Friday, 30 December 2011

candi bar || adults' eye candy

candi bar -  need a late night sugar fix? 


ever since my friend (who lives in Montreal) told me about this candy-themed bar, i have always had it on my must-go list when i make a visit back. it's been awhile and i finally went this week. thought i might share with you guys because it is a pretty awesome bar and surprisingly, it wasn't too far from where i stayed at during my visit here. :) <3

do you like to drink? do you like to eat candies? do you like colourful things? and are you that kind of person who needs a sugar fix 12am in the morning? if you answered "yes", then candi bar is that place for you to satisfy your sweet tooth and your alcoholic problems, no i'm just joking about the alcoholic problem LOL.

once I walked in, it was all candy, candy, candy. not to mention, the floor and the tables were all colorful  and the chairs were very unique (refer to the pictures below).

candi bar serves a variety of drinks (a lot of them have vodka in it, WOO-HOO!) and all drinks are served with candies - that's the cool part. my girl friends and i ordered the "Tiffany&Co." drink because what girl doesn't like rings, right? haha. the drink tasted good but i didn't taste the vodka much and i'm a light drinker! i do recommend this place though because the decors are very unique and one-of-a-kind. toronto should have more theme restaurants and bars, it creates such a fun environment :). anyways, i've got more pictures but i'll leave the rest for later, gotta catch a bus back to t-dot tomorrow.

happy new year and live life to the fullest y'all. God bless. xx

-Anna

these were fun chairs to sit on/play with!! 




Men's washroom



girls' washroom with lights that are bird cages!

drinks avec mes amies :) 

i ordered the "Tiffany&Co."
our ring shots! hehe

note: must be 21+ to enter into this bar, sorry :) (uh-oh, I just revealed my age)
operation hours: 5pm to 3am
price: 11$+/drink

Like them on Facebook: 
Candi Bar on Facebook

Monday, 26 December 2011

my christmas dinner

this year, there are no presents, there are no special trips, there are no surprises...Just love.

home-made garlic bread

sausages!

califlower dipped in fondue, deli-ciousssssssss

breaded chicken




breaded chicken breast and mushroom baked in chicken broth, it turned out great!!

classic - bacon wrapped around asparagus


viola! end result :)

pan-seared brussel sprouts

Thursday, 1 December 2011

Coffee, tea or Me?

FEATURE "DRINK" OF THE MONTH

Well hello there, it's been awhile...and I am quite behind in my food blogging (even with my Asia trip entries. Yikes!). I will definitely get back to those during my winter break from work *crosses fingers*





















It's December already! And what is more appropriate than to celebrate it with a hot drink? =D Lately, I have been obsessed with Teaopia's Matcha Superior. http://www.teaopia.ca/

Green tea has always been one of my favorite drinks, why? No artificial flavors, it tastes fresh and it helped me lose weight. A lot of my friends have noticed a dramatic change with my body weight and I give props to healthy eating and green tea itself [here you go, there's my secret lol]. I lost around 15-20 pounds within the past five years of drinking green tea religiously. I noticed every time when I'm eating a big meal, green tea helps me digest the food a lot quicker and easier. I have always used the green tea bags, they all range from Costco's Kirkland to Starbucks' Tazo or to some really random ones I buy from a Chinese supermarket.

There's one thing I didn't know until recently I picked up a brochure from Teaopia - matcha vs. green tea. Green tea are the leafs itself and matcha is a fine powdered green tea. So one are leaves and the other one is powder. What's the difference? Since matcha is the final product from green tea, you are taking in all the nutritious residue and you are receiving 10x more than an infusion of Green Tea leaves [source: Teaopia].

According to research done by Teaopia, Matcha Green Tea is ranked the highest for antioxidant when consumed by one. Based on 1 gram, Matcha has 1384 ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), this is why matcha is good for you. Antioxidants are used in medicine to prevent diseases such as heart strokes and cancer, I think one of the reason why I lost a bit of weight is because green tea kicks out the bad stuff in your system (such as fatty cells and radicals) and acts as a catalyst to increase your metabolism by 35-40%. Quite frankly, when I drink it religiously, I go to the washroom and make #2's almost every other day. LOL!

MATCHA SUPERIOR

"Teaopia's Superior grade Matcha has a mellow and fresh taste. This Matcha is ideal for those who are new to the art of Matcha drinking and is great for adding to smoothies, sprinkling on yogurt and of course traditionally prepared." 
Very rich and smooth matcha powder :)

just half a teaspoon was enough!










































It tastes great, I love how you can really taste the green tea. There's a difference with tea bags and powder. Powder gives you the richness and the sweetness of green tea, something you can't taste when you use tea bags. It is probably the best quality of green tea I have seen in town at the moment. Though I must say two things: this one tiny can is quite expensive - ~$30/can. AND be careful when you prepare it. Do not put more than half a teaspoon because your drink will end up really powdery and you will waste the green tea goodness. Some serving suggestions: sprinkle it with vanilla icecream, bet you won't be disappointed!! :) Hope you'd enjoyed this entry! Till next time! <3