Admiralty Coffee Pop-Up – S14E02

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For a taste of Hong Kong, Morning Owl Coffeehouse + Parlour held a pop-up cafe by Admiralty Coffee on Saturday from 10am-3pm. 

The menu consisted of drinks from yinyeung (a mixture of coffee and tea), Hong Kong milk tea, and lemon cha. The food menu had congee and pineapple bun.

I ordered congee, HK milk tea and pineapple bun. There was a delay to the pineapple bun as I arrived pretty early to Morning Owl. The congee was pretty good and from what it looked, it had pieces of Chinese donut (youtiao) and other small toppings which I’m can’t describe. The congee was not very salty but due to not eating anything and having an unusual taste palate for Saturday morning, I didn’t mind the salty taste to start off.

The milk tea was also fine and I tried with no sweetener at first which had no sweet taste. I then added the sweetener and it had the sweet and creamy taste.

The pineapple bun came last as it took about 40 minutes to be made. When it arrived to my table, it was piping hot and tasted pretty good. I did not mind the long wait for the pineapple bun.

Overall, I had a good experience with Admiralty Coffee Pop-Up at Morning Owl. You can check the photos from below.

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Chinese New Year 2019, Year of the Pig – S14E01

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Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year, 2019 is year of the pig. It is the Earth Pig and it ends the 12 year cycle of the zodiac in the Chinese calendar. Next year will be the Metal element of the zodiac to the Chinese calendar.

The best of Chinese New Year is the lion dance. There were several events we took part in. There was one at Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada in downtown Ottawa.

We did a few schools and the students enjoyed seeing the lion dance performances.

The important events we did were at Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival (in its third year) and ending the celebration at T&T Supermarket.

Here are some photos posted below of the lion dance performances during the Chinese/Lunar New Year.
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Tried Out Lobster Noodle House – S13E12

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I joined up with members of The Chinese Canadian Collective to Lobster Noodle House for a small get together close to the Christmas holidays. Located on 947 Somerset St. W, across from Plant Recreation Centre. It’s convenient to those living in Ottawa Chinatown and around downtown.

It’s Vietnamese cuisine as the photo shown above. The reason for checking it out was to try the lobster pho. I rarely go to pho restaurants as there are a lot in Ottawa Chinatown. I had usually shared bowls with my brother. I’m no food critic but it was worth a try. You can see the photos of the lobster pho. It had corn, mussels, shrimp and the standard rice noodles with broth.

Overall, I had a good lobster pho, it was not salty and everything was just fine except with cracking open the lobster. It was great to see some of the CCC members before the year’s end. 

You can check the photos and Polaroid photos below. Happy Holidays to everyone!

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This Vinyl I Got in October – S13E11

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To those who know me for my like and interest in Cantopop music. I’ve been wanting to write about getting a vinyl purchase back in late August. It wasn’t until I got it in October due to shipment availability.

It’s rare for myself to buy music and vinyl in particular. The album I purchased is Beyond’s 1988 album, 祕密警察 (translated in English as Secret Police). I was eyeing this album for a long time because of two songs, 大地 (Earth) and 喜歡妳 (translated as either Like You or Loving You). The latter being my favourite song.

As we end 2018, it was fitting to get the album to celebrate 30 years since the release. The vinyl purchased was remastered by the famous Abbey Road Studios. I was hoping to get it around September but got it a month late but I wasn’t to complain. Purchasing Cantopop or international vinyl albums can be expensive because of import costs and other factors. It’s not accessible to the North American market.

I’m satisfied with this album because it’s one of those classics from Hong Kong.

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Area Resident and Jonathan Pearce at The Record Centre – S13E10

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At The Record Centre on Saturday afternoon, there was a live performance from Area Resident and Jonathan Pearce.

This live show was a special one because it was one of the live gig member’s final time with Area Resident. It was John Higney’s final time with Area Resident. Also joining Area Resident was Catriona Sturton as she provided the harmonica and vocals.

Echolette, the 3rd full length album was released in late October and you can check it out on Bandcamp.

Jonathan Pearce was the opener and he will be releasing a solo record in Spring 2019.

You view photos and Polaroid Originals photos below.

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Touring Parliament Hill’s Centre Block Before Renovations – S13E09

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I had the opportunity to join with Apt613 and other photographers on Saturday to Parliament Hill’s Centre Block. Apt613 planned a reserved tour to Centre Block as it is going to be closed for renovations. The closure will last about 10 years.

The last time I toured inside Centre Block was in 2002 for a Political Science 2nd year class. For this tour, House of Commons wasn’t opened to the public as it’s closed. What was opened was the Library of Parliament. When I went in 2002, it was closed for renovations .

Throughout the tour, we saw several sculptures and paintings throughout the building.

For this tour, I got to use the popular Sony a7 III camera as it was recently purchased. I only shot on a 35mm lens but was impressed with shooting the camera. You can view the photos from below.

Overall, I had a good time touring Centre Block before the closure for 10 years. January 25, 2019 will be when Parliament Hill closes for renovations.

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Apt613 Screening Party – S13E08

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Friday night at Arts Court, apt613 hosted a TV screening party. They were showcasing some new and innovative videos from their YouTube channel.

Apt613 recently added the video content to their website. Run by volunteers, the 613TV portion shows the dynamic and hidden fun parts of Ottawa. From food to breakdance, music and other activities, 613TV shows Ottawa’s uniqueness.

At the screening party, Scary Bear Soundtrack performed as they participated in the soon to be released Pod Jamz sessions. There were servings of meaty bites by MeatPress and free popcorn.

You can view the photos below.

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Collaborating and Using The Polaroid Originals OneStep+ – S13E07

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I had the opportunity to collaborate with Instagrammers to try out the Polaroid Originals OneStep+. It’s rare that I get to meet up and try to create a fun project.

The original plan was to shoot some Polaroids with the OneStep 2 camera and unbeknownst, Polaroid Originals released the OneStep+ in late August. It was good timing that we got to meet up and try out the new camera. I did use the camera while at the Polaris Music Prize Gala but didn’t use the Polaroid Originals smartphone app to use the creative tools.

I got to use the smartphone app this time around. The only tools I used were Manual Mode and Double Exposure. It was quite difficult focusing from the viewfinder and using the smartphone at the end. The end results were amazing. It will take time to slightly multitask holding the smartphone and camera.

With the OneStep+, I also brought along the OneStep 2 (version 1) and the SX-70 camera to finish up the remaining film as they were already and close to expiring. I also had the i-Type Color film on the OneStep+ as I wanted to finish the pack and use the Rose Gold Frame Edition Color i-Type Film. The Gold Frame photos from the SX-70 didn’t turn out because it was very bright outside.

We decided to shoot photos at Ottawa Art Gallery because of its unique space.

You can check out the Instagram users at Nhuelle and @axgela. It was great to meet up and bring some enthusiasm to shooting instant photos.

The Polaroid photos are posted below and posted on my Instagram.

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More Photos From The 2018 Polaris Music Prize Gala – S13E06

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At the 2018 Polaris Music Gala, aside from taken photos from the digital camera, I decided to bring 3 Polaroid cameras. It was quite an overkill using 4 cameras in one night.

I recently brought the Polaroid Originals OneStep+. The new camera was released in late August and it added Bluetooth for creative tools. I will go in-depth in a future blog post as I will be doing a collaboration with someone and try to use the tools using the Polaroid Originals smartphone app.

You will see Polaroids and a couple of food photos from the Polaris Gala. I took photos using the gold frame film from the SX-70, blue duochrome film from the OneStep 2 and the photos from the OneStep+.
The Polaroids will also be posted to Instagram.

The food was made by chef Chris Barrett at Oliver & Bonacini and was a courtesy from SOCAN. It consisted of fish tacos, grilled cheese sandwiches and meatballs.
You can view the photos below.

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The 2018 Polaris Music Prize Gala – S13E05

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The winner of the 2018 Polaris Music Prize went to Jeremy Dutcher for his album, Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa.

The classically trained operatic tenor and composer beat out nine Canadian albums from artists and bands for the $50,000 monetary reward.

Performances from the Gala had Dutcher, Weaves, Jean-Michel Blais, Hubert Lenoir, Deep Waters Band (of Girls Rock Camp) did a cover of Alvvays, Pierre Kwenders and Partners.

This year’s Gala went pretty long but the performances from the bands and musicians were all excellent.

It’s always a great time attending the gala and seeing friends and acquaintances. 

You can check the photos below. Be sure to check out the Polaroid photos from the Polaris Music Prize Gala on another post or on my Instagram.
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