Water for Elephants

We watched Water for Elephants (Reese Witherspoon & Robert Pattinson) this weekend from the stick. Nice. Not a dull scene.

This is Sashimi's recap of the movie.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

 The best place we'd eat our KFC is at home, with gravy...

and rice! 

Mr. Hotpot needs a "Do not Disturb" sign while having his KFC.

What a Jerk!

I don’t say NO to Jerk Chicken. I could easily trash my baon (own lunch) if it’s on the Menu.  My Jamaican colleagues thought they were not authentic.  But, hey, I’m no authentic myself.  I can’t even make it half as good.  Besides, if it’s only 5-floors down from me, and only $4.99, then it makes this second to none... at least for now.

Our menu rotates, but  occasionally new dishes are introduced.  But there’s already a variety you can make out of Pasta Bar Tuesdays and Stir-Fry Thursdays, which is another favourite.

I always look forward to customizing from the selection of vegetables (bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, bokchoy, beansprout, zuccini), meat (tofu, shrimp, chicken or beef), sauces (Teriyaki, Orange Ginger, Red Curry, Peanut Thai, Szechuan or Sweet Chili) and carbs (rice or Asian noodles). It is prepared fresh and cooked while you wait.  Nevermind that the cooking time takes a big chunk off my lunch break, when the server fills my bowl to the brim - sometimes heaping - I’m a happy camper!

Dilettante Fruit Medley

Dried strawberries, apricots, cherries, pineapple, mangoes & blueberries in premium white/milk/dark chocolate

They're sooo good.  Costco used to have them. But not anymore =[  Anybody seen this elsewhere?

Bento Week Off

I’m taking a breather from bento-making on this last week of summer before another schoolyear begins.  Mr. & Mrs. Hotpot are taking this last week off to spend time with Mini Shabu. Weeee! Here are some of last weeks'.

 Spam croissant, Ritz cheese cracker, grape tomatoes, peach slices

 Croissants, fish balls, mushrooms, peach slices

 Croissants, crabstick, grape tomatoes, peaches, veggie crisp

  Cheese croissant, blue berries, carrot sticks, OTAP, grapes

 Raspberry fruit bites, corn & ham buns, grape tomatoes, mixed veggies

 Roasted potatoes, chilli-lime shrimp, peach slices, cheese/ube pandesal

  California maki sushi, corn puff, blueberries

  PB&J sandwich, edamame, hard-boiled egg, blueberries


Smiley chicken nuggets, cheese & ube pandesal, quail eggs, corn puffs, fruit cup

Mini Shabu's got 2 loose teeth during this time so his croissants are cut to pieces for easy chomping =]

Summer Camp Bento

Mini Shabu goes to Summer Camp for 8 weeks, so there is no rest from packing lunches/snacks. If you haven't notice I am having a rotation of items, frequent items, and lots of switching around. Until I whack my brain for more ideas to this very thought- provoking task, here's some more from July.

Mashed potatoes, cheese croissants, banana chocolate cake and marshmallows

Macaron-shaped ham sandwich, mandarin orange jello, blueberries, carrot muffin and carrots

On lazy mornings, I just stuff 2 buttered Philippine buns (tinapay), with orange and carrots

Bread w/jam, kekiam, Smiley potatoes, gummies and kiwi

For field trips, I pack 2 frozen juices and fruit cup to stay cold until consumption, while they also serve as ice packs. I also go easy on field trips, packing some "unhealthy" item that I won't normally let him have.

Chyrsanthemum Tea

Chrysanthemum tea is good at releasing the qi from the body, especially when I am having some acne outbreak, dry eyes, itchy throat and what nots.  My brother has this handy when he eats potato chips =]

I would love to get this RIKLIG teapot from IKEA $9.99.  It can hold 1.5 liters of tea, which you can serve hot or cold.

Before I get ya, I am using the French Press for now.

Blue Mountain's Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster

Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster at a Glance:

• Guests ride to the top of the Glades area and descend to the bottom of Grand Central Lodge
• Elevated cart track 1-6 metres off the ground
• Riders can sit one or two people per cart and control their own speed
• Carts slide over bumps, twist through corkscrews and zigzag through the trees of the glades
• Mountain Coaster can run in most weather conditions — even in winter! 

 http://www.bluemountain.ca/ridge_runner.htm

The best attraction of Blue Mountain by far.  It was launched on March 2011. 

Adult

$15 for 1 ride

$24 for 2 rides

$40 for 4 rides

One ride is good enough as this will allow you to truly enjoy and rewind the thrilling experience like no other. 

Bento Imbento

Due to limited resources for bento gadgets where I live, it is not fair to call my bento a bento. Also with time restrictions, since I have a day job and no househelp, this is my capacity at its best. So let's call my bento "bento imbento". Imbento, meaning made it up myself.

It is easy to follow nevertheless as I don't go over the moon. No specific theme, though I try, and no mimicking of cartoon characters, animals faces, not even odd shapes. I have mostly silicone cups and cookie cutters- the only ones North America has that are useful nonetheless. I also have a Tomica bento set from Japan. I'm hoping to get more accessories (eg. pokers) on my next Asian trip. Until then, here's my imBENTOs.



happy face potatoes, carrots, siomai w/bonito flakes, choco-pretzels, grape tomatoes



cuttlefish ball, roasted potatoes, mixed veggies, meatballs, grapes & custard

Unagi (eel), onigiri, extra furikake, Twinkies, black/blue berries

baby corn/carrots, quail eggs, unagi, onigiri, blueberries

mini bacon/cheese bun, macaroon shaped bread w/jam, corn, grapes & blueberries

Safari Lunch

Brought our own

Octopus hotdog, fish tofu, crabstick, bed of romaine, broccoli, tomatoes & jello

Love how the hotdogs curl on boiling water.