Monthly Archives: April 2013

Il Giardino

It’s not the first place that comes to mind when dining, simply because of the price range (all dishes from $20-50), but it was a special occasion, so we tried out the restaurant.

Some people were in ‘normal’ attire, but most for dressed up formally for the high-end Italian restaurant. It wasn’t until my company mentioned that I was the only Asian there, and realized how true it was. Being in downtown, it was almost unheard of, going into a restaurant that had no Asians. However, that didn’t bother me, so on with the restaurant review.

We had a reservation, and the host took our coats and gave us a number so we can pick it up later when we’re done. We were escorted to our table. The place was dimly lit, but not super dark like some restaurants. Just the perfect ambient lighting. Candles on the table is always a nice touch. Wasn’t too impressed with the presentation of the menus. Yes, as a graphic designer, I expect to see some thought and effort into the menu, especially coming from a high-end expensive restaurant. 2 pages of printed out material was a bit of disappointment.

Our server had a heavy accent which made it hard for me to understand at times…but it was ok. He wasn’t very patient though…every time my company would start to say something, he was already gone which left my company annoyed.

For appetizer, I ordered the Antipasto Il Giardino-variety of classic Tuscan tastes, cured meats, grilled vegetables, mini caprese, bean salad and olives. I was quite pleased with this dish. The variety and light taste of everything was very delicious. I felt that I was eating at a fancy restaurant. Some of the flavour and texture were new to me, so it was surprisingly enjoyable. I’d like to try the dish the next time I go back.

For the main entree, I ordered the Cannelloni stuffed with Dungeness crab and spinach topped with a bechamel sauce. It was pretty good, though I think I was more impressed with the Antipasto.

The service was good, the table next to us was a bit drunk…too much wine? But other than that, I was very happy with the experience and food. The table we were sitting at had uneven legs, so it kept rocking every time we’d put our arms on the table. We asked the server to fix it, and it was quickly done. I’d like to go back to try other dishes one day. Again, the price is out of my range, so not a place I can go to every weekend!

idearabbit-ilgiardino
Out in the courtyard

Food Taste:
Price for Value:

Atmosphere:
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Location:

Vision Source FREE Eyeglasses with Eye Exam!

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Location:
2625 East 49th Avenue | Vancouver, BC | V5S 1KJ9
Tel: 604-435-3931

www.drrandhawa.ca

Hours:
Monday: 11:00-7:00
Tuesday: 9:00-5:00
Wednesday: 9:00-5:00
Thursday: 11:00-7:00
Friday: 9:00-5:00
Saturday: 9:00-5:00

As a full-time graphic designer, it’s nice to have places that are open after normal business hours and on Saturdays. Unfortunately, also because I’m a graphic designer, and spend most of the day in front of a computer, my eyes tend to deteriorate quicker.

Originally, I was looking for an optometry that offered Orthokeratology which is a non-surgical alternative to lasik surgery. I was getting tired of wearing glasses, and contacts were often irritating since I suffered from dry eyes. I came upon two optometry and sent both of them an email. The other one Mt. Pleasant Optometry was kind in replying in full detail for my questions which I really appreciated. I thought about going there, but it seemed that their schedule was going to conflict with my work. So even though they answered a lot of my questions and were closer to where I lived (in fact drove by it to and from work), I chose to go with Vision Source instead.

The main reason was that I was interested in their free glasses (complete with lens and frame) when you do a full eye exam for $85. I had asked the receptionist on the phone when I made the appointment if the $85 was for a FULL eye exam and she said yes. When I did the exam, it was not the full test that I had done at several other optometry. There wasn’t the colour-blind test, or the pressure test, or those drops that dilated your pupils so much you had to wear sunglasses for the rest of the day. However, I had done one of those complete one last year, so I thought it was ok.

I asked the girl that Dr. Randhawa had assigned to me to help find a pair of glasses for me. I asked what kind of glasses would go well with my facial type/features and she said we can just try them on to see. She suggested ones that totally didn’t look good on me, and she agreed. I went straight to ones that I felt would suite me, and they did. I ended up getting the ones that I knew from the very start – as soon as I saw the rack that those would probably be the ones.Since my prescriptions were high, Dr. Randhawa suggested I get the thinner lens which would cost $48. So $85+$48 would come to a total of $133.

Considering other places charged $120:

IRIS – where I had it the year before

Mt. Pleasant Optometry- stated in their email

Lenscrafters – don’t remember how much their’s was, but I always ended up buying glasses from them which were $300-$400

So I thought it was still cheaper than anywhere else. (although ClearlyContacts is pretty cheap…it just sucks that you can’t try them on to see how it looks on you)

The girl was suppose to measure something for my eye, but she didn’t seem to know how to work the machine. So the receptionist took over. The machine wasn’t turned on…though I don’t know how she got the measurements the first time. I wondered if my glasses were going to be ok. Is this what you get when you pay less? However, Dr. Randhawa did take the time to tell me some tips on how to keep my eyes from getting worse, or how to deal with my dry eyes, so I thought that was very helpful.

The glasses at Vision Source was going to take a week, but I wasn’t in a rush, so that was ok. When I go to pick them up, I will consult with Dr. Randhawa about Orthokeratology, so stay tuned for the update!

See my next visit to Vision Source here when I pick up the free glasses!

Pauline Fong-Leung Notary Public Review

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M7 – 601 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4C2
(604) 879-7812

www.pflnotary.com

I walked in. The receptionist was on the phone, so I didn’t expect to be greeted. I sat down on one of the waiting chairs. From the entry way, you could see three female staff all hovering over their computer, none of them cared to even say hello. It’s a small office, so it’s not like they’re far and can’t see me. I can see them drinking their coffee and eating over their keyboards. After about 5 minutes, the receptionist was finished with her call. She got up from her desk, and she saw me, but walked away. Umm…unfriendly I might say?

Afterward, one of the three staff came over and finally told me to wait at the separate waiting room with a table and chairs. The process with Pauline went very smoothly and she was quite friendly. However, we ran into some issues…I wished that they had told me what documents and information I would need when I got the phone call to come in for the appointment. Perhaps I should have done my research, but it’s not everyday that you sell a condo suite – and I don’t know much about legal and regulations that comes along with it – that’s why we pay lots of money for them to do it, right?

Anyways, in the end, the problem was resolved. They were patient to have it fixed.

As I walked out I asked the receptionist if there were any stamps so I could get the parking fee compensated. She coldly shook her head ‘no’. Well, for spending thousand of dollars, it kinda sucks that they can’t even give out free parking. I should have gone and bought something at another retailer/restaurant in the building to make the parking fee free, but I was sick that day…so I only wanted to go home asap. I figured $5 parking fee (for 1 hour) wasn’t too much to ask for after selling a condo.

My dad wasn’t happy with some of the other processes, so he called in later to complain.