nykeiko travels: Good ol' Quebec city

Back in July, Dave and I drove up to Montreal to visit friends and family. There, we introduced S to everyone and took millions of pictures. I was afraid visiting so many people would take a toll on us but we managed fine day by day and S was such a trooper. In the middle of it all, we planned a little getaway to Québec city with my sister. Only a 3 hour drive from Montreal and spending three days there seem more than enough to enjoy the city. We would eat and play as we pleased. I haven't been back to Québec city since my collegiate days so it's really nice to go back to revisit it as an "adult". We did everything minus all the tourist spots. Well, we meant to be tourists but other things got in the way like rain and hunger. We did spend a day in Île d'Orléans (a short drive from Québec city) which I have never visited before. We also visited the "hip" areas of Québec city that only Dave could find.

nykeiko shops: My new m0851 bag!

Okay, so I am always saying I do not need a new bag but somehow, I always end up with a new bag. Well, this one is courtesy of my sister who shopped the m0851 sample sale for me in Montréal earlier this month. The Weekend bag retails for $530 USD but we got it for $180 USD ($220 CDN) because of the amAzing current exchange rate! My sister picked up a smaller version of the bag in a red/cherry color for $200 CDN (I think the bigger bag is a better deal ;)

nykeiko travels and eats: A trip to Montreal does my body good...

A trip to Montreal does my body good (Or bad? Because the result of eating large poutines, cakes, multiple bagels, popping cheese curds straight up ...) We drove up with a couple of friends (another couple!) and met up with a friend who flew in from Boston and spent a long weekend in Montreal. We spent 4 days and 3 nights in a super large house in the heart of the Plateau that Dave found for a super good deal. It was $200 per night for the entire house which has four bedrooms, two full bathrooms, two living rooms, a solarium, garden, huge kitchen- basically two houses that merged into one big unit. I very much enjoyed going up and down the stairs.

Our first meal was at Maison Publique. Always a pleasure for a tasty homey meal. Since it's the first time to Montreal for two of our friends, we did some sightseeing. Top of Mont Royal was one stop and Old Montreal was another. We then visited Fairmount Bagel,  St-Viateur bagel (and a St-Viateur Bagel et Café), Poutine La Banquise, Schwartz's deli, Café Olimpico, Marché Jean-Talon...and other well-established foodie haven. Eating was on our itinerary for sure...

nykeiko eats: My short culinary journey in Montreal for the holidays... [What to eatin Montreal]

I'm back to New York!

Home sweet home

I wanted to write about everything I did in Montreal last week for the holidays but really, I just want to show you everything I put in my mouth and into my tummy. I guess all I did in Montreal was eat! There could be more pictures with this post except I was trying this new thing where I would NOT be taking pictures of food anymore. Because of that, I am missing pictures of some meals which is cool until I decided that I wanted to write about it. When we started going to these fantastic restaurants, I just couldn't put my phone away. So brace yourselves, here are all the food pictures I did end up taking which you may have seen on my instagram if you follow me!

Godamn there are some really excellent restaurants in Montreal! I already knew that...

Je parle francais...

I am in Montreal right now for the holidays. I'm staying for about 6 days which is the longest I have ever stayed since moving away in 2008. I have been back numerous times but usually for a long weekend or so.

So I have been back now for 3 days and enjoying eating, sleeping in, eating and watching tons of movies on demand on TV! It's great. I'm feeling nice and relaxed. I already met up with a couple of old friends however, since everyone's busy during the holidays, it hasn't been easy meeting up. It doesn't help that I don't have a car neither and it is below freezing outside.

At home, I have my sister's pets to keep me company. My favorite is still the white cat but the little doggie has been following me everywhere as well as keeping me company at night.

As always, being back in Montreal is always a good reminder how decrepid my french has become. I should stick with English but it would be so sad to lose my second language... 

Bachelorette

Sneak peek of part 2 of my bachelorette party pictures .... I still haven't seen all the 400 pictures taken that day but a few were shared with me.

Here's me and my fabulous sister who organized everything. Her and L.B. did some research to think of a concept and look for a photoshoot in the park.

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A weekend in le city of Montreal...

My sister's sexy Poofy cat

We spent our long weekend in Montreal and it was quite satisfying. For me anyway since Dave did ALL the driving and we were also accompanied by his dad and uncle who wanted to visit some family so Dave pouted that it was all about us and not him :(  Our time spent in Montreal was short but sweet. Spending most of Sunday indoors protected from the cold in my sister's apartment just felt so right. I always try to squeeze in so many activities during our trips which ends up being fun but so exhausting. This time, I took it relaxed and enjoyed all of it. I even got to watch the Beyoncé's documentary which I wouldn't have done back in NY since we do not own a TV!

Highlights of my trip:

First and foremost, I got my work permit renewed so mission (of my trip) accomplished. We left New York on Saturday morning. By noon, we crossed the border into Canada and then back into the US to apply for my visa and back into Canada again to finally head towards Montreal.
I stayed with my sister's as always, where two cats and a dog entertained me all day and night. The white long haired Persian is my sister's first cat and his name is Poofy. He's so pretty as you can see in the pictures I took on Instagram. He also likes to chase David and play bite him. In one of the pictures, you can see Poofy waiting for Dave to open the door so he can continue playing with him. On Sunday, after brunch at Evoo, I showed my sister and B how I make caramel popcorn and we ate that while I flipped through bridal magazines and talked about...weddings!
We left early Monday morning and bought some food for the trip home. I picked up a Foumagerie salad which I looooove and also stopped by Chinatown to get some of my favorite Vietnamese sandwiches. I also went to IGA to get some Ketchup chips and a bag of Fairmount bagels. The only thing I didn't eat this time was poutine! On our way back to New York, we stopped by Schroon Lake and Dave was so happy to be walking on the icey lake.

Peekaboo

Waiting to play

Poofy cannodling me

Evoo's 'The Full Irish' dish

Caramel popcorn

Schroon Lake

Foumagerie salad from Westmount for our road trip meal

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nykeiko wears: Montreal [Mackage]

Dress: Mackage!
Clutch: Jason Wu!.. for Target :) Leftovers are here or on ebay.
Earrings: A and L Jewelry (Discontinued Montreal brand)
Shoes: I bought these heels more than a year ago in Taiwan from some Korean brand. They are gray leather and has metallic mesh cap toe! Did you see some metallic cap toe shoes currently trending? See?

Still not good at posing too long for pictures

This is what I wore to summer wedding #2 which was held in beautiful Montreal and wearing a Montreal-based brand was the right thing to do! My dress is made in Shanghai however but that's okay because it is one of Montreal's sister cities since 1985. How did I know that you ask? I learned it when I was interviewing for a job at the Shanghai Expo back in 2010. Random.

I love the fit of a Mackage dress. I own two now and both fit me like a glove. I cannot lose or gain any weight if I want to wear this again and again!

H


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I am currently on vacation....

Biodome de Montreal

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Happiness is food, friends, family, lover, laughter, fun all combined. [Short trip to Montreal]

Happiness is...

Homemade food by Q's daddy and mommy.

Homemade pho!

Delicious quails

Staying at my sister's place with her very own petting zoo:

Sister's petting zoo. Meet Pewok, Pekoe and Poofy.

Doing my own nails and not messing it up too badly:

Ta-da! Chanel inspired nails! (Sally Hansen's Celeb City and OPI's exclusive red for InStyle)

Showing it to Pekoe for approval

Having the most delicious of meals with good friends at Le Club Chasse et Peche:

tuna two ways, truffle, maitake, quail eggs (18)


mushroom tart, aged cheddar, arugula (18)


seared scallops, fennel purée, lemon confit (16)


braised piglet risotto, foie gras shaving (16)

The main courses:

filet de veau, crevettes, cannelloni, tomate (37)


veal filet, shrimps, cannelloni, tomato (37)

Gaspé char, gnocchi, nameko, chorizo (34)


The hot and solid of the night: Lamb racks

Side veggies

A nice stroll down in the Old Port after a wonderful fireworks show from France.

Playing hide and seek with Poofy.

Going to Jean Talon market for great local produce. Although the sweet and delicious grapefruits I bought were from South Africa.

Herbs heaven

Attending old friend's wedding with a candy bar during cocktail hours.

Jo Malone cologne samples in the ladies and men's room:




Seeing two love unite forever. Priceless.

Seeing friends at the wedding that I have not seen in almost 10 years = fun!

Taking a well-deserved rest on a warm, fluffy kitty pillow...before it ran away.

How to treat a Montreal St Viateur bagel right

Smoked salmon, cream cheese on a Montreal bagel! I had this after yoga, what a treat!

Whenever my sister rolls into town, she'll bring us some St Viateur bagels. Now, I won't start a debate on whether Montreal or New York bagels taste better because it's been done before. Google it. It all comes down to personal preference and I prefer Montreal bagels and there's no doubt about it! I have tried NY's famous HH bagels. One of the founder's granddaughter who volunteered at the lab last summer brought us two dozen bagels with multiple flavors of cream cheese for us to try. It was good but I did not love it.

D enjoys savoring the taste of a St Viateur bagel and eats them plain while I like to decorate mine with some garnishing to make every bite even more delicious. Usually at home, I'll prepare it with an egg since it's the most simple thing to do. My favorite way to eat a bagel is smeared with regular cream cheese and topped with smoked salmon, red onions and capers. That's 3 ingredients out of 4 we don't usually have at home. While I enjoyed my delicious smoked salmon bagel sandwich at home, Dave still ate his bagel plain but only had some cream cheese so it wouldn't go to waste as it was expiring. Sighs.

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