June 2016 – Tiana Feng

Beoplay H2 Headphones

June 30, 2016Music, Shopping, Technology2 Comments

DSCF1491

I fell in love with these BeoPlay H2 by Bang & Olufsen when I saw them online.

DSCF1492

The packaging was beautiful. There were a bunch of cute directions like “Pull me” “Lift Up” etc.

DSCF1493

The design of these headphones are so simple and elegant.

DSCF1494

I ordered mine in Shaded Rosa. The headphones are decorated with pink cloth accents and come with a pink cord.

DSCF1495

The ear pads are made out of a luxurious feeling lamb skin.

DSCF1504

They are also decorated with giant L and R so I’ll never forget which side is which.

DSCF1498

The headphones adapt to the size of your head as you wear them. I was a bit afraid that my head would be too big (a comment that often comes up in reviews) but I have a gigantic head and don’t feel uncomfortable at all! There’s also an inline remote and volume control that work great on my iPhone and my MacBook Air.

DSCF1499

I’m super impressed by the quality of these earphones. The sound is warm and I can hear a lot of detail in the trebles which I find is something that is usually lacking in more bass heavy stuff on the market.

I Had My First Massage

June 29, 2016June 29, 2016Health, LifeLeave a Comment

I recently went for my first registered massage. I have a lot of tension around my shoulders, neck and head (resulting in the occasional tension headaches). Generally, I don’t like to take Tylenol to relieve pain if I can help it so I decided massages would be a solution to try.

I had no idea how to find a place. Googling “Registered Massage Therapist in Toronto” was useless and still yielded many XXX results. I didn’t want to put myself in a compromising position or go anywhere that seemed unsafe. So I did what I usually do, I hit up Twitter.

Hi Toronto, where do you go for non-sketchy massages that are covered by insurance? This seems to be not a thing you can Google

— Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) June 10, 2016

I received a bunch of replies but Anatomica caught my eye because it was literally on the corner of Bloor & Lansdowne, an intersection I walk by every day! Another bonus was that they filed directly to my insurance and the less grown up paperwork I have to do the better.

Their current office is super new (they used to be just down the street). They seemingly popped up overnight one day because I swear to god I’ve walked passed this a million times and never noticed a massage place here! I think it used to be an art gallery type thing. It was cozy and inviting inside.

My therapist was Kate, who was specifically recommended to me on Twitter. She was super nice and made sure I was comfortable with everything at all times but also not afraid to dig deep into my muscles (I am not afraid of a tough massage). The blanket was heated and the room had relaxing music.

For my 45 minute massage I felt myself fall into deep relaxation. It’s totally worth doing every once in a while if you live a busy life. It forces you to let go of everything during that time (including your social media accounts). When I was done, I got up and felt like a happy blob of jello.

I seriously can’t wait for my next massage!

I Like Oysters

June 28, 2016FoodLeave a Comment

View this post on Instagram

Eating all the oysters rn

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Jun 24, 2016 at 3:07pm PDT

Last year at Wayhome I ate raw oysters for the first time in a long time (or possibly ever). I was hooked!

Before that, I had an aversion to oysters. I used to watch a lot of Mr. Bean as a child growing up in the 90s and there was this one episode where he had oysters, proceeded to lock himself out of his hotel room and have the runs.

I always thought that it was an easy thing to get a bad oyster or be too sensitive to eat them raw. I guess it doesn’t make that much sense since I’ve eaten a lot of sushi.

I love oysters now though. The natural salt of the sea water and the texture is such a lovely combo. The key is to go somewhere where they are fresh (so probably not at some Asian buffet table). I really like my local place Bar Neon that does Buck a Shuck Weekdays at 5-7! I’d love to find other places too that have awesome deals on fresh oysters.

Tegan and Sara @ Hilton Toronto

June 27, 2016Entertainment, Music1 Comment

View this post on Instagram

The best crew #hiltonatplay

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Jun 25, 2016 at 7:53pm PDT

On Saturday, my friends and I got invited to this exclusive Tegan and Sara show at Hilton Hotel in Toronto. We were spoiled with a cocktail hour that had an extravagant table of food (lobster rolls, fish and chips, sliders galore). There were also a fun photo booth and cool lounge areas before the show.

Check out some of my favourite photos below! My full gallery and review is over on Ride the Tempo.

Brunch @ Me & Mine

June 26, 2016June 26, 2016Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

DSCF1429

Yesterday, Nash and I went for brunch at Me & Mine. I think we were super lucky because we did not have a reservation but were seated right away.

Everything on the menu looked delicious but I chose the Fried Chicken Benny. Two poached eggs sat on a bed of braised collars and buttermilk fried chicken on a buttered biscuit drizzled in chilli sauce and served with potatoes and an arugula salad. The whole plate was heavenly.

DSCF1428

Nash had the Croque Madame Bread Pudding. It was a gruyere and ham bread pudding, poached eggs, bechamel, roasted rutabaga and apple slaw. I didn’t actually get to try any because by the time I looked over again he had licked the plate. So I guess it was good!

DSCF1427

He washed his food down with a glass of fresh grapefruit juice.

DSCF1426

And I had a mimosa made with fresh pulpy orange juice.

This was an awesome tiny place in the neighbourhood to enjoy a relaxing weekend brunch.

Addicted to Uber Eats

June 25, 2016Food, Life, TechnologyLeave a Comment

View this post on Instagram

Addicted to Uber Eats #playacabana

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Jun 23, 2016 at 4:53pm PDT

I didn’t do a lot of deliveries when I moved out. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered a pizza in this apartment, but lately I’ve really been into using Uber Eats. There are higher end restaurant selections so I don’t need to settle for regular student-geared menus.

I also like obsessively watching over the status of my order and the route the car is taking to get here. The only thing is it is a tiny bit pricey but so are the restaurants that are on there.

I’d never give up actually going into local eateries though. I miss the atmosphere and the thoughtfulness of non-jammed-in-a-box presentation that you only get while dining in.

Do you use new food delivery services? Let me know your thoughts!

1000th Post!

June 24, 2016LifeLeave a Comment

Screen Shot 2016-06-23 at 9.17.31 PM

Yesterday, I made my 1000th post here on my personal blog. It is a huge milestone. I’ve also blogged more than 540 days in a row so far, starting from January 1st 2016.

I’m a very different person than I was in November 2010 when I started this blog. I’m not as afraid of the world and took awesome risks that I would never regret. Not to mention the awesome people the internet has introduced me to.

Let there be 1000 more blog posts to come!

Street Shak Caribbean Kitchen

June 23, 2016Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

DSCF0937

My friends and I recently went to Street Shak for lunch. It’s a cute little joint where you can take-out or eat in.

DSCF0938

I had some Boyland soda as I awaited my food.

DSCF0939

The beef roti was filled with an aromatic curry stew.

DSCF0940 The Jerk Chicken Salad was juicy and flavourful with fresh greens and other vegetables. It was the perfect thing to have for lunch without needing a nap afterward.

DSCF0941

The Bajan Macaroni pie was their version of a Mac and Cheese and was creamy and delicious.

DSCF0942

The Fish & Bakes were Bajan style codfish fritters with a soft fried dough, tamarind glaze, zesty cucumber & lime cream dressing. Can’t say no to fried dough!

This is definitely a cool place to stop by for a quick lunch or snack!

XO

June 22, 2016Fashion, Shopping1 Comment

IMG_4232 copy

I’ve been into cool merch lately and I grabbed this interesting and slightly oversized hoodie from The Weeknd’s Spring/Summer 2016 collection. The giant hood lets me be an urban goth.

IMG_4231 copy

I like the cut. The hoodie is unisex so it isn’t super fitted but has shape. The sleeves are super wide too in case you are like a body builder or something but it makes me look more goth.

IMG_4233 copy

NXNE Eats & Stuffs

June 21, 2016Food, StreetLeave a Comment

Last weekend, I was at NXNE. It’s a festival I’ve been going to since before I was even old enough to go to shows.

I used to volunteer and used to think it was some of the best times ever hopping between clubs to see bands. This year it wasn’t like that. DSCF1154

There were very few club shows and they also introduced a 2 day festival within a festival that happened near Port Lands in a gigantic (an understatement) parking lot. 30 degree weather made it kind of unbearable but I still found ways to enjoy my time, including finding a photo booth of course!

DSCF1023

There wasn’t too much in terms of food but I did have 3 tacos from La Catrina food truck. They had a 3 taco combo for $12. I picked pork, chicken and fish. I liked the filing but I thought the taco could use some toasting.

DSCF1157

The other place I ate at was a BBQ stand beside the Texas Tourism sponsors.

DSCF1159

I had this delicious chopped brisket sandwich. They literally chopped a slab of meat right in front of me and slathered it in BBQ sauce. Can’t go wrong with brisket!

That was most of my eating at that festival. There wasn’t a huge selection of food choices (the first day only had 3) and I had tried most of the other selections. Onto eat the next thing!