Monthly Archives: November 2013

ABC Country Restaurant 158th Street – CLOSED

ABC Country Restaurant on UrbanspoonMy co-worker and I were in the neighbourhood on a project and decided to dine at ABC Country restaurant. As soon as we we walked in, it felt different from the Vancouver atmosphere. I’m not sure if it’s because of the location…or it was just a gloomier atmosphere. It air and interior felt like I was back in a restaurant in Calgary (not that I’m saying it’s a bad thing). My co-worker also spent some time in Calgary as well, so he knew the feeling too.

I’m not sure why I ordered something so boring. Maybe it was the prices that deterred usand we weren’t all that hungry so we both ordered the Two Eggs any style. I had the eggs poached and  with diced hash browns and fluffy pancakes. For what it was, how it was presented, and the quality of the food, it was overpriced even though we had chosen one of the cheapest dishes.

idearabbit-abccountry

It wasn’t too appetizing and it felt like it should be those cheap morning breakfast on the corner for $3.99 or something.

I thought we’d never come back, and sure enough, it closed down. Two others have closed down and the ones which are still running have really terrible ratings. ABC better change, or they’ll be completely out of business very soon.

They do however, have a very cool website.
http://www.abccountry.ca/

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Intro to Self-Publishing – Publishers Panel at Central Public Library

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I’ve been interested in writing since I was in junior high school, even though my grammar and vocabulary isn’t that great. I’ve always wanted to write a novel based on my grandmother’s life during WWII. I have another one which is already in the works. But with no educational background in writing, I have been searching for some night time classes I could take to improve my writing. Unfortunately, I was sick off and on this fall, and missed the courses. Other classes held at other locations were cancelled due to insufficient enrollment. I hope I will be able to enroll one in the spring.

I’m always keen to learn more about the industry. Writing doesn’t just mean you write and sell it. There are many things to consider from whether you are going to self-publish or go with a traditional publisher. Are you going to get your book printed or distributed as a ebook, or both? How do I find an editor? What’s a book coach? Where do I get my cover design done? And so on…

So I was really excited to see that a free event was happening at the Central Library on self publishing on Nov 16, 2013. Several professional self-publishers shared  knowledge, tips and  experiences of self-publishing within the book industry.

The panel included:

  • Brad Stokes and Matt Begg, Publishing Consultants from FriesenPress
  • Michelle A. Demers, Writer, Editor and Independent Publishing Consultant
  • Jo Blackmore, Publisher from Granville Island Publishing
  • Patty Osborne of Vancouver Desktop Publishing Centre
  • Naomi Pauls, Writer, Editor and Independent Publishing Consultant
  • Carol Sill, Personal Book Coach from Alpha Glyph Publications
  • Kathrin Lake, Executive Director of Vancouver School of Writing

I learned quite a lot. I’m so glad I went. I also took my friend who was just starting to take introductory courses to become an editor, so I think she was happy she tagged along too.

I had just taken Kathrin’s one evening workshop on ebook a few days before, so I already knew her. She remembered me too. It’s good to make connections if you’re interested in entering an industry different from your own. You can learn a lot from the experts. Her ebook session, as well as her presentation at the library was very motivational for me.

Kathrin Lake website

Michelle A. Demers seemed to be very informative and detail-oriented. She caught my attention when she mentioned about authors needing to know about copyrights trademarks, laws and the proper way of setting up a book.

Once the discussions were done and the speakers went back to their own booths that were set up throughout the room, I approached her to see if she had the ‘The Global indie Author’ book that contained all the information that she had mentioned earlier. She didn’t have any more copies, but she was very nice in telling me that the library did carry them. My friend and I thought it was very generous of her to offer the book for ‘free’ when she could have made another sale to me by saying I could order it from Amazon or something.

Since the presentation was at the library, it was convenient to borrow the book. I’ve since started reading it and have learned a lot. The book is great! A must have for any author. It’s packed with a  wealth of information, and although you may find the information online or in other books, this book contains it all in one.

It’s so good I’m thinking of getting an ebook version, though without a tablet, it will have to be read on a computer which isn’t too convenient. (yes I know, as a wanna-be writer I can’t believe I am still without a tablet! It will be my Xmas gift to myself this year though LOL)

She writes it in a tone where it’s like she’s directly talking to you without sounding like a textbook, so it’s not boring. She keeps you engaged and interested, and I find myself reading quickly through like novel.

Michelle. A. Demers website

There is an Introduction to Self-Publishing: Author Panel taking place on Dec 7 at the Central Library. Check their website for more info.

Applause Japanese Restaurant

Applause Japanese Restaurant 讚和食料理 on UrbanspoonMy company was told by a someone he chatted up with on the Grouse Grind. She told him to check out Applause as she thought it was a really good sushi-ya. So we thought we’d try it out on a Friday evening around 7pm.

The restaurant is a decent sized space, sectioned off with white IKEA curtains (which I have in my living room! lol). My German company was bothered by the huge tags still left on all the curtains which had all the info in like 20 different languages. Bothered so much, he told one of the servers to cut it off. LOL. I dunno if cutting the tags would help. I didn’t like the curtains (at least in the restaurant as a separator) at all. It made the place seem cheap or unprofessional. Surprisingly, although the German company always complained of architectural structures (mostly that it’s not built right or poorly constructed), he liked the place. I thought otherwise. It seemed like a cheaply made interior. Nothing to wow about – nothing to praise anyways. My Chinese friend also liked the place…so I guess I’m the odd one out on this one.idearabbit_applause1

Like many restaurants in Japan, a server isn’t really assigned to a table. Since there are no tips in Japan, everyone serves whenever they can to help the customer. So we had several servers come by to take orders, bring food, refill our tea cups and to do the bill. Most of them were friendly, though one was a bit stricter.

The plates were coloured with flower patterns. When they brought out the tea, the female got a red or pink tea cup, while the male customers got a blue one. Interesting.

I ordered 2 salmon nigiri (sockeye salmon) $1.75 each, negitoro roll $3.50 and corn cream croquette $5.25. The salmon nigiri was really good. The salmon seem to almost melt in my mouth and the portion of the rice was just right. The negitoro was really good too. The croquette was surprisingly excellent. Really hot, super crispy on the outside while soft and creamy in the inside. My Chinese friend said it was really good too.idearabbit_applause2

idearabbit_applause4Assorted Sushi Plate $11.50

idearabbit_applause5Negitoro, 2 sockeye salmon nigiri and masago

idearabbit_applause3Corn cream croquette $5.25

I wouldn’t say the interior is great as the other two seem to praise it. However, I thought the food was really good. I definitely recommend this restaurant and we’re planning to go back for lunch with a bigger group.

Second Time for Lunch
For the second time, we went as a big group of 10 people for lunch. We had made reservations a week in advanced, so we didn’t have much waiting time, like the others who were waiting to be seated.
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Sheepie was very impressed when he saw that all the ugly big tags were cut from the dividing curtains which he had complained to the restaurants about the last time we were there. Yay~! They actually listened to their customers! Well, it might be a small thing, but it looks much nicer with out them.

They had the lunch menu, so I took advantage of the offers. I ordered the California Sushi Combo $8.95 which included a miso soup, salad, vegetable croquette, tuna/salmon/tai nigiri and 6 piece California roll. I was super happy about the great bargain. All that under $9! Awesome! The entire set was really good. Good quality, good taste, good service = happy customer. I wish it was closer to home…then I could go there more often.idearabbit_applause6idearabbit_applause7Authentic tasting miso soup. Excellent!idearabbit_applause8Like many Japanese restaurants, they close between the lunch and dinner hours, so we left at 3pm when they closed down. If you are thinking of taking a group, reserve early and they have a limit of 10 people. Also, they ask that everyone is on time, as they fill up very quickly with waits on the weekends at lunch.

Another dish at another time:

Shrimp Gyoza $6.95 I thought that this gyoza was going to be ground up gyoza – like how you would have it in the shumai. But to my pleasant surprise, one gyoza had one whole plumpy and juicy shrimp in tacked, with the tail sticking out of the wrap. It was delicious – I highly recommend it if you like shrimp and gyoza!

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Tuna Tar Tar was on their special menu board $5?. Visually, it was very nice, however the tower was drowning in salty soy sauce/ponzu. I wanted to drain all the sauce. Then it would have been perfect. But it was hard for me to eat through…

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Back Again

Sheepie and I were both disappointed in our last visit to Applause.
Some notes taken:

  • our server wasn’t really friendly. She didn’t smile or anything.
  • my sushi came on the wooden board that was all wet… gross…
  • sushi rolls were a little bit sloppy
  • no flavour in nori (seaweed) or the green onions in my Negitoro
  • Sheepie said his fish was bland and rubbery
  • watching the chef in front of us make more sloppy rolls wasn’t all that inspiring
  • they made a mistake and served my Masago Nigiri on Sheepie’s plate
  • no ‘Irasshaimase’ (welcome) or ‘Arigatougozaimashita’ (thank you) shouts
  • service was prompt
  • restaurant was still kept clean

idearabbit-applause30Perhaps it was just a bad visit, but if this is what Applause has become, we wont be returning and will be taken off our ‘good sushi-ya to-go-to’ list. I kept the carrot rating the same for now…

 Taste: carrotcarrotcarrotcarrot    Price for Value: carrotcarrotcarrot

Atmosphere: carrotcarrotcarrot    Service: carrotcarrotcarrot
Location: carrotcarrotcarrot