Nostalgia at Yiu Wah Restaurant, Toronto

It's the last post on my Canada trip.  This time round, we're back in Toronto before we take the flight back to San Francisco after having spent 2 weeks on a Canadian road trip.  It's on a dim sum place we stopped at while scouting for food in Dundas Street West.  We saw an easel and the price was reasonable and decided to venture into Yiu Wah Restaurant which is located on the 3rd floor.  The restaurant has since been taken over and is now known as Dim Sum King Seafood Restaurant.  However, I would still like to blog about it as the place gave me a warm feeling when I ate there.

The moment we stepped in, I felt like I had taken a step back in time.  It is a very "old school" looking Chinese restaurant, (almost Hong Kong like) and evoked a nostalgic feeling.  I recalled when I was a kid and dining in the famous "Ming Court" dim sum restaurant back then in small hotel next to where I used to live; it was the Town House Hotel in Jalan Tong Shin.  Ming Court used to be crowded most of the time as they served rather good dim sum at reasonable prices.  Sadly, it's no longer around; long gone after Town House Hotel was taken over - the same hotel is now known at Corona Inn.

The all Chinese staff went around pushing a dim sum cart, offering some familiar and some less familiar dim sum to patrons.

Pretty Cupcakes & Such @ Les Glaceurs, Montreal

We found Les Glaceurs when we needed a place to keep dry as it started raining. Upon entering, the bright colours of the place hit us and perked our mood up immediately and it was only then we noticed that it was a cupcake & gelato parlour (we had ducked into the place without looking).

We ended up ordering a few cupcakes and chilling over a few cups of coffee.  They do provide a sitting area for customers to enjoy their goodies and were glad we discovered this place by chance.

Charismatic Canada - Montreal Part 10

We were in Montreal during the Les FrancoFolies De Montreal, an annual music festival that usually runs late July till early August.

It has hundreds of performers staging shows throughout the day/night in the vicinity of Centre-Ville.  Most of the shows are free while some bigger names would require tickets. Here are some of the sights in Montreal along with some shots of the festival.

Where do I go?

McDonald's - The Montreal Way

Restaurant Basilic, Montreal - Pan Asian Goodness

Canada continues ...

We moved on to Montreal and stayed at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel for the next 2 nights.

Hunger struck! As usual :o). Our first meal in Montreal was at Restaurant Basilic; a "pan-asian" restaurant (as they call themselves) in Chinatown which has a rather mixed menu (there's Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese!) with reasonable prices.  We ordered a mixture of some Vietnamese and Thai items and we enjoyed the fare here, so much so we actually dropped by again on the second day.  So, check Restaurant Basilic out if you ever in Montreal.

Hu Tieu Kho Name Vang $7.95 (Dry noodles with Shrimp & Pork).  Lovely springy noodles and the shrimps were fresh.  It's served with a bowl of soup on the side.

Au Petit Coin Breton, Quebec

Coming back from Switzerland, I couldn't help but reminisce about my days in Quebec...and believe it or not, I'm still not done with Canada! I better play catch up soon as I have several countries to blog on...Canada, Taiwan, Melbourne, Phuket and now Switzerland (not to mention my domestic trips)! Life is great and life itself is a reason to celebrate.  I thank God for his continued blessings! :o)

While I was traveling in Canada, we made it a point to try out crepes whenever we can.  After somewhat of a letdown at the (in)famous Casse-Crepe Breton, we decided to take on another rather well known place for crepes; Au Petit Coin Breton. The waitresses here wear traditional dress, white apron and even the head dress.

Memorable For All The Right Reasons - Le Cochon Dingue, Champlain, Quebec

I had blogged on my tea time at Le Petit Cochon Dingue (Little Crazy Pig) back in October and mentioned about us doing dinner at Le Cochon Dingue (no longer Petit or Little).  It's a bigger place that caters to lots of hungry diners for breakfast, lunch and dinner with its French/European flavours.  It's a charming restaurant that's been around since 1979 - even before you set foot in...the bright orange boots around the building sets you in mood that's just as bright :o).

Well, I didn't take a photo of the soup we had but the bread basket that we were given was "attacked" - the bread was simply so delicious ... with a slight crusty exterior and its soft fluffy dough on the inside, we all loved it.  We had to stop ourselves from asking for more as we had to leave some room for our main meals! Actually, most of the bread and pastries we had in Quebec were all marvelous - they never go wrong!

Must Visit ! Paillard Cafe-Boulangerie, Quebec City

Folks, it's back to Quebec and this time round this post is rather photos intensive as Paillard is a must visit if you're ever walking about Old Town especially.

We decided to grab a bite at Paillard; it's rather well known for its sandwiches.  The moment I stepped into Paillard, I fell in love with the place.

Inviting enough? Paillard's entrance

The place is spacious and the high ceiling makes this place even bigger.  Helps since the place can get quite pack during peak dining hours.

Charismatic Canada - Quebec's Parliament Building Part 9

Happy Sunday everyone....

It's a start of another wonderful day and yes, I'm still swooning about Canada (especially about Quebec!).  Here's yet another pictorial post on Quebec's Parliament Building.  The place is so picturesque and is filled with statues...actually, can be rather scary at night actually!

Charismatic Canada - 'Qool' Quebec Part 8

There is really so much to see (and do!) in Quebec, this was one of the most enjoyable stops we did on our road trip around Canada. Continuing from my previous post on 'Qool' Quebec, here are more sights (oh, there's my dessert pics at the end of the post and there's more to come in future post!) around Quebec town - simply too marvelous for words.  Lots of pics but take a look, I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as my family and I did. When Quebec comes to mind and I start missing it, I just need to look back on the pics and relive the beauty of it.

Happy Friday! The weekend's here again :o) 

Boulangerie Premiere Moisson, Quebec, Canada

Boulangerie Premiere Moisson (First Harvest Bakery) was our first stop for brunch.  Actually this place is more than a bakery ... well, check out their website (there are French/English versions) and find out more about Premiere Moisson.  For your info, they even have a section on tips and recipes like Maple back bacon sandwich with home made coleslaw, Ratatouille Bites, Lemon Weekend Cake with Raspberry Coulis to name a few...so check out their interesting website with the many interesting sections/tabs.

Charismatic Canada - 'Qool' Quebec Part Seven

A new week begins and it's back to the daily grind for most of us folks....Here are some sights of Quebec, it's a really pretty place. Looking back at these photos, I miss Quebec.

Have a great week ahead....

Fountain at Parliament Building...

Nothing Canadian about this pic, just that I found these superheroes caricature cute - all locked up in a closed comic shop.

Came night time, it was back to the hotel...looking out from my room window, I could see that night life was just beginning down at the city streets...

Casse-Crepe Breton, Quebec

We left Ottawa and headed for Quebec City for the next 3 nights.  We checked into Loews le Concorde and had our cuppa first before we decide what to do next.

The hotel is rather nice, however the bed is positioned into a rather tight area and there was a beam running right in the middle as we look up from our bed. Well, I suppose it's cosy ...

Bro in law said that we should have dinner at Casse-Crepe Breton, supposedly one of the famous places for crepes in Quebec.  We arrived at Rue St Jean (St Jean Street) amidst a slight drizzle only to be greeted by a queue outside Casse-Crepe Breton.

Charismatic Canada - Ottawa Sights Part Six

Just got back a few hours ago from a mini holiday .... am hitting the sack soon. Meanwhile, here are some sights from Ottawa (another post on the Canadian series).  Good night folks...and have a good week ahead!

Sound & Light show - a 30 minute show where the history and culture of Canada is projected onto the Parliament Buildings, usually on nightly from July-September each year.

Our visit to Ottawa was interesting as it was International Busker Festival where artists from around the world showed off their skills on the streets of Ottawa...

We particularly enjoyed this "fiery" troupe that got us mesmerized with their fire handling skills backed by fast tempo music...

While this pic has nothing to do with buskers, I found this Lemonade stall so amusing!  Literally a Lemonade stall!

Hope that last pic put a smile on your face!  Okay, now to bed....

To Be Continued ...

Eating @ The Grand, Ottawa

And now back to my Canadian post for awhile.  Continuing from the previous Canadian post where I highlighted some sights, let's take a look at our dinner that we had in Ottawa on the first night.  After walking up and down the streets for awhile, we finally made up our mind to dine at The Grand, settling for something Italian.

The Grand's brick building is lovely to look at and does have some grandeur to it.  It was packed and we had to wait a while before we got our table, sitting outside.  We enjoyed the fresh air and cool temperature and I didn't really get a chance to take photos of the interior. When I did go in to go to the washroom, I came across this ...

I just love looking at the photos on the wall ... it evokes a very nice and warm feeling

Of course the complimentary bread basket was brought before us and while the food took quite some time to arrive, we enjoyed the soft bread - dipping it into the balsamic vinegar & olive oil.  We were famished, thanks goodness we had the bread to munch on first.

Charismatic Canada! Part Five - Ottawa

This time, we drove off from Toronto and headed towards Ottawa.  Have I mentioned that Canada is a lovely place? Hahaha...Here are some pics of Ottawa, enjoy!  Have a great week :o)

I fell in love immediately with the Marriott Hotel ... count them, count all 7 of my pillows and bolster.

and of course...the coffee machine in the room.  All hotels that I went to in Canada have a coffee machine in the room.  God bless them!

Kyoto House @ Dundas Street, Toronto

Now, there were mixed reviews about this place.  Kyoto House Japanese Restaurant serves ala carte and also All You Can Eat $13 lunch and $19 dinner. Approaching with caution as bro-in-law did a print out of eateries in the area, we were aware this wasn't top in the list.  However, it seemed to be what we were drawn to among all the other eateries in this particular area after we walked round the few blocks a couple of times!  We entered Kyoto House and found it to be a rather cozy place.  Deciding not to go for the buffet, we ordered ala carte instead.  We gave our standard Japanese fare order and wondered how it would be. It should fare better and definitely safer than ordering something that was different from the usual.  So, was it as bad as some of the reviews about this place?

Special Sushi $9.99 Bro-in-law enjoyed this ... 

Charismatic Canada! Part Four

It's the weekend (and it's almost gone!)...time for Charismatic Canada photos ...

48 ft. bronze and marble monument at University Avenue (south of Dundas Street).

"In Memory Of Our Canadian Airmen Who Fought In The Skies

To Preserve Freedom And Order In This World"

The lovely Prince of Wales Hotel at Niagara On The Lake

Clifton Hill's World Famous Street of Fun @ Niagara Falls, Canada

Clifton Hill reminded me very much of Las Vegas with it's colours, larger than life structures and the busy foot traffic.  Read up more about Clifton Hill HERE.  How can anyone be/stay unhappy when one is surrounded by all these ....

Niagara SkyWheel - 175ft up in the air!

Walking about the street ...

Will We Ever See Tim Hortons in Malaysia?

As I write this, I'm wondering whether Tim Hortons will ever come to Malaysia. Started way back in 1964 serving just coffee and donuts in Ontario, Canada, Tim Hortons now has 3000 outlets across Canada and 600 outlets in USA. Read more about Tim Hortons HERE. While I was road tripping around Canada, I had the opportunity to try out some items of Tim Hortons. I keep seeing Tim Hortons outlets everywhere, sometimes a few of them within a distance of a kilometre or two. You just can't ignore them.

Open 24 Hours!

The outlets share a similar design and exudes a cozy ambiance (unless you go to one located at a tourist spot like the one in Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls! Busy, busy, busy!). See those large cans on the left? Those are the famous Tim Hortons Fine Grind Coffee made from Arabica beans, 1.1 kg pack going for $16.99. Is Tim Hortons coffee as good as they say?

Charismatic Canada! Part Three

Let's do some sightseeing today - here are some pics while we were moving around in Ontario. Did I tell you that I love Canada, especially Quebec. :o) Each time I post up my travel pics, I feel like packing my bags and flying back to Canada (somewhere, anywhere...hmmm).

Casa Loma locked!?

Another entrance led us to this castle...it's odd as Casa Loma's located in the center of the city, I mean, not often one builds a castle smack in the center of city.