cakes and karaoke!

last night, i went out again with a couple of my girlfriends for dinner, dessert and late night karaoke! first stop was at dessert sinsations. i ordered grilled tuna taco and share a white chocolate candy cane cheesecake with one of my friends.

my friend got kung pao salad and their homemade caramel latte. as for desserts, the rest ordered a mango cheesecake and the chocolate brownie cheesecake both of which were also so so delicious!

afterwards, we headed to muz, a karaoke place by corydon for some major singing! hahahaha!

Comment of the Day: Chandra / Modern Day Charm

I have those tights! I love how you paired them! Bravo!

awesome!! :D it's been awhile since i wore those tights.. they've been hiding in my closet! hahaha! :D gonna try to wear them again soon!

they're starting early this year..

and by my title, i meant holiday parties!!!
last night my girlfriends and i got together for some early dinner and drinking. it was quite awesome that a lot of us ended up attending since it was so rare for us working girls to have time off all at the same time.

we ate at earl's by polo park and even though we waited quite a bit for our food, it was worth it! some of us ordered pasta, steak and burgers. i ordered their cajun blackened chicken which was incredibly tasty. plus, i was craving for something with a lychee taste, so i got their lychee geisha martini.

also, after dinner, my friends and i went for some photo session at the washrooms. it's just so so pretty inside! hahahaha! we can't resist not taking photos with the good interiors and lighting. (forgive the sucky grainy outfit photo though. didn't realize it turned out that way..)

outfit: holt renfrew shirt, f21 jeans, zara wedges, talula beanie, vintage coat, matt&nat purse

we headed to my friend's apartment to spend the rest of the night exchanging gifts, drinking vodka and watching a movie. of course, we had to take loads of photos by the christmas tree. besides, this was our early christmas get together anyways.. teehee!

Charlee's Lounge

a couple of weeks ago, a couple of my friends and i ended up looking for some new place to eat out on a saturday night. one of them suggested visiting this lounge that featured a local band playing that weekend. at first we really didn't know where it was but after calling up someone, we did safely find the place (185 Stadacona Street).

we went to charlee's and it's this relatively new place, which i believe is owned by a filipino couple. it's located at an odd area in the city (situated in a random residential area) so at first, i was skeptical if it would be a good place to hang out.

i can tell you that the place is small and it's probably not the most commercial in terms of interiors and set up, but what i really loved about it is the relaxed vibe inside. plus, my favorite part would have to be the live band they had every saturday night. it kind of reminded me of how i used to hang out at acoustic bars back in the philippines when i was in high school. hahaha!! so nostalgic and fun!

i can definitely see myself going back there. it doesn't have the intimidating vibe of chain restaurants nor does it have the loud & chaotic atmosphere of a dance club. i just love that it's just between and i can just hang out there on a lazy saturday night, catching up with friends.

more sushi anyone?

i was finally able to try out this all you can eat sushi place just by downtown. i've heard of wonderful reviews about it as a buffet style japanese place and boy was i not disappointed!

sushi gen is located just by portage avenue right across the university of winnipeg and i think it's very convenient for students, office workers or anyone just visiting downtown. they offer a great variety of dishes with almost 120 items in their menu, ranging from sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki, tempura, meat and seafood dishes and a bit of soup-appetizers-dessert.

when i went there, i was with a couple of my girlfriends and i think it's really the best way to go there. being that it's buffet style, it's nice to be able to share whatever you got with the rest of the people in your table (i like doing that to be able to taste a bit of everything).

at first, they serve you hot tea and then, the whole menu is open for you to get your food! and when i mean all you can eat, i mean you can get all kinds of sushi, sashimi and other japanese dishes. i like that a lot since some buffet restaurants only serve exclusively sushi and they rip you off by putting too much rice in a roll. here, you don't get that!

i think i'm set for my sushi cravings for the next weeks ahead, but when i start craving for them again, i know where to go back and get it!!!

a random occurence

im not really the biggest fan of steaks. actually, in 3 years of dating the boy, we really haven't gone to a steak house or ordered steak in any menu we have come across with. i don't know, i just feel like it's too heavy and i'm always so used to my rice with meat and maybe i'm just the chicken type of person.

but for thanksgiving (weeks ago), i opted to order something special for dinner since it was almost a good way to culminate my weekend getaway in the mountains. patrinos steak house was a nearby restaurant from our inn when we were in canmore. when we got there, we even thought of just going to the lounge but im glad we ended up in the main restaurant.

i got the surf & turf: shrimp, steak, rice and veggies; while the boy got salmon. it was such a hearty meal for the both of us. my steak was cooked just the way i liked it and the salmon tasted so fresh especially with the hint of lemon!

aaahhhh.. ok.. did this post make you hungry or what?! hahaha!!! maybe i'll get steak again one of these days...

the old spaghetti factory

the day the boy and i got to banff, we decided to head out and look for a place to get lunch. since italian food sounded like a good idea, we went to the old spaghetti factory at the second floor of the cascade plaza.

the restaurant probably doesn't have the best pastas out there, but for the price they charge people, i think it's quite a decent place. all our meals came with a sourdough bread with garlic butter (so good!), a salad or soup, and spumoni ice cream!

the boy got lasagna for his main pasta while i got chicken pesto (which i absolutely love). here in winnipeg, the old spaghetti house is probably one of the few places i can get pesto if im craving really bad for it.

with our stomachs full, we happily went back to the town centre and started touring the rest of banff! yay!!

watch out for next week's food tripping thursdays as i feature a steak house where i had thanksgiving dinner with the boy.

aromas

on our first night in canmore, the boy and i were craving for something different for dinner. there was a number of italian and north american restaurants along the main street of the town centre, but at the end of the road we saw aromas. when we realized that they were offering mexican cuisine, we knew we had to try the place out.

it was quite a packed night being that it was saturday but we were able to get a corner spot. for starters i got this chili soup, while he got a guacamole salad. both were extreme opposites of each other: the soup was spicy and warm, while the salad was fresh and cool.

for our main course, i opted for this spicy shrimp dish, while he got a pork dish with their famous oaxaca sauce. my meal was so-so; wasn't the best but didn't really taste bad too. his pork smelled and tasted amazing! the sauce was so rich and flavorful!

i haven't had a decent mexican meal in such a long time and being able to eat at aromas was the perfect way to end that night.