Tiana Feng

Cooking As Therapy

July 6, 2015Food, Health, Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Lately, I’ve been so busy that all my meals were quickly thrown together with whatever the hell I had in the fridge. Sometimes they’d taste weird but I made do because I was busy and headed off somewhere else in an hour (or less). Cooking and eating became more of a stressful mandatory activity than an enjoyable one.

Finally today I had time to plan a meal and actually see it through. I pan seared pork chops, following half of the instructions of a Gordon Ramsay video and my boyfriend helped and made pan-fried eggplant with melted mozzarella in between them. It was a team effort, but it was fun and relaxing at the same time.

On days where I’m not so busy, I want to have more fun with cooking again, seek out new delicious recipes and learn different techniques. Cooking can be rather therapeutic if you let it be!

Sweet Weekend

July 5, 2015Food, SnacksLeave a Comment

It’s rare I have a weekend where I have nothing planned so I headed over to Market 707, where shipping containers were converted into restaurants and shops.

As my avid readers know, my friend Steph has a little café called Petit Nuage there that specializes in French macarons and cream puffs. For the summer, she even has a patio where you can enjoy tea and coffee (iced options available!).

The inside of the shop has changed a bit since I last went. There are now shelves with teas and other things for sale!

I enjoyed a piece of matcha tea cake on the patio. It was delicious and beautiful.

I also picked up half a dozen macarons which came in an adorable box with a print of kittens having a tea party. Naturally, I took photos of the macarons before eating them. Enjoy some photos below:

Intergalactic Travel Authority

July 4, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

There’s an adorable café in my area called the Intergalactic Travel Authority. Until recently, I thought it was legitimately a travel agency. Then I walked by one light and the portal and the back was glowing. I had wanted to visit ever since but it’s usually closed by the time I come home from work. This summer, I have half days on Friday so I went into the café yesterday to do some writing.

What I learnt was that this was no ordinary coffee shop. All the profits from the coffee sales go to a charity program called Story Planet. The program focuses on teaching children how to be creative and express themselves through literacy. They take place in the back of the café in a classroom behind the secret portal.

Some of the stories that were created during this program are for sale inside the shop. I love the idea of this program. All kids should be encouraged to write and what an awesome way to do so and make their imaginations come true! There are also random trinkets and art for sale.

There are even interplanetary spices for kitchens in need.

I ordered a mocha and they make a mighty fine one! I will definitely make galactic travels occasionally to splurge on a guilt-free mocha to support a wonderful cause. If you’re in the area, please consider buying a coffee here if you get the chance!

Passed Halfway

July 3, 2015July 3, 2015Inspiration, LifeLeave a Comment

Cheers! This is my 184th blog post in a row this year. That means I’ve more than passed blogging every day for the entire year. The most incredible part is my best friend has also achieved this goal.

It hasn’t been easy. The last month and a half or so have been some of the craziest in terms of work and festivals. There were a couple of times where I became super close to forgetting (like seriously I was blogging at 11pm) but I managed to get in a post every day. Having a smartphone really helps when you are in a bind. The WordPress app for iOS isn’t perfect, but it’s sufficient enough to at least upload a photo and type some words.

Though sometimes the quality isn’t the greatest, I am super happy with all my posts. I have become less critical about publishing my work and find it a lot easier to speak my mind. I like to write down ideas (or even entire posts) as soon as they come to mind, so a lot of my writing has been happening on the go on my phone. I contemplate carrying around a notebook (and you know I love Moleskines) but having a digital notebook in my pocket is just so convenient.

The summer business stretch isn’t over yet! But I’m not quitting. Besides the busier I am, the more ideas and photos I have to blog about! It’s a win win.

Life is a continuous adventure and I love sharing it with all you here.

Video Round-Up: Army Girls, Bunch of Stuff, A Concert in A Park

July 2, 2015VlogsLeave a Comment

Sorry for the lack of Vlog updates! I hate editing video.. like I say so in this video:

Birchbox haul + photoshop magnets + new camera backpack:

I sit on a couch in the park and watch a concert:

What Does Canadian Music Mean?

July 1, 2015Entertainment, MusicLeave a Comment

It’s Canada’s Day here! To celebrate on my blog Ride the Tempo we wrote a huge feature on what Canadian music means to a variety of different artists. Head over here to read it now!

Why I Bought A Mirrorless Camera

June 30, 2015Art, PhotographyLeave a Comment

A few weeks ago, I compulsively bought the Fujifilm x100t, a compact mirrorless camera. It was the second day of Bestival, and I had spent the first day lugging around a DSLR after I was told that photo passes were super limited. I still wanted to have access to a decent camera the second day but knew that it wasn’t worth carrying my entire DSLR kit.

Fast forward few weeks later and I regret nothing of my compulsive buy. This camera is amazing. The 23mm fixed lens has an aperture of f2 so it has great possibilities. The 35mm lens used to be one of my favourites on my DSLR and this is the equivalent on a crop frame. Sure, I can’t zoom but the limitations allows to be a more creative photographer.

That being said, this camera is super sharp, works better at times than my 60D in low light and is so super light that I can carry around everyday. Now there’s no excuse for my social media and blog photos not to be perfect quality!

Here are some sample shots:

As you can see this is one powerful little camera!

Becoming a Little Less Introverted

June 29, 2015June 29, 2015Life, RelationshipsLeave a Comment

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Sparklers to end a meeting with talented women tonight :) #torontowomeninmusic #the6

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Jun 24, 2015 at 7:10pm PDT

I am an introvert. I read a wonderful post on Lifehacker that properly defined what an introvert is. Introverts aren’t always shy or hate people. The big identifying factor is that social interactions take energy. They can wear me out.

Recently I have been pushing myself a little bit harder to use more of this energy. This can be super hard after work. But I’ve been attending more events, meetups and facing my fears to talk to new people. Call it a second wind, but I never regret it when I am in front of great people. It even starts to energize me.

That being said, I will never not be an introvert, I don’t think that’s a personality trait you can change. I will always appreciate quiet time where I can read, write or create art.

I Saw Jurassic World in D-Box

June 27, 2015Entertainment, MoviesLeave a Comment

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t watched Jurassic World this post might reveal some things you didn’t want to know.

Last night we saw Jurassic World in D-Box. It was my first experience in one of those special moving chairs at the theatre. For this movie it actually worked out well. I felt like I was riding the helicopters or gyrosphere along with the movie characters and we could feel the stomping of the dinosaurs. It didn’t make me sick like I thought it was. It made us feel like we were part of the adventure.

I think we wouldn’t have enjoyed the movie as much without the D-Box experience mainly because the movie itself wasn’t the greatest. Here is why:

1) There were a lot of pointless backstory between the kids. Also the older kid was a terrible actor.

2) Product placement was hilarious, almost like it was parodying it.

3) Why were the dinosaurs smiling at the end?

I still had a great time watching the movie, after all it is a movie about Dinosaurs, just don’t go into it expecting too much!

I love D-Box, if you ever have the choice to experience it, take it!