Canadian Tim Horton's New Tim Biebs

After our walk to Burnaby Lake today, we went to Tim Horton's for the new advertised "Tim Biebs", promoted by Justin Bieber.

Basically, it is the usual Tim Bits coated with different coatings with 3 flavors:  Birthday Cake, Chocolate Fudge and Sour Cream Chocolate.  They cost around 20 cents more per piece.

Tim Horton's Tim Biebs Box

Personally, I like Birthday Cake more because it have more impact taste wise.  However Chocolate Fudge is okay, too.  Actually, the other two chocolate taste are pretty similar.  Some people say they don't really feel too much difference.  

At least Tim Horton's exploring more ways to get new product on the market.  However, I think they should do it without inflating the price.  New products should not always mean expensive pricing...

In Asia, new products are constantly being introduced.  (Things move faster in Asia, and the menus change more often.)

Starbucks You Are Here Collection: Canada Edition: Stainless Steel Mug

 I needed a winter stainless steel mug, so I went to Starbucks to look for one.

I bought the Canada edition of the |"You Are Here Collection" mug.

It is well made, and the lid is very tight.

It has "Canada" and all the symbols of the Canadian culture; it has beaver, hockey stick, beanie hat.

It also has grizzlies (brown bear), Moose, maple leaves, maple tree, Parliament building on it.

It is a cool mug to own if you are ever here in Canada.

New Koala's March: Pokemon Collaboration

 

I found this one new Koala's March in the supermarket again.  

This time it is a Pokemon collaboration!

The box has Pikachu and Cinderace's pictures on it.  The taste is cheese cake.

Koala's March Pokemon with Cinderace

Koala's March and Pokemon

The interesting thing is that on each snack, not only it has different koalas on it, it has different Pokemon's drawing on it.

For example, it has Pikachu, Cinderace, Pinsir, Bewear, Marill, etc.

Koala's March and Pokemon collaboration

Taste-wise, I don't think it is anything special.  The characters are very cute though if you are a pokemon fan.

New Koala's March in Canada Review: "Bitter Chocolate" and "Milk and Cheese"

 Recently, I found two new Koala's March snack boxes in the nearby supermarkets.

There are two new kinds of tastes:  "Milk and Cheese" and "Bitter Chocolate".

Koala's March Milk & Cheese and Bitter Chocolate

Milk and Cheese:  It is tasty but I taste more milk than cheese.  It is good but I don't feel as much impact.

Bitter Chocolate:  I actually like this one better.  It feels like a thicker chocolate, different than the original taste.  It tastes more luxurious and mature.

Conclusion:  I think I will try the bitter chocolate again.

Taiwanese Tea Cup Set 2

Here is my second entry with pictures of the tea sets I bought from Taiwan.

Here is a picture of a different flower tea cup set (shallow type of cup set).

Taiwanese Cup Gift Set Flower pattern

This one is a different pattern of style set of tea cups:

Taiwanese Tea Cup Set Traditional Drawing flower pattern

These ones the prices are reasonable.  Sometimes, the real good hand made cups and pots can go up to hundreds or thousands of US dollars.

Taiwanese Tea Cup Set

I went back to Taiwan for the first time in 20 years.  (July 2013)
My wife likes tea and tea cups, so we went out searching for the tea cups sets we like.
There are lots of patterns: traditional drawings, simple colors and flower patterns.

I think one of our favorites are the beautiful, colorful flower patterns.
(They usually come in sets but some can be bought individually.)
The craftsmanship, quality and price really varies from store to store.

Flower Tea Cup Set Taiwan

We bought a few sets this time.  Here are pictures of some of them.
The above is a 4 cup set with a pot.  The one below is a larger cup with filter.
The pattern is famous generally in Taiwan, especially among tourists.

Flower Tea Cup Set Taiwan with Filter

Simple cups are cute, too.  There are a few colors to choose from.
The set below are such sets.

simple tea set yellow Taiwan

I will upload more pictures of our tea sets.

Taiwanese Tea and Tea Pot

To make tea is an art in East Asia.
Tea pots are also art objects, which cost from 1 dollar to millions.
In ancient times, it is said that one rare teapot is worth a castle.

Nice Taiwanese Teapots, tea storage, cup

Taiwanese people, like Japanese people, really appreciate good fine tea.
When my aunt came over this January, she gave us really nice tea pot set.
She is very knowledgeable in tea art and culture.  I am totally an amateur.
However, the bottom tray is made of bamboo and worth more than 100 dollars.

Taiwanese Tea pot set

This set is at last worth 500 dollars, which is amazing that anyone would gave it to us.
We really appreciate this.

She also sent us a package of extra fine tea:

High Quality Organic Oolong Tea Taiwan

The maker of this fine Oolong tea owns his own organic tea farm, and is very famous among tourists.
Depending on grades and weight, one package can easily cost over 100 dollars.

Christmas House Light in Burnaby, BC, Canada

There is a famous house in Burnaby that has been in the newspaper and has visitors visiting.

Fortunately, I live very close by and could bring my family and visitors to take a look!

All you need to do is to drop by and take pictures and donate a couple of dollars for Children's hospital.

The person spent about a week of his own vacation time and hand crafted some of the light designs.

He put up about 20,000 lights in and around his yard.

When I counted, there were about 11 snowmans all around the house and yard.

Even the garage, roof and drive way are heavily decorated with thousands of lights.
Amazing!

They had Santa, Angel, Penguins, everything you can think of for the Christmas season.

I hope they do this every year because it is neat sight to see!
I am not sure how they can pay the hydro bills or sleep in these lights. haha

Seattle: Uwajimaya

We went to Uwajimaya in downtown Seattle last time when we visited.

We also wanted to buy some magazines from the Kinokuniya bookstore inside the market.
The address was actually wrong for my GPS....actually, it was so confused that we went round and round....

For 30 minutes, we did not know where we were going.
At the end, we managed to find it at a corner of its Chinatown.
I really don't think it is easy for tourists to find.

Uwajimaya Seattle downtown

Uwajimaya Seattle 2

Because of the larger Japanese population in Seattle.  The range of Japanese products sold here is much larger than what we have in British Columbia.  We were quite impressed by it.

I found this one item sold very interesting:  Rabbits....

I know that Japanese monks were allowed to eat rabbits in ancient times. 
I didn't know there was an appetite for rabbits here.
Interesting indeed....

We bought lots of food items back to B.C. Canada.  Funny...to go all the way here to buy food....

Canada Day July 2012 in Coquitlam, BC (Free Cupcakes)

This year, we decided to go to Coquitlam for Canada Day celebrations.

I have heard that they were are holding a well organized celebration around a lake park area near Coquitlam Town Centre.
Indeed, it was well planned and had entertainment for the whole family!

They had lots of food including restaurant vendors and kids play areas.
Here are pictures of some wild birds from a preservation society:

Coquitlam eagle

coquitlam owl

They also had lots and lots of free Canada Day cupcakes donated by a local cupcake company:

Free cupcakes for everyone in coquitlam bc canada

We waited around for 10 minutes with 40 other people and when it opens up around noon.
We all got our free cupcakes!!

lots of free cupcakes in canada day celebration 2012

Here is a close up photo for the free Canada Day cupcake:

canada day cupcake 2012

My kids love this company's cupcakes! 

Mr. Mike's 5 dollar burger

The local restaurant, Mr. Mike's, actually sold a big 5 dollar burger that was wonderful!!
It tastes like a 15 dollar burger and beats lots of other restaurant and fastfood chains' burgers.
It was amazing!! yummy!!

We also tried the Russian House Restaurant's Mushroom Wrap.
It was okay.  However, the food was over priced with the wraps going at 4 dollars....

We also got coupons from a local kids' company called "Koko's".

Overall, the weather wasn't the best but we will go back for more celebrations till the kids are big.

Macaron Article and Macaron Magic Website

I found this interesting article in the newspaper (Vancouver Sun) about Macaron.

I thought I can just share the article link:

The magic and science of macarons (with recipe as well if you are brave to try.)

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/magic+science+macarons/6542351/story.html

I have heard that it is extremely hard to make good macaron and takes professionals months to perfect.

The following site has beautiful pictures of macarons:
It is called, "Macaron Magic"...

http://macaronmagic.bearandfishcookbook.com/index.php

You have to click "gallery" to see pictures.

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...

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

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

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.

Korea: Changdeok Palace

Changdeok palace

As seen above, this is another spectacular heritage place to see.  The exterior and the surrounding complex of buildings are amazing to see. (Also, the gift shop here has neat things to sell.)

The palace ground was large to navigate and with kids, we did not dare to stay too long.
There is a famous secret garden that we did not get to see but we were happy enough to enjoy the palace itself.

Changdeok Palace korea

This day was very sunny but very chilly...

Korea: Seoul: Jongmyo Royal Shrine

On a sunny cold day during our Korea Trip, we visited the Jongmyo Royal Shrine.  It was five minutes walk from our hotel but it was almost 0 degree because the water in the pots was frozen.

We actually all did not wear a jacket because we thought it was going to be sunny and 20 degrees like previous days.  We were so wrong.  We got a guided English tour for only 2 dollars US or 2000 won.  However, we were sooooo cold during the hour of tour.  We wished we had the jackets so we can enjoy the tour more.  The tour guide was nice enough to lend us her guide uniform jacket to cover the baby.

On a sunny day, the place was beautiful!

Jongmyo Korea

This place is where the kings rest in peace in Korea.

At the end, the guide said she was nervous but we ensured that she did a good job and took a picture with her.