We may not live in Toronto but our friends/customers who are there always bring back food for us from there or blogging friends from Toronto and Vancouver always send stuff to us – like Jenn and Stephanie.  Su Lee from the book store was in Toronto about a month ago – she had said she wanted to bring back some noodles for chloe but i joked with her that i prefer some fresh durian – hahhahaha!!  Su Lee didn’t bring back durian when she came back because they weren’t in season – but she brought us some mangoes & persimmons  – full of vitamins she said just for dear Chloe.   We are so blessed – friends/customers do take care of us – a lot!  by bringing back food and fruits and even durian – which Su Lee did one year – from Halifax – she is very, very awesome!   Everytime, Chloe goes to the bookstore – she offers a free book for Chloe – they are too sweet to her.

We were out to Dayton on Sunday a few weeks ago  - getting plastic bags for the store – because our supplier didn’t have any in stock at the moment, plus i also wanted to see the lady at the drug store to ask her how to treat acne for my dear niece from home.   So after waiting it out for weeks – without bags – only recycled ones to give to our customer/s – we finally broke down and went out in search of it.   As we got outta our car – the awesome smell of fresh strawberries was all over the car park and at 3.99 a quart – i was darn tempted to buy some.

I kid you not – the strawberries smelled so nice – i was really tempted to get some but already bought some from Sobeys earlier this week.  The next time i think of getting fresh strawberries – i’ll have to remember this place in Dayton.

Yums!  we don’t get to see strawberries as sweet and big as these back home – the only place i’ve seen strawberries so awesome were in Japan – I’m sure – Lina Tai can attest to that.

I haven’t eaten Guai Lin Gou for a long, long time now – i remember eating them at least once or twice a month when i was home.  Why? It is said that these herbal jelly has chinese herbs and medicine in it – and it is said to cleanse your body of toxin and relieve heatiness in your body.  Meaning good stuff all the way for your body – those got lots of acne – they said that this will help.  Oh !  people with no sense of humor can try this too – hahahahha!!  i didn’t say that – it’s the Asian Grocery Store boss who told me so – hahahah!!

The Herbal Jelly is black in color and it had a strong chinese medicine smell as expected but it was really good and I had offered some to PB – but he wouldn’t eat it.  But i do like it – and will buy some more of it – the next time I’m up in the city.

This is how it looks – you pour a little bit of syrup to go with it – to make it less bitter – but i rarely used it – it isn’t that bitter.

We were up early the next morning – when we were up in the city about 3 weeks ago – for my doctor’s appointment, we had a very light breakfast in the hotel.  The hotel coffee shop’s staff were very kind and made a pancake for chloe even though they didn’t have it on the breakfast menu.  But because we were so anxious to get to the hospital in time – we didn’t get to eat very much but  I’m grateful to the hotel’s staff though.  So after our eye appointment –  we headed back to the hotel, parked our car thru’ the valet and took a short walk to Cabin Coffee.

Chloe was just too happy to be outta the hospital – it was a boring wait – 2 hrs.

They have very colorful and comfy chairs outside the cafe – if you just wanna enjoy the sun and the people walking by.

Chloe & teddy  trying out the lounge chairs.

Cabin Coffee is a very vibrant little cafe – there was a line up when we arrived and not much seating – but by the time we finished ordering our food – there were people leaving – so we were able to get a huge sitting place – and darn comfy.

Love their chandelier!  I want one too!

Love the decor of the cafe !  the color reminds me of our old store at 308 Main Street – but feng shui dictates that not all store can thrive in this color – but as you can see – this cafe is doing extremely well.

A mandatory silly post with daddy and daughter.

I ordered a tuna melt on whole wheat & a coffee for take – out because it was pretty crowded when we first came – we figured we would bring it back to the hotel and eat at the rooftop where the scenery was awesome – but that would be for another day and another post.  The tuna melt was yummy and so was the coffee – i won’t mind this instead of Tim’s every morning – if we lived in Halifax.

I love anything on chalkboard – so old school charm – can’t get enough of it.

PB had a cinnamon bun thing but it was a lot bigger when he began – i just took this picture at the end.

Chloe had a chocolate muffin and of course she didn’t finished it.

And they are a hotspot cafe – so if you can go on the internet if you are with Aliant here, if you don’t you can pay a minimal fee – and go online.  We enjoyed this place very much – the staff were friendly and they let chloe roam the cafe – and look for things and let me take a million pictures.  Cabin Cafe is at Hollis Street – next to the Sheraton Four Points and walking distance from the Courtyard Marriott where we stayed for this visit.

This new candy bar supreme topped with M&M bits came out last week and a half – so PB found them quite interesting and tried them.  Not bad – he claimed but as the week went by the M & M toppings got lesser – LOL!  but it was still good.  I joked with the gals at Tim’s and they had mentioned that there were going thru’ the M & Ms a lot faster than they had anticipated – so the toppings are not as full as they had it before.  The new donut was like $1.08 + tax i think – but don’t quote me – because I rarely look at the prices – for Tim’s has always been reasonable with their prices.   So try it – if you are around Tim’s and for those who are not – i wished i could send some to you.

a close up for you to drool on .. hahah!! i’m evil!

This wasn’t made by me – haha!  this was a project from Chloe and Grammie.  Yes! they do lots of things when Chloe visits on Saturdays and holidays.  Today while going to school in the morning, she told us that Grammie taught her to knit but not the fancy stuff she said – just a straight line.  She said she was going to knit a scarf for PB – because i already am wearing a scarf  and she can’t do her toque that Grammie knit for her every year – because Grammie only taught her how to knit one way.  It was very hard work she said – hahhaa!!  I didn’t managed to take a better picture of it because it was pretty late when we got home that nite and I didn’t want to tempt the lil’ brat else she would wanna eat it that nite.

While everyone has a normal birthday cake for their birthday – i had a special one – hahahha!!! yes – mine was a corn bread birthday cake made by Chloe’s grammie.  Yes! i loved corn bread and because I can’t find them here – or rather – the ones that tasted like home – from Kenny Roger’s, therefore, Chloe’s grammie made this corn bread for me and it sure came as a surprise.  But pretty thoughtful because you know i wouldn’t eat cake because i am a diabetic.  It was quite amusing but i was truly touched – it was a thoughtful gift – something i would always remember.  The corn bread was really good and if you want the recipe – I can post it up here – when i get it.  According to Chloe’s grammie it is pretty easy to bake – i might just find some ambition to bake one myself – wished i could share some with you all.

Father and daughter having a cake moment.  Chloe was invited to a birthday party last weekend – and like usual – I can’t eat the cake because it would mean that i have to give up on the certain stuff i know that i would enjoy instead of a piece of cake.  As a diabetic – I have to make my choice wisely and only eat those that I really wanna eat unlike PB – he can eat a whole day’s worth of chocolate and candies.. and still his blood sugar is great!  JEALOUS!!!    HATE HIM FOR THAT!! Muahahahaha!!!

But don’t get me wrong – i can eat the cake if i wanted to – a small portion – not too, too much but i usually choose not to – because i didn’t wanna start the habit of eating cakes all the time – since we do get invited to parties a lot.   Chloe loves eating the frosting mostly – she leaves the cake alone after eating the frosting.  What about you?  how much cake do you eat every week?

Last week during March break – Chloe went to visit her grandparent’s on her own for the first time.  In fact, she went back again the next day and again on Saturday – because she had so much fun out there.  Grammie’s and Grampie’s has lots of garden to play with and they did all sorts of things  – from planting peas to digging worms and learned to shoo the cats away.   But the most important thing Chloe did was bake a cake with her grammie and then stick flags that Auntie Anna had sent from USA last year.  Of course – the frosting had to be pink!  so if you see any cakes in pink – it had to be Chloe’s cake.

I’m constantly looking for healthy stuff to eat because of my diabetes, just like PB looking out for free seo tool to help the people who are hosting with us.  My quest to share healthy and edible diabetic snack had been very fruitless.  Take for example this bag of pita puffs that i found at the local supermarket – they are not cheap – at $3 a packet but i still bought it to give it a try.  The first bite, i already know that it would be really hard to stomach – unlike eating BBQ chips – not like i eat a lot of chips.  Whenever i do eat chips.. i only take a few chips to satisfy my craving – but still i want to find something healthier because i know not everyone can eat in moderation.  This pita puffs contains no sugar but it was dry and horrid in taste – so i definitely don’t recommend it for anyone.

Who needs expensive ice cream when you can buy a box of sugar cones for $0.99 cents a tub of ice cream for less than $5 and still enjoy it tremendously.   We used to go out and get soft serve ice cream in Hebron during summer and spend close to 10 bucks for 2 ice cream cones – must more expensive than buying a new blackhead extractor – and the sugar cones lasted good for days.  Most cones they get soften and taste bad after a few days .. but not these sugar cones by local no name brand from Sobeys.

See a perfectly happy kid with a happy cone.

I love corn bread – no i should say i love the corn bread from Kenny Rogers – from back home – boy! do i miss them!  I’ve tried in vain to get the same kind of corn bread her in our town but to no avail.  I bought some from a bakery and they tasted horrid.. and i bought this from Sobeys – they tasted ok .. but nothing spectacular.  Chloe’s grammie is gonna make some of her special – to see if i like it or not – so hopefully it’s the kind I like eh.  Anyone got Kenny Roger’s recipe .. please let me know eh.

Fruits ! my ever favorite – if you asked me to choose between a fruit and a piece of chocolate – I’ll take the fruit instead.  And if there were pineapples – well – definitely the fruit then.  Even before knowing that I had diabetes – I’ve always loved my fruits and craved for fruits.   When I found out that there were lots of sugar in fruits – i kinda kept away from it – especially no more orange juice.  But you see  – there are misconception here – you can always eat fruits and eating fruits is definitely better than having a piece of candy or a bag of chips but everything in moderation and you’ve to pace yourself.   Meaning – don’t eat the whole bucket of the above fruit in one go – just eat a few of them at every meal.  I pick a bowl of fruits after every meal and I feel good about it.  It’s definitely cheaper than Tim’s yogurt.  What about you ? you eat lots of fruits?

Junk food is PB’s favorite food – he can eat cookies, ice cream, ice cream and vivo puffs to keep him going if he cannot find time to get dinner.   I’ve never tried it not because I won’t like it – I know I would but as a diabetic – I don’t even touch this anymore – because I’m saving my sugar for something I know I would enjoy – like noodles…!! or curry noodles.

So Chloe was recommended this today – at first she didn’t want it.. but after much persuading.. now she is hooked onto it.  This Viva Puffs are a treat to her – the puff consist of chocolate, marshmallows and cookie at the bottom and as you can see there are chocolate oozing outta the picture.   Junk food as darn cheap here – this big packet of Viva Puffs cost less than $3.50 and they come on sale so often – plus with airmiles given at times.

It was Chloe’s grampie’s birthday a few weeks ago – but as you all can see, we had been so busy that we didn’t have a chance to get him a cake till yesterday.  We had Mr B’s sister – Crystal – she is so talented do us a boobie cake for Grampie.  I had wanted Crystal to write “Happy Birthday, Old Fart” on the cake but she must have forgotten .. muahahah!!!  I had also wanted to get him some wrinkle creams but PB said he won’t use it – so i bought some for myself instead.  The cake tasted really good – according to Chloe’s grampie – even better than Sobey’s he said – so i’m really happy about it.  What do you think..?? like the boobie cake..??

It’s chocolate and white cake inside.

Not quite Valentine’s Day yet but since we were out getting a  doorbell button , the ang moh cannot helped but get a Valentine’s Day cake – not for me .. mind you .. but for himself – for you all know that i don’t fancy cake, plus being a diabetic it’s rather hard to get to like it that much.

Cakes are cheap here – and the ones you get from Sobey’s they are pretty good and it wouldn’t break your bank even if you get them for your friends and family.  The thing is this – this cake is gonna end up in the store because we are not gonna be able to finish it and it would go to waste if we don’t share it with our customers.   So why do the man still buy cakes..?? like i said..  it was cheap.

So it was Grammie’s birthday last week or maybe a week and a half ago .. and since we will be at the store that day, I reminded the “ang moh” to go get a cake – not a huge one – since Grammie wasn’t going home after visiting Chloe at the store.   So we waited for Chloe to come home from school – so that she can sing her Grammie a Happy Birthday song .. and blow the candles – because she loves blowing candles.   Everyone ate the cake..and there was like a good half a piece left.  I didn’t eat it .. because i was trying to be good since i had to go for my blood test soon.

This is long overdue – like most of the things I need to post up here – hahah! busy lah!  anyhow, this was taken 2 weeks ago, when Chloe visited her grammie and grampie on a Sunday for sledding.  Grammie decided to bake some cupcakes with Chloe.

Yes! i believe in letting Chloe do as much as she can or comfortable with – but Grammie does all the preparation lah.  She didn’t like using the mixer at first but daddy got her a stool to stand on .. and she is good for a bit and mixing the flour and eggs.

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10 yrs ago, when i first came to Canada – the “ang moh’s” family and extended ones were really amused that I take pictures of everything i eat and everything i do.  In fact, it had become a part of their life – to let me take pictures first before they even start a meal, to them it’s like me going on treadmills to keep me happy.  But you see not everyone knows what i do online, in fact last week when i was taking pictures of this home made lemon meringue pie made by Aunt Helena – the “ang moh’s” uncle was totally amused and asked me what i do with these pictures.  In which i replied that I make money outta them. HAHAHHA!!  he thought i was joking.

At first, he thought i sold the pictures of the food pictures and then “ang moh” explained to him about my food blog.  Not many of you, know that one can make money online and i’m pleased to inform you that it is not a myth, it is true  – yours truly is one of them.  You don’t have to write “bullshit” like what “ang moh’s” father used to say about me – but if you are passionate about food or just about any niche, you can make money.  Once again, let me warn you that if anyone ask you to pay money upfront to join their “make money online” affiliate program, then you can be sure that you are getting scammed.  I never have to pay to make money and am fortunate that I have great sponsors for various different blogs of mine.  Making money online is not by fluke or luck but a lot of hard work and research – and time consuming, so if you think that making money is a shake leg business then you are wrong.  There are a lot of self-proclaimed internet guru or SEO experts out there – hahahha!!   and some who claims they make 1000s of dollars every month – well, unless you are John Chow or Darren Rowse – i highly doubt so.  Well, there you have it in a nutshell – and yes, my passion is still food and yes, I make money online but compared to pro bloggers like John and Darren – i donch even make a fraction of what they make but i’m happy to let you know that I’ve build a small little nest for my daughter and can afford little luxuries without having to “ta fu tou” – on our grocery money.

So i wanted something sweet during Christmas.. but i wanted something kinda healthy too.  I saw this new thing at the grocery store and thought to myself..  ALMONDS?  NUTS?  nuts is good right..?? so i bought it.  Not very expensive .. about 5 bucks.

So happily .. after Chloe slept.. i opened it to enjoy it..  but alas..! it wasn’t what i expected…!!!  the dates were not the whole date .. it was something mashed together.. and didn’t taste like dates at all.  I had one.. and the rest are currently now sitting inside my fridge .. what a bummer..!!  But at least i tried..  and i now know.. and am now sharing with everyone.