What8ver Cafe

Address: 1108 - 8328 Capstan Way
Website: http://www.what8ver.com/

Ever since I read about the toast box from Secret Eden, I could not stop thinking about it. For those of you unfamiliar with toast box, it basically is a large piece of bread soaked in condense milk, toasted, then layered with other dessert goodness. So I roped RN into trying this with me at What8ever cafe in Richmond. So this restaurant is a typical Taiwanese cafe with all the typical Taiwanese drinks and dishes. Toast box is actually not on the menu, so you have to specifically ask for it. Oh, and they only start serving it after 6pm, so if that's what you had your eyes on, don't go there for lunch.

Anyways, when we got there, I decided to go for my staple drink, honey green tea with pearls. It was delicious! The pearls were very well done, just the right level of chewiness and sweetness.

RN was feeling a bit cold, so she ordered the hot ginger tea. She said it was quite flavorful, since I'm not a big fan of ginger, I couldn't will myself into tasting it.

Now the star of the night, TOAST BOX! Now the picture doesn't quite do it justice, but this thing is huge! Toasted bread with ice cream, strawberry sauce, fresh fruits, pocky sticks, what more could  I want? It was delicious, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The only problem with this is that they burnt it slightly... but I was so excited I didn't even care. 

The server then carved this thing for us. He basically cut the sides exposing the sliced goodness inside. Then he removed the ice cream on the side so we can rip into the sliced toasty bread inside. It was heavenly. I highly recommend this to anyone eating around the area, it is a must try.

Haiti Experience Part 7 - the ending

This is my last blog about Haiti, it actually wasn't too hard deciding what to share on this blog. Ever since I got back, one question I've gotten the most often is, "if you have to summarize your experience in Haiti in one sentence, what would it be?" For me, it was something NWHCM director Janeil once said, it is experiencing the abundance of life in a place lacking abundance.

Haiti is an amazing place with amazing people, but it's by no means an easy place to live. We were all so spoiled by the luxuries we had at home that it was hard to adapt to a place that only provided the essentials. Yet, it is in a place lacking the abundance that I've experienced abundant life. Jesus said before:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

I have heard of this verse many times, but I have to admit, before this trip, I've never understood what Jesus meant by abundant life. I didn't know what an abundant life meant, nor did I know how it felt to live an abundant life. Most of us live day by day filling our days with things we cared about. It could be work, family,  serving in church, friends, volunteering, sports... Don't get me wrong, these are all good things to fill our life with, but most of us pack our schedule so tightly with the things we care about that we lose the joy in doing these things. Is this what abundant life is all about? Packing our schedule as tightly as we can, doing as much as we can?

We've all had the experience of over scheduling ourselves with too many commitments. When this happens, we lose purpose in why we do the things we do. I'll be the first to admit that I've had the experience of spending time with a friend, but only to be distracted by the millions of things I needed to do in my mind. I mean, what's the point of spending time with a friend when we are only present physically, but not emotionally or mentally? When we meet up with a friend, we are there to share and to spend quality time together. But sometimes we become so consumed with our plans that we forget why we met up with a friend in the first place. In other words, sometimes we are so obsessed with doing as much as we can that we forget why we are doing something in the first place. Then over time as we spread ourselves thinly, we begin to lose sight of the important things and we begin to forget our purpose in life. This happens so easily that sometimes we don't even realize that it's happening. Then we become so burned out with the things we need to do that we can no longer find joy in doing them. It's especially times like this that we need to come before God and renew ourselves. It's times like this that we need to refocus our life and our energy.

For me, Haiti was a place of renewal and a place of rejuvenation. I think all of us went to Haiti leaving our baggages behind at home. Whether they are our troubles or burdens, pains or worries, they were all left behind. Life wasn't about packing schedules or trying to get things done, it was about serving God and serving the people God placed in our path. In Haiti, there was only one purpose and one goal, it is to live out the love of God. We were no longer distracted by our own worries, but we can concentrate on what we are called to do wholeheartely. When our gaze shift away from our own troubles onto the more important things, it is then that we can experience God's presence vividly and witness God's work at hand. This is a lesson I needed to learn, and it's a lesson I'm struggling with in my life back at home.

The mission statement of NWHCM is "Rescue, Restore, Redeem". Rescue is rescuing the oppressed by providing medical care to the poor, food to the hungry, and orphan care to the abandoned. Restore is restoring hope by running schools and organizing sustainable community development programs in needy areas. Redeem is redeeming God's people by planting churches, developing indigenous church leaders, and training effective Haitian ministers. I think this mission statement really encapsulate what NWHCM is all about. But for me personally, this trip was more than rescue, restore, and redeem, it was also a renewal for my spirit and a reminder for me of the more important things in life. I guess this lead back to my original question, what is abundant life? To me, abundant life is a purpose driven and meaningful life with God.

To end this post, I just want to say I am so thankful to be a part of this mission team, I am so thankful for all that I've learned and experienced. I know I titled this blog "the ending", but for me, this is really just the beginning, the beginning of many awesome life changing experiences with my Savior.

Pho Thai Hoa

Address: 1101-8328 Capstan Way

Website: http://www.phothaihoa.com/

RN and I got together again for a fun day under the sun, I mean rain. She used to work in Richmond so she knows the food scene there well. She wanted to take me to her favorite Vietnamese place, and of course, I couldn't say no to that. Pho Thai Hoa is a small restaurant with really funky decor. The decor wasn't very Asian, it was more fusion.

I noticed their extensive drink menu right away, so I couldn't resist ordering their avocado slush. It was amazing! It was so good and filling that it was like a meal in itself. The drink was so creamy and delicious, I can't even begin to describe how much joy it brought me. :D

Since I wasn't too hungry after my gigantic drink, I ordered the spring roll as my main. The spring roll was okay, I found it too be a little too dry for my liking though.

RN had the beef noodle soup, also known as Pho. This is her staple food when she comes to this restaurant. The thing that intrigued me the most is the funny look deep fried battered prawn on the side. I've never seen that being served with pho before.

Overall, I quite enjoyed my time at Pho Thai Hoa. The food was good and the service was decent. The drive is a bit too far for me from Burnaby, so unless I'm in the area, I won't be trekking over here. I did find out that they have another location on Kingsway, that's a lot closer than Richmond :)

Turks Coffee Lounge

Address: 1276 Commercial Dr

After a big dinner at Memphis BBQ House, we wanted to go to a coffee lounge to digest a bit. I urbanspooned for something close by and this place came up highly recommended. When I read the name, I thought they only serve Turkish coffee, turns out, it has nothing to do with Turkey at all. Who would have thought?

The interior of the cafe was definitely different. It was a bit old and run down, kind of like a hippie hang out area (majority of the customers were kind of hippie looking too). Anyways, the menu looked really intriguing, lots of funky lattes I've never heard of. There were quite a bit on the menu I wanted to try, so if I get a chance, I will definitely return to try their other lattes.

Now onto the drinks. HO had the matcha latte. It was delicious. The matcha taste was very evident, yet not overwhelming. The drink was creamy and sweet, but not the sweet. I thought it was perfect.

I had the raspberry chocolate latte. It was a great drink with just a hint of raspberry. The dark chocolate flakes complimented well. My only compliant is that the drink was a tad too sweet for me.  

 HN opted for the Earl Grey latte. Out of the three drinks, I think I like this one the best. Earl grey in a latte form was an interesting idea to me, I actually didn't expect to like it this much. But the drink was very creamy with just the right amount of earl grey flavor.

Overall, although the cafe looked a bit run down, I was really impressed with their drinks. I guess it's what they say, we shouldn't judge the book by it's cover.

Haiti Experience Part 6 - Simple Joy

I think this will be my second last blog about Haiti. I've just realized that I have so much to say about Haiti that this could turn into an hundred part series if I wanted it to. Of course, I don't think anybody will want me to continue rambling on and on about Haiti, so I will end this series with just two more blogs. This second last blog is about the biggest lesson I learned in Haiti, the lesson on simple joy. 

My favorite memory in Haiti is an event that happened in the recovery room. My favorite patient Michael said to our interpreter that his skin is itchy because it's so dry. One of my team mates happened to have a little bottle of lotion with her that day. So she took out that little bottle of lotion and squirted some into this young man's hand. Then she continued putting lotion into each patients' hands, both young and old, male and female. All the patients had such a joy on their face as they rubbed the lotion into their skin on their face and body. The women rubbed the lotion into their baby's skin, the elderly man rubbed the lotion on his legs and foot... Everyone had such a joyous smile on their face as their smelt the lotion and felt the smoothness of their skin. The smile on their face was so big that you'd think they won a house or something. But all it took as that little bit of lotion to bring that much joy on their face.  

One of the sweet happy kids at the orphanage.

As I sat there watching this whole event fold into place, I couldn't help but wonder how much it would take for us to feel that much joy. I mean, as North Americans, we are blessed with so many material things. We have things most Haitian can't even imagine. I remember talking to one of my interpreter about running hot water coming out of the faucet the other day, and he could not understand that concept. It was hard for him to comprehend why there would be hot water coming out of the faucet. He asked me so many questions, why would there be hot water coming out, what heats up the water, how is the hot water separated from the cold water... For us, it's something we all take for granted, something that every house is equipped with, but in Haiti, this was something beyond imagination. Because we are blessed with so much, we all take so much for granted. We stop appreciating the little things in life  because we've had them all our life. A little squirt of lotion would not bring us the amount of joy Haitians experienced. Most of us probably have bottles and bottles of unopened lotion just on our counter. Now we need the Coach, Chanel, BMWs, Benz, expensive condos, caviars to experience that same amount of joy. For some people, even these won't bring them joy because they've became complacent to these as well. It's true what they say, the more we have, the less joy we experience. We stopped appreciating the little things in life, we want more and more, and it takes more and more for us to rejoice. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul reminded us to

"Rejoice always," (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

It's probably one of the shortest verses in the bible, yet it is one of the most challenging verse to obey. I mean, how do we rejoice always when we've stop noticing just how much we are blessed with? Sometimes, it takes a story like this to remind me how much there is to rejoice and be thankful about. It's learning from the Haitians to see and appreciate the little things in life. It's about making that effort to pay attention to what's around us. In other words, it's learning to "stop and smell the roses". One of my favorite Haitian proverb is

Le poul bwe dlo, li pa bliye Bondye.
When the chicken drinks water, she doesn't forget God.

When the chicken drinks water, she has to raise her head and look up into the sky  in order to swallow. What it means is to remember to be thankful even in times of plenty. I think for us North Americans, this is a very fitting proverb. We need to learn to find joy in the little things, and to give thanks for the little things.

Memphis Blue BBQ House

Address: 1342 Commercial Dr. Vancouver

Website: http://www.memphisbluesbbq.com/

HO and HN were going back to Japan, so I wanted to take them out for a traditional western dinner. What's more western than a huge barbecue feast at Memphis Blue BBQ House right? :D Normally the Commercial Drive location is quite busy, but since it was pouring that day, it was not busy at all. Anyways, one thing I always hated about eating on Commercial Drive is the parking. It's so hard to find parking in the area. I parked so far that day I might as well walked from home in Burnaby, LOL. 

Anyways, the interior of  restaurant was nice, rock and roll like. You have to go up to the front and order your food, kind of like fast food. Then you grab your own drink and your utensil. Then they bring you the food. 

 

Since there were three of us, I ordered the Memphis Feast for us. It was a huge platter with all the meat you can imagine. It also included all the sides including coleslaw, cornbread, fries... I have to say, this platter is amazing. All the meat were so juicy and flavorful, I especially liked the sliced beef brisket, it was to die for. The platter was so big we barely made a dent in it when we finished, I took the rest home and it took me a week to finish the leftovers. 

I'm sure I've had enough cholesterol and protein to last me a year. My tummy is definitely thanking me and my heart is definitely not. No regret though, it was a divine meal. Thanks HO and HN for a great night! See you girls in Japan!

Puffed chocolate chip cookies

Yes, I made cookies, I don't really like baking cookies, but I made cookies. Don't get me wrong, I like eating cookies, I just find that my cookies never turn out the way I wanted them to turn out. These cookies were made with a recipe my coworker gave me. She made it for work one day and it was soft and chewy, just the way I like it. I asked her for her secret and I told her about my many failing attempts of baking soft chewy chocolate chip cookies. She gave me this recipe and said, "take this, this is fool proof". Well, she was wrong, it's not fool proof. It was a great recipe, the cookies were delicious, but mine did not turn out soft or chewy. Instead, mine turned out cakey. Not that I didn't enjoy these, they just didn't turn out the way I wanted. I'm still searching for "the trick" in baking chewy cookies...please share with me your words of wisdom. 

Happy baking!