On Sunday we had planned to make a trip to adopt a moose from Build-a-Bear at Square One after a stroll in the park, but on the spur of the moment we decided that we would go uptown since I haven't been in Markham for a long while and B's mom hasn't seen him for a few days - since Thursday, to be exact. It was only fair that we spend some time with her too. We were going to have some wanton noodles but saw a huge Golftown demo sale sign in passing, so we turned into First Markam Place - another change of plans. My craving for wanton will have to wait until next time.
We stopped by Peninsula Cafe (also at FMP) for a really late lunch. "Trendy Hut" would have been a more appropriate translation of its Chinese namem, but this cafe apparently is operated by the same group as that of Peninsula Cafe (Kennedy and 16th ave.??) and they were probably too lazy to come up with a different English name. The sign boasts the restaurant as a fusion of tastes frin Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. At 2:30 pm the small restuarant was still busy with most tables occupied, but we didn't have to wait to be seated. The green interior is quite trendy and comfy too - with big round cushioned seats around round tables in the middle aisle and roomy booths on either side. The 2 LCD TV's mounted in opposite corners had FairChild TV on, and they weren't loud enough to distract us from chatting. Lunch specials were offered until 3 pm and Afternoon Tea specials were offered from 2:30pm onwards, so we had quite a bit to choose from. After studying the colorful picture-studded menu for a while, we decided on a taiwanese-style fried rice with BBQ-eel and eggs and a tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet) served with omu-rice (which is like an omelet filled with fried rice). Each of our dish came with a choice of iced or hot tea or coffee, and both of us ordered iced lemon tea. The service is friendly and the food arrives reasonably quick. The iced tea was just right - not overly sweet nor overly tart. The presentation of our dishes were definitely cute, but their tastes disappointed. The fried rice with BBQ-eel and egg arrived first and I was surprised by the small serving size that's atypical of Chinese cafe (茶餐廳). And the taste was mediocre - the fried rice was quite moist and there were plenty of bits and pieces of BBQ-eel. Yet I can't shake the feeling that something's missing - maybe a topping of nori (seaweed), sesame seed and more BBQ sauce would have helped. The tonkatsu was good - hot and crispy and juicy - but we have had better. The omu-rice looked great but the fried rice filling was bland - it was a moist lump of rice flavored with ketchup and not much else. I will definitely order tonkatsu again, but probably not with the omu-rice. Prices are definitely affordable but not cheap compared to other Chinese cafes. There are several other items on the menu that looked interesting, so if this restaurant is still around maybe we will go again.
After lunch we wandered over to Danier at Woodside Square and ended up spending the afternoon in that store (against B's will) - there was a promo of additional 20% off the lowest ticketed price. Lots of fashionable styles and slashed prices on leather jackets and handbags meant I had a tough decision time. But I have been wanting a leather jacket for over a year now, and it was a good deal, so despite my diminished budget this month (due to the 3 birthdays in the family) I bought myself my first leather jacket. I was aiming for black or brown - something classic that will last years and still won't look out of fashion, but the only thing that caught my eyes was this white bomber. B had a long face and really wanted to sit down rather than going through the racks with me, but he still gave advices and suggestions that were useful. It's quite a bit of money, but I think this is a smart investment - a leather jacket can be dressed up or down and fits pretty much every informal ocassion. I can't wait to show it off!
We had dinner at home with his mom, who made a pot of wonderful soup. (I LOVE soup. I can have soup and only soup everyday and I don't ever get sick of it.) We watched a movie in the evening before he dropped me home, when we realized that we had forgotten about picking up moose. Nevertheless, we had a really good time and I'm so happy and thankful that we're together. :)
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