Lamrou Life : June 2017

Pure Kitchen

By lamrou - June 28, 2017

For all the people seeking good healthy food, for the vegetarians & vegans, for meatless Mondays or just to feel good after the food you eat, seek greatness in Pure Kitchen where the food is pure & delicious.

Back in 2015, Ottawa was blessed with Pure Kitchen where you could get a healthy, filling meal. The girls who opened the restaurant have been around for a while running the Pure Yoga studios (there are 3 locations in Ottawa, one in Toronto & an online one) & their clothing line Pure Lifestyle Apparel. I found out about them when looking for a yoga studio where I attended for a month; they have a $40 intro month deal and I went on to follow them on all their social media pages. Great thing I did thou because when Pure Kitchen opened, I had to check it out ASAP.

I've been a few times & try to get something different each time so I could see the range of stuff they got & how good it actually is. My favourite appetizer by far has to be the Radical Cauliflower Wings which literally are the bomb dot com. I tell everyone who goes here to have that as a starter; I need to get me some poutine with cashew cheese so I can satisfy my poutine craving.

Radical Cauliflower Wings

Their bowls are just my absolute fav because they are jam packed with so much good shit that your little heart desires. They are the best at helping you customize something you like because nothing sucks more than finding something you like but just wishing a few things were switched out for different things. If you follow their Instagram page, they post specials that they have at either the Elgin or Westboro location such as vegan mac & cheese or a vegan Big Mac wannabe; the two specials I missed & regretted because they looked sooooo good. If you aren't convinced to check it out, here are some photos of some things that I have had the few times I have been there.

Mystical Bowl with Falafel

Liberty Buffalo Cauliflower Wrap

Bohemian Smoothie *purple one*

The staff are pretty chill & I absolutely love their shirts because it has the funniest health related puns on the backs. Everytime I'm there, I try to read their shirts to find a pun I haven't seen before; it's so lame it's funny (those are my favourite types of puns).

So go fill your bellies with some great, healthy, vegetarian food & come back to tell me how much you loved it & what you tried off the menu that was good.

till next time

xoxo

lamrou

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foodieventures

Chill Food Spots

By lamrou - June 19, 2017

You know when you're hungry and wanna go out & get yourself some quick good food that'll fill you up while being decently priced & you can sit there and eat or take it to go? That's literally the type of food I search for on a daily basis when I'm out & hungry as can be. If you didn't know where to find that kinda food, I am here to tell you where to find the best ones in Ottawa.

Corazon De Maiz: located in the Byward Market is the cutest mom & pop typa shop with the nicest employees who are chill as can be, making your food for you. I usually get a burrito which comes in small or large, depends how hungry you may be & oh guac is included so need I say more? Wait. I do. They have spice bottles on the side that you can add into your food; garlic jalapeño & chipotle are my absolute favourite ones. BOMB AF. I'm not a spicy food eater but those are worth the burn.

Check em out at: 55 Byward Market Square, they are located towards York Street

Chips & Dairy: located on Bank St towards Gloucester area, you will find this little house/shack. It's the most unexpected food joint you'll find because they sell fries, ice cream, poutine, burgers, milkshakes & surprise, Chinese food. I usually get me the special combo plate that comes with chicken fried rice, egg roll (I switch it for a spring roll), a drink & your choice of two sides. With my combo I get me a side of fries as well because I gotta get something from each menu; their fries aren't

my fav (I add salt when I get home) but, I wonder if poutine would be good if I got it with those fries & salty gravy & cheese. Totally worth trying & my craving every other day when I'm starving at home.

Check em out at: 2920 Bank Street, they are located in he Gloucester area right before the Giant Tiger

Sushi Go: located in the Byward Market next to Wine Rack & on Albert St right at Kent Station is my fav sushi spot for a quick bite of good sushi. I have been going here for a few years & haven't been disappointed yet, some sushis are not my fav, some locations don't make things like I want it & some times the pre made sushis in the fridge aren't as good as the ones you can order and get made. I've had quite a bit of different things from the menu & am trying to eat everything they have to offer. Usually when I go I get myself two different types of sushi, or some general tao chicken that comes with white rice or some sushi & spring rolls. The sushi that I love from there is: Kamikaze, Fantasisa & Samourai. My favourite location is the one in the Byward Market.

Check em out at: 48 Byward Market, it's right next to the Farmer's Market that goes on during the summer.

Pili Pili Grilled Chicken: located far down on Dalhousie right before St. Andrew St is this African grilled bbq chicken place. I went here once with a friend & I loved her so much for showing me this spot. I had to go back & try it again to see if it was first time tastebuds that took over & made me believe it was bomb or if was actually bomb.

So I went back to see how it really is because usually the first time you go somewhere you are unbiased because it's your first time, also when you're hungry your mind doesn't care how things taste because you're hungry. So my second opinion of the place is different because I wasn't starving like I was the last time. I got the 1/4 breast platter which comes with rice, salad & plantains. The plantain was bomb the first time & still bomb now. The chicken was medium last time so my mouth was on fire & I barely had any. This time I got no spice & I just wasn't feeling it. I am, however, very picky about my chicken & my rice. My mom makes some pretty bomb rice so I usually don't enjoy it much from a lot of places

Check em out at: 205 Dalhousie St, it's past the Bridgehead Coffee Shop & right before you get to Das Lokal.

Ariana Kabob House: located in the Alta Vista Plaza is this Afghan spot that someone told me about. I got to check it out & I'm glad I did because their food is banging & it's so close to my house; I can walk there or UberEats their food whenever I'm craving. Their plates are served with a side salad, sauce for the rice (qorma), naan, a spicy sauce as well as rice & the meat you choose. I usually get the Chicken Breast Kabab or the Tikka Kabab (beef) which have been amazing every time. I feel like I need to ask for extra sauce for the rice because you get a lot more rice than you do sauce & don't want to be eating rice without sauce cause it can get pretty dry. I have tried their mantu & it is amazing. It is steamed dumplings filled with seasoned onions & beef and topped with some yogurt & yellow split peas. It's best as a side with your food or even an appetizer.

Check em out at: 2677 Alta Vista Dr right in the corner next to the Independent Grocer at the plaza

What are your favourite chill food spots in Ottawa? Let me know so I can go try them.

till next time

xoxo

lamrou

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foodieventures

Green Papaya Thai Restaurant

By lamrou - June 14, 2017

If you are over Thai Express & looking for some authentic amazing Thai food that you can probably never get sick of, Green Papaya is the place for you. The décor of the restaurant is beautiful from when you walk inside to when you get to the washroom. It's beautifully designed & gives you major Thai vibes, at leaset I would like to think so but I wouldn't know since I've never been to Thailand.

The first time I went was with a friend for lunch & got the combination platter because I was hella indecisive and hungry & all you know it comes with is white rice & spring rolls, the stir fry & curry and whatever the special of the day is. The curry ended up being red pepper & chicken and the stir fry was a shrimp one. Everything was absolutely amazing, the shrimp stir fry was better than the curry and I need to get it again for sure.

The next time I went I got the Khao Op Sapparod which is Thai fried rice with shrimp, egg, cashew nut & pineapple. I got that when I was there a few days ago because I've been thinking about it & it was the perfect filling dish to satisfy me after fasting all day; it was just as amazing as the first time I had it.

They serve Shrimp Chips as an complimentary appetizer for dinner with peanut sauce which is such a fun appetizer because the chips come in different colours such as pink, baby blue & a light green.

Green Papaya is definitely a restaurant that makes my top 10 because the service is amazing & their food is exceptional. I used to be obsessed with Thai Express & eat it so much I would get sick of it & stay away for months. Now I don't need to because I can come to Green Papaya & have some great Thai food from a restaurant that takes time making their dishes making it taste so good that you close your eyes and savour your every bite. I've only been to the location on Preston but they have another one on Baseline as well as they have a food truck that I've seen at PoutineFest.

Check em out & tell me what you think.

till next time

xoxo

lamrou

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beantrail

Starbucks Coffee Company

By lamrou - June 08, 2017

This bean-trail and many more other ones, seem to keep leading me back to the holy grail of coffee: Starbucks. Without a doubt it doesn’t seem to fail me & if the new thing I try isn’t my cup of tea, then the nice baristas will usually remake something else for me. Starbucks has been & will be my backup coffee shop that I go to when I don’t really wanna try something new or when I am in need of some dependable WiFi & a place I know well (no matter which Starbucks location I am in, I am comfortable & can order with ease compared to a coffee shop I’ve never been to & don’t know the menu).

Starbucks Rewards also make going to Starbucks more worth it because they get you free drinks & food items which is nice when you're broke but you have money on your card or have a free reward. They send you some pretty sweet deals such as half off frappucino days run from like 3-5pm, but if your a gold member you can still get your frap half off after 5pm, gold members usually get an extra hour so no need to rush to Starbucks after work.

For all those people who asked me why I always go to Starbucks, it's for these rewards, they're free & amazing WiFi that's not slow, their abundance of locations, the fact that they have a bunch of outlets in every location, the free in-store refills, the fact that they have SOY & ALMOND MILK because I live a dairy-free world & so many more things.

When you first sign up for the Starbucks Rewards, you get a free reward which you can use to get yourself any food or drink no matter how much it costs a.k.a get the ones that you usually wouldn’t usually get, treat yourself. When you sign up and start using your Starbucks card, you are in the Green Level. You stay in that Level until you collect 300 stars in a year. Once you collect 300 stars, you become a Gold member which you stay in every year that you get 300 stars in a 12 month period. That may seem hard, but you get 2 stars for every $1 spent & the average drink at Starbucks is about $5 which is 10 stars. Imagine that every day for those coffee addicts, you got 300 stars in no time & keep your gold status.

In the Green Level, you get:

* free birthday food or drink

* free refills on brewed coffee & tea in store

* member - only events & exclusives to you

* special offers over email & in the app

In the Gold Level, you get everything in the Green Level as well as:

* free drink or food every time you get 125 stars

* monthly double star days

* a personalized gold card (it has your name on it :D)

Next time you receive a Starbucks gift card & are wondering what you do with it when you finish the amount that was loaded on it, register it and benefit from all the good you can be receiving with it. Also, if you already are attending Starbucks on about a daily basis or go at least once or twice a week, you are missing out on free drinks & sweet deals.

Some of my favourite drinks from Starbucks are as follows: