Sundays are usually days when we go out to eat as a family – but like most restaurants in Canada – the portions are really huge – we never ever managed to finish our food.   So what do we do?  we doggy bag the leftover and eat them for dinner (most times) or the next day.  We’ve always taught Chloe from young that food must not be wasted – so we always finish our leftovers – what about you guys?  what is your take with leftover food from restaurants and at home?  do you eat them all another day – or do you not doggy bag them for fear of looking cheap?

Many years ago before coming to Canada – I would never dream of packing up leftovers at the restaurants.  When I eat with my bosses or travel for work with them – I always felt like it’s so cheap to wanna doggy bag the food home – so why the 360 degree change?  Firstly, my current food is not paid by my bosses – who always eat extravagantly and being expatriates – they never like to pack food back to the hotel but now that I have a kid – I have to teach her good values and because of all the charitable organization I’ve joined after coming to Canada  – I’m made aware of the many people who are less fortunate than us  – therefore, I try never to waste food.

Ever since coming to Canada – I’ve to learned to cook for myself – but one thing awesome about cooking here is I never have to cook for PB – why?  because he likes his own kinda food – like potatoes, carrots, some chicken – not a lot of beef or sandwiches.  So I never have to worry about cooking for him – he can eat a sandwich in the morning, sandwich for lunch and another sandwich for dinner.  Yup!  he isn’t adventurous at all with his food – but every Sunday – he will cook potatoes, carrots – some sort of meat for supper – for the entire family – so I can’t really complained right?  Sure it is monotonous but better than my dad – having only cooked for his children once in our entire life – so I count my blessings.

I loved a good garlic bread – and found one that I liked very much here – so sometimes we also have garlic bread but not every weekend.  And for lunch we dine out on Sundays – although PB doesn’t really like eating out either.   So yes, for someone who lovesssssssssssss food like myself and being with a man who eats to live – well -  quite bizarre right?  but he has improved over the years – and he makes it a point to bring me and Chloe out to eat every week – although there are limited restaurants that he likes.

We had bought some Christmas cookies to be baked at home on Christmas eve – but alas – as you can see here – it was left too long in the oven.   What a bummer!  PB and Chloe was disappointed because they were the ones who wanted the cookies.

They were so burnt they can’t even be saved!  guess our oven is hotter than we thought it was. While chloe was whining about it and PB ranting about the oven – what did mama do?  just ignored the burnt cookies and showed everyone to the tv room. muahahhah!  that’s what mummy’s are good for right?

While other people get diamond rings or a piece of new jewellry – I wanted a KitchenAid Cast Iron Pot for my Christmas this year – that  I’ve been eyeing on it for years now but since it’s on sale I quickly rushed out to get one from Canadian Tire.  Trust a food blogger to ask for an cast iron pot – instead of jewelry.

Yup they had the red color ones but I wanted the purple one – coz’ I’m that special – muahahhaha!!!

So PB paid for it – and we went on our merry way – on Christmas eve!

We are truly blessed by good and true friends from around here – not only does Chloe and I get gifts all the time – we also get specially made cookies from Kim every year.  I think it is a priceless gesture and wished I had the time to do the same for all my friends too – alas, being so busy with my own work and work at the store – and of course Chloe – it doesn’t leave me a lot of time.  But my friends are steadfast and they understand it and never hold it against me.

And every year we received fruit baskets from friends as well – this one is from Lynette and Josh.  They are so thoughtful – even when they were just getting over their illness – they came by with gifts for Chloe for her birthday and Christmas and a fruit basket for us.  In everyone’s life – we have  lots of friends but those who are with you throughout the good and the bad times and never jealous of your achievements – those are hard to come by.  I’m glad I have friends who are never envy or jealous of our successes and celebrate them with us.  Thank you for your friendship Kim and Lynette.

A gourmet fruit basket from a customer.

And another 3 more from friends of the store too.

]]> http://www.icecubejunkie.com/2011/12/home-made-cookies-fruit-baskets/feed/ 0 http://www.icecubejunkie.com/2011/12/horses-good-food/ http://www.icecubejunkie.com/2011/12/horses-good-food/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:04:49 +0000 HoWeiSek http://www.icecubejunkie.com/?p=32691

For those of you who are not aware of this – we’ve put Chloe into horse riding classes since last year – and we get all her equestrian apparel online but when it comes to getting the saddle and tack, we are always try and get them locally if the price is right.  So a few weeks ago, we headed to Shelburne to look for this. This is a FQHB 16 inch Stallion Tack – I loved that it has lots of silver it  – they were asking for $650 and it was a very good price – but alas, it was a little too big for Chloe – so we didn’t end up getting it.  Guess we will continue to look for it online.

It was an hour drive back, so we stopped at Austrain Inn to eat – and it always makes us hungry after sending her for horse riding classes but we get to go out and eat – which is our favorite.

The Austrain Inn looked small from the outside but it has a huge capacity inside as you can see.

It was very spacious and we went late for lunch – therefore, you don’t see many customers at this time.

The service was good and the food was good too.  We had a hard time deciding on what we wanted.

The soup that came with my meal wasn’t something i liked too much – so I didn’t drink it.

Chloe as you can see loved this place a lot.

Her chocolate milk came first.

Chloe had fish and chips – they dont have this in the kid’s menu – I think they don’t have a kid’s menu to be honest. But the next time I have to remember to ask them not to put the green stuff.  I think it was basil if I am not wrong.

I had the most wonderful BBQ schnitzel chicken with some buttered rice and carrots – they were such a healthy combination if you asked me.  By far the best meal I had here in Canada.

PB had the chicken cordon bleu – he likes it  – the chicken is good – but the ham and cheese inside were different from what he likes – but he said the chicken was really tender.  We always have a hearty meal after Chloe horse – riding and she enjoys it so much – we really want to get her the right apparel for classes next year.

]]> http://www.icecubejunkie.com/2011/12/horses-good-food/feed/ 1 http://www.icecubejunkie.com/2011/12/christmas-parties/ http://www.icecubejunkie.com/2011/12/christmas-parties/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:19:36 +0000 HoWeiSek http://www.icecubejunkie.com/?p=32640

We’ve been invited to several Christmas parties this year and Chloe and PB baked some sugar cookies to bring to our hosts – we thought it would be a nice gesture since most of our friends have everything and insist that we don’t bring anything except ourselves.  We had to turn down some parties because we were afraid that the weather may not permit us to travel to and fro for the parties – plus in previous years we’ve seen many accidents on the highway – even when the snow wasn’t so bad – it’s the ice on the road that causes these accidents.   Of course,  medical help would be there when the need arises but why court trouble when you don’t have to right – so we only attend parties right in town and the time has to be right too – because of Chloe’s food – she is a fussy eater.

PB always insist that he is a careful driver – and I always remind him that it’s not him I’m worried about on the road – it’s those that are drinking during their parties or those who’ve ate too much – and falling asleep on the road.  You can never be too careful – so this Christmas season – for those who drink – don’t drive and if the weather is bad – don’t go out – because you may be a cautious driver – but the person riding down the highway – may not be – or the road conditions just may not be the best.  Be safe this Christmas and always have an emergency kit with you in the car and a number to call for Medical Emergency Assistance.

I’m very happy to see Marco’s Pasta  & Grill move to town – because I’ve always liked Marco since it’s previous owners but they were all the way out in Tusket.  Sure, it really isn’t that far – but when you are hungry – you just want to go where it is the nearest – and the trouble with us is – we only eat when we are hungry.

So having Marco’s in town is definitely a plus for people like me who loved food and different kind of food everyday if possible.

Marco’s is all decked up for Christmas as you can see here.

We didn’t have to wait long for our seats – there were like 6 – 8 tables filled when we arrived – and only 2 waitresses that Sunday.  So it is considered busy by my standard.

The restaurant’s decor is pretty – and as you can see here – can seat quite a number of tables and people.

We were given a seat near the entrance – one side is bench like seats and the other side with regular wooden seats.

We didn’t have to wait long for our menu to come – but the waitress didn’t give us a children’s menu – we had to ask for it.  But that’s alright – she is busy and I can see that there were a number of regular guests during lunch that Sunday.

We started with an appetizer of bruschetta  – although I know I’m going to be the one eating most of it.  PB had one – I think because it had cheese on it – haha!

The waitress freshly grated the cheese in front of us – and that was a very nice touch.  Unfortunately, chloe doesn’t like the smell of the cheese and as for the bruschetta – it was delicious but a wee bit soggy for my liking.

Chloe had the fish and chips from the children’s menu – and there were a lot of fish – she couldn’t finish all of it of course.

PB had a bowl of seafood soup because he had a late breakfast – he said the fish was really fresh and tender.

And I had the lasagna with meat sauce but had I known that there was going to be more garlic bread – I wouldn’t have ordered bruschetta and would have ordered some mushroom or even a plate of oysters if they had any. But the lasagna was good and some tabasco sauce would have been great to have without me asking again.

Overall, the food was very delicious, but the seat wasn’t the most comfy – and the service was good but definitely needed some more attention to the small details.  But having said that – they are just newly relocated – so I have to give them some time to warm up to the new customers I guess, so I will definitely go back and dine at Marco’s Pasta and Grill  – and will recommend others to give Marco’s a try for sure.

Hidden Treasure’s is located in South Ohio – about 15 minutes from the town – thru’ Highway 101 – in fact – this place was the first place that PB had his store – way back 12 yrs ago – before I came to Canada – and now it has turned into a restaurant.  Because it is out of town – it mostly cater to those living around South Ohio – Port Maitland and Lake George.

They do have an extensive menu – but I wasn’t very hungry as I had a late breakfast.  So I ordered a seafood  chowder soup – a bowl instead of a cup  but it was  alot of soup – so the next time – I will order a cup instead.  The soup was good – and a lot of fresh seafood in it.

I also ordered an egg wrapped to go with my soup.

Chloe had her hotdog and fries – since they didn’t have fish that she liked in the children’s menu.

PB had a chicken burger and some mashed potatoes.

The restaurant can easily seat about 100 pax and it’s a family restaurant – and the service was pretty good as well.

They had quite a few tables filled when we were there for a Sunday lunch – and yes – we will visit again – to try out the entire menu.  Afterall, this restaurant is very near to Chloe’s grandparents place – maybe – one day they will dine with us.

I have to admit that since coming to Canada – I haven’t been too concern about the dress code when I go out for dinner or lunch.  Quite the difference as compared when I was working in Singapore – that’s for sure.  Well, in such a small town – and also because of PB’s nonchalant attitude towards look – I too – dress down for the sake of matching up with him.   But that doesn’t mean that it is right – especially when casual smart is asked when you go into a restaurant or fast food like Jungle Jims or Boston Pizza & Pizza Hut.

But when we were invited for wine tasting a few months ago in Halifax by a well known food enthusiast – I made sure that PB dress up appropriately – not jacket and long sleeves but casual smart as expected.   He had some titanium accessories that he never used – and we decided he would use it this trip – to make him look more appropriate.  As for myself – I put on my nice suede jacket and my new fall boots and jeans for the wine tasting and for the wine tasting – i put on make up as well – not just lipsticks!

I don’t know how others dress for dinner or an event – but I think dress codes are given because you have to respect the restaurant the the people you are having dinner or drinks with.   Some people might not look dressing up – but some accessories can definitely make one’s look more formal than you think.  I love titanium accessories for man and I’m glad PB had some – so that whenever we need to attend something special – all I need for him to do – is put on his jeans – a simple long sleeve shirt – no ties – but definitely his titanium cufflink – now that’s the perfect casual smart for man.

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