Out & About #498 | Collective October Visuals

October probably ranks in at my second favourite month of the year. Fall temperatures and warm-toned foliage are tremendously soothing to me, as is a whiff of freshly baked, cinnamon-dusted apple pie and festive Thanksgiving meals.

That said, these past few weeks have been a conflicting period. Brimming with feelings of stress, anxiety, fury, and all-around helplessness, times at work have been anything but enjoyable. Majority of this month has been spent in vain, in a destination where I belong not, surrounded by those who wish away my existence as intensely as the arrival of an oncoming hurricane.

Life hasn't been fun, but drowning myself in food adventures has aided in minimizing the misery of a lengthy commute plus occupation woes.
It pains me to say that Atlantic Canada posts remain on indefinite hiatus. For now, let us recall some of the happenings in the latter half of the month.

​1) Cuppa Tea

Having hiked to Yonge and College once before and returned with a richly flavoured HK Milk Tea in hand, I opted to try an iced variation of their signature drink.

​Wait time was a tad longer than previously, which was a given considering the higher volume of customers. The interior remained stuffier than I would prefer, though there wasn't seating available anyway should I had time to dally.

​​When viewed side by side, the hot variation appeared darker than that of the iced. But the trademark sweetness persisted, regardless of hue.

2) CoCo Fresh Tea & Juice (B-Trust Supermarket)

Mississauga welcomed a third location of the Taiwanese bubble tea shop within the Golden Square plaza. As part of Grand Opening promotions, there were complimentary Pearl Milk Teas distributed to the first 100 customers in line, as well as a Buy One Get One deal for the next 50 customers afterwards.

​Surprisingly, many opted in for BOGO deal as opposed to the free Regular Pearl Milk Tea. I, however, was more than happy to take advantage of this attraction.

3) Dehydrating apple chips wasn't as easy as Cooking Tree had made it out to be...
4) DAVIDsTEA's Advent Calendar has made its annual return!
5) This game of Monopoly is slowly wearing me out. (Could it be true that the man was a crook after all?!)

​6) Phoenix Café (Edward St)
The downtown outpost of Markham's popular Hong Kong café occupies a rather spacious spot on the second floor of a bookstore on Edward Street. Its interior furnishings retain similarity to its uptown original(s).

​Hot HK Milk Tea rang in $2.75 before tax, while an Iced version was priced seventy five cents higher. The essence of Assam was present, though perhaps in a less concentrated dosage than Cuppa Tea. As a nearby, budget-friendly find though, it isn't half bad.

7) Trattoria Timone
Our first visit to Trattoria Timone in several years was met with a boisterous dining hall, speedy and attentive service, and great-tasting meals.
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​​I will, on the other hand, need to deduct points for the moderate food poisoning I succumbed to shortly after conclusion of our dinner.

< Pictured above and below: Burrata, Cioppino, Grilled Veal Chop, Fresh Wild Halibut, Tiramisu (custom) >

​8) Egg McMuffin mobile offers automatically equate to two mornings' worth of sustenance.
9) One can never go wrong with furry accessories!

10) Halloween visuals: mini cream cheese cupcakes + complimentary chocolates
11) Minion Me
​Due to an impromptu desire to spread the spirit of Halloween (and to unashamedly voice my existence in a holiday-despising workplace), I managed to pull together a recognizable Minion costume with the assistance of a few last-minute props.

This later served as my ticket to a $4 entrée from Chipotle - which not only included guac but two choices of protein as well! What a steal!!

With November looming, this can only mean one thing: a rush fanboard job in preparation for DAY6's Youth World Tour in Toronto!