Polly invited us to join them for a day trip to Whistler last weekend. Since we had nothing particularly planned for the weekend, we tagged along. We have actually never been to Whistler in summer before.

Whistler is world famous for snow skiing in winter having been voted many times as the premier ski destination in North America. Whistler will be hosting many of the events of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

We have always enjoyed the drive on Highway 99 (known as the Sea-to-Sky Highway) from Vancouver to Whistler. The scenery was spectacular to say to the least.

When we got to Whistler we headed straight for the Lost Lake and set ourselves up for a picnic. It was a perfect day for a picnic.

For once, we decided to bring along chinese style picnic stuff. Polly bought some siew yoke (roast pork) from Parker Place in Richmond. The roast pork from Parker Place seems to be the best around. There are people queueing up to buy them pretty much throughout the day. The roast pork were great.

Polly also brought along some instant noodles. The one below costs $1.79 per pack. I am surprised this costs so much. I wouldn’t pay $1.79 for instant noodles, no siree.

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Polly initiated a get together among a few of families this weekend. We have been getting together for a gathering the past couple of summers. The amazing thing is that we had only gotten to know each other through a mailing list I created in 2000.

This summer we met at the Boundary Bay Regional Park, just south of Richmond and near the US border. We took a spot on the beach.

As always, our gathering has been centered around food! Each of the families brought a dish or two to share. Suanne brought the spinach dip and baguette.

Suanne also made chicken curry, Malaysian style. For this she used the famous Malaysian Baba’s Meat Curry Powder. Malaysian curry are rich because of the coconut milk used. She also cooked Basmati rice to go along with the curry. Basmati rice is perfect as it has a drier texture and goes great with the curry.

CJ and his family brought marinated drumsticks and chicken wings. I am not sure what marinade they used. They also brought some corns.

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Saying goodbye doesn’t mean anything. It’s the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it.
~ Trey Parker and Matt Stone

Today is my last day of work and I have one last lunch — this time with the folks of my Genco project. We normally celebrate project closeouts by eating out but opted this time to have the food catered from our cafeteria, The Hub. See that handsome chap below? He’s the employee of the month because of his effort on the Genco project — helped the company eliminated a bunch of unproductive work. This guy is a genius, I kid you not.

Jackson (our Iron Chef) specially prepared Asian food because most of the team members are Asians. Jackson and his team prepared what he called the Deluxe Lunch with an Asian Twist. The costs were just $11.95 per head. (more…)

A brave man will face a situation no matter how dreadful.
~ Filipino Proverb

I learn new things everyday. Today, I learn of two new words – merienda and balut.

Merienda

Some of the folks in IT threw a little merienda for Alex and I. Our last day at work is tomorrow. I have never heard of the word merienda before. Well, I was enlightened that merienda is a spanish word that means snacks. I like the Spanish — they did give the world the idea of siesta, right? Isn’t it nice — having a siesta after a meal and then waking up to a merienda? Anyway here are the folks who threw a farewell merienda for Alex and I at The Hub (the company cafetaria).

Balut (Duck Egg)

Balut is a Filipino delicacy. Zimrie made them for brave souls in the farewell merienda. This is how Balut tastes like … gross!

Balut is a fertilized duck egg with a nearly developed embryo inside that is boiled and eaten in a shell. He he he … it is considered aphrodisiac and considered a hearty snack. The filipino and filipinas in the group educated me on how to eat this: (more…)