New Town's Siopao

We are going to Edmonton to visit our friends this tomorrow so we went to New Town Bakery last Tuesday to buy some siopao for pasalubong. I don't eat siopao but everyone pero sabi nga ng asawa ko, masarap daw talaga ito. Request din ito ng mga kaibigan namin kasi nga dati nakakapagdala na rin kami nito sa Edmonton kapag pumupunta kami dito sa BC for a visit.

New Town Bakery has two branches -- one in Vancouver (China Town area) and another one here in Surrey (near the Central Station). Maaga silang magsara, 7:30pm lang, kaya pumunta kami kaagad pagdating ni Ford from work.

I went directly to the freezer for the frozen siopao. And my first reaction --- Syet, ang mahal na!!!

$15 na ang 6-pc pork asado.

Tapos almost $20 ang chicken bola-bola!

I kept on uttering "ang mahal na grabe, ang mahal na grabe..." kaya pinagtitinginan na siguro ako ng mga Pinoy na nakapila sa cashier. Di ko kasi talaga mapigilan ang sarili ko, naiiyak talaga ako. We were planning to buy at least 16 packs kaya imagine kung magkano ang aabutin nun.

If I remember it correctly, parang $12 lang yung asado at less than $14 ang bola-bola eh nung huli kami bumili eh. Wala pang one year yun. Baka around November o December lang last year. Bakit sobrang laki naman ng itinaas?

Ang sabi ko nga kay Ford wag na kaming bumili. Pero ang sabi niya, ano raw ang ipapasalubong namin sa Edmonton? Sige na nga kako, pero babawasan ko na lang yung ibibigay namin. 

We bought a total of 13 packs (13 x 6 pieces = 78 siopaos) for $204.00. Dalawang packs lang ang bola-bola kasi nga $20 yun. Tapos may additional $12.25 pa for the sauce.

Whew, $216.25 (or Php8,650.00) para lang sa ganitong siopao! I apologize if I appear so kuripot ha. Siguro ganito lang talaga ang walang trabaho hehe. Ang mistake ko rin daw kasi sabi ng asawa ko eh convert ako ng convert. But I really can't help it eh, lalo na at kagagaling ko lang uli sa Pilipinas.

New Town sell other Chinese and Filipino pastries, too. Kaso yung mga puto at palitaw nila, hindi naman lasang Pinoy.

Same lang pala ang presyo ng steamed asado nila sa frozen, $2.50 per bun. Pero ang weird kasi yung sa chicken bola-bola, $19.80 ang frozen so pumapatak na $3.30 ang isa, samantalang $2.75 lang yung luto na. Nakakaloka.

Cash basis nga lang pala sila kaya we were worried na baka hindi kumasya ang cash namin kasi nga nagtaas na sila ng presyo. $200 lang kasi ang winithdraw ng asawa ko. Maraming Chinese restaurants dito ang di tumatanggap ng credit o debit cards kaya dapat palaging me dalang cash.

Lucky Supermarket Surrey is now open!

July 30, 2018 (Monday). I was so excited for Ford to come home. Bihis na kami ni Nathan by 5pm (kakaiba yun ha) at kahit masakit ang tiyan ko, walang makakapigil sa pagpunta ko opening day ng Lucky Supermarket. Parang ganito ang excitement ko nang magbukas ang SM Marilao noong 2003 as in!

Ahh, ang gaan sa pakiramdam nang makita ko ang familiar signage ng Lucky. Parang it felt 'home.' Totoo yun ha, walang exaggeration.

At dahil sa sobrang pagkaatat kong pumasok, di ko na napicturan nang maayos ang labas. Sa susunod na lang.

My first impression of the store --- wow, ang laki!

Kumpleto ang kanilang fresh produce section. Happy ako!

Aba mura ang malunggay!

I just took several photos and that's it. Ayaw ko na. Gusto ko ng mag-enjoy sa pagtingin-tingin sa loob.

I was so happy kasi maraming-maraming choices kumpara sa T&T at Henlong.

My disappointments --- walang frozen calamansi (baka naman di na talaga uso yun ngayon kasi wala na rin akong makita recently kahit sa T&T and other small Filipino stores) at walang beef ribs (sana magkaroon next time). Konti lang din kasi ang naka-display sa meat section nila (I forgot to take photos) kasi baka dahil kabubukas pa lang nila ng 1pm that day. I'll check kung magba-bbque cut sila ng liempo next time.

I was glad though na na-reunite na ako with this galunggong! Grabe, ito talaga ang binibili ko noon! Nathan loves galunggong (he eats it almost everyday) kaya I am so happy na may mabibilhan na ako ngayon ng matinong isda. Masyado kasing maliit yung nasa Henlong eh.

Overall, I am satisfied with this new branch of Lucky! Mura ang presyo (kumapara naman sa T&T noh!) at saka ang dami talagang Filipino products. Parang nandito na lahat, di ko na kailangang magpatalon-talong ng tindahan.

O tingnan mo may wheat pandesal pa!

At Crunch Milk Chocolate (na medyo mahal nga lang).

I was actually surprised na maraming tao ang namimili na kahit kabubukas pa lang. At talagang punuan ang cart nila ha. Galing din kaya sila sa Alberta o Winnipeg kaya familiar sila sa Lucky?

May raffle sila, sana manalo kami. Kaso hindi naman ako swerte sa mga ganyan.

I actually had no plans of buying a lot kasi nga wala naman kaming kailangan at fully stocked pa ang pantry namin kaso nakaka-engganyo talagang bumili. May mga good deals din kasi. Like yang tub ng Skyflakes, $3.99 na lang (normal price is $7+).

Our haul. Sorry di ko na naipakita isa-isa.

This will be our official palengke here in BC. Too bad kasi lilipat na kami sa November. Sobrang lapit lang kasi nito sa current place namin. Kapag nakalipat na kami, twice a month siguro kami mamimili dito.

Eto ang damage -- $117.34 (or Php4,693.60). Ang bilis maglustay ng pera dito sa Canada lol!

I'll post more of Lucky Supermarket soon!

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Nga pala, I was excited din sana na kumain sa Lucky (may kainan din kasi dun) kaso konti na lang ang mga tinda eh. Siguro kasi kabubukas lang nila noon kaya hindi pa ganun karami ang food. Next time na lang.

Lucky Supermarket Surrey is opening on July 30!

Finally, the long wait is over! Lucky Supermarket's first BC branch is opening next week, July 30!

Photo taken from Lucky Supermarket's FB page

Grabe, sobra ang excitement ko! Feeling ko nagiging ok na unti-unti ang buhay ko rito sa BC. I am about to have a house again (Thank God!) tapos magbubukas na ang Lucky Supermarket dito sa Surrey. Haha, friends na lang ang kulang!

Aayain ko talaga si Ford sa Lucky pagkagaling niya sa work. I am hoping na parehas ang sistema sa stores nila sa Edmonton -- mura ang meat, maraming choices ang fish, maraming Pinoy products, may frozen calamansi, pwedeng magpa-barbecue cut ng liempo, at masarap ang lutong pagkain.

One week to go!

Lucky Supermarket in Surrey

I am so happy and couldn't contain my excitement. I literally screamed on top of my lungs after reading this ad that Ford showed me just a while ago (my son even said: "Mommy, are you ok?!).

Finally, we'll have LUCKY SUPERMARKET here in Surrey!

Lucky was my favorite Asian supermarket in Edmonton. It's actually the very first Asian grocery store that I have been to here in Canada and I became a suki throughout my 3-year stay in Edmonton.

I preferred Lucky over T&T (another giant Asian Supermarket that's originally from BC) because the former has more Filipino goods than the latter. They have better meat and fish section, too. And their prices I found relatively cheaper. Kaya doon kami talaga "namamalengke" noon eh.

When we moved here in Surrey last year, nahirapan talaga ako kung saan kami mamimili ng ulam. I was clueless because clearly, I am not a fan of T&T (nakokontian kasi ako sa Pinoy items nila). Sure, there is Henlong Market, but I find it too small and walang binatbat sa Lucky (hindi ako talaga makamove-on sa Lukcy haha). Until now, sabog-sabog pa rin ako mamili ng pang-ulam. Unlike sa Edmonton na talagang sa Lucky lang.

Kaya ngayon para akong nabigyan ng maagang pamasko talaga. At parang ayaw na rin kaming pabalikin talaga sa Edmonton ha (I listed Lucky as one of the reasons why I wanted to go back to Edmonton). I just wish na yung Lucky dito ay yung parang sa Edmonton din because I am sure Filipinos here will be thrilled. Sayang nga lang because Lucky will (probably) open when we're in Pinas na. Di bale, at least mae-excite ako pagbalik namin ng April. =)

I want to go back to Edmonton =(

Disclaimer: Please note that I recently moved here in Surrey from my comfort zone (Edmonton). My views are premature and may change in the coming days. I have no intention of putting Surrey/BC in a bad light. I guess I just miss Edmonton so much. 

Twenty-three days. We've been here in Surrey for twenty-three days. How are we doing? The husband is ok, he easily copes with things so wala siyang issue. Ako lang naman daw ang maraming hinaing sa buhay. To be honest, if I will only be given a chance, gusto ko ng bumalik Edmonton.

Funny, I used to call that place Deadmonton. Complain ako nang complain na boring dun, na walang masyadong magawa. I first visited British Columbia in 2012 at talagang pinangarap kong tumira dito. Ang ganda kasi ng impression ko dito, ideal place to live in talaga. Pero ngayon na nandito na ako, parang gusto ko ng magback-out. Hay buhay nga naman!

Anyway, ito ang mga disappointments ko as of now sa pagtira ko dito:

(1) I loathe our apartment. I hate hate hate our apartment! Ang hirap magdowngrade ng housing. We used to live comfortably in a brand new 3-bedroom town house kaya talagang sobrang adjustment ito. Even though I know that this is just a temporary thing, nahihirapan pa rin ako (#bourgeoisieproblems!).

Also, the other day, we received a complaint from our neighbor on the lower floor (we're on the second floor) that we are "too noisy." They even accused us of having a party. My husband got agitated. He reasoned that we have a toddler and some noise can't be avoided. We live in an old building so talagang konting galaw o ingay lang ng kapitbahay eh magkakarinigan na.

By the way, we ended up in this apartment because we had no choice. Ang hirap maghanap ng apartment na maayos dito sa BC, lalo na at nasa Edmonton pa kami that time. Grabe ang demand. We want to move to a different place kaso pauwi na kami ni Nathan sa Pinas on November 7. Also, magpepenalty kami ng $1200+ kapag umalis kami in less than a year. Hay saka ko na nga lang iisipin pagbalik namin. If there's any consolation, we live just across a mall at super ganda ng location kaya keri na rin.

(2) Edmontonians are "nicer." In Edmonton, almost everyone you see will say "hello," or "hi, how are you doing?" Dito hindi eh. Parang lahat me pinagdadaanan haha!

Drivers are somewhat rude, too. In Edmonton, pedestrians are the bosses. Pagtapak mo pa lang sa kalsada, hihinto talaga ang mga sasakyan kahit malayo pa. Dito takot ako lalo na for my son. Dire-direcho talaga ang andar ng mga kotse eh.

(3) There is no Lucky Supermarket here (or its equivalent, in my opinion). Akala ko talaga mas ok "mamalengke" dito, mas mura at mas madaming choices. But for me, the best pa rin mamili sa Lucky Supermaket (na sa Edmonton lang meron). I am not a fan of T&T eh. I never thought na mamomroblema ako sa presyo ng karne dito. At galunggong -- di ko alam kung saan ako hahanap ng matinong galunggong dito (na paborito namin ng anak ko). Pati calamansi, mas mura sa Edmonton. Waaah!

(4) There's too much rain. My husband "warned" me already that it's too rainy in BC. I told him it's ok, that I love the rain. Kaso sobrang hassle din pala, lalo na since we have no covered parking. Tapos may little boy pa kami, mahirap siya isakay at ibaba ng car kapag umuulan.

(5) There is no snow. Snow is so beautiful, nakakamangha talaga kapag puting-puti ang paligid. Feel na feel ko ang Canada dahil sa snow. Kaso sobrang minsan lang daw mag-snow dito, tapos tunaw agad kinabukasan. Less than 3 years pa lang ako sa Canada kaya hindi pa ako quota sa snow. Gusto ko pang maglaro ng yelo!

(6) I have a feeling it's harder to find good friends here. In my less than 3 years in Edmonton, I am happy to have found really good friends there. Barkada talaga. Dito mukhang mahirap. Sa Edmonton kasi karamihan ng Pinoy ay TFWs (Temporary Foreign Workers) na naging Permanent Residents. Mga walang kamag-anak, lahat open for friendships. Saka mas relaxed ang buhay doon, palaging may time for get-together.

(7) Ang dami-daming chekwa! Maaming nagsasabi na mukha daw akong chekwa at hate na hate ko ito. I know it's bad to generalize pero hindi talaga ok ang experience ko with our Asian neigbors. Ayaw ko sa ugali nila.

At this point, I have no choice but to embrace our life here in BC. Sana talaga maging masaya kami rito.

A little update

It's almost 5am and I am still awake. I am feeling a little low. It's pouring outside and they say it'll rain straight till next week. Hell yah, welcome to Raincouver!

Just a little update after half a year of not blogging -- we are now living in Surrey, British Columbia! A lot of things have happened the past several months and I couldn't wait to write about it.

But first things first. I need to change my blog's description (or even title?). I'll do that soon.

Ahh, I miss blogging!