Springtime in Rouge Park

During the gorgeous weather we had for Easter weekend, I headed over to Rouge Park for a walk. Seems like this blog becomes a Food & Rouge Park blog instead of a Scarborough one.

Upon entering the Cedar Trail you are greeted by a bunch of garbage. Better in the bin than on the ground, I guess.

Trees of the cedar variety!

We found sticks and threw them in the river. It doesn't take much to make Harper go in the water.

Dandy Lions: A Sign of Spring!

I quite like this picture! Harper is in the distance chasing sticks again.

Such gorgeous weather!

Harper does this really silly thing on the river bank. If you throw a rock in, he'll spend over ten minutes searching for it. Obviously all rocks seem the same to him underwater, but he'll start pawing at one and even put his whole face underwater, trying to bite it. So funny!

We climbed up this big hill and found a farm! Not sure where this is...

And back down the hill and leaving the park, we found evidence of a beaver?

What did you do on that gorgeous four-day weekend?

Poutine from Costco

Mmm... poutine.

So delicious.

so into cupcakes @ Markham and Ellesmere

On a rainy and cold (odd for) February night, my family and I were "celebrating" my sister's moving out. Saying "celebrating" is similar to clicking "like" on someone's Facebook status--there are two meanings: 1. I like what you said; 2. I acknowledge it. I suppose our "celebration" was a combination of both, with an emphasis on the latter.

She's my sister! Of course I'm sad! An era is complete. But then again I'm happy we're growing up and doing grown up things like becoming engaged and moving out of the family home.

And happiness = cupcakes so here you are!

Six delicious cupcakes from So Into Cupcakes at Markham and Ellesmere. I carried these guys through icy slush, during freezing rain, on two different buses, to present at the "celebration." It was worth it! 

I feel like the plaza at Markham and Ellesmere is my new favourite Scarborough place to frequent with friends. There is Tangerine & Coffee Culture, Popeyes, a pizza place, a halal burger place, an Indian place, and So Into Cupcakes.

And while these cupcakes are not the best you've ever eaten, they are well worth the trip and are scrumptious (not sure I've ever used that word before; reminds me of crumpets for some reason)!

Pictured are two S'more cupcakes, one rocky road, two salted caramel, and one lemon.

I am not entirely sure why this photo is upside-down but I am too lazy to fix it (took me over a month and a half to write this blog entry and I'm still too lazy)!

This s'more cupcake was absolutely fantastic. As I said before it wasn't the best cupcake I've had; it wasn't melt in your mouth yummy; it wasn't like my taste buds died and went to heaven. BUT, it was really, really, really good.

The cupcake had a rich moist chocolate base, with a smooth, sweet, slightly sticky meringue (marshmallow) on top. A graham cracker sealed the deal on the side. Mmm...

For $2.50 each, the cupcakes are priced well (for gourmet in Scarborough) and I would buy some another time, no questions asked.

So... Good!

Cupcake container, here is your time to shine!

Yes, I would recommend! *** and a half / ****.

During Snowier Days

Happy Family Day!

Seems like everyone had the same idea as my family and me--the Toronto Zoo on Family Day. Keep in mind that this was only 10 minutes to 10 o'clock this morning. O_o Imagine how much worse it became later on...

Although it was busy, we had a great day at the zoo!

Spiciness @ Hot Party Restaurant

I recently discovered that my new (circa August, 2011) phone was slowly running out of memory. So, I started taking an inventory of all the *stuff* I've added to my phone over the past six months. Yes, I deleted Bakery Story and Restaurant Story, but I also deleted a ton of pictures.

I was merrily deleting when I discovered some spicy pictures! They're from the summer and are perhaps not as scandalous as you were thinking, but just as spicy. The captions are completely from memory, and so please forgive me if they are not at all accurate.

"Chinese Burger"	Mapo Tofu! Delicious!
Cucumber & tofu salad? An  excellent reprieve!	Honestly, I can't recall. Chicken  & peanuts, perhaps?
Some sort of spicy meat?	Another sort of spicy meat?

Spicy fish!

In the nicest way possible, this restaurant brought me right back to China. I questioned how tidy the dining area was, how sanitary the kitchen was, and how clean the tables were, but I ate anyways and enjoyed the experience.

Many people I speak to talk about liking spicy food say they like eating hot foods just not the kind that burn lips without added flavour. Dinner at Hot Party Restaurant almost guarantees spicy food give your spice tolerance a run for its money. I'm not trying to say that the food isn't tasty, just that it definitely falls into the category of burn your face off. Every dish is chock full of chili peppers!

I feel like a bad food blogger for giving this restaurant a rating having visited so long ago; so, I won't. Perhaps when the weather's warmer, I'll have to visit again. However, it is in the same Midland and Finch plaza as Szechuan Legend so who knows?

Sprinkle Donut from Country Style @ Markham & Lawrence

Mmm... Sprinkle donut. 

FYI: Country Style has WiFi but I couldn't find any plugs for my computer.

Not a "Hasty Market" Market

Literally whited-out the "Hasty." ...And not even in yellow.

fishy, fishy, fishy

Doesn't this garbage rather resemble a fishy?