Restaurant Review: Solo Sushi Ya

I love Japanese food and it's something I can have every night and never get tired of. There are lots of Japanese restaurants in where I live but most of them are run by Korean and Chinese. I tend to avoid those restaurants as the quality of the food is just not so great. I still go to Chinese run Japanese restaurants for Teppanyaki in Toronto. But when it comes to Sushi, I try to stick to Japanese run restaurants. The quality of the food is just better.

About this restaurant, the first time I've heard about it was around 2 years ago when I was searching for a decent Japanese Restaurant that is relatively closer to home and there I found Solo Sushi Ya. They do have another location in downtown but I heard it's not as good and downtown is much farther for me than Newmarket. Even if I drive local, it only takes me 20 to get there. The only thing I want to complain about is it doesn't open on weekends during lunch time and there are food on the menu that are only offered during lunch time. So unless I actually take time off work to go there for lunch on a weekday otherwise I can never have them.

I know a lot of people go there for their omakase, but I am not a fan of their omakase. I've tried it once and my friend also tried it. We both think that the omakase is not that great. There are other places for omakase. They are good food but I prefer to have something I have control over. They serve good hot Japanese food it's just that the food in the omakase isn't something I truly like.

They offer very fresh sashimi, it's one of my favourite places in town for sashimi. I like to get their open sashimi. You don't know what you get, basically the chef decides for you. He makes his choices based on what he knows you like and the best catch of the day. For their open sashimi, he charges based on the market value so you won't know the price on the menu.

For me, the open sashimi always consists of smoked mackerel, tuna, hamachi, salmon, amaebi (sweet shrimp). The remaining sashimi always depends on the catch of the day. This time we got aji instead of the normal scallop sashimi. The aji was served with ginger and spring onions. I've always wanted to try aji in Toronto but most restaurants don't have it. I just realized you can only get fresh aji on Fridays or Saturdays as the fish dealer/importer leaves Toronto on Tuesdays and comes back on Thursday nights with their fresh catch so it's only available on Fridays and Saturdays.   

Salad with homemade salad dressing. I actually like their salad dressing but I prefer the salad dressing at Shiso Tree Cafe at J Town.

Uni sushi with homemade soy sauce. I love uni sushi. 

Aji, Ika and Hamachi. All are great with aji being the best. 

Aji sushi. I haven't tried aji sushi at other Toronto Japanese restaurants before so I can't compare. 

abalone, scallop and amaebi(sweet shrimp) sushi. 

They ran out of octopus sushi so they gave me abalone sushi instead. This place has really good amaebi sushi. Just look at the size of the shrimp. I love the shrimp here. 

Just look at the shrimp. It's so big and juicy! Apart from Solo Sushi, the only other restaurant that served huge Amaebi is Kaji Sushi. Other places only serve you the tiny amaebi that is the size of my pinky finger. 

This is something new to me. I love handrolls but I've never tried the handrolls at Solo Sushi. They are a lot bigger than the handrolls at Miyabi but these taste so good. They are spicy salmon, negi hama ( chopped up hamachi with spring onion) and spicy tuna handrolls. The negi hama has to be the best among the three. One of the must try from this restaurant. 

Free dessert!! I'm glad their free dessert is not green tea ice cream. I tend to skip dessert if all they give me is a green tea ice cream. Their daily dessert is a coffee pudding made by Jyo's wife. I think this pudding is available daily because I see it every time I go. My boyfriend doesn't like dessert also enjoyed this pudding. 

I didn't order any sets but I was still given the salad and miso soup so I'm not sure if this place gives out salad and miso soup to all its customers as I know some places don't do that unless it's specified in your meal. The chef also gave me and my boyfriend free sake as this was our first time there after the new year. 

This is a restaurant I enjoy going to but I don't go there very often. Maybe once every two or three months but most of my experiences there are enjoyable. It's a small restaurant so expect to wait and do make reservations as it gets pretty crowded on Fridays during the warmer months. 

Holy Grail: Sulwhasoo Overnight Vitalizing Treatment

I am a beauty junkie and I love trying out new products but there are products and brands I always go back to. Sulwhasoo has to be one of them. This is probably one of my favourite skin care brand. I have tried a lot of their products and I will definitely recommend a lot of their products. Their herbal soap, First Care Serum and their overnight sleeping mask are the three products I love the most.

I do have to thank the Koreans for making sleeping masks so popular. With all the different brands and types out there, you really have to test around to find the ones you love the most. The ones I like are cream based with herbal/medicinal scent. I personally love the scent and find them soothing. I stopped using gel based sleeping masks as I find them a little bit too sticky for me. With all the sleeping mask I've tried, I find Sulwhasoo making one of the best sleeping masks in the market. 

( size shown here is their deluxe sample. Regular size is 120ml. It basically looks the same but bigger)

Product description: 

Formulated with Korean medicinal herbs, this overnight mask awakens a radiant looking skin with nourishing moisture and herbal extracts. - Acutelobed Angelica and Pomegranate help brighten skin tone and Walnut and White Mulberry restore skin's vitality by delivering essential nutrients - Creating an essential moisture layer on the skin, this mask assures optimum penetration of nourishing herbs while you rest.

full size and sample size all come in the same tube design.

This is a cream based masks that spreads out easily. It's fast absorbing and doesn't leave your skin with a sticky feeling. 

Well basically this is a mask that doesn't require washing. I call it the lazy mask. All you need to do is slather some on your face and go to bed. It's great when you are lazy and when you don't have time to do a proper facial mask. Or you just use this as the last step of your daily skin care regime. 

I have been using this for the last two years and after I started using it, I don't have dry flaky skin during the winter anymore. It makes my skin super hydrated and soft. 

This is a product I try to use daily during the winter time. I slather it on my skin after my face cream. Even I already used as mask, I still put it on my skin unless I am on a skincare diet that night. I don't really use this much during the warmer months as my skin tends to get a little oil during the summer. I might use this once or twice a week during the warmer months. 

For a Sulwhasoo product, I would say this is great value. If I remember the price correctly it is 120 ml for $60. Are there cheaper alternatives that give similar results? Yes, a lot of Korean brands make sleeping masks and Myeonghan Miindo by The Face Shop does make amazing sleeping masks at half the price. I prefer Sulwhasoo because I'm basically using their entire skin care regime and I prefer using the same brands. 

Have you tried any Sulwhasoo products? What's your favourite sleeping mask?

Review: Elizabeth Grant Cell Vitality 3-1 eye treatment

I've been given the opportunity to try this product as it came in one of my beauty box subscriptions. Well it came in the Fall 2012 Loose Button box but I did not try it until the beginning of the year. 

This is a treatment so I think this is a serum. Well I've never really tried any good eye serums so I don't really know what to expect from an eye serum. 

The product claims that it targets puffy eyes and also helps in reducing lines and dark circle at the same time. I've checked the Elizabeth Grant website and this product isn't available anymore. But back in November when this product was available, it retailed at $29.99

I don't have fine lines yet but I do have dark circles and sometimes my eyes are puffy. I've been using this product since the beginning of the year. I only use it at night and I've been trying it for 6 weeks. I don't see any noticeable results on my eyes.  

I don't have fine lines so I don't expect to see any result. Puffiness- it did somewhat relived the puffiness but it has never been a major concern for me. Dark circle- no change at all.

There are things I like about this product that I like to share.  

I love the design of it. I love the three roller ball design. They give my eyes a nice little massage that helped reduce the puffiness. 

But I do find it hard to control the amount of product I use. I always squeeze the tube a little too hard so I'm always using too much of the serum.

The serum comes out clear and watery. It is quite soothing on my skin. It is a serum so I do need to use my regular eye cream after this product. 

I haven't seen any results yet but I will finish the product. Will I buy this product again? Even if it's not discontinued, I won't repurchase this serum. I believe there are better serums on the market. I will try out Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair eye treatment once I finish this one!

Have you tried this product before? Are there any eye serums you would recommend?

Jo Malone Collection

I love Jo Malone Cologne. Ever since I got my first bottle I got addicted. It's a very bad addiction. There were times I bought a few bottles a month. I'm slowly trying to buy less as this is such an expensive addiction. I'm not only buying perfume. I also use their diffuser, body scrub and face cream. Their body products are too expensive otherwise I would have switched to all their products completely. The only Jo Malone product that I don't think I'll be ever getting are their candles. I don't really notice their scents when I burn their candles. For my candles, I prefer Voluspa over Jo Malone.

I love their skincare range. They made one of the best face cream in the market. At least it worked very well on my skin. I love their Ginseng Day Moisturizing cream. I use it as my night cream and it kept my skin moisturized during the winter. But it got discontinued. I still have one jar at home. I cleared out all the remaining stock they had when they discontinued the product. Right now they only have the Vitamin E skincare range. I have yet to try that line but I don't think I will like it as much.

The first time I've heard of Jo Malone was back in 2006 when I visited London for the first time. It was too expensive for me at that time so I never thought of getting their perfume. My friends from Hong Kong recommended Jo Malone to me telling me how great they smell. So in 2011 I went to the Jo Malone counter at Holt Renfrew at their Bloor Street location and picked up my first bottle of Jo Malone. Ever since that visit, I couldn't go back. My first bottle is English Pear and Freesia and this is still my favourite from Jo Malone.

Left to Right: English Pear and Freesia, Plum Blossom, Nectarine Blossom and Honey Cologne, Wild Bluebell

English Pear and Freesia is my all time favourite. This is a fruity cologne but not too sweet. I find it just right for me. I use this on a regular basis, either layering with other cologne or use it alone. 

Plum Blossom, this was a limited edition cologne that came out in 2012. There is a pinkish ribbon that came with the bottle but I couldn't find it. It's a light woody, musky and floral cologne. I haven't really played around trying to layer it with other perfume. I normally use this alone. 

Nectarine Blossom and Honey Cologne. This is a fruity cologne and I used to love it. This was the second Jo Malone Cologne a got. I got it in its full size because I loved the scent a lot. But now I find it too sweet for my taste and I'm trying very hard to finish it up. I used to be able to use it alone, but now I have to layer it with other Jo Malone cologne so that it won't be overly sweet for me. 

Wild Bluebell is a floral cologne and I use it for layering with other cologne. I normally use this with English Pear and Freesia. 

London Blooms line that was inspired by the British garden. They were limited edition cologne from 2012. I never expected to pick up all three bottles. I made two separate trips to complete this collection. The first time I went I only picked up white lilac & Rhubarb and Peony & Moss. I never expected to get Iris & Lady Moore. But my boyfriend said since they all belong to the same set and they were limited so I went back to pick up the last bottle. 

They smell very different with white lilac & rhubarb being my favourite because I love floral perfume. Peony & Moss is more on the green side. Iris & Lady Moore is more woody but it's growing on me. 

Jo Malone tea collection. These were supposed to be limited edition from 2011 but I bought them in 2012 and Earl grey and cucumber then became part of their regular series in 2012. 

Assam & Grapefruit: I bought this because of the deal the BA gave me. I haven't used this at all and got it only because it was limited.

Sweet Lemon: Every time I smell this it reminds me of lemon tea. I love the citrus scent from this cologne. It's good for layering.

Earl Grey and Cucumber: I love this one. You can't really use it on its own but it's great for layering with other perfume. I will get a full size bottle once I finish this one. 

Left to right: Blackberry and Bay, Vanilla and Anise, White Jasmine and mint, French Lime Blossom

Blackberry & Bay: The newest in the Jo Malone family, one of the fruity cologne. Its on the lighter side that won't be overwhelmingly sweet. It's full of grapefruit and blackberry scent. Again I use it alone or layering.

Vanilla and Anise: One of the spicier cologne in my JM collection. It's not a very sweet vanilla cologne and its good for layering with my collection.

White Jasmine and mint: This is on the greener and floral side because of the mint. I don't normally use this alone. I love pairing it with Orange Blossom. 

French Lime Blossom: I love floral cologne. This is one of my favourite floral cologne. I love using this one alone.    

left to right: Grapefruit, Red Rose, Lime Basil & Mandarin, Patchouli, Freesia and King William Pear. 

The first three are all deluxe samples I received from JM. The last three came with my English Pear and Freesia Chronicle set.

Grapefruit: very citrus cologne that I only use for layering. I haven't opened the sample yet as I'm still trying to use up the sample vials I received from JM.

Red Rose: This is the best red rose perfume I've tried on the market. It smells divine. I love it enough to get the home diffuser for my room! If they ever come out with the Red Rose Chronicle set, I will get it right away. 

Lime Basil & mandarin: This is one of their signature scents but I don't like it. It smells too unisex for me. Not something I will use on its own. I haven't really played around with this scent.

Patchouli, Freesia and King William Pear: They all came with my English Pear and Freesia set that are for pairing with English Pear and Freesia. They are miniatures of the main notes in the English Pear and Freesia cologne. Since this is limited so I'm really hesitant in using them. I like all three of them so I do wish they come in bigger bottles. 

JM Vials that are not in my purses or make up bags. They are mainly the same scent. Among the vials here, I think there are only 6 different scents. 

If I don't specifically tell them what I want to try, I always end up with the same samples which are Orange Blossom and Pomegranate Noir.

  

Orange Blossom: I have enough of the sample vials I don't need to buy the actual cologne! This has a citrus scent and I love to use this for layering with other JM cologne.

Pomegranate Noir: This is a very sweet fruity cologne. I didn't like it at first but this is growing on me. Once I finish up my samples I might get it. 

Blue Agava and Cocao: sweet and spicy cologne. I love it and it's on my wish list for a while. I can never get a sample of this as they never have it in store.  

Note: full size and deluxe sample size doubles are not featured in the pictures. 

Beauty Haul from T&T

Yes, I actually bought beauty products from T&T. This is unbelievable. T&T is a local Chinese supermarket in Canada. I was supposed to go there and get a pack of ginger and leave. I know they always sell beauty products at T&T. They have a huge selection of My Beauty Diary Masks that they retail at decent price. I still find them overpriced as I get mine from Hong Kong. My sister goes back every year to restock me with basic beauty products. With all the promotions and without the tax. I normally get mine at half the price they sell at T&T so I never go there for my paper masks. Besides I prefer Korean paper masks over the My Beauty Diary Masks. Don't get me wrong, they are great affordable masks but I just like Korean ones better.

I've always wanted to try Naruko Products. I never knew they are readily available at T&T. I prefer to buy local if there isn't a big price difference. I hate waiting for my packages to arrive. I know Naruko products are available through their Canadian distributor and I thought of getting them once I run out of face cream. Naruko paper masks are on sale at T&T so I had to pick them up. After I got home and checked the prices at the Naruko Canada website. I definitely got myself a deal. The prices at T&T are a few bucks cheaper than the online prices!

Left to Right: White Magnolia Brightening and firming mask, Raw Job's Tears Supercritical CO2 Brighting mask.

I love paper masks, they are convenient and non messy. I always pick paper masks over wash off masks. so two boxes of paper masks won't do any harm to my masks collection. I only have enough that will last for 6 months if I use them everyday, That's nothing compared to my friend's collections where they stocked up a year's supply. 

The Magnolia mask is different from the ones I normally use. It is using the ear loop mask design for it's firming effect. I've never tried the ear loop masks before so this is something new to me. I will definitely try them this week. 

The masks normally retail for 29.99 for the Magnolia and 23.99 for the Raw Job's Tear. Right now they are on sale for 22.99 and 18.99 respectively. It is a good price to try out new products. 

I also picked up two packs of Tsubaki shampoo from Shiseido. My friends had been raving about these shampoo for years but I've never tried them. I used to use Shiseido FT shampoo when I used to live in Hong Kong and I loved Japanese shampoo. They just make your hair so soft and manageable. I just haven't tried this line as it seemed too expensive for a bottle of shampoo. As years gone by, I notice their prices getting more affordable at T&T so this time I've finally picked up two sets to try. Each set are on sale at $14.99. The shampoo and conditioner are also on sale at $12.99 compared to the regular  price  of $17.99 

The Tsubaki line is infused with Tsubaki oil or essential oil and they are supposed to make your hair soft and hydrated. I'm trying just to see if they are living up towards the hype. 

gold line comes with a hair mask where you use once a week while the white set comes with the conditioner. There is also a red line but I couldn't find the set at my local T&T.

Perfume collection

I would say my perfume collection has grown significantly throughout the years, as I got older, scents I like changed quite a bit. There are perfumes I used to love that I don't love anymore. Those all turn into room sprays or soon to be room sprays. I can stand the smell in my room but not on me!

I used to buy a lot of perfume. I buy them whenever I see them go on sale. Even thought I don't love the scent that much I get them  because they were on sale. I don't want to miss out on any deals. I also get them because of their packaging. I'm a sucker when it comes to packaging. There were times I even kept the empty perfume bottles because of their packaging. Those days have long passed. I stopped collecting bottles and I try my best to buy perfume I truly love. No more impulse purchase on perfume. So this year I only bought one bottle. There are several bottles on my wishlist but they can wait as long as they are not limited edition  perfume.

First comes my Anna Sui Collection. I love Anna Sui perfume. I bought every single one of her perfumes until rock me where I had to stop buying as my collection was growing too big. Anna Sui original perfume and Sui Love aren't featured in the pictures as I don't have them anymore. Anna Sui original is the first ever full size perfume I finished using.

Left to right: Sui Dreams, Night of Fancy, Flight of Fancy, Rock Me, Love your Dream.
Apart from Sui Dreams, they are all brand new or I've only used them once or twice.

Anna Sui dolly girl collection. Apart from the pink dolly girl, they were all yearly limited editions. 

Left to right: Sui Dreams minature, secret wish and magic romance. 

Sui Dreams is just for collection purpose as I hated the scent. I'm still missing the Secret Wish Fairy Dance in the secret wish perfume collection. Secret Wish has always been one of my favourite perfume and I still keep it in the daily usage box. 

Marc Jacobs collection. 

Marc Jacobs rain, a very refreshing light scent that now I use as a roomspray. I might try to use it for layering with my other perfume.

Daisy: um. brand new just opened the box not too long ago.

Marc Jacobs: Impulse purchase, got it cuz it was 50% off.

Dot: I don't like the smell. It just smelled a little too sweet for my taste. Got it from my Topbox subscription. 

Lola: Impulse purchase. It's my first solid perfume. made an awesome accessory piece on my bag.

:Left to Right: Still, Coolwater, Tom kitten cologne, Tommy girl, Gucci Envy & Envy me.

Still and Coolwater are both brand new. I got both when they were on sale. I used to love coolwater but after I got it, I just didn't feel like using it. Tom Kitten and Tommy Girl, I used to love both of them but now I just don't like them anymore. 

Gucci Envy and Envy me. I still like both of them just that I don't have time to use them. 

Left to right: Burberry Brit, Burberry Touch, Jill Stuart, Miss Dior Cherie, J'adore 

These five are one of my go to daily perfume. With Miss Dior Cherie being the favourite in this set. 

Samples and random purchases. I don't really know how these got into my collection. Haven't really tried out any of them. They just sit there! 

These are either random samples or samples that I have full size for. If I remember correctly as I only tested them once, most of them in this picture are perfume that I don't really like. 

And now comes my latest obsession. Jo Malone Cologne! I love Jo Malone so much it deserves it's own post. This is an ever growing collection that grows when I new scent comes out or when there are limited editions.

Are there perfume on my wishlist? 

Definitely! I want to try Annick Goutal Petite Cherie, my friends told me this is the best pear fragrance on the market. 

I also want Jo Malone Blue Agava and Cacao which will be great for pairing with my existing JM collection. 

The last one on my list is Ferragamo Signoria. Ever since I saw the bottle I know I want to bring it home. With the little bow on the bottle and it's pink!

Do you own any of these perfumes? What is on your current wish list?   

FO: Gail Shawl

This is a shawl that had been on my knit list for the longest time. I wanted to make this every since the pattern was released in September 2008 but I had a hard time trying to understand this pattern. I had trouble understanding the chart written by the designer. This is a free pattern so I don't complain about anything. The designer is already generous enough to provide fellow knitters with a free pattern. It's my job to figure out how to read the charts. So it annoys me when people complain about the charts not being properly written. 

I had a hard time understanding the chart because of the double yarn over in the middle. I always thought I was making a mistake as it didn't seem to line up properly with the chart. But once I talked to my friend and found help from fellow raveler, I decided to start making this shawl. It didn't take long to finish it, probably took me around a week to finish it. Once I got through the first repeat, it wasn't hard at all. There are more complicated patterns out there that required more time to make!  

The double yarn over at the base of each leaf. Different from other shawls I've made before. Most of the ones I made before all had increases in the center panal creating a straight line of increases. This shawl was a shawl made for my aunt as I promised to make her a full size shawl.

The shawl is only made up of branching out leaves as its motif. Simple yet elegant. I do love this pattern but there are other patterns that I want to make first. If I ever make this again it will probably be a last minute gift to friends and family.

The yarn used was Rowan Pure Wool 4 ply. It was yarn I received from my fellow ravelry yarn swap. It's a 100% wool fingering weight yarn. It's not a color I will ever wear so it's good for making shawls to give away! The yarn itself is very warm and it's great for cold winter nights for keeping you warm. It also felt soft enough I will purchase again in another colorway.

Pattern: Gail Shawl

Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool 4 Ply

Yardage: 696 yards

Needle: 4.5mm