As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Food Testing and Tasting in Canada... Vacation Recap Continued

I was eager to venture back to Canada to see my much missed and much adored friends and family but bringing someone else along for the trip (Snickers) brought the trip to a whole new level. A bit part of the excitement of this trip had to do with introducing Snickers to new things, new people, and new places. I really wanted him to get a feel for Canada, so it was particularly fun getting him to taste test various foods.

I wasn't sure to how he'd take to Canada foods though. Snickers is true to Korean roots in that he doesn't eat much food that's not Korean but he does eat his weight in it. "You've got an expensive husband!" one of my friends in Canada joked to me and it's true. Surprisingly enough, despite him having a very limited amount of Korean to him, he did manage to put on a bit of weight while in Canada and my family saw first hand just how much this guy can wolf down.

We thought it fun to bring some Korean food to Canada to introduce to my family and friends. On one particular evening, my family and us sat down to taste test the various goodies. For the most part my family needed some explaining to as to what was before their eyes.

Bobby-B seemed to like the Korean foods the most. As for my mom however, she commented "I think I'd starve to death in Korea". She wasn't a fan... hahaha.

Once our little introduction to Korean foods was done with my family, it was time for Snickers to start his twenty-day Canadian food testing tour... hahaha.

In between screaming our heads off on the rollercoasters and splashing around in the water at Canada's Wonderland, he got his first taste of funnel cake.

It was rather larger than I remembered so I just HAD to help him out with it... hahaha.

He then tasted his first Toronto lakeshore BBQ burger at my favourite beachside hangout.

He definitely had his fare share of BBQ foods but his favourite by far was the filet mignon my parents cooked up in the backyard for him!!!


We attended the Hot & Spicy Festival at the haborfront in Toronto, where we tasted some Malaysian and Carribean foods.

About halfway through our trip he was itching for some Korean food, so I took him to Little Korea in Toronto where we stocked up on Korean groceries.

In Niagra Falls we had a cute little double-date picnic with my parents and he tasted first hand what a Canadian picnic consists of... cut veggies and no gas grill like Korean picnics.

In Roncesvalles (Little Poland), my parents and I had fun introducing him to some good old Polish foods. He had some Polish perogies, Polish sausage, and then we finished off lunch with some old fashion Polish style donuts.

And of course, we just had to take him to one of my family's favourite restaurants... good old Teddy's Restaurant in Oshawa.

During our little weekend camping trip with some of my former coworkers from back in the day, Snickers had some campfire firsts. I introduced him to the wonderful world of marshmellows and then we both enjoyed a fire-cooked blueberry pie .

My friend's husband insisted he try cooking up a hotdog on the fire. I'm not for fake meat so I was a no-go on the hotdog but Snickers seemed to enjoy it.

Snickers tried a whole whack of new foods but a trip to Canada wouldn't quite be complete without a Timmies; a coffee from Tim Horton's coffee shop. He loved the iced caps but I think his favourite was the English toffee coffee.
I'm happy to note that Snickers and I both share a common love for coffee; it's a part of our daily routine. Mid-day coffee breaks are a must-do in our house, consequently we must have about a million and one different coffees... no Timmies though.
QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What food is a must-try to you?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
There is no love sincerer than the love of food.
-- George Bernard Shaw

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haha - loved the picture of Korean Snickers with very Canadian Tims!! Besides the food, did he enjoy Canada overall?
-Kate

권투선수 에이미 [Amy] said...

Hi Kate,
Yes,... for sure he loved Canada!!! He had a great time though it was a bit of an overload with all the English but he misses Canada, especially my parents. I should note though that although he did like the food, he missed his Korean food... hahaha.