Free Regular Diet Coke Fountain Drink for Empire Theatre Members

If you're a  Empire Theatres member, you probably already received the email for a free regular sized Diet Coke fountain drink. You can print out the coupon or just use it on your mobile device. The coupon is valid until September 30, 2012.

Video Game Deals (Aug 31 - Sept 6)

Here are some deals that stand out for more this week:

Best Buy
- Mario Kart 7 for 3DS - $29.99
- Super Mario 3D-Land for 3DS - $29.99
- Just Dance 3 - $19.99
- Halo Anniversary - $19.99

Shoppers Drug Mart
- Wii Fit Plus - $79.99 (also is 20x the points weekend!)
- Select Xbox Kinect games - 2 for $39.99

Denny's Original Grand Slam for 99cents (Sept 4)

Breakfast lovers - Denny's is celebrating the re-opening of their newly renovated restaurant located on SW Marine Drive by serving the Original Grand Slam for only 99cents! This offer is only good between 7am and 2pm on Tuesday, September 4th.

The address for this location is 622 SW Marine Drive.

Gastown BBQ & Chili Festival (Sept 1-2)

A BBQ and Chili Festival is happening this weekend on September 1 and 2, 2012. Twelve Gastown restaurants will be competing in a BBQ and chili cook-off! Admission is free for the public. Proceeds from sales goes towards a charity, Athletics 4 Kids. The BBQ competition will be happening on Saturday, while the chili competition is on Sunday. They both sound mighty tasty to me!

There will be celebrity judges, with the awards handed out for the best BBQ and Chili on Sunday evening. This event is happening on Carrall St (between Cordova and Water St). Bring your appetite!

London Drugs Grand Opening Celebration @ Olympic Village (Aug 31)

London Drugs is opening a new store at Olympic Village and the Grand Opening celebrations start today at 9am! There will be presentations from FIDO Cares as well as coffee and treats for everyone! There are also great sales happening all week long. London Drugs is one of my favorite places to shop. They are always great deals, and their customer service is the best!

If you cant make it today, there will also be a party going on tomorrow, Saturday, September 1st between 11am and 3pm. There will be more snacks and refreshmenets, as well as entertainment from Jack FM, Sonic FM and CityTV. Street teams will also be on location to hand out swag and there will be plenty of giveaways.

3rd Annual Etsy Craft Party - Sept 7/12

Attention all craft lovers! The 3rd Annual Etsy Craft Party is being held next Friday, September 7th from 6-10pm at BLIM (115 East Pender St), in the centre of Chinatown. Etsy is a very popular online marketplace where people can sell their handmade goods and this party celebrates everyone's creativity. The Etsy Craft Party brings everyone together. This year's theme is "Wish You Were Here". There will be tons of activities, including postcard making, journal binding, button-making and more. Attendees will also get some perks like discounted limo rides from UBER, ethicalDeal dollars, and free cover to Fortune Sound Club.

You must register online prior to the event at  www.vanetsycraftparty.eventbrite.ca. Tickets are normally $20, but HYPE events (the people behind the party) have generously offered all my readers a $5 discount using the code "ETSY2012". I hope to see you there!
 
Stay connected with updates on the Etsy Craft Party by following them on Twitter (@VanEtsyParty) and the hashtag #craftparty.

MexicoFest (Sept 5-16)

MexicoFest is coming to Vancouver to celebrate the anniversary of Mexico's Independence. It consists of 12 days of activities including Culinary Week, a Gala Dinner, a travel and trade expo, and more! September 8th is the Fiesta Mexico Independence at the Jack Poole Plaza starting at noon until 9pm. The admission is free and there will be many acts to watching including singers and dancers, food, and arts and crafts.

Go here for more information on MexicoFest.

Moshi Moshi - Dinner at the Train Station

Moshi Moshi is a small Japanese restaurant tucked in a corner of the train station at Liverpool Street. It was nice to go for Asian food, and Japanese is one of my favourites! My table shared all the platters, but they were mostly tapas with only a few main dishes. The hot foods were very good, but again, coming from Vancouver where sushi is very popular and fish is very fresh, I thought the sushi was decent but not the best. I really like that Moshi Moshi tries to be sustainable and only use seasonal and local ingredients, so their menus change to reflect that. The area where we sat had an interesting design (see picture below) and was very cozy. I think this would have been a really nice place to go for a quick lunch, as it was located so close to Old Spitalfields Market!

This is where we sat. Very cool!

The chopstick covers all had different text printed on it.

A sushi platter to share.

Chicken and gyozas.

Tapas bento box to share: gyoza, chicken yakitori, prawn tempura, chicken teiyaki, mackerel kara-age, grilled mackerel & cucumber salad, cornish crab salad.

Grilled fish.

Pork shogayaki.

Tonkatsu - pork coated in Japanese breadcrumbs and deep fried.

Moshi Moshi serves freshly squeezed juices with an interesting combination of fruits and vegetables. I tried the Ginza Morning - carrot, apple, celery, ginger and orange.

Telus Taiwanfest (Sept 1-3)

Telus Taiwanfest is happening this year from September 1 to 3rd in Vancouver. The events will be held along  Granville St and in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. There will be prizes to be won at the Telus booth, Taiwanese Cuisine you can purchase, and other things to see and do. For more information, check out their website here.

Disney’s The Rescuers 35th Anniversary Two-Movie Collection on Blu-ray

To commemorate the 35th anniversary of an original classic, Disney proudly presents a special 2-movie collection featuring all-time family favorites, “The Rescuers” and “The Rescuers Down Under,” for the first time ever on Blu-ray! Join two of the world’s bravest mice – Bernard and Bianca – as they set out on two thrilling rescue missions full of comic adventure while soaring through the Devil’s Bayou and flying sky high in the Australian outback. Buckle up for the ride of your life as these tiny heroes with great big hearts outrun and outwit their rivals to save the day. Brimming with lovable characters and unforgettable music, the 2-movie collection is high-flying fun for the entire family! Share the laughs and excitement for the first time on Disney Blu-ray.

I was excited when I heard these two movies were coming out on Blu-ray because I remember watching them when I was a kid (I still own the VHS copies!). It's so much fun to relive those childhood memories and I don't think these two movies were as huge a hit as it should have been. It's two mice going on adventures! That already sounds very exciting to me! I think my favorite of the two is The Rescuers Down Under. The two movies come in a 3-disc combo pack that includes a Blu-ray of the movie and two DVD discs. There many extra features to watch that includes "Peoplitis", a deleted song, animated shorts, sing-alongs, a making-of featurette and more.

Disney also released The Aristocats, Lady and the Tramp 2 and Pocahontas & Pocahontas II 2 movie collection at the same time, so it's actually a ton of releases to add to your Disney Blu-ray collection.

Disclaimer: The product mentioned above has been provided free of charge from the company or PR firm for review. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Seapotato and Savvy Shopping, Deals & Reviews and have not been influenced in any other way.

A Day at The Fair

The Fair at the PNE is something I look forward to every year. It's been a tradition to go at least once a year for as long as I can remember! The Peking Acrobats and Superdogs are some of my favorite shows, and I went to see those first. The Evolution of Extreme was also an exciting show to watch, with motobike riders who ride off a ramp and do tricks in mid-air.

Walking through the carnival games area is always fun - I used to play a lot of the games when I was younger, but now I have to hold myself back from throwing all my money away on toys I don't have room for (though I couldn't resist playing just one - I only came in second place.). And of course, the food. Oooh, the delicious greasy foods! I went for a Ukranian breakfast combo because the perogies looked delicious! Afterwards, I shared a pineapple and strawberry Dole Whip ice cream and a lemonade. As a snack, we all bought a corn-dog.

New this year was the Star Trek exhibition, and the line was never ending. We went later on in the day so though the line was long, it moved fast. There were plenty of props from the Star Trek shows and you can get your picture taken in the Captain's chair, the bridge and the transporter. It was actually a lot of fun! To end the day, we walked through the Marketplace. Once again, I was salivating over the Vitamix blender. I will buy it one day...

This is always nerve-wracking to watch!

So many people on one bike!

The Peking Acrobats showcase strength, finesse and amazing acrobatics.

A new exhibit this year showcased playgrounds. This airplane was one of my favorites.

I also really liked this ship!

The sculptures for the sand sculpture competition are always amazing, with lots of detail.

This one, titled "Box" was very cool. The hand makes it really eerie.

The Superdogs are very cute!

A pair of puppies who will eventually become Superdogs!

New this year is rabbit hopping - a miniature race course built for rabbits!

A hare looks towards the bars he has to jump over.

Don't have a cow!

The Evolution of Extreme

Wheelie!

One guy even rode an ATV!

No pictures were allowed inside!

The Fair at the PNE will be open daily until September 3, 2012. Gate tickets are $20 at the door, or $15 if you purchase online here.

Asadal Korean Restaurant - Korean in England

We went to many restaurants from different cultures during our stay in London, and one was at Asadal Korean Restaurant. Korean BBQ is always a lot of fun, because you have the grill at the centre of the table and you cook your own meats! Like all Korean restaurants, there are many starter dishes that come with your meal. Usually it consists of kimchee, a spicy pickled cabbage. We also had a Jap Che, which has beef and vegetables mixed with clear noodles. We had pork and beef to cook ourselves. The meats are brought to the table raw, and either you or the staff place them on the grill. There are tongs for the raw meat and chopsticks for the cooked. The BBQ aroma from the grill makes the meats delicious! For dessert, I opted for vanilla ice cream with lychee. It wasn't worth it though. I think it was £6 for one scoop of ice cream with a few canned lychees. It was a yummy meal, but I wish we had a larger variety of dishes to try!

An assortment of side dishes, kimchee, white radishes, spicy cucumber, veggies.

A side dish of bean sprouts, spinach and white radish.

Jap Che - clear noodles with beef and vegetables.

Raw pork read to be cooked!

Pork on the grill.

Pork and beef cooking.

Caution - hot beef on the grill!

Vanilla ice cream with lychee.

The Fire Station - So Hot

Located at Waterloo, The Fire Station is a pub and restaurant that used to be a real fire station in the 1900's. Our group went there for an early dinner so we had time to go watch the London Olympic Opening Ceremonies afterwards. It was quite busy inside, probably because everyone was staking their spot to watch the ceremonies later that night. It was literally so hot inside - I had to take off all my layers and I was still sweating! Appetizers were ordered for us already so we got to pick an entree and dessert.

Duck on a bed of greens.

Baked potatoes

Cous-cous coated goats cheese with baked tomatoes.

Bread with vinegar and oil.

Fragrant Thai chicken with sticky coconut rice and vegetable noodles.

Grilled lobster with garlic butter, fries and salad.

White chocolate and raspberry tart with raspberry coulis.

I ordered the Thai chicken for myself but it was actually not that good. The chicken was a big flavourless, and the rice was sitting in so much sauce that was very soggy. I shared the white chocolate and raspberry tart but it was even more disappointing. I think it was stale, as the texture was very rubbery and it was very difficult to cut apart. It didn't taste very good, so we didn't finish it. The appetizers were decent though. I wouldn't go here for dinner, but perhaps the bar is a bit better.