Lots of Work with Splashes of Food

Food this week ->
Been uber busy with work the past couple weeks and weekends.  I was working til 12:30am Wednesday night!  Hopefully I won't need to work over the long weekend.

On Tuesday Ed, Steve and I went out for to use up some of Ed's Tim Horton's gift card.  We got a coffee and a couple donuts each.  This became my lunch.  Thanks Ed.

Free Snacks... Lunch.

Tuesday night, I made a quick dinner with canned beans, insta-pot steamed gai lan, and microwaved thick cut bacon. 

Overcooked Gai Lan.

Cooking the gai lan in the insta-pot was not good.  Way too over cooked.  Won't be doing that again.

For a late lunch on Wednesday, Julie and I went to Dumpling? Dumpling!  We got some bubble teas, pan fried beef & onion curry dumplings, and steamed egg, chives & shrimp dumplings.

Mmm... Dumplings.

The beef & onion curry dumplings were really good as usual.  The egg, chives & shrimp were not that good.  It tastes only of chives.  A couple small shrimp pieces mixed with the egg didn't give it any more flavour.

Today, Ed, Steve and I went to Ox Head 2.  We all got the Ox Head vermicelli. 

Smaller Portion Than Before...

I was still very good with lots of good meat, but we noticed it was definitely a noticeable smaller portion size than before.  The place was empty with just us, while the parking lot was full.  KNH has definitely hitting this place hard.  Too bad as their vermicelli is better than KNH, but KNH is better at everything else.

Useless Food News:
Drove by the new Chinese Restaurant on March Rd (where Urban Turban used to be located).  It's not open yet (same for the new bubble tea place beside it), but it's got a new fancy gold sign and name, "Harbin Chinese Casserole Restaurant".  Waiting for it to open to try it out.

Will This Place Be Good?

King Oyster Mushroom Fries.

Food ->
Been super busy with work and doing alot of overtime the past week and weekend.  Because of that, I've been eat out alot.  So much that I've been craving vegetables, especially gai lan.  To get my fix, I ordered beef chow mein from Rideau Restaurant.  This totally hit the spot.

Needed Greens.

Made a 5 egg scramble egg on Sunday.  I mixed the eggs with some milk and a big dash of Kraft orange cheese powder.  Made a side of zucchini and a side of king oyster mushroom fries. 

Scramble Eggs with Zucchini and Mushroom Fries.

The king oyster mushroom fries are made by french fry slicing king oyster mushrooms and then pan frying them in oil until they are crispy (like french fry bits).  They are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy in the middle with alot of mushroom taste.  If king oyster mushrooms were cheaper I'd make this alot.  Good thing Loblaws sometimes has packs for 50% off.

2 Boxes by the Front Door

Dinner today -> Sushi.
Another late night at CMC.  Left at 8pm to go to Bayshore to get some sushi dinner.  I waited til 8:30pm for the sushi be Buy1, Get 1 Free.  Picked up 4 packs. 

BOGO Sushi Dinner.

The Crab Dynamite roll is really good.  Will definitely try to get that one again.  The Love roll is always good, but I told Ed he could have it the next time I found one.

Useless Transformers News:
Went home at lunchtime and found a couple boxes at the front door.  The first box had my Hasbro San Diego Comic-Con exclusives.  I got exclusive Optimal Optimus (Throne of the Primes) and 2 SDCC exclusive packs of the soon-to-be-released Transformers TCG.  The booster packs are huge because of the oversized character cards in it.

SDCC Optimus and TCG Exclusive Packs

Useless M:tG News:
Also from Hasbro, SDCC exclusive Magic's Timeless Legends set.

A Box Inside A Box.  Magical!

Inside the box are 5 Planeswalkers cards.

Ooooh... Shiny!

Useless Gaming News:
In the other box I got, were some boardgames I ordered last week from Meeplemart.

New Boardgames.

I initially ordered Smash Up: the Bigger Geekier Box, Smash Up: 70's expansion, and BarBearIan Battlegrounds.  But then I kept adding and removing games until I got the free shipping.  I ended up also getting Space Base. Shooting' Ladders, and Great Western Trail.
Might need to drop by Miraj and get a few hundred sleeves for these games.

Lego Ship in a Bottle

Snack today -> Donuts.
Reza was running late this morning and he texted me to inform me.  I replied with "OK.  Bring Donuts :)".  I was only joking, but he brought me a box of donuts :)  Thanks Reza.  I only ate 2 and shared the box.

Mmmm... Donuts.  And Perceptor.

Dinner today -> Big Bone BBQ.
Late day today at work and didn't feel like cooking, so I went to Big Bone BBQ at 7:45pm hoping they didn't run out of ribs.  They still had some ribs left.  I got the Monday special and it totally hit the spot.  Ribs, wings, and fries.

Meat and Potatoes for Dinner.

Useless Lego News:
I finished building the Lego Ship in a bottle tonight.  It's a pretty neat build.  The ship was smaller than I thought but it just barely fit in the bottle in the end.  Also the 2 globes spin and there is a spinning compass under the bottle too.  A couple nice little touches.

Lego Ship in a Bottle.

Weekend Report -> Messy Frank's Sandwich

Ed and I helped Peter and his friends move to his new house on Saturday.  He said he did alot of it on Friday night, so there were only 10 boxes left.  I was like "awesome".  LIES!!!  Yes he had about 10 packed boxes left, but there were a ton of other unpacked stuff to move!  We spent about 2hrs packing shelves, bed frames, chairs, tables, etc.  Then we dumped everything at the new place.  His apartment still is still half-full of stuff!

Food this weekend ->
Got cookies from Loblaws at Carlingwood Mall Thursday night.  They were the hard-to-find Oatmeal Cookies.  Kanata Loblaws and Farmboy only sells oatmeal raisin cookies, so I never buy it.  The plain oatmeal is a better cookie.

Just Oatmeal Cookies.

While driving to Peter's new house on Saturday, Ed and I stopped at Frank's Catering and got some sandwiches.  The guys had a conveyor belt system going and were making 7 #1's at one time.  Probably more efficient for them, but the quality control was really bad.  I unwrapped one Saturday night and there was sauce everywhere!  Also the meat was lop-sided.  Most of the meat was on one half of the sandwich while the other half was mostly bread.  I had to manually clean-up and redistribute the meat manually.  I don't think I will get sandwiches on the weekends there anymore.

Messy Frank's #1.

Spent Saturday night and most of Sunday working at CMC.  Went to KNH and got chicken pad thai for dinner.  The portion size was big, but the price for pad thai had also gone up, up alot.  I pad almost $20 for this with 15% tip!  I should had just gone to Wendy's.

Expensive Pad Thai.

Useless Gaming News:
Ben and I went to Brian's on Friday night for boardgames.  We started with Sailor Moon: Dice Challenge. 

Looks Good, Plays Bad.

The game cards look really nice and there are alot of characters to use, but the game play really really sucks.  Seemed to be aimed at very little kids.  Too bad.  I would gotten this game if it was decent, but it really sucks.
Then we played Now Boarding.  This game was good.  It's a coop game where each player controls an airplane that moves x spaces and carries y passengers.  The object is to deliver passengers to their destinations before they get too mad and make a complaint.  3 complaints and the game is over.  We just barely won on the last turn and ended with only 1 complaint.  Good game to play.

Now Boarding.  Coop Fun.

We finished the night with a Bob Ross painting game.  This game is fun.  It's similar to Ticket to Ride with a few little twists.  Its a Target Exclusive, but I think I want to pick it up.  I would change the rule about no max hand size.  Someone will abuse the rule and spoil the game for everyone.

Sandwiches

Lunch today -> Sandwiches
Becky, Wendy, Ed, and I went to La Maison du Kouign-amann and picked up some fresh sandwiches for lunch.  Ed and I split a Le Roastbeef Aioli sandwich and a Le Chipotle Chicken sandwich.  Both was good but the Roastbeef was better.  A bit expensive so I won't go alot.  Also not alot of meat compared to Franks.

Sandwiches.

The store has expanded since I was last there and there are more pastries than before.  They were also abit expensive but may be worth it.

Dinner today -> Sausages, Potatoes and Corn.
Threw into my insta-pot some discount honey garlic sausages I bought from Loblaws last night, some mini-red potatoes, and a couple 15 cent corn from Walmart.  I should have finished the sausages on a pan but it was late and I was lazy.

Dinner.

15 Cent Sweet Corn

Dinner today -> Sweet Corn.
Went out shopping Monday night with Susanna.  I picked up 15 cent corn on the cob from Walmart.  I insta-pot them for 2 minutes. 

Very Sweet Corn.

They came out perfect.  When I took my first bit, it was so sweet!  15 cents is a steal!  I bought 8, but I may go back and get more on Tuesday!

Useless Food News:
Susanna got me 2 of the regional USA Lays flavours from Syracuse: Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Popper and Chesapeake Bay Crab Spice. 

USA Lays.

I'll try these, but I heard these ones aren't that great (ie Crab Spice tastes mostly like celery... and I HATE celery). 

I also picked up tonight the new Canada Lays "Streats of the World" flavours: Taco, Pizza, and Grilled Cheese.  I think these just came out today.

Canada Lays.

Useless Toy News:
I kept refreshing the Hasbro Toy Shop's Exclusive menu this morning so I could order the San Diego Comic Con exclusives.  I was refreshing from 9am til it went live around 12:10pm, but I got what I wanted.  I got the Magic Set, PotP's Optimal Optimus, and the Transformers: TCG Pack.

Useless Transformers News:
I picked up over the weekend and today the last of the Terrorcons I needed: Blot, Cutthroat, and Sinnertwin.

PotP Wave 3 Terrorcons.

Cat Ears for Cats

Dinner today -> Dumpling? Dumpling!
Ran some errands with Julie tonight and then we went to Dumpling? Dumpling! for dinner.  We used a meal for two Groupon and this time we got pan fried beef & curry onion dumplings (got steamed last time) and steamed chicken & chinese mushroom dumplings.

Mmmm... Dumplings.

The meal included 2 soups, 2 spring rolls, and 2 bubble teas.  The pan fried beef and curry onion dumplings were awesome.  There was alot of soup/juices in them and they popped the liquid out when bit.  We had to be careful as they were hot.  They taste better dipped with the black vinegar.  The chicken and chinese mushroom dumplings were disappointing.  They lacked flavour.  I think these would be better served boiled in a soup.

Useless Food News:
Picked up a couple packs of frozen soup buns from Sobey's.  One each for Ed and myself.

Frozen Soup Buns.

I went looking for these after reading this article about how to correctly eat soup dumplings.  They look like regular dim sum packs but the front of the packaging says "Soup Filled".

Useless Garden News:
I caught the chipmunk that is eating my cherry tomatoes red-handed on Wednesday.  I went home for lunch and saw him sitting casually on my patio chair, chomping away at a fresh red cherry tomato.  He dropped the evidence when I whipped out my phone to take the picture.  Then he hid in the tomato plant.

Chipmunk Caught Red-Handed.

A few minutes after going inside, I checked and he was back on the chair finishing his interrupted meal.  I think he notice I was watching and dropped the tomato again when I tried to take the picture!  He is pretty cute.

Chipmunk Finishing His Meal.

Useless Pet News:
I got a box of Cat Ears from Japan for cats that want to cosplay as cats :)  Julie put them on her pets.
Lux didn't like it at all and wouldn't stop squirming to take a picture.  Maybe pink ears doesn't suit him.

Lux the Cat, Cosplaying as a Cat.

His brother Cass didn't care and just layed there.

Cass the Cat, Cosplaying as a Cat.

Sherlock the dog, tolerated the cat ears and looked good with purple ears.

Sherlock the Dog, Cosplaying as a Cat.

Long Weekend Report -> Ate Lots of Rice

Food this long weekend ->
Woke up early Saturday morning at 7am.  Wide awake.  Played on my phone for abit and went to Farmboy for some breakfast.  I got some scrambled eggs and sausages, but they were all sold out of bacon :(  I then went to both Kanata Walmarts to look for new Transformers, but didn't find any.  Eventhough I had breakfast in the trunk I called Susanna to go to Chinatown to get some fresh BBQ pork and Soy Chicken.

BBQ Pork and Soy Chicken.

Made some fresh white rice and made a plate with the food.

Fresh BBQ on Rice.

Late Sunday night, I went out to Barrhaven Walmart to look for more Transformers.  Found none.  I hit The Fry afterwards for takeout.  I got some spicy rice cake and a small soy garlic chicken box.  These dishes were really good.  The rice cake was extremely spicy too.  Had to eat some leftover rice to cool down my mouth.

Spicy Rice Cake and Soy Garlic Chicken.

Hung out with Julie and the pets on Monday afternoon.  We got some ice cream from Laura Secord and then picked up some BOGO sushi from Bayshore.  They were on Sunday hours on Monday so all the sushi went on sale around 4:30pm.  We got 4 boxes of sushi and we finished all of it!  I ate so much rice this weekend.

4 Boxes of BOGO Sushi.

Useless Gaming News:
4-player gaming on Friday night at Brian's house.  We played Museum Rush.  It's a simple play as thieves to steal treasure from a museum while avoiding guards, cameras, and other thieves.  I won :)

My Winning Stolen Treasure.

After we played Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Each player plays as one of the "Scooby Gang", go around Sunnydale saving townies or slaying vampires/demons while also trying to kill the big baddy of the week.  After killing 3 big baddies, you face the random boss of the game. 

Buffy Board Game.

Pretty good game.  I'd play it again.  We got to the boss but loss because we couldn't field any more vampires onto the board when we needed to (one of the losing conditions).

Useless Toy News:
Got some belated birthday presents from Gordon: Elita-1, Hun-gurr, Lego and TMNT mini-figs.

TFs, Lego, and TMNT.

I also got Amazon Prime Exclusive: Nemesis Prime in on Friday.  The new Giza sword is pretty neat.

Nemesis Prime.

Blast Off

Dinner today -> Steak and Rice.
Cooked the other discount steak I got from Loblaws last night.  I also made fresh rice.  I sliced the rare/medium rare steak into slices and layed it over the rice, like a pizza.  Topped it with a balsamic glaze.

Steak on Rice.

Every bite had a slice of steak and good amount of rice.  Similar to a bento box I saw on an NHK food show, but without the box.

Useless Idol News:
NMB48's Yamamoto Sayaka announced her graduating from the group.  She's one of my faves.
AND
Ex-AKB48's Maeda Atsuko announce she got married!

Useless Transformers News:
I got the exclusive Transformers: Combiner Wars - Blast Off in the mail today.  My box was abit creased and dinged as there was no padding in the Amazon box :(

Blast Off.