Last Weekend...

Shogo had his farewell party at Posh, Friday night! People think, since I work there, I eat there a lot and should be an expert sukiyaki eater.. but in truth, I only eat there 5-6 times a year and I'm actually pretty clumsy...

At the end of the night, B and I rode the skytrain home and to my happiness, they had pasted a large floor poster of the Olympic mascots! I think they did a great job in designing these little buggers 'cause I love them... especially the offical sidekick, Muk Muk!

Speaking of Olympics, they have been putting up various artsy things on Granville Street for the past two weeks... and Robson is teeming with "Canadian pride" posters, ads, and merchandise.

The building houses The Hudson Bay Company (HBC) department store.

Lantern trees - most of them are drawn by kids, though there are some professionally done and some branded ones, too. Some creepy man (and my chipmunk cheeks) ruined my picture.

Piece of garbage.. kid saying "hello" to M. HI! (I meant the piece of art is garbage (not the kid) but not in the connotative sense)

Here are the Olympic gloves in the window display for The Bay that keep getting sold out.

Earlier on Saturday, I went with my parents to inspect our new house for minor flaws, nicks, etc. We all had green painter's tape and taped every little thing that needed some TLC for an hour. The house sure looks much better now that everything has been put in and cleaned.  I have a bit more room on my bathroom counter than I thought I would get.  My dad showed me the neatest thing! On the side, hidden under the kitchen island, there's this 3/4 foot narrow slot-type thing where you can open it and it automatically sucks in the air so you can easily sweep in dust/dirt/whatever you spill without having to carry out the big vacuum! Genious.

Then I had lunch @ Hon's (Chinese "fast food") with Jess who came back from her exchange to Singapore, her friend Henny visiting from Germany, her friend Morgan, and M. We had a vegetarian lunch and I tried fake chicken for the first time. It was MSGed-deliciousness! I think it's just "jai" (a bean curd), though. I'd totally order it again.

I was waiting for the picture before I posted this, but I don't think it's going to come for a while. I wore my "cocoon", as I call it, that day It's a huuuugely oversized beige  dolman-style sweater that's super thick, warm and cozy. No wind can penetrate that thing! It was actually one of the "risks" I took when ordering from Zipia and I'm glad I have it but it's not something I wear or would wear often.

Sunday was another eat-out day haha.. M and I tried the new Sushi Town out in North Vancouver for lunch! Sushi Town has been the "it" spot for me and my friends when it comes to sushi. I guess they've been doing well since they now have three locations.  The one we usually go to is this very modest-looking shop that's almost always busy on Hastings, down the hill from SFU.  It's Korean-owned.  What we love about it is that it's very reasonably priced and sells the fresh, generous slices of salmon sashimi!  You can get 9 huge pieces for $7.95CAD! It's so much we think we've consumed half a salmon by the end of our meal.  This is the full order, missing 2 pieces haha

My friends and I also love their version of "spicy salmon sashimi". I don't know what they do to it, but it's delicious and flavourful.  We usually order a half-order for $4.50 or something like that but it looks like a full order.

Anyway, the North Vancouver restaurant is such a modern place - a huge contrast to their original location. It reminded me a lot of Joey's (another restaurant in Vancouver) interior! That restaurant had a good variety of seating from long, crushed, red velvet quilted-back banquettes to raised booths that fit either 2, 4, or 6 people with cute little tree-like hooks between booths where you can hang your coat. Intimate.  M and I both agreed that it would be a great place for a date haha They even had those "slide-in" scallop booths (as I call it) where the long bench is a U-shape.  Didn't take any pictures of the decor. I will next time.

Anyway, for some reason, the servers seemed to be much more chipper than the ones at the Burnaby location, but some of their English skills aren't great.
I tried asking one server (because I was curious what kind of estaurant Sushi Town took over to have such decor):
Me: Which restaurant/what kind of restaurant did Sushi Town take over?
Her: Ohhhh... you want... take out???
Me: No, take over. [think think think] Ok, before Sushi Town, what restaurant was here?
Her: Ohhhh.... [silence] sorry...
haha aw I felt sorry for her. Didn't end up getting an answer. I'll ask again next time.
Everything is plated so much more nicely, too ^^. I heard that they're fully booked for the whole week at night for large parties! That's amazing, I think! Maybe I'll have my birthday party there. It's chic and affordable!
Worked for the 2nd time this month because I took over a shift for my coworker. Had a couple of funny tables and a polite group of 12 that drank a LOT. I was weary whether I should fulfill their drink requests... I think they came out at a bit over $50 per person including tax and gratuity! But huspaz for me ^^