Recipe: Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

I am a huge fan of bananas and I like them when they are less ripe and still fairly hard. One day, when I realized I had neglected my bananas for too long and that they were too ripe for me to enjoy, I decided to look up recipes for banana bread. 

While in search of a plain banana bread recipe, I came across Naked Cupcakes' recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip bread and decided to give it a try. I mean, you can't go wrong with chocolate, right? 

For some reason, I had always assumed that banana bread was hard to make. To my surprise, it is one of the easiest things to bake! 

Macaron Heaven at Soirette

The macaron frenzy really has been sweeping through Vancouver eh? To be honest I never thought much about macarons until it became the newest "it" dessert. So, being the bandwagoner that I am, I had to come down and try out Soirette, the latest addition to the macaron scene!

Macaron Selection

Soirette had such a wide range of flavours that I ended up standing at the counter, half panicing because I couldn't decide quickly enough 1) how many to get and 2) which ones to try. I especially liked how they're putting out more innovative flavours instead of just sticking to the conventional ones.

Well Done, CinCin

This Valentine's day, I took it upon myself to make a reservation for a well-known Italian restaurant, CinCin (according to the waiter, it's pronounced "chin-chin"). I love pasta and wanted to go somewhere special for the occasion so CinCin was pretty much the perfect venue.

To get to the restaurant, you have to go up a set of stone stairs, which whisks you away from the busy streets and into the warm, inviting interior. CinCin has great ambiance; it feels laid back while still maintaining a sense of classiness. The glow of the earth-toned decor made me feel very comfortable the moment I walked in the door. 

Calamari $15.50 

I was a little scared that having calamari would stifle what CinCin really had to offer in terms of food since it's such a simple appetizer, but I am really glad we did! This was one of the the best calamaris I've ever had. The chewy squid tops were stuffed with with crumbly, smoky chorizo, bringing together a magnificent composite of textures and tastes. The tentacles were wonderfully crispy and kept the classic calamari touch. I'm not sure what kind of sauce it was but trust me, it was really good.