Weekend Report: Got the Flu

I was bed-ridden all weekend the flu symptoms: stuffy nose, cough, aching sholders/back, and a fever.  All I did was watch some Running Man episodes, Star Wars Clone Wars episodes, and The Slayers anime.  I tried to rest/sleep too, but I usually ended up playing Family Farm on my phone instead. 

Food this weekend ->
Made some simple foods during the weekend. 
I made some red congee with preserved egg, shitake mushrooms, ground pork, and a couple spoons of red pepper paste.  I also added 1 frozen roast beef rib I had in the freezer from Christmas, for extra flavour.

Red Congee.

I woke up wide awake Sunday morning at 3am and I was starving.  I got up and made some chicken ramen.  I added slice fish cakes, quail eggs, and some frozen french beans.  It was a quick and fancy midnight snack.

Chicken Ramen.

Sunday dinner was the same ramen, but I added red pepper paste to it.  Ate from the pot this time too.

Red Chicken Ramen.

Getting the Flu?

Dinner today -> Pork Congee.
Medicated myself up this morning before going to work.  I think I might be getting the flu.  Stuffy nose, upper body is aching, and I might have a slight fever.  I made some ground pork congee with preserved duck eggs when I got home.  I added 1 box of chicken broth and a spoon full of dashi for flavour.  It was uber good.

Pork Congee.

I'll probably add red pepper paste and shitake mushrooms to the leftover congee tomorrow to change it up.

Chocolate Cake Day

Useless Food News:
Today was Chocolate Cake Day.  I picked up 5 cakes from Costco: 2 Tuxedo, 1 Black Forest, 1 Tiramisu, and 1 Hazelnut .

5 Cakes.

Downstairs Bistro had 1 Tuxedo cake and the Hazelnut cake.  I got a slice of each.  The Tuxedo cake is very rich, but very good.  The Hazelnut cake was dense and tasted like a big Ferrero Rocher.

Downstair Cakes.

The upstairs kitchen had the other 3 cakes.  I took a slice of the Black Forest.  It was light and good.

Upstairs Cakes.

This was the scene 30 minutes later... the cakes were destroyed!

Upstairs Aftermath.

New Game Addiction

Useless Food News:
I ordered some Japanese snacks over the holidays.  Only got them in last week because not everything was in stock (but it all was in stock when I ordered it).  I got honey butter flavour chips, takoyaki puff balls, black ink shredded squid, and urchin flavour shredded squid.

Japanese Snacks.

More Useless Food News:
Wednesday Jan 27 is Chocolate Cake Day!  The social committee at CMC will be celebrating it, thanks to me :)  I got "volun-told" to pick up some cakes from Costco, but it's worth the trouble :)

Useless Gaming News:
Julie got me hooked on playing "Family Farm Seaside" game on my phone.  I'm playing it almost non-stop!  It's addictive, but fun.  There is actually some simple interaction between other players.

Family Farm Seaside.

I can't believe the amount of time I'm spending on this game!  This is part of my farm at level 20.  If you play, add me using my farm ID: FDPHEEX

Chicken Liver

Dinner today -> Chicken Liver.
I marinated some chicken liver for 3 days in cha shu sauce, hoisin sauce, a bit of soy sauce, and a bit of water.  I broiled it in the oven for about 5 mins a side.

Broiled 3-day Marinated Chicken Liver.

I came out pretty good, but could have been better.  I shouldn't have added the water.  If the sauce was thicker, it would have caramelized more.  The the liver did absorb alot of savoury flavour.
I made some buttered toast to eat with the liver.  It was really good.

Liver and Butter Toast.

Weekend Report: No Fish Yet and my Furnace Broke!

Woke up Sunday morning and it was freezing outside my blanket.  Found out my furnace stopped working during the night.  Called up Harding and come fix it.  They were really fast and the guy expertly knew what to do.  Apparently the motor inside seized and needed to be replaced.  An extra expense I didn't expect, but I want heat, so I got it replaced.

Food this weekend ->
Got a free breakfast on Friday, thanks to my hockey pool win over "Chuck Norris".  Can't beat the taste of free food :)

Another Free Victory Breakfast.

Hung out with Julie on Saturday.  We went to Dairy Queen, expecting the same deal as last year for Customer Appreciation Day, but only the freezer treats and cheeseburgers were on sale.  We got combo meals, but didn't get any frozen treats.  No pics.

Useless Fish Tank News:
After DQ, Julie went with me to help me get some fish for my fish tank.  We looked at lots of cool fish.  The coolest was the albino sand filtering fish (don't know what it's called.  Couldn't find a sign).  It would suck sand into it's mouth and filter it out through it's gills?  or some hole under it's head.  I should have taken a pic, but I couldn't buy it anyways because it's a marine fish.
There was a neat Black Ghost Knife fish.  The tail looks like a handle the the rest of the body looks like a blade.  It ripples as it moves.  Very hypnotic.

Black Ghost Knife fish.

We also so this evil looking African Cichlid.  They eyes look hollow and reflective at the same time.

Evil Cichlid.

In the end, I got nothing.  I need to do abit more research and set-up my tank with plants decorations first.  I think I want to copy abit of their display tank.  It looks really lush and has a nice setup.

Green Tank.

Useless Gaming News:
4-player gaming at Anthony's on Friday night.  We played a good game of Castles of Burgundy.  Anthony captured 4 of the big flags and won easily.  It was close for the rest of us. 
Then we played "The Game".  We finished with 0 cards in game 1, but Ben made a mistake in game 2 and we finished with 2 cards left.  Good quick team game.

The Game.

We also played the Harbour expansion for Machi Koro.  I kind of sucks, but it could be because it of the random buildings we flipped to start the game.  Most of them were high number cards.

Useless M:tG News:
The new Magic expansion was released on Friday, "Oath of the Gatewatch".  I got my booster boxes, Fat Pack, and Pre-release box.

Oath of the Gatewatch.

Useless Hockey News:
Went to the Senators vs Rangers game on Sunday with Jeff and Anthony's family.  Good game.  Sens won 3-0 and Bobby Ryan scoring got a puppy for a family.

Sens Win!

Lego Dimensions Starter

Dinner today -> Pho.
Picked up #15 XL at KNH today for dinner.  I was sooooo full after eating this huge meal I had to take a nap :)  I was in the mood for a good soup and this hit the spot.  I also got alot of rare beef.

Useless Gaming News:
Picked up PS4 Lego Dimensions Starter Set at Costco today.  It's on clearance for $59.97.  Regular price is between $99.99 - $109.99.

I went to Toys R Us afterwards and got some Fun Packs.  They are on sale this week and next week for "Buy 1 and get 1 for 40% off".  I got Wonder Woman, Benny, Emmet, and Legolas.  I was going to get Doc from Back to the Future, but I wanted another character that shoots; so I got Legolas.  The new Ghostbusters and Joker/Harley packs are out too, but not on sale.  I'll wait for a sale to get those.

Useless Idol News:
New Tokyo JR melodies are coming.  Akihabara Station will play AKB48's "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie" :)

Useless Food News:
Reminder: Saturday Jan 23 is Customer Appreciation Day at Dairy Queen.  I know the Hazeldean location in Kanata is participating.  Everything is 50% off including burger meals.

Not Building Any Soldiers Cost Me The Game

Lunch today -> Indian Food.
Ed, James, Peter, and I went to the East India Company Restaurant for lunch today.  Evan was suppose to come too, but he forgot and was working from home in the morning.  The food was excellent and very delicious as usual.  I was surprised with the absence of the iconic Butter Chicken dish.  I didn't care too much because my main targets were the mussels in butter sauce and the lamb curry.  My first plate was covered in butter sauce as I didn't get enough rice.  This was better with clams, but mussels were ok too.  The lamb was also very good.  Bones were left in for more flavour and the marrow.  The little mini-hamburger looking things (not shown) were good too.  I think it was just samosa filling made into a patty?  I was so full the rest of the day.  I didn't eat dinner either.

1st Plate of Food.

Useless Gaming News:
Gaming night after work today.  Tonight was 4-player "7 Wonders".  Good game.  1st game: Peter won.  He won by accident as Peter said he didn't know what he was doing.  2nd game: James Won.  I thought I had the game won with 55 points, but James got 58.  James got an extra 12 point difference against me because I didn't build any soldiers.

4-Player 7 Wonders.

MP-26 Road Rage

Dinner today -> Sugar Snaps and Sandwiches.
Blanched some sugar snaps in boiling salt water and then coated them in butter, salt, and black pepper.  Also made a couple of sandwiches with Kraft singles, mock chicken, and mayo on toast.

Sugar Snaps and Sandwiches.

Useless Transformers News:
I got a package from HLJ today.  It was my Transformers Masterpiece: Road Rage.  Pretty much a Tracks re-paint.

MP-26 Road Rage.

Clean Fish Tank

Snack today -> Chinese New Year Snacks.
Picked up some Chinese New Year snacks from T&T on Sunday.  I got chinese trail mix, black sesame seed snap, red bean paste stuffed pancakes, and regular sesame seed snaps.  The Chinese trail mix had no flavour to it.  Very bland.  The only flavour came from the raisins.  The rest was soy bean, black bean, peas, and little red fruit.  Won't get these again, but will get more of the others.  The red bean paste stuffed pancakes were really good. 

Chinese New Year Snacks.

Dinner today -> Ribs
Got the Monday Mania special at Big Bone BBQ tonight.  The ribs were abit dry today.  Not as good as before.  The wings were huge this time.  I got them coated with fiery honey garlic sauce.  I also switched the fries for Ceasar salad.  The salad was very wet with water.  I think they forgot to dry out the lettuce leaves.  It's wasn't that good.

Ribs, Wings, and Salad for Dinner.

Useless Project News:
I finally finished cleaning my fish tank.  I started Saturday night because I couldn't sleep.  Dumped the old gravel and washed the inside of the tank with vinegar and water.  I also scrubbed most of the tank with a toothbrush.  I got new gravel from Big Al's Aquarium.  I got black this time.  I think it will look good with bright coloured fish.  The black will make the colour really stand out.  I also got a new heater.  The last heater broke and cooked my glass catfish.  This one is a different brand and cost alot more than the old one.

Rebooted Fish Tank.

Sunday night I found out my filter had a leak in it and soaked my carpet behind the tank.  I had to get a new filter today.  I put alot of money re-starting my tank and I don't even have any fish or plants yet!  Need to cycle the water for couple days before getting some fish.  I need to think of a theme and what kind of fish I want to get too.  I'm leaning towards more glass catfish, but they are hard to find and cost alot.

Weekend Report: Team Paul Argue

Paul passed away right before Christmas, and one of the last things he did was to book 2 escape rooms at Room Escape Ottawa for us to play.  Gordon, Brian, Ben, and I went to play the rooms on Saturday.  We started with Serial Killer Charade.

Serial Killer Charade.

We had 60 mins to complete the puzzles and escape the room.  We got out at 59:50!  This room is awesome!  The puzzles are really good and they flow really well.  The atmosphere matches this room's style well too.  We used 2 of 3 clues.  I highly recommend this room.  It's uber fun.  And it's not just 1 room... it's 6 rooms!  BTW: The room allows 2-8 players, but we discussed that 4-5 players is perfect.  More than that, people will be getting in each other's way.
After a 30 minute break, we tried the Boom Room.

Boom Room.

This room is pretty fun too.  4 rooms in this one.  The puzzles were chanllenging and different than the Serial Killer room.  We were going at a very good pace and got out in 41 minutes.  We used 0 of 3 clues.  The ending of this room didn't feel like the end.  We were actually surprised when we escaped, as we thought there was 1 more room to go.
I really recommend the Serial Killer Charade escape room.  The Boom Room is OK.  If I were to do this again, I would warm up with Boom Room then challenge the Serial Killer Charade.  Our pics aren't posted yet on their facebook site, but we called ourselves "Team Paul Argue" in honour of Paul.

Food this weekend ->
Hockey Pool Breakfast on Friday morning.  I was suppose to get a free one from James, but I lost to Evan and owed him one.  So I broke even and bought my own breakfast.

Breakfast.

After the escape rooms on Saturday, Ben, Brian, and I went to Moxies for a late lunch.  I got the Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich.  Very good.  Good amount of meat and the Dijon mustard was perfect.

Montreal Smoke Meat Sandwich.

Susanna and I went to T&T on Sunday.  On the way back, we hit the new Popeyes on Hunt Club.  Never had it before.  We got 4 piece chicken combo with mac & cheese, and popcorn shrimp with cajan fries.  The chicken was good.  Very moist and crispy, but nothing special.  I think it is alot like Loblaws.  The popcorn shrimp sucked!  I got hardly anything in the box and it was $7.99!  Totally not worth it.  I'd get the chicken again, but wouldn't go out of the way for it.

Popeyes.

At T&T I found some lobster heads.  1 huge one and 1 small one.

2 Lobster Heads.

Steamed them up for dinner on Sunday.  Lots of green stuff inside both of them, and a decent amount of meat in the head and legs too.

Cooked Lobster Heads.

Useless Gaming News:
Got my KickStarted big box of Tanto Cuore on Friday.  The box is nice, but the plastic insert inside the box was cheap.  Very cheap.  So cheap, I'd probably throw it away and put the smaller boxes inside instead.  They should have just put cardboard lanes inside of it.  I also got the 4th expansion "Oktoberfest", 2 player mats, randomizer deck, and promo cards.

Tanto Cuore Big Box.

Change of Dinner Plans

Dinner today -> Beef Rice.
I defrosted some ground beef in the fridge and was planning on making spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner.  I started to brown the ground beef, but then looked in the cupboard and found out that I didn't have any tomato sauce!  D'oh!  I changed plans and added 2 chopped onions, garlic, 2 chopped roasted red peppers, hoisen sauce, oyster sauce, and sriracha.  I cooked some rice and mixed it all together.

Beef and Rice.

I stirred in a raw egg to finish it.  It was a tasty rice dish.

Topped with an Egg.

Useless Food News:
Went to Tanger with Susanna.  Picked up some chocolate from the Lindt store.  It was $20 for this Swiss Luxury box, and it was "buy 1, get 2 free"!  I didn't need it, but I couldn't pass up this deal.

Buy 1, Get 2 Free Chocolates.

50 Cent Breakfast

Breakfast today -> Farmboy Breakfast Bar.
Went to Farmboy this morning to get breakfast at their breakfast bar because I had a busy day today and didn't need to worry about food.  Loaded up with 5 slices of bacon, 3 sausages, some scrambled eggs, potatoes, potato & cheese perogies, steak, cucumbers, and broccoli.  It came to $8.50 at checkout, but I had $8 credit from my Salad Bar card, so I only paid 50 cents!  What a deal!

Useless Gaming News:
We played 4-player "Lords of Waterdeep" after work today.  Good game, but I didn't get off to a good start.  Peter also made the same move I wanted to do right before I could do it.  He did this 3 times!  It cost me atleast 17 points.  I ended up in last place by alot.

Lego Classic Batman

Lunch today -> McDonalds
Used the coupon "2 can dine for $10.49" on myself at McDonalds.  I got 2 quarter pounders, 2 medium fries, and 2 medium coffees.  Gave 1 of the coffees to Ed.  It was a more filling meal than I thought.  I couldn't finish the 2nd fries, so I gave that away to the testers in the SIL.

Lunch: Quarter Pounders and Fries.

Useless Toy News:
The new Lego Classic Batman TV Batcave set is awesome!  I'm tempted to get it, but I still want the Ghostbusters HQ first.

XO Sauce Noodle Cup

Lunch today -> Cup Noodles.
Was planning on going home for lunch today, but didn't have time.  Just made instant cup noodles from my supply at my desk.  This XO Sauce Seafood flavour is in my opinion the best one.  Lots of dehydrated veggies and iconic mini swirl fishcakes.  Very satisfying noodle cup.

XO Sauce Seafood Flavour Noodle Cup.

Weekend Report: Poor Gaming Spirit

Food this weekend ->
Ed, Steve, and I went to Ox Head on Friday for vermicelli.  Steve and I destroyed our bowls, but Ed only ate half of his (that's weak man :) ).  It was very good as usual, but the noodle portion did seem abit smaller that last time.  Lots of meat though.

Ox Head Vermicelli.

Made steak with veggies Saturday night with re-heated leftover potato, onion & bacon soup.  The frozen "Complements" mixed vegetables bag from Sobey's is pretty good.  Cheaper than buying broccoli or cauliflower too.

Steak Dinner.

Went to "Fusion Dim Sum & Sushi" for lunch with the family.  The place was packed and the service was very slow and poor.  We had a table of 5, but only got 4 cups of tea.  The 5th cup never showed up (I ordered ginger ale when tired of waiting).  Some of the food we ordered never arrived (I kind of expected this).  Ben re-ordered sesame balls (they are bad.  Not like Bai Du's which were very good) because the first order didn't arrive.  We got his first order and 2nd order!  Took them 1hr to make 2 sesame balls!  I still never got my 2 orders of short ribs (suspicious they happened to forget the money food).  Also some of the beef balls and fried beef wonton were suspect under cooked.  Most of the food was still good, but service has really gone down big time since I was last there.

Fusion Sushi.

Useless Gaming News:
Gaming at Brian's on Saturday.  We started with 3 player Ghostbusters.  Ben and I liked it, but it way longer than suggested.  Supposed to take 1 hr, but it took us 2+ hrs to play 1 scenario.

Ghostbusters Board Game.

Gordon showed up after Ghostbusters and we played Pandemic Legacy and Web of Spies.  Pandemic became a 1 player game (as usual).  It was a fast victory, but wasn't that fun.  Web of spies was better, but Brian gave up after his FIRST spy died (you start with 5) and started playing his ipad.  I wanted to leave then.  It's no point of playing if everyone is not into it.  There's also no point of sending an email to game every week, if you don't want to play!

AKB48 at Kohaku 2015

Dinner today -> Potato and Onion Soup.
Made potato and onion soup today in my pressure cooker.  I made it with chicken broth, coconut cream, some dashi, a couple spoons of pre-made yellow curry left over from Christmas, and leftover roast beef drippings and carrots.  Was going to add some frozen lobster heads for exquisite flavour, but the pot was already full.  I blended it up with my brand new hand blender.  It pureed it really well.

Useless Idol News:
Epic AKB48 performance at this year's Kohaku (NHK's New Year's Eve show).  Graduated legendary members Maeda Atsuko and Oshima Yuko made surprise appearances and performed with the girls.  Yuko still looking good and she hasn't lost a step yet.

Devastation

Lunch today -> Salad.
Went to Farmboy on the way back from Toys R Us and got some salad bar stuff.  I got mostly kale salad with some steak, broccoli, cucumbers, perogies, jalapeno poppers, and an egg roll.

Lunch.

Dinner today -> Steak.
Made a quick steak in the pan with some corn.  Microwaved some instant chicken rice too.

Steak Dinner.

Useless Gaming News:
Got my KickStarted "Trainmaker" game in the mail today.  Simple and quick dice rolling game where you build trains to meet your objectives.

Trainmaker.

Useless Transformers News:
I also got Transformers: Devastation for PS4 in the mail today.  It was on sale at BestBuy during their Boxing Day sale.  G1 based game.

Transformers: Devastation