Sparkled Beauty

Here comes the Refreshing challenge and it was hardly a challenge at all. If my Big Day Downtown Day I post didn't show you I had food in mind, now you know lol.

The first refreshment destination comes to mind was Yeh! Frozen Yogurt.

Being the first fro yo place opened here, it definitely hit the right note (or the right thirst, in this case) of Haligonians. A perfect way to cool down on a hot summer day.

We went for healthier topping options with fresh blueberries, lychee, mochi, kiwi/ pomegranate pearls on top of matcha, chocolate, cookies and cream frozen yogurt and mango sorbet. As an experiment, a full cup and a half cup would cost you about $17 after tax :) Not the cheapest treat, but sure cool and fun.

There were about 8 flavours for frozen yogurt and 2 for sorbets (for those who are lactose intolerant). The options switch up quite frequently, I noticed. Topping wise, there were more than enough to fill your cup. Mind those sweet toppings, candies, caramel/ chocolate sauce though, as they would jack up the calorie count quickly.

They just started the loyalty program, so we earned our first 2 stamps on the card (pictured). A good start to prove our addiction to frozen yogurt. Squirt would eat there everyday if she could.

Another trip to discover a different type of refreshment: A dim sum meal at Kee Heong Cantonese bakery.

We actually meant to go there for the pastries, but when we found out their dim sum was available until 6 (daily, not just weekends), we jumped on it.

We started out with the wonton soup, the only item on the menu that was $5.99, choices of with or without noodle.

Presentation was bland, could have used some green onion on top but it tasted pretty good. The filling was properly seasoned, and the wrappers were still intact (i.e. the wontons were not boiled too long to dissolve the wrappers into the broth). I'd prefer a lower price point for it though.

The steamer baskets arrived. I ordered, from top right corner, clockwise, the shrimp dumpling, crispy corn cakes, siu mai and (cold) beef tripe. Prices range between $3.50 - $4 each.

The dumplings and siu mai were good, though missing the fish roe topping. The corn cakes, (basically have corn kernels, green onion in a batter, pan fried) were not something I normally see on a dim sum menu. Good for sharing around the table.

The tripe was prepared almost like a salad, cold, with some kind of sauce. I preferred the steam method, with ginger.

We continued with an extra order of the steamed BBQ pork buns before mango pudding for desert.

The buns were bigger than regular dim sum size, hence there were only 2 per basket instead of 3-4. The server got my order mixed up with a different kind of buns, but she didn't charge me for them.

The pudding tasted good but is quite small. I was used to the bright yellow colour and a larger size of mango pudding at other dim sum places I went to, so this was a bit of a surprise.

Squirt did pick up a coconut tart from the pastry selection but I forgot to take a picture. Note that after 6pm, the milk and egg tart (and some selected bread) are B2G1F :)

To sum it up, Yeh! is definitely a refreshing experience. Kee Heong is good for a quick dim sum lunch with friends or a snack to tie you over until dinner.

Big Day Downtown adventures are back, with 3 choices of challenges following the "Experience It All" theme this year. Hungry? Read on, as I am talking about our Sunday food coma at the Seaport Farmers' Market (where my Fun and Social challenges happened).

Yes, I featured the market in last year's Big Day Downtown but with more than 250 vendors, I hardly scratched the surface. It was also the last day of the Sausage Fest, so I had to make it there.

I was starving (skipped breakfast), had to grab some brunch first thing.

I went for a Garden Party wrap at Wrap So D (the stall with fun name and a singing chef). It's pretty much an omelette in a wrap - scrambled egg, veggies and cheese. Quick and easy, delicious.

It was too early for lunch menu at Nomad Gourmet truck, so Squirt chose the fried egg and harsh brown breakfast. It was a little on the greasy side, we should have waited for chicken waffles and banhmi lol. The BBQ Pork bun (can't remember the stall's name) was nothing special either.

Now the exciting part of the Sausage Fest that day, the Super Hawaiian dog from Halifax Footlongs :)

Very interesting combination of a foot-long hotdog, cold pressed pineapple, bacon from Getaway Farm and chipotle sauce/ mayo. It comes with an umbrella too.

The vendor was fun to talk to, and he took the time to explain the dog to me and helped Squirt pick a sauce that was not too spicy. According to him, the cold pressed pineapple was done in a way that it would not hurt the back of your tongue, not easy to find in Halifax.

Ready to see the fun treats we bought?

2 cups of gelato from Fox Hill farm - raspberry and chocolate for Squirt (left), peanut butter and pistachio for me (right).

In the middle is the chocolate croissnut from Maritime Pasty Co., Halifax's version of the famous cronuts (half croissant, half donut) treat. Only available in the weekend, these sold like hot cakes :) I liked the flaky texture but found the custard filling was a little too much with the chocolate on the top. Fun to finally try it out though. While Squirt and I were sharing this, a lady came up and asked where I bought it. There was probably none left at the stall :)

And to go, we got an assorted selection of macarons from Gourmandises Avenue Chocolaterie. They looked so good, I couldn't resist. Later realized that they taste better after being refrigerated :) Flavour wise, some stood out (coffee, peanut butter, lemon), some tasted similar to each other, creamy and sweet (raspberry, strawberry, pistachio, etc.)

If the croissnuts are still in your mind, here's a picture from Maritime Pasty's FB, showing the chocolate and lemon varieties.

The weather was great that day, we had a really nice time sitting on the roof top patio, enjoying the view of the water (and food). Just wish we lived closer to the market, regular weekend morning visits would do us good.

We didn't get any produce this time, so we will be back, Seaport market! :)

On to our next adventure with Big Day Downtown. Squirt and I headed to the Seaport Farmers' Market on the waterfront in the weekend.

This was the gorgeous view that greated us - The Eurodam was on the dock, right behind the market. We saw groups of tourists getting off the ship and browsed the market. This explains the market's dynamic - a great combination of fresh fruits, vegetables straight from the farmers, home made food/ desserts, hand made and artisan work (jewelry, carving/ painting, etc.)

I think I experience a bit of each category, so let's go through the pics, shall we?

Snacks of the day: Apples, from Noggins Farm.

If you have been to a farmers' market before, you know the feeling of touching an apple (or fruits in general) there. It feels fresh and plump, like from the tree in your backyard. If you bring it to your nose, you can smell its natural scent that fruits in most grocery stores don't have.

I was so happy to see the Russets (the upper left corner in the pic), my favorite apples beside Ambrosia. I haven't been looking for them as soon as Fall hit. These were almost as big as the Honey Crisp and Macintosh. The only sensible thing to do is to get like 3lbs of it to go :)

We also grabbed a BBQ Pork steamed bun and went to the roof for an awesome view of the cruise ship while snacking. Oh the small things in life that make you happy :)

Splurge of the day: a melted glass bracelet.

This little stall called Glass with Class caught my eyes right away with the most shiny jewelry I have seen. The beads were created from different layers of coloured glass, melted in the kiln at 150 degrees. The base is normally dark and the top layer is clear so the colour(s) in the middle can shine through. The pieces look like they grow from within.

Squirt helped me to decide on a bracelet with 12 small beads in different shades of blue. To fit my wrist, the lady took out 2 beads, which were then turned into earrings for me, no charge. I was so happy.

Because of the way they are made, no two beads will look exactly the same, hence no two bracelets look the same either. Score!

By the time we were done at the jewelry stall, I was hungry. Lunch of the day was Masaman chicken curry and steamed rice at Talay Thai on Barrington Street, just a few steps away from the market.

This is gotta be one of the best sellers there, as I saw quite a few tables ordered it. The base is curry of course, coconut milk and peanut sauce, not spicy to accommodate Squirt's taste. In the curry is chicken, sweet potato, onion slices and peanuts.

The restaurant does offer Masaman curry dish in the lunch menu with beef and a fried spring roll but we chose the full sized dish to split between us. Let just say we had to pack half of it to go :)

Downtown is fun to hang out and we sure had a good time.

It's time for another Big Day Downtown series to showcase what Halifax waterfont and people have to offer. Recap of my posts last year to show you how much fun I had - the IncrEDIBLE Picnic, E-Pin AYCE Korean BBQ, and some Jan Iredale makeup. I guarantee they are fun to read :)

This year it's even more fun to start, since bloggers are paired up to do some exploring together. My partner, Lynn over at East Coast Travels, and I (and Squirt) headed out for a night out in the weekend.

This is the wall decoration at Bistro Le Coq, a cozy Parisian-style restaurant on Argyle Street, steps away from the waterfront. Can't say that I know much about French food other their bread, so I was excited to check out their menu, where dishes were listed in French with English explanation underneath. Gotta say it took me a little longer than usual to read through it lol.

Started out with an appetizer (Hors-D'oeuvre, words that I can never spell haha), we went with moules à la Normande et frites - steamed PEI mussels with white wine, leek cream and apple wood-smoked bacon, and duck fat fries on the side.

The portion was generous, the cream sauce was totally delicious (we polished it all off afterward), and the fries were plenty - a little fattier than regular fries for sure and heavier on the salt dusting too. The little cup held truffle-infused mayo, was a nice touch.

Warm freshly baked bread and (clarified) butter accompanied the appetizer nicely. We definitely indulged ourselves.

For entrees: Squirt picked the quiche lorraine - ham & cheese quiche, which I did not get a taste of cause she chowed down on it so quickly. Except for the arugula as she found it too bitter to taste. The picked carrot and turnip (I assumed) didn't appeal to her either.

I don't what quiche is normally served with, felt a little guilty that she leaf the greens on the plate untouched.

This is the steak sandwich (no fancy French name lol) that Lynn and I shared, with a bowl of soupe a l'oignon - French onion soup (not pictured).

The sandwich was packed with sliced beef and a fried egg on marble rye bread, with regular fries, truffled mayo and picked carrots. The onion soup was not bad, a little salty to my liking. Three of us couldn't finish the bowl. Again, my question was whether people have the onion soup with some bread or by itself.

Overall, Bistro Le Coq was a cool place to enjoy a French meal. The menus (food and drinks) were impressive, price point was quite right, and our server was lovely. I would prefer a little lighter touch on the salt, but that's just my taste.

We decided to walk around after the big meal, but defeated the purpose by indulging in some gelato for dessert :)

It was really chilly that night (around 3 degrees, 37F) but Nocturne (Art after Dark) made up for it. Lots of awesome art works were featured that night, with awesome lighting effects. There are even two special bus routes to take people along on the art routes.

We spotted this a humongous spider web at Victoria Park. According to the Guide, the piece is called Capture, by Gerald Beaulieu. It was made out of plastic strings, quite sturdy and sticky to touch :) For the size of it, we were just as small as spiders next to that web. I can't imagine the amount of time the artist spent on it. The three big spotlights behind the web did a great job in grabbing the audience's attention.

So we had a great time in town, even in the cold. Stay tuned for more fun things I do with Big Day Downtown!

Today is the day, my Big Day Downtown journey comes to an end. I was really tempted to check out another restaurant (I do have an appetite and a curious mind) but I do love something else beside food: beauty products :)

It was totally a surprise when I found out there was a spa downtown that carries a brand of nail polish that I haven't found anywhere: Spa Ritual. I won't say how many bottles of nail polish I own, but among that many, I don't have any Spa Ritual. So I headed out to Remedy Spa on Granville Street to check it out.

This is the nail polish corner at Remedy, the OPI nail polish (CAD11 each) and hand lotions on the top (there were more not pictured) and Spa Ritual (CAD13) on the bottom. Good selections of colours, and I totally saw Optical Illusion, a long lemming of mine.

The bottle totally stayed in my hand while I browsed around the product area. Remedy is also a big carrier of Dermalogica products. I even looked into booking a self-serve facial ($25) with Dermalogica products but timing didn't work out. There were some GWP (gift with purchase) for the line but I wanted to try something new.

Then I saw this! A beautiful basket on the counter, I didn't even see the side note that said "40% off" until I came close. Knowing the frugal girl that I am, I gotta take a peek.

I noticed the 2 different types of boxes in front of the basket, both from Jane Iredale. Now this brand is a stranger in my stash as well, as the price range isn't really within my reach. I certainly wouldn't mind owning a piece of makeup on discount.

The white one has a little wallet, a makeup compact and a brush, not my forte. The gold one, however, totally was.

This is Jane Iredale LE Sweet 15 palette, as a celebration the brand's 15th birthday, supposedly a Nordstrom exclusive for USD78. Retails at Remedy for CAD89, on 40% off.

The kit comes with 15 PurePressed eyeshadow shades, 3 PurePressed blushes and 3 Just Kissed lip plumpers in a dual compartment palette, with a large mirror underneath the first compartment.

First impression: I love the sturdy croc skin-like print on the gold packaging. The kit also includes some look cards for colour combination ideas.

First tray houses 15 eyeshadows, 1.2g each:
First row: Oyster, Peach Sherbet, Glimmer Gold,
Copper Brown.

Second row: Topaz Sparkle, Taupe, Aquamarine, Dark Suede.

Third row: Petal Shimmer, Pink Cloud, Sparkle Dust, Bubbly.

Last row: Silver, Supernova and Charcoal.

By the quick glance, Copper Brown and Aquamarine have beautiful fine glitters, the darker shades are pretty too. These look very promising.

Second tray has the blushes, 2.8g each: Cotton Candy, Whisper and Bronzer.  My eyes were automatically drawn to Whisper, a peachy pink. Bronzer is the only matte shade, appropriate as a bronzer :)

The lip plumpers, 1.5g each: Milan, L.A. and Tokyo, supposed to be sheer. The tubes are so cute and tiny. They look a bit frosty, 2 pinks, one rosy shade. I'll confirm the finish once I get a chance to swatch them.

Even with a discount, this palette still costs quite a bit, so I really hope the shades are pigmented and of good quality. I have high hope with the brand.

Remedy is also clearing out the Repechage products - with seaweed for different skin types (I did my research before coming to the spa to check out the products in person). They have the Hydra Medic line for acne-prone skin that I am interested in.

These products have been used in the spa successfully, but they decided to concentrating on Dermalogica, hence the clearance. I found the Sea Mud Perfecting mask but it was all dried up, so I passed.

I'm glad I went check out Remedy. It was a neat place with cool products. And I was happy with the one purchase I made there.

The end! :)

Last month, I showed you a local incrEDIBLE picnic, today let's go up the hill to check out E-Pin (meaning First Class) Korean Grill House on Barrington Street, as my second Big Day Downtown journey. The restaurant has opened for a while now, being the very first Korean BBQ place in town.

Last week, they introduced a new menu, doubling the amount of items in the All You can Eat category with sushi and more ready-to-eat Korean dishes, and we were there for dinner, Squirt and I.

As much as I love the grill, it takes time for the food to cook, and the newly added items are perfect to fill in the wait time.

First arrived at our table were the starters. Across the top were chilly sauce, garlic, green chilli and soya sauce. We had kimchi, kimchi pancake and edamame to munch on. They were yummy. Lots of salad and munchies to choose from.

We got our grilled going with:
- Portobello mushroom, with ground pork and green onion sprinkled on top - it became really juicy after cooked, really a hit for me
- Bulgogi - a must
- Short ribs - not liking these
- Marinated tofu
- Squid (the 2 white sticks), and
- Sliced sweet potato - really yummy grilled, trust me.

I like the fact that there are vegetables for the grill (not all Korean BBQs offer them) - bell peppers, eggplant, zuchini, etc. The sweet potatoes are my favorite on the grill, one serving was plenty. Well, after the bulgogi of course - we ordered 2 servings of it. There were other meats on the menu, haddock too. To go with the grilled items, you can have steamed or fried rice, or lettuce leaves, soups, etc.

And to kill time, we had our sushi:
- Spicy crab roll
- Green Dragon roll
- Avocado roll, and
- Sweet potato roll.
Plus miso soup and chapchae on the side.

Given the fact that sushi is new to the menu, I still regret to say that the sushi rice was a little too dry to my taste, and as a result, it fell apart a little too easily. The fillings were fresh though. The best one on the plate was the sweet potato roll. The sweet potatoes were soft inside, crunchy outside, perfect "snack". I wanted to try the tempuras and teriyaki too but didn't have enough belly space, lol.

The chapchae was a bit heavy on the onion (and salt) and light on the noodle. Squirt normally likes her chapchae but she left all the onion behind with this one.

And another favorite item on the menu: deserts, chocolate ice cream for Squirt and black sesame ice cream for me (they ran out of green tea ice cream). The chocolate was just what you expected it, but the black sesame was interesting. It was smooth as any ice cream but you can feel the slightly grainy taste on your tongue. Nothing unpleasant though.

Not pictured was another serving of the mint chocolate chip ice cream, lol. We did want to try the menu thoroughly, you know. No need to mention, we left the restaurant stuffed to the gills.

The price: $26.99/ adult, half price for kids for the deluxe menu with roughly 70 items. There were options to have just the All you can eat on the grill, or just the All you can eat sushi, if you prefer.

All in all, the new menu was exciting to try, as we had so much more to choose from. Other than a bit more attention to the sushi rice, the place got things down right. In the food scene of Halifax where All you can Eat BBQ is not the most popular, I enjoy what E-Pin offers. My co-worker already decided to take me there soon to try the food out herself.

It hasn't been a great summer around here, weather wise, up until the last week or two. I can feel the fall chill early mornings and after the sun goes down, but during the day, it is warm and sunny. I'm taking it all in.

There is another reason to enjoy the season, the Big Day Downtown event, hosted by Downtown Halifax. I am participating this year, and this is my first "downtown adventure".

Last Sunday, the IncrEDIBLE Picnic was in town, right on the waterfront, at Sands at Salter. Note the playing on words in the name. You'll see the sand at the end of the post, promise :) People come to the picnic to enjoy fresh picnic food prepared by local chefs with local ingredients. A great way to celebrate the land, right?

The picnics, happening at 12 different locations in the province, are organized by Select Nova Scotia. So was this humongous BBQ that grilled awesome corn cobs. First thing I did was to get my corn - as appetizer, free of charge, while sitting down in the tent with live music in the background.

Wait until you see my "entrees", lol.

Tada! On the left was a Norwegian waffle with blueberry (and supposedly cream but I skipped out), made on site. Mine was the second last one as they ran out of batter, but there were plenty blueberries left, so they said I could go wild with them. And I did, with fine sugar sprinkled on top :)

On the right was a salad roll, with crunchy veggies wrapped in a rice paper sheet. Dipping sauce was in the little container on the side. It was a bit big and hard to maneuver without falling apart, but I shoved it all in anyway. Delicious lunch, and did I mention it was fresh?

My dessert was one of the peaches from the basket on the left, from a local farmer. Felt like I handpicked them right off the trees. Nothing can compare to fresh picked fruits. There were fresh apple cider, ice cream, etc. but I couldn't eat anymore.

There was so much food there, I couldn't try them all. Some were already sold out when I got there, more than an hour in. I made a mental note to be there right when the picnic starts next year. It's a shame missing out on lobster rolls, seafood chowder and all the Maritimes goodies.

And this is the sand.

If you haven't been to our waterfront, it is lined with board walk for your leisure strolls. Seeing sand here is special. They even brought in umbrellas, plus the cool breeze coming off the water, I felt like I was at the beach. The only thing missing was the sound of the waves rushing to shore. I can dream of that part instead :)

My whole lunch cost less than $10, good food, with awesome view, music, friendly local people as company, I couldn't ask for more. Maybe they should make it a monthly thing in the summer, so I can have my picnic more often.

I do like it here :) Would you come visit?

I finally made it to a gym class today, after more than 2 weeks not working out at all. I felt really bad on Tuesday, so I tried harder today. Obviously, you can't just jump right back where you were before in just 1 night, so I was exhausted. I took it slow. Tomorrow when the musle pain comes, I'd regret not slowing down enough, lol.

I'm not going to blog anything major tonight, just want to stop by to say hello to my readers and touch on some great things I found on twitter. Hope this is helpful somehow to you guys.

- The tallships come in the waterfront today. There will be about 40 of them totally by tomorrow afternoon and it's gonna be a busy festival in the next 5 days for Haligonians. Want to know more about tallships and what they are doing on the water? Visit haligonia.ca Tall Ship special. They have live broadcast from the waterfront as well, so I can just watch it from the comfort of my couch. And so can you :-)

Haligonia.ca is quite new (at least to me), but I appreciate the local contents featured on the website. When they asked whether I want my blog feed posted on their website, I was surpringly happy to say yes. So I'm on haligonia.ca!!!
Photo credit: haligonia.ca

- My favorite store to shop for reasonably priced makeup, the Makeup Mix Shop is offering 15% off on EcoTools until Saturday. Now I have seen EcoTools at Walmart and Zellers, but stocks were pretty limited, especially the sets, so if you want to grab some of their awesome brushes, makesure you take advantage of the sale. Remember, shipping is free for Canada with order of $20 or more.

- If you are a fan of the Harajuku Lovers, Sephora blog announced the half-off sale for the small sizes ($15). I took a sniff test at Shoppers when they first came out, and I did like a few of them, but not all. The packaging though, we all agree, is very lovely.

- SmartCanucks.ca has 20% off coupon for any order at Rexall Pharma Plus (Ontario only), good until mid September. I heard there are some good sales going on there right now for the Posh brushes (CAD3 off), so 20% on top of that would be lovely, right? There's no Rexall around here, so I wouldn't be able to use it. My Torontonian ladies, have fun with it.

- I have been on a nail polish dream for a while now, with new collections are constantly released. The crush over Sally Hansen Hi-Definition Nail Color is not over yet, now I get hit by WetnWild Craze collection. I don't know what I'll do when these babies hit the stores around here. I can totally blame Steph at Steph's Closet for her gorgeous swatches for all this. See how beautiful the colours are: Sally Hansen HD and WetnWild Craze and you'll understand why I have to talk about them.

Hope you all have a good night. Thanks for stopping by.