drinks – Page 2 – Tiana Feng

Chocolate Beer Made by Flying Monkeys

January 5, 2015Drinks, Food1 Comment

Perhaps this post title is misleading because monkeys don’t actually fly so no actual monkeys were involved in making this beer (at least for all I now). The Flying Monkeys is a craft brewery located in Guelph, Ontario. When I stumbled on this beer, in such eye-catching packaging I could not resist. Hell, they probably could have just put CHOCOLATE BEER on the label and I would’ve bought it. This was more obvious. This beer was more than the normal “chocolate” stout. It sounded epic. It was a Manifesto. It had an alcohol rating of 10%.

We saved the one bottle we snagged for New Years Eve. When we opened it the aromas were splendid. It truly did live up to it’s name. It did not smell like beer, but like a comforting chocolate milk. The strange part is, that’s what it tasted like to! The fact it was a beer, only hit you after every sip. It was delightful. Also, I could totally feel it right away after a mug full (I don’t have anything besides mugs at the moment).

I went back to the LCBO the next day to realize that it is no longer stocked in shelves. I guess I will have to wait until next Christmas to buy the entire aisle.

Crazy Poutines @ Poutineville

December 29, 2014December 30, 2014Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

We were super excited to see Poutineville in Toronto. We’ve already visited a bunch of times, so I decided to hold on posting this until we tried a variety of things off their menu. The first one I tried was the Pizza Poutine (pictured above). Melted cheese and pepperoni were baked on top of fries, gravy, curds, green onions and bacon. It was a pizza and poutine lover’s heaven. The portion was obviously large enough to feed two. The owner even joked around and said he wouldn’t charge us if I could finish it.

Nash’s first poutine was The Dragon which had spicy chicken wings and peppers.

The most indulgent poutine was the Lamb & Feta poutine with brie. It was heavenly.

Nash also had this Nacho Cheese poutine. Not the most appetizing presentation but we can assure you that if you are a nacho lover you’d enjoy this!

These fried pickles aren’t poutine but paired well with the tangy sauce it was served with.

What we found interesting is that the gravy tasted slightly different in each poutine. We also didn’t find it as heavy as other places like Smokes or Poutinis and did not get sick of eating after a few bites (which tends to happen a lot for poutines).

Figgy Pudding

Citrus Perplexity

Poutina Margarita

Long Island Iced Tea

The Toronto menu is a lot different than what is posted on their website (which is based on their Montreal location. We’re also lucky to have mixologist Nishantha Nepulangoda create a crazy cocktail menu. Their twist on a margarita has: Vazadores Tequila, Cointreau, Amaretto, Orgeat syrup, lime juice, Angostura and fig juice. I can’t remember what was in some of the other ones, they are just so complex!

We’ll definitely be back soon to eat the rest of the poutines and make our way through more cocktails!

Want Some Sapporo?

May 17, 2014May 30, 2014Drinks, Food1 Comment

Sapporo sent me some beer in celebration of their latest campaign which features animated versions of traditional Japanese ink wash paintings- an art that dates back 1000 years.

Sapporo, which originated in Japan, does have a brewery in Canada. It’s a rice lager so it is light and sweet. The beer is dry but refreshing because it does not leave an after taste and therefore very easy to drink. Since the taste is clean, it could probably be paired with any food.

If you would like some Sapporo, I’m giving away vouchers for free 6 pack over on Ride the Tempo!

Lobster Everything at Rock Lobster

July 29, 2013August 26, 2013Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Last week before the El Catrin launch party (I didn’t think there would be so much food) I had dinner with my blogger friend, Melody at Rock Lobster on Queen West where Shanghai Cowgirl used to be.

The Lobster Poutine ($13) had a lobster bisque gravy, fresh lobster and of course cheese curds and fries.

Melody had the Lobster Taco ($5). I assume it was delicious because she ordered a second serving.

We also shared these Bacon Wrapped Corn Dogs served with mustard and a sort of hot sauce. I can’t refuse bacon wrapped things. It wasn’t too heavy either.

By far my favourite thing was the Rock Lobster Ceasar ($12). I regularly hate ceasars but this one was perfectly seasoned and spiced. Oh and of course the fact there was a lobster tail in it, which I dipped in the drink for extra deliciousness.

I’m already thinking of going back just for the drink…

*Update*
Me and Nash went back to Rock Lobster and had these delicious scallops on the house! We originally ordered Devilled Eggs and I guess they ran out and forgot to tell us. So we were rewarded with these divine scallops instead. We didn’t even complain or anything. This is customer service at its finest.

View this post on Instagram

We got free scallops somehow

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Aug 24, 2013 at 5:46pm PDT

Sodastream Kraft Launch Party

May 10, 2013May 10, 2013Drinks, FoodLeave a Comment

I was invited to the Soda Stream Kraft launch party last night by the fine folks at The Mint Agency. To be honest, I had not previously known about the company and went out of curiosity and of course as a freelancer, couldn’t resist free food and drinks!The event took place at 2nd Floor Events on King Street West.The space was decorated with bottle decor to fit Sodastream’s campaign of saving the earth from bottles. The idea of Sodastream is for customers to have a system at home where they can carbonate their own water and make DIY sodas, therefore cutting down on the need to buy pop bottles.

Since it was the Kraft launch, we had the opportunity to sample the Kool-aid, Crystal Light and Country Time lemonade flavours. They were pretty good and tasted exactly like you’d expect the carbonated versions to taste like. With the exception of some added vodka, since it was a party.

The evening was catered by Brassaii who served various finger foods.
Oh, and I can’t forget about the glorious candy bar. I definitely smuggled some home.

At the end of the night, the invited guests got to take home gift bags with a Sodastream Source machine!

Here’s everything unboxed. They even threw in full bottle of the lemonade flavouring.

The normal kit comes with only 9 trial flavours. 1 of the packages makes a bottle.

To use the machine, the included bottle needs to be filled with cold water (because who likes warm soda?). Then you stick it in the machine and press down until your optimum fizziness as indicated by the LED lights. The machine doesn’t need to be plugged into anything and there was no included instructions on batteries. The first time we tried it I don’t think we pressed down hard enough because we didn’t see bubbles, but we definitely did eventually!

I had a cherry coke-lover in the house so we gave this a test.

The verdict: tastes like regular cherry coke with a lot less sugar. There’s only 7 grams compared to the 25g of sugar in coke. I think the health (and taste) aspect is a bigger seller than the environmental concerns.

DIY type people would enjoy this product. I think it would also be fun to host and play bartender at a party full of Sodastream mixed drinks with this machine!

30 Day Challenge: February Edition

February 1, 201230 Day Challenge, Drinks, Food, Life5 Comments

January’s challenge was an hour of practice every day. In an increasingly busy life, it was unrealistic and fell through at times. However, it taught me that I missed it and still loved it and that I needed to schedule a couple sessions in my future weeks. Now that it’s February, it’s time for a new challenge and I will do the impossible..
I will give up coffee.

I think I’ve become too dependent on coffee in keeping me awake. Keeping away from caffeine altogether is impossible as it is in drinks as well as chocolate and deserts and hey, February has Valentine’s Day.

I have at least 2 cups each day and they are loaded with sugar. It keeps my heart constantly pumping quick and (which I don’t think is that healthy) and feeding me a ton of hyper energy. I picked the shortest month to give it up, but I hope it will lessen my need for it and lower my risk of diabetes from too much sugar. My coffees tend to be 1/3 sugar and if I’m out the most caramel filled.

I chose the shortest month to do this but guess what? It’s a leap year.. damn. As stated in earlier posts, 2012 will be a year for monthly challenges of self-improvement. Join me and challenge yourself at something!

Do You Put the Tea Bag In Before or After?

November 11, 2011Drinks, Food, LifeLeave a Comment

When you are making tea, do you put the tea bag in before or after you pour the hot water? Just a curious question. Maybe you do it differently every time, that’s plausible too. I’m a tiny bit OCD so I have always put the tea bag in before.

I think I do this because I like a strong tasting tea and putting it allows the water to hit the bag and for the tea to saturate water more. Whereas if I put it in after I would have to move the bag up and down in the water or poke at it with a spoon to get the same effect.

A thing you may or may not know about me is I have a weird interest in cognitive science and how minds work. So naturally, I did some random research on the topic and summarized all the similar findings. Here is what your tea making techniques might say about your personality:

Continue reading ➞ Do You Put the Tea Bag In Before or After?