This weekend has been pretty productive.

I finally climbed the Grouse Grind, one of the things that I really wanted to do before leaving Vancouver.

It felt great getting all the way to the top! I felt this sense of achievement, this great satisfaction, this sense of pride. Lol. In short, I felt GREAT about myself!!! I'll post pictures of the Grind when I find it lol. It's somewhere.. in my computer... amidst the zillion and one files lol.

I would like to do the Grind again, but don't think I will be since my time here is limited. In fact, I feel that I am racing against time to make my last TEN days in Vancouver worthwhile.

Gosh. TEN DAYS. Time flies!!!!

I have been very busy lately. Trying to get stuff sorted. Buying stuff to bring home. Meeting up with friends to say goodbye. Running errands. And going to work. ><

Somehow I wish that I hadn't booked my flight to leave on such a tight schedule. Flying on the last day of work. It leaves me almost no time to do the things that I have to do before leaving for six months. Or for good.

I went out for dinner tonight with one of my co-workers, Adeline. She introduced me to a gem in the beautiful neighbourhood of Kitsilano - Mon Bella. This place is awesome!! Lovely decor, nice ambience, DELICIOUS food, and the best part is, it is reasonably priced!

It's a french bistro with a touch of italian. And every Tuesday they have what's called the Tuesday Tasting menu. Three course meal with wine pairing for each course - all for $25 per person! Such a good deal. And the wine portions are generous too. I got kinda buzzed from the three glasses of wine lol!

Here are some pics:

Kitsilano

From Mon Bella

Outside Mon Bella

From Mon Bella

Inside the bistro...

From Mon Bella

From Mon Bella

The Menu (today's special)

From Mon Bella

We chose the Tuesday Tasting menu..

From Mon Bella

We were both really excited...

From Mon Bella

From Mon Bella

Bread and not just any butter, but Roasted Red Pepper Butter... delicious!!!

From Mon Bella

First course - Chorizo and Spot Prawn Broth with Charred Corn (paired with a sweet Gewurtztraminer wine).. nice sweet and spicy combo

From Mon Bella

Second course - Veal Picatta with Penne, Capers and Arugula (paired with something Blanc.. sorry I forgot ><) ... the veal was very juicy and tender.

From Mon Bella

Third course - Chicken Cordon Bleu (paired with a pinot noir) ... the chicken was very juicy as well, cooked just right! Yummy... and the rice pilaf was moist and tasty.

From Mon Bella

We were so full from our three courses. And I was kinda buzzed as well.

From Mon Bella

Somehow my peace sign has made its name among my co-workers. It is now known as Candy's peace sign.

From Mon Bella

From Mon Bella

From Mon Bella

I think one of the biggest things that I will miss about Vancouver will be the food. The restaurants. Cafes. Dessert places. It is so easy and convenient to eat at an authentic, tasty and affordable restaurant, be it Greek, French, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Shanghainese, etc.

I have always loved food. If you asked my primary school friends what they remembered of me, it will be somewhere along the lines of "food" and "skinny". Well, I'm skinny no more lol! Cuz my metabolism is not as feisty as it used to be lol.

And I've grown to love food even more as I got older. Instead of merely chugging everything down my throat as I used to when I was younger (boy, was I a glutton back then!), I have learnt to savour the taste, the smell, the presentation.

Instead of simply eating the food on my plate, I have learned to notice the ingredients in the dish. Appreciate the way it was cooked. The way it was plated.

Consequently, I began to love cooking. I probably complain alot about cooking. But in honest truth, I do enjoy it. I enjoy whipping up an awesome meal that is delicious. Delicious food makes people happy. It makes me happy that they're happy with my food.

Alot of girls out there probably starve so that they can save up for a Chanel bag.

Me? I would rather die than be deprived of good food. lol. It is probably the one thing that I don't mind spending money on. Food. And travelling.

Man, I wish I was Rachel Ray doing her Tasty Travels show. lol. That would be awesome. I would be a very very very happy person forever.

Lol!


Recent Entries:

- - Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009
Mon Bella - Tuesday, August 18, 2009
18 more days.. and counting.. - Monday, Aug. 10, 2009
- - Monday, Aug. 10, 2009
Random entry.... - Thursday, Aug. 06, 2009