the idea.
As for Morocco, the flights were cheaper. So we asked the people at our hotel and they advised that we should not travel especially when we are not with a group. We did not want to follow a tour group because we don’t like being brought to shops and stuff. Our guide book also said pretty much the same thing — third world country and needing to be careful about being fleeced, etc. Moreover, Suanne is not too keen for that kind of adventure.
So our decision was hinged on getting a table at the El Bulli Hotel in Seville. After three days, we got a confirmed table for a Friday evening. That clinched it. Seville it is.
It was really last minute. We decided to fly from Barcelona to Seville instead of taking the train. So we booked a flight on Ryanair, a no-frills budget carrier at €85 per person. It was not a very good idea!
Firstly, Ryanair flies out of the Girona-Costa Brava Airport which is a good 90km outside of Barcelona. It did not occur to us to check before we booked the flight. Good thing that there is a regularly scheduled bus from Barcelona city center to the airport. The one hour bus ride costs €12 per person.
The airport was like a market! There was thousands of people. The check in process is really confusing that caused to line up twice — once to check in and another time to pay for the extra luggage we had (€20). Budget airlines are not really cheap if you are not careful of the extras that could add up.
We were so afraid of missing the flight because the line was moving so slowly. We managed to get it all done with 30 minutes to spare. So we decided to grab something quick to eat since it will be quite late by the time we get to the hotel and settle down.
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The above is €14. If you do the conversion, it is $22 Canadian. On hindsight, we should have bought something before we left for the airport.
This is a series of complains. Sorry for being negative here but the flight was really bad. Here goes … More on following page. Click here to continue reading
