Birthday weekend celebrations 2012

This year, I had a great time sharing my birthday with dear friends and loved ones.  First, we kicked off the weekend with some good old Shanghainese food at one of my favourite Shanghainese restaurants in Markham, A La Kitchen, and then we continued the night chilling at the condo playing PS3 and Monopoly Deal.

 

 

Getting my breakfast pastries from Le Matin

We were visiting Leslieville again this weekend and stopped by Le Matin Bakery for some yummy pastries and bread.  This is actually our second time to the bakery because the first time when we came, they had run out of croissants and bread, so we settled for a raspberry clafouti instead.  Since the clafouti was pretty good, we came back for seconds!  This time we got a croissant, chocolate croissant and a loaf of sour dough.  The bread had just come out of the oven so it was still warm.  The croissants were not bad, but I still think I prefer the croissants from Montreal.  The sour dough was quite delicious even on its own after it got cold.  We only ate half of it, and as per the store keeper, I've frozen the other half to be eaten later.  I wonder if it will still taste as good after it's been frozen and reheated in the oven.  Will let you know when I eat the other half...

Bobbette & Belle - A Jewel in Leslieville

Since I don't normally venture into Leslieville, I had no idea that there were so many beautiful little pastry shops and cafes in the area.   Bobbette & Belle must be one of the finest ones on Queen St. E.  Their store front is so nicely decorated with antique furniture and of course they have the high-quality pastries to go with the decor.  We tried their scone and macarons while we were there and got some cupcakes to go for our friends.  Especially since I've just started wedding planning, I'm starting to look at wedding cakes, but I think their cakes might be a little too pricey for our budget.  Everything in the store is so beautiful and girly.  If you are like myself and don't have the budget for their wedding cakes and macarons as favours, at least you can still try them out at the store.

Christmas Dinner at Ici Bistro

If you travel on Air Canada a lot, you might have read about Canada's Best New Restaurants of 2011 in their November issue.  Ici Bistro was number 5 on their list.  This little 24-seat restaurant reminded me very much of the restaurants in Montreal and the quality of the food was comparable as well.  I think we enjoyed pretty much everything about this restaurant including food and service.  The only thing one could've complained about might be the fact that the restaurant is so small that some tables were located too close to the door and the cold air kept coming in - at least they had some heavy curtains covering the doorway.

 

Thai Bistro - Still my favourite Thai restaurant in Toronto

I went to dinner with my friend at Thai Bistro the other day and I realized that this is still my favourite Thai place in Toronto and I can't believe I've never blogged about it before.  It's a tiny restaurant operated by a female Thai cook and a couple of friendly staff.  I really like their Pad Thai and curry dishes and the food is pretty affordable.  We ordered the calamari with a Thai sweet and spicy dipping sauce, the red curry with beef and the chicken and shrimp Pad Thai.  This place doesn't seem to be open during lunch time on weekends though, which is the only thing I don't like about this place, but if you're looking to grab a bite for dinner and you are in the Yonge and Finch area, this is the place to go!

Lunch at Hillebrand Winery and a Jaunt Deal in Niagara Falls

Last weekend, we exercised the $85 deal that I got from Jaunt.ca for a night's stay at the Ramada Inn in Niagara Falls along with a $40 coupon at Outback, a $20 coupon at T.G.I.F. and a $20 coupon at Dave & Busters.  Knowing that we would be eating at Outback that night, we decided that we should go for a nice meal at Hillebrand Winery during lunch time so that at least we'll enjoy a little bit of good food in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Strapya has cell phone accesories for the otaku

If you have a little bit of otaku in you, which I know you all do, check out my new cell phone accessories from Strapya.  I regretted not buying the One Piece cell phone case when I was in Hong Kong, so I decided to get it since Strapya had a sale during Black Friday.  The case is black and pretty subtle so it is work appropriate and hopefully won't attract too many stares during meetings.  These were all shipped directly from Japan.