Hot Chocolate Festival 2013 : Leonidas - Fresh Belgian Chocolates

Belgian chocolates made with 100% cocoa butter at Leonidas*

#39 - "RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE"
White chocolate with raspberry cheesecake ripple served with a chocolate eclair or liege waffle sample.
Available: every day of the Festival.

#40 - "TOSCA"
Dark chocolate and rum served with a chocolate eclair or liege waffle sample.
Available: every day of the Festival.

#41 - "FROZEN NOISETTE"
Melted praline blended into frozen yogurt, topped with a shot of melted chocolate, and finished with crushed hazelnuts served with a chocolate eclair or liege waffle sample.
Available: every day of the Festival.

Leonidas - Fresh Belgium Chocolates
#29 - 1055 Canada Place
(Vancouver Convention Centre)
M-F 10a -7p | Sat 10a - 6p | Sun 11a - 6p

Jerkface and I tried Leonidas* around this time last year. The location can be a little bit difficult to spot at first because rather than obvious signage, they have a sleek window design for their store front (that I forgot to take a photo of on my way in and out, sorry!). I can`t remember what drink he got, I think it may have been the same drink as me (maybe, maybe not.. he`ll remind me), but I tried the Raspberry Cheesecake hot chocolate (still offered this year) with liege waffles last year which was pretty good. I recall that it was sweet, very rich and satisfying: you could really taste the raspberry in it. They have changed their cups this year, I liked the ones they had last year better, and the waffles with whipped cream have become a single waffle, but the hot chocolate does not disappoint. Unfortunately after a thorough search through my computer, laptop and many USB drives, I have misplaced the photographs!

I went with B last week to try a different cup of hot chocolate. This year, to accompany your hot chocolate you get a choice between an eclair or a liege waffle. Since I had already tried liege waffles last year, I had an eclair this year. The cup of hot chocolate that I tried, like last year`s Raspberry Cheesecake was very rich. I imagine that all non-Tim Horton's and non-Starbucks hot chocolates have this quality to them. I had the Tosca which was a blend of dark chocolate and rum. I really liked the eclair, even if the chocolate lover in me would have preferred a bigger piece. I found that the dark chocolate in the Tosca was probably too dark for my liking and I could taste the rum, but it was very complementing and not overwhelming. I couldn`t finish it for how rich it was! I had to share it!

B had the Frozen Noisette, which at the time I couldn`t catch the full list of ingredients besides hazelnut (and if you read the list of ingredients, you`ll see why), and to go with it he chose the waffle. As its name suggests, the drink is cold, but there is an option to have it hot so it was still weather appropriate (it was rather cold that day). I only tried a sip but I enjoyed the Frozen Noisette more than the Tosca, I am sheepish to say. I am sure those who enjoy the bitter taste of dark chocolate more than I do would have enjoyed the Tosca very much. I underestimated just how dark the dark chocolate would be, and the taste of it combined with rum.Oops!

Tosca with an eclair in the back at $6.50 and Frozen Noisette with a liege waffle at $6.00 up front.

A closer look of the top of the drinks, last year there was a shape of an L in the foam of my drink.

Not on the festival website for some reason, are a few other hot chocolates that Leonidas is offering for the hot chocolate festival this year. I found this list on Foodology's blog post of Leonidas posted about a week or two ago because the girl listed the drinks a little too quickly for me to catch, and will put a copy of that list here:

• TIGER MILK : Leonidas White chocolate, saffron, cardamom, nutmeg, and finished with slivered almonds
• JAMAICAN KISS: Leonidas Milk Chocolate, coconut milk and pineapple rum
• BOHO SECRET: Leonidas 72% Sao Tome dark chocolate, mint and a secret ingredient

I did not have a chance to try any of these but the Boho Secret sounds intriguing! Other than hot chocolate, Leonidas also serves many types of espresso and coffee, ice cream, macarons and other pastries, as well as chocolates that come straight from Belgium made with 100% cocoa butter. I had a sample of one of these and it has been a long time since I have had such a delicious piece of chocolate! Make sure to try one if you go :)

*Link to Leonidas` official website here: click.
*Photo of Leonidas` chocolate counter retrieved from DineHere: click.

Girls Night Brunch Night & Fondue For 4 !

Yes. That is a bowl of shredded cheese in the middle & I overfilled my omelette so I couldn`t fold it...

Last weekend the girls had a long awaited brunch night at J`s (I know we`re at the end of this weekend, but this week has been really nuts so this post is very, very late)! With our conflicting schedules, we had been talking about having a girls night for months, and within those months of discussion, a decision to have brunch for dinner and fondue for dessert was made and so... A magical night of delicious food was prepared last weekend along with lots and lots of girl chatter on a Saturday night that lasted until one in the morning on Sunday! We really need to make more time for nights like these...

We had bacon, omelettes (filled with red, yellow and green bell peppers, mushrooms, cheddar mozzarella blend/marble cheese and tomatoes) and chocolate chip waffles for our "main course." V brought over some ice wine to go with our meal (And it turns out I was the only fan of it in the end, but it wasn`t the best ice wine I`d ever had so maybe that explains it..) because she needed the bottle for a project. For most of the prep work I bow down to J, V and Y for cutting and washing all the fruits and veggies as well as making the waffle batter, therefore allowing me to study for my midterm (The midterm went really well, if I haven`t already had a chance to tell you guys!). To repay them, I had some fun of my own making the omelettes as V and Y had some adventures with the waffle maker and J made the best part of the night... the bacon! Suffice to say, everything was delicious!

We all took turns accidentally dunking our fruits, oops...

Some time during the prep work, we decided to make enough batter to make crepes as well... So as a break from food, J and I had more adventures making thin crepes for fondue while V and Y melted chocolate in the mini Crockpot. This was going pretty successfully until Y created a little nimbus cloud with the batter, hehe ;)

Fondue as always, is really filling after a few bites whether you do cheese or chocolate fondue. The chocolate taste was almost overwhelming to me after just a few slices of bananas dipped in. So I crushed one of these really cute Teddy Grahams (I`m so sorry..) and dipped a banana in chocolate, then into the graham bits and it was perfect. It was great for dessert. My first time confessing this on my blog: I don`t like strawberries *prepares to be screamed at* and barely touched the frozen mangoes. That was hilarious, the chocolate froze on the mango before it even reached your mouth. Still, I had a lot of fun and everything I had was sccrumptiouuusss! Thank you J, V and Y (oh and L for the ride home & sort of T too for saying hello) for a lovely night that we must repeat soon. Although maybe cut back on the amount of food!

Cool Starbucks Coffee Shop !

Oh this is such a grand looking Starbucks! If anyone has any idea where to find it, let me know because I need to go. I am really interested in whether they built an ancient Chinese themed Starbucks to fit into its surroundings or if they decided to leave the original foundations of the building alone. And I wonder if the interior design of the building matches the exterior. And am I the only one who finds it slightly strange that it looks so clean and put together on the outside?

Whenever I go traveling, these are the kinds of things I am looking for. Interesting little shops, restaurants or experiences that I won`t be able to find back at home. Although scenic views are very important: the beaches, the mountains, the waterfalls.. After I see a few of them, I start to forget what made each body of water, each mound of rock, different from the last. Of course, there`s nothing wrong with seeing the famous wonders of the world while I look for the unknown ones.. But the only thing we really do with the tower of Pisa is look at it or take a photo with it. I also like learning experiences, so I am the nerd that will enjoy historical tours and museums. It is sometimes surprising how little shopping I prefer to do when away from home and the States (where everything is similar to home). I especially find malls in North America to be designed similarly to each other. Maybe it will be difficult to find a traveling partner at this rate, someone who is also interested in the little bits and pieces?

  






Photo retrieved from here: click

I Love Snail Mail !

My parents thought I was a complete nutter when I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to snap
a photo of this in Sydney,  even though our mail boxes look nothing like these!

Hello, hello again! Four blog posts in a row, I`m on a roll! I came home in the rain cold, frustrated and exhausted after three lectures, four textbook exchanges (I sold two text books and bought a text book, a lab guide and course notes) and a near two hour commute home to find mail on my desk! Mum usually leaves an herbal drink and any mail I`ve received on my desk for me to discover when I get home. It is the perfect way to cheer me up at the end of my day :)

Today she left me a cup of loh han gou to soothe my throat, some important mail (me being the secretary for mail in the family), a package (one of two that I ordered back in early December and am still waiting for) and a personal letter. The package is a new wallet that I purchased off eBay in early-December. I am happy to report that it looks just like it did in the photographs advertising it online, the colour (a hot pink) isn`t as off as I feared it might be (hot pink can easily go very very wrong), and it is the perfect size for all my cards. My friends know very well that I carry too, too many cards with me at all times. It actually holds all of them along with the stamp cards and coupons that I usually have on me too!

I was super excited to find that the remaining letter was a Christmas card that found its way to me (and my family) late from my aunt and uncle in Melbourne, Australia. My silly aunt actually wrote the address wrong (off by one letter), so this might account for why I`m reading it now instead of a week ago hehe. I am happy to hear that they are taking time off to go to Gold Coast (see my post here about my visit to Gold Coast, Australia) and Brisbane. How I wonder what the weather must be like over on the other side of the planet right now, if the weather was so warm during the winter.

The thing about me is, I really love receiving snail mail: There`s a very personal quality to them if only because it takes time to write (or put together, if it`s a package) and a trip to the mail box or post office to mail it across the world. I keep all the cards and letters that I receive and in the future I hope to keep a pen pal or two. I remember being asked whether receiving a letter or receiving an email has a personal quality to it. I find emails very formal, and I spend much time writing emails professionally. The fact that a letter or card tends to be handwritten makes that much difference... I need to write a card or letter back to my aunt and uncle, haha just in time to say Happy Chinese New Year :) 

Vandusen, Christmas Market & Happy New Year!

First of all, welcome to the year 2013 everyone! Happy new year, although it is a little late. I wish everyone good health, and happiness in the upcoming year. I am playing a little bit of catch up today, to recap the Christmas/winter festivities during my break. Vancouver weather was a bit unforgiving the day my family and I visited the Festival of Lights at Vandusen Garden (it wouldn`t stop raining) and when Jerkface and I visited the Vancouver Christmas Market at the Queen Elizabeth Plaza downtown (it was really cold and it hailed). I tried to take photographs all the same, the majority of which sadly ended up quite blurry. But I did attend both events at night, so I apologize for the (lacking) quality of the pictures! Here we go :)

Vandusen Garden was transformed into a beautiful display of lights, and the enormous effort to set it all up is a good explanation for the ~$15 admission fee. (There is family admission for two adults and their children under 19 available for $32.50, and children get to sit on Santa`s lap and take photos along with admission fee.) There is BBQ food available for purchase, as well as the beloved hot cocoa of the season to accompany the lively Christmas carols (most of which are modern remakes of the classics) blasting on concealed speakers. I couldn`t take many photos whilst holding an umbrella trying to keep the camera dry and snapping photos one-handedly at the same time: I highly recommend picking a non-rainy day to attend next year because it will make your visit more enjoyable and allow for better photography, even if those nights are rare to expect in Vancouver.

These flowers are the tops of water bottles cut jaggedly in half with a light placed at the opening, these were genius!

There was a light show on the water that I was unable to capture with one photograph :(

The rain ruined this adorable section of the exhibit: the ground was incredibly muddy! But in here you`ll find many gingerbreadmen :)
   

Jerkface and I purchased tickets from The Red Pocket on a whim a few nights later for the Vancouver Christmas Market downtown (My bestie J introduced The Red Pocket to me, and it`s a great place to find deals in Vancouver: anything from all-you-can-eat hot pot or high tea to a wine tasting or a car wash, there`s probably a deal for it here.). I had had a brief conversation about German Christmas markets with my friend J who lives in Germany, and had only just said I really wanted to see what they were like, before I discovered Vancouver actually has one of its own. I doubt it resembles the real thing at all, but I wanted to see it anyway. We purchased a deal that included entrance for two and two carousel rides for a total of $8. (Entrance fees were $5 per person, and a carousel ride was $3 per person, so it was almost like a buy one get one promo. All entries included a re-entry pass valid until Christmas eve with or without this deal.) I was pleasantly surprised to find that the vendors actually spoke German to each other, that it was not a bunch of tables and tents pushed together, and save the hurricane potato stand that seemed a little out of place (recycled from the Richmond night market), it all looked amazing. The carousel was one where the horses themselves moved up and down, which I had never experienced before (usually the ground moves) and it surprisingly made a difference in a good way. It began to hail when we neared the front of the line up for the carousel, but it stopped hailing when the ride ended which was lovely timing. There was also an amazing display of ornaments and other Christmas decorations in a shop at the far end of the market, but unfortunately they did not allow cameras inside so I cannot even show you the masterpieces that I could not afford to purchase. They were remarkable.

The signage was a legitimate and sturdy thing, which was a good sign (Get it? A good SIGN? Sorry hehe)

The decorations were great, there was a choir singing Christmas carols: it was all very festive.

Despite the atrocious prices (no surprise really), I was devastated that they were sold out!

A close up of the vendors.. I suppose you could call these cabins? Whatever they`re called, they look great!

This winter, I wanted to be more involved in the festivities and events going on in the city. Last year I went to Bright Lights in Stanley Park which I found amazing, save the miniature train ride that was really meant for children. It inspired the curiosity about what other events were being held during the holidays. This year I chose the Festival of Lights and the Christmas Market, and next year I will be on the hunt for more things to do! Perhaps something indoors next year, so it`s less cold for a change :)

As a UBC student I am back to school tomorrow morning, which is preposterous... But I am excited for the 3rd Annual Hot Chocolate Festival coming up at the end of the month.. YUM! Happy new year again to those who read to the end of this very long post!