Tag: ice cream

Canada Eh

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You have reached your final destination.

Cannot begin to tell you how incredible that sentence is. Not that we were travelling for that long, but it does make a big difference when you finally arrive in the country you plan on living in.

We hit Van City on Thursday, and headed to Kitslano to crash at our friend Carla’s spot. Kits is a suuuuuper cute area to stay in, right on the “beach” (I use this term loosely), nice little strip of shops and cafes, and only a 5km walk into Downtown.

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The main purpose for hitting up Vancouver was to get the admin side of life sorted, which we smashed out in half a day! We got our Social Insurance Number plus great deals on a sim card and bank account (Virgin Mobile and CIBC if you’re wondering). The banking system is so backwards here, they still use cheques, have only just begun using internet banking and most of the bank will charge you for internet transactions.

Once we finished the boring things, we took advantage of the sunshine and hit up Stanley Park. After the longest wait for an average burger (there are always downsides to travel), we grabbed some bikes and road the seawall.

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The ride was so flat and the bikes were amazing to ride, 14km went by so quickly.
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This cool kid.

The sunshine continued through Saturday, and with Carla not working we had a buddy! With a car!
After an amazing brunch (following from Perth traditions) at The Oakwood, Carla drove us all out to Lynn Canyon to walk around the falls and NATURE.

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Doing this little walk has gotten me so excited for living in Whistler, hiking and riding every day!

IMG_0575Rewarding ourselves with ice cream, naturally…

Our little group headed into Gastown in the evening, for drinks and dinner. I managed the dinner portion before taking myself home with a mother flippin’ cold. NOT HAPPY.
Gastown is very cute though, old school-style gaslamps on the streets, cool little restaurants and bars down alley-ways. I hope the others enjoyed it to it’s fullest!

We took Sunday a little easier (easy like a Sunday morning, some would say) due to my stupid sickness. Not wanting to waste the whole day though, we did a quick visit to Granville Island for chicken noodle soup and pot pies.

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The markets are gorgeous, full of fresh fruit and vegetables. We, however, were drawn to a different kind of dessert;

We had to try a maple donut in Canada 😉

After this I basically retreated to the couch for the rest of the day, but we did manage to watch Eurovision and laugh uncontrollably at the outrageousness. This made me feel a little better 🙂

Hi Canada! I like you, I think we’ll stay.

Hanbel.
x

10 Things That Make Me Terribly Happy About Spring

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  1. Our roses have shot up, seemingly out of nowhere
  2. Not being freezing all the time, especially getting out of the shower
  3. The change in fruit and veggie season, goodbye potatoes, parsnips, leeks and all things heavy
  4. Rosé
  5. Being able to drink Number 4 outside (preferably in a beer garden, with some hilarious friends)
  6. Swapping to lighter sheets
  7. Everyone smiling in the sunshine
  8. Packing the stockings away
  9. Not being too cold for ice cream/frozen yoghurt
  10. It marks the beginning of the holiday season!

Hanbel.
x

Blog-spiration

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That word definitely looks like it should mean a sweaty blog.
But no, I really mean blog inspiration, but I shortened it to be like the cool kids. Totes on fleek.

This week, I was following my daily routine – breakfast, instagram, work, work, work, check blogs in the breaks, and I stumbled across this post. Cupcakes and Cashmere is one of my favourites to read [side note: Emily just launched her own clothing line under the same name and I am coveting it all!].

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Emily is from LA, so obviously a lot of these suggestions are LA based, or at least feature in the states.
However, Australia has some damn good food and I have so many favourites in Perth, that it got me thinking about the best things I’ve ever eaten.

This was pretty hard to narrow down, but I’ve kept my list to 10. Aaaaaaaaand the winners are:

1. Noodles
Pad Seuw from Chin Chin, in Melbourne.
This restaurant was at the top of Anh and my “must do in Melbourne” list; and for good reason. This noodle dish was by far the most amazing I have ever eaten. Featuring six hour braised Wagyu Beef (back when I was on the red meat train) it melted in the mouth and left us gobsmacked! I’m not sure if its still on the menu, but they would have replaced it with something incredible I’m sure.

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2. Ice Cream
Peanut butter something or other from Gelato Messina, Sydney.
Again, the menu changes regularly, but anything with peanut butter in it is incredible. Props to them for the awesome and creative names too.

3. Taco
Fish tacos from Bib & Tucker.
These are all about texture, the perfect crunch from the lightly battered fish balanced out by the corn, avocado and punchy mayo. Runners up goes to La Cholita, who do a terrific beef tongue taco.

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4. Pancakes
Buckwheat pancakes from The Little Bird Cafe, Northbridge. Fresh, colourful and so, so pretty! These are delightful, and delightfully filling. I dare you try to finish one.

5. Cupcakes
Sticky Date, from Coles. No joke, they are the best cupcakes I’ve had in a long time! Super soft, perfect frosting to cake ratio and $4.50 for 4-pack doesn’t hurt in the slightest.

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6. Breakfast
I couldn’t narrow this down. So there are two: The Acai Bowl and the Smoked Bacon & Roasted Field Mushroom – both from Hylin, West Leederville.
I’m actually drooling thinking about that perfect mushroom, bacon and heavenly pea puree combination.

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7. Burger
Hemingway’s Burger, from Hemingway’s in Manly. It appears to be a humble beef burger, but it is so much more than that.
I gave up red meat a few months ago, and I would change my mind 100% if I had one of these in my hand.
It was my perfect burger.

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8. Japanese
Black Cod Miso, from Nobu. This is obviously not something I eat everyday, but I have been lucky enough to try it more than once. Every time I do, I am in heaven. The cod is so silky, and the miso accompanies it beautifully.

9. Dessert
Peanut Butter Parfait, from El Publico. I did try this after a coupla’ tequilas, so my memory might be betraying me.
However, it is Peanut. Butter. Parfait. I think I’ve said enough.

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10. Bao/Dumplings
Char Sui Bao, from Wonderbao, Melbourne. Two attempts to eat at this hole in the wall (FYI – they are closed on Sundays) were well worth our while. These beautiful, soft buns filled with moorish pork, crunchy veg and oozing sauce are the perfect handful of flavour.

I kept this list domestic, but I’m not sure why because now I’m remembering all of the amazing things I have eaten on my travels. Oh well, a blog post for another time!

I need to go eat now. Someone bring me one of everything!

Happy weekend!
Hanbel.
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