Dinner - Rice & Omelette

Dinner - Rice & Omelette
Originally uploaded by tebpp

The Winter has finally come in full force in Toronto. It has forced me to stay in and not step foot outside into the cold (-30). The only thing I found defrosted was a piece of Pork. I know how to make a few things with meat (grounded). I then realized this was not grounded but I continued to cook, since its the only thing I can cook at home. I love eating pasta and noodles. Love the texture and how it goes down, but I've been criticized for only cooking pasta, so I've decided to cook, one of my personal favourites and something that my mom cooks for me.

It is very simple, just rice and egg omelet. Usually cooked with grounded pork, which I didn't have. Then I need to put some sauce on this piece of meat, but couldn't find regular soya sauce, so instead I used a dark mushroom sauce. Which was a big mistake. I discovered it was very strong and made the meat very dark (look at picture). Then after cooking the meat, I poured it into my egg with spring onion. Then just sit and let it cook till crispy (my personal liking).

Turned out not so great. Really need smaller chunk of meat which makes eating much more easier. Then the soya sauce made it too strong and not enough egg taste. Overall, I didn't really enjoy my dinner much. I cooked this before and had it come out perfect, so experimenting didn't turn out to be such a good idea, but at least now I'm not hungry. I will take another picture next time I make the same exact dish but much nicer.

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Restaurant Review: Northern Dumpling Kitchen

Northern Dumpling Kitchen
Unit 52A, 550 Hwy #7, E.
Richmond Hill, Ontario

I have been on a request to do another Dumpling Restaurant Review.  After getting a few feedbacks from my facebook comments,  I have been discouraged that nothing will really taste like the real northern style dumplings.  The other comment I received is that this place is better than Chinese Dumpling House.

I've been to this place around 4 times prior to this review.  Going in, I tried to order the same type of dumpling, so I have something to compared with, on the menu there wasn't any items with chives in it.  There was around 4-5 pages on the menu with a good selection.  All the items had a chinese and english description with a number so ordering wouldn't be a problem since their english is not really their strong point.  While we were in there was a decent amount of people in there around 1:45, and we didn't have to wait for a table.  There was 2 caucasian males that was also eating there, and seem like they are returning customer.  So we ordered 3 dishes for lunch.


A shanghai rice cake ($6.50) made of soft dough cooked along some shredded pork, shrimp and green/red peppers. The dish was pretty good, and better than the one that is served at Asian Legend.  I personally prefer the rice cake served with a darker sauce and only with shredded pork and cabbage.  When I get a chance I will go review another dumpling place which is rated really well in toronto magazines and other food review boards.


Next came the Pork and Leek Dumplings.  I don't remember the price exactly but I believe it is between $4-5.  Reminder to all, inside the dumpling may be very oily.  Recommend to eat these dumplings with vinegar.  Came out steaming hot.  Once in your mouth, the flavor of the meat combined with the cabbage was awesome.  I enjoyed this dish the best of the 3.


Lastly came the deep fried pork and leek dumplings.  They do offer other meat other than pork, but I wasn't too interested in lamb or shrimp dumplings today.  These things was packed with oil inside, so please becareful when eating and oil can be everywhere, including burning the inside of your mouth.  I think these were okay, because I've had better from Ding Tai Fung and Asian Legend.  The price of this plate is also really reasonable, also around $4-5.

Lunch for 2 ended up to be $20 with tip.  Food experience was good to satisfy my hunger.  Many more people love eating at this place and said its one of the better places around.  I would rate this place exactly the same as Chinese Dumpling House.  One thing I didn't get a chance to visit in all my review was the restroom and how it was presented.

Happy Eating and enjoy!

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Toronto Raptors vs Bucks

Photo: Mini Basketball Players

Today I've attended my first Raptor basketball game of the 09-10 season.  I try to attend a few games every year and every time I went it has been exciting, as like watching from home.  I walked around the stadium and tried to see what was new, and there has been quite a bit of change to the building.  I am a big basketball fan, and lots to like watching it live.  Its different that you don't get a commentator and you get to hear and feel the fan's reaction to the plays.

I would of loved to get better seats, but the photo above was my seat, and I was fortunate enough to get the tickets off kijiji for a really good price.   The only bad thing was that I was pressed for time, but got there just before tip off, so I didn't miss a thing.  The franchise player Chris Bosh wasn't playing his best game, and it was a weird game.  It was lots of back and forth and not alot of lead changes.  In the last 2 mins, Toronto players played harder than the entire game and their efforts paid off.  I was dissapointed that Baragani didn't get to play, but will look forward to seeing him in action next time.  Already planning on the next game.  For more photos please click here


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Hypermiling: Way to drive to get better gas milage

Photo: Keeping Low Revs to save on fuel consumption


Transportation.  What would we do without it. Many Canadians own a car.  It is a great privilege to have but it comes with a cost.  Repairs, insurance, parking and gas.  All these things start adding up.  Within the past couple years, hybrid cars have been very popular and its a race to get which car can get the most mileage with one tank of fuel.  Unfortunately we all can't afford a new car.  I have read many articles in ways of changing your driving habits to improve fuel economy and things to do to get farther with your tank of gas.

1. Air conditioning - Sometimes it can be unbearable with the summer humidity and heat, but on the days that is not terribly hot, you can turn off your a/c.  I've read that in some cases, it can help you save 30% of your fuel.  I do know, if you drive with the windows open, it might mess up your hair, but thank goodness I personally don't have that problem.

2. Car acceleration - Having a lead foot to the pedal can waste alot of fuel.  It doesn't mean you have to drive slow, just accelerate slowly.  You should gradually accelerate without pushing your car.  Its like running a race and you use alot of energy to get off to a great start, but it uses up alot of energy.  I never thought calculus would come in handy, but if you do the math, its better under a graph that you accelerate gradually.  If you have a gauge that tells you how many rpms your engine is going, its basically telling you how much energy its using to get your car going.  You can still drive fast, its just accelerating to that point needs to be gradual.

3.  Driving too fast on the highway - It really depends on the car, and what speed they reach before its actually burning more fuel than using the fuel efficiently.  Most cars, if you drive between 100-110 km/h, your being the most efficient.  Anything above that your just burning more fuel.

4. Coasting to the light - This is not something I always do, cause it can be annoying to other drives and a hazard as well.  Ideally, it uses the most fuel starting from a dead stop, but you can save alot of gas but coasting so you don't have to stop, then gradually accelerate, using momentum.  Its like riding a bike, and its hard to just pick up speed and ride fast, but someone coasting has a easier time picking up speed as they are already moving.  Ahh... this can be a physics question on a test.

5. Tire pressure - Tire pressure is very important to get good mileage.  Now many cars have a tire pressure built in now.  Yes, to get more fuel it is better to over inflate your tires, but it is very dangerous, so please do not do that and use the recommended tire pressure.  Imagine if your tires are flat, it is not really floating on the ground and the car will use more energy.  Its like pushing a cart with a flat tire, or a bike.

These are a few things I do to save some fuel when I'm driving.  There are many other things I've read that can also improve your mileage but I haven't really been using those techniques.  It seems like alot of work, and lots more things to think of when you drive, but after doing it a few times, it becomes automatic, and when your at the pumps you will see all the extra kilometers you've traveled.

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Link to how to calculate your fuel consumption - http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/tools/fuel-trip-calculator/fuel-calculator-input.cfm

Greek Coffee

Photo: Greek Coffee Foaming

A few weeks ago, my coworker comes out of the kitchen holding a propane cooking device.  I was then intrigued of what it was and what it was used for.  She said coffee.  Then I was like thinking why do people who make specialty coffee use devices that you find in science class.  I thought it would be great to try what greek coffee is.


Photo: The coffee Grinds

She was explaining how the greeks drink their coffee with the grinds in the beverage, which is the complete opposite of an espresso.  She took a spoon of coffee grinds, a spoon of sugar, and just added 2 mini cups of water, and let it sit on the burner for a few mins.  The interesting thing about this is that it automatically would start foaming.  I liked the taste.  Its suppose to be taken very slowly as it comes out very hot.  It was sweet and had a unique taste.  I'm usually use to the lattes and beverages you find at Starbucks or Second Cup.  When you get to the bottom of the cup, you will see all the grinds settle at the bottom and my mistake was that I was drinking too much near the bottom, so my colleague told me that it usually comes with water in the restaurant so if you drink too much near the bottom of the cup, its to rinse down the grinds.  Amateur mistake I made. Oh well.  I enjoyed this and would invite you to give it a try.  Other than gyros and souvlaki this is what comes down the list.


Photo: The final result

For more pictures, click here

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Breakfast: Is it really that important?

Breakfast Food

The world is becoming very health conscious, there are many media outlets to educational institutes that promotes eating right, exercising and getting rest to help with our well being.  There are many articles, ad, and reports that promotes eating a healthy breakfast;  how it can help our body and all the benefits it brings.  I've tried looking up articles that discusses how breakfast is really not that important, and I didn't get any results within the first 5 mins of searching.  All I found is how it is the most important meal of the day.

I do not eat breakfast daily.  I treasure my sleep more than eating, so I don't eat breakfast.  On weekends I wake up so late, its relatively lunch time, so I skip breakfast or I call it lunch.  The only time I eat breakfast is when I'm actually hungry, or I know I will be using up lots of energy such as going out all day walking and knowing lunch is far away. Another reason I eat breakfast is when I play sports, which I know will require lots of energy.  I am so use to this, and its been over 15 years I don't eat breakfast.  I know when my body feels hunger.

So I've read that not all food is good for breakfast too, but some food is better than no food.  It helps energize you since you have been fasting for the past 6-7 hrs of sleep.  So when I sleep, I don't really use much energy, so I guess its not that draining on me, but I do not have a very physical intensive job where I need an abundant of energy to complete my work.  Sitting in front of computers majority of the time doesn't require much energy as to playing basketball for an hour.  I can operate first thing in the morning without caffeine and food.  Maybe its the routine and habbit I've grown to.  I would like to compare not eating breakfast to a vegetarian.  If all they eat is vegetables for 15 years, and then they start eating meat.  Their bodies isn't use to it, and might not like it and come out, or might even get sick.  I believe it is the same.  Its like us about to get sick, we know what our body is like, and if we want to get better, we need to take care of ourselves, just like when we wake up.  If we feel hungry then we should have breakfast.

I would like to know if there are any people out there like me that doesn't eat breakfast, or preach that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  If only I can put a poll.

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Restaurant Review: Chinese Dumpling House

Chinese Dumpling House
4188 Finch Ave East, Unit 12-13
Scarborough, Ontario

I was at a desert place in a store next door and then went for dinner and found this incredible dumpling place.  Its right at the corner of Finch Ave and Midland Ave.  It is actually my second time there today and I enjoyed the food both times and the prices are awesome.  They serve northern chinese food where dumplings are their specialty.  Other restaurants that are like this is Asian Legend and Ding Tai Fung.  Menus are relativity the same and with lots of selection.  As you enter the store there is plenty of seating and it was quite busy for a Thursday night around 7pm.  There was only one waitress but service was good.  Only chinese people where inside the restaurant at the time.

We opened the menu and the prices are very cheap.  Although there was some problems with the menu such as the headings not matching what was listed below, such as under noodles section, you would find dumplings.  They had lots of selection.


Cucumber with Jelly

This was the first dish we ordered and it came out very quick.  It was good, the cucumbers were fresh and I never had this type of jelly before so it was a little different to me.  I prefer it more springy, but overall it was still a good dish to start off with.  I forgot to mix the dish, so I ate a portion with lots of minced garlic.



Pork Dumplings with Chives (water) 15 pieces

This was the second dish we ordered and there was two style of this dish, and we chose the water one.  I ate this dumpling with brown vinegar and it was delicious.  This was the best dish of the night, and was as good as all the other places.  I would recommend this to everyone.  I sat near the window seat and they had a neon green and red lights near the window which made my photos turn out a little greenish red.  They actually gave more than 15 pieces, and its by far the cheapest place for top quality dumplings.


Noodles with Meat

I was in the mood for some noodles. They had some with soup, but I've decided to get this dish to share.  On the menu this type of noodle also comes with chicken, but I've decided to get the one that was classified as meat.  It had pork, green peppers, cabbage, thin noodles, and some onions. The one I had at Asian Legend was much better but for $5 I can't be complaining.  The noodles and toppings were fresh.

When the bill came the total of these 3 dishes came out to $18.50.  This was a meal for two and we were both full after the meal.  Didn't get to use the washroom to review that, and the atmosphere was good, it was your typical chinese restaurant, they had TVs playing a chinese concert.  The waitress spoke english and was nice.  It was a second good experience and for sure will be heading back some other time to try out their other items.  I would rate this place 4/5.

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Software Review: Ufile 2009 Standard Edition

Ufile 07-09

 Tax Season is upon us.  For the past 7 years I've been doing my own taxes.  I've got the courage to do them myself because of Ufile online.  There is no commitment and you don't have to pay if you make under a certain amount and you don't have to pay till you submit your claim.  Since there is no commitment and not really going to the government I tried doing my own taxes to realizing how easy it is.


I've filled out the step by step interview and whenever I didn't understand a term, I would hit the question mark which gave a description.  Then it asked you for all the tax forms that was mailed to you.  Then all you have to do is match the boxes on these documents to the numbers on the screen.  I would say if you don't own your own business, or have stocks as investments you should give it a try.  It hands lots of things that majority of things people can claim and they add new things such as the Home renovation tax for this year.


If your a student you can easily fill out your tuition, bursaries.  If you pay rent you will need to hunt for the category or for your public transit passes, but its right in there.  There is always a help button.  RRSPs, no worries, its there as well.


You can play around with numbers in there to see what if I bought more RRSPs how much more can I collect.  Then at the end of it all, it will generate a netfile for you to file online, and a pdf file for a hard copy.  If you are comfortable with reading instructions, then I feel confident people would be able to use this software.  I haven't used any of the other software but I am sure they are similar and does the same thing.  I bought this software from futureshop for the past 3 years for $20 and can do 8 returns, while the online one I remember back in the day was around $15.


Doing taxes have taught me how I can save on my taxes and how my union dues, RRSPs and tuition can effect how much of a refund I will get.  I guess its what they call minimize your tax dollar.  Although I'm no expert, I can say I feel comfortable doing my own taxes since it isn't so complex I need to pay someone to do my taxes.  I'm sure I remember they teach you how to do your taxes when your in school, but too bad I never took business when I was in high school.


One last thing I would like to point out. Health Care isn't free for anyone that makes $20 000 or more, and then I look at all these people collecting cash and not reporting their true earnings, and how other people are helping others while they are indirectly hurting others.  When your having a child, your maternity leave is paid by your EI.  


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Choosing Smartphones

Blackberry Bold 9000



As of late I've been very interested in smartphones. Back in the day these devices was referred as PDAs, but thats an outdated term. What makes these phones so smart? I'm not going to look it up but give my definition of what a smartphone is. It needs a giant screen, a way of inputting text either via a touch screen or a keypad, and the ability to connect to data services.

So I can only recommend 2 brands of phone if someone was to ask me what type of smartphone to choose. The Apple Iphone or a Blackberry. These two seem to be the most popular devices at the moment. So the first thing you need to ask yourself is what you use the phone most for. If you only do texting, instant messaging and emailing I would recommend you get the blackberry. You can do other things on it and use simple apps if you have a data plan, but its strong point its keyboard. It has a media player but its no where near as good as the iphone.

So, if you already own an ipod, and don't want to carry a phone, then this is the phone for you. You will need some practice getting use to the touchscreen keyboard but you will grow use to it. Its great for music as it is also an ipod with itunes to help sync and also give you access to content. Apple has the largest app store, and you can find some great things on there, but not everything on the app store is excellent. You can play lots of great games, and more gaming companies are developing stuff for the iphone. If you need to surf the web, they have the best browser around for a smartphone. And you can also text, IM and email too. Did I also mention that it looks very slick and thin?

So its basically very simple. If all you do is messaging then you should pick up the blackberry, and for everything else, I would recommend the iphone since there is lots of other things you can do with it.

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Hockey - Friends of We Care vs Avalanche

Photo Above: Taking A shot


Went to Aurora Leisure Complex last night to shoot my friends hockey game. It was an exciting game to watch due to the high amount of scoring. The final score was 7-4 for the Avalanche. It was my second time shooting a hockey game and the environment was a bit better than my first time. Learnt abit more this time with pull in and out and following the game. These hockey arenas aren't as bright as I would of like, but I guess thats to the OHL and NHL level rinks. Here are the photos from that set. Any critique or comments are always welcomed.

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Buying A Computer

People always seem to ask me advice about buying computers all the time. I just want to help all of you if needed in choosing your future purchase.

1. Have a budget. Its always good to know what you can afford. It also will help determine what you can get with your money. Its just a guideline, you might end up getting a computer that is much less or slightly more expensive.

2. Ask yourself what you plan on using the computer for. If you are just a casual user who uses your computer for the internet, watches youtube, creating word of excel documents, watching a movie - these tasks are very basic and any computer can handle these task. Or are you a gamer and playing the latest games?

3. Which stores to buy computers from? Well the most convenient places are big box stores, they maybe a bit more expensive but have a great return policy (please refer to the store), but the computers aren't that customizable. If you want a bit more competitive pricing and want a bit of customization, I recommend a smaller store such as canadacomputers and infonec (customer service isn't very great because people go into these stores knowing what they want instead of shopping around)

Now that you have answer these 3 questions, now we can get into the specs you see on flyers or online.

1. CPU - the brains of the computer and 2 main brands are intel and amd. At the time of writing this post, Intel has been the dominant player for the last couple of years and produced better products. AMD has a cheaper price point and have very similar performance. For casual users, can't go wrong with either. There are many grades of CPU just like cars, and you can tell from prices which ones are entry level and which ones are top of the line. If you are on a tight budget and a casual user, you can just get the cheapest computer and it will complete all normal tasks.

2. RAM - The more the better. Today the bare minimum is 4 GB of RAM.

3. Hard Disk space - 1 TB is the entry level requirement. This is where everything is stored, such as windows, your mp3s, your movies, your documents. Again, the larger the better

4. Video cards - well there are two kinds that comes with computers - dedicated and non dedicated. Whats the difference? for causual users, it is sufficient to use a dedicated video card. For more power users and programs such as games, require a non dedicated video card. It is like its own indepedant brain that processes what you see on the screen instead of sharing the processing power using the CPU to process video.

I would concluded these are the 4 most things to consider, but in the end, its what you can afford. You get what you pay for even without not knowing too much about computers. And just don't let the sales upsell you on any backup package or performance enhancement packages. And there are plenty of free software out there you can download for free such as anti virus and spyware. A little bit of reading and research can save you hundreds of dollars.

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Apple not the fruit, but the makers of the ipod

I would like to come out and say I'm not really a apple lover, nor do I hate their products. So I was looking on influences of the past decade and I do have to agree that apple has revolutionized the world. When the first ipod came out, I just thought it wasn't going to succeed and it was just going to be like any other mp3 player. But look where it is now, everyone in north america has one, and now it has evolved to be one of the most used and popular phones on the market.

I recently took an interest to discover why the masses are flocking to apple products and started to want an iphone. Sex sells. And so does sexy products sells as well. People in North America has bought into the white computers and ipods they come out with. Its cool to use an apple now. I see lots of people buy into apple products very frequently wanting the newest and latest of their product lines (reminds me of cars and computers). Owning an apple product now stamps you as being with the times, and their marketing dept has done a very excellent job selling apple the brand to their users.

Itunes, the store where people buy and download digital goods has to be the main reason why it has become so popular. The songs are so affordable at 99 cents. and the collection is so massive. Sure people know where to get songs for free, but there is sometimes the hassle of searching of them, and downloading them using software that might have spyware, or they might end up downloading virus, but with a store like itunes, there isn't much to worry about. Even your grandmother can easily pay for a song and start downloading it. (if she knows how to use a computer)
The other companies which makes mp3 players failed was there wasn't a support for users to download songs even for a cost. They just cared about the player and users needed to find their own way to obtain the content. Also, they probably just thought it would just be another mp3 player. By that time, I'm sure it was too late for other companies to compete as the ipod followers had huge market control. I keep on mentioning north america. Well ipods aren't that popular in asian countries, and someone correct me, but I suspect that the itunes doesn't have a great collection, and even 99cents can seem alot to people who don't have alot of money or who works in sweat shops.

And the final thing I want to point out is that apple is the leading consumer smartphone manufacture at the moment in north america. All other brands are playing catch up, and my personal favourite android is looking good, but its just trying to at least match the iphone, then maybe then it can take over, but right now, its still playing catch up. The app store has very affordable apps, and there are free apps out there as well. Of the 3 smartphone app store, apple is ahead by alot, and many developers are developing things for the iphone because of the masses that can use their software. (useful or not thats another thing) Its like having a computer without the internet. The smartphone are for people who do more than just talk on the phone. In the future I will talk about blackberry and the iphone in comparison.

Apple has created a very popular brand, and everyone is buying into their products. Although their products are much more expensive than the competition, they don't have to worry. They know their products is much more sexier, and has better functionality, with a giant marketplace for content. Bravo Apple! but how long will it be till I own one of your products? Oh, I don't even use quicktime which is made by apple.

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New Years Resolution

Its the first day of the year, and from watching some television last night, the media seem to mention alot about new years resolutions. I have never been big on new years, so this doesn't really kick into my head. After quickly thinking about a resolution it is just simply goals people try to accomplish.

Alot of people from the television broadcast mentioned that they never keep to their resolution. Is it that their goals are so far fetched that it is not obtainable? It is always nice to reach for the stars, but alot of everyday people mentioned goals of just being more healthy like eating right or just exercising. If you put the time into doing anything, I'm sure one can achieve it. We just need constant reminders what we are trying to do, and why we are doing it to keep us on track.

After writing the last two paragraphs, you must wonder if I would set a new years resolution? Well, I have things I want to accomplish which I wouldn't put under the category as new years resolution. Its like life, always a work in progress. Trying to perfect the art of living on earth. Doing what we need to do to survive. To obtain happiness and to enjoy everything that surrounds us as much as possible. I guess this is very generic but I think it really sums up what people do and we need to better ourselves to do all these things.

We should always have a goal in our life, where it is on new years or your birthday. The media just seem to be using new years as a motivational tool to remind us that we should try to accomplish this goal. For self motivated people this is surely not a problem and just another day. In writing this piece, I further realized that this is just more just to inspire people to do something, than some tradition that seems to just come and goes.

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