I would love to listen to some  alto sax from musicians friend  but live singing and coffee or tea in downtown is just as good I have to say.  At the end of the month, find time to visit our local cafe at the corner of Main Street where City Drug Store is – and listen to one of our local artiste play and sing for you.  Enjoy a lovely after lunch coffee/tea with yummy pastries or try their gelato.  I would loved that they extend the live music to the evening hours – and some saxophones would be really romantic but I’m sure it will come.

So we had our first BBQ chicken, hotdog and beef patties this year and even though we didn’t have a regular BBQ pit set up yet, our friends had a make shift one with charcoal.  They had to use a  destaco  clamp to put the make shift BBQ together but they did a really good job. And since it was a charcoal BBQ we had to take turns to watch the fire in case it becomes too hot and burn the food.

I really think that there was a real difference in taste when it comes to charcoal BBQ and the gas type, you can taste the difference and the food seems to cook a lot faster.  I can’t wait to experiment more with the charcoal BBQ pit.  Hopefully, the weather will continue to stay warm – not too hot though – and not foggy that’s for sure.

The majority of our friends goes to Cuba or the Bahamas and some to Jamaica during the March break but we chose to go later, to avoid the crowd and also to have the beach almost to ourselves.  But we didn’t want to go where everyone has already been to, so we are choosing the turks and caicos resort , which came highly recommended by a family friend and my family doctor.

The Turks and Caicos Island is very near to Cuba – I was told and flight would be almost the same as if we were going to the Bahamas or to Cuba. I read that scenery was incredible and the sand were white, soft and clean – with turquoise water to dip into whenever you feel like it.  There are many towels, loungers and umbrellas and unlike the more popular spots like Cuba, you don’t have to wake up really early to put your towels on them so that you have a place to sun tan or just relax. They even have wifi around the pool area – so those of you who must have internet access, you won’t feel lost here.

There are many resorts you can choose from and as far as I can see, all the properties are pretty nice.  There is a special offer on some great hotels/resorts at this very moment and although it is not an all inclusive for all hotels, there are some offering the all inclusive if you check.  It’s a gorgeous place, and  great for a family vacation for folks  like us – with a huge water park and many beautiful attractions.  I can’t wait to try out their different cuisine.

So I had lunch with my girlfriends every Friday as usual – even though I haven’t been posting a lot lately of our food rendezvous - but no worries we have been eating as usual. And this time, Hyujin, Jackie and Kim came a long for our food tasting at Marco’s.

Pretty ladies – posting for me.

Marco’s had fish and chips for the lunch special and we wanted to try it since they were always good on the children’s menu.  I had mine with baked potatoes and they came with some vegies – awesome.  The fish was good but it could most definitely use more fish.

Hyunjin had the same but with fries and some shrimp at $3.99 extra for 5 shrimps – not bad at all.

Jackie was very hungry – lunch took a long time to come – as you can see – she was eyeing the food already heheh!

Kim had the montreal burger – and it was so yummy!  i had her bacon on the side.

Dessert was beignet pomme – fried apple donut with ice cream.

Coconut cream pie for Kim

Jackie was surprised at the size of her dessert.

Crazy eyes on the dessert – hahahha!

And crepe for me and hyunjin – but i would have preferred with real strawberries.  Overall lunch was pretty good.

Firstly, I have to say that no one beats the service at Jungle Jim’s – in Yarmouth, NS  - these girls are the best !  we especially loved one waitress -she is tall and skinny but most of them are tall and skinny but most admirable is the boss of Jungle Jim’s here – he is so nice and approachable.  My g/f had her favorite thai chicken bites.

The spouse had chicken fingers.

We had chimi cheesecakes for dessert

And another g/f Jackie had tacos

I had the all day breakfast – super yummy!

Layla had grilled cheese – which looked quite ordinary eh.

And chloe had the monkey fingers – too.

The girls shared a dessert – of brownies.

And their drawing .  Loved that the girls get along so well.

We were pleasantly surprised to see Gary – our favorite customer at our store – singing at the Farmer’s market.  Gary being such a romantic, I knew that I would enjoy any song he sings.  I think the Farmer’s Market should invest in some kind of standard music equipments for the entertainers that comes and sings for a few hours for the crowd.  I’m going to suggest to Natalie – the next time I see her to  buy boss me 25  for the Farmer’s market entertainers  because I’ve seen someone using it at the Farmer’s Market in Vancouver last summer.  I think it’s a really cheap investment to entice more people to come listen to the entertainment at the Farmer’s market during the summer.

Not at the local Sobeys but the Sobeys up in the city and I was kinda surprised and hope that the sobeys here don’t go selling pet food too because we do have pet food shops here like the Ascension Pet Needs next to Car Quests where Jungle Jim’s is.   Love Sobeys but would hate if we lose a local business if they start doing that.

In the city, the population is greater, so they can afford to have a Sobeys that carries pet food but not in a town with less than 7000 in population.

I don’t own a pet but if I do, I would want to support our local business just because they know more than your ordinary cashier at Sobeys and they can do special orders for you as well.

I love Sobeys for their groceries but no don’t bring in the Pet food, just like don’t get into movies  – because there are local stores like ours who does movies.

Easter has always been a family thing for us – but we focus more on the kids than ourselves but this year with my girlfriend around, she bought gifts not only for Chloe but for Aunt Helena and Grampie as well.  She is too sweet – but she found some  patagonia down sweater sale  and knows that the weather here can stay cold for a while longer, so she had to get it for them and of course chocolates for everyone.  Aunt Helena cooked this year since Grammie isn’t around with us this year, it’s at times like that that we missed her most.  No one talked about it but I’m sure they feel the same way as us.  Aunt Helena made a potato and egg salad just like what Grammie used to make for me, I almost cried.

We had lemon meringue and a chocolate cake for dessert with ice cream as well.  Cantaloupe were very good too – sweet.

BBQ Pork ribs were really good as well.

Asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots for veggies.

Rappie pie and mashed potatoes.

Baked Hawaiian ham.

Veggies

And a game of pictionary to end the evening.  We had a really good time and lots to eat.

So we haven’t been to the Farmer’s market for a long time – all because Saturdays are the days we get to sleep in because the kid is in school and we get up really early every morning.  But it’s Easter Sunday, so have to go see the Easter bunny right?  Chloe was so tickled to see the Easter bunny for she knew who was inside that bunny suit.

Everyone in the market was dressed up for Easter – and I’ll have to say that this hat is so nicely decorated.

Painted gourds – a craft that gave me an idea that Chloe can do this during the summer too because Grampie has lots of these during the summer.

An old cash register at Chef Gary’s who had butter chicken to scoop out for everyone – but a tat too spicy for taste I’ll have to say – but nevertheless very good food.  I had it for supper and lunch the next day.  At $8.50 it was definitely value for money.

An artist at the market – maybe Chloe can go to him for classes.

And our very lovely Natalie with her scones and bakery goods – unfortunately, it was all sold out.  Natalie is the anchor for the Farmer’s Market – without her steering the project – the market may not have been as successful.

From our favorite cookie store – some rice crispies with chocolate – very clever I’ll have to say.

And music in the market of course and many more stores with lots of goodies.  The Farmer’s market remained as vibrant as when it first started.  I’m really happy for them but wished they were nearer to our store – because downtown does need a little bit more people coming around.

While getting some  clarinet reeds at wwbw  I came across a dinner theater deal in the city and after checking out the menu, I booked tickets for them – as a birthday present for myself and a girlfriend who is having a birthday in the same month as I.  The things you can find on the internet these days is really amazing and I’m glad I came across these tickets for the dinner theater.  I loved dinner theater, not only do you enjoy the food, you get to watch a good play and some music played too.  The food are usually good – and the best part of everything is dressing up and painting the town red.  For those who’ve never been to a dinner theater, it’s never too late to start.

As usual our Fridays had us at our new favorite place Boston Pizza – but this time I wanted something different.  But the kids of course had food from the kid’s menu and this Friday we had another kid with us – our neighbor’s kid – Jill.  Chloe had chicken fingers – and this time she didn’t complained that it was spicy – the last few previous times,  she had complained that it was too spicy for her to stomach.

Jill had pizza with fries

A close up of the chicken fingers

My girlfriend had Jambalaya of course – our favorite

And I had the NY steak with salad.  The steak was pretty good – and i did like it but I think I still prefer my pasta.

I’m looking forward to this year’s Multi Cultural Fest because I’ve heard that a new family from Africa would be presenting to us the use of the djembe.  I know there is a  djembe guitar center  where you can buy them and have them shipped to you because I hear they are holding music classes for such classical music.  It’s great to expose our kids to different cultures and different food but I wished that is a little less chaotic.

Chloe would loved to go too if only there was a children section where she can play with other children her age and also get to try out different musical instruments from different countries.  Performing for the massive audience is great but when you go with your children, you want them to participate too.  Anyhow, this year, I hope that the new African family will make such suggestions, so that it will be more kid’s friendly.

Shopping and weekly lunches are great with my girlfriends, we not only exchange gossips and play catch up – we also learned all the good buys around town and on the internet.  If I asked a girlfriend  where to buy tv brackets  they would have a few good suggestions for me and if I needed a good pair of ski pants, they would know where to find them if I cannot find them in town.  I loved our weekly lunches and shopping spree, it’s something I looked forward to every week and although not everyone can attend the lunch together, I know I can count on them for just about anything.  Don’t you just loved friends like that?  now if you haven’t planned for weekly lunches and shopping sessions with your girlfriends, make this year the start of a new social calendar, it’s really good for the health.

Meeting up with my investment banker every 6 months is pretty much a routine thing now and I loved our meetings because he is so funny sometimes but so smart.  I sometimes pick his brains on other investment that I have back home in Singapore and he would extend his help and contact my citibank’s private banker.  Mostly during these kind of lunch, we also get to meet other people from the bank and I’m glad i have a  business card printer  at the store to print out all my cards so that I have enough to exchange with others just like myself.  I think we’ve formed quite an exclusive network here – and we pretty much exchange ideas and throw each other our experiences to ponder on.

Usually, we meet up in the city but this time, they’ve decided to come visit me and like any true Asian – I played host to a few people that I’ve been networking with for the last 12 years. Amazing how time flies – anyway, we had brunch on their last day in town and we headed to Jungle Jim’s for breakfast.  Loved the service at Jungle Jim’s and loved their food.

So cheap and really value for money.

I showed them how one of my g/fs had her eggs the other day – and we all did the same that day – just to see how it tasted like. hahah!  yes, we can be funny sometimes too – and it was not all about work during these meetings.

Hehehe!!  on sale from $6.99 to $6.99 – hahah! my laugh for the day but the salmon was pretty good.

I was invited for a luncheon not too long ago in the city and met several interesting young women entrepreneurs that opened my eyes to many other business opportunities in this country.   Most of these ladies that I’ve met came from all walks of life and one important aspect of these ladies were determination.   These ladies had stories to share and to me it was a learning experience, I also learned about business opportunities like  Web To Print  and franchises and what are the pros and cons on taking up the challenges of these businesses.  Real life stories – albeit not all happy ones but still an eye opener for me.  I brought home some ideas and me and PB are actually discussing about the feasibility of taking up another challenge soon since Chloe is much older now and don’t need as much attention as when she was younger.  Wish me luck now!

Chinese New Year was yesterday and as usual, a few friends with chinese kids like mine loved to gather and preserved a little of our chinese tradition even though we are so far away from home.  So a fruit basket full of good wishes for the Zhu’s at the Chinese restaurant and hoping it will bring them good luck and lots of money at the restaurant.

Some traditional chinese goodies from home for tasting and sharing.

Chloe all dressed up in cheong sum bought by her kai mah Lina from Singapore.

Eating at the restaurant, special noodles cooked for her.

Eating her favorite fried chicken with chinese noodles.

I had the buffet – yummy!

And here Ms Jasmine chomping down the peking duck with gusto – just loved the way she tried everything.

The chinese kids.

Adele and Sarah.

It was Grampie’s, Aunt Helena’s and Hyunjn’s birthday – on the same day too!  what a weird coincidence right?  so what we did?  we had a lobster feast for all of them – especially when they all do loved lobsters especially Hyunjin.  Here’s grampie cooking the lobsters now.

In you go lobster!

Grampie showing how he takes the rubber band out from the claws – very brave – I would have boiled them with the rubber band attached hahahha!

Lobsters cooking here

Grampie thinking if he should eat this lobster or not.

Almost cooked lobsters.

Uncle Jerry eating his lobsters.

Hyunjin and Shawn getting to their lobsters too.

Aunt Rainy and Uncle Garth going at their lobsters.

Birthday cake for the birthday boy and girls.

Hyunjin’s present for Grampie

Hyunjin’s present for Aunt Helena.

Aunt Helena’s present for Hyunjin – chocolates.  It was a great evening – but grammie was missing.

Normally, we don’t have supper at the New Century Restaurant or any restaurant unless we have a huge event going on, but a few days ago, my g/f and I decided to just hang out – so we went to pay the New Century restaurant a visit.  Not many people eating out that day – probably because the weather wasn’t that good.  But we ordered the Honululu Seafood plate and a plate of dumplings fried and some rice.

The fried pork knuckles were complimentary from the chef and it was pretty good even though I don’t quite like pork as much.

The Honululu plate comes with plenty of seafood and veggies and it goes great with rice.

And the fried dumpling was just as good.  We had a very good meal – only $20 in total.

There are many places in town where you can bring someone for a business lunch, just like when I had lunch with some powerful  San Diego Employment Attorney  last week.   If you’ve worked for a company in the States, you would know how important it is to know some powerful attorney because you want them to be there to help you out if you have trouble with your employers.

Of course, I didn’t need to use an attorney when my employers were from USA but it was good to know that I can count of these folks to help me out should I have any problems with my contract or pay or even if I was being treated unfairly being an Asian.  But like I said, I was pretty happy with the company that I had worked for many years ago.