PMA and I hit up Cannibal Cafe after a 5 hour hike to Kennedy Falls in North Vancouver:

No complaints about my turkey burger (The Farmhouse) - cranberry + turkey genius. M’s American Classic with yam fries in the background.

P got the American Classic as well, with a side of poutine, and the poutine could’ve been a full entrée by itself. Maybe he got this because he’s from Montreal?

A ordered yam fries, and sorry no picture, but she basically had 5 yams and enough fiber for a week.

To complete my meal, I had the chocolate Bourbon shake. I thought it was boozy enough, but everybody else thought the alcohol was strong. It wasn’t as thick as I would’ve liked.

I used to come here all the time! I was reminded of why I ate here so often today, and I will be back for more…

There’s something about a good meal after a long hike that brings people together.

We got lost a bit on the way here, but basically, just park at the Mt. Fromme parking lot and take the bike/hike trails from there. It’s intermediate, mainly because it’s slippery and rocky. By the end of it, I didn’t even care about being ankle deep in mud and I just wanted to take the fastest route down the mountain.

Here’s more info on the hike:

https://www.outdoorvancouver.ca/hiking-big-cedar-trail-kennedy-creek-falls/
https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/big-cedar-and-kennedy-falls-trail/
https://www.yelp.ca/biz/kennedy-falls-north-vancouver

It was a choice between Dalina, Au Bade, and Propanda. Dalina was too busy, Au Bade was on the wrong side of the street, and we ended up at Propaganda:



I had the macchiato, and it was weak compared to Pallet. The sandwich was packed with meat, and I must’ve been starving, I polished it off. The others had a ham and cheese croissant, which they seemed to enjoy. I think I would come back again because it’s less crowded than Matchstick, but the coffee could be stronger.

For those of you who are into Munchkins the Marvel edition, this place has a metal table.



This weekend, I tried hiking (walking in the park) at night for the first time. It was the annual NiteHike, and H really wanted me to participate, so there I was… in the middle of the woods… We started walking around 8PM, and it was just before 6AM by the time we finished the event. It was nice to get lost in the woods. It was also nice to feel so physically drained that once my head hit the pillow, nothing in the whole world mattered anymore.

Ended up sick again. Late 20s has not been good for health so far.

Took a half day at work to get my hair did, and ended up going to 49th Parallel on 4th for the $5 Sakura donut. Was it worth it? It was STUFFED with cream, I wish I got a chance to document it oozing out with every bite. The cream is supposed to be a matcha white chocolate mix, but the matcha can only be faintly tasted. It’s pretty sweet, but it goes so well with the coffee.
Coffee was strong and on the acidic side.


49th Parallel is always so busy. Too crowded for my liking, but can't resist the donuts.



Afterwards, went to the bank to save money. I should try to save more money, but I really want to get this:

It would look nice in the office, and I could bring it around instead of using disposable cups! We were born to consume after all, and I should try not to worry too much about the trash I’ll be leaving behind. Speaking of the office, I think I've learned to really enjoy the office environment. People can be so funny sometimes if you don’t take them so seriously.

G for Gerry or J for Jerry?

H and I sat at Pallet Coffee, while waiting to meet up with his parents for dim sum at Sun Bo Kong on Saturday. We were at the café from around 1030AM to 1130AM, and the line up just would not stop. Luckily we came in early enough to grab 2 comfy chairs by the back and watched the place bustling and hustling. All the tables filled up, and it was not surprising either, because their coffee was on point. I had the macchiato, and learned that the real traditional way to do it is with 2 shots, and just a dollop of foam on one of the shots. Sparkling water on the side to go with it, because the coffee was stronger than Gregor Clegane. Chocolate croissant was good and flakey (I should do a series on croissants... hmmm...). Drip coffee was not bad, but the espresso shots had already ruined it for me.

Then, just did some basic shopping, played Munchkins Marvel Edition with M+P. We need the expansion packs.

I had quite a bit of free time today to do whatever I want, and so I wasted about half of that time thinking about things I want to do. Then, I started reading This Changes Everything, and realized that I still haven’t finished this book even though I started it half a year ago, because it gets a bit depressing. I did learn a lot about the state of our world. Really though, what can I do as an individual consumer to try to lower that carbon footprint?

I think another reason I felt off this weekend was because of the offensive jokes at the Yuk Yuk Comedy Club by Jason Rouse this friday. To each their own, but some warning would be nice. The other acts before his were fantastic. 

This weekend was a slow one… Is this what retired life will be like? I hope not. 

To drink enough water. To get enough rest. To make time for your loved ones.

This weekend was mostly about friends.

Saturday night, I went to PappaRoti with R, M, and P for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised that these bus were actually amazing. I had the Strawberry Field (strawberry + whipped cream and bun with chocolate syrup), and R had the one on top with strawberry and bananas. M and P had something with ice cream and more syrups, but no photo, SORRY. She had that chai latte thing, at the top left corner, and the tea on the bottom is mine.

The whipped cream and fruit and syrups are completely unnecessary – the buns are just amazing by themselves without the rest of the frou frou toppings. Had a nice chai tea as well, and I ordered the pot size, which came with a little timer to tell you when your tea is steeped to perfection. It was gooooood. Might get a bulk order just for munchies.

Despite having a cold, there is no better way to wind down a long week than a day in Whistler. Picked up this OTC drug called Eltor to help with my congestion:

Takes about an hour to kick in, then it KICKS IN. Super effective relief.

Our first run of the day was up the Glacier bowl. Reminder to do a warm up run first next time. The hike up is rather annoying though. See the tiny person at the bottom?

Hot cider to complete the day and clear my sinuses up:

I’m still pretty congested without the drugs. I really need to take better care of myself. It feels like there is never enough time. Life already feels too short!

I slept all weekend, recovering from a very unexpected, unplanned stomach bug. Or maybe it was something else, other than upset stomach, because I also had body chills, headaches, overall discomfort. What’s wrong with me?



Stress is probably a huge factor. Not like a “THERE’S A TIGER IN FRONT OF YOU” stress, but more like “traffic is really frustrating everyday, i’m eating junkfood most meals, i can’t sleep, and i have no way to relax” stress. It’s the little things getting pent up.

BUT AS AN ADULT, I will get over this (with the help of my parents and boyfriend and other loved ones… because who am I kidding? I’m still child sized). Right…?

Typing into Google “signs you’re an adults”, gives me 40,300,000 results, and they’re all different, based on Reddit, Lifehack, Business insider, and many others… Anyways, I think I’d like a break now. My cousins always try to give me life advice, but it’s when I remember that they are just under 10 years older than me that I really remind myself there are so many things to learn from them.

1. Save money every month, even if it’s a small amount.
2. Your parents are not always right, but they usually have your back, so let them take care of you.
3. Eat, drink and be merry.

I mean, now that I sleep at 11PM on a Friday night, instead of leave my house, I think I’m really stepping over that line of adulthood…

Also, my phone has failed and cannot dial out. So i have wiped it. It now sort of works.

P and I wanted to catch up, and I wanted to save some money, so we went out for dessert, instead of dinner. We both wanted to go back to Off the Grid:



It’s busier than the last time I was here. They might’ve switched the light bulbs to brighten up the place. Not too sure what else changed, maybe everybody wanted to come out because the weather cleared up. Instead of the waffles, we had their dessert drinks this time. I had the hot Nutella drink, and P had the mango milkshake. She was a bit upset that they couldn’t do it “half sweet”, but hey, sometimes, you just gotta learn to say no. I liked my drink. It was sweet, and the waffle was fresh. Nothing better for fueling girly gossip and plans.



H is almost at the end of his move, and things are starting to fall into place again. Time for the next big thing. What’s the next big thing…

Got Netflix recently. It’s a bit of an obsession to just easily just click it on and lose myself in hours of scandalous politics. A great friend for an introvert. What an effort it was to drag myself away from it and see real human beings. Coffee usually gets me going out though:

Visited Tuc with the gals. Sorry M, for being an hour late and for making you guys wait in line for us… I had the lavender latte:



That’s it, what else do I need on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Lavender lattes are one of my favorite beverages (I used to sit outside Waves and read with one by my side), and this one did not disappoint. The others had the chicken and waffles, some egg thing with beans, and some other egg and potato thing. Apparently, it was good, but I was still full from breakfast and could really only handle a latte. Too bad the wait times are so horrendous (1 hour today).





OK, back to Scandal. More meaningful posts to come.

Last day, rather early start, wandered into Mazarine Coffee for breakfast around 8AM:

I had found this place just by searching Google for coffee near me at the beginning of this trip, and I had wanted to go since the very first day, but circumstances brought me to Starbucks for efficiency’s sake. Eggs were done perfectly, just cooked, so softly poached with a light layer of sprouts and cracked pepper on top for flavours. I would come back in a heartbeat. Coffee was strong too. I think my barista was in training – the latte art got mushed up a bit. Not sure if that affected the flavour…

After breakfast, I had originally planned to finish watching Harry Potter, which was showing on the television, but after careful consideration and D’s reminder, I booked it to the airport to see if I could get on an earlier flight. Weather was being unpredictable in Vancouver…

Ended up spending about $150USD to switch my seat. There was even enough time to go to the Duty Free to pick up a bottle of Johnny Walker, a box of See’s candy, and this Laneige BB Cushion that has been out of stock EVERYWHERE for the past half year. I am just glad it’s back in my life. Still can’t find it on the Sephora website for Canada.

Laneige medium shade, and Nespresso as I get ready today.

I’m glad I cut my day short in SF because I made it back safe and sound, no delays. Whether it’s business or personal, it is sometimes for the best to just cut your losses, take what you have gained, and make the most of the situation. How do you determine at that you’ve given it your best? At what point do you walk away from the deal or the relationship?

Busy days and tough decisions ahead.

Here are the links to all the days from this trip:
Day 1
Day 2.. and sort of 3
Day 4 - Part 1
Day 4 - Part 2
Day 5 

Woke up late to this view at the JW Marriott, 11th floor, room 1111:

So, instead of walking over to the Viator tour office where I was supposed to pick up my vouchers, I took a cab… Felt like such a waste of money, but made it on time for the ferry to Alcatraz:

It was interesting how we could just casually stroll along the same paths that serial killers, kidnappers, psychopaths, etc. had taken just a few decades ago. The self guided audio tour was interesting and told stories of escapades. I would come back at night to experience the full spookiness of it, although there were no ghost stories.

Had an early lunch at the Fog Harbour, where we had also gone last year for one of the dinners pre-show. I remembered they had really good clam chowder, which I had a craving for after the cold damp ferry ride.

Deeeeelicious. So creamy.

Wanted something boozy to warm me up more. This was something with rum.

And the grand finale, crab roll! It was a bit cold, to be honest, and I didn't quite like the clamminess.

Got a ride to Muir Woods from the tour office again, as part of the tour package:

Mysterious… The “hike” was a 30 to 45 minute walk around a very well groomed dirt/wood path, with huge puddles from the recent rain in the area. Tour guide was pretty cool, he dropped us off at our hotels after and told us stories about his family.
I’m not sure if I would do this tour on my own again. It cost $150USD, and I only did the Alcatraz and Muir woods portion, completely skipping the Dungeon and the complimentary wine tour. It was exhausting to rush around like that, and my legs were shot from all the walking in the past 2 days. Even thinking about it now is making me feel sore.

Trekked across SFO to Twin Peaks! Originally wanted to visit the Sutro Nature Reserve, but it didn’t look like it would be as rewarding as climbing to the top of a hill to see the whole city from above. The clouds cleared up at the top, where I felt like I would literally be blown away if I didn’t try to make myself heavier.

Came back down to the Castro, hungry and ready to chow down on whatever food I could find. It was already past 2PM by the time the food arrived, and it took me a lot of willpower to hold back, and take this picture first:

This was one of the lunch special sets at Thai House, including red curry with chicken, and a shrimp spring roll thingy, which was awesomely crispy. The soup on the bottom right was sorta too salty though. Overall, pretty good food, nice place for a quiet late lunch. I’d want to try out the other restaurants to see what else the Castro district could offer though, so I wouldn’t come back again any time soon.

Then, I walked all the way back to the hotel, drank wine, and watched movies Netflix. Being alone is definitely an art.

Back to present times… Feeling physically bad because it’s been a while since I’ve had time to exercise. Heart’s been racing these days… Not in the I’m happy to see you way either.

s

Pink dragonfruit?!

Other people might say chicken or rooster, but phoenix just sounds so much more magical. This year is supposed to be a good one for Dragons, and I tried to start it off busy, just the way I like it.

Friday night, had what could be considered a small Lunar New Year party in my Basement, and we didn’t split until way past midnight.

Next morning was all for family time. Breakfast with mother at Duo Tian, then went to my aunt’s for lunch with about half the relatives, including two 3 year old boys and a 1.5 month old baby. We were just pulling out the mah jong table when H reminded me that we had agreed to go to this Fresh St. Market lions dance organized in conjunction with Taione, who imports fruits directly from Taiwan (get it? Taione… Taiwan… ha).

Two different types of wax apples above. Black pearl on the left, which is absolutely delicious. Crisp, sweet, juiciness in each bite. Almost like a Japanese pear, with a different flavor. I think I might be addicted to these now.

There’s still a lot to learn about these weirdly shaped fruits..  Abe, one of the directors at Taione, had actually spent about a week with the farmers in Taiwan, to fully immerse himself in their culture and learn how these fruits are grown. He had grown up in Vancouver, along with Lawrence, the CEO of Taione, and upon returning to Vancouver, he was inspired to team up with a group of his friends to start this Taiwanese fruit trading business. After almost 5 years, they’ve been able to introduce these exotic fruits into the daily lives of Canadians.

H and I also met with one of the managers of Fresh St. Market, Kent, who chooses the produce for the stores. He supported the diversity that these exotic fruits brought to his stores, and it was interesting to learn from him that a lot more local produce was being produced these days, with a spike in younger farmers. It brought me back to just last summer, working at the VFM. Anyways, these fruits might look weird (the wax apple looks a bit like a suction cup from a tentacle, and the dragonfruit looks like something from a scifi movie), but they’re sweet, juicy, absolutely gorgeous in photos. Looking forward to seeing more from Taione and Fresh St. Market!

After spending time with my family, it was time for us to spend time with H’s family. We had dinner at Sun Bo Kong, and celebrated with a fancy schmany cake from Fauborg:

Words cannot describe how perfect this cake was… Strawberry flavored jelly and just the right level of sweetness. I think I liked this better than the chocolate one I had on my birthday, mainly because it tasted more tart and not so sweet. 



Sometimes, when things seem to finally be going smoothly, another pothole forms and we crash right into it. Just gotta be more flexible.

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change - Stephen Hawking

For example, I forgot to turn on my wifi at home for a day, watched Youtube, and now, I have only 0.87GB left of data for the next 3 weeks. Help.

Happy lunar new year.

And the rest of the weekend was skiing and eating.

Sunday morning, we just chilled around the village, because we stayed up late playing Machi Koro the night before. We originally wanted to brunch at Araxi, but it was no longer open for the breakfast hours and we were hangry.Ended up here, at Stonesedge:

I was impressed by the décor, and the presentation was very appetizing. The Mexican mocha hit the spot, I could imagine hitting up this spot for a drink après ski (wow so much French today). The food was not the best though… Everything seemed a bit overcooked on my plate of Breakfast Poutine, while S’s steak was a bit undercooked. Drinks, good; food, meh.


I feel like we missed the whole Women’s March, and now, looking at the news is just depressing. Hoping for the best, still…

Read the previous post for Part 1: http://luwesa.blogspot.ca/2017/01/55104-inauguration-weekend.html