House of Dosas!!! Woah baby!!!!

Today was a crazyyyy day! I was running from place to place and was exhausted. Let me just give you a run down. After work, I went to my second job. After my second job I had to go to run to the grocery store to get groceries for my lunch! After that I had to run to my uncles house to run an errand. After my errand I met up with a friend for dinner. When I came home I started making my lunch. Then I took my shower and did some trip planning with my friend. The conclusion is that I am going to Chicago in a month! Woot! I can't wait. Soon this blog will have a review on deep dish pizza because I HAVE TO TRY THAT! Now it's 9:00 pm and I can finally relax. I like busy days! Being busy is good.

Tonight, I went to dinner with an old friend that I haven't seen for several months. We went to House of Dosas on Kingsway and Knight. It is at 1391 Kingsway to be exact. I've been to this place before but never on a Monday! Some highlights of this place are that the staff are super friendly, the place is open 24 hours and dosas are pretty cool things. On Mondays dosas are even better because they are only $5.99. That's right! $5.99!!! I paid for my dinner with the change in my purse. Woot!

What is a dosa? It is a basically a chickpea flour based super thin crepe that is rolled up with some curry inside. They give you three dipping sauces. The red one is spicy, the white one is made with coconut and the one in the middle is perplexing. I'm not sure if it's a sauce or a soup, but it's super spicy.

The most obvious thing about a dosa is that it's GIGANTIC!!! Mine looks bigger than my friends but that's only because she started eating hers first. I ordered a dosa called paper masala with veggies.  It has an assortment of vegetables including potatoes, cauliflower, peas and a yellow colored curry. It's very good and spicy. The wrap itself is very crispy. It's thinner than a crepe but in some parts it has the same thickness of a crepe and when you eat those parts it tastes a little tangy. I love it! I dipped the crepe in the sauces they gave us and it tasted sooooo good. By the time I got to the middle where the curry was I was full. I did eat a couple of teaspoons of it though. I will have dosa for lunch tomorrow. Yay!!!



It was such a huge dosa I had to take a picture with it. I dare you not to take a picture with such a monstrosity! It looks like I'm eating the worlds largest spring roll.


I recommend you go try a dosa even if it's just for the opportunity to post your very own photo on facebook and totally freak out your friends. When I posted mine today I had 8 comments in 5 minutes and two friends made a date to eat there next Monday. The power of the DOSA!

On a side note...

Here is what I made for lunch for the week. Black Beans!! It's my own recipe which basically means I threw a bunch of veggies (onions, garlic, red and orange peppers, carrots and celery) and water and black beans in a pot and simmered it until I remembered I was cooking something. I also added some paprika, cumin, pepper and cayenne pepper. I also accidentally added some cinnamon (a lot actually). When I did a taste test it didn't have any flavour so I added more garlic, some onion powder and some mole paste. Now it taste savoury and spicy. I am happy with it. Mole Black Beans???

So on a crazy day like this (and my days are often like this), I must remember always... go at your own pace. That's why I love this photo. Some days must be slow, some days MUST be fast. Just accept every moment. Bounce Bounce Bounce!

Weekend update!

Another weekend has come and gone and I have more goods to introduce to ya'll.

First of all, I'd like to say it was a nice weekend. It started off with a bang down at Holland Park in Surrey for the Mumford and Sons concert! It was my first time going to a concert there. I took the skytrain out to Surrey for it. It's strange that they would escort 20,000 fans into the city of Surrey for a show. It was so cramped in the park no blankets were allowed. I was worried they were going to confiscate my blanket but somehow they had let me through with it even though there were hundreds of blankets left outside the gates.







Unfortunately I didn't get very many good pictures out there. I hope you enjoy these though. Maybe it will give you a bit of my experience.

Before the concert we hit dinner in Vancouver on Main Street at East is East. It's a beautiful restuarant. The walls are made of pink Himilayan rock salt and the decor is romantic. Great place for a date. The food at East is East is very healthy and hearty tasting. It's not greasy. When you leave you get a feel good feeling. That's a plus for this restuarant.




This blue area is for performances such as belly dancing. See what I mean about romantic? All the tables were reserved for 7:30. We were there quite a bit earlier than that. 




See the rock salt walls. I love them. They also have beautiful table decor.




I loved our table setting.




For dinner a friend and I shared a roti roll platter. One roll has lamb and the other has beef. The platter comes with three dipping sauces, soup and salad.This is definately enough for two people if you are both light eaters. The portion size was comfortable.

We also ordered an appetizer. This is the hemp seed pâté. We got it with their house bread.







The pate is the essence of healthiness. If you are use to the moist taste of meat pate this version will not be what you are expecting. It's still good though if you want to try something a little different. 



After the concert, we met up with another friend for El Caminos! This is one of my favourite restuarants!!!! It's Latin food however, it seems more Latin fusion. Not the most authentic dishes here but they have their own twist that is appreciated.
If you show up for the dinner menu, they give you some free popcorn. This popcorn is dressed with lime and some chili powder. I like this and I'm glad it's free!


My friend ordered the Gambas Arepa which is a shrimp stuffed arepa. An arepa is a corn based bread that is cooked on a grill or pan. It can be eaten alone or made into a sandwich. This is a delicious version of an arepa. The shrimp is complemented with arugula and a garlicky and savoury dressing. I highly recommend this dish!



I always hope that when I come to this restuarant I am restrained enough to not order this drink. However, I am never successful. In fact, if I order this drink the likelihood is that I will order again at least one more time. This is a Pisco Sour. Yum Yum!


This is an appetizer at El Camino's we always order. It's the called Chick Pea Fries. It comes with a chipotle aoili. If you have had chickpea fries before and did not enjoy them you will probably still like these ones. At least that seems to be the general consensus when my friends are forced to try one. Like Pringles, once you pop you can't stop.


The next morning we went down to Aberdeen Center to have lunch at the food court. Why??? Well they have such a huge variety of venders at Aberdeen that it's fun to eat there. You can get Vera's burgers, Malaysian food, Korean, Japanese... and more.  I ordered from Teppan Kitchen because I noticed a lot of other people were too. The dish I ordered was a hot plate dish that had rice and pork in a lemon sauce. I think they put that paper around the dish so the sauce doesn't go flying every where as it was sizzling like crazy. My take on this dish was it was DELICIOUS! The only thing I would change about it would be the amount of salt they put in it. Maybe a little less salt and it would be perfect. I would definately order it again though. It was tart and creamy. The rice mixed in really well with the sauce. They used pork cheeks so the meat was extra tender. And once in a while you will get the sweetness from a corn kernal just to balance off the sour. Try it!





These chicken wings are famous at this mall. They are from a vendor called Wo Fung Dessserts. The chicken wings are the first ones on the picture menu. In chinese they sorta sound like this: "Gum Sa Giy Yik". We ordered 12 of these. Went a bit overboard...



After that, I went with my sister and my nieces out to West Van. It started to rain and I took a couple of pictures of some rain droplets on some leaves. Pretty!!!





Hope you all had a lovely weekend!!!

Bean around the world

Today is another coffee note. I went to Bean Around The World to grab a cup of coffee before a meeting and I noticed they had a new product called the Red Americano. It's basically a rooibos based Americano. I thought why not give it a try. It was just under 4 dollars. That's nearly the same price as the coffee Americano I was going to get anyway.

Well... Here it is.




Its pretty dark looking but save your money. It's none other that super strong rooibos which means it's pretty much flavorless. I like rooibos tea but more so when it's flavoured because I think it tastes like steeped bark which is fine sometime. However, if you are craving a coffee it just doesn't cut it. Even after adding honey and milk it had not made a dent in the unsatisfactory category.

It seems like all I do is eat but that's not true...

Victoria Day long weekend had some decent weather so I went for a bike ride with some friends. I didn't make it to Burn's Bog like we had planned because I wiped out on my bike and hurt my knee but I did take some cool photos of the pretty fauna and flora along the way.



Just some yellow flowers that come from some sort of bush. After taking this picture I started noticing this flower was everywhere.



I loved the randomness of wild grasses. They look like they have a purpose. People who often design underwater gardens work so hard on picking the perfect plants that compliment the look of one another. In nature it just happens. It's beauty without a plan.

Amongst the green there is a small burst of purple.

Vancouver is sooo beautiful. I need to take more Spring photos...

I also met some awesome dogs. There was one dog in particular I couldn't get enough pictures of because he had an endearing trait. Can you tell what it is?


What a cutie.

A weekend of food

When my sister comes home for the weekend she wants to eat out for every meal. We always go with her because Vancouver has awesome food and we feel bad for her.
This Victoria Day long weekend we went to a number of different restuarants. I have highlighted my favourite dishes from these tasty places.


Red Star Seafood Restuarant.
We came here for dim sum. If you ever have a chance to come here take a chance on these dishes. I love them.




Prawn spring rolls: super crispy on the outside and juicy shrimp on the inside. A must try!




Roasted BBQ duck: this duck is exceptional. I don't know why but it just tastes better than the other BBQ ducks at Chinese restuarants. There is a very deep rich flavour.




Fish rice roll? This is my favourite dish here. It's a rice roll with fish paste wrapped with deep fried bean curd sheets on the inside. So many different flavours and textures all in one bite!


Hoi Tong in Richmond is an award winning establishment. I don't know the exact type of Asian cuisine it reflects but it's good. There is an air of bad service though and it's also a very small restuarant so it can feel quite cramped.
These are my favourite dishes from Hoi Tong.




Fish Maw soup: it's a bit orange because I like to add red vinegar to mine. It has a lot of fish maw which is why I like it.




Deep fried and stir fried sole: two different ways of cooking one fish. You get the soft delicate texture of carefully stir fried sole and also the awesome crispness of deep fried sole. The deep fried portion is so fried it tastes like you are eating sole chips.




Bitter melon omlette: this is an award winning dish. I never like bitter melon but when I ate this I changed my mind. There was so much bitter melon in each bite of the fluffy omlette but none of it was distasteful. Maybe it was because the melon was sliced so thinly or it was just seasoned well. It tastes so simple but addictive. It's a must try! Don't try to recreate it at home either. It won't be the same.



Double Happiness is another restuarant we went to. It's a Chinese style fast food restuarant. Everything here is usually good but that's because it's loaded with msg. If you feel like eating msg do come here.
These are the things you should try.




Yes, we do order a lot. Their ground beef congee is excellent. Chinese calamari and deep fried wontons are awesome. Don't be afraid to try something a little different and go for the deep fried daikon cake too. Yum yum!!!

On Victoria Day I went downtown with some friends to walk the seawall. But since everyone was aching from rock climbing or myself aching from wiping out on my bike we ended up eating and shopping. Maybe next week we will do the sea wall rather than flaking out.

I love heading downtown. One of the reasons is because of Mom's Grilled Cheese. The sandwiches are always grilled so perfectly.

Here is the cart.



Here is the grilled cheese four of is shared.



It's a pepper jack with tomato and half bacon sandwich. Half bacon because we were with a vegetarian but I actually prefer it without bacon.

We also went to the art gallery for coffee. It's the first time being there but it's such a nice place to sit and get a drink. I ordered a peach and cherry flan.


It was too sweet but I don't like desserts so they are always too sweet for me. It just looked really good. I wouldn't recommend it. But if you have a major sweet tooth it might just be the thing for you!

A headache...

A tired body...

A hard day.



Today I felt an overall kinda low feeling. Then I got an announcement from a friend that triggered a emotional episode.



It's too much to go through this always. Time to stop. This can't keep affecting me this way.



But something's I get thrown a curve ball and it happens too fast and it feels like I'm falling off the edge of a bridge. Just falling, falling, falling. I've visualized it before too and it's hurtful. It feels like I have no control.



Maybe this summer needs to be a turning point for me. Or just even right now. Right now is my turning point. I turn now.

Wearing your heart on your sleeve

Once in a while I will think about things that have been said to me. One thing that has been said to me was that I wear my heart on my sleeve. This was not given as a compliment but as something to change. However, it wasn't just concerning me, whomever said it to me said that we both wore our hearts on our sleeves and that is a negative thing. I disagreed with him when he said that to me.

The definition on the internet says it's one who shows his or her feelings obviously through their behaviour, good or bad. Also, some people say that those that show their hearts on their sleeves wind up getting hurt more easily, have no self confidence, low self esteem, and are the first to say sorry.

Some people see it as a weakness to not show true emotion. Personally, it's something I have little control over, but I don't think it's a bad thing. Though life is short, wouldn't it be much less special if we only felt half of everything? Even if we hide how we felt from the world, we would still feel the pain the same 100% inside. I don't know any other way than to cry them out or to laugh them out. I think it's worse to repress them and have them come up later. I'd hate to feel deeply resentful and never know why. I like to understand how I feel. I like feeling what I am feeling. Even bad feelings will go away. 

I have been hurt very few times in my life but every time I've been hurt I learned something. I never learned it was bad to express myself. How do people ever get to know you if you don't let them know who you are and how you feel?  Anyone who knows me knows I am a passionate person. I love lots of things. I despise a lot of things. When I am grateful for something I let the whole world know. When I am sad I don't keep it inside. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with being honest. I find people have varying degrees for what they consider is honest. I am honest in my own way. I like to be honest to myself and those closest to me. I don't like to hide anything.  Why hide from the ones you love? If they care about you, they will accept your feelings and support you. That's what I have done for the ones I love. Those that don't do that for you should not be there anyway.

So maybe sometimes I act a little crazy, maybe sometimes I look like I'm in the depths of despair. It's only because I feel extremely sad. I also act that way because I feel extremely safe to let people know how I feel.  There are times when I am estatic. There are moments when I feel like the world is my oyster. People love being around happy and elated people. During these times in your life wearing your heart on your sleeve is not a problem.People love you! There is a duality in everything we do, even in how people react to and judge truth. When it's a good truth, keep the truth coming, when it's a bad truth they want nothing to do with it. The truth is great and the truth hurts. Maybe they have not faced their own truths. Maybe they have a problem with bad feelings because they have hidden so many within themselves that they can't stand being around someone who shows them. I will never critize or be angry at myself for putting my heart on my sleeve, whether it was a good or bad situation. I may regret some of the actions I took in the past during the heat of emotion but that is the past. There is nothing you can do about it. I know no matter what emotions I go through in life, no matter how shitty I feel in a moment, that moment will pass and I will go back to being me. So what's wrong with putting your heart on your sleeve? Leave your heart there. It's your heart. You can put it anywhere you want as long as you take responsibility for it.

I don't think people who wear their hearts on their sleeve are hurt more easily, have no confidence, have low self esteem. I think they are brave enough to go deep. They are brave enough to be honest and truthful. Not everyone can look inside themselves and understand how they truly feel. Everyone has room for improvement but it's really important to look at things you really love about yourself and what makes you you. Don't let anyone tell you something about you needs to fixed, only you should be able to make that decision.

Magda I'm back!!!

So there is this Venezuelan restuarant in my neighborhood. It's called Magda's.


This is the 4th time I've been there and it's Definately one of my favourite places to go for Latin food in Vancouver. I always order the same thing but next time I go I'll try something different. I went with some coworkers after work. It's nice to spend time with each other on a personal level. We were at the restuarant about 2 hours. We talked and laughed. It was a really good time. We also went shopping and each one of us got something. It was a good start to the long weekend.

Here are some photos of the food at Magda's.



Cafe con Leche. Super creamy and rich. I liked it but it was hard for me to finish the whole thing. Personally I prefer a less creamy coffee but I did drink half of it.



Empanadas Columbiania??? Anyway this is a empanada filled with beef, potato and cilantro. I love love love this empanada. I've only had empanadas at a few different places but Magda's is the best in my opinion. It's made with corn flour so the skin is crunchy and crispy on the outside and super delicate and soft inside. Yum yum.


I also ordered some pupusas. This is one of my favourite Latin snacks. I ordered three different ones. 1) Chiccaron ( pork) and cheese. 2) Spinach and cheese. 3) Zucchini and cheese. They are all good and made to order. Fresh fresh fresh!




They give you three dipping sauces to go with your food too. They are a garlic cream, avocado and extra spicy sauce. I captured only two of them as the other one was in use. Make sure you try the sauces!! They are very good.



A good moment:
Though it was a fun day in general and we had many great moments today we also had a special event. It was our Gallery Show. Today students and staff in our school could come and check out the art work our students have been working on all year. We had such a big turn out and the kids were so excited to showcase their work. Parents came to check the show out too. I love seeing our kids faces light up. People were really impressed. I'll have to take a picture of some of the pieces to post. Happy long weekend Canada!

This is so significant.

"What we call a person is a dynamic bundle of consciousness that is constantly transforming. in every moment of existence, the old person dies and the new one is born. so the person you were yesterday is not the person you are now. your thoughts aren’t the same, they may appear to be the same but your body is not the same, your emotions are transforming. the reason why you have this illusion of being the same person is continuity of memory that gives you this false belief that you are the same person you were before" ~ Deepak Chopra

Impermanence: word of the day

So... Sometimes no matter how beautiful a day it is there is a feeling of overall disappointment and a lingering sadness. Don't get me wrong, I am not depressed but everyday I have to remind myself not to resist the past and other people's decisions. It's very hard to do. I have to remind myself that impermanence is a part of life and I have to enjoy it. There is something more for me out there. Life isn't so random.

Today has had more moments of sadness. I don't know why some days are harder than others. My mind just won't stop thinking about who I am missing right now. I am more able to push the feeling away though. But never the less I miss him. This too shall pass. One day I will have no feelings for him. Feelings can change as they changed for him, they can change for me too. This too shall pass.

Sometimes I read my horoscope for inspiration. I have found to be quite accurate recently. Here are two versions I found in the newspaper.



After reading that I paid my credit card right away and then cleaned my house (which I was planning to anyway). However I don't plan to seclude myself. Though I love the last two lines. "Listen to the stillness. Give thanks."



Though not applicable to today that is always good advice. Sometimes horoscopes are random but also random with good advice. What can go wrong if you follow your intuition?

I also read on my horoscope app that I should go buy a lottery ticket because for some reason I am very lucky today. Also, when I checked my email there was an email about Hometown Heroes. It's this lottery for a house. So I bought some tickets for that as I do each year. Maybe I'll win a big house!!! Or maybe not... but it all goes to charity, so it's no loss either way. Wish me luck!!! 

I'd like to mention some nice discoveries about today.

First one: a student of mine whom is limitedly verbal looked very upset and kept repeating the same phrase over and over again. The phrase sounded like "hippos swim!" It was very odd. But I found a picture of a hippo swimming, showed it to him and be immediately stopped. The picture was sooo funny. Here it is.


Very cute. Hippos have really big asses. I can stare at this picture a lot.

Also I took a photo of an awesome snack I think everyone should try. I got it in Costco in the states. Maybe they have it here too? So yummy. I shared some at work and everyone liked it.






Those peanuts look radioactive but that's only because I edited the photos. Don't worry. They are safe to eat if you don't count the burning sensation in your nostrils.

Lastly, I made raw zucchini hummus today and it was easy and tasty. Please try! It is probably less fattening than chickpea hummus and tastes almost exactly the same. I got the recipe from this site: http://makeeverydayraw.blogspot.ca/2007/06/zucchini-hummus.html?m=1


Goals:
Figure out how to get into a legit mystery shop in Vancouver... wanna start getting paid for eating and shopping as it's all that I do.

Go research a volunteer position where I can learn something. I read in A New Earth that if I felt like someone took something from me, or wouldn't give me something I wanted  I need to go out and give that same thing out to the world. Giving and receiving are the same thing. GIVE and see what you get back in your heart.

Songs of the day for me:
1. Wild Country by Wake Owl.
2. Somebody I used to know by Gotye.

The lyrics stood out to me especially these ones by Wake Owl.


If I wanna leave I will
Stand on my feet I do
Only takes these words
You never believe are true
I'm never gonna chase something
It's a total waste running
After what they take hundreds
Look at what they praise, nothing

Oh we go where we don't know the way
Fire meets fire we run and it's all the same.

Maybe tomorrow will be a lighter song.

2 great things about JJ Bean

To showcase some of the great coffee of Vancouver I am currently sitting at JJ Bean on Main Street. This is a usual hang out place for me when I want to do some people watching or just read a book at some place other than my bed or sofa. I ordered an iced coffee today. It's a bit different than the usual fare because the drink I love the most here is the Fresca Medici. I just didn't want to be wired for the rest of the day.




There it is on this sunny/overcast, slightly humid day. A nice light and fresh iced coffee.
I also picked up this grilled cheese sandwich. :)


In terms of coffee shop grilled cheeses I think this one takes the cake. It's creamy goodness. It is made with two cheeses, tomatoes and some super savory garlic spread. I am trying to just eat half of it and save the rest for later.

General feeling for the day: Today has been a good day. The weather turned out better than anticipated and I was in a good mood in general. I felt like I got the jump back in my step. Is that how the saying goes?  I even found a guy online I found super cute. I have a very particular type so I'm very excited.

The last two months my heart has been heavy but today I felt lighter in my heart. Maybe it's just that summer is around the corner and I'm starting to look forward to it. Or maybe I am finally not resisting the changes in my life. The feeling of the "freeness" in my heart inspired me and I felt really happy. While I was working with some of my students we took a moment to find something to be grateful for. I think I will encourage that more. Teaching students to be present and grateful is a good thing. We all need to be present. They both said they were grateful for the weather because the sun was starting to pop out.

It was a beautiful moment. More little moments need to be cherished.