Hope to see you soon!

hey everyone,


I will be heading to Asia for a few weeks, so posts might be slightly delayed (or I might not be able to post as often).

I have written a few reviews and scheduled them to keep this blog running.

I can't wait to share with you my findings in Asia and review them for you here!


Hope to talk to you all very soon!

xoxo
Steph

Pho Dau Bo Vietnamese Restaurant (vegan edition) review

Pho Dau Bo Vietnamese Restaurant has won several awards including being voted as Hamilton's #1 Vietnamese Restaurant. They have more than 10 restaurants around Toronto (GTA).

I have tried their Pho, but was not impressed... so I was slightly reluctant when my friend suggested us to eat here.

My friend came to visit me in Toronto, and because he preferred a vegetarian meal, we decided to go to Vietnamese, we went to Pho Dau Bo. To be honest, I was nervous, I have never had a full Vegetarian meal... but... To my surprise... I was actually full... and I liked it!

Vegetarian Edition

Avocado Milkshakes

805.♦ SINH TỖ BÔ - Avocado Milkshake $3.50

Avocado milkshakes are one of my favourite drinks, so this was a must get item when I am in a Vietnamese place.

Impressions:

• very thick
• very tasty
• lots of avocado

I was impressed with this Avocado milkshake, it was very thick and contained lots of avocado. The taste was richly avocado... I highly recommend getting this milkshake at this place as it is much more tastier compared to other places.

Fried Bean Curd/Tempura Bean Curd

Fried Bean Curd/Tempura Bean Curd $8.00

ok... so my friend and I both forgot the exact name of this dish... but it is somewhere along the lines of Fried/Tempura Bean Curd. I couldn't even find it on their online menu!...


Impressions:

• very crispy
• tasted like fish cakes
• a bit on the pricey side

When I first took a bite out of this Fried/Tempura Bean Curd, I was surprised. It tasted like fish cakes. I had to reconfirm with my friend that this was Bean Curd. The Sweet, Sour and Hot sauce really enhances the flavour. I would recommend this dish but I do find it quite pricey... $8.00 for only 2 bean curd patties...

vegetable fried singapore noodle

Vegetable Fried Singapore Noodles $8.50

Again, my friend and I forgot the actual menu name but it is along the lines of Singapore Vegetarian fried noodles. I don't understand why this isn't on their online menu... or if it was only exclusively served at their Markham/Lawrence location.

Impressions:

• lovely sauce
• fried tofus made dish very tasty
• loved the broccoli
• noodles were drenched in a perfect amount of sauce
• noodles were fried to a perfect crispiness

I loved these fried noodles and I didn't miss any of the meat ingredients usually present in fried noodles. I wasn't sure why this was "Singaporean" style because I didn't taste any "Singapore" flavours (e.g. spiciness, hot spiciness, herbs, etc). The sauce tasted like the usual Cantonese Fried Noodles you can get at most restaurants (minus the meat). The fried tofus were cooked and drenched with an appropriate amount of sauce. The fried noodles were all crispy and well made. I recommend this dish if you aren't a big fan of heavy flavoured dishes.

Spring Rolls with Mung

602. GỎI CUỖN CHAY - $7.25
Vegetarian Fresh Rolls with Mung

Impressions:

• Spring rolls were nicely fried/baked
• found mung a bit dull

I liked the Spring Rolls but they were slightly a bit too hard. Nonetheless, they were not oily. This might not be speicifc to this dish, I found the mung to be dull... all they provided was fish sauce to drench the Mung in... and nothing else... I would have liked it if they provided some stir fried veggies or tofu so that the mung wouldn't be too ... "dull". Other than the Mung, I liked this dish... (in other words, I liked the Spring Rolls)


Score: 9/10
Website: http://www.pho-daubo.ca/

Meiji Melty Kiss Creamy Hazel Chocolate review

Meiji Melty Kiss Creamy Hazel Chocolate

Happy Lunar New Year! Wish that the year of the Sheep/Goat will bring you lots of good fortune!

I apologize for the delay in reviewing this... This should have been written a while back (before Christmas) by I didn't get to try them till now

I have seen countless commercials and advertisements on Meiji's Melty kisses but for some strange reason I haven't had the chance to get my hands on a box of Melty Kiss... Till now... 

nutrition facts and ingredients

The whole box is 60g... so the nutrition value does not look bad at all!  I took a quick glance at the ingredients and it seems that all the ingredients are considered safe!

inside

Impressions

• Melts in your mouth
• Light cocoa taste
• Strong hazel nut taste
• Product is coated in less powder than shown

Though it "melts" in your mouth, I found the inside to be rather dry... since it was called "creamy" I expected the chocolate to be more smooth and runny. The hazel nut taste was very prominent and stole the cocoa taste.

how product looks like

After this experience, I will definitely be trying more Melty Kiss products... I just hope they have a stronger cocoa taste and be less dry.

Score: 7/10

Website: http://catalog-p.meiji.co.jp/products/sweets/chocolate/010123/20913.html (original Melty Kiss website)

My Beauty Diary Cooling Mask review

Cooling Mask

Sorry for being MIA again... a Belated Valentine's Day to you!

My Beauty Diary Masks have always been my favourite masks... because not only are they affordable, but most importantly, they work and enhance the condition of my skin (except for this Red Vine Mask)

I was intrigued with this Cooling Mask because it advertised itself as moisturizing and relaxing your skin. I also loved the snowflakes on the packaging (I am a total sucker when it comes to pretty looking packaging).

The Chinese name is: 冰沁活氧面膜

Function

• Relax
• Moisturize

Ingredients

Purified Water, 1,3-Butylene Glycol, Glycerine, Propylene Glycol, Aloe Extract, Licorice Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Seaweed Extract, Methylparaben, Algae-Yeast Complex, Bio-Active Silanols, Lecithin, Nanospheres 100, Vegetal Collagen, Citric Acid, Peppermint Extract, Arnica Extract, Menthol, Laminaria, Triethanolamine, Green Tea Extract, Gingko Biloba Extract, Marigold Extract, Elderberry Extract, Butcher's Broom Extract, Propylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Xanthan Gum, Tween 20, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Ethanol, Methyl Lactate, Perfume

(I had to highlight Peppermint... as it was so hard to find)

how mask looks like

Impression

• Very cool minty feeling
• Smells medicated
• Strong minty scent
• Slight stinging sensation

Directions

1. Cleanse and tones face thoroughly before applying mask. 
2. Put the mask on and leave it for 20 - 30 minutes, then peel off. 
3. Gently massage the excess essence on the face and neck to assist absorption. 
4. No rinsing is necessary. 
5. Follow with your daily moisturizer. 

Use 2 - 3 times weekly for maximum effect.

fail on their part... it is even hard to read the text in "real life"

Pros

• Made my skin feel softer
• Lovely cooling sensation

Cons

• Left my face with pimples on the jaw line
• made my skin very dry

one cooling mask

Despite the "cool" feeling (pun not intended), I will not be purchasing these anymore... it caused my jaw line to break out :(... A mask is supposed to enhance the condition of your skin... Instead... This mask left my skin with pimples on my jawline (which lasted for a month)... 

Score: 5/10
Website:no website

Burt's Bees Fabulously Fresh Peppermint & Rosemary Body Wash review

Burt's Bees Fabulously Fresh Peppermint & Rosemary Body Wash

hey guys! After being MIA for a week, I'm finally back with a review!! I hope you have been well... Today, I would like to share with you my views on Burt's Bees Fabulously Fresh Peppermint & Rosemary Body Wash.

I have always loved Burt's Bees' lip balms... especially the ones which give your lips a subtle pink-ish colour. To be honest, I have only used their lip balms and was unaware of their other products. A few months ago, I was visiting Shoppers Drug Mart and saw this body wash and decided to give it a try.

ingredients

After opening the bottle, I was immediately obsessed with the smell... it has a very candy candy mint smell to it... it was just like I was eating candy cane... but the scent of Rosemary was not present.

directions/caution

Impressions

• Extremely watery
• Very minty (like candy cane)
• No Rosemary scent
• hard to foam up

When I first pored out the product to the palm of my hand, I couldn't help but notice just how watery it was (compared to most body washes). I also found it extremely difficult to make it foam up. 

Because of the watery-ness (?) of it, I found myself using large amounts of this product to wash myself... I didn't like it. I was surprised that despite it being so minty, it did not leave any minty smell to my skin... and that it did not irritate my skin... it did cause my eyes to water up though.

Pros

• Lovely mint smell
• no lasting mint scent
• does not irritate skin

Cons

• irritate eyes (I didn't put this on my face... but the smell was too overbearing)
• No minty cool feeling
• Need a lot (product is too watery)
• does not "clean well"

After using this, it will be highly unlikely I will be purchasing this body wash again... to the minimum requirements it should be able to clean... and it didn't do a good job... I enjoyed the mint smell... but hate that it irritated my eyes (when I was just putting the product on my body... (no where near my face). I think they seriously need to improve this product.

Score: 6.5/10
Website: http://www.burtsbees.ca/natural-products/body-washes-and-soaps/fabulously-fresh-peppermint-rosemary-body-wash.html

announcements MIA

Hey everyone,

Apologies for being MIA this past week... This week has been hectic for me... and at the same time, I am still testing out products and tweeking my posts so they can give you a better sense of the product/restaurant... hopefully these will be sorted out by Tuesday!

Anywayz... have a wonderful WONDERFUL weekend everyone! :)

see you next week! :)
Steph