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Archive for January 2013
♡ la petite cuillère .
I FULFILLED MY DREAM OF HAVING A TEA-PARTY. IT WAS LEGIT.
Now that I got that out on the table, I can move along... LOL
For a joint birthday thing, my God-sister and I went to have high tea. Its something that we talked about doing but had never actually done. Until my sister found out about this cute little place in East Van, had gone with a friend, and had told me about it.
People who know me know that I'm cheap. And I had always been hesitant to go to high tea because of 1) the price and 2) the "uppity-ness" of it. People who know me also know that I'm not exactly the girliest girl on the planet. I have chipped nails and I wear XXL flannel mens sweaters. And when I can, my feet rejoice in the glory of my sister's maroon Doc Martens.
But another thing about me is that I would rather have food over many other things. Example-- I really don't own any pairs of jeans. I just steal them off my sibling. We were shopping one day and there was jeans for sale for like, $5, and I decided to save that money for Qoola. Of course. Because food is a good enough reason. So I really don't have much hope of buying pants for awhile... lool.
La Petite Culliere is located in the charming neighbourhood of Mount Pleasant. To be quite honest, I did not even know that that neighbourhood was called such, and I'm a 20 minute bus-ride away ... Ah, this is the sound of me breaking the walls of my ignorance down.
No but seriously... LOL. Oh my goodness, focus. FOCUS.
After adventuring through their very lovely website (lapetitecuillere.ca) I found out that their price for high tea was dead cheap. To be quite honest, it wasn't only the price that drew me in. Being an appreciator of aesthetics, their website did it for me.
When you first enter it, you are struck by a beautiful logo, consisting of only an image of a teaspoon. It's circular, with lace edging the sides, and the text is this antiquated type script that reminds me of something I feel I might find on the tickets of those boarding the Titanic. It's beautiful. Below this, you see a picture of the view from the store as of 1908. And I love old Vancouver. And there it was.
When you first enter it, you are struck by a beautiful logo, consisting of only an image of a teaspoon. It's circular, with lace edging the sides, and the text is this antiquated type script that reminds me of something I feel I might find on the tickets of those boarding the Titanic. It's beautiful. Below this, you see a picture of the view from the store as of 1908. And I love old Vancouver. And there it was.
Enough about their gorgeous website though...
I went on the 19th and it was a very crisp, chilly but thankfully bright morning. My God-sister lead me to the place, and I was surprised to find that it was tucked into this place that I passed quite often with my family on trips, but never noticed. The feel that their location adds to the magic of their tea house in the way that it's not there unless you want to see it. There's something mysterious and lovely about it, I can't really put my finger on it. It just reminds me so much of things I'd read in fairy tales as a kid, and mangas as a teen.
I entered and was really just ... perplexed, in the most positive sense of the word. I could easily see how the place could look like any other restaurant if it was bare-walled, like Vietnamese Pho shop, or a bubble tea place.
However, this was not so. There was all this old, bulky, charming wood furniture that, at times, looked mismatched. Don't get me wrong though-- this was an all-good kind of mismatched. There was a cupboard filled with English bone china right by the door. There were several tables spread across the floor, all with plush seats accompanying them. The place was so homey. It felt like a thrift shop too somehow, but not like a Goodwill-- like a thrift shop you might step into if you lived in 1908. (Although I am unsure if they had that going on then, haha.)
The table set-up was weird but very cute. There were lovely table-cloths, gold lamps, and the sugar bowl really stuck out for me because it had sugar cubes in them. And I don't remember ever actually having access to sugar cubes before. (Weird.) There were also cactuses and cows! This pleased me to no end. Someone had just mentioned these cows in my advertising class and most of the class had no idea what the hell she was talking about. BUT NOW I KNOW.
This is the description of all the lovely wicked dainty things I ate with attempted daintiness:
A selection of two miniature sweets, two finger sandwiches, one miniature scone, fruit preserves, and Devonshire cream.
I ordered their "Darling Darjeeling," (SO CUTE,) for my choice of tea. It was so
good, I don't remember what it tasted like. Part of me thinks I'm also
just saying that just to go back. I'm actually straining my brain,
sitting here at the keyboard, trying to remember what it tastes like. I
CAN'T. IT'S LIKE TRYING TO REMEMBER A DREAM. ITS FADING. WAH. I should go refresh my memor... Heh heh ;D
I had no idea what Devonshire cream was and I was asking my God-sister all the time about what to use for what. Which is kind of nuts now that I think back because it was just a bunch of spoons and forks and cream and jam. Yep, that's what anxiety mixed with learning looks like LOL.
I won't tell you more details about what the minature sweets and finger sandwiches actually were because I really think people should just go find out themselves. I suppose that that's probably really contradictory for a foodie blogpost, but I actually do feel like I'm enough of an advocate of this place that I should let it continue to hold its mystery. All you need to know is that I enjoyed every bit and I thought that the price was quite reasonable, considering that similar foods that you would try to buy at other bakeries and shops would probably add up to the same price as what they were giving you here. Not to mention that I got a good three cups of tea out of that. Which was very surprising.
And you know, I'll give you a hint on the food with the following pictures LOL
In terms of service, there were two young women who took care of us. And they really did take care of us. They came back multiple times to ask if we were doing alright, and the frequency was good enough that it wasn't too spanned out and it wasn't ever annoying. I believe that the tea house is run by an Asian family, which makes me feel even more enthusiastic about their cause. There is something heart-warming about independent, local businesses, but it was cool to see that there was a family involved with this. I think I might've seen a little brother in the kitchen ^_^! I'm a big fan.
Another thing that I found cool was that they were Asian. I don't mean to be racist of course, but high tea is something I more associate with the English. Tea ceremonies and green teas are the Asian connection I make. It was really nice to see that cross-over, and to see something that was a little more unconventional, in my eyes at least.
Another quirky thing about La Petite Cuillère is that their servers were dressed the part. And one was kind of younger and awkward, so I felt really at home because I'm so very awkward too LOL AWKWARD PEOPLE UNITE.
All in all, I think La Petite Culliere is a place I will be revisiting in my future, frequently. Everyone who is into tea should give it a try. I can't wait until the next time I go =)
Here are my ratings !
FOOD ♥♥♥♥♡ | SERVICE ♥♥♥♥♥
VALUE ♥♥♥♥♡ | AMBIANCE ♥♥♥♥♥
VALUE ♥♥♥♥♡ | AMBIANCE ♥♥♥♥♥
Now, to stop dreaming about Darling Darjeeling and to get on that homework... Drat = |
- Jen
--
Nine Years Old & Empty
I'm not sure what the title means, apart from me starting piano at nine.
Anyways, I decided to ditch homework and get something I feel has been wanting to be completed for a long while-- a piano cover. I was appalled to find that I started on this song in February of 2012. I thought it was only six months since I started, but no, its been almost a year.
It occured to me awhile ago, but I've only started to take it seriously recently-- that our lives are basically, eventually, defined by what we leave behind. The ash after the embers have gone out. It sounds kind of odd, maybe grim when I phrase it like that, as if I'm preparing for my death or something, but no. No, I just mean that only from working on yourself will you start to become your own David.
So I started working. And one of the things I've wanted to improve upon is my ability to consistently practice the piano.
And yeah, instead of sitting my butt down and doing homework, I opted to
do about 40 takes (on top of the 30 takes I took last week) to finally
get this bit out of my system.
Here it is. I hope you enjoy it.
xx jen
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Liar.
I have had the fortune of being published in a lovely poetry and short fiction anthology at my University called "THE LIAR." I was thrilled to find some people wanting to read it so below are the two of my poems that have been published. Thank you for your interest and your love~
- jen
***
true
love
soft spoken and soft bodied
with a will of solid gold
she drew me fancy lines
telling me of romantic worlds and
a life of billed greens and greener grass
turns out all she was was green
i left this place seeking
a calmer love and an earned dollar,
less lipstick marks on collars of my
soft white dress shirts
less flashing lights and high percentage drinks
so
asleep, shirtless, on a summer evening
i had found myself in a beautiful place
but this time, a place self-earned.
my truest love lay besides me, and
the stars were tired, fading out, giving in to morning.
that was when i heard a 'click'
i guess i shouldn't have been surprised to see her there
still greener than the money that filled her empty life.
but there was something else, a colour i'd never noticed before
red
somehow, i could it see it on her hands,
but worse—
i
could see it in her eyes.soft spoken and soft bodied
with a will of solid gold
she drew me fancy lines
telling me of romantic worlds and
a life of billed greens and greener grass
turns out all she was was green
i left this place seeking
a calmer love and an earned dollar,
less lipstick marks on collars of my
soft white dress shirts
less flashing lights and high percentage drinks
so
asleep, shirtless, on a summer evening
i had found myself in a beautiful place
but this time, a place self-earned.
my truest love lay besides me, and
the stars were tired, fading out, giving in to morning.
that was when i heard a 'click'
i guess i shouldn't have been surprised to see her there
still greener than the money that filled her empty life.
but there was something else, a colour i'd never noticed before
red
somehow, i could it see it on her hands,
but worse—
***
over you
i’m running my mouth
on the gasoline that you’ve filled me with,
lighting a fire
on a star-shined road.
your flesh is warm
and i would expect so
but your heart is cold
and with your eyes of stone,
i wonder.
i wonder about the stars
and how god can dim their brightness
or
let them burn spots into your eyes.
i’d like that, over you.
you hold the key
and i’m waiting to be unlocked.
pray me well,
because i’ll always wait.
on the gasoline that you’ve filled me with,
lighting a fire
on a star-shined road.
your flesh is warm
and i would expect so
but your heart is cold
and with your eyes of stone,
i wonder.
i wonder about the stars
and how god can dim their brightness
or
let them burn spots into your eyes.
i’d like that, over you.
you hold the key
and i’m waiting to be unlocked.
pray me well,
because i’ll always wait.
