The Garden Café

My garden babies

The patio has evolved into a garden café...it is an ongoing project especially during spring and summer. 

The café is where I put all of my love, energy and where love is celebrated. It has been my escape and source of comfort during challenging times. It's space for my Concha to relax while watching the kids from our neighborhood play in the yard, tea and bbq parties are being held during sunny days.

To evoke happiness and inspiration, I displayed some of my favourite things in the café, It will go through regular changes, but hopefully the welcoming feeling in the café stays the same.

The Princess in the cafe

Maybe who knows, someday you would find yourself enjoying a cup of tea or coffee in my café, while being harassed by my gardening partner. Don't let his size intimidate you, he can only sniff you to death...

The gardening partner

Laminated Balls from The Philippines

They were the first thing on my shopping list when I planned my first trip back to the Philippines, after moving to Vancouver, even have set a budget to get a few pieces of them ˭̡̞(◞⁎˃ᆺ˂)◞*✰

It's embarrassing to admit that I don't remember exactly l where/when I saw them the first time, most likely I have seen them in Quiapo's famed "Ilalim ng Tulay" or "Under the Bridge" (not the Red Hot Chili Pepper Song).

The place is known for being the hub of anything Philippine handicrafts for tourists and locals, haggling is highly recommended.

It must have been the time when my late Aunt's first visit to the Philippines since moving to the States, I have a memory of us walking along Quiapo in search of something to bring back to the States with her, along the way I started noticing the decorated laminated balls in some stores, they are usually piled up in a shallow weaved basket, or arranged nicely in a wooden tray, their patterns caught my interest, actually, it was love at first sight. Each ball bears different patterns, and each piece showcases the Philippines' indigenous materials, beautiful in its own way.

When my time finally came to bring something to Vancouver from Manila, I indulged, I even bought a few from SM Kultura as I noticed they have better quality than the ones in the street stalls. I  rearranged my luggage's contents several times and carefully bubble-wrapped each to ensure I took them home crack and scratch-free. Nowadays I have them on display in and outside of our home.

It's been more than a decade since the first time I saw them in Quiapo; my love for it grew deeper because of the memory that it holds, It reminds me of the time when I was starting to picture what my future life would be, living a peaceful life, surrounded by beautiful things and people I cared for, and the laminated balls are part of it.

First Time Kaiseki Dining

Kaiseki Dinner

I used to be not a big fan of eating in smaller portions; the idea of the joy of eating has to be presented in a buffet style - the grab-all-you-can-eat type of setting -  the bigger, the better. Eventually, the excitement of looking at food in immense portions wore out, and the foodie in me started to crave a wider gastronomic experience.

'Kaiseki' dining is a must experience for every foodie, this opportunity came when I and dear 🐻booked a Ryokan for a honeymoon trip in Japan. Being pregnant at that time and having had a myriad of food to avoid as advised by my physician, the thought of kaiseki dining had made me worried; will the raw fish be safe? can I have a sip of their wine? and will my dear 🐻enjoy it?... Ignoring the voices in my head, I proceeded...with a touch of caution, it's only for one night.

The dining room boasts a panoramic view of their property's garden. We were very lucky to have the window seat to admire the view. The view was not visible during nighttime, but the vision on the table is worth admiring. When the menu of the dinner was handed, I noticed that my dearest 🐻 showed a sign of being intimidated, he was out of his comfort zone, food-wise. Knowing I have the solution for this challenge, I need to ask permission from the fragile blueberry-sized human inside me, I whispered "be strong...I have to eat some of this seafood with a possible few drops of mercury that can possibly harm you...most likely not, you have a portion of my durable cells!" --- for sure pregnant Japanese women have been eating raw fish for years and their life expectancy is one of the longest!

Menu March 2018

*Aperitif*

“Saika”

Plum Wine Produced in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

*Appetizer*

Tofu Flavoured Fukinoto* And Sesame

With Salmon Egg, Flower of Shiso, Wasabi,

Bamboo Shoot, Shrimp, Fried Fukinoto

*Fukinoto: Japanese Butter Scape

*Soup*

Chicken Soup with Bun of Tofu, Kelp, Ginger

*Sashimi*

Daily’s Special

Shiso leaf (Japanese Herb), White Seaweed, Wasabi

*8 Assorted Dish

Jellied Monkfish / Wasabi Flower / Boiled Herring/

Shrimp Norimaki (A kind of sushi) /

Boiled Beans and Squid / Pickled Japanese Ginger / 

Mille feuille of Bread and Salmon /

Beef, Mitsura & Pine Nuts Dressed with Miso Sauce

*Stewed Dish*

Local Odawara Chicken, Turnip,

Red Konjac & Canola Flower

If you like, dip ingredients into citrus soy sauce,

Green onion and spicy radish.

*Fried Dish*

Fried Local Ashigara Beef and Vegetables

With Curry sauce, Grated Cheese,

Tomato, Green Pepper

*Shimmered Dish*

Yellowtail Flavored Arimani*

*Arimani: Flavor of Boiled Soy Sauce,

Sake & Japanese Green Pepper

*Rice*

*Miso Soup*

*Japanese Pickles*

*Dessert*

“Setoka” Premium Mandarine Orange & Strawberry

The whole thing sounds so foreign to both of us, but I immensely enjoyed the whole experience, I just wished that there will be more of this in my future dining experience.

Sashimi Part of the Menu

To see the whole Kaiseki gallery please click the emoticon: 

☜(⌒▽⌒)☞

Tea Time in H Tasting Lounge

It has been planned a few months earlier, right after our afternoon tea at Trump Vancouver on one snowy weekend. We have decided that the next tea salon to visit will be the H Tasting Lounge of Westin Bayshore.

Aircraft illustration on the menu cover

H Tasting Lounge is still new to the afternoon tea scene of Vancouver, but it seems it has everything to match other tea salons in all Metro Vancouver could offer.

Live music was playing a favourite song as we were led to our seat, hinting that this experience will be different than others. The weather was lovely, and to our luck, we were seated beside the floor to ceiling window so we were able to see outdoors. The tea menu was presented to us, they carry the same brand of Tea as L' Orangerie's. While waiting for our tea set to arrive, my sister and I savoured the live music as we admired the H Tasting Lounge's interiors. The whole soul of the lounge pays honour of Westin's one-time resident - Howard Hughes.  

The menu has an illustration of an aircraft on the outside and a quote from the man, who was an aircraft enthusiast and a pilot himself: 

These were the unique experiences we had on this occasion: it's our first time having a candy floss, very nicely perched on the silvery trunk to form a pink tree. The whole tea set was presented in four sets - the Ferris wheel tray for the savouries, a glass box for the sweets, a plate for the scones, and the whatsitsname for the candy floss that formed into a tree and underneath it rest the confiture and butter for the scones. No tiered tray and still fab - big plus having a crooner with a seductive voice as background music!

Afternoon tea set

Ferris wheel tray - Learn the art of balancing act ೕ(•̀ᴗ•́)

As for our favourites: Pork bao and the steamed bun with salty yolk filling. The menu at that time seems to have a good mix of the typical afternoon tea fare - scones, cucumber sandwich, with Eastern touch. I am looking forward coming to H Tasting Lounge when they have their own themed afternoon tea in the near future and perhaps get myself a cocktail too. ( ͝° ͜ʖ͡°)つY

Unveiling My Bridal Veil

Most girls has vision of perfect wedding. To have a perfect wedding, the Bride has to get 'The One'.

The perfect wedding gown...

"I don't care about the gown, as long I won't look like a clown"

It became a popular belief that The Bride has to "wow" the crowd with her fancy dress. This is not the wedding that I want. My wedding is not just about me -- it's my husband's day too. It's the day we pledge to be with each other and take care of each other, till the end of our lives.

But then...

I am a big fan of shawls or any accessories that can drape on my upper body. My quick vacation in Manila made it possible to attain my little whim - a veil that is personalized, that describes me. I want it made of Pineapple cloth or "Piña" which is only made in the Philippines.
The whole process of turning the pineapple leaves into a luxurious cloth involves a long tedious process from extracting fibres off the leaves to gently applying intricate designs by talented embroiderers. Its mainly used to make formal attire in the Philippines and has also attracted the attention in the world of haute couture, because of this reason Piña earned the reputation of being the Queen of fibres in the Philippines.

Prior to our departure for our 2017 vacation, I found La Burda de Filipina online and directly contacted the Proprietress Marivic Gordovez to inquire with the help of a dearest friend back in the Philippines.

Traditionally the designs on the piña cloth are sewn by hand; due to our situation, there are time and budget constraints, the only option Marivic has is to have my veil machine sewn. Little bit disappointed, but i have something in mind to add a "hand-made" touch--- embellishing my veil with freshwater pearls, my birthstone, and Swarovski crystals to add sparkle😉.

Back in Vancouver, I am very delighted to find Beazu. They carry a vast variety of beads of any kind. Forgetting to buy freshwater pearls on my recent Philippine trip, I am relieved to find that Beazu carries them!

Each pearl and crystal was applied painstakingly as best I could, trying to be careful not to ruin a fabric that took time to create, putting my heart and soul into it. I have never worked with pineapple fibre before, but I am proud of the final result:

The final result

As I am writing this post, I would like to express my gratitude to my long time friend Olive. I am grateful for her help in purchasing my veil and many thanks to  La Burda de Filipina for the elegant veil, I am proud to own one, and I truly love it.

See the rest of the photos in this album.

On my way to be Mrs. 🐻

<----Trying on my Piña veil for the first, after the tryout bridal make up with Save the Date Beauty.


On the day of my wedding on 2017-11-23--->

Back in Japan ヾ(o✪‿✪o)ｼ

Before Marvel and DC superheroes I had Son Goku and Voltes 5 to rely on when planet Earth is in danger; my love affair with Japan started early, I remember my younger self wishing to visit Japan if the opportunity presented itself.

Then fast forward to 2018...

A year after our short visit to Narita and Shinjuku, me and 🐻 swore to each other that we will come back to spend more time and explore Japan. We were both hypnotized by Metropolitan Tokyo's crowded streets and flashing city lights, we really fell in love with how Japan balances modernization and old traditions.

There are plenty of Japanese restaurants in Metro Vancouver, and we regularly visit sushi restaurants in our area, I am proud to say that I converted my dear 🐻 into a sushi lover.  Even for a short trip, we aimed to dine in a sushi restaurant in Tokyo and we were very happy to find one in Shinjuku area - Kizuna Sushi.

On March 9 - 21, Japan is our chosen destination for our honeymoon, and me and my dear 🐻, now my husband are looking forward to it; we have already ordered our JR Rail Pass, our sumo tickets, booked ourselves a night in a ryokan with onsen and so much more on our plans, we are now in the process of tweaking our itinerary and for sure it's going to be a busy but lot's fun trip!

Here's one photo of Godzilla greeting us in Shinjuku 

≧(´▽｀)≦   ヾ(´▽｀*;)ゝ”

Godzilla head in Shinjuku

I guess my love affair with Japan goes on, this time I will be sharing it with my dear husband who is the biggest love of my life💕

Day Trip in Naritasan

Our 2017 Philippine vacation had at least 30 hours of layover in Japan, a country that fascinates me for a long time. To make our brief visit to the anime land worthwhile we really did our research thoroughly and worked around from our hectic flight schedule. 

First glimpse of Mt. Fuji

Airport lockers in Narita International Airport

Coming from Oyama Station heading to Narita Airport; we woke up early to avoid the rush hour of Tokyo's transits. It was a hectic ride; several transfers and relying on transit workers for directions. 
Once we arrived in the airport, we placed our luggage in a locker, had a quick Starbucks breakfast and waited our tour guide from Narita Rainbow Tours in the designated meeting place.

Few hours in Narita Airport and want to do something cultural?

Akane showed on-time, warm greetings were exchanged, she gave us a brief information about our trip was about, and we hopped in to our train heading to Downtown Narita.

Naritasan Omotesando -- a charming shopping spot

Lines of shops on the way the temple

The road leading to the historic Naritasan Temple (Omotesando) was filled with rows of shops and restaurants, according to our guide that the road has been busy for centuries; the pilgrims would stop by these shops on their way to the temple and later on tourists came as well. 

The side street of Omotesando is decorated with sculptures of Oriental zodiac, i regret that i was not able to take photos at least one of them 😒. Some shops were setting up, some were closed. Akane was enthusiastic introducing us to the shops' products: from rice crackers, bbq eel (the area's specialty), pickled vegetables and interesting kitchen gadgets; she was very informative about which shop offers samples and which one are popular.
We saw a stand that sells dorayaki--- a small pancake filled with red bean! My 🐻 bought one for us to share; for someone who is used to having sweet bean for a treat, this one is has a subtle sweetness into it and i can taste more of the red bean—it’s soo yummy!

Red bean dorayaki

The entrance to the temple was quite busy with both worshippers and tourists; crowds filled the cleansing stations. 

First cleansing station 

As we walked along Akane explained everything from the rituals of the believers and the brief history of some of the buildings. 


She pointed at the thick piles of wood plaques and explained those are the wishes of the devotees, it ranges from finding significant others, luck in employment, financial and health improvement and passing an exam!

devotees's wishes

Three storied Pagoda

The building that caught my eye was the Three-storied Pagoda, built in 1712 the bright colours of the pagoda were eye catching, we took a closer look, our guide pointed that the pagoda's ceilings were not just painted, it was painstakingly carved, It created a cool 3-D effect! 

Three storied Pagoda's 3-D ceiling

Avoiding the crowd for a little while we walked along the Naritasan garden park, where we fed the healthy inhabitants of the pond---the Kois, it seems that they know what to do when there's human presence nearby, they all swim fast beside the bridge because food will be automatically provided! 





We left the kois satisfied with the crackers, and went to climbed the stairs leading to the Great Pagoda of Peace which housed several historical relics, from old calligraphies, several Buddhist statues, a grand altar, and a time capsule that was signed by several world leaders during the early 80's. It's scheduled to be opened on 2034. 

Great Main Hall

Goma Ritual

Akane informed us it was time to go to the Great Main Hall; following the crowd to witness the Goma Ritual. When we reached the door of the Main Hall, we were instructed to keep our phones and any instruments that could take videos and photographs and remove our footwear. 
Respecting the temple's ettiquette, we joined the crowd who were all kneeling and getting ready for the ceremony; we knelt down and quietly observed what was happening. 
When the ceremony started, we listened to the solemn chanting of the monks, a large drum beaten as they chanted, wood being thrown and burnt, and later on there were monks who collected handbags and purses to wave over the smoke. Must be their way of asking the deities for prosperity and luck.

It was a great honour to be able to experience such a solemn event and learn a bit of history, 

Naritasan Compound

As we were heading out of the Naritasan compound, I was looking forward to seeing the shops along Omotesando once more and planned to take a look inside some shops that were closed when we arrived earlier. Along the way, she showed me more interesting goodies from the other shops.

Chestnuts

Treats in Omotesando

Various flavoured peanuts!

We checked a shop that specialised in desserts and tea ceremony treats and also checked out some of the souvenir shops, I was considering grabbing a Daruma doll but bought myself a kokeshi doll instead and magnet masks for me and my sister. Our tour guide told us to show our transit ticket to the vendor so we can get a discount.
With so much great memories from our day trip, and quite satisfied with our souvenirs; it was time to head back to Narita airport, Akane rode with us going to the airport and we exchange our goodbyes (or till we meet again) when we reached the airport's entrance; the next time i visit Japan for vacation, i will be booking my day trip with Narita Rainbow Tours again.

More of my 2017 Japan Trip check my Facebook Page!

Davao: Getting to know you through your food Pt. 1

"If my tummy could extend three times the limit and I was blessed with a laser fast metabolism..."

After staying in Manila for a few days; 🐻 and I flew to Davao city to visit a city where I spent the first few years of my life. I can remember myself speaking the local dialect fluently, being a little girl living a carefree life, enjoying Davao's local fruits, and my first school---L.C.A (now Ford Academy Of the Arts).

Visiting home after more than 20 years of being M.I.A brought a lot of nostalgic feelings now that I have my 🐻 with me in this trip, he gets to see a glimpse of my forgotten past; me rediscovering the old me that I left behind.

Our stay in Marco Polo Davao was fab and action-packed, being the official venue for the 2017 ASEAN Summit, and its delegates, We were caught up in the center of diplomatic buzz!

Marco Polo front entrance (above) and the lobby (top) displaying the hashtag for the 2017 ASEAN summit

Reintroducing Myself to Davao's Gastronomic Delights!

The highlight of my 3-day Davao homecoming was when we signed up for Mel's Davao Food Tour, iI figured that most of my fond memories of Davao are food-related, so going in for a food tour with my 🐻 would reunite me with good old times!

Bayong from Mel's

Bahay ni Tuding (Tuding's Inn), was the meeting point for the tour; We were greeted by Mel Pangan, the Proprietor of the inn, and also our tour guide. Being a local of Davao city, Mel knows all the best of authentic Davao.

Lakatan and Latundan varieties

The first stop of our tour was the Bankerohan Public Market - A big public market where she showcased the "Pineapple Samurais" --- pineapple vendors who can cut the pineapple in less than a minute without touching the flesh inside! The pineapple was served to us as our breakfast.

Pineapples (top right) Sweet potatoes and local cookware for sale (top left)

Using batirol to prepare the chocolate drink

Del Mar Painitan (Painitan from the root word 'init'---means hot/heat.) where the real culinary adventure starts. 

This place seems to be known for its puto maya and the kinutil - a beverage made of coconut toddy, native chicken egg, tablea (chocolate tablet), and evaporated milk. This is my first time having a puto maya, a rice cake made of purple glutinous rice, cooked in coconut milk, with a hint of ginger. It went well with kinutil that I miss so much.

I remembered my father making us kinutil when we're sick, we believe it has healing properties by sweating out the toxins out of the body, locals also claimed this yummy drink as an aphrodisiac! 

Purple glutinous rice 

Puto Maya and Kinutil

The Yakiniku Virgins

Grill that! 

It's the first day of Dine Out Festival and me and boyfriend (my teddy bear 🐻) decided to try a Japanese style barbecue at Gyu-Kaku, it's something new for both of us considering we've been to several sushi places or Japanese style restaurant around Lower Mainland. My 🐻 enjoyed the idea of cooking our orders in our table, it's a novelty to him and it makes you feel of being more in charge of your dining experience, you have the choice- which one to grill and how much you want to have. In our experience the only blunder that we made is placing the veggies directly on top of the grill instead of placing the foil where they where served on top of the grill. 😅 This blunder resulted to a semi charred veggies though i don't really mind because i also enjoy my veggies raw.

We are Yakiniku virgins!

I would say first time trying a new dish leads to a new experience, and new experience is learning something new! After posting another version of this photo in my Instagram account a follower commented "Japanese bbq= Yakiniku". New Japanese word to add to some of the words that i know: Harigato, Hai!, Gomenasai, Sugoi and few more words...

It's a sign that life is really prepping me to my upcoming trip to Manila and i will be in Tokyo for an overnight layover twice and get to see bit of Narita.

Tokyo, can't wait to see you!!!💕

My 2016 Christmas Tree

Outdoor tree from Costco

This is my first post on my blog. My blog: When Emily Goes Out is a collection of every experience that I cherish and things that I love. Now let's begin:

Bought from Costco, this outdoor tree was decorated mostly with handmade ornaments brought from various craft fairs in Vancouver.

The only "commercial" ornaments here are my Starbucks Christmas ornaments :). Can't wait till next Christmas and get to look at these beauties again.

Cheers for the new year---year of the rooster, life is great!

Swarovski Crystal Studded Christmas Ornament from Starbucks
(●´□`)♡