Here is the next installment of the N&K Vancouver Food Truck reviews… with a bonus Festival section.
This post is based on the Carnaval del Sol, which is a spicy festival for the Latin Americas.
. . . L a s t year we tried
Category: Lower Mainland; BC
Muscle Development Quarterly
Is Coast Hotel the best host?
Nals was in Abbotsford, BC earlier last month for work, and stayed at Coast Hotel . Here’s the N&K review:
Review of umami at Osamu Sushi Restaurant
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Years ago, Osamu Sushi‘s owners stopped in to the very shop that our baby Kells was working in.
Their suggestion: that her team have their Christmas dinner in the restaurant. They did… and it was fabulous!
Hittin That Cajun & Creole Style at Chewies Oyster Bar
There’s this friend of mine who I see couple times a year, usually on our birthdays.
Since she is partial to brunch – the best meal time for a chin wag – I decided to take her to Chewies Steam and Oyster Bar in January.
It’s a Cajun & Creole joint with locations in Kits and Coal Harbour in Vang-couver¹.
They were out of the Croque Madame so she ordered the Nola Breakfast. It looked delightful & she enjoyed this.
I had BBQ Shrimp & Grits with a Poached Egg². The shrimp were big and succulent.
Sweet Dreams and Obsessions
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Perhaps you are new to N&K or mayhaps you didn’t realize… Both Nals and Kells have a bit of a sweet tooth.
Granted we are sweet already. But we need to top up our own reserves every once in a while. As such, we are partial to bakeries that make sweet treats for our bellies. Me mumsey has been a big fan of Sweet Obsession‘s tiramisu for years. So my tums was introduced to this lovely delight ages ago.
Our beloved Cadeau Bakery (read our review and Cadeaux’s response) was closed on one of our monthly sugar-topping jaunts. We had to find a replacement toute de suite! Luckily, I remembered this beaut just in time. So off we went.
We had lunch (chicken & brie sammy for La Kells and chipotle corn chowda for Miss Nals). Yummy yums. And we finished off with two lovelies: Triple Choco Mousse and Peanut Butter mousse. Ohhh yeah!
Triple the chocolate (white, milk, dark) means triple the sweet creamery velvety happiness. Each layer holds its own but they go real well with each other too.
The PB mouse seamlessly slithers off the spoon and smoothly into your mouth. Thank you tastebuds for waiting so patiently. (We know that you know that it was worth it.)
We’ve tried lots of other things like White Choco Raspberry (a bit too light on the raspberry) and Sour Cherry Danish (more like a bread pudding, challenging to eat daintily but nice flavour).
For take-out, I’ve gotten lovely homemade caramels, granola and biscotti.
Beverages: plenty o’ choices with various espresso, tea, lemonades and bottled slurps.
Parking: plenty available on the street.
Seating: limited, cramped, uncomfortable small wooden furniture (good for half pints but if you’ve got any semblance of a super-bass then uh be prepared to do the old eat-then-boot).
Ordering/Serving: is a bit odd. You can go up front for takeout. But if dining in, you’re supposed to sit and wait to order. However this is not necessarily evident so folks order at the counter then sit. While others who are there first, following the rules of engagement, wait… and wait…
Ambience– not much of one. The space is defo too small for all the goodies it contains, even if you are there to order take-out.
Our conclusion:
YES you should try this casual place. However, if you want to relax while you enjoy your loot… then get takeout and park yourself elsewhere (at a park or have a little walk in the chi-chi area).
Have we enticed you to try Sweet Obsessions bakery-cafe?
Do you have your own tips or take on it?
Let us know by commenting below!
Rolling out 5-8
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Let’s keep on keeping on…
Just a quick reminder, tips 1 to 4 were using the ME Method:
-
- Empower
So let’s continue with Nals’ helpful tips to a healthier life…
5) Reward yourself when you achieve your mini goals.
Nals talks about celebrating your accomplishments by focusing on the real treats of life.
So what does that mean? That means give yourself praise. Even for the small things. If you worked out, even though you really didn’t want to…celebrate that! If you lost 4 lbs this month, but your goal was to lose 10, you still did something right… so celebrate that! You get back on the wagon, and even after a fall… you’re back up… celebrate that!
How, you ask? I like to make sure I am using my employer benefits by getting those massages in. When I need an extra special treat, I will use the RMTs at the Spa. Why? Cuz I need to celebrate my goals I’m achieving!
Rewards don’t need to be time consuming. It could be a simple text to a friend, letting them know: Hey, guess what? I have been working really hard and I lost a few pounds and it makes me feel good about my goals. Your good friends and support team will be happy to cheer you on and celebrate with you.
Nals makes a good point when she mentions trying to stay away from food rewards. Cheat days don’t work (neither do crazy limiting diets), so try to reward yourself with something besides food.
6) Don’t beat yourself up if you didn’t achieve your goal that week.
As Nals says, this is a learning moment, not a failure.
⇒ Check your SMART goals. Is it that your goals need to be adjusted? This doesn’t mean that they do, but it is a good way to reflect on them.
⇒ Do you need to plan for bumps in the road? We can’t always be focused on our goals. Many things get in the way, like work, kids, family emergencies. But how do we look ahead and see how we fit these bumps into our goals?
Remember in the 1 to 4 tips when I said I was failing a lot and I needed to figure out what the heck was going on? First of all, I was totally beating myself up. And it got me nowhere except down. But I started to learn from it. (It took me way too long… but I finally got there!) I realized looking too far down the road freaked me out. Overwhelmed me.
So now, I focus on 1 day at a time. I still can’t think long term (months down the road), but I can now start to see a week at a time.
7) Know when to push yourself and when not to.
Hello body, did you say something? Are you listening to what your body is telling you? Nals and I have a good friend, who happens to be a personal 
trainer (good friend to have hey?). She gave us the best advice once about listening to your body. She said that you want to feel your workout the next day but you don’t want to be so sore that you can’t move. A little soreness is a good thing, not being able to sit or stand is a bad thing.
A big part of listening to your body is also monitoring yourself when you are working out. As I said last time, I go to a kickboxing circuit and on each station I try to ask myself: can I push harder or is this pace good? I know when I’m flaking out or when I’m going over board, so I need to listen and adjust.
8) Don’t be ashamed to eat (when appropriately hungry) and to enjoy food.
Oh my gosh, I freaking love food, too. Especially good food. So I need to remember, not to overeat. For me, now I eat until I’m full… not stuffed. I’ll be honest, this takes some getting used to (and includes tip 7, listening to your body). Here’s how I do this:
1. I don’t eat fast. This gives my body time to process the amount I have eaten already.
2. I don’t fill my plate. We have this tenancy to fill our plates to have every inch covered. But our North American plates can be huge. You could even try using a smaller plate.
However, this is not the same restricting food. You’re just changing your focus to a healthier portion.
3. I don’t have to eat all the food on my plate. I think this comes from our childhood: if you don’t eat everything that’s on your plate you won’t get dessert. Guess what? The sweet part about being an adult (!!), is that you still get dessert, even if you don’t finish your dinner. This drives my hubbers crazy! I always leave food on my plate and he always says: Kells it’s just one more bite, why can’t you finish it? And I always tell him: Cuz I’m full. That one last bite can be the difference between full and stuffed. And remember, we don’t want to be stuffed! (plus I like to save room for dessert!)
Again, I want to refer to tip #7, listening to your body. We all have different reasons we eat. I’m a boredom eater. If I’m lazying around the house, you better believe you will find me in the kitchen looking for food. But I have to ask myself: Are you hungry? And most of the time, no I’m not. I’m just bored and want to munch. A glass of water will do the trick and get me out of the pantry! I’m also a chocolateholic when it’s that time of the month. I feel that I just can’t get enough sweets. But again, I need to listen to my body. a little chocolate is fine…6 chocolate bars and a bag of chips is to much (even 
though I feel I deserve it cuz moon time sucks!).
Also make sure you are getting enough water! I try to make sure I have a cup of water handy. If it’s not handy then I’m not going to drink it. So I make sure I have a water bottle on my desk at work, or a glass next to me while I watch tv. It’s like the Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come! Same goes for water, if you pour it, you will drink it. You get it, right?
Speaking of food…do you have a good healthy recipe you wanna share? Please email us so we can try it and share it with others… with a credit to you as our inspiration, of course!
Do you have any food for thought?
How do you feel about the ME Method?
Or the Tips? Or how I rolled them out to fit my life?
Please leave a comment below!
Drop It Like It’s Hot
Lately, it’s been raining a lot here in this temperate rainforest climate. It’s a gloomy and cold and damp. Kells and I decided to warm up by popping into a hot shop. So in we go to the casual The Ramen Butcher (RB) for lunch. RB is in the Menya Kouji Group, and pseudo-secretly tucked away into a half-street in Chinatown.
There was a bit of a line up as the place is smallish and it was grub time. 
But we got in in under 5 minutes. Window seat of course. (Kells insisted on this or we’d walk! JK.)
Ambience:
It’s all woodwork inside, with a collection of seating areas from typical slide-in booths to tall bar-type long tabletops. In the middle of the room, these tabletops have little cubbies right underneath. Handy little place for your wet umbrella* or your purse or your chinchilla**. Unfortunately this creates a problem for 
us long-legged folks (challenging to comfortably place the thighs under this contraption when using the handy foot bar-rests). Half pints would probably be ok.
Service:
Servers are peppy little ladies and gents that zip around. They are efficient and friendly. Food came in after a short wait, and was hot on arrival.
R a m e n S c i e n c e:
Have you guys ordered ramen before? I’m not talking about the 3-minute pot-noodle stuff. There is a whole science and process to ramen noodles and soup.
- The main difference from other noodlers is that the ramens are alkaline. So they can be dropped into and withstand searing hot temps of broth, without getting limp. (& who the heck wants a limp noodle?) They come in thick versions (tsukemen) or thin (ramen).
- The broth is also a bit complicated, made with chicken +/- pork. There’s the thicker, opaque, white broth (paitan). Then there’s the delicate clear broth (chintan).
- Lastly, there’s the filling/topping (chicken, pork, egg, seaweed, veg, etc.).
Our RB order
At Ramen Butcher, these are all pre-assembled into menu items but the trio of components is the basic idea. We ordered:
– Karaage to start. It was crispy boneless goodness that came with pan-fried cabbage and rice.
– Our lunch main was Chicken Ramen. This dish had thin ramen noodles with the clear chintan broth. It also came with a half-egg, chicken pieces and chicken meatballs. I was a little skeptical that a clear broth would have delicious flavour and mouthfeel. I think of wimpy consommé when I hear clear broth. (But this made me think of pho which is clear and totes flavourful… but is also made with umami-filled beef.)
However, Ramen Butcher did not disappoint. They clearly (ha ha) take their ramen noodling and brothing seriously. The result is a delicious bowl of ramen.
Critiques:
-The long-tables (as described above).
-Parking is an issue for Chinatown. So take transit or walk. If you have to drive, try to carpool or… come early to find a spot.
-RB is smallish so if you have a party>6, prepare to wait a bit for a table at peak grub time.
Conclusion:
- Kells has been here before. But, this was my first time. And we will defo be back! We’re intrigued by their gyoza, Red Spicy Ramen, Black Garlic and Classic Tsukemen. You guys have got to try this place!
Fun fact: Only recently did The Ramen Butcher incorporate English into their Japanese menus.
Penny for your thoughts?
Let us know what you think by clicking on Leave a Comment, exclusively available in this post’s tag cloud.
End bits
*There are 2 kinds of Vancouverites – those that carry an umbrella and those that don’t bother. Kells and I are the latter. (We choose rain jackets instead.)
**Fair warning: You can’t bring your pet into a food establishment in Vancouver. Unless it’s a guide dog…or guide chinchilla.
All that Glitzes is Glitter
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One cool December evening, we were watching Forensic Files, as I am a criminologist-by-night^. And we found out there’s a Glitter Guy! This dude has been collecting glitter for over a decade purportedly for forensic purposes (but we know he secretly loves to roll around in all that glitter!)
Clearly, this shibbles-n-bits isn’t just for kindergarteners anymore.
And so… what better time, than Holiday Time!, to discuss shimmery glittery goodness.
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- Glittery holiday shoes a la Kells
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- K’s pocketbooks are so sparkly
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- Kells-icure
Today, we’ll be giving you the lowdown on:
1) BITE’s Prismatic Pearl Crème Gloss
2) smashbox’s Be Legendary Liquid Lip
3) Julep’s Moisturizing LipGloss
.One day, I had me a hankerin’ to get some glitterati. I was directed to the BITE Prismatic Pearl Crème line, with 10 coveted colour choices. The Pink Pearl is a light pink opaque with a suspension of light pink glitter. It has cool white-silvery undertones. The Rose Pearl’s base is a warmer opaque magenta with mesmerizing dual-tone glitter (pink-gold). I can’t quite figure out if the base is golden-hued or if it’s just the glitter. But whatever it is, it’s all fab. These glitter glosses (GGs) have staying power and true colour. (eg: it looked the same on me and Kells, and looked the same as inside the bottle.) The base feels like creamy gloss, and there’s no gritty feel to the glitter. Warning: this line is not for the glitter-shy. It bites you right in the kisser. So, if you’re unsure about glitter, you may want to look at the nibbly alternatives below. Check out our gangsta pic where we’re both sporting the Pink Gold. Kells has layered it on top of Fenty’s Cosmic Gloss Lip Glitter. I’ve layered
it on top of Clinique’s Bold Pop matte lip. (Bold Pop is a rich velvety burgundy .)
For Christmas, my lil work SiSter, got me the Sugar Cane* gloss in smashbox’s Be Legendary line. This line has quite the array of colours from a ka-pow brick red to more muted tones. The Sugar Cane base is a full colour warm brown sugar with prismatic micro-glitter. It feels like a creamy slithery gloss (but not as rich as BITE’s). And with a soupçon of glitter. On my skin, this looks like a dark shimmery nude. I’m actually wearing this under a glossy Julep taco** in our Merry Christmas post on our Instagram.
Julep’s translucent GGs are also dreamy. They have pretty good staying power with that yummy glossy feeling. These are generally sheer with super duper fine glitter. There is a choice of 13 colours. I’ve tried Glowing (coral pink), Charming (deeper rosy brown) and Adored (baby pink). The Julep glosses are great starters for those just getting into gloss and GGs.
Pink Pearl, Rose Pearl, Bold Pop, Sugar Cane, Low Key & Charming: L to R.
THE ANALYSIS
These are all awesome glosses in their own right.
more versatile than you think
What we love about glitter glosses is that are uber versatile. You can wear these:
- straight on your nekkid lip
- on top of lipstick… you can do the full Monty as we have in our gangsta pic, or just dot your centres to highlight
- on top of lipliner
- … get ready to have your mind blown… put a clear gloss on top of the glitter. Yes you heard me right, folks. When you add that clear gloss taco, your lips resemble a shiny marble. It’s glitterati to the max.
Okay so some other considerations…
Kells and I have a gorgeous gal-pal, Lil Kiwi. She is hyperaware of age-appropriateness of makeup and clothing. She has a lovely porcelain complexion, warm brown mischievous eyes and an infectious AF laugh. However, she gravitates towards a more natural look, anyways, which is always age-appropriate. (Though lately, she’s branched out a bit, which Kells and I love.) So as I myself am approaching a certain number, I had a sad thought: is glitter is out of my age range? After thorough and extensive processing, the light of reason shone upon me.
My conclusion? “My inner diva is channeled and she wants glitter!” and boom! here you have this post^^.
We hope you enjoy exploring these GGs.
Do you have faves that you’d like to rave about?
What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below!
End bits –for you keeners that look this kinda stuff up–
^(in my head)
* (how appropriate as we are both from lands o’ sugar cane)
** Julep gloss taco: Ultra Hydrating Lipgloss in Low Key
^^ this post is dedicated to all the inner divas out there! Here’s hoping we can out them soon.
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90 pounds and counting…
Hold on to your skivvies N&Kers cuz things are about to get real. Miss Nals has a few things to say… so find a comfy chair and grab a big ass cup of coffee.
From the age of 6, I was referred to as “fat”. I would defo agree with this adjective. But news non-flash! Being “fat” does not equate to a good thing in North America (borrowing Martha Stewart’s catchphrase). It’s mind boggling how pervasive that negativity is, surrounding the word “fat”. It reminds me of the static electricity ball, where moving witchy fingers of electricity reach out and nip you when you least expect it. It shouldn’t hurt but it does.
You heard of, read about or saw a flick about… That friend who is hesitant to go to her high school reunion. Her high school sweetheart is going to be there and she doesn’t feel she looks her best. But she attends, and comes back elated, stating “He has a fat and ugly wife!” Or “That celebrity-du-jour is looking real nasty, cause she’s gained so much weight.” Or (my fave) when people say “You would be so pretty if you weren’t so fat.”
Sometimes it feels that society says it’s ok to be a mass murderer as long as the murderer is not fat. Someone’s snarky behaviour is tolerated because it comes out of the mouth of a mini skinny.
Let’s not get all negative as there are some delights of being fat:
- People (often strangers) keep you honest by telling you that you’re fat. And, yelling out-of-the-blue if you’re supes lucky. (Yes literally shouting out, “You’re fat!”)
- People have no qualms about sharing their pro-skinny opinions. As a kid, I was watching Roseanne. When my cousin walked in, she immediately said, “Why are there so many fat people on this show?”
- People love to offer up free advice, which is always unsolicited. No hello, how-do-you-do or even come-here-often-? as a segue. No way. It’s the straight up dope. “You know you should cut out ABC and then do XYZ.”
- You learn to be self-sufficient: as salespeople ignore you or people don’t engage in courteous behaviours like opening the door.
Going across L to R: 2001 Convocation, age 3, 2009 mendhi night, 2009 Wedding Day, age 6 and finally, present day dress & orange scarf!
The start of something. In my 20s, I was working at a bookstore when a customer called to see if a copy of Susan Orbach’s Fat is a Feminist Issue was available. I was intrigued by the title and read it. And boom my mind was blown! I never considered “fat” as a tool of rebellion. I definitely didn’t feel rebellious but… was I?
Regardless of subconscious rebellions, “fat” as associated with “fugly”, who deems it “unacceptable” and who keeps perpetuating these ideas… I was sick of feeling shitty. I was tired (lethargic yes, and tired of letting other people’s constant fat remarks get to me). I was physically achey, had a low mood & excessive anxiety. I had gone on all sorts of diets and they didn’t stick. (The weight stuck, not the loss part.) I was just fed up, and mentioned it to me mumsey. She suggested that I speak to our family doctor*. So I did. And he said he could help but first he wanted to do a work up. I thought “C’mon man, let’s just get on with it. I’m in my 20s what on earth can go wrong?”
But they found something… After some more tests and a biopsy later, I was diagnosed with a chronic disease. I was lucky they found it early. Most don’t seek help till decades later, when it’s too late to change. So, with a weird feeling of oddly-displaced luck, I toddled off to see my newly-appointed specialist*. She told me I had to lose 115 pounds, and it would take a couple of years.
Oh holy Murphy c’mon really?!? How many times did I try to but I couldn’t even lose 10?! This left me feeling mighty frustrated and hapless.
But then there came a point where I had to choose: to sit here and pickle in my misery, or to move forward.
So, I started by educating myself on the disease. And then I made small changes.
Please consult a licensed health professional prior to making changes in your life. What is beneficial to me may not be right for your body. And, things that the media depict as healthy may not be appropriate for your needs.
And just like that Miss Nals got her groove back!
. . . I started to exercise. . .
Some of my enjoyable childhood memories were learning to dance with mumsey (including watching Arthur Murray Dance Studio videos!). As such, Zumba beckoned me but I wasn’t quite ready to join public classes. So I started pin-ponning along with YouTube videos 2x/week. It took some time to find good videos. But I eventually found Linda Edler, Sid Vicious and Shani McGraham-Shirley. (Thank you, lovely ladies!)
. . . and I paid attention to what I was putting in my body. . .
I looked at portions and nutrition labels. This can certainly be overwhelming. So, I’d suggest focussing on a couple of values at a time, not the entire label. (Your focus is decided by you and your health team, not the media or your skinny friend or me.***)
To my amazement, my weight dropped and… holy frig it kept dropping! It was exhilarating. Like a roller coaster… But uh … actually enjoyable. (Sorry Kells I know you heart the rollers.)
My specialist said that’s a great start but you need to join a gym, missy. So, I reluctantly joined one**, and got hooked on boot camp. My awesome bootcamp leader Miss Martina (now at Train on Main) knew when to push me and when to back off. I was also inspired by her weight loss story. And my fellow bootcampers, though all lifelong slim shadies, were very supportive as well. Ohhhh this was spectacular!
And so my journey continues… Stay tuned for Part Deux.
The footies:
* I must give a shout-out to my fam doc, Dr. H. He was and is wonderful – always gentle, respectful and kind. And of course a shout-out to my specialist Dr. S. Both docs are slim, well-dressed and clearly smart. But never judgemental. So thank you to you both from the depths of my now-conditioned heart.
** I was reluctant to join a gym because I was anticipating judgemental attitudes. At the time, there wasn’t a huge variety of gyms. It seemed like only those who appeared in Jane Fonda videos were at the gyms that I checked out. I have also experienced people shouting out their negative comments to me while I was exercising. A good combo, these did not make.
*** What I mean by this is that we often hear about things like cutting fat or increasing fibre. However, if you have an allergy or digestive tract issue, increasing fibre may be harmful. Don’t take what you hear at face value. Find out the what-why-who-where-when before you choose to apply it to your life.
What are your experiences with weight dysphoria? Care to share? Please comment below!
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