Posts Tagged ‘Saint John’

Engagement Party

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

It has been three weeks since I last blogged. Bad…bad…bad…! Anyway, it has been a lot going on for the past couple of weeks; Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Malaysian Cultural Night, Engagement Party etc.

Here are some sweet pictures I’d like to share from the engagement party that Miles and I attended last weekend. The colour of the theme was YELLOW!!

The main cake and multiple cupcakes displayed in tiers.

Yellow roses icing on top. Very nice!

Food…food…and more food!

Elegant cupcakes; white cakes with buttercream icing. Yummy!

Elegant flower arrangement on the serving table.

One of the many dessert trays; lemon tarts, sugar cookies, cherry squares, red velvet cupcakes, cherry balls, chocolate peanut butter balls, and Oreo balls.

Shrimp (a.k.a. prawn) cocktail with seafood sauce in a shot glass, garnished with dill leaves.

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Saint John I

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Saint John, the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, with its population of approximately 70,000. It is also known as the oldest incoporated city in Canada.

The night scenes in Saint John, on a quiet evening.

 

 

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Christmas

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

How did you celebrate Christmas? To me, Christmas a great time for traveling and and having a get-together with friends. Other than that, there is not much to look forward to, since I’ve no family here in Canada. To cheer up my Christmas spirit, I might give myself a gift or two for Christmas. I know, it sounds pretty pathetic…

Last year, however, I celebrated Christmas with Miles and his family. A truly Canadian Christmas celebration; Christmas tree, treats, gifts, food etc.

I couldn’t remember the last time I was excited about Christmas and anticipated for the Christmas morning to come. Even though I never truly believed in Santa as a young kid, I was always looking forward to receiving my stuffed Christmas stocking on Christmas morning.

It brought back my childhood memory when I received a stuffed Christmas stocking in the morning! I’ve never had that many Christmas gifts in the past. Unwrapping each gift brought great excitement. That was one of the greatest fun celebrating Christmas!

Christmas decoration on the dining table.


 

Turkey and ham, with homemade beets and pickles for on Christmas day.


Homemade minced meat pie.


Plum Pudding. A must-have Christmas dessert in Miles’ family. It has a similar taste to fruit cake.


Hard Sauce, goes with the plum pudding. It is made of butter and icing sugar, and tasted like cake batter.


Christmas tree with gifts from Santa!


Cracking the nuts can be fun; walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.


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Fishing

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Fishing is my new found hobby this past summer. Fishing in the province of New Brunswick requires a seasonal fishing licence. There are specific areas that mapped for fishing. Depending on the area and type of fish, the fishing season varies. It’s important to keep in mind that a special licence is needed for catching salmons. On top of that, the size and amount of fish that can be caught per day is regulated. Trout, Pickerel, Muskellunge, Burbot, White perch, and yellow perch have to be at least 10cm in length to be kept.

More information about fishing licence can be obtained here. A regular seasonal fishing licence, or sometimes known as trout licence can be purchased from Department of Natural Resources offices, Service New Brunswick Centres, and licence vendors (e.g. Canadian Tire and Home Hardware) throughout the province. It’s offered for $20, with $5 fish stocking fee and $5 conservation fee included.

Over the fishing season, Miles and I have learned that artificial bait doesn’t work very well. We have also came to a conclusion that it’s easier to catch a fish earlier in the season, since fishes live and learn; they will nibble on the bait, but smart enough not to be caught.

During the summer months, we went fishing in several places; mainly Killarney Lake in Fredericton and Lily Lake in Saint John.

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Placing an earthworm on the hook was challenging the very first time.


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Patience is the key for fishing.


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Sunfish:” Poor me…I’ll be put on the supper table tonight.”


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Yellow perch:” Oopsy…I shouldn’t be greedy to take another bite of the yummy worm! Too late now…”


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Another Sunfish:” Posing for my last shot…”


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Catfish:” Alamak! He caught me! I failed to escape this time lah…:(“

Most of the fishing we did, was catch and release. It was too sad to kill the fish. Furthermore, some fishes were small. Catch and release worked well for us, as we got to enjoy the fun of fishing while fishes munched on their snacks.

Posted in Adventures, Lifestyle | 8 Comments »

Fireworks

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

I enjoy watching fireworks; the burst of excitement as the sparkles released into the sky is beyond description. The glittering fire artistically spreads on the wide charcoal canvas. It’s thrilling and fascinating. A loud, roaring crackle followed by bouquets of brilliant colours, forming unique images or patterns. It’s especially exciting to watch the glimmering light falling from the sky, almost hitting my face…..

However, fireworks are usually observed only during special occasions for entertainment purposes. For example, Canada Day and New Brunswick Day celebration in Fredericton. Miles and I have decided to get our own fireworks and set them off on a beach in Saint John. It was very enjoyable, despite the chilly weather in the evening. I enjoy the moments of anticipation as fireworks were set off; never know what to expect until the burst of light makes its appearance for a surprise.

It has been a while since I last enjoyed domestic fireworks. They were banned in Malaysia in the 90′s. In Canada, fireworks are only sold to individuals of age 19 or older. I had the “privilege” to be asked for an ID when I made the purchase ;)

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The crackling “ground bloom flowers” were spinning gleefully at their full speed.

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Sparklers! I haven’t played them for ages! Miles was moving his sparkler in the air swiftly while I captured this unique image.

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Saint John – Part I

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

I’ve always been wanting to try some Thai dishes at the Suwanna Restaurant. The opportunity arises during my weekend trip to Grand Bay/Saint John, along with Miles and friends.

This is my second visit to a Thai restaurant in Saint John. The first Thai restaurant I went was the Lemongrass Restaurant.

Suwanna Restaurant is a well-known Thai restaurant here. It opens five days a week (Tuesday to Saturday) for supper only. Reservations are highly recommended. The chances are, tables will all be booked up if a reservation is not made at least two weeks in advance.

So I did. A reservation was made three weeks in advance, to make sure that there’s a table available for seven. The meal turned out to be fantastic! The nice dining ambiance, friendly waiter, enticing menu, spicy dishes, and last but not least, wonderful desserts!

Venue: Suwanna Restaurant & Inn
Address: 325 Lancaster Avenue, Saint John, N.B.

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The entrance of Suwanna Restaurant & Inn.

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Sour & spicy Tom Yum Soup.

 

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Hot bamboo shoots with shrimps and green onions.

 

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Suwanna Chicken, with red pepper and green chili pepper.

 

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Dragon egg plant with beef.

 

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Ginger Chicken.

 

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Massaman Curry, garnished with roasted peanuts.

 

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From top to bottom: Hot bamboo shoots with shrimps, Suwanna Chicken, Dragon egg plants with beef, Ginger Chicken, Massaman Curry, and Broccoli & Beef.

 

Those dishes were mouth-watering. Massaman Curry has a mild curry taste to it, best served to individuals with variable tolerance for spice. The desserts were a hit!

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Eugine Cake. A moist and tasty cake with generous serving of homemade whipped cream.

 

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Chocolate Cheesecake. Very chocolaty!

 

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Sundae with fresh raspberries, homemade raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

Posted in Food, Traveling | 4 Comments »

One-day meal journey in Saint John

Monday, October 20th, 2008
Breakfast

Venue: McDonald’s (near Lancaster Mall)
Menu: Blueberry pies

 

The blueberry pie from McDonald’s which I have been wanting to try. Two for $1.39. It was tasty and value for money.

 
 
 

 

Lunch

Venue: Sampan Restaurant at Lancaster Plaza (640 Manawagonish Rd.)
Menu: Dim Sum +_*

 

Rice porridge with century egg and pork, yau char kuey, and egg plants with stuffed meat. Yummy!

 

 

Steamed buns, pork belly, fried tofu, pot stickers etc.

 

 

My favourite egg tarts with flaky shells! Meat rolls in bean curd skins, squid curry, and more!

 

 

Pork dumplings, pork ribs, shrimp dumplings, and char kuey teow (fried rice noodles).

 

The food was tasty, even though it was rather greasy and fatty. Oh well, “dim sum” is the way it is! It was a Chinese food indulgence that happened once in a blue moon. There were nine of us at the table and everyone was stuffed by the end of the meal. Good food and great time chatting. Nevertheless, “yum cha” (a.k.a. morning tea) should only be taken as a treat once awhile!

 

Coffee Break

 
Venue: Starbucks
Menu: Pumpkin spice Frappuccino (*limited time only*)
 

Green tea Frappuccino and my pumpkin spice Frappuccino (right). They were tasty and refreshing!

 

 
 
 

A drive-thru Starbucks?! Nice!

 

 
 

Starbucks, a place which I don’t visit very often. Why? Well, I don’t usually drink coffee (since caffeine doesn’t work on me) and drinks here are super expensive! I’d rather buy a meal than getting a cup of coffee. Having said that, it was a treat to myself today!

 

Supper

 
Venue: Lemongrass Thai Restaurant (42 Princess St.)
Menu: Tom Yum soup, vegetarian Pad Thai noodles, tamarind, shrimp, Malaysian chicken curry, and chicken green curry.
 
 

Very unique ceiling lamp. A stalk of flower hanging upside down! Very artistic indeed.

 

 
 
 
 
 

Tom Yum soup ($16) with shrimps, baby corns, and mushrooms. Lemongrass, lime leaves, and fresh cilantro added flavours to it! I’d prefer the soup to be thicker and spicier though.

 

 
 
 

Pad Thai noodles ($13) are rice noodles cooked with Pad Thai sauce, peanuts, red peppers, tofu, bean sprouts, green onions etc.

 

 
 

Tamarind shrimp ($17) cooked with mushrooms in the sweet and sour tamarind sauce. I enjoyed the large shrimps a lot!

 

 
 
 

The green curry chicken ($15) cooked with cubes of eggplants. The curry was light in colour instead of green that I expected. Perhaps the word “green” came from the green chili padi they used.

 



The daily special dish, Malaysian chicken curry ($17) which tasted a lot like curry laksa! Yumm…yumm…yummy!!

 


 

Six of us sharing all these dishes. That’s the awesomeness of dining in a group. You get a variety of food!

 

 

 

Our first choice was Suwana Restaurant for Thai supper. It was fully booked when we got there. Apparently, someone would have to make a supper reservation three months in advance!! Oh well, hope I get to try their Thai dishes on my next trip to Saint John.

The food at Lemongrass Restaurant was great, although I was a bit let down by the Tom Yum soup. My favourite dish of all, was certainly the Malaysian chicken curry!

 

Posted in Food, Traveling | 1 Comment »

Saint John

Monday, October 20th, 2008

Saint John is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick (N.B.), with a population of about 70,000, and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. Fredericton, the capital city of this province, has a population of 50,000. On the other hand, Moncton is the most populous census metropolitan area in N.B., boasting a population of 126,000.

Please keep in mind that the largest or the most populated city may not be the capital city of a province or country. For example, Ottawa (population of 1.2 million) is the capital of Canada, and Toronto (population of 5.6 million) is the capital of Ontario.

Anyway, back to my Sunday trip to Saint John! Together with three other friends, we attended the Sunday service at the Main Street Baptist Church. It was a very powerful sermon delivered by the church pastor about the building of a strong community, and how we are dependent on one another to succeed in life.

We met some Chinese friends and the Chinese pastor at the church. We then went to the Sampan Restaurant for “dim sum.” Yumm…I haven’t had it for a long time (well, since my trip home in May)…. The food was great, although I found it too greasy. I shouldn’t have complained about it, because “dim sum” is just the way it is! I was disappointed that they didn’t serve phoenix claws (a.k.a. chicken feet) at the restaurant….
Here is the link to my one-day meal journey in Saint John.

After the meal, we visited a few landmarks in Saint John.

The Reversing Falls at low tide.

Posing at the UNBSJ campus. From left, Mick, myself, Xin, and Quan.

Poster for a thought. It was found on a bulletin board in the Irving building.

A university building located in downtown, opposite of the City Market.

The famous City Market of Saint John.

A neat stall. These products are made from red clay collected from the Bay of Fundy. Each of us was given a piece of the Cape Spencer lighthouse. The stall owner wanted us to own a piece of Canada ;) Very sweet of him!

The downtown of Saint John. There was a big cruise ship, Sea Princess.

Thick smokes emitting from the chimneys of factories can be seen everywhere in the city centre of Saint John. Hmm..not very environment friendly at all.

Besides, we also visited the drive-thru Starbucks and Lemongrass Restaurant for Thai supper. Despite the chilly weather (a few degrees above freezing point), it was an enjoyable and fruitful trip! We had lots of fun traveling in a group.

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