February 2015 – Tiana Feng

2 Months of Blogging

February 28, 201530 Day Challenge, Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset — Celebratory pizza?

I can’t believe I’ve made it to two months of blogging every day. In the past, I’ve never made it to one month let alone 2. It’s been a lot easier doing this alongside my best friend, who has also achieved the same feat. I feel like if either one of us breaks the chain the other will too, thus we’re not letting that happen.

In making myself do this exercise I’ve become a little less self-conscious. A little braver. I tried a new idea which people loved. I became more open in sharing my personal stories, thoughts and dreams.

The need for more content also encouraged me to challenge myself and try new things.

To be honest, I think a contributing factor to why blogging seems easier for me this year is the financial stability. I know that writing doesn’t necessarily require spending money, but having the option and needs to definitely does simplify things. Having a full-time job has further roused me to have life and hobbies outside of the office.

I hope to keep these posts flowing and I thank you all for following my adventures.

Cutting the Cable

February 26, 2015Entertainment, Technology, TVLeave a Comment

When I moved downtown in October, I had no plans to get Cable (or Satellite TV). I felt like I could live without it and now I have convinced my parents to do the same. We no longer pay for the juggernauts that is Rogers (or Bell) to provide us with daily entertainment.

We all thought that we’d miss out on important things like news if we cut the cord. But when was the last time anybody got “Breaking News” from the tube? We hear it first on social media, or read it from the internet. My parents now have an Apple TV & an Asian equivalent of the same thing. We also have a Chromecast. For my own apartment, my laptop is my entertainment center. I caved in and got a Netflix subscription. I learned how to VPN with Hola so I could watch the American show.

Not having a TV has encouraged me to do other things too. I used to have the TV on when I blogged most of the time, but that’s a little bit harder to do when you’re also typing on the same computer, so I don’t. I blog in silence and it helps me pound out content quicker. Now I tend to only watch shows while eating dinner or before bed. Not while doing anything important.

It seems like a lot of people have decided to cut the cord this year. Have you? I’d like to know!

Pay What You Can Meal @ The Atlantic

February 25, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

I just got home from a lovely date night/(belated) birthday dinner at The Atlantic. My friends and I have been meaning to go to for quite some time. We actually tried when we first saw BlogTO’s post about the restaurants million dollar review. That’s where we learnt of the premise of the restaurant. There is no set menu. Nathan Isberg buys fresh ingredients daily and cooks you what he feels like. There also is no bill. You pay literally what you think the meal is worth. You can even barter other goods and services.

We had a reservation at 7pm (opening time). We wandered around the area until a little after 7 because you can’t really tell the restaurant is open from the outside. We strolled in after 7 and chef Nathan Isberg came out of the kitchen in the back to greet us. As far as we could tell tonight, he was the only employee: the chef, the server, and the greeter. We were seated and told the premise of the restaurant.

The first thing we were brought was a drink. Nathan had recently made the decision to eliminate alcohol from the menu (except for bottles of wine on special occasions). Our first drink was some sort of warm apple cider with spice and bitters. It was delicious and warmed us up from the cold weather outside.

A soup was also brought out at the same time (pictured above). It was an Austrian squash soup with rose, lentils and a kick of spice. Though the cider also had a spice, it served also to cool down from the heat of the soup.

Our second course was a salad that consisted of a beautiful poached duck egg on a bed of greens with roasted cauliflower, goat cheese and beets. The combination was delicious. We were especially in love with the goat cheese.

It was served with a cherry shrub drink with a hint of elderflower. Shrub was a splendid complement to the salad as it provided more acidity. It was almost like a second salad dressing when you sipped it after a bite of salad.

The main course was a Striped Bass with mushrooms, noodle-like turnips, kimchi in an yuzu broth. The fish was perfectly cooked and we wanted to lick all the components off the plate (including the yuzu).

It was paired with a matcha tea, yuzu, honey and jasmine drink. It didn’t work on it’s own as well as the other drinks but when sipped with the main course it was superb.

The dessert was fried apple with brown sugar topped with fried apple peel surrounded by a delightful whipped cream. Our plates were cleared within minutes. Nathan jokingly asked if we wanted seconds and we legitimately thought about it for a second.

The whole experience was very delightful. I call it “experience” because it really was that. It’s a night you have to plan for because it will take a few hours. But I actually didn’t mind waiting for my meal (and neither did anybody else there). We had plenty of time to chat with each other at the table and anticipate with excitement at each course.

When it was all over, we didn’t know if we should pay and leave or what was the protocol so we waited for Nathan to come around and retell us the barter system. There was no pressure whatsoever to leave any kind of amount. We had all the freedom to decide for ourselves and I feel we left a fair amount. I decided not to publish the amount as I feel like it’s based on the whole experience of the evening, and every person would have their own set of opinions and experiences.

This is seriously one of the best and most memorable meals I’ve had in my life and we can’t wait to go back already!

Today I Turned 27

February 24, 2015LifeLeave a Comment

I turned 27 today. 27 is such a weird age. Nobody writes happy songs about it (I looked). It felt a little weird to be nearing 30. A lot of the people I went to school with are now married and have children. Though I one day want those things, I’m not ready for that yet. I feel like there’s so much of life to explore first. It’s just hard to get caught up in societal expectations at times.

But screw that.

I will make 27 special in my own way. I’ll go on new adventures, try new things, make new memories to make this year as special as the last.

Excerpts From My Dream Journal

February 23, 2015Life1 Comment

I have a dream journal. When I first started it was by my bedside, and I wrote as soon as I woke up. Sometimes this was in the dark, so a lot of it is rather not legible. Now, I tend to write down the dreams that are so bizarre I remember them in vivid detail.

Anyways, the point is I have a journal for my dreams and here are some random excerpts. These are exact transcriptions of what I actually wrote so they are quite random and bizarre:

“Somebody was amused by a long half a chip”

“Dinner/drinks with highschool friends at a place that ran out of chocolate cake. Dan throws up funny and we all laugh. Karen was in dream too.”

“Mac DeMarco was doing my hair with clips. We were in high school. Someone stole my iPhone but left the case all wrinkled. Mom came to pick me up in a round area.”

“Me, Livia, Nash and his friends were going to get yogurt. Decide to check on our hampster who has a giant cage. He escaped and black guy stepped on it because it scared him. I text Livia but they went to yogurt already. Hampster named Hammy. I get mad at Pokemon flyer. Black guy gives me a hug.”

I don’t even know.

Date Night @ Lee’s

February 22, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

A few weeks ago, Nash and I had a lovely date night at Susur Lee’s restaurant Lee. I haven’t been to any of his restaurants prior, but had wanted to for the longest time since seeing him on Masterchef! All the items are meant to be shared so we ordered a few things.

I spoke about our reservation for the entire week to friends and colleagues and all of them recommending ordering the exact same thing: the slaw! Susur’s Signature Singaporean-style Slaw ($22) is a mixture of like 18 different things including taro root, fennel, flower pedals, daikon sprouts, fried shallots, sesame seeds and more. I literally cannot remember all the things in it. It was served on a plate like a mini mountain and the server mixed it for us so that we could get most of the ingredients in each bite. It was one of the most flavourful and colourful salads I have ever eaten. By the way, these shitty phone photos don’t do justice to the food

Next was these Spice Crusted Diver Scallop ($29). They were served with crispy bacon, squash puree, grapefruit and a sweet bean pesto. The scallops did have a little kick of some sort and I was in love with the puree.

Next was the Cold Pressed Octopus ($17). The octopus was served in thin slices with a vinaigrette. While good, we found it the least memorable dish of the night.

Our last dish was the Slow Braised Beef with a potato and leek puree, crispy shallots and sour cream. Everything in the dish melted in our mouths and we wanted to lick the bowl afterward.

To drink I had the Lee Lemonade and Nash had the Burnt Orange Manhattan. They were both delicious (and booze heavy).

Of course we saved room for dessert. The special of the night was a banana ice cream with a homemade toasted marshmallow. If we could lick the plates we would’ve.

Video Round-Up: Controller.Controller Reunion, Valentine’s Day, More Wavelength!

February 21, 2015Life, Music, VlogsLeave a Comment

Time for another video round-up! I was busy last weekend at Wavelength’s 15th anniversary so most of these Vlogs are from there. Friday night was a bunch of Canadian bands covering their idols as well as Controller.Controller reuniting!

Next up we had Valentine’s brunch and then I headed to the Polish Combatants Hall for Lowell, The Acorn, Del Bel and more!

Final night of Wavelength!

2015 Filler Up Sketchbook Challenge

February 20, 201530 Day Challenge, Art, Life3 Comments

As you know, I really wanted to find time to “do more art” this year. I even bought new sketchbooks. However, this still hasn’t resulted in much drawing as of yet. “Busy” seems to always be the excuse. But I’ve been a good kind of busy.

Anyways, today I saw my friend post this Sketchbook Challenge by the Earl Selkirk Gallery in Toronto. The challenge is to encourage people to draw for the month of March and have their sketchbooks on display in April. The registration fee was only $5 so I jumped on the chance.

I think this will be a nice push towards the goal. It’s interesting how something offline could be a bigger motivator than proving I can do this to my online audience. I will try very hard to provide at least 31 sketches by the time March is over and see the effect drawing has on my life!

Sriracha2Go

February 19, 2015Food, ShoppingLeave a Comment

I want a lot of unnecessary things from the internet but when I saw the Sriracha2Go, I knew I had to have it.

They are $7 each or $15 for 3. I decided on 3 because I probably know at least one person who would want this after seeing me with one and it seemed like a good deal. The one thing to note is that it doesn’t actually come with sauce inside. That didn’t matter to me because who doesn’t have a bottle of Huy Fong’s magnificent sauce in their fridge already?

The bottle has a very similar design and colour scheme to the classic sriracha sauce, but it’s actually different. Even the Chinese words are different. (I have no idea what they say).

But to the untrained eye, it totally looks like a miniature bottle for the busy person on the go. Now I can make sure everybody’s food is delicious!

View this post on Instagram

Now I can have sriracha everywhere #sriracha2go

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Feb 18, 2015 at 5:03pm PST

I got my order after 2 weeks or so. One thing of note to international orders is that the tracking system they use kind of sucks so once it passes the US border you won’t really know where it is. Their customer service does answer fast though if you have any concerns. Now off to sauce my Chinese New Year meal!