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Out & About #311 | Collective January Visuals

1/31/2017

 
"Back to School" is a phrase that no one wants to hear, no one except major retailers anyway. Parents gain stress, children skirmish in reluctance, and post-secondary student express endless exhaustion.

Ah, academia, how I utterly despise you. (Graduation simply can't come any sooner.)

Four weeks flew by with the whirl of the first snowfall: it comprised of a short period of bliss (the first few days back to hell) intertwined with awkwardly-spaced lessons with zero guidance but all of the workload. At least there was Chinese New Year to wrap up the month on a more cheery note.
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1) Chinese New Year celebrations
Festive markets, heaps of red decor, new attire, family dinners, and, in my case, five-hour-long Skype calls with long-distance relatives make up my regular celebratory routine. It's also not uncommon to find exotic meal bowls spanning from leftovers of said family dinners.
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2) Mii Sandwich
Quick mall errands can sometimes work up a substantial appetite. For tasty pre-dinner snacks that are best shared, Mii Sandwich comes to the rescue with Fresh Rolls, a sweet-savoury Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi, and Longan Iced Tea (with real longan fruit!). The meal totalled just over fifteen dollars, which was quite hefty in my opinion; the add-ons and substitutions rang in at atrocious rates. 

Flavour-wise though, there's really nothing to complain about.
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3) DAVIDsTEA hauls: Tea-infused chocolate bars are my new addiction - at three dollars a box, who can blame me?
4) Campus visuals, including Starbucks' new chocolatey Confetti Hearts Cake Pop and a Custom Tea Latte with English Breakfast and Smoked Butterscotch Syrup
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5) Current Square One inventory check on plush Sulleys: 4 units
6) The start to a great afternoon
7) The tiniest, fastest-dissolving ice cream cones from Galleria (at least the waffle cones were superbly crisp)
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8) Homemade Garlic x Maple Butter Mini Croissants stuffed with Aged Cheddar
9) CoCo's Tea of the Month: Matcha Milk Tea w/ Red Bean
10) Taiyaki from Galleria and starch-laden Chicken (unauthentic) Nuggets from Burger King
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Out & About #310 | Chinese New Year Visuals

1/29/2017

 
​Chinese New Year celebrations are, admittedly, kind of a big deal. While enormous family gatherings take place on Thanksgiving and jolly cheer is spread during Christmas time, this holiday combines the joy (and meal sizes) of both for a wholly loud and festive time.

Nowadays, the fifteen-day holiday commonly adopts the more inclusive name of "Lunar New Year", as those of Korean, Vietnamese, and Malaysia descent take part in celebrations as well. Rituals tend to vary across countries, and even more so between the Northern and Southern parts of China, as well as in Hong Kong and Taiwan. For example, Northerners may partake in dumpling feasts while those from the South employ whole fish and barbecued dishes.
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Festivities kick off after an evening of cleaning the house, commencing with a family dinner celebrating the theme of unity.
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Attending Chinese New Year Markets is another activity that allows the complete immersion of oneself in a cheerful, bustling atmosphere. Most decorations will don a lavish coat of bright red with highlights of shimmering gold.
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​Traditional markets are held outdoors and comprise of vendors retailing various food items, New Year plants, ornaments, balloons, and other relevant knickknacks of sorts. The one that earns our annual attendance is more compact and held in the basement of a temple, making the experience significantly warmer.
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View the full album HERE !

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Out & About #309 | Katsuya + Soul Cafe (Round 2)

1/14/2017

 
It's not uncommon to find a brief expansion of Koreatown just north of Finch. Rather, the North York/Thornhill area houses quite a number of unique (and significantly more economic) traditional and fusion options than slightly south of TTC's northmost subway station.

Throughout my eating excursions, I've discovered that fusion dishes can be a hit or miss, with the latter being the more prominent result. Katsuya prides themselves with the title of "Japanese Fusion Tonkatsu" on their storefront; a bold red outline of a kurobuta-like silhouette make up half of their simplistic logo design.
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The Korean-operated restaurant took a no-frills approach to their name: "katsu" in Japanese means a deep-fried cutlet while "ya" generally refers to a house or some form of compact eatery. Their menu ranged from cheesy, panko-crusted creations to appetizers such as karaage to katsu accompanied by their housemade fruits-veggies sauce. Further expanding on the existing number of flavour choices, each was offered in six protein types: Pork Loin, Pork Tender, Chicken, Cheese, Double Cheese, and Fish, which varied in price accordingly. It was a rather interesting approach to the Japanese rendition, which exclusively served Tonkatsu in a rice and cabbage slaw set. One of their more recent additions included Terri Mayo Katsu, a style adopting an okonomiyaki-esque appeal, and Carbonara Katsu, a creamy and impossibly indulgent take on the casual dish.
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​We pulled into the small plaza approximately quarter after noon. With the exception of Mr. Meat, a space-needy Halal butcher shop, Katsuya was the only other occupant of the area. Yet, out of the fourteen already-cramped parking spots, all had been reserved for clients of Mr. Meat, leaving a meager three spots for Katsuya customers. To enhance parking complications, all three of these spots were situated adjacent to the entrace of the plaza too.
I suppose it was by sheer fortune that one of these spaces emptied a few minutes after our arrival; others were spotted parking elsewhere and braving the frigid trek to the restaurant.
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​Katsuya consisted of seven 4-person tables and a series of six bar seats along the eastward facing window pane. It was largely peaceful during the first half hour of our entry, but during evening periods and times of high traffic though, it can be anticipated that the seats will fill up rapidly.

Despite its size as viewed from the outside, the dining area was, in fact, very roomy. High ceilings boast room for intricate cage-like lighting; short planks of design-embossed wood posed for superb contrast against matte black walls. An amusing finish was the implementation of rustic faucet handles as coat hooks for backless booth and bar seats. And as someone who never travels light, the the fact that their hollow rectangular stools provided extra space for bags and personal belongings was much appreciated.

​From the lofty chalkboard wall installation for doodles to the unlacquered toilet paper holder of a pipe to the widespread usage of wooden furnishings, this industrial vibe resonated throughout the remainder of the restaurant.
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​Flipping through the laminated sheets of the menu, two items in particular caught our attention: the Original Japanese Katsu and Katsuya Original. After much discussion, we settled for an appetizer of Tako Wasabi and the two aforementioned katsu dishes. Shortly after placing our order, we were served hot water in mugs assuming a ribbed but uniformly black exterior as well as piping bowls of miso soup.

Anime played silently on a screen above the kitchen as cheerful banter took place amongst the customers below.
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View the full album HERE !
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Tako Wasabi - a personal favourite that initially discovered via MeNami's tapas list - was served in a similar format to the Sanuki udon-specialized shop: a small bowl contained the horseradish-marinated raw octopus bits while strips of seaweed surrounded it. The dish retained similar aromas, but was dissimilar in that there was an underlying layer of wakame salad. The seaweed strips had evidently been roasted beforehand, seeing that they possessed perfect crunchiness while being devoid of fragility. Katsuya had also taken to slathering the well-seasoned seafood bites with a plentiful portion of wasabi - an amount that packed a powerful punch even for wasabi-lovers such as myself.

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Out & About #308 | Partial Winter Visuals

1/11/2017

 
A good friend of mine questions my lack of a proper diet on a regular basis. While she was able to adopt a (temporary) no-carb, no-sugar diet, the entire concept sounded disastrous to me. With the exception of fish, chicken, and occasional bites of lean pork, I rarely eat meat at all; that said, the mere thought of living off "avocado shakes and meat" sent shivers down my spine.
Nonetheless, I honoured her decision. Personally, I'll adhere to the dining habits I have always trusted in, the habits that shall never be devoid of matcha lattes and sushi.
1) Discount sushi from T&T solid enough to rival fossils
2) Holiday-themed Uncle Tetsu, courtesy of a lovely fangirl friend
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3) Finally awaited a day where no lineups were present at the Main Street Unionville location to obtain more cheesecake as well as Black Sesame and Chocolate Madeleines.
4) Spotted an adorable Valentine's frog plushie bearing a 90% resemblance to Jackson's "Wang Puppy" expression
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5) The city that I so direly miss making contributions to
6) Random post-AYCE dinner doodles at Spoon & Fork Plus
7) Attempting Matcha Lattes with expired Uji matcha
8) Munching on the remnants of our Christmas chocolate stash
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9) Welcoming 2017 with crippling pain and a colourful veggie bowl (praise spiralizers!)
10) English Breakfast Tea with Toffee Nut and Mocha syrups make for quite the interesting customized tea latte.
11) Weekend exam visuals feat. a breakfast of Cold Brew x Chocolate Vienoisserie for a combined caffeine and sugar boost.
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Out & About #307 | Soohyang Korean Traditional Tea House

1/8/2017

 
​"You don't even have two weeks off!" exclaimed my dear friend.
"But I never do. I'm lucky if I even get over one week off." I replied matter-of-factly.

My 9-day winter break flew over my head in an instant, and I was thrown back into the depths of hell and endless torture before I knew it. The first three days informed me that concrete and wastewater treatments classes were going to be indisputably more intense than my first term selections; they were the very definition of accelerated courses, but with painfully few resources available online.
This didn't deter me from departing my house on the weekend for more positive experiences, though. Rather, it acted as motivation to embrace whatever winter hangout periods remained before schoolwork would begin to pick up.

Last-minute plans were put into action.
I first stopped by Yorkdale to pick up new HeatTech gear, as inventory had been replenished following the holiday rush. The mission was completed in a mere twenty minutes, leaving with an excess of forty minutes before the next bus was slated to arrive - this made for the ideal opportunity to check out the shopping centre's impossibly grand Urban Eatery food court.
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​The layout was similar to Richmond Centre in that escalators/elevators needed to be employed to reach the place of sustenance, but rather than one steep flight, restaurants had been divided amongst two elevated floors. A coffee shop resided on the "second" floor, while the remainder of the fast food retailers on the "third".

I opted for Mii Sandwich, considering that its original outpost had been located in Yorkdale before expanding to Square One. Combo deals were no longer applicable this time, leading a single Grilled Coconut Chicken Banh Mi to ring in at an atrocious $8.46.

Delicious as it was - with its crisp baguette exterior and sauce-slathered components of pickled carrots and marinated chicken - the price could not be justified with such a meager portion of chicken. Service was friendly, albeit the small amount of confusion that took place.
I suppose I should pride myself in succeeding to find a properly illuminated spot in the food court to munch amidst the lunch rush. Table turnover rates were generally high, but families with toddlers and elderly in tow spent their time leisurely and lazing about even after consuming their meals. Noisy as it might have seemed, Yorkdale's food court still remained far more peaceful (and accessible) than that of Square One.
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​Wrapping up my Yorkdale trip, I hopped on the 19 to continue eastbound.

For my green tea-, red bean-, and bingsoo-despising friend, I had suggested trying Soohyang, a newcomer to the North York/Thornhill food scene. Conveniently enough, it was located just a few steps north of Yonge and Steeles.
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​Depicted as a Korean Traditional Tea House, the establishment comprised of minimal decorations and largely focused on creating a calming, zen vibe with white walls and wooden furnishings. We were greeted warmly upon entry and provided permission to choose our seating.
A nifty wooden panel separated the entranceway from the closest table, ensuring an abundance of diffused sunlight while providing protection from gusty blows of the harsh outdoor climate.
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​I took note of my immediate surroundings: an empty outlet spot from the string light fixture wrapped around the panel, an engraved stone to keep napkins in place, and a bamboo table piece. Shortly provided were the tea shop's menus - one adopting the form of an ancient paperback notebook, and another hidden within the bamboo table piece.
The booklet, which had evidently been carefully combined by hand, listed the various types of teas available as well as their individual qualities and unique health benefits; the latter revealed a simple list of the teas and snacks offered and their associated price tags.
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Images of the most popular menu items, we were told, were pasted along the walls. The owner - or whom we presumed to be the owner - pleasantly described her own recommendations (the winter-limited Honey Butter Sweet Potatoes) as well as customer favourites (such as Jujube tea).
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After much debate, we finally settled on the following: Green Tea Ice Cream with Matcha Waffles, Green Plum Tea, and Injeolmi Pizza.
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View the full album HERE !
​Placemats and utensils were delivered almost immediately. The round placemats appeared to made to woven straw, while the utensil holders, upon closer examination, were wooden cubes that had been adhered together to form rectangular prisms. Each featured coloured floral elements identical to the ones found on the napkin tray on our table, exuding an overall sense of cohesiveness.

Our items arrived with incredible speed, almost as quickly as we connected to their password-secured Wi-Fi network. We were also given small, rectangular glass plates for sharing, though ultimately did not utilize them at all.

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    Formerly an avid owner of several interest-based portals, Random Thoughts of a Quirky Blogger presents precisely the elements expected. From experiments in the kitchen to miscellaneous musings, from IGOT7 reflections to developments in transportation infrastructure, it's all consolidated here. Welcome to the raw, unfiltered side of Quirky Aesthetics.



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WHAT DOES "QUIRKY AESTHETICS" MEAN?

Quirky =  a term that commonly refers to something/someone distinctly different and unique
Aesthetics = the visual aspect of things



Together, Quirky Aesthetics refers to the things, events, and happenings seen and perceived by this blog's creator - quirky perspectives in a visual form.

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