reviews – Page 4 – Tiana Feng

Dear J.K. Rowling, Stop Ruining Books

January 22, 2013Books, Entertainment2 Comments

This post isn’t really about the fact she killed some of the best characters in Harry Potter, but I thought she wasn’t going to do that again. Dear JK Rowling, The Casual Vacancy was a horribly written book.

I always finish books, so I have read the entire thing cover to cover. The characters, although living in a fictional society seemed like they were meant to be realistic. After all, she was trying to prove she could write an adult fiction novel that didn’t involve wizards and magic. However, Rowling draws stereotypes to their extreme. There’s the kid who thinks too much about being “authentic”, the kid who lives in a house of domestic abuse, the poor child living in the drug-addict ridden neighbourhood etc. It’s not even creative and the events in the book seem to be put in for mere shock factor. Drugs, rape, violence, deaths, infidelity.. basically the whole 9 yards.

Most of the book is about people being petty and selfish eventually succumbing to their desires. The children also enjoying ruining the lives of the adults and there is no resolution for these problems.

You come to really care for this one troubled teen with a drug addicted mother and get tricked into thinking her life will be better in the end. BUT THEN SHE FUCKING DIES. I’m not one to judge graphic content matter in a book, but all of the events in The Casual Vacancy were pointless. They didn’t lead anywhere or teach anything. I’ve read books that made me cry or made me think deeply about a subject. This book just left me vacant. Maybe that was what she wanted. Haha, you got me J.K. Rowling.

Windows 8 Is Not That Scary

January 21, 2013Technology2 Comments

I bit the bullet and upgraded my Windows 7 laptop to Windows 8. It is the first operating system I have ever purchased. In the past they usually just came pre-installed on my computer or from other people’s borrowed CD-R disks.

I have been using it for a couple of days now and I have to wonder why people are so frightened by Windows 8. The colour screen with the updating tiles can be thought of as a glorified smartbar with apps. Otherwise, it is a noticeably faster and smoother running version of Windows 7 with some new features. People are weird, they criticize Microsoft for not doing anything innovative to Windows and when they finally do something that looks different from Windows 95, it is the end of the world.

What I really like about it is that you can replace the Desktop versions of software with the app versions that use less CPU. The app versions also “snap” nicely to the side of the screen so you can chat while working without the window disappearing.

As an avid Windows user all my life, there was a bit of a learning curve. The first few minutes on the system I did have my panic attack moments. HOW THE HELL DO I CLOSE THIS APP?! and WHERE THE HELL IS MY PROGRAMS? were among the many questions I asked myself.

However, through experimenting and looking up a dummy sheet on the internet I am quite integrated with the new system. I actually found myself quite productive on what is supposedly Blue Monday morning. So far, I love the new Windows 8 system.

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

January 17, 2013Books, Entertainment1 Comment

I don’t think I truly knew what embarrassment meant until I read Jenny Lawson’s Let’s Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir). Thank you Jenny for some roll on the floor laughing moments. Certain parts of the book (actually most of it) seemed so outrageious, but at the same time it was way too detailed and strange to be made up. Like the time she stuck her arm up a cow, or got stabbed by chicken.

The book teaches some valuable life lessons especially to be proud of who you are. Jenny suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, OCD, depression and anxiety, but she makes people laugh and isn’t afraid to share her unfortunate stories of both her past and present with the world. She loves the life that has shaped her into who she is today.

I have now become a follower of her blog The Bloggess. It is equally as hilarious as the book and really motivates me to share some silly stories from my past that were no where near as personal or embarrassing. She would probably think I’m crazy for saying her book is an inspiration.

Two Bite Saloon

January 14, 2013March 27, 2013Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Last month, before the holiday me and Nash ventured into the newly opened Two Bite Saloon at Bloor and Shaw. We popped in right at opening hour at 5pm and the whole dinner we were the only people eating besides a few sketchy looking people having drinks at the bar. This was a bit strange considering it was just right before the holidays and Blogto and TheStar had written about the place the month prior.

As an appetizer, I had the Kale Salad ($5). I had previously not tried kale (I thought it was just a hype vegetable), but I enjoyed the “salad” which was very rich in flavours because of some smoke-ham and Parmesan cheese. I actually loved the addition of smokeyness to what people have been calling the new hype healthy veggie.

For my main dish I had the Ribs ($17). The ribs were smoked and drenched with a very tasty barbecue sauce. It was served with lightly seasoned fries and a buttermilk slaw. I didn’t care much for the slaw as I found it too creamy, but I happily ate the fries.

One was eaten before I could take a picture!

Nash had five of the sliders ($14 I think). He had two pulled pork, two pemeal bacon and I forgot what the last was. They were a bit bigger than the food truck sliders we had tried previously and 5 was pretty filling.

It was a bit pricey but we enjoyed our meal. We’ll probably return one day to splurge on some of their interesting cocktails!

Tacos at La Tortilleria

January 10, 2013March 27, 2013Food, Restaurant Reviews2 Comments

When you walk in La Tortilleria at Bloor and Dufferin, it looks like a mini Mexican supermarket. People who just happen to wander by the market might even miss the fact they serve food in a little corner. We were on an adventure to try a new taco place and found this place on Yelp by searching “tacos”. In terms of atmosphere, it couldn’t get more Mexican. We were surrounded by a market of authentic Mexican treats, food and spices. There were only 3 small tables for people to eat in. Mexican music played in the background.
I ordered 3 tacos for $6.99. One beef, one pulled pork and one chicken. They each had a black bean sauce at the bottom. I totally forgot to put salsa on mine so it was a tiny bit dry, but still flavourful and delicious. Plus at $6.99 I was sufficiently full after eating them.
Nash ordered two “big quesadillas” for $8. They were like a cheese-steak sandwich in a pita. It was packed full of meat and creamy mozzarella and honestly one of the best quesadillas I have ever tasted.

To wash things down, we both bought some Jarrito, a Mexican soda made with natural granulated sugar. I had lime and Nash had orange. They were sweet but not too much.

For what we paid for, the food was a lot better than we thought and we will definitely be back.

Hikari Oe and The Music of Light

January 9, 2013Books, Entertainment, Music1 Comment

After reading Oliver Sacks’ Musicophilia, my boyfriend lent me The Music of Light- The Extraordinary Story of Hikari and Kenzaburo Oe written by Lindsley Cameron. It chronicles the life of Hikari Oe, a boy who was born with a growth on his brain the size of almost another brain. His father Kenzaburo Oe after much thought and reflection decided to operate on the growth and Hikari survived. However, he suffered a form of autism, vision loss and constant seizures. Despite not being able to absorb knowledge and learn everyday tasks like most people, Hikari became one of Japan’s most renowned composers.

The book dealt thoroughly analyzed the connections between Kenzaburo Oe’s writing who was deeply inspired by Hikari and used it to tell the story of their lives. While very interesting, some of the book was rather repeated with sometimes entire section being stated again somewhere else in the book. In addition to telling the story of their lives, it also analyzes musical savants (even quoting some of Sacks’ work) and how Hikari is different from the norm because of his ability to compose music. Overall the book rejoiced on the positive qualities of Hikari’s condition.

I looked up some of Hikari Oe’s music after reading this book and found it simply beautiful. It is not over complicated and often inspired by music of classical composers like Mozart. It has a lovely calming effect.

Meh Tacos.. At Mexitacos

November 24, 2012April 2, 2013Food, Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized2 Comments

Situated at 828 Bloor Street West, Mexitaco is much closer to Nash’s place and Exclaim! than Tacos El Asador so we thought I thought I might as well try it at least once. I was actually told their food is mediocre by people at work, but I’m the kind of person who will give everything a chance. Yelp reviewers also had very mixed feelings about the place.

We were in a taco mood. The chorizo taco was recommended by people on Yelp so we ordered them. For $8.99 there were four tacos. They were topped with coriander and onion. The chorizo meet was a bit better than at El Asador but other than that, there wasn’t really much to the taco.

A ring of toppings was brought to us with the tacos. There was two salsas, a green and a red as well as onions and limes. We weren’t exactly sure what the green one was. Our estimation was green tomato and jalapenos. Both salsas were a bit bland and runny.

We also ordered Tinga tacos which were described as chicken in chipotle sauce. There wasn’t really any other special toppings with it, just chickens in a taco. They were just okay, but either we don’t know what chipotle sauce is supposed to taste like or it tasted like burnt shoes.

Anyways, the tacos weren’t bad, just ok. Edible, but not anything special. The portions were also really small. Even though we had 4 tacos each, it wasn’t totally filling. Whereas at El Asador I could order 2 or 3 things for the same price and be sufficiently full. I will probably just make the extra walk to Tacos El Asador for now on when I have a taco craving.

Delicious Things at Tacos El Asador

November 1, 2012March 27, 2013Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

One day the Exclaim! office all ordered tacos, and they looked delicious so I asked them where they were from and immediately went right after. Tacos El Asador fit in perfectly for my continuous journey of eating all things adventurous and ethnic.

The atmosphere was friendly and the staff helped me interpret what some of the things on the menu were. An interesting thing to note about the Annex establishment is that it’s not entirely Mexican food, but a Salvadorian interpretation of Mexican food as the name of the place suggests. This is why there are all those silly reviews on yelp or urbanspoon complain about it being different! I first walked into this place a month ago, and I’ve already been back 4 or 5 times.

If you eat in, your table automatically gets a giant bowl of jalapeno, coriander, onion and yellow pepper mix as well as a spicy salsa. It’s really hard not to pick at the mix when waiting for food, even if the seeds can get you heated!

Nash likes to get the $10 combo that includes a burrito and an enchillada or quesadilla and a drink. The burrito by itself, is already enough to fill a person!

My favourite are the fish tacos. The fish combined with avocado, salsa and carmelized onions have a lovely creamy texture that melts in the mouth.

Tacos come in crunchy or soft and in a variety of meats including chicken, pork, beef and chorizo. I tried chorizo which is like a spicy pork sausage, but I wasn’t completely a fan. It was a little dry. They tasted better with chicken (or fish!). I love that they double wrap both kinds of tacos to prevent any sauce leakage or have back up for accidental breakage.

Their take on the enchiladas was interesting. They were done in a kind of Honduran style with the black bean almost like a spread on the tacos which were served open face, instead of wrapped in rolls with sauce on top.

Pupusas were one thing I learned about for the first time when coming here. They are a truly Salvadorian dish and was almost like their take on a fried crepe of some sort! I had one filled with pork and it was served with sauce that reminded me of marinara.

Lastly, I also tried the chicken tamales. They reminded me of sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf that my grandmother used to make, except this was with corn and chicken. It may appear small, but one of these things definitely fills you up.

What I love most about this place is the price. All menu items are around $3, so you can mix it up and have multiple items. For the price, the food is fresh and delicious. When I have time (and the budget) I’ll hit up Grand Electric to compare, but I think I may end up favouring Tacos El Asador. I don’t care about pretension, only how things fare on the taste meter and if it doesn’t hurt the wallet, it’s a double win.

Soups @ Owl of Minerva

October 30, 2012March 27, 2013Food, Restaurant Reviews1 Comment

I always wanted to try Korean pork bone soup and there was probably no where better to try it than Korea Town’s Owl of Minerva which I have previously read about on BlogTO.

Pork bone soup known as “Gamjatang” was listed on the menu for only $6.20. Since the price was so low, I assumed it would be a small portion so I included the $3 add on of dumplings and noodles.

Not only was the portion pretty large and comparable to that of Pho, but it also came with a bowl of rice and a few sides. The soup was chocked full of pork. I expected a single pork bone, but there were many and the meat was fall off the bone tender. The red colour meant it was spicy, however it was a manageable heat. I totally did not need the add-ons though, there was plenty to eat for $6.20.

We never order the same thing (because that is silly), so Nash got the “Kalbitang” also known as Short-Rib Soup.

It came in a white broth that had a black pepper and garlic aroma. Ingredients included green onions, short ribs, onions, egg and glass noodles, which were very tricky to pick up! I have to admit I like my soup a bit better.

For under $20 the meal was filling and tasteful. We will definitely go back to try the non-soup dishes of which there are plenty!

Delicious Burgers at The Works

October 25, 2012March 27, 2013Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

I took Nash out for an early birthday dinner tonight. We decided that instead of something fancy we’d hit up one of the many burger places that we haven’t tried yet. We headed to The Works Burger on the Danforth. There’s also plenty of other locations for those of you who don’t live in Toronto.

The restaurant played on a construction work-site theme. It was very casual; like a burger joint should be. We even got our soft drinks in measuring cup-esque glasses.

The best part about this place is they have over 72 different burger combinations. That’s right 72. The menu also includes other delicious sounding things like fried pickles and an onion tower. However, we came for a burger, so that’s what we got.

The menu was categorized by types of burger combinations, from the most popular, strange, sauced, bold, meat and veggy. You could also choose from a variation of meats (beef, chicken, salmon, portobello, ground turkey, veggie). We both had the elk. I had the Beverley Hills Lawsuit with a side of Bold Slaw.

My burger had egg, leaf spinach, Havarti and double smoked bacon. The elk was lean and delicious. I gobbled the entire thing up and did not feel like death afterwards. The combination of ingredients tasted like a very delicious quiche in a sandwich. The Bold Slaw came in a generous serving size and had a little bit of a kick from the jalapeno juice and white pepper. I would have been happier with a smaller serving of that, as I did not end up finishing the slaw. The flavour was too pungent for me to have such a large portion of it.

Nash had the Neil Young burger with a side of cucumber. Who optionally chooses cucumber??!!!.

The toppings included grilled eggplant, fresh avocado, salsa loco and feta cheese. I stole a giant bite of it. I really liked that the avocado was a literal piece of fresh avocado and not some mushed guacomole-like paste. There was a nice texture to it and the grilled eggplant went really well with the salsa and the feta. Flavour explosion in one bite!

This was seriously one of our favourite burger places (and if you are a regular reader you know we’ve been to a lot of them). We’ll definitely be stopping by again to eat one of the other 70 combinations!