Pasta Noodle Veggie Soup

After a 6.5 km run in the cloudy-almost-rainy weather, I am glad I got back home and got into a long hot shower. Not sure what to eat, I remembered yesterday I bought some spaghettinni, and figure I can make something quick.

This is simply a "whatever is in the fridge" dish. I have tomato, green onion, cabbage, and gai-lan in the fridge. Put a little bit of oil in the pot and burn/caramelize the white part of the green onion first, then add boiling water. Tomato first since I heard the longer you cook tomato the more nutritious it gets, then I mistakenly put gai-lan in second (it's color turned a very not-yummy dark green after a while). Break the pasta to smaller pieces, I would suggest 1/8 of the original longth, then throw in and cook till near done. Add the easy cooking cabbage and the green part of green onion last. Season with salt, black pepper, and dare I say, Garlic Plus (*gasp*). Then top with Parmesan and more black pepper when ready to serve.

So the thought of the day is: I definitely like cooking more than running.

Uh? What happened to TLC?

I am sooooo unobservant! I pass by the Three Lions Cafe everyday on my commute but didn't realize it closed 6 months ago! In my defense it's not open 8 in the morning and I am usually too tired in the afternoon to pay any attention to anything other than my the book I'm listening to on my iPhone.

But how you shall be missed. I had a real great time there with my good friends and enjoyed the great food and drink. If anyone knows a good and similar replacement, please let me know!

For my previous post on the Three Lions, go here.

Hm... cosplay?

Thought anyone out there who is a Final Fantasy fan would get a kick (or get nauseated) from this.

My 30th Birthday at Work

This year is my 30th Birthday, and the tradition at work is on your milestone birthday, you get a cake and a customized humiliation - haha~ I mean having your cubical decorated. The cake is from Valley Bakery on Hastings, North Burnaby. Very nice, decorated beautifully, and definitely tasty. Highly recommended to those who hate overly sweet and greasy cake. 

 My friends decorated my cubical in a "baby shower" theme... because I am the youngest/baby of the department. Very thoughtful, very cute, and I still havne't take down all the decoration after a month. Thank you!

Of course, everyone who walks by my cubical thought I am "having a boy", and I have to explain that I don't even have a girl friend yet, not to mention a son...

Yakko Sushi Station Square - Birthday Dinner

I was in Metrotown and cannot decide where to go for my birthday dinner, then I remembered someone recommended Yakko Sushi. There are two Yakko Sushi in the Metrotown area, opened by brothers and the restaurant are within 2 blocks of each other. The one I went to is the one in the Station Square. It is quite small but full of character, and the service is also one of the better ones I have experienced. For a non-Japneses Japanese restaurant, I am very impressed to see my favourite type of sushi - Oshizushi, or pressed sushi. Overall a very decent meal, still has not replace Kura as my favourite Japanese Restaurant, but for overall value Yakko is a great place to come for a great experience.

Japanese Scallop - tastes better than it looks

Real simple to cook, clean the shells and either microwave for a minute or use shallow water in a pot for a quick steam. No need to season because it has the natural sea-salt flavor. Just discard the black part, all the rest is editable. The white part is the scallop/muscle part that everyone knows. The red/pink part is the roe, which is equally good (just don't think about the fact that it is the reproductive system). Like I said, tastes (a lot) better than it looks.