Eating healthy and staying healthy is my new year’s resolution 2011 – of course – don’t forget to get your Blue Cross Blue Shield NC renewed on time – if you have diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol  like me.  Many people are mistaken about health Canada – they think that medicine is free – and it’s not true.  Seeing the doctor is covered and so is staying in the hospital – but once you are out and need long term medication like myself – you are on your own.  So don’t make the same mistake I did – when I migrated here – I didn’t take up an insurance like Blue Cross – but you see – luckily PB is covered – so I am safe – else I would be in huge trouble – my medication is a lot of money.  So yes! my resolution is pretty simple eat healthy, stay healthy – I want to watch Chloe grow up and get married and have kids.

On Christmas eve – Kim our friend came by with a tray of cookies – of so many kind of cookies – made with love by herself and Jasmine – her lovely daughter.  Kim was already in the store a week ago – to send Chloe’s birthday gift and also Christmas gifts – how awesome was she right?  especially when we didn’t invite Jasmine for the movie – since Jasmine was much younger than Chloe.   But Kim had always sent birthday and Christmas gifts to Chloe since Chloe was born and till today – Chloe has kept her very first doll from Kim.  I treasure this friendship very much – because Kim is always the giving one – and always make time for us – visiting us at the store – even though we never have time to visit her.  Good people in this town are few – and one of them is Kim.  Thank you so much for your friendship Kim!

A few days before Christmas – Chloe insisted on baking cookies and leaving chocolate milk for Santa before she goes to bed on Christmas eve.  So on Christmas eve we closed the store early and came home and baked some chocolate and peanut butter cookies for Santa.  Santa was mighty pleased and left a note for Chloe – thanking her for the cookies and telling her how much he enjoyed them.

While the rest of the whole must be having turkey for Christmas – I started Christmas with Fish Cake and Tau Pok Laksa – muahahahhaha!!!  Give me Tau Pok and fish cake laksa anytime !!  the turkey and lobster can wait.  A few years ago – we had lobsters for Christmas – I guess that year must be a very good year for PB’s parents – so they bought lobsters for Christmas.  But I had some of the above for Christmas eve – followed by deer meat – and then a turkey for dinner.  What about you?  what did you have for Christmas?  I bet a lot of you must be feasting on sweets and candies like us.  I had all sorts of sweets on Christmas day – I bet my doctor won’t be too, too happy muahahhaha!!

(Replaces Twilight Investigation)

HOME TROOPERS – ???? (DECEMBER 27,2010-JANUARY 21,2011)

English Title: Home Troopers
Chinese Title: ????
Episodes: 20
Genre: Modern, Household theme
(Plot: a series about a household cleaning business.)

Cast: Liza Wang, Ha Yu, Bernice Liu, Kevin Cheng, Mandy Wong, Raymond Cho, Angela Tong, Timmy Hung, Elaine Yiu, Vincent Wong

All through the years, LAI KA-KA (Liza Wang) has been looking after her family so well that both her husband CHU KOT HO (Ha Yu) and her eldest son CHU KOT CHING (Kevin Cheng) look up to her as their temporal and spiritual leader. As KA is utterly resolute in her belief that she has got the best plans for her family, CHING has secretly invested in a domestic cleaning agency without consulting her, over which they have a terrible quarrel. CHING’s business partner KEI WING-FAT (Raymond Cho) has disappeared all of a sudden, putting him at substantial risk of bankruptcy. KA forgives CHING and immediately arranges for the whole family to share the work, hoping that this would help him out of the crisis somehow. Due to manpower shortages, CHING decides to hire FAT’s girlfriend TUNG KAM-PO (Bernice Liu) as a temporary worker and later even falls in love with her. KA’s daughter CHU KOT YUNG (Mandy Wong) has been dating a married man TONG SHAU-LAI (Vincent Wong) while her youngest twin boys have spent too much time messing around with girls rather than concentrating on their studies. All the recent happenings have sparked tension between KA and her children and caused a series of family rifts…How do they overcome the problems to maintain the family ties and realize the need for individual and family development?

sneak preview

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

Maria teaches more about making soup the easy way – I learned quite a lot from this show – what about you? At the end of this show – you also get to learn about Italian food and making pasta – plus you get to see the “real” kinda pizza that I loved.  But it’s too bad that the pizza was not cooked in a wood stove though – it was a gas stove – had it been a wood stove – it would have been perfect!  but it was truffle & cheese pizza – so it was yums!  those who loves truffle would understand what I am saying.    Hope you have a great weekend.

Merry X’mas to all fans, readers and friends of this blog – I hope your Christmas was as good as mine.   We had a really good family Christmas this year – lots of food and lots of family time.

A week before Chloe’s birthday – a present came on the way from Malaysia.  Dear Auntie Barb – so kind and so thoughtful – sent out a birthday gift for her.

It’s a V-neck sweater like t-shirt – great for summer – but lots of static – muahahahha!!

Chloe was so excited with her birthday gift – she had to try it on – to take pictures for Auntie Barb – Chloe said.  Thank you so much Barb!  it was very thoughtful of you.

Every year we are truly blessed by family and friends from overseas – and especially this time of the year – with Chloe’s birthday and Christmas in a few days.  And although I had asked for no gifts this year to be sent our way – because we are having a really quiet family Christmas – we have some really kind and generous friends and family – who’ve sent gifts from the other side of the world for Chloe and I.  This one is from Jenny from Australia – we haven’t opened it yet – because we are waiting for Christmas to come and Chloe is such an awesome kid – she didn’t even fuss when we told her that it was a Christmas present – to be opened on Christmas day.  Thank you so much Jenny!  we truly appreciate your kindness.

I had bought some shrimp wanton during my last trip to the city – and only remembered it a few days ago – so one evening – hungry for dinner – i decided to cook some and try them.  They were pretty awesome – for frozen stuff !  I haven’t had shrimp wanton for so long – so it was really good stuff.  I had some tom yum bee hoon with the shrimp wantons and  it was definitely something i would buy again.  I wished the local grocery stores would carry frozen stuff like that – now that would make my life so much easier.   I know one can make them yourself – but I’m so busy – plus I can’t get fresh shrimps here – they are mostly frozen.

So PB had been eating this yummy cinnamon with frosting bun from Tim Horton but recently – we found that the frosting was very little.  So when I got into Tim’s one morning – I was being a bad ass and joked about the frosting – that “Tim’s was getting cheap!” – the gals at Tim’s explained that – they weren’t actually supposed to put so much frosting on it – and this amount was right  - now.   I am going to boldly guess – that it is because of health reasons – that they don’t want to put so much frosting onto the cinnamon bun – in which PB had replied ” what’s a few more hundred calories right?” hahhaha!!  anyhow – the frosting is actually the best part of the cinnamon bun – so PB isn’t that interested in eating it no more.  I haven’t bought it for him for a few days now – because he doesn’t ask for it.  Poor PB?

Peg’s Family Restaurant opened recently and is currently in the location of the old Bruno’s Cafe on Main Street.  You can’t missed them – they are in a long green building – somewhere near the Tourist Information Center. And don’t let the outside deceive you – because the inside is very, very beautiful.   The inside of the restaurant – is warm and cozy – and most commendable are the staff in Peg’s restaurant.  They are full of praise for the owner – Peggy Muise – even though she wasn’t in the Sunday we went for our late lunch.

And even though PB and I were there at a time where lunch was already served – the staff took us in happily and attended to us with enthusiasm.  As we walked in – we could smell something nice cooking in the kitchen, it wasn’t grease – it was an aroma of something really good.

The restaurant wasn’t very big – but it does have the capacity of a good family get-together or a company’s dinner/lunch.   The setting was delightful – very classy – I loved the chandeliers and the lighting in the restaurant.

PB and I both ordered a main dish that came with soup of the day and a hot bun or crackers.  Not many places warm up their buns – but Peg’s did – I was pleasantly surprised – and the butter were not frozen but just right – not runny either.   The soup – was veggie soup – and it was a hearty soup – i loved it.

I love the chunky tomatoes in the soup.

PB ordered a grilled chicken cordon bleu – and it was awesome – the chicken was tender – the mashed potatoes were creamy and the corn was fresh.

What’s more delightful for PB was the fact that it was a piece of real ham in the chicken cordon bleu – unlike the previous ones he ate at a hotel here – they had a piece of sliced ham – the ones you get in sandwiches.   The price? only $12.95 – with soup don’t forget that – pretty cheap eh?  Yes! we thought it was value for money that’s for sure.

I had the spaghetti with meatballs for $11.95 – and the pasta was el dente  - and the sauce was yummy too.  The meatball was good as well – but a wee bit too dry for me.  There were pieces of mushrooms in the sauce – that was my favorite – but as you can see – it was another hearty meal – I only finished half and doggy bag the rest home.

The presentation was great – reminded me of Le Zie in New York City – on the 7th.

A very nice touch of fresh grated cheese – not just Parmesan - overall – it was an awesome experience at Peg’s – and if you haven’t tried Peg’s family restaurant – you should – you won’t regret it.  They have Deep fried ice cream too – which I am going to try the next time I am there.  Coffee and Tea are only at $1.25 and I hear their milkshake are pretty awesome too.  They have quite an extensive menu – and you bet you will be seeing us there more often.

part 1

We Chinese believe that double boil soup is good for health and some according to my late grandmother are   treatments for arthritis as well.  I am thinking it’s the herbs that are used in the double -boiled soup – infused with other ingredients – these soup turned out to be tonic soup.  Double boiled soups are not only treatments for arthritis but for other health issues too.  I’m not saying that by drinking these soup – they will cure some illness entirely – but it helps to boost the immune system and different parts of your body.  How true is it?  I think they are quite true – I know that my complexion used to be a lot better when I was home in Asia – with lots of places one can get genuine double boiled soup.  But now if I want any simple soup – I have to boil them myself – I hardly drink any – unless the Zhus made some and give me some, therefore, my complexion is not as good as I want them to be – but I do try to eat lots of veggies but nothing beats soup – the good ole low four tong.

Look who had a birthday party at the movie theater’s last Sunday?   Can you guess who is turning 7 yrs old this Sunday?  More on having your birthday party in the movie in another post.  In the meantime, what are your thoughts about celebrating your kid’s birthday @ the movies?

Notable: Replacing Gun Metal Grey
Episodes: 20


The subtle relationship between Barrister SHING WAI-SHUN (Steven Ma) and pole dancer HUNG LONG-KIU (Fala Chen) begins with a cell phone. KIU has been treating SHUN hot and cold. On top of this, he also finds her somewhat unpredictable. He decides to check her out secretly. His good friend, KWAN HO-CHING (Yoyo Mung) discovers that KIU is going out with rich businessman KO WING-TAI (Lau Tan). Under SHUN’s questioning, KIU confesses she is coveting TAI’s money, telling him to relinquish hope. It turns out that a mysterious man, who has been close, at hand is controlling KIU. Laying bare the darkest side of human nature, Links to Temptation is a thriller about morality, money, greed and arrogance.

sneak peek

what to do I’m addicted to my cantonese shows.  I cannot eat a meal without watching a canto drama from tvb and this is a new show and only been out for 4 days.  So far – I’m loving it – pretty intriguing show – not as exciting as the previous tvb drama – but nevertheless still pretty good. Leave a comments if you want to say synopsis or chat about the show.

PB turned 38 yrs old earlier this month – and like usual – we bought him a cake to celebrate – actually not much of a celebration – because there was nothing he really wanted for a present – and no restaurants here he wanted to eat in.  Plus we had to work on his birthday – so a cake was all we had for him.

So the man is 38 yrs of age – while I am 45 – so yes ! i’m the cradle robber here – hahahha!!  It’s true yer know – think about it – When I was 20 yrs old – dating and having boyfriends – PB was like 13 yrs old and still in school and don’t even know anything about girls yet (or did he?) hahhaha!!  Unlike Asians – mothers frown upon their son bringing home an older woman like some sort of taboo thing – here in the West – they are more acceptable about it.  Anyhow – I wished I was 38 again – I think I might have more stamina – hahah! to catch up with Chloe.

We all love Mcdonald’s – well every kid does right?  so once in a while – we do eat in Mcdonald’s  even though Chloe eats their Happy Meal every week – or at least once a week. Anyhow, we were there a week ago – and ordered some breakfast – of sausage mcmuffin and some hotcakes and hashbrowns – and of course my coffee.  But alas – I had burnt Sausage mcmuffin – but I was very gung-ho about it – I still felt that it can be eaten – but *sigh* – nope – the burnt sausage was too much to handle and I wasn’t going back and making poor PB drive in the snow – to get me some more.  So I ended up eating oats instead!

So you must be thinking that I should call and tell them about it and get one for free – the next time we are there.  Well, you know us – we ain’t no cheap charlie – but I did call – to inform them – but I know we would forget to get anything free from Mcdonald’s like we usually do.  But darn! it was disappointing – did you have a disappointing meal recently?  if so where?  and what would you do about it – pray tell.

part 1