Warm Spinach Salad with Mushrooms, Zucchini and Balsamic reduction

This comes in handy when you are in a rush or just in need of a quick bite.  It's very easy to make and not time consuming at all.
Servings 2
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic spinach
- 1/4 cup of julienned zucchini
- 3-4 diced up mushrooms
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 Balsamic vinegar
- 2 slices of julienned salami prochuitto
- any of your favourite cheese, I used Emmenthal

In a pan, sauté minced garlic with olive oil at medium heat.  Once the garlic is golden, add julienned zucchini, salami, and mushrooms respectively.  Season with salt, pepper, and other herbs.  Add balsamic vinegar and let simmer for about 5 minutes.   Serve the mixture on top of spinach, grate cheese on top, and serve.

Cattle Cafe: no longer yummy

I used to enjoy going to Cattle Cafe on Alexandra Road in Richmond. It was well known for it's ginormous noodle soup which you have to option to select everything from soup base, type of noodles, toppings, drinks and sides.  I was more than excited to re-visit the cafe to indulge in a big bowl of laksa that seemed to pack with flavours and seemingly bottomless.

A lot of the restaurants, as they get more and more busy, I guess they often overlook or replace the quality of their food to cut costs.  Or perhaps it was just the inconsistency of the kitchen.  Either way, what used to be my favourite places in Richmond has become an abomination with this one last time visit.

Laksa noodle soup, still seemingly as big and looking just as delicious.  But after tasting the soup, I wondered how many times they watered the pot down and reused the same broth over and over.  Where were the flavours this time! I was pretty much drinking slightly flavoured water with oil drizzled on top.
To add an extra punch, that estranged strand of hair we found didn't improve the situation much.  Remember,  it's an asian place.  Sending a plate back will only result in a look of disdain and you will still get the same plate back (with the hair removed with someone's bare hand).

We also ordered their recommended pork chop with demi-glaced onion sauce.  It looked fantastic in the picture!  Since it's popular, sure we would try it!

 This is what came out. 

At first glance, no, it doesn't look like anything in the picture.  And I was expecting a demi-glace sauce to be more brownish and gravy like, not creamy and rose like.  Kkkk, it's an asian place, maybe it's fusion right? Their own interpretation. If it tasted good, then all would be forgiven.  We still had to bounce back from that last bowl of laksa.  Although, this one didn't look promising either.  And as we took a bite, our thought was unanimous "people "like" eating this?".....Really?  I mean we were in Richmond where hundreds of asian restaurants compete on price and quality to stay on top.  You're telling me that this dish that looked and tasted like it was made by a 10 year old girl is your best selling dish?

Needless to say, I am never going back again.  Could it be one bad day? Maybe. The inconsistency, though, and that pork chop though, I just couldn't bring myself to forgiveness.  So this is my goodbye. The quest for next best laksa ensues.

IT'S SKIN: Power 10 formula YE Effector serum review

I tried out this "high-potency serum with Yeast extract to instantly hydrate your skin and help it to maintain skin's ideal moisture level".  I'm not sure if yeast extract will have effects on oily skin but I tried to avoid my t-zone since (in my head) yeast + sebum might equal unpleasant side effect? Correct me if I'm wrong.  Anyways, the clear gel glides on evenly.  I do feel more elasticity soon after application.  However, shortly after the serum dries out my face feels firm but sticky.  I'm pretty sure I didn't over apply.  So for the result, moisture and softness, yes.  As for "perfect comfort", I don't really like the weird stickiness like I just smeared a popsicle on my face.

What to eat in Kamakura: Doria and Curry Beef Stew

While my sister and I were travelling in Kamakura, Japan, a town famous for the great Buddha statue, Daibutsu. We were enroute from Kita-Kamakura station to Engakuji temple.  Along the way, we stumbled upon a small cute cafe shop called Cafe Sakura.  Starving and enticed by their photo of green tea mont blanc, we decided to go in and check it out.  The shop is small but very cozy and inviting with outside patio.  Decorated in white with lace and flower arrangements, there are few tables and they were all filled.  I noticed very high customer turnover during the course that we were there.  The shop does attract lots of passerby's on the street. There are only 2 women working there.  I assumed they are co-owners, one works in the kitchen and one serves and helps out in the kitchen.  There are only 2 entrees offered in the menu, doria (1,300 yen), baked rice in cream sauce and parmesan, and curry beef stew served with rice.  In the beginning, my sister and I ordered one doria to share (as a snack before lunch) since we saw their portion is fairly big.  While we were waiting, we couldn't help but glance over at the 2 ladies sitting beside us cleaning out their curry stew plate.  As we observed more around us, curry beef stewed is ordered at every table.  We realized what was needed to be done and ordered the curry.

We waited for about 20 minutes for each dish to arrive.  As we looked over, we could see the kitchen and the ladies working hard to carefully craft each order.  It was really nice to see much attention paid to each dish being served.  Once the doria arrived, I didn't hesitate to dig my spoon in and taste the creamy, cheesy baked rice.  It tasted just as good as it looked.  The rice was well seasoned with the right cream consistency.  I felt like I was eating risotto.  The mushroom and shrimp added texture and complement well.  I was about half way done with the doria when the giant plate of curry beef stew (1,000 yen) arrived.  We were arguing that we have overdone ourselves.

I waited for my sister to take the first bite, and when she did, she was silent.  Her eyes may have rolled back a little bit.  "Well, how is it?" I asked. Her reply was "It's simply the best curry stew I've ever had in my life!" Of course, I jumped in and scoop a generous amount of rice and a chunk of beef in my mouth.  My palette went into overdrive as savoury and bold flavours spread all over my mouth, blending in perfect harmony with Japanese rice.  I'm not usually a fan of beef stew as they are often overcooked and have hard and chewy texture.  This time, the beef was so tender and flaky and there should've been more on the plate.  We ended up clearing both dishes in a short amount of time.  As agreed, we ended our course with a green tea mont blanc (800 yen).  

To be honest, we were both most pleased with the curry beef stew, then the doria.  The green tea mont blanc looked very appealing.  However, we couldn't taste anything else but sweet cream.  The green tea flavour was very faint and there is more cream filling inside.  I found that it was just too heavy.  Perhaps, the original mont blanc would have been a better choice.  Overall, I have to say that this little shop is a hidden gem in Kamakura.  It is a great spot to take a short break from sightseeing just to enjoy a cup of coffee and delicious curry beef stew.  

Battle of Mascaras: L2 De Guerlain, L'Oreal Telescopic, L'Oreal Voluminous, Benefit BadGal, Maybelline Colassal

Separates and Extends:

L2 de Guerlain mascara $50, from Sephora. Double wands gives lashes extra length before separating them into chunks, which after many strokes can look very clumpy.  Nonetheless, for its price and luxurious gold tube, it still does what it promises and the result is a very dramatic look.  The mascara stays on too well.  I have trouble removing it with eye makeup remover.  Initially, I purchased the waterproof one but it was impossible to remove at all with makeup remover.  I would've rated it higher, but since I find that I can achieve similar effects with average brands and it's so hard to remove, I give it a 4/5.

L'Oreal Telescopic mascara, $9.98 for 2 bottles and a liquid liner from Costco (approximately $3.30 each).  This tiny wand gets around every corner the big wands couldn't.  Lashes look fanned out and are extended just as long as using Guerlaine mascara. Although I feel like there is more control using the ball tip applicator, getting the bottom lashes can be sort of tricky and I have to be very careful.   The downside is the opposite of Guerlaine, it smudges easily and doesn't stay on for long.  Try coating with Clarins Double Fix mascara, no more smudges and runs! Oh, and every time I use this mascara, I have the biggest urge to bobble my head like this girl did here! 3.5/5

Voluminous and luscious:

L'Oreal Voluminous, $7.90, is by far the best for creating volumes and most affordable mascara.  I've been using this product for years and still finds it is working right up there with the high end mascaras.  Eyelashes look full and not clumpy.  I have very short lashes so it looks much better if I curl them before using this mascara.  It looks great for day or evening wear.  I would call this a classic, or a pair of black shoes I always keep around.  Good to have and worth the price. 4.5/5

Benefit BadGal Lash mascara, $19 from Sephora.  It does a great job of volumizing, in terms of lengthening, I feel like it could do more.  Very easy to apply but after too many sweeps it tends to clump.  Otherwise, it lasts all day with minimum smudging.  Removing it is not as painstaking as Guerlain, which I am thankful for.  4/5

Maybelline Colossal Volume Express mascara, $7 works the best when used with fake lashes or on bottom lashes.  It makes eyelashes look fuller but not too the point that it looks very different or dramatic than what any other mascara can do.  It also works way better on very long lashes since it is light and plumps up volume.  However, for short eyelash folks like myself it is not the right tool for everyday wear.  Removal is very easy. It comes right off.  3/5

Anything Barbie and Hello Kitty touch turn into gold

Barbie may as well be the longest and highest selling face in endorsement history. Girl knows how to sell!  and she is working it with all the collabs this year.

Barbie x Lady Gaga (sizzling)

Barbie x LeSportsac

     

Barbie x Samsung X-series

Barbie by David Dixon (s/s 10)

Barbie by Nicki Minaj

Meanwhile, Kitty over here is gettin' her  grind on...as per usual.

hello kitty x Olympics 2014

hello kitty x New Era (FREH!)

hello kitty x Che Che

hello kitty x capcom's Monster Hunter

hello kitty x Wu Tang Clan

hello kitty x wine

Homemade Thai snack: Curry Puffs

When I was in Thailand, my favourite nanny was gracious and patient enough to teach us her infamous curry puff recipe.  Curry puff is a traditional, yet fusion, thai pastry.  The filling is made of ground pork fried with diced carrots, onions, potatoes, seasoning, and curry.  I guess it is a Thai version of samosa.
The curry puffs my nanny makes are amazing in so many ways.  First, the pastry has many layers of crispy and is very flaky.  Next, the filling is a burst of flavours.  It is an intense blend of sweet and savoury with a perfect caramelized texture.

The first two tries were challenging even with her coaching me.  I also discovered that I am handicapped at folding the dough to make the twists at the end.  Now that I am back to Canada, I decided to give it a try and do everything on my own.  It turns out that making curry puffs is a 2 day process for me.  The filling is the easiest part, while the pastry is the hardest, and let me tell you why.  There are two types of dough you have to make in the process.  Eventually you wrap one type of dough which is more dry, over the more moist one.  Then, you flatten the dough and roll it together like you are making a croissant.  Afterwards, you flatten that rolled up dough again then repeat.  

After chopping up the rolled up dough, this is what it looks like.

Then, you flatten that slice of dough again and put in the filling, close up the end by twisting around the edges.  That is something I learned I can never do correctly or perfectly.  I almost feel somewhat handicapped when everyone else around me has no problem doing it.  Also, another problem is my dough is too dry so the pastry keeps breaking apart when I try twisting the end together.  As a solution, I used a fork to press around the edges instead.  So some of them are half twisted, and some look like chinese dumplings.  You can probably also tell that they come in all shape and sizes.  

Finally, the finished products.  The pastry turned out crispy! Sure each looks different,  and could have been more seasoned with salt and sugar.  Same goes with the filling, no lustrous caramelization like my nanny's.  I guess you should never be afraid of over seasoning, especially in Thai cooking.  Anyways, they are not perfect but for the difficulty level and first trial, I'm pretty happy with the result.