OpenRoad Scion put on a party yesterday for the latest car in their lineup: the Scion iQ! I work quite close by so decided to check it out after work.



The Roaming Dragon truck was there catering. (Photos of the delicious food below!)


DJ Trizzak was spinning the beats on the In-Car DJ Studio ( “O-Zilla” ). It's the coolest looking car there!



Here it is! The Scion iQ! It's a compact car that can fit 2 people...4 if the 2 others are tiny. There are seats in the back but I can't see adults being able fit in. Children maybe. Cute car. It was nice to preview this before the Auto Show happening next week!





I'm no stranger to Roaming Dragon since they are always near my workflow, but I haven't tried all of their menu items so tonight I had the opportunity to try more! They were serving Fried Rice Balls, Burrito Bites, Pork Belly Sliders and Lychee & Basil Lemonade for refreshment. Yum!

Friday, March 30, 2012

OpenRoad Scion Richmond, 13251 Smallwood Place  Richmond
Celebrate the launch of the Scion iQ. Enjoy free catering from the Roaming Dragon, live music and win door prizes including gas cards! RSVP here: http://iqlaunch.eventbrite.com/

Hot Coffee Documentary: Premier Screening (by donation, suggested $5)
6:30 pm
Fifth Avenue Cinema,  2110 Burrard Street, Vancouver
All ticket proceeds will be donated to Street To Home Foundation, which helps alleviate poverty and homelessness in the Vancouver area. Hors d’oeuvres and no-host bar. RSVP/donate here: http://crossborderlaw-esearch.eventbrite.com/



Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Ting Tings rocked the Commodore Ballroom last night in Vancouver! It was girls night out with my friends K, W and V. Doors opened at 8pm but the opening act didn't even come on until past 9:30! I loved the lights that they used. It was almost like being at a rave! Not good for seizure prone people since it there was a lot of flickering lights. The Ting Tings' music is fun to dance to. My favourites were the songs Shut Up and Let Me Go and That's Not My Name! I had so much fun!

Talk about waiting until the last minute! Things kept coming up and I had to postpone a meal at the Hart House so many times until my Groupon was about to expire in two day! But I was finally able to use it today for Brunch.


The Hart House is in Burnaby by the beautiful Deer Lake in Burnaby. 




We were put in the Sunroom which had a view slight of the lake.



To start we were given a basket of bread and croissants with raspberry jam and butter. They weren't very warm but the mini-croissants were very flaky! I love raspberry jam.

Tempura Lobster Salad

I ordered the Tempura Lobster Salad...but I wasn't expecting the salad to come looking like this lol. Good thing K ordered a heavier dish that we could share: Steak and Eggs.

Steak and Eggs

I also ordered a side of Parmesan Truffle Fries to put us over $40. This is a lot of fries. We had to pack it up to go!

After brunch, we decided to walk off our meal along Deer Lake since there was such nice weather out. Beautiful daffodils grew in the front of Hart House. Spring is really here! 

Back of Hart House

A lot of birds were out around the lake.


I pretended to throw food around myself (making motions) so that the Canadian Geese would come closer to me. Ha! It worked! They swam up to investigate so I got to snap a few photos of them.



But they left in a huff when they realized they have been duped! Heeheehee!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Game of Thrones Marathon: Own the Throne
8:00am - 6:00pm
Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Watch the entire first season of Game of Thrones, win prizes, sit on the replica throne, have your picture taken by professional photographer. 50 box sets of season 1 will be randomly given out to the people who  are seated for the final 6:00pm episode!

Buffet: A Collaborative Showcase
7:00pm - 10:00pm
220 - 314 West Cordova Street, Vancouver
Buffet: A Collaborative Showcase demonstrates the  contrasts, collaboration and common processes between two closely related disciplines that AKA is passionate about - design and art. Buffet brings together artists and designers from the ever growing creative community within Vancouver - the result: a smorgasbord of creative perspectives that’s good enough to eat.


Saturday, March 24, 2012

Vancouver's Winter Farmer's Market
10:00am - 2:00pm
Nat Bailey Stadium, 4601 Ontario Street, Vancouver
Buy fresh produce from local farmers.

Portobello West Spring Season Opener ($2 admission)
11:00am - 5:00pm
Creekside Community Recreation Centre, 1 Athletes Way, Vancouver
Shop from over 50 vendors consisting of independent designers, creative artisans and all sorts of fashion.

Musical Event: Chuck Cave in Concert and How to Sound like a pro Clinic
1:00pm
Tom Lee Music, 929 Granville Street, Vancouver
The concert will be hosting by local famous digital piano expert Chuck Cave. He will play a wide variety of music and give you the tips and tricks how to play like a Pro by easiest ways.

Night Quest
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Pacific Spirit Regional Park (near UBC), Start from 4915 West 16th Ave, 400m west of Blanca.
Family friendly event to experience the magic of nature under moonlight. Join the community for a night of entertainment, bonfires and Girl Guide snacks. Dress warmly and bring a flashlight and smart phone for the QR code quest (allow 1 hour to complete). Bring a mug to use at the Girl Guides’ concession.


Sunday, March 25, 2012



Blim Monthly Community Market
12:00pm - 5:00pm
Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street  Vancouver 
48 vendors of food, fashion, accessories, supplies, fine art, vintage items and records. There will be music, hot food, beverages, and entertainment on site.

Set in the post apocalyptic world of Panem, the Hunger Games is a based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Collins. Panem is split into 12 Districts and ruled by the people of the Capitol. Every year, each District sends two Tributes: a young man and woman, to the Capitol where they take part in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death battle broadcast as a reality TV show. The movie follows Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) from District 12 who lives with her mother and younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) and survives by going hunting with her friend, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). All that ends when she volunteers to take her sister's place as Tribute when her name is picked and is whisked away to the Capitol with her fellow Tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Pitted against opponents who have been training all their lives for the Games, Katniss will have to use all her skills and wits to show the world she has what it takes to survive the 74th Hunger Games.


I was lucky enough to see the Hunger Games yesterday courtesy of Toshiba Canada and I was super excited! The Hunger Games movie is one of the most widely anticipated movies of this year and it certainly lives up to the hype. The film stays very faithful to the book but there are some changes. Some minor characters and scenes were cut (you won't see Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) fall off the stage unfortunately) and other scenes not in the book were added in like scenes that take you away from Katniss' point of view. You get to see the Games' control centre which was very cool and futuristic! And when Katniss and Peeta came out on their chariot in flames. AH. It gave me goosebumps!

The movie is in some ways better than the book especially in terms of the relationship between Gale and Katniss. In the book, I did not feel anything for the two but in the movie the relationship felt real, that there really could be something between the two and same thing with Peeta. The movie gave the complex relationship a certain depth that I felt the book did not. I was leaning toward Team Peeta before the movie now I feel conflicted. ;P

The actors really shined in their roles. Jennifer Lawrence especially, played a wonderfully strong Katniss. One thing I loved about the book was that Katniss was this strong, intelligent and independent character and going into the movie, I wasn't sure if Jennifer Lawrence would live up to the expectation. All my fears were dispelled as I watch her. She was quite frankly suited for the role. She portrayed Katniss exactly how I imagined. I felt every emotion that she was going through and I teared up at the scene with Rue (Amandla Stenberg) from District 11.

Unavoidably, there is a fair bit of violence and brutality in the film, but the director does not linger on the scenes. My favourite scenes were (without giving anything away), the chariot ride, the private skill demonstration and the reaction scene just after that, and Katniss' lullaby scene with Rue.  

Another thing that amazed me were the costumes of the people of the Capitol - from the immaculately groomed head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley), to the elaborate dresses of Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks). The costume and make up artists did an awesome job of creating the 'oddness' of the Capitol in contrast with the Districts even if it was just simple things like some oddly shaped facial hair!

Word of caution: they really like to use hand held cameras throughout the film. Though it gave a gritty and real feel to the movie, I thought it was used a little too often and can also make a sensitive person slightly ill especially if sitting too close to the front. If you are one of those people then make sure you sit in the back. But other than that, I see no fault in the visual style. Close up shots of the Tributes faces, really draw you in to the level of emotion you can see.

GO SEE IT. The world will be watching and if you are not, you are missing out. The Hunger Games opens in theatres Friday, March 23, 2012. I'm already really looking forward to the next one!

Recently I've been craving oysters and today I went with my friend W after work to Oyster - Seafood & Rawbar for buck-a-shuck oysters. They have 50 cent per oyster from 4-5pm and the regular buck-a-shuck from 5-7pm every weekday.


Oyster is located in the Old Stock Exchange Building on Howe Street. It's a very quaint place. The ceiling looks very nice.

This design was on a table in the lobby

They weren't exaggerating when the reviews I've read about the place said it was small. It was basically just a room as big as my kitchen. We were put in the corner and I had to squish in because the chair was blocking the way. Makes for a very intimate dinner lol. In fact there was almost not enough room to put all the food we ordered!

The shucker

We started off with a dozen Effingham oysters which came with a variety of sauces. I don't know what they were though...

Mmm Effingham oysters. They taste like the sea.

After the oysters, which were very fresh and delicious, we shared a crab cake appetizer and I ordered a steamer bowl and W ordered a clam chowder. It was a little weird because when I ordered the mussel and clam bowl, the waiter said that they didn't have any mussels...so I ordered the other bowl, which costs a little more since it had prawns and crab in addition to mussels and clams. I assumed that they would compensate the mussels with more clams or something...but the bowl had a lot of mussels...hmmm.

Crab cakes

New England Clam Chowder

 The chowder was not even half way full in this jar...

Mixed Steamer Bowl

The bread bites that came with both the chowder and the steamer bowl was so good.

You can check out the Oyster website here to look at their menu and make reservations. I recommend only going for the oysters and not for an actual dinner. Even though we both agree that the food was delicious, it is a little pricy and was not very filling or maybe we just ordered the wrong things to eat.