Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

Snow, freezing rain, blizzard, or strong wind in the winter? If you have to take a pick, which one would you go for? Personally, I’d prefer snow. Walking in the knee-high snow can be very challenging, but it’s nothing compared to the icy road condition mentioned in my previous post.

Furthermore, the weather is relatively mild when it snows. Today, the city of Fredericton had 21 cm of snow, if not more. It was -9 °C in the morning, around -15 °C with wind chill. That wasn’t too bad, considering the freezing cold weather (-34 °C) we had last Friday.

Having said that, heavy snow is always a problem for homeowners and drivers. Shoveling the driveway at home can be a hard chore. Without the city plowing the main roads and highways, and clearing off the sidewalks, no one can get to anywhere… I’m considered lucky that I only have to worry about clear sidewalks. Landlord does the snow plowing outside the apartment, and the city does the snow blowing on sidewalks. As long as the roads are cleared and public transit is operating, I should be able to get to work.

Snow piled high at the parking lot, beside the government building.

Left: Taking heavy steps on my way home. Right: Cars left at the parking lot behind my apartment, are covered in fluffy snow.

Now, we had ourselves a good excuse for some yummy drinks. Yes, bubble tea it is!

“Bubble tea is an iced drink which originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. At Trinitea’s Cup it is prepared as a mixture of sweetened, iced, jasmine tea, with milk, tapioca pearls and a variety of flavours. The tapioca pearls can be seen as white bubbles at the bottom of the drink and can be consumed through a wide straw served with the drink.

It is a very popular drink in East Asia as well as southeast Asian regions like China, Malaysia, Singapore etc… It is only recently that this interesting drink has gained favour in North America and Europe.”

~ From the Trinitea’s Cup

Due to the cold weather, I had a glass of hot almond-flavoured bubble tea to keep me warm… Anything special with the bubble tea at the Trinitea’s Cup? Yes, syrup instead of powder flavouring, and tiny translucent white tapioca pearls instead of the gigantic dark tapioca pearls. On top of that, my favourite taro-flavoured tea wasn’t offered! :(

Presenting to you my bubble tea galore from the past 6 months or so.

Centre: The hot almond-flavoured bubble tea (right) I ordered today and the cold version of it (left). Others: Mung bean-flavoured bubble tea with crushed ice (left) and taro-flavoured bubble tea with ice cubes (right) on hot summer days in Toronto; hot and cold bubble tea in various flavours on a freezing cold day in downtown Calgary.

Are you tempted to have a glass of bubble tea now? ;)

Walking in the snow with 19 km/hr of wind, at the cold temperature of -28 °C… Where else would you go, if not somewhere for food? Here we are, sitting comfortably at The Grill On York in downtown Fredericton, for our brunch. Special breakfast comes with a choice of meat (ham/bacon/sausage), toasts, eggs, and home fries. All these for a special price of $3.95!

From bottom left (clockwise): Special breakfast with ham, special breakfast with sausages & melted cheese, special breakfast with sausages; and last but not least,  the all-time favourite onion rings!

It was a good meal! Alright, we were fueled up and ready to walk in the cold, again…

There were times where I came across with some absolutely nice jeans at clothing stores. But… but they were TOO long, 9 out of 10 pairs that I tried on, unless they’re petite size. Hmm… keeping in mind that I’m in North America and vertically challenged, it’s hard to find a suitable pair of pants without any alteration involved. So, buy and send it to the tailor! Yes, easy enough to do it; but I don’t suppose you want to do that for every single pair of pants you purchase. Why? You might spend $30 on a pair of pants and easily another $20 to get it shorten.

Here are the options: buy or not to buy. If I buy, either send it to the tailor to make the pants look “normal” or simply fold up the bottom of pants. If I choose not to buy, then it’ll be another good pants missed, especially when it’s for a great deal. Ladies, you know what I mean…

Is there any other way to get around with it? Yes, of course! D.I.Y. is the way to go. I learn to appreciate the basic sewing techniques I was taught in middle school, and a good friend of mine who refreshed my memory on what’s hemming all about ;) Thanks, Seema.

Nevertheless, I missed my time at home where alteration can be easily done by tailor, with merely $1-$2 in less than half an hour. Yes, you hear me :) Now what? Be independent and do it myself, even though it took me several hours (more than 5 hours, from drawing the cutting lines till finishing). Time consuming? Tell me about it. 2 year since my last hemming, what do you expect? Nonetheless, I enjoyed the process and happy to get it done, on my $5 jeans from Boxing Day purchase in Edmonton!

Hemming done by a tailor (left) and myself (right). Do you see the difference?

Not too bad, eh?

Have you ever had spaghetti without pasta sauce and Parmesan cheese? Here is an innovative oriental spaghetti dish that’s equally tasty, if not tastier!

Ingredients:
100g dried spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp cooking oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp red chili powder
2 fresh green chilies, chopped with seeds removed
1 tbsp minced garlic, soaked in 2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook spaghetti on high heat until tender. Stir in olive oil and salt. Drain water off the pot.
2. Next, heat cooking oil in a wok.
3. Sautee onions on medium heat till brown. Cook ground beef with oyster sauce, light and dark soya sauces until fragrant.
4. Pour the cooked ground beef on the spaghetti. Add some green chilies and minced garlic. Garnish the dish with red chili powder, ground black pepper, and dried oregano.

Bon appetit!

A bowl of hot chili is especially appreciated on a cold winter day. It’s something I’ve never tasted till I came to Canada. Chili is available at Wendy’s restaurant and Tim Horton’s. However, homemade chili is always the BEST! It’s a simple recipe that you can easily follow!

Ingredients:
1.5 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, in cubes
1 medium red/green pepper, small chunks
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 can (398ml) red kidney beans
1 can (680ml) tomato sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:
1. Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a pot.
2. Sautee the chopped onions till brown.
3. Stir in the ground beef and cook. Add the worcestershire sauce, ground black pepper and white pepper to taste. Pour in carrots and cook together.
4. When the meat is almost cooked, pour in the tomato sauce and red kidney beans. Stir in diced tomatoes, chunks of red/green pepper, and chili powder.
5. Once chili comes to a boil on high heat, let simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.
6. Add the rest of spices: dried basil, thyme leaves, and oregano into chili. Stir well.
7. Let cook for another 10 minutes.
8. Best served with crackers or garlic toast, while hot!

This is a medium hot version of chili. Feel free to alter the amount of red chili powder, salt, and pepper according to individual taste. As tomato sauce generally comes in high sodium content, salt is neglected in this recipe.

The recipe of chili is identical to that of pasta sauce. Personally, I’d substitute the tomato sauce with equal amount of plain pasta sauce for a flavourful and beefy homemade pasta sauce! Alternatively, chili blends in well with your favourite pasta too. Something for a change if you don’t know what to do with the leftover :)

Enjoy a hearty chili meal in the cold winter!

* This recipe cooks a generous portion of chili sufficient to feed 4-5 people.

You had a $10 bill in the wallet and joyfully walked into a store and grabbed a $10 item. Little did you know that the total bill came out to be more than expected, $11.30! 13% more than the figure stated on the price tag. Huh? It’s called the HST (harmonized sales tax) in New Brunswick. Along with Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, 13% of HST replaces the GST (goods and services tax) and PST (provincial sales tax). For the rest of the provinces, the federal tax, GST of 5% is applied to majority of the goods for domestic use or consumption. Some items such as basic groceries, prescription drugs and exports are exempted from the GST.

An overview of the PST rates across Canada:

• British Columbia: 7%
• Saskatchewan: 5%
• Manitoba: 7%
• Ontario: 8%
• Quebec: 7.5%
• Prince Edward Island: 10%

HST doesn’t apply in Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. It should be noted that in all provinces, except Quebec and Prince Edward Island, PST is charged based on the price of item before GST is applied. In other words, GST is calculated on the basis of the sum of selling price of item and PST, in these two provinces. How much more complicated can this get? :P

Does this matter? OF COURSE!! You might not notice much of a difference as a regular consumer, purchasing groceries and basic electronics; but think of this, what if you’re getting a car or a house? It does make a VAST difference, doesn’t it?? A difference in 1% on a $100,000 purchase can save you $1,000, depending in which province you reside. For instance, you’ll be paying $105,000 in Alberta, instead of $113,000 in New Brunswick, on a $100,000 purchase. Hmm… are you getting the big picture now?

Additionally, the variable income tax rate across Canada is an useful piece of information too; especially if you’re considering to relocate to a different province :) In general, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Yukon have the lowest tax rates. However, how many people would actually consider living in the freezing world (pardon my expression)? Back to the reality, tax rates in British Columbia and Ontario are considerably lower, and those of Nowfoundland and Labrador, as well as Prince Edward Island don’t look too bad either. Surprisingly, New Brunswick is one of the provinces that has high tax rate for the low income bracket (i.e. annual income below $36,000). Hmm…

Many friends who graduated from the same university as me, have either gone back their home countries for good, or moved to different provinces for better job opportunities. What do you think? Besides the location, living environment, and job prospective, would the tax rates (sales tax and income tax) be one of the many criteria that you’ll look into before making a final decision for relocation?

Is your brain bombarded with tons of information now? Other aspects you may want to consider, of course, is the minimum wage (which I previously commented about) or the average income of your job, as well as the cost of living in the specific province you’re considering. Why? The answer is simple and straightforward. If you don’t make enough to cover your expenses or unable to purchase a home after 5 to 10 years of work, then you should really pause and think: is the standard of life satisfactory? Am I really enjoying what I’m doing and will have a bright future?

I admired those who have made up their minds to relocate for better opportunities in life.  To my friends who are residing outside of N.B., wishing you all the very best in your future endeavours!

What’s tipping all about? In most Asian countries, Malaysia for example, tipping is optional and generally practiced only when you’re in an upscale environment. For instance, dining in a posh restaurant or staying in a five-star hotel. Having said that, gratuity (or known as service charge) is usually added to the bill at air-conditioned restaurants and hotels, of course. Hence, it’s quite clear that tipping is required; and in this case, it’s mandatory ;)

It’s interesting to examine the different tipping culture, in various countries around the world. Some countries, such as Japan and Australia, not only tipping is uncommon, it’s considered rude and insulting too. In Japan, tipping is implying that servers must be paid extra to ensure they perform their duty; whereas in Australia, tipping the gaming staff in a casino is thought as bribery. Likewise, tipping government servants in most countries is a crime and therefore, is prohibited.

What about in Canada? I didn’t experience much culture shock when I first arrived here. Nevertheless, the tipping etiquette was something new to me. So, what now? I knew I had to tip, but how to tip and how much to tip? It’s inappropriate not to tip your service providers. In restaurants, tips can be given directly to the server, by leaving it on the table, or even have it added to your final bill ( most restaurants have the “tip amount” option available on bill when paying with a credit card). Sounds convenient? Err… what about the tip amount? The general rule of thumb is to leave 10-15% of the pre-tax bill as tips. In most case:

• 10%  means below average service
• 15%  means average service
• 20% or more means exceptional service

For a large group event, usually 6 to 8 people or more, gratuity (about 10-20%) is automatically added on the bill.

Tipping is a social custom with no set rules. It’s a measure on the satisfaction on the service you received. What are the tips for, you may wonder. Service providers, such as waiters and waitresses are usually paid minimum wage or slightly above that. They are dependent on the amount of tips received to generate a handsome paycheck. Therefore, tipping to them is a token of appreciation, and even a motivation to provide better service to his/her patrons. However, keeping in mind that tips to them are taxable since they’re treated as income. There’s no way to get around with paying tax, is there? :P

Great pizzas at the Boston Pizza! A previous post about the restaurant can be found here. To celebrate my co-worker’s birthday that falls in January, we had a hearty meal at the Boston Pizza for lunch.

Some of us ordered the spinach salad (fresh spinach leaves tossed in Boston’s vinaigrette, topped with sliced mushrooms, chopped egg, smoky bacon, diced tomato and mozzarella) & Boston’s pizza bread (fresh pizza dough baked golden brown with garlic and herbs, sprinkled with parmesan), lunch combos (6″ pizza with toppings of your preference and a choice of daily soup, fries, Caesar salad or garden greens with their signature sun-dried tomato balsamic vinaigrette.salad); I had what was on the special lunch menu, Caesar salad and an individual 8″ Szechuan pizza for $10!! The regular price of Szechuan pizza was $10.90 and a starter size of Caesar salad would have cost $5.45… Lunch specials are always awesome, loved it ;)

The Caesar salad. Romaine lettuce tossed with Boston Pizza’s signature creamy
garlic dressing, crunchy croutons, sprinkled with
freshly grated parmesan.

The individual 8″ Szechuan pizza. Szechuan sauce, mozzarella, tender
chicken breast, bacon, green and
red peppers. Finished with sesame
seeds and green onions.

I was in shock when the big plate of Caesar salad was served. The salad itself was sufficient for a meal! As usual, I wanted to try something new, something exotic… Szechuan pizza was delicious, with its flavourful spices. Nonetheless, I won’t mind it to be a bit spicier! Oh yea, I should have added some crushed dried chilies on top of it, shouldn’t I? In the end, two out of eight slices of the pizza were saved for my lunch the next day!

23 years, 3 months and 3 days, since my very first breath in this world. It was three days ago that I’ve given myself one of the most precious gifts that I’d have ever received–my very own website adelineang.com

I’ve been blogging with the Blogger for almost a year now and have truly enjoyed it. Thoughts are put into words, and pictures are saved as sweet memories. More importantly, I stay connected with family and friends who are far in distance but close at heart, in this little corner of the virtual world.

Thank you very much for your continual support and encouragement.

A new beginning as the new year approaches,
bringing new visions and new hopes.
Your support and encouragement means a lot to me,
keeps the fire going till eternity.

A very warm welcome to Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com!

十五的圆月，默默地等待着即将来临的春节：

皎洁明亮的圆月，
照耀白色的积雪；
闪烁眨眼的星星，
细腻静心地聆听。

世界各地的人们，
举头望月的眼神，
难以掩藏的感触，
回忆家人乐相聚。

圆月背后的意义，
有多少人去分析？
就连赏月的时间，
也挪不出一丁点。

圆月 提醒了我春节即将来临
圆月 奉劝我缓下脚步欣赏沿途风景
圆月 撩起我对家乡的思念
圆月 对我说世界充满希望

我
躺在温暖被窝里
感受月光的温度
隔天白昼的来临
我知道 你仍默默地守候

Besides those top tourist attractions, I enjoy visiting university campuses when I’m in a foreign city! I visited the University of Alberta in Edmonton; and I should not miss the chance to take a tour around the University of Calgary campus, in Calgary (of course).

From top left (clockwise): A residence building, the Alberta Children’s Hospital, Nickle Arts Museum, and McMahon Stadium.

After the quick campus tour, we went to Kensington Road for breakfast. We had cupcakes and some Southeast Asian food. Yumm…

There are some unique stores along Kensington Road that worth a visit. Some of them were closed since it was New Year’s Eve.

Subsequently, we went shopping at the Costco Wholesale and IKEA, before heading to Stephen Avenue Walk (famous shopping district on 8th Avenue S.W.) and the City Hall.

Left: The “Women are Persons!” Monument near the Municipal Building (can also be found at the Parliament Hill in Ottawa). Other pictures taken at Stephen Avenue and surroundings.

After that? We had a quick visit to the Pacific Place, a Chinese shopping mall. Later, in the evening, we met up with few other friends for steamboat buffet as supper, before I bade Calgary goodbye at midnight. Yes, on New Year’s Eve. A different way to celebrate the New Year ;)

Overall, my trip to Calgary (and Edmonton, Drumheller, Lake Louise, Canmore, Banff) was a fantastic one! This was one of the very few trips where I didn’t have to do a trip planning and look at maps while walking on the streets (as if I didn’t already look like a tourist). Everything was very well planned and taken care of. I even received my trip itinerary more than a month before my arrival in Calgary, from my lovely big bro, Julian.

Special thanks to Annie and Julian, for their kind hospitality and wonderful friendships over the past number of years. This was one of the best trips I had ever been on! I greatly appreciate your time and effort in making my trip a memorable one!!!

Did I not mention that I visited Calgary? So, where are the pictures of Calgary? Amazingly, I spent most of my time (if not all) during the first five days of my one-week visit to Calgary outside Calgary ;) The last two days were days which I traveled around the city itself.

The expensive housing in Calgary is a known fact. One-bedroom apartment of less than 1,000 sq. ft. will cost around CAD 350,000 for starting price.

Why Calgary?

“Calgary is a dynamic and progressive city of just over 1 million people, close to the Rocky Mountains and famous for both the Calgary Stampede (‘The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth’) and the 1988 winter Olympics with Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards and the Jamaican bob-sled team. Well known for its friendly people Calgary’s motto is ‘Welcome to Calgary, Heart of the New West’.”

~ Information from Canilink Relocation

All these while, I had the impression that Alberta is one of the provinces in Canada that offers the highest minimum wage. Shockingly, the minimum wage in provinces such as Manitoba ($8.50), Newfoundland ($8.50), Quebec ($8.50), Yukon ($8.58), Saskatchewan ($8.60), Ontario ($8.75), and Nunavut ($10.00) surpass that of Alberta ($8.40). Nonetheless, Calgary is a booming city that provides great job opportunities, owing to its fast developing gas and oil industry, particularly.

“Although British Columbia and Alberta account for only 20 per cent of the Canadian population, they produced nearly half the new jobs in the country last year.”

~ Maclean’s Magazine

Desperate looking for a job? There might one waiting for you in Calgary!

Residential area in downtown Calgary.

Public transit in Calgary. From top left (clockwise): bus in downtown, CTrain, interior of CTrain, and one of the many Light Railway Transit station.

CTrain which travels along 7 Avenue is known as the free fare zone. There is no cost for riding either CTrain route between 3 Street East and 11 Street West. Wonderful!

From bottom left (clockwise): Mewata Armoury, TELUS World of Science, Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre, Chinatown, and the Chinese street signs.

The Mewata (“O Be Joyful” in Cree word) Armoury is a Canadian Forces reserve armoury in Calgary, located on 11th Street S.W.

Eau Claire Market (bottom left) and the winter scenes of Prince’s Island Park in downtown.

The awesome experience using the +15 walkway to avoid walking in the cold.

The +15 walkway is known to be the world’s most extensive pedestrian skywalk system with a total length of 16 kilometers and 59 bridges. Plus 15 refers to the skywalk that’s 15 ft from the ground level. It connects dozens of building in the downtown area, with enclosed shopping centres at the centre core. The rest of them are mainly office buildings.

Devonian Gardens, the large indoor urban park, are accessible from the skywalk. Unfortunately, the gardens were under renovations and I missed my chance to visit…

From left (clockwise): The entrance of Calgary Tower, Canadian Pacific Railway, and the Fairmont Palliser Hotel.

Bird’s eye views from the Calgary Tower. From bottom left (clockwise): City Hall and Municipal Building (top right corner), Delta Hotel, Pengrowth Saddledome within the Stampede Park, and buildings seen through the glass floor.

Calgary Tower is a 191 metre free standing observation tower in downtown Calgary. It’s the city’s most identifiable physical landmark.

It was an amazing visit to Calgary downtown. Despite the chilly weather, we managed to visit numerous places in the city. As a reward, we had our delicious meal at Bolero, the Brazilian restaurant :P

It was a ski day! Julian and I took off from Calgary, on an early Monday morning and headed to Banff. It was about an hour drive from Calgary. The view along the highway was breathtaking! The magnificent alpine looked unreal…..

The overpass ahead of us helps to keep animals off the highway during their migration. What a neat idea!

The Rundle Mountain.

The ski mountain we intended to go, Sunshine Village, was overcrowded by the time we got there (around 9:30 a.m.). It was unexpected, especially on a Monday morning. We spent an hour waiting in line before we finally got a chance to turn around. Another 30 minutes wasted just to get out of the ski mountain…

Our second choice, Mt. Norquay was not too far from where we were. Its smaller ski area allowed us to hop on and off the chairlifts without much waiting time; which in turn, maximized our ski time. It turned out great after all! We purchased half-day ski lift tickets to ski from noon till 4 p.m.

It has been my dream to ski at the Rockies. Why do I enjoy skiing? I shared my downhill skiing experience previously. As compared to the Crabbe Mountain in Fredericton, Mt. Norquay offers more and longer ski trails at higher elevations. In other words, it was more thrilling and challenging to ski at the big mountains!

The mesmerizing beauty of Canadian Rockies, snow-covered evergreen trees, as well as the long and steep skiing terrain were astonishing! Mt. Norquay has a variety of ski terrain for all abilities, ranging from beginner, intermediate (blue run), advanced (black diamond), and expert (double black diamond). The advanced trails I’ve explored at Crabbe, turned out to be much similar to the intermediate trails here at the Rockies!! Thus, I didn’t go further than that. Furthermore, I haven’t had a chance to hit the ski terrain for nearly a year… I’d need to sharpen my skills before trying anything more adventurous…

Our first chairlift ride of the day!

I was pumped to ski at the Rockies for the very first time!

All geared up and posed for a nice shot ;)

The marvelous view of the Rockies!

Julian, my ski buddy cum personal ski instructor :)

After a long day of traveling and dog sled tour, we were exhausted. Solution? The Banff Upper Hot Springs we went, looking forward to luxuriate in the comfort of soothing hot springs! The hot springs were steaming hot, measured at 39 degrees Celsius. Immersing ourselves in the HOT springs in the COLD weather (-10 degrees Celsius) was quite an experience!

The lengthy time frame (i.e. one whole minute), between taking a shower after donning ourselves in bathing suits and making our way to the hot springs, almost drove me nuts. It was freezing cold…..

We were there for about 30 minutes before calling it a quit. It was fine walking out from the hot springs as our bodies already warmed up a fair bit.

After our big meal at the Keg Steakhouse, we were ready to hit the sack. The next morning, we got up and saw the pretty snowfall in Banff. We decided to walk around the town after breakfast, since the fog wouldn’t offer much to see from the top of mountain. There are stores selling souvenirs, clothing, crafts, sport equipments and more, along the streets.

Snowy morning in Banff.

An amusing site where park benches covered in snow.

Around 2 p.m., we made our way to the top of Sulphur Mountain by taking the gondola ride. It was rather windy at the top of mountain, -15 degrees Celsius without the windchill. Some of the sites were closed due to the snowfall. They haven’t gotten a chance to clear off the path for tourists to walk around.

A gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain.

The spectacular alpine scenery from the top of Sulphur Mountain.

“Where’s home from here?” I wondered.