This month’s Vinyl Me Please record is “Lemon of Pink” from The Books on a yellow record with pink splattered. Inside the sleeve is also a 16-page book featuring new artwork and extensive liner notes by Nick Zammuto.
I’m not that familiar with this record but Vinyl Me Please hasn’t failed me yet!
To keep my neck warm this winter, I ordered an infinity scarf from Tight Knit Syria. The company helps to keep Syrian women resilient and productive during dire times. They also break down economic barriers by connecting the women with international designers, retailers and wholesalers.
My scarf was made by a Syrian woman in the Shatila Camp in Lebanon. It is very well-crafted.
And so pretty too! I love pieces that are both in style and can support a great cause too.
I’ve always been intrigued by Flaming Bull in the Annex. It seemed different from the other restaurants on the block.
That’s because instead of sushi, like most of the other places in the area they serve modern Taiwanese food. The above instagram-worthy dish was the “Shangtang” abalone with radish, pepper and an inviting broth. I wanted to lick the bowl.
There was some “flaming bull” as the meat in Nash’s noodles was cooked in front of us with fire.
He had the Sichuan Style Beef Noodle which had veggies and a rich delicious broth full of spice.
I had the Stewed Beef Noodle which was AAA prime beef, vegetables, and a yummy beef stock with ginger and fresh basil. There was plenty of meat, but I didn’t find there were enough vegetables to balance the dish, only few slices of carrots and a broccoli. I loved the broth though. I think I loved the broth most in all the dishes!
I love what we had but I found that the dishes were unbalanced in terms of portions. It gets a little bit confusing whether it is a sharing restaurant or one where you order your own noodles!
Saturday, I hardly checked my phone. My friends made up a day called ASIA DAY where we went for dim sum, bought snacks, play mahjong/board games, had hot pot, went karaoking, all on the same day.
It was an activity jammed day with friends that I think all of us had needed. None of us really felt the need (or the want really) to be on our phones and it felt healthy and I feel much more clear-minded than I was before the weekend.
Plus, I got to try out a fancy dim sum place I’ve never been to. Food heals many wounds.
I was sad when Whippoorwill closed down as they were home to some great cocktails. However, I went to unwind at it’s replacement Dolly’s Mojito Filipino Bar last week and thought it lived up to the location.
I ordered a small Cubano Mojito with Bacardi Maestro white oak rum, fresh cane juice (with a stalk of cane included), mint, and fresh-squeezed lime juice. It was deliciously full of booze.
Our first dish was Lechon Kawali, a crispy pork belly with cane sugar and a soy sawsawan sauce.
Next we had a Filipino Fried Rice with Longanisa which had pork, longanisa sausage, chicken, shrimp, egg and peas. I loved the loganisa sausage.
Lastly, we had Seafood Palabok with Panic Pusit a homemade egg flour squid ink noodle and thick rice noodle with fish, cuttlefish, shrimp, little clams and served with crushed pork chicharron. This was so flavourful and delicious.
I haven’t had that much Filipino food in my life but now I’m eager to try more of their cuisine.
I love autumn.
It’s not too hot and I can creatively layer my clothes.
It’s leather jacket season.
The colours of the trees and ground are beautiful.
Squirrels can be seen stuffing their faces with nuts.
It is a reminder to rethink all my goals of this year and that I still have time to go get them.
I am so thankful to have plans this weekend with friends. This is one of those weeks where I need to do some fun and distracting things!
Yesterday was difficult but I had some self-care time and am mentally in a better place. I feel stronger than I was yesterday.
I am safe in Canada right now but already, there are people who want to echo what happened yesterday in America. I won’t let it. It’s hard to live the life of an influencer without wanting to use my voice to influence others. If I can inspire one person to show more compassion to those that are different, to listen to others without privilege than being a blogger was worth it.
I do not want to sit around and be idle any longer. If you want to help but don’t know how, here are a list of charities that need your help.
I’ll continue to blog about food and my life but I want to be braver and talk about the issues that matter the most to me too.
Today I don’t want to post any pretty pictures. Today I am not sure how to feel. I am Canadian but the results of last night’s election will affect more than America. It affects the world.
It sends a message to those that aren’t white and male that they are not safe.
It tells the daughters of the future that no matter how qualified you are for a job, a man will always be ahead because he is a man. It tells them that their bodies are never safe. As a feminist I feel the pain of this defeat.
It allows those with hatred in their hearts for those that are different from them to have a louder voice. It will split us apart. I have friends and family in the states and Mexico and I fear for their safety. It feels like my heart has been stabbed.
Today I do not want to hear “nothing will happen it will be ok”. If you find yourself comfortable saying this please check your privelage. There are some that will have to fight for “nothing” to happen to ourselves, our friends, our family.
Please be considerate with the fact that even if you are not in America your friends, colleagues could be emotionally affected.
I have so many feelings at the moment that I don’t know how to describe. I am sad and angry but at the same time I feel nothing. I feel like a zombie just going about the day.
I had to write something about today because I thought it would be wrong to write nothing.
If you want something other than Pokémon GO to help encourage you to walk, try out Wokamon. It’s an adorable monster collecting game that syncs with Health Kit, Fitbit or Jawbone on your iPhone and Android. You don’t need to have the app open like Pokemon, just go about your day.
I don’t even have to have my phone on me since I have the Apple Watch. I just click on the pink heart icon to sync my health data and watch my little dudes level up. So far I have 3 monsters but I will walk to collect them all!
You can also buy monsters accessories and planets that help gain more experience per step. Each monster has their own set of accessories.
There’s even a handy dandy chart to see how many steps were walked per day and the most active times.
I love this colourful app and it’s so cute I can’t resist walking and being the master of all the Wokamons.
Tiana Feng 