A Perfect Day

This past weekend was our Victoria Day Long Weekend to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria. We are still Britishy like that. The weather was GORGEOUS. I had to do work on the Saturday but Sunday I did everything *I* wanted to do.


First off I met G2 for Brunch at Beast Restaurant. We've been before for Dinner, when we were in the mood for some MEAT, and evidently we were in the mood for some meat for Brunch. I LOVE their Maple Bacon Donuts. I first tried them at the Food Trucks Event at the Distillery last Fall and they were a highlight.

Such yummy goodness! Funny, G2 wanted to order a BUNCH but I said two to the server and when they arrived, G2 realized why. They are not your Timbits or Tiny Tom Donuts. They are pretty big.

I had "The Beastwich" which looked deceptively small (or am I just size challenged?) but it was very very filling. A Buttermilk Biscuit filled with two fried eggs, fried chicken thigh & pimiento cheese and pork sausage gravy with home fries. It was really good. I just had a sparkling apple cider (non-alcoholic) to accompany it. Luckily we decided to walk to the movie theatre to see The Raven (Relativity Media 2012) after, which took about an hour.

Lord knows I like John Cusack but this just wasn't a great movie. It was okay. I thought I would like the "true crime" aspect of it more, but the terrible dialogue (do you think they used to say "stupid" a lot in the 1840's?) and the horrific acting of Alice Eve just ruined it for me. We were literally LAUGHING at some points, when we were supposed to be disturbed & on the edge of our seats. At least John & Luke Evans (above) didn't suck in the acting department. I think I need to see what more Luke Evans has been in. I thought he was pretty good (except for the bullet scene when he was a tad over the top).


After the movie I came home for a nap. LOVE my naps.


Then I met Y to check out the new ramen restaurant, Kinton Ramen, that just opened this weekend. Y & I are always sniffing out ramen places because it is hard to find any good ones here in the city. I cannot wait until David Chang's place(s) open up in the Summer. But my Japanese Language Sensei said there is quite a difference between Korean & Japanese Ramen. Like I didn't realize green vegetables aren't really a staple (like in the Korean ramen). Also fish cake is more a Korean thing too. Hmmm. Anyway, Kinton means golden pig so that was the theme of the restaurant. Of course since it is the same owner as Guu, no reservations and line-ups. It wasn't too bad (70 minutes) compared to Guu (2 hours) but still annoying. We decided to walk through Chinatown to kill an hour.

We found a store with even cheaper priced skins for iPhones than Pacific Mall. I saw this cool one that looks like rain drops on your phone, which I will buy next time (given I just bought two new skins last week...yes, I am addicted). I was tempted to buy these fish flip flops because, how cute! But they felt rock hard and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't wear them anywhere. I think they would go perfect on the beach.


After waiting 70 minutes, we finally got into Kinton Ramen and sat at the long bar, next to a group of Cantonese girls. It was weird but mostly the people lining up were Cantonese (said by the woman who is half Chinese). This was the wall in front of us:

Gold piggy banks! Kawaii desu ne! Y's friend had been to the restaurant a few days ago and said the stock was a little salty. Luckily, you are able to order regular stock or light stock, so I went with the light Shio Ramen. Y had the regular Shoyu Ramen. Y had Pork Shoulder & I had Pork Belly (big surprise).

Um, it was really good! The stock wasn't too salty at all. Pretty perfect. And the noodles were delicious. Had a great bite to them, like a ramen noodle al dente. The vegetable they used were bean sprouts which were quite fresh but I really wanted some greens (coming from the person who ate all meat at Brunch). Unfortunately our Karaage didn't come (but we weren't charged). We also tried the Homemade Lemonade, which was refreshing. I would definitely go back. I want to try the Spicy Garlic Ramen next, but was afraid it would be too karaii. Now I know I could order light and it would be less so. My Japanese Language Sensei is going next week with her husband and baby daughter!


I was full after our meal so we walked some more. Had a cold drink at Tim Horton's because the stock was salty after all, and made us thirsty. And then home to bed. The end.