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Azuki's Book Cafe

@azukibc

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"Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably."
FOOD 🍣 TRAVEL 🏖️ BOOKCROSSING 📚 CHEESE 🧀 WINE 🍷

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A wonderful time at @thelonelybroomstick in Falkirk, at the end of our Bookcrossing convention.

#thelonelybroomstick #thelonelybroomstickfalkirk #falkirk #shopsinfalkirk #falkirkshopping #shoplocal #harrypotter #harrypotterfan #wizardingworld #wizard #哈利波特 by @azukibc

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3 years ago

Wait for it... salmon run in the Humber River in Toronto.

If you think you have a hard life, consider the poor salmon. There are birds waiting to peck on them, and then there's this dam they have to jump over. Or just to lay some eggs before they die.

Watching their valiant but futile effort makes me sad. The low water level doesn't help, but I was like, why don't they add some lifts or something to make life easier for them!? I know it's the survival of the fittest, but ouch that must hurt...

#salmon #salmonrun #humberriver #toronto #三文魚逆流而上 by @azukibc

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7 days ago

Early October in Toronto. 🍁
Just a little bit of red here and there.
And we spotted a red cardinal. My friend did, I am usually very oblivious to wildlife around me. 🥲

#canada #maple #fallvibes🍁 #autumn #toronto by @azukibc

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7 days ago

It was a fun Friday night with Pikachu at the LoanDepot Stadium watching the Marlin's game, on the special Pokemon Go night.

We arrived early as my friend in Japan told us that raids start 3 hours before the game. Turned out it only started an hour before. But at least we got time to line up for our jerseys and look around, as it was my first time inside the stadium. A pleasant surprise that the stadium has a/c.

I got my shiny on my 26th raid. No hundo but a 96.

It was fun to see so many fellow players!
Some were watching the games, some enjoying a bit, and some like me rushing from gym to gym trying to score a shiny Pikachu. The amount of walking around was insane. The marathon research was a breeze. 😆 I was dead tired afterwards!!

About the baseball game... I think I prefer Adachi Mitsuru's version of it. 😆

#marlins #pokemongo #mlb #pikachu #shinypikachu by @azukibc

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2 months ago

The seriously late, and probably last, post from my UK trip.

When visiting Neale Yards Dairy I learned that there's a shop named Poon's a few doors down. Needless to say I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a visit during their open hours on Saturday.

They have different types of sauces for sampling, including a WO Sauce, their take on Hong Kong's XO Sauce, and an Everything Everywhere Sauce (which I love based on the name already). Also featured are their Chinese sausage and bacon, a family recipe made in Germany by a family who has been sausage makers for seven generations!

I also got to try their dumplings, which taste so freshly made and delicious. I wish I could take some home too.

And of course I couldn't resist buying the Poon's bag.

A bit disappointed I didn't get to see anyone from the Poon family. In my all years of school I was always the only Poon, and can count on both hands the other Poon's I know not related to me. (One guy I met years ago, when checking ancestral village and parent names, found out we were actually remotely related).

I found out later that the founder of Poon's, Bill Poon (William Wai Lim Poon), was the first Chinese chef to receive a Michelin star, back in 1980.

#poon #poons #poonslondon #潘記 #wosauce by @azukibc

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2 months ago

London is such an international city, we have such fun eating our way around the globe.

1: Pick n Cheese - a must stop for any cheese lover. 30 different types of cheeses, from brie to blue, all made in the UK. Their delicious condiments are often creative and always spot on.

2-3: Rock & Sole Plaice - what's more English than fish and chips, at the oldest chippy in London (since 1871). Traditional cod is great but lemon sole is our love!

4-7: The Original Beigel Shop - the oldest bagel (ahem, BEIGEL) shop in London (1855). It's open 24 hours, but unlike the similar ones in Montreal, there's a lot less action and selection at night.

8-10: Wolseley - a fancy, traditional English breakfast of lamb kidney, haggis and kedgeree (curry rice w codfish). I have read about such morning fare in historical novels, though I can now say it's not my cup of tea.

11-13: DanDan London Bridge - this is legit the best dandan noodles I've had, besides the ones from my highschool years, though the memory probably was a bit rose-tinted. My hubby voted this as the best meal of the whole trip.

14-15: Lahpet - Delicious Burmese food. Love the ginger salad! Beware though, almost all entrees, even salads, are spicy.

16-18: Gulnar - couldn't pass up a chance for Uyghur cuisine, even though it was between meals so we only ate some dumplings. We got to try the butter tea, and the strong diacetyl flavor reminds me of butter popcorn.

#london
#londoneats #travelmemories
#倫敦 #倫敦美食 by @azukibc

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2 months ago

Winery visit in England? Yes!! Global warming has made it possible to grow vines in new places (while often threatening existing vineyards with extreme heat and droughts).

@balfourwinery is easily accessible by train and free shuttle. They have a restaurant serving delicious fare, which we enjoyed while sipping their wine.

Their wine flight is mostly sparkling, along with chardonnay and rose. My favorite is the Liberty's Bacchus, made with a varietal called Bacchus, supposed to be England's poster wine, like Argentinian Malbec. I think it may be the first time I tried it. I am always partial to aromatic wines, and thus Bacchus delivers with pink grapefruit, rose, mango and lychee.

A totally beautiful day if a bit too warm.

#englishvineyard #englishwinery
#vineyard #englishwine #bacchuswine by @azukibc

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2 months ago

Another milestone reached!! 🥳🥳

Relatively easy for this level, didn't hurt that in England I walked over 100km in a week!

The best thing is, now I can ignore the grunts and let my phone sit on the desk! It's going to take a while to reach 80 because I just can't motivate myself to do the battle league, without a Pikachu dangling as reward... 😂

I love the Pikachu week, I got 14 shinies, with a few new additions, and three hundos. Still on the hunt for the Professor Willow shiny!

#pokemongo #levelup #level79 #寶可夢go #ポケモンgo by @azukibc

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2 months ago

Shakespeare deserves his own post...

Stratford Upon Avon:
It was part of our Cotswolds day trip, so we only managed a few sites of the many related to Shakespeare: his birth place, the house of his granddaughter, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the library, Guild Chapel which was across from Shakespeare's last home (demolished), the HSBC bank in a 1883 building featuring a mosaic of the bard and terra cotta frieze featuring scenes from his plays.

Back in London, we attended a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe. Located on the south side of the Thames and almost on the same spot, it is a faithful reconstruction of an Elizabethan playhouse built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays.

Even if you are not a big fan of Shakespeare, it's worth visiting just to see this interesting circular open building just to soak in the fun atmosphere and imagine how it was like watching a play hundreds of years ago. Standing ticket for common folks is only GBP 5-10. Seats are more expensive and you do need to rent a cushion as well as the historically-accurate seats are just hard wooden benches.

#shakespeare
#shakespeareglobe #stratforduponavon #london #shakespearesbirthplace by @azukibc

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3 months ago

Cotswolds is charming, just like beautiful paintings of English countryside.

I especially love Burton on the Water, aka Venice of the Cotswolds. What a lovely way to spend the day, soaking your feet in the gentle Windrush river.

When we arrived at Stow-on-the-Wold, and the tour guide asked if we wanted to see the Lord of the Rings door, I was like, that's the reason I joined the tour!!! 🤣

My husband is especially excited to try cream tea (scone with tea). The lady at the tea shop was quite adamant we did it the proper Devon way, jam on top of cream. It was delicious!! And we have been doing cream tea at home now.

We joined a day tour as public transportation is sparse in the area and we didn't rent a car. The tour didn't give us much time at each stop, often it was a choice of eating, walking around or using the restroom. Nonetheless it's a great way for a first timer to sample of the different characteristics of the villages. I do plan to be back for a more leisurely visit in the future!!

#cotswolds #burtononthewater #stowonthewold #creamtea #cotswoldsvillages by @azukibc

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3 months ago

Thank you so much Yvonne and Anna from @nealsyarddairy for arranging a private tour of their maturing arches 🧀🧀🧀

It was absolutely lovely to be surrounded by so many cheeses. I love seeing my old favorites like Lincolnshire Poacher, C B Stilton and Isle of Mull cheddar, all lined up, maturing and soon to be shipped all over the world. Wonder if one of them will land in my store? Even better I got to sample cheeses that I don't see in my part of the world: creamy goat cheeses, savory washed rinds and sweet gouda.

I love how Anna just casually asked, would you like to try that (there's only one possible answer), wiped out a trier and staked it into the wheel. This is like the next level Pick N Cheese bar 😆

#nealsyarddairy
#cheeselover #cheese #cheesetour
#芝士控 by @azukibc

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3 months ago

I am just a girl who loves books and a sweet little romance, standing in front of a bookshop.

And what a beautiful neighborhood too.

#nottinghill #nottinghillbookshop #bookstore
#london #摘星奇緣 by @azukibc

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3 months ago