Carried away at Buddakan

One of the restaurants I had the opportunity to eat at in New York is Buddakan. It is the engagement party restaurant in the Sex and the City movie. My friends and I have been a fan of the Sex and the City series for a long time, because we  identified with the characters and the sisterhood like so many other people in the world.

The long table that they used for the engagement  dinner for the scene.

The food was delicious, service was great, but we had to wait a long time for a table even though we had made reservations. On the side note, we got free drinks and a side out of it. I thought that the price was quite reasonable compared to what I was expecting.

Here is what we ate at Buddakan.

Edamame dumplings on the house

Devilled Tuna Tartare

Pork Scallion Pancakes

Lemon Chicken

Mapo Tofu

Chinese Sausage Fried Rice

My favourite dish was the edamame dumplings and the tuna tartare. I think I may attempt to make edamame dumplings at home when I get the chance!

Here's the link to the "man who got Carried away" scene if you are unfamiliar with the scene.

bisous,

mooncake

Holiday Sparkle

I have always been a fan of glitter liners. My favourite are the ones from Urban Decay that I bought in a set a few years back. But since the UD liners are so pricey, I recently purchased glitter liners from the Sephora line, which are much cheaper. I have yet to try them out, but I'm sure I'll get to it soon, because glitter is a holiday favourite - whether it be on your nails, eyes, clothes or even your christmas tree.

I am a fan of the Pixiwoo sisters on Youtube. Sam and Nick are funny, extremely likeable, and most of all, they make awesome make-up tutorials. I tried out Nick's recent video called "Affordable Christmas Party Makeup Tutorial".

I find that sometimes I can't always pull off what the Pixiwoo sisters can because of the shape of my eyes. This look is gorgeous, but in the future, I think I'm going to have to tweak it a little so it works for me. My eyelid folds are probably 1/8th of the size of Nick's - which is why having glitter on your top lash line can make it slightly difficult to blink. Regardless, I think it's fun trying out new looks, even if it turns into a disaster or doesn't quite live up to your expectations.

A few notes:

• I applied a filter - so the colours are slightly off
• Pardon my 'not so groomed' eyebrows - exams do that to you.
• My eyelashes are so short that they don't even show in the photos. I wish I was blessed with full lashes and brows - but I guess you just gotta rock whatever you were given.

Bisous,
mooncake

Le Sélect Bistro

Today I had a little date with my friend at Le Sélect Bistro in Toronto.
We sat at the bar, and the bartenders there were so friendly! I also loved the food and the ambiance. I'm glad my friend suggested this place.

We were given sample sized french onion soup on the house, which was delicious. For our main, I ordered a croque-monsieur and my friend ordered a salade frisée aux lardons as well as a bison steak tartare. Unfortunately my friend finds it weird that I take pictures of food... so I only took two pictures of our food. I personally liked the salad the most, which consisted of chicory lettuce, avocado, pork lardon (sort of like bacon), cherry tomatoes, a poached egg and sherry vinaigrette. It was delicious - I highly recommend it.

The Bison Tartare

I've tried tuna tartare before, but I've never tried bison, not to mention bison tartare. It was good, but I think it's something I'll have to develop a liking for.

The Croque-Monsieur

Of course the croque-monsieur was yummy, but I wished I had ordered the madame with the egg on top. I tried croque-madame for the first time when I was in France several years ago. I'm not sure if Le Select's version measured up to what I remember, but then again I may be a little bit biased - everything French tastes better in France?

Bisous,
mooncake

Easy Green Curry

Do you sometimes get bored of having the same thing over and over again? I fall into this trap sometimes, because I don't have to think when cooking certain foods, like pasta.

This post is about creating green curry! You could make it from scratch, but if you're like me and want to save some time, I recommend this route.

Warning: I eyeball a lot of what I put in. Yes, this is really bad considering my curry will not be the same each time - but I don't intend on serving this curry to food critics, so I think there is some room for mistake.

Ingredients:

• 1 table spoon of store bought curry paste - this will definitely cut down cooking and preparation time. I used one that I found at a Asian grocery store, but there are many different curry pastes out there that you could easily get your hands on.
• Vegetables:
• 1 eggplant (I usually buy a large one, and just use half)
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 table spoon of minced garlic
• 1/2 cup of bamboo shoots (I get the canned one)
• Fresh basil
• 1 lime
• Meat:
• 1 chicken breast
• 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar (I have coconut sugar, which I find goes amazingly with curry and is not as sweet. You can decide on how much sugar you want, because ultimately, it is your curry)
• 1 can of coconut milk 250ml (not coconut water)

Instructions:

1. Cut/dice all the vegetables and meat.
2. On medium heat, sautée the garlic and then the rest of the vegetables, including basil. Then also add the meat and cook through.
3. Add a table spoon of the store bought curry paste to the veggie and meat and mix well. (this step may be different depending on the curry paste you purchase)
4. Add coconut milk, and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low.
5. Add sugar.
6. Enjoy your curry on a bed of rice. You can also garnish with leftover fresh basil and a slice of lime.

I am obviously not a curry expert, but this recipe is pretty quick and it's nice to change up meals once in a while!

Enjoy :)

Bisous,

mooncake

Edible Reindeer and Reindeer Droppings

A few weeks back, two of my friends and I had a little Christmas baking party.
I think it's a great way to bond, and also share the love with others - who can resist cookies?
We made use of two recipes we found online - reindeer cookie and peppermint ball cookie (which I had decided to call reindeer droppings because they look like poop AND have crushed peppermint on them). In terms of changing up the recipe a little bit, the reindeer cookie was supposed to be made out of peanut butter, but we opted for sugar cookies instead in case of allergies. The sugar cookie recipe is my friend Keltie's family recipe - so I am not in possession of it :(

I definitely recommend that you try making these cookies - they are a LOT of fun, adorable and delicious.

Bisous,

mooncake

A Holiday Gift Guide

I am probably one of the weirdest gift-givers of all time, but I thought I would try and make a few suggestions. Is it not odd that we give gift suggestions for people we don’t even know - we just go by a hunch of stereotypes and new products in the market? Just a quick thought... Anyways,  enough with my babbling. On I go.

For the men in our lives:

Jawbone Up - For those dads who are either active or inactive. They can keep track of their exercise and sleep schedules. It's one way that they can take care of their health and also show it off if they please! If he's tech-saavy at all, he will think this is pretty cool.

Luxury Plush Robe - For those dads who like to take the time to read newspapers with a cup of coffee on weekend mornings. Who doesn't like to be in a comfortable plush robe? This robe by Restoration Hardware is a bit pricey for a robe - but you can get it monogrammed and it is currently on sale. My favourite colour is graphite. You could even do matching ones for your parents - but we all know how picky moms can be... Maybe that's just my mom.

For the women in our lives:

A scarf - You can get so many different kinds of scarves, ranging from different textures to patterns. Here are a few scarf options from Club Monaco. Also students get 20% off all Club Monaco purchases in the States and Canada. Obviously you can buy a scarf from essentially any store or brand that you or your mom prefer :).

Adele Cashmere Scarf by Club Monaco

Papillon Floral Silk Scarf by Club Monaco

Bath gift set - After a stressful week, it's always nice to relax with a nice warm bath. I think that gift sets by Bath and Body Works is great since there are so many varieties. I love their aromatherapy line, especially the stress relief products. The eucalyptus scent is subtle yet refreshing. I feel like moms also love hand creams, just saying.

Ultimate Eucalyptus Tea Gift Set by Bath and Body Works

For boyfriends:

A card case - I don't understand how guys can sit with their wallets elevating one butt-cheek. I think that a card case is much smaller and can fit in the front pocket. Here are some from Coach and J.Crew. I apologize for the card cases being similar colours, they have more varieties if you want to check them out.

Athletic wear - I don't know about everyone else, but my boyfriend loves gym clothes. I say he wears his gym clothes at least once a day, whether he is working out or just going on a walk with our dog. I want to say that guys like Under Armour, Nike and Lululemon has been becoming increasingly popular. The items can be pretty pricey, so I caution you when purchasing. This Lululemon vest has been on sale for a little bit, and I think it is a fair purchase if you're into that 'vest with long sleeves' craze.

For girlfriends:

Naked 3 - Why not? I definitely don't see myself complaining if I got the Naked 3 from anyone. Beautiful neutral rosy hues - I like how it sounds.

Musical or concert ticket - Instead of getting each other a gift, you can plan to go to a concert or a musical together. That way you can spend time together and enjoy a great show, you don't always have to give each other tangible gifts. This year I am going to watch Wicked with my three best friends, I am beyond excited to say the least.

For our furry little friends:

A cute holiday collar - I am in love with everything Martha Stewart for pets. But I especially love the holiday-edition pet collars. They have ones with flowers, bows, bow ties, and a mistletoe! You can buy these at PetSmart.

Holiday treats - You could always buy treats from the store, or you could bake it yourself! Make sure that you know if your pet is allergic to anything. Martha Stewart has a few recipes and a ton on Allrecipes.com. If you would like some company while baking, I suggest you bake with a friend that either likes to bake or has a dog.

That is all the ideas I have at the moment. Hope this guide can help someone, or at least spark some ideas. Please comment and let me know what you think.

Bisous,

mooncake

Fresh Start.

I think there comes a time when you have to sit down and really think about what you are doing and where you are headed.

I jumped on the bandwagon again, and have forgotten where I want to go and how I want to get there. 

I promise to write on this blog religiously and just post everything and anything that I am interested in as well as the activities I take part in. It has been too long since I have held myself accountable for my own happiness and satisfaction. 

Bisous,

mooncake.