Post-Contest Food Festivities #2

Well if you guys haven't already seen the 1st blog I did about my food adventures, check it out here. This week has been all about indulging on food I haven't touched in months...maybe even a year. With that being said, let the eating begin. And they're off....

Caramel Crepe first thing in the morning & lucky us we had a coupon (I LOVE YOU WAGJAG.CA). We ordered "The Rooster" (mozzarella, ham & egg), "Joy" (mozzarella, banana & cinnamon sugar), & "Pacific" (smoked salmon, cream cheese & chives). The rooster was nice & simple since I haven't had any breakfast-type food in a long time. The pacific was so tasty. I enjoy most smoked salmon menu items but what topped it off was the cream cheese inside. Joy was excellent. I really could not distinguish the mozzarella inside the crepe but nonetheless it was a "sweet" choice.

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Hu's Asian Bistro was our second stop of the day. I already knew from previous experience the food wasn't the best quality in the restaurant business but it doesn't hurt to give anything a second or in my case third chance. It also made our selection of restaurant easier because again we had a coupon. We ordered "Crispy Lemon Chicken", "Sizzling Chow Mein", & "Pad Thai". The chow mein was great because I thoroughly enjoyed the crispiness of the noodles. The pad thai was good...a tad bit spicy but still worthy of putting in my mouth. And now we come to the "Crispy Lemon Chicken". First off, it wasn't crispy. It was moreso soggy. Secondly, the chicken was too sour. I guess the Chef who made it went a little crazy on the lemon juice. It was intolerable. We ended up sending it back to the kitchen and exchanging it with "Crispy Honey Chicken". It was better but a little salty. We (Sam and I) thought one complaint was enough for the day. So we packed our food up and went to our next destination.

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Lilac Bakery is THE BEST bakery in all of Winnipeg. How do I know? Well my mouth knows best...that's how I know. I already had the idea of picking up a red velvet cupcake (hmm cream cheese icing) but I wanted to see what other AMAZING goodies they had to offer. Sam and I saw one cupcake that stood out among the pack, which was the "Cookies and Cream" cupcake. Perfect...it was a mini cupcake too. No commitments...that's how I like it (jk). We also were intrigued by the "apple sauce" cupcake.

We asked the counter attendant as to how it was made. He said "apple sauce is baked inside the cupcake." I thought to myself "what the heck...why not." Red Velvet = perfect 10. Apple sauce cupcake was kinda crumbly but decent. Now second runner up is the cookies & cream cupcake. I absolutely loved the fact the icing had oreo bits instead of what I am normally used to whenever it comes to C&C (smooth texture). I adored the crunchy bits. It made the cupcake so special. Something I've never had. Go check it out.

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Hu's Asian Bistro again?  Well yes.  The reason was because Sam scammed the deal site out of two coupons.  So us giving it a 4th time try was something that was inevitable.   We kept it simple.  Our motto "stick to what we know is good".  We got the chow mein again, fried rice and opted for the dry spareribs after a recommendation from our lovely waitress.  This time I wasn't disappointed.  THANK GOODNESS.  So I tell you this Hu's Bistro... you are OKAY in my books...just okay.  Just don't screw up again.   

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Oakwood Cafe was just a 5-minute drive from Sam's and another great thing was YES....we had a coupon. It was quiet and quaint. I immediate thought "I like it". The server was impressively friendly. More tip for you buddy! I ordered the "Rachael" (Turkey breast on rye with sauerkraut & thousand island dressing - mozzarella cheese melted). It was so yummy. I recommend it to anyone that chooses to go there for a bite to eat. Sam had a sloppy chili burger. He ended up with a chili beard. It was just too funny. 

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Chocolate Zen Bakery was one of those spots in the city that I've always wanted to try and today was the day. Their display was exquisite but what really caught my eye was a pastry labeled "Magic Cookie". Well with a name like that, it was imperative to give it a go. Sam and I had our first bite and immediately were in love...not with each other but the cookie...haha.  So amazing.  I kept raving about it for a good 30 minutes after we devoured it.  Yes it is that good. 

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Magic Sushi on McPhillips was one restaurant I have always wanted to try since it was an All-You-Can-Eat for 10.95. Now that's a deal. A friend of mine told me they had just opened up a new location called Magic Sushi #2. We decided to give it a go. It was a smaller place. Nothing too special about the atmosphere. We ordered from the applicable menu items and patiently waited. The food was decent tasting. My one complaint was the seafood that was on the sushi was teenie tiny like it was for a child. I am paying good money for this...cmon guys! LOL

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Marble Slab was the last on our list of places to go. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Marble Slab. I am a huge fan of their birthday cake flavoured ice cream with chunks of cookie dough. I had said this prior to ordering the usual but Sam said "try something different for a change". Why not? So I ordered the "Candied Apple" (sweet cream ice cream with apple pie chunks, caramel and M&M's). I have to say it was interesting. I didn't understand the M&M's at first until I re-read the actual name of the flavour...candied apple. Yes...like at the Red River Ex fair. Would I get it again? Probably not but definitely worth a try once in your life.

To Sum Up: After this week, I am positive I have gained a good 5-10 lbs back onto my not-so-chiseled body.  But I did deserve it after many strict meal plans for the months leading up to the competition.  This is not something I would recommend.  It comes to a point where your body will start to hate you.  Right now, my body misses the strict nutritional plan.  Time to go back to "normal".  Bye bye junk food.  Until we meet again on our next food adventure.