Restaurant: Paro's Taverna

The autumn is back, and the rain has returned.  We had to go to an indoor event, and fortunately, there was one.
Paro's Taverna is a popular Greek restaurant in Coquitlam with good reputation for its food.
Every year, they will have a promotional event to provide basic dishes in 1986 prices.
We tried their Kalamaria and Chicken Souvlaki for lunch.  (comes with Pita bread for everyone)
I ordered fries for my son, and it was only for 2 dollars.  Amazing!

The Kalamaria pieces were big, and the bread was delicious.  Even the fries tasted great.
Chicken Souvlaki and all the rice tasted more genuine than all the food court "Greek food".
The salad and potatoes were prepared really well.  (Pardon me for my description.  I am not a professional Greek food eater.)
Overall, it was only 18 dollars for real nice Greek restaurant food.  It was a steal.
I would go back again.

Restaurant: Gyoza King Downtown Vancouver

On the Labour Day weekend, we went to Gyoza King on Robson Street Downtown Vancouver. 
The staff were Japanese and were okay courteous.  However, during the entire time, they did not come over to offer more tea.
The Gyozas were fine but did not offer amazing taste comparing to the price.  It was 6 for 6 pieces.
The pieces were really small.  I think I rather buy some frozen gyozas from the markets and it might taste better.

We ordered 2 bowls of rice for 1.5 dollars each.  At the end, we paid 18 dollars including tips.
It is totally not worth it at all.  We could get ramen set with gyoza and fried rice in Japan for 20 dollars.
You can also get similar deal in other ramen restaurant in Vancouver, so I don't think Gyoza King is anything special.

Slug Around My Apartment and Seastar

The slugs' season is usually around the Spring time, but this one is still around in the Fall.
It is pretty big, but not as big as the one I can find around Deer Lake or Burnaby Lake.

My son loves sea stars, so I thought to just include this picture taken before he was born in 2006. 
Wow...it was 4 years ago?  Time passes too fast.  Where did the last 4 years go?

The slugs I saw around lakes before were huge, sometimes up to 20 centimetres.

USA size Pajama for Children

We all know that everything is big in America, but not this big....
They sell pajamas for children in Target in the States, and they are huge! 
They are taller than me....

McDonald USA: Angus Mushroom Burger

The other day, we went down to Bellingham, WA again to grocery shop and noticed that the McDonald there is not only cheaper but has a different menu.  They have new menu items such as Angus Burger and Angus Wrap.  We tried the Angus Mushroom Burger with Swiss Cheese, and it was absolutely delicious.  

 

I doubt it would come to Canada because Canadian pricing of a McDonald meal is already very expensive.  They would have to sell this combo for 8 dollars or so.

Restaurant: G-Men

We went to a Ramen restaurant in Richmond, BC this weekend because it has good reviews.  G-Men is operated by the same group who owns Gyoza King and Gyo-O, and they hire mostly Japanese staff.  We had a pleasant experience there because we went there at 2:30 to avoid the line-ups.  The staff were courteous and the price is reasonable for the amount of food.  We definitely would not mind going again.

 

We tried the "Assari Shoyu Ramen" and "Negi Teriyaki Chicken Donburi".  The broth was great but it is not as "Assari" as I thought.  It still has quite an amount of oil floating around.  (Assari means light and simple.  For example, not too greasy, not too salty or not too sweet.)  I still think this restaurant offers good value and quality.  However, comparing with Santouka in Downtown Vancouver, something is still different.  Santouka really amazed us the other time.

Pictures of My Smaller Chihuahua

My smaller Chihuahua is very playful but naughty.  She can be like a cat sometimes.  One moment, she can be alone the whole day, and one moment, she is jealous of someone and wants all your attention.  She also likes to compete for toys and food with my other Chihuahua.  She likes to stare at my kid eating food because when the food is dropped, she is ready to eat them off the floor.

Dinotown: A Not-So-Fun Theme Park

I have heard of Dinotown in Chilliwack, BC for some time and have been wanting to check it out.  I thought it would be fun for the whole family to enjoy the theme park.  However, it turns out to be the worst theme park I have ever seen in the world.  No wonder they are closing on September 6th.  The rides, maintenance and attractions and shows do not have the quality of a theme park. 

First, I thought there would be roller coaster rides, but when I arrived at the parking lot area.  There is no coaster in the air.  The parking lot is in a bush and there is no machine to be seen anywhere.  The only machine is a train pulled by a tracter, which later on broke down in the afternoon.  From my experience, it is not worth 16 dollars per person plus 15 dollars gas and 3 hours drive. 

We first attended the "main stage" show at 11:00 am.  The main stage is a plastic roofed stage just 4 meter by 4 meter, the size of a apartment living room.  4 actors with dinosaur costumes started dancing lazily.  The costumes are old and do not resemble the 8 characters of the park at all.  Furthermore, it seems that there are only 4 costumes in the theme park.  I mean, "that is it??"  The show was only 10 minutes and the audiences, even kids themselves seemed so bored and uninterested.  I thought, "oh my god", can this get worse. 

Then, there is the parade, the same four dinosaurs came out lazily with a staff waving a bubble wand.  I think that lady staff is the most enthusiastic person I have seen the whole day.  People were actually following the dinosaurs along.  I thought, "wow, where did these people come from..."  It is non-comparable to Disneyland or any local theme park parade.  The whole park is so poorly run that I would not pay even 5 dollars just for some kids playground with equipments from Toys' R US. 

They have a small man made river for people to ride boats on.  Okay, we enjoyed that, and they had a mini golf course.  However, I can do all these for free around my home town.  Why would I bother to come here?
Yes, they do have a few concrete dinosaurs and Flintstones cars but that is it.

There is just a hamburger stand and they sold fries and ice cream.  We wanted to ride on the "train", but the engine broke down shortly after 1pm.  It was so pathetic that I had to leave the park.
We went through 1 and a half hour of traffic jam to get home.  It was quite a disappointing experience.

Well, we did laugh a lot thinking back to our experience because it was sooooooooo hilarious.
I laugh when I see the picture of the smoking engine.

Nature Ice Flower in Ice Cube

In B.C., we had a dry heatwave from August 13 to August 17, and it was up to 37 degree in my west facing apartment.  It was 32 degrees while blowing air conditioning 12 o'clock at night.  The concrete and dry walls were emitting all the heat during the night while absorbing more heat during the day.

My wife thought of using big ice cubes to cool the rooms down.  When we took them out of the freezer, they look beautiful inside, just like some kind of flower sculptures.  They were natural but symmetric and beautiful.

Small natural phenomenon like this are interesting to our daily lives.

Bento Lunch Box: Saba Bento

Here is another Bento box with a kind of fish called Saba, called "Mackerel" in English. 
This kind of fish comes with a bitter taste (similar to swordfish?)
However, if you don't mind the slight bitterness.  It is delicious.

Trader Joe's and Macaron

In French Cuisine, a Macaron is different than a Macaroon, but I don't know why people don't realize that.
Everyone is confused between the two.  Please see the Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaron

Picture taken in Paris, France by me in 2009

"The French macaron differs from macaroons in that it is filled with cream or butter like a sandwich cookie, and can be found in a wider variety of flavors that range from the traditional (raspberry, chocolate) to the exotic (truffle, matcha tea)."
  France is like Japan in some way where different styles of cuisine will exist in different regions.  For example, variations of Ramen exists in different parts of Japan as well as other traditional Japanese food.  This is the same for French Cuisine.  Variations exist for Macaron as well.

For those who are interested in my other macaron posts:

http://bentochihuahua.blogspot.com/2011/01/trader-joes-macaron-post-2-and-t.html

We went to Bellingham, WA to Trader Joes couple of weeks ago and found that they sold "Parisien Macaron" and it was absolutely delicious.  It brought back the memories of Paris for both of us.
It was very affordable at 5 dollars!

We bought this Hawaii style antique bag that day.  Trader Joe's has some nice Hawaiian designed eco-bags.

Bento Lunch Box: Tonkatsu Mushroom Bento

My wife started making cute and tasty bento boxes for my son going to daycare, and I don't know how she finds the energy to do this.  Here is a cute bento for tonkatsu and mushroom.  Everyday, she is being very creative on creating these kind of art.  My co-workers kept on praising her work as well.  (not sure if it is only a conversation maker...)  However, I am the one who enjoys it everyday.

Bento Lunch Box: Chili Sauce Shrimp

I really have to catch up to my bento posts because my wife kept on making delicious Bento for me for lunch and I don't have the time to post them.

This is a Chili Sauce and Shrimp Bento she made.

I know both pictures don't show exactly.  However, at the left upper corner, you can see she used the tofu nigiri sushi's skin and wrapped and cooked meat, egg and vegetable inside.  I know the picture is not the best, but it is a beautiful and delicious side dish.

New Era for Me

Well, I am getting old and hit the 30s mark this week.
I received a nice Ipod Touch from my wife and the inlaws for this special occasion, and I am very grateful for it.
I am enjoying playing around with this popular device and all the music it can store!

Please Mum Sale: Cute Doggie Baby Clothes

Please Mum often has good children clothing sales and we grabbed a few items and got 3 pairs of sox for free last week.  We got this cute pajama for 5 dollars.

Meadows Maze in Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada

I have heard of corn maze and always wanted to try it myself for a long time.  When I found out there is one near by within 45 minutes drive in Pitt Meadows, I thought it would be a fun family place to try this summer.  For 12 dollars per adult for the whole day, everything from mini train, wagon ride, corn maze to petting zoos are included.

The corn maze itself is actually harder than I thought in 3D environment.  I got lost by using the map and had to figure out a way to get back from the half way point.  It was a fun experience for all of us.  The whole corn field is kind of dusty for some reason.

The petting zoo is a lot of fun and we actually spent an hour in there.  It is small but they have goats, cows, llamas, ducks, chickens, pigs and peacocks.  We enjoyed immersing in this child friendly environment, and the llamas are especially cute.

My son also spent an hour on the mountain slide and a kids maze:

The mini train, wagon ride are short rides.  The buggy mini train are a lot of fun for 5 minutes. (a lot of dusts in the air when the train is running)  We had a blast!

We would definitely recommend this place to everyone who have kids and love animals!!

Night Scenaries From My Apartment

I live in a high rise, and my unit overlooks the Surrey and the Coquitlam city views.  When it is snowing, it is nice to see the cities covered in a white blanket.  When it is sunny, I get to see the high snow mountains.  When it is at night in the summer, the night view is amazing.  It is always good to sit on the balcony on a cool summer night and enjoy the view with a cup of soda.

Here is a picture of the Moon rising above the snowy mountain.  This mountain is covered in snow all year round. 

Washington State: Build-A-Bear Workshop Mariner Moose

When we went to Bellingham, WA, we saw this Mariner Moose at the mall made by Build-A-Bear Workshop.  I want one, but I bet even if it is for sale, the price must be high, so I did not bother to check.

Bellingham's Pizza Hut Breakfast

At the US border town of Bellingham, we usually go there for groceries and food.  The Pizza Hut there has new breakfast menu the other day, so we decided to try their sandwich and burrito.  The sandwich is delicious made with scone and cheese and sausage patty.

The burrito is okay.  Actually, it does not taste like Mexican food because it came without much sauce.

Port Moody's Rocky Point Park's Sunset

Port Moody's Rocky Point Park is a family friendly park, which allows different kind of activities.  It has a kids playground, waterpark, a stretch of beach, and it is also a dock for all kinds of boating and kayaking activities.  It is a natural beauty especially in the spring and summer.  We usually come here or to belcarra for beach activities. It is only a 15 minutes drive from my place, so it is a great family place.

It was thursday night after work when I brought my family to eat dinner there.  We took a few beautiful sunset pictures with lots of people enjoying the kayaking activities.