On Nikaido and Tea

(Photo from the Steveston Insider)

On a lovely Saturday afternoon in sunny Steveston, my cousin dragged me to this specialty boutique along No. 1 Road. Nikaido is a quiant, cozy store that sells cards, stationery, and many other things you would want to splurge money on - ehem, cutest of all the cute in the world. This is one side of its interior:

(Photo from the Steveston Insider)

They also sell tea, and A LOT of it. I wish I could tell you about each and every kind, but I can only tell you about one since well, I only purchased one kind that day - the Nikaido Mango Ceylon black tea ($7.95).



I was never a fan of fruity tea until I had this particular one and I was blown away in delight. This black tea has a tangy-ness to it that is just perfect. The pieces that make up the loose leaf are authentic (there isn't much of it out there) and have a wonderful aroma. Whenever I steep this tea at night, or in the late afternoon, its aroma fills the whole place with calm, and it's nice. Also, you can use a batch several times without worrying about your next one being too bland. I also bought my tea filter (around $5) from them.

Nikaido also carries a variety of tea of different brands, some made for cough, weight loss, energy boost, or whatever you need. Name it, they probably have it. My cousin got a double matcha and milk oolong. She loves them too.

This was a really good buy. I can't wait to go back and get some more of a different kind! The lovely couple who owns the place are very nice too. They make you feel welcome to take your time and look at what they have in store.

I wish I had known about Nikaido a long time ago. Then I wouldn't have gone back to grocery stores to buy boxed tea. But hey, we learn, we learn.

Mother's Day // Busy Sunday Fun Day

I thought it was a really good day. It was simple, but it was fun.

We had a family lunch out to celebrate one of my cousins' birthday and Mother's Day of course. Lunch was courtesy of my cousin and aunt. It was fun catching up with everyone and having a good laugh at the small things. We're a very happy family - I think we're rather the nice to be around kind of people. We love to eat - already a plus right there!



That's me, by the way - platinum hair, leather jacket, short stuff. Yeah, that's me surrounded by awesome family. See our faces? All smiles, as a result of a good, greasy lunch at the Hog Shack, and good conversations.

And of course, this is one of those I like to call an obligaroty family photo.

Since it was Mother's Day, of course I wanted the day to be a little extra for the momma. And since every restaurant in the Lower Mainland is probably overflowing in reservations, I decided to sit my dad and uncle down and ask if they were willing to join me in cooking. Oh yeah, it happened. The three of us ransacked the kitchen to cook. Fact: we all love to cook at anytime of any day, but tonight, it was all on us and all my mom had to do was sit back, relax, and wait for everything to be set. She'd stand and move around the kitchen once or twice but we have to admit, it's a wife/mother's instinct to check up on everything and make sure that everything is still tip top.

So I am very tired from preparing tonight's meal, dessert included. It was extremely fun though. I'm glad everything from this morning to the wee hours of tonight turned out well for everyone.

Such culinary delight!

#Oysters / Rodney's Oyster House

The other day, I was browsing hashtag #oysters on Instagram (yes, I do that) and tortured myself with photos of beds and beds of oysters. I had been craving it for months. I am aware that there are several oyster bars in Vancouver but none of them ever appealed to me for some reason. I never bothered to go. But upon seeing the torturous photos and reading that they were taken in Yaletown, Vancouver, I jumped to my feet and knew I just had to go. Luckily, that Friday, my uncle and I had planned to meet downtown and do another photo walk. Luckily, my uncle, an extreme foodie like me, had been craving the same for months now.

We went to Rodney's Oyster House along Hamilton St. in Yaletown and was guaranteed to be seated in 30 minutes. We went to the waterfront and took a few photos, then excitedly walked back.

We started with their New England Clam Chowder (around $7.50) and it was good. It was very filling. The clams were plentiful. The cream is quite rich, but is contrasted by fresh ground pepper that adds a little kick. I also had been craving for this specific chowder since all of the places I go to only have the Manhattan one, which is a tomato-based chowder. Not my type.



We tried the Scallop Galette (around $12) which features potato encrusted scallops, a salad with vinaigrette, and plum sauce. I love love love scallops so this was excellent for me. Also, the greens were a nice touch. The plum sauce was a bit sour than I expected, but still good.



Nobody should say no to these babies - their Pan Fried Oysters (around $12) was really good. They were fried perfectly and not at all overwhelming.



And of course, what we came for, raw oysters. Beautiful. If you come during their low tide (3 - 6pm Mon to Sat), their raw oysters come at $1.50/pc. Not bad at all. It's only been two days and I'm craving for more already!

They will also give you this nice array of sauces to put on the oysters. They are placed from mildest to hottest. The hottest, the last one called Back From Hell, is INTENSE. It will take your taste buds off, but if you're some daredevil then you'll enjoy this treat.

I honestly did not enjoy the sauces because I thought they overpowered the oysters. But don't get me wrong, they are all excellent. Your server will let you in on the best sauce combination. I just opted to squeeze lemon and pour a bit of vinegar on mine. Unlike myself, my uncle just can't take the thought of slurping these babies right off the shell. I love it. I like the taste of the ~sea~



Halfway thru our meal, we decided we needed something to wash down the taste. We asked our waiter (such hunk, btw) for their white wine selection and he recommended the Babich Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand ($11/glass). Yeah....it's poured into this tiny glass (full to the brim) but still quite pricey if you ask me. It was very very good though.

I had to crouch down to take a sip before I could move the glass without spilling.



It was a very good meal. To think that the only carbs we consumed were the potatoes in the chowder and the complimentary sourdough bread, we were very full and happy. I would recommend this place to anyone who enjoys oysters and who isn't meticulous dining in quite a rowdy place (especially during hockey matches. Go Canucks!). If you aren't a fan of raw oysters, they have other goodies too. Check out their menu here: http://rohvan.com

They have a Maritime Room hidden at the stern usually used as a function room, but is also opened to the public during busy hours.



Have a photo of myself in zombie mode.

Photo walk photos to be posted soon!

Rodney’s Oyster House
1228 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 6L2
604.609.0080

Earth Day Birthday and No Tulips

Let's grab something (a lot) to eat and let's go photograph tulips! 

That was yesterday's agenda. It was my uncle's birthday and so I decided to take him out for lunch. We went to Boston Pizza and ordered food enough for three, enjoyed devoured by two. We both got cocktails because well, it's his birthday; and we don't drink as often anymore so why not have a glass on this special occasion? Candy-coloured cocktails for the win? I think so. Better than beer? Let's just say we wanted it light.



We headed to the closest park to photograph tulips, supposedly. There were none; none at all. It was like a dead tundra.

On our way back to the centre we walked past a couple of tulips (almost in full bloom), cherry blossoms and japanese magnolias. I didn't take many photos, and the few I did manage to take didn't thrill me at all. Here are three okay ones:



None of them have the sharpness I was going for, but I guess that's because I used a 75-200mm lens to take these.

Anyway, I didn't know it was earth day yesterday until I came home last night! Tell me how timely our photo walk was.

Yesterday was a good day!

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Yesterday was a gooOOood day. I am putting emphasis on the good (it's read with a wave-y tone, by the way) because it really was a good day.

It was my dad's birthday. It was also the day I had my first and final exam for the semester, setting me free for 3 weeks before I go back to school. Going back, my parents, my uncle, and I had a simple dinner at the River Rock Casino. The buffet at the River Rock is nothing spectacular. I have been there thrice, I think, and I honestly have never been wow-ed by the food, but it's just always good eating out with people I love who are very much extreme foodies too. Who else would I think after?

What I do love about the buffet is that if it's your birthday, you get a special dessert. You also get a free "happy birthday" song from your very attentive waiter who (last night) happened to pull/force another staff to sing with him, forgetting to remove her gloves. Very funny. Very nice of them.

Our dinner was filled with laughter and hearty talks about the simple things in life. Little stories about how our days went, and funny accidents filled our glasses intoxicating us with happiness. It was an extremely good dinner. My dad was happy, my uncle, who is celebrating his birthday on Monday, was too. And of course, my mom and I who planned it all to skip out on cooking for at least one night on a weekday felt very satisfied.

A little tip from me to you, when you're at the River Rock, get a casino card. If it's your first time getting it, you get a $5 voucher. You can either use it on the slot machines or cash it out. If you get it on your birthday month, you get double the voucher, totalling to $10. With the casino card, you also get a 10% discount whenever you eat at the buffet. Not bad.

I just found out last night that they have a daily breakfast buffet for only $15. Instead of going to yourlocal IHOP, why not just go to a buffet? (I am a sucker for /good/ buffets nom)

P.S. Let me just throw a little tantrum here. Hey River Rock, why does my dad get a fancy dessert for his birthday? I had dinner there on my birthday in 2010 and I got this. It's not as fancy aesthetic-wise, but it was good nonetheless; I'll give you that.