Rita "Rita Bobita Banana Fana Fo Fita" C.'s Profile

Sookjai's my boyfriend's favourite thai place in Victoria, and I make it a habit every now and then to surprise him at home with some takeout from here. They're always fast with friendly and efficient service-- even at busy times, I can get delicious food from here within 15 minutes to go. The decor is authentically thai and lovely, and the atmosphere's accordingly pleasant.

Here's a caveat about my review though: since my boyfriend's a vegetarian, I've only ever had the veggie dishes here. But what I have had has been wonderful, and I especially love the red curry with bamboo shoots and peppers ($13, I believe)-- the veggie version has yummy tofu, but there's a version with chicken if you'd like some meat. Portions are large, and it's a great value for your money. They've a full bar, with beer on tap. I have no idea how they fit so much goodness into this small place.

Oh, and as Christine C., says, the coconut rice is delicious!

All of my friends love the Noodle Box. Personally, I don't know what they're raving about. The interior is very cute, but it's quite small-- you shouldn't expect to get any seats unless you show up early. Since it's very popular, expect to wait a while to order and for your order. The staff is friendly, and the classic "chinese takout" packaging is great.

However, the most important feature of a restaurant-- especially a restaurant that is more-or-less takeout-- is the food, and the Noodle Box leaves me unimpressed here at every visit. Most of the food I've ordered here have been quite flavourless, which may be a reflection of how much of a pansy I am with spiciness: I always want things mild. The spiciness system is very precise, allowing you to get the food exactly as hot as you like it. Unfortunately, mild apparently means bland in many cases. I personally wouldn't recommend it, but many of my friends do.

I've always been thin. For over five years, I've maintained the same weight without lifting a finger, so I've never felt motivated to exercise. This all changed when my friend convinced me to join him for the two week trial at Bikram's yoga, and I've been hooked ever since. I've improved my balance, flexibility, and strength since starting classes here. Bikram's Yoga is a particular style of yoga, consisting of 26 poses performed in a hot and humid room. It does get sweaty, but the facilities are kept clean and (communal) showers are provided. The staff are friendly and remember you, and the instructors encourage you without being drill sergeants. They don't push you beyond your limits, and, since the classes aren't too large, they're able to focus on your form and give great instruction.

The two week trial is $40, and there's a donation class on Friday open to the community. I look forward to taking more classes here!

Sushi Aoki is my favourite sushi restaurant in Vancouver. Given how many sushi restaurants there are in Vancouver, that's high praise. (I joke that there's one sushi restaurant and one coffee shop on every commercial block, but I know that's not true. Sometimes, there's more than one.)

Sushi Aoki manages to be cheap, high quality, and delicious, and it's genuinely Japanese-run (the owner/chef is an adorable Japanese man who wears these plastic caps on his head. It makes me grin every time I go in.) The menu is large, and has a large vegetarian selection, so there's something for everyone. Most sushi items I've tried have been excellent-- everything is very fresh-- and in particular, I love the Pink Godzilla roll they serve, but given the unusual fruit-tuna-chicken combination, it might not be for everyone. I also recommend their ice creams-- apparently, they're handmade!

My only major complaint is how small the place is-- seating is quite limited, so it's best to call ahead. Some people might not like the atmosphere, but I think the florescent lighting and printout menus just add to their homey charm.

Shine is the perfect clothing store for me. Made up of both eclectic new items and consignment pieces, it has designer consignment items when I want to treat myself, but also enough cheap but stylish items to satisfy the tightwad in me and occupy my friends (who clearly don't understand my designer fixation.)

Admittedly, their consignment selection isn't very large-- only a few racks near the back, but their collection is impeccably selected and very cheap. There was a Chloe (not See by Chloe, actual Chloe) dress for sub-$100, and I picked up a lovely Vena Cava dress for $60. Their new selection is also pretty good-- they have cute dresses and accessories, from local and overseas designers (I think a lot of their stuff comes from Asia, so you're bound to find something unique.)

On a recent visit, a friend of mine commented, "If I could, I'd buy everything in this store." I do concur.

This Mongolian grill is the stuff of my childhood. I remember being very small (second grade?!) and pummeling meat into my little bowl in an attempt to get more food for my money's worth (my family only ever went for lunch, and never for the all-you-can-eat option.) It was always dirt-cheap and delicious, and I'd always get excited for a trip to the Mongolian grill the way kids in commercials get excited for a place like Swiss Chalet.

Unfortunately, Great Wall has changed owners several times since I was in the second grade. It's either this owner switch-up, or my palate becoming more refined, but the food just seems to have been tasting worse over the years. On the other hand, it has become a lot cleaner, and the service has exponentially improved. Still, I long for the days of my childhood.

I was eating a roasted vegetable wrap from Ravi Soup, but it was so delicious that I stopped what I was doing to tell you how good it is.

As the other reviewers have said, this is as close as you can get to a real beach in Toronto. It has great places for volleyball, a nice boardwalk, and-- this is key-- it's great for people watching. Hello, extremely large man! I am sorry for staring, but your belly just jiggles so much!

However, I do have to say that, in Vancouver, water is *blue*. Not green. Your algae level was a bit excessive-- I didn't feel like going into the water. And admittedly, it is a bit crowded, and the washrooms are nasty, but that's true at most beaches I've visited in my life.

But at most beaches, I don't have to wonder whether the lake is cleaner than the bathroom. I ask for too much out of Lake Ontario. Sorry, nature.

It's probably racist of me, but I have laxer standards on service with asian restaurants. Cash only? That's pretty standard. Brusque-- and slow!-- service? Comes with the territory, guys. Service here wasn't all that worse than many asian restaurants I've visited-- with the exception of their failure to pack my meal and serve us *all* water (I can usually expect this much from even the worst restaurants. Maybe our waitress couldn't count?)

However, despite this, I may have tougher standards on the food: the soup in my Ji Su Ramen a bit flavourless, the noodles machine-cut and bland, and the toppings a touch too sparse. I've had better ramen in Vancouver and New York. If my standard for asian food is MSG-chocked but flavourful, I think I'd rather take my chances with the MSG than come here.

AMC's my favourite theatre for new releases. The seats are comfortable, and the armrests go up so you can snuggle up with your partner if you're going on a date. Although it's expensive, they have cheap tickets if you go in the morning sometimes and often have these coupons for popcorn and a drink (see: http://www.tribute.ca/... for an example!) that totally offsets the cost in my mind. And I don't mind the prebagged popcorn-- from working at a movie theatre in my youth, I know there's no way they could've sat there very long.

My only complaints are, as mentioned, the confusing layout of the place and (not related to the theatre) my boyfriend's absolute REFUSAL to put the armrest up. I like it when you put your arm around me, but the armrest digs into my side. What a jerk.