Hello Kitty and Mickey Mouse Swarovski

We went to Richmond's Aberdeen Centre for some groceries and lunch last week.

While walking in the mall, we came upon a Swarovski store with Hello Kitty and Mickey Mouse crystals.

Hello Kitty Swarovski

Swarovski has been producing more and more varieties of products comparing to years ago.
It is a necessary product diversification strategy to broaden customer niche.

Hello Kitty and Mickey Mouse Swarovski

I do like the idea and would like to collect them if I have the money! haha.

They look very cute.  I am not sure if they are really for kids or adults.

Toys R Us Canada: Free Lego and Duplo Building Event 2012 Feb

Toys R Us had a free Lego and Duplo block building event for kids.

The event is free for all kids, and kids under 2 can choose to have a Duplo Penguin instead of a Lego Snowman.

Duplo Penguin Lego Snowman Free Toys R Us

This time, people line up first to receive the instructions of the set, then they are given zip bags to receive the parts that are required to build them.

Kids can choose to build them on the tables provided or bring them home.

As you can see, the Penguin set is very easily.

To be honest, if the kids are under 5, it is more likely the parents are making the blocks for them.

My kids always enjoy the Lego events at Toys R Us and they can't wait for the next one.

Cars 2: Tokyo Poster

I bought a poster from Walmart last week for my children.

The Cars 2 poster contains sceneries from Japan (mainly Tokyo) including:

Buddist tower from Kyoto and Nara, Kabukiza from Tokyo, Fuji Mountain, Sumo, etc.

It also includes all the racing car characters from the movie.

My younger baby stares and points at the poster all the time. haha.

Dollar Store: Cute Solar Flower

My wife found this very cute solar flower that runs on solar battery for decorations.

She planned to use it to brighten up the room because Canadian winter is so long.

Solar Flower dollar store

It is very cute and well made considering that it is from the dollar store.

I can't believe it is only 1 dollar and 25 cents...


It wiggles sideways when there are sunlight (or weak lights).
I would like one more for my workplace, so we bought another one.
(need to brighten up my dull workplace...)

Cute solar flower from dollar store

It would be excellent if they keep on having products like these!

Tim Horton's Jalapeno Asiago Mozzarella Bagel

Tim Horton's has released a new taste of bagel: Jalapeno Asiago Mozarella Bagel.

I had to say, even though it is very spicy, I like the taste of this exciting snack.
Actually, it can be a dish of a meal and you can spread butter onto it.

Tim Horton's New Jalapeno Asiago Mozarella  Bagel

While spicy with taste of Jalapeno, I did feel a faint taste of Asiago cheese and Mozzarella.
Here is a sliced view:

Tim Horton's Bagel Asiago Jalapeno

The idea is great and the taste is inventive and spicy.  Surprising to myself, I actually like this.
I would give it a 8 out of 10!

K'NEX Nintendo Wii Mario Kart Luigi Figure

K'NEX, just like Megablok and Lego came out with their mini figures set.
This time, it is for Mario Kart.

wii Mario Kart Luigi K'nex bag

I think this fits with most Lego and Megablok building sets.

Luigi mini figure k'nex

Tim Horton's New Valentine's Day Donuts

Tim Horton's came out with these new cute heart-shaped Valentine's Day Donuts.

On the surface, it is covered with chocolate and pink sugar sprinkles.

Inside, they are filled with raspberry fillings.

I bought some in the afternoon and ate them at night.
Amazingly, within a few hours, the chocolate layer outside had melted totally into liquid.
The room temperature was only 22 degrees!!

Tim Horton's Valentine's Day Doughnut

As usual, the raspberry was too sweet for me and the taste overall was not impressive.

The chocolate taste does not mixed well with the bitter sweet raspberry jam.
I would give it a 4 out of 10:

Good:  New heart shape
Bad:  Chocolate melts easily. Raspberry is too sweet.  Overall, it does not taste good.

Disney Store Burnaby: Mickey and Minnie Plush Toys and Cups

I went to the Disney Store last week to buy toys for my kids.

I was surprised that they have more and more products and the store looks nice with renovations done.

I was also surprised at how many Cars product they have on display.
(They had an entire section for it for boys.  For the girls, they had the princesses section.)

The medium disney plush toys are 2 for 22 dollars, so we bought Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

We also bought children's sippy cups and cars because they were on sale.

They are very cute and my son loves the Mickey sippy cup.
They had all kinds of cups, princesses, toy story, etc.
He loves Mickey Mouse!

I will have to check out Disney Store more often now.

Lindt Swiss Luxury Selection: Dark Box

I have always loved Lindt Chocolate, even more so after adulthood.

The main reason is that I love the subtle smooth taste and the brand is not overly sweet.

Comparing to other high-end brand available in Canada with Purdy's, Rogers and Godiva,

I find it less sugary and more tasty in my opinion.

My parents gave me a box of the Dark Swiss Luxury Selection the other day:

Dark Lindt Swiss Luxury Selection

I have never tried this box and I was happy to try it!
Here is a picture of inside:

Dark Lindt Swiss Luxury Selection 2

I know the picture does not tell much in this case because they all look "dark".

However, they are excellent!!

I liked every single one of them from caramel to alcohol to almond.
I love them!

Trader Joe's: New Villa Italia Italian Blood Orange Soda

We spotted this new product that Trader Joe's just imported in.

This is Italian Blood Orange Soda made in Italy.
This is the part I am amazed with American pricing.  They import great products from Europe and they are cheap!

Trader Joe's Villa Italia Italian Blood Orange Soda

The color is not so orange; therefore, the name Blood Orange Soda.

Blood Orange is a type of orange with colorful fibre inside.
In Europe, the blood orange from Sicily, Italy is of protective status. 
The color of this soda is rather dark pink or close to red.

The taste is great, different than other normal soda drinks and fruit sodas. (ie Sunkist or C-plus)
It tastes similar to Mexican Orange Soda for those who tried it.

However, it still tastes a little different with a deeper taste? (hard to describe)
My conclusion is that I love it!  I will give it a 9 out of 10.

Bento Lunch Box: Port Belly Egg Wrap (Slices)

Another one creative idea from my wife:
For today's lunch box, she wrapped a cooked egg with seasoned pork belly meat and sliced them.

I am not sure how she keep them sticking together so well, but they are delicious.

If you are wondering what is on the rice, it is cooked chicken liver.
For some people or cultures, you will think "yuck".
However, if you are used to eating it, it is quite a delicacy and very nutritious.

I enjoyed today's lunch as usual!  Thanks to my wife.

K'NEX Nintendo Wii Mario Kart Set in Toy's R Us

As usual, I brought my kids to Toy's R Us over the weekend and saw their new display for Wii's Mario Kart.

It is actually made by K'Nex, a construction toy maker similar to Lego's blocks.
The idea is that the kids can make their own track sets and run their own Mario Kart races.

K'NEX Mario Kart Wii Track Toy's R Us

I can see kids would love this set because I like Mario things myself.
(I grew up with it, too.  First generation Mario player.)
However, I can just see smaller kids wrecking this track sets and the parents have to fix it.

We have experiences with other sets like Thomas the Tank Engine.

Guacamole Paste (Dip) with Guacachip

Guacamole is a kind of Mexican paste that mixes Avocado with sea salt.
It is traditionally mixed with old Mexican tools: mortar and pestle. (see molcajete under wikipedia)


In ancient Aztec language, it means "Guaca" as Avocado and "mole" as sauce.
We found Guacamole pastes in Fred Meyer in Bellingham and decided to give it a try!
(We also found Guacachip in London Drugs around Vancouver.)

fred meyer guacamole dip with guacachip

The guacachip tastes great with taste of avocado and with the fresh Guacamole dip, it was fantastic!!

They fit each other perfectly!!

I love the guacamole paste very very much that I will get more next time!!

Restaurant Review: Go Thai Restaurant

We went to a restaurant, Go Thai, (or Don't Go! Thai) in New Westminster to order take out for Thai food.

We have heard mixed reviews, some good, some bad about this place and decided to try it out.
I wanted to know how good the food is here, so I ordered two basic dish to test it out:
Thai Curry and Pad Thai.

If you screw those two basic dishes up, then it is not good enough.
For the curry, I decided on the 14 dollar Seafood Curry because I think green or yellow curry were too common.  I wanted to test the size of portion and food quality.

Thai seafood Curry and Pad Thai

The Pad Thai is too spicy (nothing wrong with that).
However, it tastes just normal.  Nothing outstanding.

The seafood curry were dry...maybe it is supposed to be.
However, the portion is really really small as I can demonstrate on the next picture:

The portion is only half of the portion of pad thai.
The pad thai is 11 dollars!! less than the curry!
All dishes are between 10 to 15 dollars for dinner but the portions are small.
(soups and appetizers are cheaper.)

The seafood curry has two mussels and two shrimps!!!!and that is 15 dollars (tax included)
Outrageous.  The restaurants in BC really over charges...

Anyways, the food is mediocre, so I would try something else cheaper next time.

H-Mart: Korean Bakery: Cake for 10 Dollars

H-Mart is a large North American chain of Korean supermarkets.
Actually, recently, I heard that they opened one more store in Richmond.
(I think Richmond, BC is crowded enough...)

I noticed that they sell these beautiful nice long cake in their bakery section and could not help but buying it.

Korean H-Mart cake for 10 dollars

For only 10 dollars!! We get a nice box with this great tasting chocolate cake!
What a value!! They should keep this on because I think T&T has other types of nice Asian cake but not this kind.

I have to mention that when you cut the cake into slices, the layers sometimes crumble.
That is the only downside to this cake.  Otherwise, the taste is great.

This is definitely worth a try!

Funny Thing: Incredible Tall Boots On Train

Last week, while I was on the train, I spotted this guy wearing this pair of tall boots.
First, I did not notice and I thought he was just tall.
Then, he sat down and I saw the boots were incredibly tall.
The bottom part must be about 20cm!! About 6 inches!!
(see picture of black boot)

super tall boots on train

I took picture of boots only to make sure I did not violet privacy.
I was not sure why anyone would wear such pair of boots.

(Not sure why anyone would make it!!)

First Snow in January 2012 in Vancouver, BC, Canada

We have our first snow in January 2012!
On the week of January 14th and the following few days, we had very cold arctic front that resulted in cold temperatures and snow.

Whenever it snows, the views outside my balcony turns into winter wonderland:

view from my condo...winter snow

My older kid was looking forward to play in the snow and make snowman!
(even though he has a bad cold)
My younger son had never seen snow before, so I thought, "okay, we will go out".
The snow was very powdery and was not good material to make snowman.
However, we managed to get a small one:

simple snowman burnaby January 2012

Looks funny and out of proportions...we did not have a carrot nose for him either. haha
This is my younger child's first snowman.  He enjoyed seeing the snow for the first time.

Happy Lunar New Year 2012!

Lunar New Year is celebrated by many Asian cultures around the world!
Happy New Year!

This year, the kids got red pocket money as usual and they will get more toys this year!
(It is good to be kids! haha)

In Taiwan, the celebration is usually big and just like Christmas here, is a month long holiday.
(celebratory mood...very fun time!)

We used to eat lots of different types of food.  On the 15th day, kids would go out at night for a walk with different types of lanterns.  I remember we had Doraemon and Mario lanterns before.

It is a fun time to be kids...

Restaurant Review: New India

New India is a popular restaurant on Broadway, Vancouver for providing buffet for a good price.
Their lunch box is actually reasonable and popular and tasty (In my standard anyways.)
Each box is actually only 5 dollars plus taxes.

New India lunch box broadway vancouver

Even though I am not an Indian food expert, I can say that this taste not bad.
It is way better than food court food and way cheaper, too.

Last week, when we tried the Indian food in the Metropolis food court, I was shocked at the price!
It was 5 dollar without any rice, any meat, very little sauce!
We did not even get full. It was ridiculous!!

I want to try New India's buffet in the future!

bento Lunch Box: Omuraisu (Omelette Rice) with Gratin

Gratin is a French cuisine that is very popular in Japan and various style exists.
It is a local food from the Dauphine region of France and traditionally, there are 4 french styles exists.

Omuraisu, meaning Omelette Rice in Japanese, is very popular as well!
It can be seen in any western style restaurant in Japan and has become a set menu.

My wife has combined the two in my lunch box today (without the egg).

She mixed in different kinds of cheese in the gratin, and it was absolutely delicious.
The omuraisu contains mixed vegetables and slices of ham.
My co-workers kept staring at my lunch box as usual...

Too bad only my lunch boxes grab attention, not me...haha

My Chihuahua with Mario's Toadstool (Mushroom)

Hello!  My wife took a cute picture of my chihuahua with my kid's favorite super mario character.
He loves taking pictures! 
Whenever we take out the camera, he would just sit and pose!

Chihuahua with Super Mario Mushroom Toadstool

I really wish he was a model dog.
Well, he will always be our model dog.

Bento Lunch Box: Curry Croquette with Mexican Four Cheese

My wife made a croquette lunch box today.

The croquette is made of mashed potatoes and a type of cheese called, "Mexcian Four Cheese".
You can buy this type of cheese in any major supermarket in the US.
The one we bought is made by Kraft.
Curry croquette tastes wonderful with the mixed cheese. (I can see different colors of cheese inside, too!)
The tastes mixed together quite well.

Bento Lunch Box Curry Croquette with Mexican Four Cheese

On the rice, it has the Japanese sprinkle seaweed and Nori (cut seaweed) and Taiwanese Bamboo Shoot pieces.  On the side, we have scrambled eggs and broccoli.  On the Curry Croquette, she used "Okonomiyaki" sauce (Japanese pancake) sauce for extra taste.

Cute IKEA Candle Holders

Last weekend, we walked around Ikea to find neat things that we would like.

We found two cute candle holders that can multifunction and be used for other things.

IKEA candle holders cosmetics

For the pink one, we actually used the candle and then used it for cosmetic holder.
I remembered that the blue transparent holder was around 7 dollars and the pink one is around 4 dollars.
Cute and practical and decorative!
They clean out their inventories at the end of winter, so it was good timing.

H&M Kids' Rain Jacket

The other day, we bought a good quality rain jacket for our kid from H&M.

The price was 40 dollars but the quality is worth the money!
It has usually good coating outside and warm and comfortable inside.
(not too thick either, so good for all seasons.)

H&M Boy Kids Rain Jacket

I would not be surprised if other brands sell similar jackets for more...
Good quality for a boy rain jacket!

NanoBlock: House

The other day, I made a house using the nanoblocks that my wife's friend brought us.
The end product is very mini size and cute!!  I like it!

I will attempt to make other "giant" projects using over 450 pieces!
(the "site to see" series)

The design is small and similar to Lego but it is somewhat challenging to make.
The blocks are so small that it takes effort just to hold them using the finger tips.

I can't imagine people with big hands and big bodies using their fingers to make tiny things.
haha....will be extremely frustrating for them...

Cows Calendar (Canada) 2012 Review

In Canada, we have the Cows calendar available to us every year in the calendar stores.
It is produced by this canadian firm with a website available, selling different products:
T-shirts, bags, calendars, pens, mugs...etc.

The headquarters actually situates in Prince Edward Island (very rare in Canada) because it is a less populated place.
http://www.cows.ca/

Cows Calendar

We have been buying their calendars for 7 years because we love the cute cow art and their parodies.
(funny comments and imitations for pop cultures)
The comic expressions are indeed cute.

They will play puns on languages relating to cows and relate that to TV programs or celebrities.

Cows Calendar back

It is always fun to wait till next edition to see what they come up with.
 check the link below....they have funny shirts....
http://www.cows.ca/kids/youth_tshirts

I would recommend this calendar if you have the chance to use it!

Tim Horton's New Doughnut: Mint Chocolate

When I went to Tim Horton's last week, I saw a new doughnut...Mint Chocolate Doughnut.
It looks great and tastes good! The mint taste is not too strong so it was perfect.

Tim Horton's Mint Chocolate

NanoBlock: New Block Toy for Both Adult and Kids

Couple of years ago, a new toy was getting very popular in Japan for both adults and kids audiences.
The name is nanoblock.  It is made by a Japanese company called "Kawada".
It produced small blocks of World Heritage Sites, cute animals, or even simple day to day objects and structures.
It finally came to North America and the fever is catching on!

nanoblock world heritage series

http://www.mynanoblock.com/site/
I love visiting world heritage buildings and sites and I love collecting their souvenirs.
Within hundreds of products that nanoblock has, I picked 3 from the world heritage series.

For people who live around Vancouver, Canada, the best way to purchase is to check their local London Drugs.  Or, drive down to Cascade Mall in Burlington, Washington to get the world heritage "Sites to See" series.  I am sure all toy stores will start selling these soon!

The small blocks are hard to build for its size, but afterwards, it makes good decoration for the cabinets!

McDonald's Canada: New Oreo Pie

Time to review McDonald's Canada's new Oreo pie!
Oreo is known for its chocolate cookies, and this time, McDonald has come out with a new variation of pie using Oreo.  Please note that the box in the picture says "Apple Pie", but the inside actually is Oreo Pie.

McDonald's New Oreo Pie

  The crust is made of Oreo cookie and inside is filled with the cookie cream they are famous for.
It tastes good but something is missing from the cookies in this pie...
It still tastes a little different.
I miss the Chocolate Banana pie that was on sale last year because I think it was the most delicious pie that McDonald's has come up with.  Too bad it was not a permanent menu item.

Since the picture, I have tried the Oreo Pie several times and while it is good, it is still too sweet for my tooth.
I think it is just because I don't eat a lot of sweets anymore.
I will give this pie a 60% approval because it is good but not exceptional...

Happy New Year!! 2012!!

It has been another year already!! I can't believe it!  It is 2012?

My kids are getting bigger and bigger and time flies by faster and faster.
I felt like every year goes by like a week.  (Yes, aging comes with it, too....haha)

I hope this year is another safe and wonderful year!

Japanese Pet Shop: Cute Photo

I went to a Japanese pet shop in kyushu and I saw this cute scene and took a picture of these two dogs.
One was sleeping on top of another.  I wonder if the dog below felt uncomfortable.

two cute dogs sleeping in japanese pet shop

They looked like they are having a good time sleeping.

Japan Trip 2011: Kumamoto City

For the last 12 years, I have visited Kumamoto in Japan a number of times, but I never get tired of it. 
Especially the castle, it is beautiful from all angles.  The castle ground gets more and more complete everyday.

Even though Himeji is beautiful from inside, I believe the castle ground and surrounding buildings of Kumamoto castle is the best in Japan.  The newly built "Honmaru" goten imitates the structure and craftsmanship of the original.  I believe it is rare in Japan to have castle ground this complete with "honmaru goten". 

Kumamoto castle

Kumamoto castle honmaru goten

Golden Room in Kumamoto Castle Honmaru Goten

Old Kumamoto Castle town

Burger King: Angry Poutine

We went to Burger King last weekend to try their Angry Poutine.
It is very hot but not as tasty for me for some reason.
The poutine sauce is added with jalapeno with a faint barbecue taste.

I usually like spicy food from all culture and fast food chain.  Somehow, this one does not turn out as well.

Korean Food: Seafood Pancake, Bibimbap, Barbecue, Kimchi Fried Rice

We tried all kinds of Korean food in various restaurant.
In Insadong, a Korean craft district, we tried seafood pancake, bibimbap and Korean steamed egg.
In Korea, food always comes with free kimchi and other vegetable dishes and I love that.

korea seafood pancake and steamed egg in Insadong

Korean bibimbap

We also ate in the local barbecue restaurant with my wife's friend's family.
The plate they use is very interesting, slightly slanted.

Korean fried Kimchi rice on teppan

After they barbecue, they have the option of frying kimchi rice themselves.  Very interesting and very tasty I must say.I also tried a bowl of Korean cold noodles.  (not sure what they are called, Japanese would call it "reiman".)

Korean cold noodle

The noodle is also very tasty but hard to chew.  (maybe it is supposed to be like this.)
However, I liked it as well because it is very different from any other country's noodles.

Sauteed barbecued beef

I really enjoyed the real local korean food and I wish that I can come back again to try them.

Korea: Lotteria's Shrimp Bulgogi Burger and KFC's Big Mouth Burger

In Korea, we tried all kinds of local food.  Even Western fast food with local flavors.
We went to Lotteria and KFC to try their new burgers: Shrimp Bulgogi Burger and Big Mouth.

Korea Lotteria Shrimp Bulgogi burger

The shrimp bulgogi burger is quite long but one can get very satisfy with this. This has two tastes: shrimp and bulgogi. It is exactly half and half. 

KFC's big mouth is also quite tasty with cheese and lots of mushroom and barbecue sauce.
Korea is a country very focused on skin care, so when we bought the combo, it came with two face mask packs.  I find it quite funny because fast food and skin care are totally different kinds of products.