Asma & Farrukh: My First Time Attending a Pakistini Wedding

Congratulations Asma & Farrukh!

Five Things I Learned at a Pakistani Wedding

1. Do not arrive on time.

I'm a person who gets nervous and anxious when I'm running late, so I always try to arrive on time. Especially growing up in a family where being late is not only rude, but disrespectful, I always paid attention to the time when it came to big events. Though I didn't know what to expect, I was quite relieved to see a "programme" on the invitations as it had everything that was going to take place, nicely scheduled. It read, "7pm reception of the Barat, 8pm Nikkah, dinner 8:30pm." I arrived 10 to 7pm and noticed that the parking lot of the Royal Place Banquet Hall was basically empty. I triple-checked the address, doubled-checked the time, and looked around to see if cars were coming in. Nothing. I got out of the car, went into the building, and saw wedding decorations (phew), and no more than 5 people. 

It turns out that even arriving an hour late, is considered early. The Barat reception is where the groom arrives, and he is expected to be late, and I mean 1 - 2 hours late, not 10 minutes. Apparently, it is the norm in their culture to arrive much later than the time stated. 

2. Cover your skin. Wear bold colours.

Good thing I did a bit of research on this before deciding on what I was going to wear. Here are my suggestions and opinions from what I observed. Do not show your shoulders, bare back, or cleavage, so do not wear a dress that's strapless, backless, short, or low-cut. In other words, nothing revealing please, as it is a formal religious event. I'd suggest wearing a dress that goes below your knees, at least. I noticed that the dresses and gowns worn were all very long. Wear nice, bright, and bold colours. Sparkles, shimmers, and shiny accessories are great. 

3. The appetizer dishes are endless! Remember to save space for the entree. 

Oh my goodness. Expect a lot of food. In Chinese cultures, we usually have 1 or 2 dishes as the appetizer and the rest are part of the main course dishes. Here, there were like 5 dishes that were brought to the table for us and we could call for seconds, thirds..etc. (see pictures below). In this banquet, the main course consisted of getting up and filling your plates as it was buffet style. So, you definitely want to save space for that (and for dessert)! 

kebabs

Fried fish

Chicken

4. Do not expect to see the bride come out... until nearly the end of the night. 

Wow, this is very different from western weddings and Chinese weddings where the bride eats at the head table with everyone else and maybe even play some games. At this wedding, the bride had to sit in a room and she was not allowed to come out. Thankfully, guests (including males) were allowed to go visit her though. Asma, the bride, didn't even know when she'd be coming out. At first, she was told she could come out after the legal marriage papers were signed, but nope, she was still in the room when I was trying out desserts. 

5. Expect to see the bride cry.

It is a very emotional time for the bride, when she does come out. I loved her grand entrance and how everyone had their attention on her as we had been waiting all night. The groom was on stage waiting for her as she walked towards him. This is the day where she official joins the groom's family and will be spending her first night living together, without her family. The entire time that she was entering, she had her head down. Even when she made it to the seat beside the groom and photographers were taking pictures, she still looked sad. Now, even if the bride is happy, it is still the norm to look sad and possibly even cry.

There are a few other notable events that night which I haven't mentioned. In western weddings, the bride and the groom would do the paper work together, but this was done separately as the bride was in the room. As religion plays a huge part in this ceremony, a pastor was invited to say prayers. This lasted for ~10 min. It's just so interesting learning about different cultures.

Dishes from the self-serve buffet:

Cold dishes

Salad

What are those peachy-looking fruits(?) with the black seeds? I had no idea, if you do, please let me know.

basmati rice

basmati rice

THREE different types of rice to try from! Wow!

One of the many types of curry

spinach and cheese

This picture does not do justice to how great it tastes. This made me get another spoonful of rice!

naan

And when I saw all these naan, I literally had to resist myself from jumping up and down. This.....was my plate of heaven.

My first plate

I was already quite full from the appetizer dishes. But seeing all the yummy food, I couldn't resist another two plates, especially when there was naan!

Desserts: By this time, I was stuffed with a very satisfied tummy. There were two types of desserts offered along with plates of fruits. The desserts looked so unique, apparently they're sweet flour balls in syrup (?) and the other one is in sweet milk. 

I did try a bit of this and it was VERY sweet! 

Desserts in this culture is definitely too sweet for me! 

Not knowing anyone else there besides the bride and groom, I thought I would be such an outcast. After all, I was the only east Asian there (besides one of the photographers). But I felt so at ease because all of their family and friends were so nice and friendly to me. They had such patience describing the food and traditions to me and I learned quite a bit that night. 

I met Asma back in 2009 at school. She gets my weirdest sense of humour, the ones even I get confused over. We share a unique friendship in that we're able to genuinely make fun of each other. She is easy to talk to because she speaks her mind which allows me to speak mine not only without hesitation, but knowing that she won't judge or be offended. The nickname she gave me is Muffin because everyday in class, I'd always have a muffin, and I call her Chilly. I don't remember why though.

In a very short amount of time, she planned this wonderful and memorable event. I like her confidence, "I don't need a year to plan a day" haha! I'm glad to be a small part of it - working out at Steve Nash together. 

Add caption

My dear Asma, thank you for having me here on your special day. I wish you a happily ever after with Farrukh.

I leave you with a short conversation we had on MSN that still makes me smile.

Asma: can i ask u a question?

me: yes
*asma is typing*
me: type faster.... or are fingers are too fat to move any faster?
asma: ...........

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I'm a Compass Beta Tester!

In July, when I heard Translink was looking for volunteers to test their new Compass Card, I registered.  At that time, they were looking for 5,000 active translink users, but they were more popular than they thought because they ended up with 10,000 volunteers testing for them. Yes, volunteers. Because we get basically nothing in return. Not even a free trip! But yup, I signed up.

So if you haven't heard yet, the Compass card is going to replace all the paper tickets that Translink currently uses. In early September, I received a Compass card in the mail. 

Compass card

What else did I get? 10 informational handouts and a Beta Tester Guide Book.

Beta Tester Guide Book & informational handouts

The testing officially started on September 9th. We were told to tap in and out when taking transit, but also paying for our fares or showing our pass like normal. Even though the cards came charged with a monthly pass or money, they were "fake" as it was just used to test the system. 

Informational handouts are for those who are curious and want to learn more about the new Compass card. Here it is: 

Some Compass Quick Facts:

- Compass will replace over 150 different tickets and passes used today.

- Compass will be easy to use. You'll simply tap in to enter and tap out to exit, and the system will automatically determine the correct amount to charge (at tap out). 

- Card registration will offer features like AutoLoad and Balance Protection, which protects the value of a card in the event it's lost or stolen.

- As fare gates go up, fare evasion will go down - and transit riders will enjoy a safer, more secure transit experience. 

On buses, you tap in near the bus driver and tap out right at the doors. I'm sure you've all seen this around:

And for sky train and Canada Line stations, there will be gates that open and close. 

Q & A

Why did I sign up when there's no perks/free rides?

The big reason is that I am a curious individual, but wait, there is a perk - being the first to try out the new transit system in Vancouver! But I agree, TransLink should definitely involve some free rides or load up our cards for real for us volunteers. The small reason (as cheesy as it may sound) is that I do want to be helpful to TransLink as they have been really helpful to me for the past 10 years. Taking me to and from school, to and from some of the most special events in my life thus far, and providing me quite a comfortable place to nap...etc.

Why is it important to tap out? 

So that we're charged for the appropriate zones we travel. I believe the default is 3 zones if we don't tap out - what a killer. So, remember to tap out! Also, this apparently gives them data to know where people are travelling in order to manage the schedules, etc. 

Do I have any concerns? If only the 99 B-line back doors and the compass card readers could swap sensitivities... 

My concerns are with the speed of the tapping system. I don't find them being very responsive as it doesn't detect my card right away. Apparently, people go in/out the same way - so I can't imagine rush hour and how chaotic it'll be. Having to tap out will also slow down traffic? Hopefully it's better than the picture in my head.

Generally, I'm supportive of the new system - way less waste and litter on the ground and much more environmentally-friendly. It's about time.

Compass cards are for a refundable deposit of $6. Then start loading up your card with money because it's cheaper than paying with cash!

More info on TransLink's website

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FlyOver Canada: The Ultimate Virtual Flying Experience

I've always wanted to fly over Canada! FlyOver Canada is a new attraction site in Vancouver and I'm so happy I was able to attend the advanced with my family. Thank you Virgin Radio for the tickets! 

The whole experience lasts 30 minutes, starting with a pre-show, "Uplift!" created especially for FlyOver Canada by Moment Factory. It's meant for participants to stand and watch as it's shown on a 360° screen showing the landscapes of Canada and lives of 4 Canadians. After that, we entered into the pre-boarding zone where we watched a brief safety video. And now, the flight ride. It was absolutely beyond amazing and unfortunately pictures/videos were not prohibited (duh!) so the following pictures do not do justice. More reasons for you to go and experience it yourself! 

seats

seats

We were seated in to comfortable seats - nothing like economy flight seats, but also obviously not like business class either. (You wouldn't want to be lying down.) Then the gates drop and the row of seats move outward, into the "sky" and I heard some screams (including my own).

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Landmark Hot Pot House 春秋火鍋: Fresh ingredients, nice cars, & birthday song

At a hot pot restaurant, aren't customers their own chefs? The chefs in the kitchen....don't they just wash the veggies and slice up some meat? Yup, I totally forgot about the seasoning and crafting up the soup base. Chef Raymond Cheung of Landmark Hot Pot House is one of the 8 who has achieved the title of the 2013 Chinese MasterChefs. The restaurant has also won numerous awards for being the "Best Hot Pot Restaurant" and for some of their signature dishes. 

We were at a table of 8 so we had two hot pot bowls. On my side, we decided to get two different soup bases: SiChuan Mala spicy (四州麻辣) and preserved eggs and parsley (皮蛋莞茜). This was convenient so that the spicy eaters and the non-spicy eaters were both happy. 

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My 2013 Earth Day Pledge + Free Starbucks & DavidsTea!

Our Earth is such a beautiful place that lets us breathe and live. We should really take care of it, protect it, and love it, so our future generations can enjoy what we're having. Ok, I won't try to sound smart or philosophical (because I ain't), but Earth Day is just around the corner - on April 22nd! 

Earth Day should not be the only day where recycle unwanted paper, pick up litter, bring reusable bags for groceries, or take transit. These should be incorporated into our lifestyles and become habits. Earth Day is a reminder for us to stop hurting our planet (or to a lesser extent). This year, I pledge to avoid buying products that are ridiculously or individually wrapped. I hope you'll all take an extra step and change one thing, such as carrying a mug so that less garbage is produced. Think about it - Starbucks is constantly packed with line-ups, how many cups from Starbucks alone, go into the garbage cans each day?

In fact, if you carry your mug around on Apr. 22nd, you can get rewarded with free Starbucks coffee or tea AND/OR DavidsTea!

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Creamy Avocado Almost-Pesto Pasta: Simple & Yummy

Creamy Avocado Almost-Pesto Pasta

I love pasta with creamy sauce. I'm constantly trying to make my meals healthier, nutritious, and of course, easier with less prep time, which means that the food would be ready in no time! Now, this dish has all three of those elements plus more (that being extremely satisfying and yummy).

Here's what you'll need (for two):

Pasta for two (any type will be great) - I used spaghetti

A clove of garlic

Avocado

Half a lemon

Basil leaves

Salt & pepper 

Here's what I did: 

1. Boil pasta in salt water. 

2. Dice garlic into very tiny pieces.

diced garlic

3. Mash Avocado with a fork. Mix in garlic, squeeze in lemon juice, and stir in some basil leaves, depending on how much you like. I put in about 2 tablespoons of basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper.

Creamy avocado sauce

4. Mix avocado sauce with drained pasta. Sprinkle on some lemon zest if you wish.

Enjoy!

This was absolutely guilt-free as avocado is a superfood and contain all the 18 essential amino acids, rich in omega-3, high content of good fats, and the list goes on! So why use cream when you can have creamy avocado pasta? 

Each person is different so tweak the amount of ingredients to your tongue's liking and make yourself happy! =) 

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Banana chocolate oatmeal

Steel oats take a much longer time to cook as compared to quick oats but it's worth it. I love the chewy texture that it brings to my bowl of oatmeal. After the steel oats are done cooking, I am at the point where I am quite hungry and I just want to be able to eat spoonfuls of it. So, I add some milk (from the fridge) at the end so my bowl of oatmeal will be at the perfect temperature to eat. Perfect way to cool down a bowl while making it creamier and yummier.

Banana chocolate oatmeal

Half cup of steel oats in over a cup of boiling water for 20 minutes. Add milk, bananas, and chocolate syrup.

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Banana Walnut Crumb Muffins [recipe]

 I love muffins, but muffins are definitely not my forte when it comes to baking. Mine has never turned out to be like the store-bought soft and moist muffins. However, I''m stubborn (and wanted a muffin) so I decided to give it a go again. 

Banana crumb muffins

I would say that these turned out relatively successful. They were soft and moist, and had a crumbly crunchy top. The inside of these muffins reminded me of banana bread and I'm still unable to tell the difference between them.

Here's what you'll need (for a dozen):

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• an egg
• 1/3 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil)

• 1.5 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

     Topping

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp softened butter
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Here's what I did:

1. Wet: Mash 3 ripe bananas, add in 1/4 cup of white sugar, 1 egg, and 1/3 cup grapeseed oil.

2. Dry: Mix together all the dry ingredients: 1.5 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract.

3. Topping: Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbsp softened butter, 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Mix thoroughly.

4. Pour the wet into the dry and fold them together. Don't over-mix. After buttering the muffin pan, carefully pour the batter into 12 muffin cups. If you're using muffin paper cups, skip the buttering.

Muffin batter, ready to go into the oven.

5. After the oven reaches 375°F, place the tray in the center of the oven and let it bake for ~5 minutes. Take it out and place toppings on to the half-baked muffins. 

Toppings on muffins, ready for the oven again

6. Place tray back into the oven for another 13-15 minutes (until golden brown). Sorry for the blurry picture as I wanted them back in the oven AFAP (as fast as possible).

Fresh out of the oven!

Sit back and enjoy your fresh muffins, perhaps with a cup of tea. They will still be soft and moist the next couple days too. 

Banana walnut crumb muffins with tea

Though I was pleased with this batch, I'm constantly looking for improvements/tips for better muffins. Here is what I think I'd do next time: 

- Add walnuts to the batter.

- Make bigger ones so they look more like muffins. 

I adapted this recipe from the one on allrecipes.com by Lisa Kreft. I made a few changes/additions to the recipe. My family and I don't like extreme sweet things, so a major change is omitting some sugar. Nevertheless, I thought the sweetness was at a perfect level. Be sure to go gentle on the sugar when you also have ripe bananas because those are your natural sugar source already!

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Green Goodness

Some of you may already know, green is my favourite colour. Besides green pens and green walls in my room, I also like the "smell of green". Let me elaborate. One time when I went camping, I woke up to the fresh smell of crispy green leaves and trees. I was surrounded by nature's colour - green. That was my kind of paradise.

I also love matcha, green tea, green veggies and best of all, green smoothies. They're great for breakfast, as a snack, after workouts, for your sweet tooth, or simply for you to enjoy on a sunny day, like today. I basically just pop whatever I have in the fridge into the blender, taste it, and then adjust accordingly. 

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Start off each morning with a smile

...Or a drooling smile.

Aunt Jemima's pancakes

I love pancakes. 

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Fruit Sandwich

According to Health Canada, we need ~8 servings of fruits per day. I find myself constantly struggling to include more fruits into my daily diet. I usually find myself too full after a meal to eat more fruits. So I thought, why not include them in my meal? Here is a fruit sandwich I made with what I had at home. 

Fruit sandwich

Banana, apple slices, avocado, and peanut butter on whole wheat bread. Great for breakfast or lunch! Yum :)

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Happy Valentine's Day

On transit today, I saw so many guys and girls holding flowers and roses, and my heart felt so warm. I still remember in elementary school where we would get the class list so that we don't miss anyone when writing valentine cards! Valentine's Day is such a great day for busy people to just take a moment to express their feelings for their loved ones. Or simply a perfect excuse to have your favourite dessert! Why stress over giving gifts when we do so on so many other occasions already? Plus, I think time is the most precious gift anyone can offer. So I hope you all had some time to spend with your loved ones!

Ok, on to where my heart is - food. Have I mentioned that I love breakfast food? Well, oatmeal is just one of my favourite things to have in the morning. I like my oatmeals simple, yet yummy (ie. getting to enjoy it without having to consume extra calories). Afterall, oatmeal is supposed to be healthy! I have really learned to savour the texture and taste of oatmeal the way it is. In other words, I've grown to love it the way it is. ;);)

steel cut oats x quick oats with blueberries

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Kirin Seafood Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家: my favourite dessert

When a baby turns one month old, it is a pretty big deal in my culture. They can finally be brought out to be formally introduced to extended family and relatives at a banquet celebration In one of my previous posts, I mentioned about my cousin's new baby and the celebration we already had, but today was a much larger one. 

I feel like Kirin Seafood Restaurant has been constantly winning awards these past few years. I've been here for both dim sum and dinner and they don't fail to impress me with their high-end customer service, seafood, and of course, prices. I've only come here with my family and when I eat out with my family, I struggle to take good pictures. I wonder if other food bloggers have faced troubles like this.  It's difficult to stop everyone from indulging into a dish when it is placed down just so I can take a picture and I hate to be a pain. Plus, my family is especially fast at getting the food and even serving it to each other. 

Kirin Seafood Restaurant

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Po Kong Vegetarian Restaurant 普光素食

My cousin gave birth to a baby boy last month and it hasn't been a full month yet, but we had a small dinner celebration. We will have a much bigger one (with more family members) in 3 weeks at Kirin Seafood Restaurant. According to the Lunar calendar, today is the first day of December and on the first day of each month, Taoists do not eat meat. I'm not Taoist, but my aunt follows some of their traditions so we went for a vegetarian restaurant today. 

When it comes to eating vegetarian in Vancouver, there aren't that many choices unless you count going to any restaurant and ordering a salad. Personally, eating a vegetarian meal to me means eating no meat, hence only veggies, fruits, beans, etc. I'm aware that some vegetarians may crave meat so some vegetarians have dishes that look and taste like meat, but are made from non-meat products such as tofu and beans. I mean, can you tell that the skewer dish below is actually "fake meat" or that the honey chicken isn't honey chicken?

no-meat skewers

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YSpa Beauty + Wellness Center

My friend and I bought a voucher for a full contour body wrap at YSpa, a beauty and wellness center. YSpa (1033 Cambie Street) is located in Yaletown just off Cambie Bridge. I was very excited as this was be my first time visiting a spa center (in Vancouver) and the concept of a body wrap was still fairly new to me.

As they knew that my friend and I came together, they organized us into the one room with two facial beds - very considerate of them. We got to choose from 4 different contour body wraps: hydrating, firming, slimming, detoxifying. I was told that the slimming body wrap is cold and since today was pretty chilly, I didn't feel like being wrapped in something cold. I ended up with the hydrating wrap.

We were then brought to a room so that we could prepare for the body wraps. They provided us with disposable panties and towels to cover ourselves.  Two girls came in and started the body wrap. They covered our entire body with facial mask-like thick material and then wrapped us in a plastic bag. After that, the towels came on to keep us warm. It was very comfortable and relaxing. They also did a foot/head/shoulder massage and it was amazing. Both of the girls were extremely friendly and fun to talk to. They did a good job! 

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