Summerlicious #1

Restaurant: 5th Elementt
Location: Downtown
1033 Bay Street
416-923-8159
Time: Lunch
Prix Fixe: $15
Total: $60 for two with drinks
Rating:

Summerlicious, hurrah! Finally had a chance to try 5th Element on Bay. We decided to sit outside so I didn't really get a chance to see the decor. From what I did see, it looked quite nice. I thought the food was quite good but overall, everything could have been better. We thought the chicken breast was a bit dry but the butter chicken sauce was great. The slightly dried chicken could have been saved with more sauce, though! Portion sizes were good for lunch, I thought! I am not going to size these pictures because I want you to be hungry!

Starters:

Grilled Fuji Apple and Mango Salad
Masala dressing | Feta crumble


Tandoori Shrimp
South African pepper salsa | Californian greens

Main:

Cilantro Rubbed Chicken Supreme
Butter chicken sauce | Pilaf rice

Also available:
Tri Color Cheese Tortellini
Asparagus | Rose sauce

Grilled Atlantic Salmon
Mustard sauce | Pilaf rice

Dessert:

Cardamom and White Chocolate Mousse
With raspberry drizzle

Fresh Fruit Medley
With melon and mint liqueur dressing

I was not eating her dessert (though I did eat some) it was just a coincident :) We were not expecting icecream, but more of a `fresh fruit medley` *cough*fruit salad*cough* There didn't seem to have any melon in it either. I was excited for the mint liqueur dressing but that also seemed to have disappeared. She barely ate this one!

All in all, it was pretty good. I would recommend you check this out and I would definitely like to try their dinner Summerlicious specials. Also, booze at these restaurants is expensive. Really expensive.

There are a few days left for Summerlicious and I still crave for some good food! The next spot I want to hit is Fred's Not Here

long time no blog

So, it has been obvious that I have died for a long time. I don't really have a good reason as to why--I would like to say its because I traveled around the world or joined an indie pop-rock band that gained instant success due to online social connectivity networks...but nope! I didn't do much either. No going out for dinners, no photography, no concerts...I did have a chance to go through some older photos though, so I'll upload those randomly. Here's one--to the right is Janice's cat. I think its head is supposed to bob (like a Hidamari no Tami) but it didn't seem to do that...

I haven't done much, other than work. One sad thing is that I haven't even been eating (deliciously)! Its all been junk food, fast food, whatever I can get "on the go." Not very healthy but maybe I will treat myself to something tasty soon. Summerlicious has been planned for this Sunday, so I am hoping that'll be good! I think we're going to The Globe Bistro on Danforth. A few of my friends who have been to Summerlicious have left quite saddened, so I don't really know what to expect. In general, I find places that are signed up for these -licious events don't treat people equally. I always sense a lot of ageism and surprisingly for Toronto, racism. It doesn't help that sometimes we look like 12 year olds (we're actually 42!)...but it really turns me off from these events.

On a similar note, Manda told me about her experience at the "Ultra Supper Club." You know, that large mysterious door on Queen West nearing Spadina? Of course you do! She said they did not treat her very well and the service was horrible and that she was mainly ignored. Its hard disappointing Manda like that. She's a barista, so I guess she is able to take in horrible service and attitude, but it sounds like USC really turned their nose on this one. She called it "the worst date ever." Way to go, "Ultra Supper Club."

Egg tarts!

Anyways, what about work? A lot of people ask me what I do at work. I don't really have a one-word answer for that, but I'll tell you what I've been doing. I also didn't really know why I got hired, so I asked and its because I know what a tag is (sort of...not really, but I like to say its because of that). I wonder what they expect(ed) from me and if I ever deliver(ed). I try not to think of it because it makes me sad, but one can't help but wonder. I do a lot of random office-boy things like washing dishes and taking out garbage, but a few weeks ago I got to bring lots of booze to the office from a parking lot (it was surprisingly heavy!!). I've been doing a bunch of things in illustrator, like editing layouts and creating sticky notes. I have not heard of anything relating to the layouts but the sticky notes are printed and shipping, so I'll try to snap a picture when they arrive. I also had to prepare a bunch of documents that had to be handed in on a deadline. That was a stressful and long day--I left for work at 6am! This week I bought (for work) $200 of pop from grocerygateway.com, $500 in post-its from vistaprint.com and soon I will order $400 of ram from crucial.com. Nice! Sometimes work also has delicious edibles, like those portuguese (?) egg tarts seen above!

rejoice! sodas! colas! carbonated drinks! pop!

Our grocery gateway delivery arrived this morning and I refilled the pop. I should have taken a picture of the fridge before I refilled it, but it was literally empty, except for Mountain Dew. Nobody drinks Mountain Dew!! I would say Root Beer is the next on the list of lonely drinks. Someone told me that Mountain Dew has the most caffeine of all pop, which always surprises me. I ordered green tea Nestea but they substituted with Fuji apple green tea...it tastes like apple juice so I am disappointed since it costs a lot more than the green tea Nestea. Are they even allowed to do that? They also substituted diet Coke with Coke zero, which I never had. It is surprisingly tasty and doesn't have that strong aspartame flavour I dislike. Speaking of apples, I've been drinking lots of cold cider--(non-alcoholic...sadly? of course! haha) Its so good with a stick of cinnamon--must have the cinnamon stick!!

Now that I had some time to just sit in think, I really want to move downtown. I want to live on King street west, maybe above a bank or something. I also want more money, so I could buy pants and pay for school. I also want to eat everything. I wonder if I should take on another job. A lot of people are pulling two,three, even four jobs in order to pay tuition, so I think I can manage. I mean, I did work 15 hour days last summer with no overtime!

So, what have I been listening to lately? Katy Perry, "the next big thing." I've been told she's #1 on Billboard now. She reminds me muchly of Lily Allen. She even looks a lot like her (reason why I chose the single cover). I do think they're quite different in many ways though, so I will drop comparisons. I first heard "ur so gay" via the video and thought she was pretty amusing, but never thought much else about her. Her current single is "I kissed a girl" and its quite enjoyable. You should've heard it somewhere by now. (If not, you can grab it at the end). I believe her CD "One of the boys" is already out..in the States. Its catchy and fun--the next big thing, hrm?
Katy Perry - I kissed a girl

edit 1: I forgot to say that I want to travel! I want to go to Japan... I've actually never been out of the PROVINCE before. Its true and very sad. I don't mind going to the States for a tad either, New York or California seems good. I need to start making friends around the world. I can send them maple syrup and you can send me happiness in a box. Oh nom nom nom nom. Though I have a feeling I'd be poisoned. Oh nom nom nom nom.

edit 2: Wow, Danny Choo made a visit? How random! I visit his site but I don't have an account there (I think...) I could be tricked, though. How do people even find this blog? I usually don't advertise myself online....at times I think its just one person pretending to be 15. Well--according to google, you guys come here via a "gangster raccoon" search. Success!

edit 3: The raccoon thing was so amusing to m that I decided to check what else brings people here. These ones are cool too:
-download walking in sunshine banana ice doraemon (yes, thats just one search string!)
-ikea icecream ice cream frogurt frozen yogurt frozenyogurt swedish (heehee)

today, yesterday and the day before

This is going to be a long post because I am lazy as a rock (possibly lazier than a rock, sorry to give rocks a bad name, but if you know me you probably know how much I like rocks. Hurray!) and uploading images is a sad process because all this new technology hurts my almost century old computer. So, this post shall span 3 days and I will break it up so you don't have to read it all at once :P

The last few days have been filled with randomness but were fun none the less. The weather was annoying at times, but tolerable. Toronto weather has been crazy this year but I'm glad its not snowing right now! I heard it is still snowing not so far north from here...yikes!

Friday

(Left: Spider roll, Dragon roll, and Wendy. Right: Deep fried scallops)

Went out for dinner with Sammy, Mandy, Wendy and Brandon. We were all craving sushi in one form and another so I was quite looking forward to it. We ate at Kuni Sushi~ya on Baldwin, only about 2-3 weeks after our last visit! It was funny, I don't really remember why but I remember laughing at random things. Good times! While waiting for people to arrive, I drew a picture on one of our ordering slips (right) and it seemed to have confused everyone. The waiter thought it was an order and went to grab it but jolted when he saw the picture. It was embarrassing! He said I drew nice, which I find very funny. I gave it to Mandy, in which she replied "Where? I don't see any pie.." while looking around the restaurant. Mandy is too amusing, I wonder if she still has it.

We opted for the all you can eat special, which had a special menu of its own. The system of ordering can get confusing and they explain it to you in a slightly unfriendly manner sometimes. Not to say its absurdly difficult, its nothing like that, lets just say there are always some mix up when ordering combinations of icecream scoops.

some of our favourite "must try" items off the menu where:
-Spider roll (I wish they had fried soft-shell crab as a stand alone disk like at Sushi Island)
-Dragon roll
-Tobiko on cucumber (flying fish eggs, under "sashimi"...I eat these like I eat chips!)
-Tobiko sushi (under "maki (?)")
-Unagi don (extra unagi and sauce! or less rice? ha!)
-Curry udon (chicken and beef, potentially full of MSG..but oh so delicious)
-Inari maki (sweet tofu skins)
-Deep fried scallops
-Shrimp tempura
-Green tea and green tea icecream
(Top Right: icecream ordering sheet, Bottom Right: green tea icecream with fried banana slice)


Some "misses"
-Yummy Yummy Roll (it was a California Roll without avocado, hardly deserving of the title Yummy Yummy. We thought it was a California roll that we didn't order or that the California hand roll had evolved into a roll)
-Ginger icecream (we just don't like the candied ginger, I guess. the icecream itself isn't so bad)
-Croquette Fry...Croquette (well Wendy hated the uber creamy potato filling)
(top: Yakitori, wasn't a "miss"..but...ya)

Kuni Sushi~Ya
20 Baldwin St.
Toronto, ON
M5T 1L2
Phone: (416) 260-3188

Buffet & Regular Menu
$18.99 per person for the all you can eat

Check out the wall and 8x9 that Samuel L. Jackson signed, haha! Baldwin St. is perpendicular to McCaul, which can be reached by taking the 506 (College) to McCaul, 505 (Dundas) to McCaul or subway to St. Patrick.

The service was fast and the waitstaff were nice for the most part, I just hope it doesn't become the angry place that is Sushi Island. Our bill came up to a little less than $24 a person, with service charges and without drinks (we were provided green tea). Its funny because it turns out that we usually tip them more when service charges aren't applied. Oh well :P

More pictures from that night:

(Left: Bananaramadrama! Right: Giant pot, but not taller than Sammy!)

Inside quote of the day:
Croquette fry.....croquette..
POTATO CAKE?
something like that...

Saturday

(Ikea toys!)

Had another orthodontist appointment so I had food at Ikea again. Wasn't so fun having it again in such a short time period so I won't go any further. They're moving things around again and everything felt out of place because I was rather familiar with the old plan. Found a bed frame set I'd like, it has storage in the headboard! Got my retainers and I think they're really rad, but constantly having to take them off is annoying. DROOL. Also, it makes me talk funny.

(Left: X-men, Black Cat and Amazing Heroes. Right: WOLVERINE!!! RARARARA!!)

After ortho I went to the Eglington-area to browse around. Went to BMV to browse and bought some comic books. The oldest one, Amazing Heroes, is from 1984! Too bad it was just a filler and is just a black and white advertisement collection for other comic books. I wish I could stumble upon old boxes of comic books at garage sales and pay $5 for a bunch of random ones. From then on, I had a nice long walk from Eglington to Queen West.

Is it me, or are the number of Toronto smokers INCREASING? I can't stand for 10 minutes downtown without puffs and puffs of smoke being blown into my face. People should smoke to the side instead of in front of people. So nasty, I feel like I smoked over a pack an hour just walking around. Ughrsh.

(Left: Lovely Feist, Right: Second Cup Chiller)

Anyways, walked around and looked at some interesting things along Yonge and before I knew it, I was in Yorkville. Didn't want anything there, so I went to good ol' Kensington Market. Saw Manda at work and stopped to chat a bit. Got a Pumpkin Spice Expresso Chiller which was alright. Next time I'd like to try some of the Italian Sodas.

(lucky cats! they look kind of odd, I've always liked the white, ceramic ones more)

On the way to the Market, I stopped by some stores in Chinatown and looked at some random things. I've been going to these stores ever since I could remember, from when I lived in the area. Every time I visited, I would want to buy everything but would only come out with something 10% of the time. I remembered wanting the tiny wooden Laughing Buddah statues and the lucky cats (seen in gold, but I wanted the white ones) because they are just so cool and my cousin had the wooden statues so that made it even cooler to my easily amused mind (though that didn't seem to change...) Maybe one day I will pick some up for myself. Its always nice to be surrounded by luck, though the cats look a tad tacky!

(Left: Laughing Buddah, Right: Venom and Spiderman)

They also had a bunch of Hidamari no Tami (Nohohon Zoku/Sunshine Buddies) knock-offs upon the Asian statues. They were smaller and had characters from totally unrelated series but were still very cool. I would want the Lucky Cat one, Janice has one too! The characters (many of which I could still remember from my childhood) are: Doraemon, Crayon shin-chan in a bra..no panties!, Winnie the pooh, original Hidamari, Nightmare before christmas, and Ultraman!)

I only went to a few stores before hitting Kensington, but each store sure had a lot to offer! Here are some more pictures from that day:

(Left: turn a frog into a prince with water, Right: Mandy)

Hit some main spots at the market, same ol' market. Seems to be a lot more hipster kids around now. SKINNY JEANS AND NEON SHIRTS FOR EVERYONE! Bought some pastries at My Market Bakery to stuff in my face. I always see a cat around one of the stores and today I was trying to get it to come over...are you supposed to let them smell you? Well, I did and people started to crowd around me. That was too awkward for me so I quickly took a picture and walked off. I don't like being watched, especially when I'm suspicious or trying to pet something...which is surprisingly what I do most of the time. I haven't been to Blue Banana yet because its so...shiny...and somewhat out of place in the market.

Went along Queen Street to look for some things but didn't find anything on my list. They opened a new Urban Outfitters on Queen...is that really necessary? Anyways, its big and ridiculously hot in there. Continued along Queen and passed by "Missbehav'n," which is some kind of adult entertainment store. They had two dancers in the window display in skimpy costumes dancing around. It was funny because one of them got tired and sat down and I laughed and I think she saw me because she turned away from the display. I wonder how much they get paid and if they have to dance during the winter too. They should put out tip jars. Around the corner from the dancers was Kensington icecream! I finally found it! Didn't get anything but I will note it for future visits. You seem to get your icecream in those chinese take-out boxes. Cool. A tiny dog also attacked me. Stupid tiny dog. Stupid tiny dog in a tiny dog shirt. Animals no longer like me.

(Full size these images, they're awesome!)

Wandered a bit further down because I wanted to hit Magic Pony. I always passed the store but never went in because I'm awkward like that. I made sure to go this time because they're holding a Nathan Jurevicius exhibit titled "REFORMATION". Check it out of you can. Really cool gallery at the back of the store, I especially like the piece that you have to look through. Very disappointed that I missed the signing but the store was very, very interesting. I want to buy one of the owls you see lined in the second picture. I'd love to work there...or live there! Looks like a great place to work. I remember reading that they were hiring once and really wanted to apply. Ahh, so much happy in that tiny store.

(Left: painted door--looks like Indian God Ganesha, Right: can you spot the baby squirrel?)

Turning around to go back home, I saw a baby squirrel running around on the streets. I wanted to move it away from the streets into some place more grassy and less cementy and it led me to a very nicely painted door. I think it was for a yoga studio. The squirrel hopped into a patch of flowers, quite possibly the only green on that block. Tried to take a picture of it but people kept coming out of the yoga studio and it was so awkward. I'd jolt when people suddenly came out of the door and in turn I also scare them. It happened about two times before I felt too suspicious. EEee.

...and that, I believe, was all for Saturday!

Sunday

(Fibre is your friend)

Went grocery shopping and bought crap loads of cereal. Now I love Raisin Bran but I think I have just found an awesome replacement. SHREDDIES. They're so awesome and they don't look awesome, which makes them that much more awesome. I didn't expect them to taste good at all but they're delicious in their whole wheaty-ness. I eat them like I eat chips, a madman! They're delicious. I already finished the open box in picture. I like to save some in zip-loc bags and eat them randomly. Oddly enough, gold retrievers would come up to me when they see me eating them outside. They know the goodness!

It was randomly rainy and randomly sunny so it was a good time to take flower pictures. I know nothing about flowers but these pictures turned out nicely, so I'll share them with you. I wish I could tell you their names, but I am not very knowledgeable on this topic.

Random, but I bought over 300 rolls of (Royale) toilet paper this week because they were on sale and I had a bunch of coupons on top of that. Crazy! I think we have enough for years now and it wasn't like we weren't already stocked up before hand. I love how Charmin goes "better than the leading kitten brand" because "kitten brand" can refer to a brand of lower quality but Royale also uses kittens as their mascots, hence "kitten brand." *HEAD EXPLOSION* I've always wanted to tell someone that...I think its great.

Anyways, I went to some markets to look for fresh berries but changed my mind when I got there. Also wanted some sun dried tomatoes but they didn't look too fresh so I passed. I also wanted to go to a bunch of Yard sales hoping to find a Super Nintendo or a box of old comics but the signs all lead me to empty homes! That was very annoying and resulted in me walking in circles for a while. Boo! I plan to find more yard sales this weekend, I also want to pick up scrabble for $1.25. There was an open market near the food markets so I went to look. These things are fun too look at because everything is so strange. The Peanuts tin looks like it used to be an ash tray because it was disgusting inside. The monkey on a bike was a fun display. A lot of antiques and old things for big prices. They had hand made sock puppets! I wish I could make these myself...they were $25-45 each. The monk salt-pepper shakers were like $60 and who knows what the. I wonder if anyone buys these things.

On my way home, I saw a MUSHROOM HOUSE. Its so cool, I want to go inside. There was a formal suit-and-tie party to the side of it so they locked the gates and I couldn't get any closer. I'll return another day to see if I can get a closer look, but man, MUSHROOM HOUSE! I wish the top was red though....I think that was all for Sunday or I don't remember from my MAD PARTYING (??)

I hope you guys enjoyed your weekend as much as I did. Lots of walking!

Sorry this took so long, I am lazy and I will not tell you when I started writing this blog...
I set up a Flickr account to upload some of the more interesting photos (like MUSHROOM HOUSE!!) and added a Flickr bar to the right column. I so want a pro account now so I could upload more and make more sets! Check it out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/garonlies/