Midnight launch for The Avengers @ Futureshop (Sept 24)

The Avenger's is coming out on Blu-ray and DVD, and you can get it at Futureshop at midnight on Monday, September 24th 11:59am (alongside the World of Warcraft launch)! There will be 10 free The Avengers POP toys and a minimum of 40 free The Avengers lithographs when you purchase the movie.

More details here.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Midnight Launch (Sept 24/25)

Best Buy and Futureshop are hosting midnight launches for the newest World of Warcraft game, Mists of Pandaria. Line up early in the evening of Monday, September 24th (stores open September 25th at 12:01am).

The first 50 customers in line will receive a free t-shirt (no purchase necessary) at Best Buy.There may be some extra swag for people in line, usually by trying out the game or answering triva questions.

Details about the Best Buy midnight launch here.

Futureshop will have SteelBooks, posters and mousepads (limited supply)

Details about the Futureshop midnight launch here.

Burger at PUZA

On one of the days of our training, we popped by Westfield White City to check out the Samsung Pin. We stopped by The Meat & Wine Co to have a quick bite from the PUZA bar menu. I ordered a burger with chips - nice and simple! The burger was pretty big with a giant hunk of meat, so I actually couldn't finish everything. Mmm...meat.

Free Lovely Cupcake Pineapple Pop

Edible Arrangements is giving away 500,000 Lovely Cupcake pineapple pops to celebrate reading half a million Facebook fans! All you have to do is check out their page here and sign up before September 21st.

Beautiful Day for the Autumn Shift Festival

The weather was beautiful this weekend, so I ventured out to check out the Autumn Shift Festival happening on Main St. There were plenty of booths and vendors to check out and some swag to collect from them too! Some of the booths included Translink, Fortis BC, Vancouver Aquarium, Science World, Vancouver Public Library, GardenWorks and more. There was also free popcorn and cotton candy for visitors - yum! Everyone was having a great time, and it was really nice to be outside.

Visitors watching plate spinning!

Have you visited the penguins at the Vancouver Aquarium yet?

The Vancouver Aquarium was on site with props.

Tap dancing demonstration.

Science World demonstrating centrifugal force.

The glass of water is upside-down!

There was a large crowd watching the fashion show.

The lines were long for the free popcorn and cotton candy.

Vendors like Mushboo, selling mushroom planters.

Meat Liquor

You know it's a good place to eat if there is a queue outside of the restaurant. Meat Liquor is just that - it's a pub/restaurant that serves...well, meat and liquor. This is the best place to go for a greasy and sloppy meal. The place is dark, with red lights, and the walls are covered with "blood". After waiting a while, we managed to get a few tables in the downstairs seating area (we had the whole place to ourselves by the end of the evening!). We all ordered bacon and cheese burgers, and sides of everything greasy - chicken wings, deep fried pickles, onion rings, poutine, and chili cheese fries. The food comes in a giant platter that everyone eats from, which is a neat idea, but at times, awkward because of where we are sitting. The burgers were sloppy, the patty was meaty and drizzled with mustard. The onion rings were my favourite - giant rings in deep fried batter. Meat Liquor is definitely a great place to go and have a delicious bad-for-you meal with your friends and just have fun!

The place was packed!

My arteries feel a little more clogged just looking at this picture!

Chinese at China Boulevard

One of the first restaurants we visited for lunch while in London was a Chinese restaurant called China Boulevard. We went back again for dinner in our last week. Located by the river Thames, this restaurant is quiet and and a nice place to relax to have a meal. We had a lot of typical dishes like sweet and sour pork, spring rolls and pork chops. The food was pretty decent, but I can't say it's on the same level as the Chinese food found in Vancouver! Everyone seemed to enjoy it though!

Sesame king prawn toast.

Spring rolls.

Pork cutlet.

Deep fried fish and vegetables.

Crispy beef.

Fried noodles with curry sauce.

Young bok choy hearts cooked with garlic.

Living Naturally Fair (Sept 15-16)

The annual Living Naturally Fair is back at is back with fresh food, cooking demos, yummy samples and live music. The event is happening at Whole Foods Market on Robson from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Artspoints Member Appreciation Night - Free Theatre Sports!

To help promote the Artspoints Rewards program, the Vancouver TheatreSports League is hosting an exclusive Artspoints Members' night on September 18th with a free show. Doors open at 6:30pm, and there will be food and drinks. You can also meet the Artspoints team. The Artspoints Reward program allows you to collect points and redeem them for rewards and the membership is free. After you sign up, you can RSVP for the night! More details

Walmart Anniversary Sale (Sept 14-20)

The Walmart Anniversary Sale is here once again, something I look forward to (see 2010 and 2011) because there are always some great sale prices! I will once again list some items I think are excellent prices, especially if paired with a coupon:

- Tide laundry detergent - $3.97 ea (use $1 off coupon)
- Dove products - $2.88 ea (use $2 wub 2 Dove products coupon)
- Always pads, liners or Tampax - $2.84 ea
- 32gb Lexar SDHC card - $15
- 32gb Blackberry Playbook - $118
- Nintendo 3DS - $119
- Call of Duty MW3 (PS3) - $19 (price match at other stores)
- Max Payne 3 (XBox) - $19 (price match at other stores)
- Xbox 360 4gb Kinect bundle - $199
- Select boardgames - $10 ea

- Centrum - $5.98 ($3 off coupon)
- Listerine - $4.88 (use $2 Listerine coupon from j&j)
- Bounce fabric softener sheets - $3
- Christie Cookies/Crackers - $1.88

32gb Blackberry Playbook for $118

It's Walmart's Anniversary sale this week, and one of the items that jump out is the 32gb Blackberry Playbook for only $118! Not to be outdone, Staples has also lowered their price to match this. The 16gb Playbook is also on sale for only $99 at Staples. Most locations have sold out, but try price matching at other electronic stores, or see if Staples will order one for you.

Tweetup at Fable #FableMonday

Fable, a restaurant opened by Top Chef Canada contestant Trevor Bird earlier this year, held their first tweet-up tonight to celebrate being open on Mondays, starting from September 10th. I've been meaning to try this restaurant for a while now, as I have only heard good reviews. Products are sourced locally and dishes are simple but elegant at the same time. Guests got a taste of many of the appetizers and main dishes Fable regularly serves. My favorite was the scallop with bean puree! *smacks lips* I had a great night and it was very nice to meet the people behind the Twitter handle! The food was delicious, and I will definitely be back for dinner (and dessert)!

Fable is located on West 4th.

Very cool decor.

Using mason jars as candle holders - I like it!

The non-alcoholic drink of the night - Apple Ginger Cooler.

You could also try the wines.

Chickpea fritters with pickled red onion, shoots and curry mayo.

Beef cheek - it was very succulent and tender.

Potato crusted chicken.

Mushroom flat bread with arugula and Parmesan.

Scallop with bacon and bean puree. One of my favorite bites of the evening!

Halibut brandade with gazpacho.

Figs with pickled blackberry, hazelnut and Gorgonzola. An interesting combination.

Chef Trevor Bird from Top Chef Canada preparing some bites for us.

Salmon with gnocchi and spinach puree.

The place was hopping with good eats and good people!

A Korean Restaurant Named Kimchee

On one of our last nights in London, we went to another Korean restaurant. The place was called Kimchee, which I thought was pretty cute! We had a lot of the typical Korean dishes like kimchee, seafood and green onion pancake and beef bulgogi, which were all delicious (I didn't try the kimchee though). The portion sizes were small though, so Kimchee is a nice place to go with someone else so you can order several dishes and share. The food was all very good and tasted pretty authentic! They have a drink menu with a ton of special drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), but I didn't get to order anything too special, so I don't have any photos!

The place mat was so pretty!

Cabbage kimchee

Seafood and green onion pancake - one of my favourite dishes!

Pan-fried gyozas

Jap-chae

Tofu soup with enoki mushrooms.

The rice came in adorable bowls!

Beef bulgogi.

Fatty pork belly