Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians – I have just finished reading the #CrazyRichAsians trilogy by Kevin Kwan. I have enjoyed reading the book. 🙂 I have bookmarked a lot of pages, mostly, the pages where food is described. 🙂 They seem delicious and if given the opportunity, I’d like to try them. Kevin was very considerate in adding footnotes to explain the meaning of this Cantonese word or that Mandarin term. But what I found myself “Googling” are images of #Cleverleys or #Beidermeier or such other fashion or design terms.

I have also just watched the movie and enjoyed it as well. 🙂  I watch Constance Wu in Fresh Off the Boat and I am very familiar with her acting. Henry Golding – I find very charming. 🙂 And what a delight to see Kris Aquino. She looks good in her scenes. My first impression when I saw her in that yellow dress – Cory Aquino.

Here’s my favourite quote from the trilogy. This one is from Rich People Problems. “Sometimes, the thing that at first appears flawed can end up being the most perfect thing in the world for you.” A very wise advise from Ah Ma to Astrid.

 

Impatiens vs Patience

Impatiens vs Patience – These pretty #purple #flowers are called#Impatiens. This hybrid is called #Sunpatiens and these are to thrive in full sun, but I have mine in partial shade, as it gets very hot and humid out there.

The name of these flowers remind me of the word #patience. I remember telling my youngest son, “I am the most patient person I’ve ever known.” As if I was tooting my own horn.  After all, “Patience is a virtue.” Right? I’m pretty sure that there are plenty of people who are more patient than me. But I think those who know me will agree that I am a very patient person.  Being a parent, you learn how to be patient – teaching your child how to eat, talk, walk, become independent, etc. You also learn how to be patient in your relationship with other people – other family members, significant other, friends, co-workers, etc. You also learn how to be patient in handling different situations.

Here’s another quote about patience – I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. – Lao Tzu

Amanda’s Beauty Salon

I have been going to Amanda’s Beauty Salon for about 20 years now. I have had a good relationship with previous owner Amanda, professionally and personally. When she retired and sold her business 3 years ago, I wondered if I had to shop around for another hair stylist. But she only had good recommendations for the new owner, Trang. So I continued going there. It’s been 3 years now, and I still go there.

Trang is a very good hair stylist and I can say that we get along very well too. A visit to the salon doesn’t mean just getting my hair done, but it has also become sort of a visit to a friend. Trang and I always have stories to share with each other and sometimes we laugh while I sit at her chair whether just getting a haircut or getting highlights, or both. 🙂 No wonder her clientele has slowly grown. She’s a good hair stylist and a good friend as well. A very nice lady.

She accepts appointments and walk-ins at her North Kildonan salon.

Prime Rib & Baby Back Ribs @ Silver Heights Restaurant

Silver Heights Restaurant is celebrating their 60th anniversary this year.  When I saw the article on the paper, I marked the first weekend of June to visit and try their famous ribs.

My partner ordered the Roast prime rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding, rice pilaf and coleslaw.  The beef was tender and juicy and the rice (I had a few spoonfuls) was crunchy. 🙂

I ordered the Chicken, Ribs and Shrimp Combo.  The barbecued baby back ribs were falling off-the-bone tender.  The honey garlic chicken wings were okay.  I enjoyed the honey dill dipping sauce for the chicken fingers.  And of course, I’ve always loved breaded shrimps.  I just wish there were more than 4 pieces of shrimp.

They had a limited menu today because there was a special event – a social – going on for long-time patrons.  We were only let in because our reservation was accepted by mistake when we called earlier this week.  But the very nice manager gracefully accommodated us.  It actually worked in our favour because they had good deals on the limited menu.  It was just too bad that they didn’t have the jumbo shrimp that I was looking forward to.  My partner was happy to hear the Bagpipe band play some traditional Scottish tunes though. 🙂

This family owned restaurant is located at 2169 Portage Avenue.   You can visit their website at http://silverheightsrestaurant.ca/

Empanada Lunch @ Corrientes Pizzeria

It’s my birthday today and since I had the afternoon off, I took my Ma out to lunch.  It’s my belated Mother’s Day treat for her. 🙂  A while back, Diane from work, has mentioned about the empanadas at this place called Corrientes at Bannatyne Avenue and how she really liked the empanadas.  So I thought I’d try them and that’s where I took Ma for lunch today.

We went there at around 1:00 pm, after the mid-day mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral.  I had checked the day before if I needed to make a reservation.  The girl, who was our server today, said that it should be okay if we were coming at 1:00 p.m. since it is after the lunch rush hour.  There wasn’t a lot of diners at that time, and we chose our own table, somewhere in the middle of the main room.

We studied the items on the menu and we both chose the Empanada lunch (you get 2 empanadas of any flavour ) with side salad.  Ma ordered the Beef empanadas (beef, onions, olives and roasted red peppers) while I opted for the Chicken empanadas (chicken, tomato sauce, onions and roasted peppers).  Then we swapped empanadas so we could each try both flavours.  The empanada filling was not greasy nor salty, just how I like it.

For the salad, we both ordered the Olmedo salad with Artisan greens, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, croutons, Bocconcini and balsamic reduction.  This salad was very savoury.  We both like the sundried tomatoes.  Now this is funny.  There was a white meaty ingredient in our salad which I thought could have been chicken, but then I thought it doesn’t quite taste like chicken.  It was kind of bland to be chicken.  Could it be some kind of cheese – feta or goat cheese – they put those in salads, don’t they?  And Ma was like, could be some kind of animal. (?)  Eww!  So before she actually took a bite of the white meaty stuff, she called our server and asked her.  That’s a kind of cheese called bocconcini, she said.  So there you go.  Tastes kind of like chicken, not salty at all.  The chocolate-looking drizzle on top of the salad, I found out later after looking it up on Google, is the balsamic reduction, and it is what has added a sweet taste to the salad.  I like it.

I ordered green tea for my drinks – big leaves steeped in hot water.  I think I let my tea sit too long, it was quite bitter. 😦

I am a light eater and I was full after eating one empanada and the bowl of salad.  I asked our server to put the other empanada in a doggy bag. It was a nice post-Mother’s Day/Birthday lunch!