北の家 Guu Izakaya

This restaurant has truly changed my mind towards Japanese cuisine since I'm not a big fan of sushi. This entrance to the restaurant is like walking through the entrance of Tokyo. This experience has really allowed me to respect the Japanese culture and an experience that I would never forget. As we approached the restaurant, there was already a long line up outside, every one waiting for their names to be called. We waited for 40-45 minutes. What was very unique about this restaurant was, every time someone walked through the front door, all the waitresses, chefs, hostess, bar tenders, and other workers, will greet you. You must think, well.. all restaurants greet people. But this restaurant really offer you the greatest greet you'll ever experience. As we walked through the front door, all the workers loudly greets us with the Japanese language. It was really something I've never seen before. The inside was rather small, but you can almost feel the love of the workers flowing around the space. The kitchen and bar were both open-spaced which really provided an one on one interaction with the customers and other workers. There was outdoor patio seats, side tables, and long tables centered in the middle which were all gathered by people. I was however really glad we probably had the best seats there! We had the high stool seats that were situated right in front of the bar, allowing us to view the bartenders creating very unique drinks that smelt and appeared so beautifully in the beautiful glasses. The bar was decorated with a really creative scheme of using Japanese bottles gathered perfectly on a beautifully designed shelf behind the bar. And hey, we're girls after all, watching these really good looking Japanese bartenders making these amazing drinks made the experience there even more worth it ;) Upon sitting at our seats, we received wetted towels from the waitress and we wiped our hands with it as it was probably incorporated in the Japanese culture. My friends and I were well prepared for ordering as we looked up for review recommendations on the internet while we were waiting outside. We ordered 6 dishes and they came one by one just at the right times to finish one dish at a time while eating them freshly served. The place was pretty loud and is hard to talk with your friends as the workers continuously greet the customers coming in and out as well as sending out messages from one worker to another. But I didn't mind it at all as it was a really interesting experience hearing the Japanese language live. All the workers were extremely well-mannered, and made me wonder how they still have their voice after the night. The food was just spectacular.. made my eyes widen each time I took a bite out of each of the dish and I couldn't stop saying "damn, this is really good". The food were THAT good.. there was no dish that I disliked (from what we ordered)! The authenticity of the food and the environment will truly change your mind about the Japanese culture forever. Coming to this restaurant is like dropping by Tokyo for a short trip. Really an experience I will be craving for in the near future that many other restaurants will never quite grasp. By far one of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had. ありがとう (Arigatō) !

398 Church Street, Toronto

TAKOYAKI
- deep fried octopus balls with tonkatsu sauce and mustard mayonnaise
- this dish was flippin' amazing, the sauce just melted in my mouth like no other
* my top favorite of the night
$5.00

KINOKO CHEESE BIBIMBAP
- Rice, garlic sauteed mushrooms and cheese with seaweed sauce
- Let's just say.. I've never loved Bibimbap the same way I loved this one before
- the seaweed sauce and cheese blended with the rice so well that it created the
perfect texture and taste, simply a dish that will leave you asking for more
$8.30

GRILLED AVOCADO AND PRAWN
- this dish was fantastic, the flavor was so mouth watering! the prawns were
really tasty against the avocado, a must try!
$6.80

The inside of the dish, Grilled Avocado and Prawn

HOTATE BUTTER
- Pan fried scallop with soy sauce and garlic butter
- the sauce for this one was just phenomenal, just wished there was more!
- we didn't order base on price, but after getting the bill, we realized this dish
was pretty pricey compared to the others based on proportion, it is seafood
over all, you be the judge for this one =P
$7.50  

HOTATE BUTTER

IKAPIRI
- deep fried calmari with spicy ketchup and wasabi mayo
- when you can't eat spicy food, but still end up finishing the dish, that's how
you know this dish is worth the burning sensation of your spicy-virgin tongue
- the calamari was fresh and was simply delicious, but I must be honest, if you're
Chinese, you would soon realize that the taste of this calamari will seem rather
familiar to the usual sweet and sour sauce sauce in Chinese dishes
- $5.80

IKAPIRI

YAKIUDON
- Pan fried udon noodle with beef and vegetables
- we waited around 20 minutes for this dish (they probably forgot about it), but
it was worth the wait as it was yet a dish that did not fail to impress
- the sauce blended well with the softness of the udon, and the mixed vegetables
were really tasty! (*my second top favorite of the night)
$7.80

KINOKO CHEESE BIBIMBAP
- yes! you've heard it right! although our stomachs were satisfied just right, we
decided to stock it to the max to provide our stomachs with the excellent Guu
experience we had.. so we ordered another KINOKO CHEESE BIBIMBAP..
yummmmmmmmy

upclose and personal with Kinoko Cheese Bibimbap
- by far the greatest invention of bibimbap I've ever tasted!

That's all for now, I hope you all have a chance to one day try Guu Izakaya! The price is really reasonable for the food presentation and unique atmosphere!

Dessert Trend Bistro

Having a pretty boring summer with no vacation is pretty dull. The best part of the summer is with spending more time with my friends. So we decided to head to downtown Toronto to satisfy our sugar craves at an award winning dessert place. The buildings on the street looked like a historical village, but what was so fascinating was that each restaurant and store had their different unique style and elegance. We heard about this dessert place after reading someone blog about it and decided to try it out. As much as it was tasty, the service they provide is it a bit unusual. When you first enter the restaurant, they seat you down with something to drink, but to my surprise they had no menu or anything to specify what was offered there. Instead we had to walk up to the refrigerators and choose our dessert. What was rather frustrating was the desserts had no names labelled with them. They were all in their pretty little place but we had no clue what flavor they were. So we asked the woman who worked there for the flavors. The desserts had no creative name which lost some uniqueness, but all in all, the desserts were superb to the taste and the creativity in the design of the chocolate shell was beautiful and unique. The inside of the dessert was like opening a surprise gift, not knowing what to expect as a hidden layer of dessert unravel beneath the surface. Just the customer service was a bit bad considering it was difficult to get someone to refill water to our glasses while they were busy talking with their other co-workers. The price of the desserts is widely ranged, the dishes shown were in the $7.50 range, which is very reasonably price for the quality their desserts offer.

154 Harbord Street, Toronto

Passion Fruit Parfait
- the taste was amazing, it was like taking a
bite through a burst of many fruity flavors.
- the flavor was truly accentuated for its
highest quality for your taste buds

Passion Fruit Parfait

Strawberry Parfait
- the lemony flavor of the interior was really a
surprise that gives you that boost sweetness
just enough to make you smile.
- the top layer consisted of a lemony taste, while
the bottom layer consisted a strong burst of
strawberry taste with sauce that will make you awe

Strawberry Parfait

Tiramisu
- the taste for this dessert was surprising as well. the
coconut burst of flavor through the minimal coffee
scent was just enough to satisfy your delight. the top
layer had the consistency of pudding-like texture
with a hidden cake/biscuit-like layer hidden
beneath the top layer.

Tiramisu

Tiramisu, Strawberry Parfait, Passion Fruit Parfait

The atmosphere was really heart-warming as the fresh air
flowed through the windows giving you the perfect breeze.
However, because of that, you may want to avoid coming on
a really humid day.

The design of the place is really minimal in complexity,
providing you a really calming environment to enjoy your
desserts.

Baton Rouge

I haven't tried much restaurants with ribs and steaks, but I've heard too many good reviews that I fell in love with this place the first time I came here. The price can be a bit put-off (ranges $20-$35 range).. definitely not a place to go weekly for a student.. but I must say and warn you.. this place will be definitely having you crave for their food proportion 24/7! I was sad just leaving this place! Baton Rouge is really a place you've got to go to when you're hungry and got some money to splurge!

Rib Steak Sandwich + Fries (BEST DISH EVERRR) .
But dare to say.. my momma's homemade roast beef
sandwich is a great dupe as well. ^^

My friends ordered fried chicken / burger
with fries and coleslaw as side dishes.

This meal will definitely stuff you up to your stomach's desire. Even my friend who often feels hungry after a full meal couldn't finish her's! Definitely order your dish with side orders of fries + coleslaw ! (they are really tasty!). 

Fresh Waters

So instead of devoting my blog towards only beauty, I thought.. well.. why not just include a bit of the fun stuff I do during summer! I'm a big fan of going near waters as it feels so refreshing and I love to EAT EAT EAT. So the other day I went to Centre Island, which was a island situated near the Harbor Front in Toronto. You would need to travel in a ferry to get there, and when you do, it's an amazingly large park with surrounded waters from all directions. If only I did more research on the weather that day (heavy rain later through the day).. but nonetheless it was a great experience. I didn't get to go through the whole island due to the weather, but this sure won't be the last time I'll be visiting this place!

Ferry

View of downtown Toronto

Beach

And for the food lovers. We went to Jack Astor's afterwards for some pasta! (sorry forgot what this dish was called), but they do serve good food!

Don't judge! I love the extra dose of cheese on my food =D

Would really recommend trying their calamari.. deliciousss!
(sorry for the bad focus!)

Hair Dye for Black Hair

Palty Hair Dye - Milk Tea Brown

Having black hair can be a really big pain when it comes to hair dyeing. I wasn't willing to go through the process of bleaching and dy-ing it on top of that.. So I did a lot of research in discovering a possible alternative by dyeing at home. Considering it costs around $80-$100 to get your hair dyed in the salon.. I wasn't willing to dish out that much just to change the color of my hair that will just grow out of that color in a couple of weeks. I came upon this Japanese hair dye called Palty  and fortunately I lived near a chinese mall that had basically any beauty products you wanted to find that were from Asia. I didn't know about Amazon before I purchased it, so I went searching for nearby Asian stores. The lowest price I found it at was at the chinese mall for $15. I've dyed my hair a lot in the past and NEVER once was I fully satisfied with the results.. the color just never showed! So like everyone online said, the Palty hair dye would show up better if left on for a longer time of period. So i decided to leave it on for a hour or so. My hair turned out orangey, but was expected because it's hard to get black hair tot urn into a natural brown unless it's been bleached. Nonetheless, I love the results and have received compliments at school on it. My hair actually felt less damaged after dyeing it with Palty.. oddly lol. Fortunately it doesn't look as orange when you're indoor..but if you're just tired of having black hair (like me), any lighter hair shade would definitely give you enough change in look. And I mean.. if you look at a lot of the Asian celebrities' hair, many of them have orange-toned hair =P. For the price, this product gives you salon quality results.. but be sure to prepare for commitment with an orange-brown tone if you're willing to test this product out! 

 Before (very discolored from all the failed drugstore attempts)

After

With Flash

Without Flash

Emjoi Soft Caress Epilator Review

Hands down, this product was life changing. Like all of you probably are, I was one of those that watched all those youtube videos reviewing on this product and hearing about how amazing it was but never having the guts to try it out due to the pain of tweezing. I've never liked tweezing or waxing.. they were just TOO painful for me.. but then again tweezing the eyebrows do get painless overtime. Us girls know how annoying it gets when you have to shave almost every couple of days because hairs just sprout like no other. I've always felt uncomfortable wearing sleeveless shirts because that feeling of not having all that hair off and gone just felt so nerve-wracking to even risk missing. Anyways, let's get to this review. There were many versions of this Emjoi epilator but after researching, I figured the Soft Caress that can go both corded and cordless was the best bet since you can bring it on vacation charged up or have it plugged in at home. Now.. I have to warn you that the first time I used this was probably a very very very bad experience. Everything I hoped wasn't going to happen.. happened. So I used it after a shower so my pores were opened.. but even so.. it was SOOO PAINFUL. I remember hearing someone saying they couldn't handle the pain and just took it one step at a time. I took that advice into use and completed my underarms in 3 days by doing a bit at a time. I literally felt like passing out after my first experience with this epilator.. my underarm was burning and my virgin hairs left their hair roots bleeding. Yes I know.. this is very disturbing.. but it was the truth as I never tweezed or waxed my underarms. If you want to know how it feels, just tweeze a hair out to see if you can handle it.. then again the epilator pulls a lot out at once, meaning the pain will pass by quickly instead of tugging each one out at a time. After the 3 days of use.. I took a week break and came back to get rid of the ones that didn't go during the first experience. To my surprise.. it didn't hurt that much anymore! I was shocked because I literally had tears the first time I used it. I guess sometimes beauty just comes with pain lol. I've been using this product for a little less than a month and it's honestly been the best month ever not having to worry about my underarms! The hairs are growing out EXTREMELY slow (A plus!), and the hairs are so much less noticeable when they do grow out. I'm extremely happy with this experience and I'm glad I went through with the pain! A really good tip is epilate while you're watching something on tv.. I feel there's less pain when you're not looking straight at it while it works away. And using this on shorter hairs instead of growing it out is actually less painful. It use to feel like pulling the hairs out to my skin but now it just feels like a tiny tickle to my skin. What I love the most is I'm able to wear sleeveless shirts any day without worrying about raising my arm to get something! Girls.. invest in one of these when you're able to and throw away all those razors and shaving cream, because they'll be history and you'll never touch them ever again! Truly one of the best products I've ever used having it take away all those razor burn pain.

I bought mine from Amazon and that's the cheapest price I've found it at. I didn't check ebay but it doesn't hurt to search around for the best price. Worth every penny and will NEVER go back to shaving! The shipping came faster than expected, highly recommend buying it from there. Check out the reviews on there if you're still in doubt.


Update: I haven't used my epilator for about a month now.. and my underarm still looked like I just epilated yesterday! very impressed with the results! I've never felt so carefree about the thoughts of shaving ever before. A+