My Best Friend Conchaboy

Seven years since we welcomed Concha home from a breeder in Alberta. With the right combination of tough love and pampering,  we got ourselves a garburator and half couch potato but by all means, he is a perfect dog.

Concha's photo by Hudson Wren

He earned several nicknames since his "gotcha day", from his first nickname "Conchaboy", then there's: Conchaboo, Conchabels, Belsbels, Smelly Belly, Conchapie, Pie-pie, Bellyboi, Smellyboi, Concha-banana, Whitespot, Conchang,  Fatso and the list goes on. I have composed a few songs about him that I regularly sing to get his attention and sometimes I can sense that he does his best to engage with me in his ways like a silent duet partner.

In seven years of being with us, Concha has gained a modest following on his Instagram account  (@Conchaandme) and has been regularly mentioned in my little spot online. He is a dear family member, my daughter's pillow, and my 🐻's afternoon cuddle buddy, his loud snores are music to my ears, and being in his presence brings me comfort, he slept beside me when I contracted Covid virus.

At seven years old, he is considered a middle-aged dog. Gray fur is showing up on his chin, and he doesn't crave long daily walks. He contentedly snores the day away as I work nearby. Conchaboy has mellowed down a lot, but he still occasionally goes nuts when he senses an upcoming surprise, like a walk with his "girlfriend" or being picked up by Boneheads for a day hike, to keep him active and socialized.

He is our best "boi," and because he is the best boi, We give him our best. We have brought him to most of our family trips and photo shoots. We feed him raw food to ensure that he gets nutritious meals.

As we celebrate his birthday, I wonder if he's aware that he is entitled to a birthday wish. If so, what would he wish?

If I could wish on his behalf... I'd wish for him to live longer...

(っ´ω`c)♡ ∪･ω･∪

My Pandesal Story

The scent of freshly baked bread is very comforting, it's one of the best scents in the world. 

It's funny that this scent was at some point a source of mild resentment to me. I remember being forced to wake up early as a child to buy pandesal at the neighborhood's bakery/ corner store. It didn't help that the owner/baker was a middle-aged man with quite an unfriendly, rough, and intimidating disposition. I can still remember his voice whenever he yells at his help in the store. He was not a pleasant man to deal with, his baseline facial expression was the exact opposite of the atmosphere of the warm inviting scent, as soon I got my bag of freshly baked pandesal, I zoomed out of his place to have it enjoy at home with coffee.

Freshly baked pandesal

As I learned my way around Metro Manila, I came across the "pugon" baked ones, they are fluffier, bigger, and tastier, the only downside was pugon baked pandesal price was unfriendly for my student budget, it's one of my "humble" splurges. After leaving Manila, I never taste pugon-style pandesal for so many years...until...A few years ago, there was a bakery in Richmond that specialized in Filipino bread, and their main star - pugon-style pandesal, I recall that 🐻 and would regularly visit Old Manila Bakery for our pandesal and ensaymada fix...but sadly my beloved Old Manila closed...(a common occurrence in Metro Vancouver food scene)

Fast forward to Covid lockdowns, one of my "projects" was to learn to make pandesal and find ways to make it "healthier" for my daughter...

I figured  I should start with the basic: semi-whole wheat pandesal, the taste has to be the same (slightly sweet, and milky) and can be enjoyed even with less white flour.

I found a recipe that matches my memory of how pandesal should be. I tweaked the recipe so the taste remains the same and whole wheat flour is not overpowering. If I don't add whole wheat flour, I could emulate the 'pugon'- style pandesal - bigger, fluffier, and buttery - the way I like it. 

(っ˘ڡ˘ς)

The scent of pandesal emanating from the kitchen is now a source of excitement. Anything pandesal has become our bonding activity, we love it with butter, jam, cream, cheese, and Nutella, it doesn't sound healthy for now, but there are plans to add spinach or moringa powder in the future...I'll keep things simple for now as my dear daughter wants to get involved in the baking process.

My helper

Mr. Grumpy Baker passed on a long time ago (may he rest in peace), not sure who is the new current go-to-pandesal person of the town, but I hope he/she greets the patrons better.

My Retail Therapy

My love affair for variety (dollar) stores started way from my early years in Canada (mid-2000s). The neighborhood's dollar store was my first therapy to fend off homesickness and where I spent my initial "splurges" from my modest paycheque. One of my little splurges was a set of wooden decorative balls; I remember gifting my mom a few of them a while back. 

My greatest find in Dollar Store

I have expressed my love for them in my old defunct blog which I am planning to write a new post about in the future.) | ू*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ)｡oO

Then, one day, I happened to visit a local 100-Yen shop in Vancouver and my mind was blown away by the cuteness of everything they carry б（＞ε＜）∂ 

100 Yen rice bowls

Back then I really liked the idea of making unique pots, 100-Yen stores have become the main source of inspo and new materials.

During the lockdowns when I was finally able to materialize my ideas, after watching several youtube tutorials, my patio now is filled with Asian bowls and teacups. 

100 yen garden ornament

I don't want to say that my love for dollar stores has faded, I admit that I no longer visit them as much as before, my preference lately were the 100-Yen stores, they are now expanding to other cities recently, but my greatest finds from dollar store shopping was still the set of wooden balls that I now proudly display in my back yard. I cannot find them in any dollar stores anymore, but luckily my mom returned the wooden balls to me as she doesn't share my aesthetic taste, so lucky me! !(•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑ 

I still get homesick once in a while, and when my mind is urging me to go for (retail) therapy, there is plenty of places that give me the feeling of coming back home...

Emily Is Still Going Out!

If you happen to follow my mis(adventures) in the world of blogging, you might probably noticed my inactivity. I think most bloggers would be guilty of this at some point. Good thing that this is not my main source of income and for sure I don't have a following in the wide scary and crazy world of the internet, there's no risk of breaking someone's heart (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و

When Emily goes out with Concha

But then, the yearning to share my thoughts somewhere is still with me. My lame but valid excuse ---" life happens". No, I don't blame life; I created life and take care of lives, parenting is a very challenging calling... It's fun, scary, frustrating, rewarding and oh it's damn hard for the most part. 

Speaking of life, we are still going through this devasting effect of the virus. I personally know some people who have contracted it, and we all lost loved ones because of it... Everybody's lives were affected in so many ways, that it made me reflect more on life in general, it made me focus more on what is really important and along this journey found new hobbies. Now having my daughter, my priority is her, I want to make time for her, and hopefully, share some of my hobbies with her, I also want to spend my time with my dear husband 🐻 and my black Labrador Retriever Conchaboy. 

One of the main results of the lockdowns and health orders was re-igniting my interest in gardening, I don't boast of having a green thumb but I am motivated in creating a beautiful space for my daughter and Conchaboy where they can hang out and have fun. 

I am planning to add more about gardening projects in the near future and might probably tweak a little in WEGO; as for eating out, I still go and enjoy some of the cool yummy places in the Vancouver area, there's more to come here in WEGO, hopefully, add food content soon! (•̀o•́)ง

Mother's Day Sakura Afternoon Tea at Trump Vancouver Champagne Lounge

It was supposed to be in Tsujiri in Richmond, but my dear 🐻was not able to book a spot for us. Then an ad showed up that Trump Vancouver Champagne Lounge was having a Sakura-themed afternoon tea. Being a Japanophile myself, thrilled by what I saw, I have decided to go to Trump Vancouver the second time around to celebrate my first Mother's Day as a mom.

Deluxe Sakura Afternoon Tea

Mini Doughnut, Matcha Roll and Sakura Puff

We arrived in a busy lounge, with most patrons coming for the Sakura afternoon tea. I couldn't help admiring the tree tray used to display the tea set and the cherry blossom-shaped cookie pops. After settling in our seats and ensuring that my daughter was comfortable in her stroller; we reviewed the menu to decide which tea set and tea flavour to choose, my heart fluttered with glee upon seeing both motoyaki and takoyaki on the savoury selections. Wishing to take home some of their macarons later and treat myself with champagne, I picked the deluxe set (presented in a birdcage instead of the ring tree to display the tea sets)  and as for the tea, I chose Bain de Roses to match the floral theme. 

Sakura Afternoon Tea Menu

We both shared all the three scones--how I wish there was two of each flavour because they were all really good. My husband gave me his share of the motoyaki and takoyaki as he is not a big fan of both. I gladly accepted the offer; extra motoyaki and takoyaki are always welcome (｡✿‿✿｡)! To show my appreciation, I gave him my mini doughnut in return.

Not wanting to save the best for last, I started working on my first takoyaki and motoyaki. The takoyaki, being deep fried created a pleasant crunch at each bite, and the oyster motoyaki...it was absolute heaven once it reached my tongue, I love how rich it was and had a hint of lemon to blend the creamy flavour of the sauce and oyster together.

My favourite dessert in the set, the Sakura pannacotta, had a base flavour of vanilla - my forever favourite flavour, with the simple addition of sakura on top, transformed a simple dessert into a piece of delicate edible art.

I am happy that I celebrated my first Mother's Day with my infant daughter with an afternoon tea. Looking forward to more afternoon tea with her as she grows up. This mommy is very happy to go home, and looking forward to having her macaron, but....Concha has another plan. Probably he was not pleased being left in the crate while we dined out.

Being a mom of a Labrador retriever, I forgave the glutton; every Lab mom is very familiar with this story.

Concha's Revenge

Update: Trump Vancouver has permanently closed on August 28, 2020.

Date in Origo Club

We got married in Richmond, BC;  A city known for its popular night markets and predominantly Asian restaurants. Most of these food joints give you the feel of traveling to Asia in one bite!  Recently I heard about a new French restaurant in Richmond. It also offers afternoon tea - that's something new and romantic!  As Valentine's approached, I suggested to my dear husband that going to an afternoon tea in Richmond would be our Valentine's date. I want to make a tradition to regularly visit the city where we had sworn to be each other's partner-in-crime for the rest of our lives.

Breakfast Tea

I booked ourselves for an Afternoon Tea for two in Origo Club without reading further on what this place has to offer. Let the first experience surprise me!

As we sat on our table, sparkling water was offered. I started to savour the ambiance while looking at their menu to decide which tea should I pair with my meal. Unlike most afternoon places, their tea selection was limited, with no signature tea blend. But one thing that Origo offers with their afternoon tea was pour-over for an additional charge. I was torn between pour-over coffee and breakfast tea; the English breakfast tea won in the end, with the thought of going back for the pour-over experience and champagne on the next visit.

Origo Club Afternoon Tea

Their signature "O" shaped tray was a visual treat itself with or without the sweet and savory treats that garnished it. Its design is my second favorite, next to Higashiya Ginza's wooden tray.

We both took note of everything we ate: about their scones, at first, I was worried that my dear 🐻would not enjoy the chive scone - he is not a fan of anything that's too garlicky. He ate his share of scones with no qualms at all. We both agreed that our favorite piece was the duck breast (Canard et Poire Pochée au Thym - seared duck breast, thyme poached pear). On the dessert side - the Matcha tart (Tartelette au Fromage Blanc et Matcha) is the one I enjoyed the most.

A row of savoury tidbits

Sweets on the top tier

During our stay in Origo Club, an entrance to another quarter with interesting displays caught my attention; upon reading later, I found out it's an art gallery that can be viewed by appointment only. Perhaps a peek in Origo's art gallery will happen in the future after a glass of Barons de Rothschild Champagne Brut.
It's nice to be back romancing in Richmond!

Two Birthdays And A Wedding

"I am very sure Canada as a Cancerian is a very caring country, she welcomes everybody with open arms, encourage their growth, watch over her people's well being...."

Vegan strawberry vanilla cake

<--- This is a very beautiful strawberry vanilla cake from Edible Flours, unfortunately because of extreme warm weather during its transport it melted part of its icing...😓




I promised myself not to fear aging; I just turned 35 recently.

The same age as the lead character of one of my favourite TV series to watch back when I was in Manila. The show is about the complicated and exciting personal lives of four ladies in a big city in the States, the lead character is a writer, with a weekly column, and lots of designer shoes, but she doesn't seem happy, I still love this show and been watching reruns, but I don't like to be like her...

Though at 35, I am grateful to found love and We will get married this November. I am not a big fan of designer shoes and I don't have a weekly column, but WEGO is where I share my joyful experiences in my travels and life here in Vancouver. 

My special birthday tea & birthday specials from The Body Shop

It's quite unfortunate that there is a lack of appreciation for getting older. We all dread it. When we were kids, we all looked forward to our birthdays, then once we became adults, we eventually stopped mentioning our age and never mentioned our birthdays anymore.

Our reasons are understandable. 

I am trying to improve the way I think about aging. I figured that it would be better to start earlier by welcoming each number as another friend; a friend who would assure me that good things are coming.

My birthday dinner in Joe Fortes

How did Emily celebrate her Birthday?

When Emily Goes Out is all about celebrating my life experiences. Working on my blog is a celebration, of my happiness and my way to constantly remind myself that there is something to be rejoiced about. 

Last Day Of Being 34 

The day before my big day I booked a nice afternoon tea in Pâtisserie Für Elise with my sister, as we are both fans of afternoon or high tea. 

Layers of goodness!

Cute house in the city 💖

<---This house has been in Vancouver
since 1893!





I had Darjeeling tea to paired it with this --->
and also came with quiche











Entering Pâtisserie Für Elise is like being transported to a different time! The venue is a Queen Anne-style heritage house, with all things pink and girly interiors.

La vie en Rose! 💓

After our afternoon tea bonding time, my sister brought me one of their flavoured loose-leaf tea (Crème Brûlée) as a treat. Feeling guilty after the treats we spent the night walking around Downton Vancouver and took advantage of my birthday discount from The Body Shop.  

It was a great day, why not celebrate now when technically it's already my birthday in Manila!

Enter 35

And on the big day, my dear 🐻 planned everything, he kept it as a surprise! I was spoiled by my dear 🐻 he bought me a nice purse for my everyday use!
We went out for a walking tour around Downtown Vancouver and got to know the early history of the city's red-light district. I have already been to other walking tours in Vancouver, and I enjoy every single one of them, I find it very educational and I appreciate the visual and sometimes interactive aspect of it while listening to the stories of the tour guides about certain places.

My fiancé knows that I love seafood especially oysters so he brought me to Joe Fortes for dinner, and their Lobster Oil--it is something to die for and it's not safe for dieters!
I indulged myself with oysters, by ordering the fried and raw oysters!

Joe Forte's complementary bread and Lobster Oil 

Raw and Fried Oysters for me to enjoy! 

...and oh  I got myself a free drink from Starbucks!

Free frappuccino from Starbucks

(My) Mon Paris in Burnaby

I consider Paris one of my favourite cities, and she probably has a piece of my heart. I remember summer 2011, when my sister and I visited Paris.

Late last year, while walking around the neighbourhood, I passed a place that has a potential spot among my “favourites”; I noticed the illustration of an Eiffel Tower with a heart on it as a logo —it send a message to me clearly, the logo is something I can relate to, the love of the city of Paris; then there’s the word “pastries” - now that’s the magic word! But the sign also said: Coming Soon—that got me curious and swore that I will come back once this place is ready.

When Emily comes back:

We were in the early steps of wedding preparations: there’s checking of venues, searching for possible caterers, and recently checked a place where we were considered for our wedding favours. There are a lot of things going on that I forgot about the heart of the Eiffel Tower logo.

One rainy Friday afternoon, my other partner in indulgence, my sister decided to meet up. She mentioned this new bakery that she wanted to try out - - -Mon Paris. 

The place with the heart on the Eiffel Tower logo! I didn’t really see the whole name the first time I passed by it. I am thankful she mentioned this place and I was so excited to finally have the chance to try it!

Our first order from Mon Paris

Inside Mon Paris we were greeted by the decadent displays of chocolate Easter eggs, croissants, and other pastries. 

We were completely hypnotized by all the goodies, they are all talking to us: “try me, buy me, try me…”, it is a small place and we felt the only unoccupied table will be gone as soon another customer shows up, so we grabbed the table and proceeded to order right away.

Easter chocolate special

Warning!!! Not safe for dieters!!! (NSFD)

We both ordered London Fogs for a drink; it has a few pieces of lavender floating which we found cute; we had a hard time deciding which sweets to order with our tea as they all looked tempting! 

While ordering I kept glancing at the display of the rows of the colourful chocolates beside me; they all looked elegant. 

Mon Paris chocolates

That’s when I decided to choose Mon Paris chocolates for my wedding favours! My sister seems to think that it’s a great idea and volunteered to cover the wedding favours as her wedding gift for me. 

The owner of Mon Paris Chef Elena Krasnova, was present at that time, my sister and I discussed with her that we were very interested in ordering boxes of chocolates for my upcoming wedding.

We were absolutely impressed with our orders; the presentation is sophisticated, the taste not too sweet; Chef Elena mastered creating masterpieces by blending all the different flavours and textures.

St. Honore

Strawberry Cheesecake

Enjoying our dessert I thought about grabbing several pieces of Mon Paris goodies for my teddy bear’s upcoming birthday, but I can’t wait for a few more weeks so before we left, I grabbed a box nine of chocolates for my 🐻 to enjoy.

Morning Wisdom From Jethro's

WARNING!!! Not safe for dieters!!! (NSFD)

My gastronomical Guru, Denny's taught me that "Anything can be solved over a stack of pancakes". Then Jethro's Fine Grub came along with a sign with bold statements that caught our eyes:

Jethro's Fine Grub sign (back)

Jethro's Fine Grub sign (front)

Not really in the mood for having bacon for breakfast, but it gave us an impression that they take their bacon seriously. That's a good sign.

It was a weekday so there was no long line up which regularly happens in several popular brunch places in the Vancouver area during the weekends.
We have a table ready and the service is fast; the attendant gave us a Mexican hot sauce right away which I really appreciated. I always ask for hot sauce when I go to brunch places. They also regularly check if we need our coffee refill.

Smoked Salmon Benedict vs. Apple Cobbler French Toast

There are a lot of great choices on their menu; it took me a while to choose between Smoked Salmon Benedict and Apple Cobbler French Toast I forgot to take a photo of their menu. I decided to order the Smoked Salmon Benedict instead of the other, and my 🐻 ordered The Gold Rush.
At that time we were not really in an adventurous mood (but would be ordering Crab Cake Benedict next time we visit)

While waiting for our order, I enjoyed the funny illustration on their wall. For sure it's an offensive joke for vegans and animal rights advocates, but I can see the humour in it.

Bacon is all that matters!

My dear 🐻's facial expression was priceless when he saw his order..it's huge! He was speechless for a few minutes. I gladly proceeded to enjoy my Benedicts and shared some of my hash browns with my dear 🐻. I am also having some bites of the yummy huge pancake.
I remembered messaging my sister about wishing she was with us, we need reinforcements 😂! I even saw the customer's order beside us, french toasts--- and the slices of each toast were thick!

Serving comparison

My order: Smoked Salmon Benedict

And his order...The Gold Rush

What's in The Gold Rush? A giant pancake stuffed with banana, pecans, streusel, and caramel. Topped with whipped butter and more caramel, pecans, and streusel!

We both enjoyed it (I actually loved it) but we couldn't finish it. One of the attendants provided us with a take-out box with instructions on how to reheat our generous leftovers.

Want to accept the challenge?

Jethro's Fine Grub has two locations: the Dunbar location and the Fraser St. location, so there are two battlefields to choose from:

Jethro's Fraser Street Location

Next time, we will be bringing an army to share the giant pancakes with. I guess from their sign it might sound like having too much of good things is great, but the real joy is sharing it with people who are special to us.

We need another empty tummy to help us...

Update: It's a great sadness to write this update...Jethro's Fine Grub has closed.(◞‸◟；)

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!!!💕

"Anything Can Be Solved Over A Stack Of Pancakes."

Early morning meditation with Denny's wisdom.

"Anything can be solved over a stack of pancakes." --- I think I have a new mantra, thank you Denny's.

When we feel like going out for brunch but not in the mood for a non-chain brunch place; Denny's is usually the place to go for me and my 🐻.

For some reason I really love their pancakes, they are fluffier than one of their main competitor and I love their occasional featured flavor.

I had a birthday slam from Denny's last year, and that's the best slam ever!

Here's another photo of our brunch in the same Denny's branch, and there are times that I just didn't take photos of my Denny's meal at all, I know deep inside that meal would not be my last...

There are plenty of great brunch places here in Vancouver, but Denny's successfully managed to keep me coming back. I guess that's the power of their stack of pancakes...( ˘▽˘)っ♨

My First Food Photo Here!

I have lots of food photos, I have this hobby of taking photos of most food that I ate when we dine outside and not mainly for the purpose of reviewing, but compared to a real food blogger, my food pix collection is minuscule, then I remember---before Instagram i have been taking photos some of my dine out experiences in the past! Unfortunately, I lost (eventually deleted) some of them. Nowadays my Instagram account (604Emijoy778) is pretty much 80% food photos, and there's more unposted!
I love good food!

Here's the pic of one of my favorites: cheesecake 😮😮😮

 My "Cheesecake Paradise" in Vancouver---Trees Organic Coffee & Roasting House.