Money

I have such a love-hate relationship with money. I love it because, well, having it means having a lot of things I want. And I hate it because I need it to have anything I want. Since when did your standard of living depict your life happiness? I guess I haven't been around long enough or not as educated enough to answer that question. But similar to a Catholic priest's sermon, money is the root of all evil. I say this because I see money as the entity that separates groups of people within society, the 'haves' and 'have nots', the West Vancouverites and the East Vancouverites, the CEOs and the Third World citizens. While yes, some people work hard for their money, there are millions of people working SO hard yet don't earn half the amount I earn for sitting on my ass and writing this blog (not that I get paid for my amatuer blogging, I'm just blogging at work --I'm horrible I know).

Money has become a form of measurement. It measures how 'good' your life is, how many trips you can go on, how many things you can buy. It has become the focus of our life, to be successful for the most part means to make as much money to be 'financially comfortable'. It's so easy, as a resident of a Commonwealth nation, to talk about money and working hard, as we have more opportunities and possiblities for success available for us. We, I have been educated enough to be self-reflective and humbly grateful, to know the differences between my life and the lives of others not just in the Third Worlds but even in this country. I can sit here and preach while acting completely out of contradiction.

These past few weeks, I've indulged and penny pinched. Hitting the pub for wing night one day and lounging at the Keg patio with lobster and filet mignon another. Anyways, last weekend I went to the Philippine Festival in Richmond where my parents bought me lunch! haha always good. We went to this little Filipino Restaurant called Little Ongpin. Supposedly, the original Little Ongpin is in the Philippines and is known for it's amazing food. We ordered a lot of stuff most of which I don't remember but among them was Kare Kare, not pronounced as I initially thought (care-care) but like KAR-EH KAR-EH (it's in caps so you must say it with attitude). It is a yummy stew made with peanuts (my fave), green peas, bok choy, eggplant and whatever meat you want (usually pork?). We also tried this new style of Filipino rice that was mixed with Bagoong (shrimp paste pronounced as BAG-O-ONG) and green mango and pork. I'm usually up for new and exciting things so I liked these =) ... AND THEY WERE FREE (courtesy of my parents anyway). BTW, I stuck in a photo of chocolate frozen yogurt with strawberries in the beginning because they looked so freaking amazing.

Seafood & Lies

Since I've had all this wonderful free time I've been endulging in consuming good food (fortunately and unfortunately for me). My current absolute fave seafoods are ahi tuna, salmon sashimi and seared scallops. The other day I tried my hand at attempting to cook a seafood dinner for the first time. It consisted of prawns, halibut, scallops, risotto and roast veggies. Although I thought this had been okay for a beginner having dinner at my cousin's the next day defintely made my own taste like craap! haha

My cousin made cucumber shrimp salad, poached sole w lemon, seared scallops in truffle oil, spinach mushroom & cream cheese stuffed chicken with roasted potatoes and charred peppers ... And omg it was pretty freaking amazing! (she'll start cooking at Chambar in a few weeks --look out for her there)
This past weekend I've had a seafood marathon. Friday, calamari with a twist (as in an asian inspired twist as it tasted somewhat like ginger and soy sauce esque) and escargot (which really isn't seafood but I wanted to mention it because I did try it for the first time!) at the Keg. Saturday I had grilled Salmon and Prawn (rather shrimp) which I thought was too over cooked at Pasta Polo. And Sunday at Akari I tried for the first time Salmon Carpaccio (which really was seared Salmon sashimi) with orange miso drizzled all over, okonomiyaki (a japanese pancake that included an assortment of hidden 'seafood'), Ikura (Salmon Roe which tasted like they encased fish oil in little bubble containers), a Kamikazi roll (spice tuna roll, asparagus .... ummm thats all I remembered) and a Paradise roll topped which was a california roll with mango and salmon on top.
I enjoyed (for the most part) all these and a lots of laughs with good friends. My good friends I would say are genuine and honest people. They are the kind that won't hide or mask their emotions, for which, around me are always happy (ha). There are those however who tell lies for the sake of getting what they want, despite what the effects are on other people. Once you discover the lies that people tell it's really quite difficult to trust or believe anything they say.
Telling lies is like a giant invisible vortex that drowns you from seeing the truth. It envelopes you in it's mantle so as to choke out anything decent that may come from within. They lose their credibility and genuineness as a human being. Its like eating an meatless and slimy Ikura.

New

Out with the old and in with the new. New things are nice, new experiences are also nice (depending on the experience) but for the most part I am a fan of the new and random different things. Lately or the last few days I have been experiencing new things: 1) Filet Mignon, I'm not a fan of meat or steak but holy craaap that was amazing specially with the blue cheese and garlic it was served with at the KEG, 2) Lobster - believe it or not I usually don't opt for lobster because well I've felt that it was too extravagant for me (ie. at Boracay while my cousins & brother inhaled massive lobsters I opted for fish and shrimp) 3) Lychee Martini @ the Keg ... absolutely faantastic 4) trying to make red dragons 5) 560 with a good bunch of friends. 6) Shitty pizza at Megabite after 7) having to wait in line at Aubar with one of my HOTTEST friends .. I don't even understand how they told her to wait in line...

ANYWAYS, I'm trying to connect these experiences with something profound, something that has to do with how new experiences are fun and make you forget about old times that sucked. Something that has to do with the fact that while I constantly try and forget to get over shitty things they always find a way to surge forward. I'm not a bitch, I don't think anyone could ever call me a bitch, I don't think I'm stuck up and I don't think that I'm a snob ... (I hope no one else thinks so) but when you decide that I'm not good enough to spend time with, as you display by your actions, or lack of, then I have no other choice but to, of course, stick up for myself. I am going to be mature, however, and skip the name calling or the blame pointing (lol I wanted it to rhyme) because when it comes down to it I don't really want this err negative aura your projecting. Have a fantastic day!

The Search

Lately, my new found obsession for pan seared sashimi/ tataki/ahi tuna has led me to spend a ridiculous amount of money trying to sate my appetite for the best. At Henderson there's a hidden Japanese / Asian fusion, I guess, restaurant called Robata. Their tuna tataki was lightly flavored with mild sauces and topped with what I can only describe as thin slivers of what tastes like salmon flakes.

At Cats Social House in Granville Island, I experienced the BEST ahi tuna I've ever had in my life. I can still remember it tasting awesome. Maybe it was a combination of the spinach feta walnut fig salad or the amazing weather or the fact that I felt like such a tourist, but when I placed that tiny (well not so tiny but I ate it in pieces) piece of pan seared tuna with their sauce into my mouth... I was in heaven. I would even dare to say that it could be as good as eating 65% dark chocolate (any more is a bit too bitter for my taste).

As if I couldn't have enough, I went home later that day and after dreaming about bbq tatakis I dragged my sister out to Sushi Shelter 101 to try their Salmon Tataki. It was good, however, I thought it was a bit strange since they had ice underneath the salmon. I guess that's too keep the sashimi cool? Still not entirely sure why that was necessary. But it couldn't compare to the one I'd had earlier. Specially with just soy sauce for dipping, the other sauce was without a doubt soooooooo yummy!

And then (you know when you're obsessed when ...) today I ate at the Keg in Coquitlam and tried their version of Ahi Tuna. It was a bit different from the rest since it was sliced in thicker but smaller cubes (the others were thinner and the meat tasted a bit more meaty lol). It felt like the smaller cubes made the meat a bit more lean? Is that even possible with fish? I feel like I'm not getting my point across... Basically it was a bit of a disappointment compared to the others I've tried. I'm not saying it wasn't good (or that my taste is superior ---probably far from it) but it did not taste as good as the others. It did, however, come with sides which were yummy although I didn't know those were mushrooms until my cousin told me.


As I was on the super comfy fancy keg patio sipping my mojito (my very first ...three, I had three), I realized that the search for good yummy food is almost as tough as finding good friends. And maybe 'good friends' is not a descriptive enough label for someone you consider to be more than friends. Being a "good" friend is so generic and abstract. But you know you have one when you're both crying and apologizing to each other after a fight that seemed so pointless and minute. Because at the end of the day all you can think about is how they're doing and if they're okay --- and you're willing to go out of your way to spend time with them. Those kind of friends are tough to find.