A Peculiar Milk Tea

My father is a milk tea addict, so when he stumbled upon a small Asian cafe that was selling a peculiar house special Asian-style milk tea, he had to share it with me.

There are several shopping plazas north of Midland Avenue and Finch Avenue East. Among one of those shopping plazas, there is a small cafe called Aberdeen Delicatessen that sells milk tea with ice made from milk tea. I tried one cup and it was delicious! The tea in the drink was very strong and the ice totally did dilute it (since it is made from milk tea itself). The drink was smooth, tasteful, and unique. Regretfully, I did not have the chance to try other items on the menu.

Aberdeen Delicatessen is located at Unit G108, 3250 Midland Avenue., Toronto, Ontario in the second plaza north of Midland Avenue and Finch Avenue East in Scarborough.


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Free Canadian Anime Classifieds

Someone shared with me a link to an anime merchandise version of Kijiji. Its name is "Anime Buy and Sell" (ABS), a recent free classifieds website that targets people who want to buy or sell anime-related merchandise.

I have not used the website to buy or sell anything yet, but when I do, I will share my experience. I do not know how much of an audience ABS has at the moment, but I know it would not be as wide as Kijiji's. I was told that ABS is more of a local classifieds in Ontario than the whole of Canada. If you plan on buying or selling anime, manga, or gaming related items, I suggest trying to use both ABS and Kijiji.

Kera Magazine in Toronto

This post is a follow-up to Kera Magazine post.

I was out with a friend for lunch today at J-Town and it turns out that there is a book store there that sells Kera magazine. Yeah, you read that right-- there's a store that sells Kera magazine in Toronto. Well, right at the border of Toronto, but still in the Greater Toronto Area. I didn't catch the name of the shop, but according to J-Town's website, it should be Japan Book Centre. The magazine is available for $13.99.

Not familiar with J-Town?

J-Town is Toronto's largest Japanese shopping center. You can find various Japanese eateries, a bakery, fish market, boutique, salon, gifts, books, and more. The variety of food in J-Town are exquisite and delicious.

You can find J-Town on Steeles Avenue East between Woodbine Avenue and Victoria Park Avenue, right off of Highway 404.


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WVRST

Every 5 or 6 weeks, a group of old high school friends and I go out to eat. We usually pick our eateries by looking through restaurant listings online and making a list of places that interest us. Last Friday, we visited WVRST for dinner because we wanted to try their sausages and beer.

WVRST was an interesting experience for me from the moment I stepped foot in its hall. There were two long rows of tables and benches, a snazzy bar at the far wall, and a busy open kitchen perpendicular from the tables. Beside the wall of windows opposite from the kitchen were high tables and chairs. It felt like a fancy cafeteria!

My friends and I chose a table to sit at and a runner came over to drop off the menu. He told us that we order food at the kitchen counter. After reading through the menu, I ordered a Kranjska with caramelized onions and Sauerkraut and a glass bottled Coke. Beer had to be ordered at the bar. My friends and I each received numbers so that the runners know where to drop off our orders.

While waiting for our food to arrive, I noticed most of the lighting were just light bulbs on strands of wires (like Christmas lights). The washrooms were also hidden behind a long, shiny-looking, and red brick wall with the word WVRST over it.

After a little wait, the food arrived. My friends and I didn't speak much while we were eating. We were all busy with our delicious sausages (... that sounds so wrong). The duck fries didn't taste different from regular fries, aside from being softer. My friends commented on how the beer was great: it had no funny aftertaste. We stayed for another half-an-hour after finishing our food and left when we noticed a fair number of people waiting for seats.

Shop Spot: Sunny Ltd.

Sunny Ltd. is one of the earliest shops in Pacific Mall since its opening. It's amazing how well they do business to this day. I remember they used to sell only Asian gifts and stationery, but now they sell mostly anime related merchandise. Their business card states that they sell gifts and car accessories. I'm guessing that the anime stuff they sell go under gifts.

You can find a lot of amazing anime-related things in their shop. From jewelery to clothing to mousepads, notebooks, keychains, CDs, card decks, stickers, posters, and plush dolls. Lots of plush dolls. Just a heads up: they aren't Kikiwai or Anime Xtreme.

I really need to stop spotlighting Pacific Mall shops. Okay! Next time on Shop Spotlight: some store from downtown Toronto!


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Shop Spot: Wall's Matter

What do you think about walls? I mean physical walls, not mental or abstract ones.

I like the walls in my room to be plain, but adding a bit of flare to them would be interesting. Wall's matter focuses on styling flat surfaces, mainly walls, in offices, kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and even washrooms. Their products are like giant stickers with the potential to change the overall atmosphere of a room. They have many themes ranging from plants, to cityscape, to silhouette shapes of items like chandeliers. People can customize their walls however they like. Neat, right?

Website: www.wallsmatter.com

**THIS STORE IS CLOSED**

Store Location:
Unit D68, Pacific Mall
(main floor)
4300 Steeles Ave. East
Markham, ON
L3R 0Y5

Telephone: 905-480-1117


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Shop Spot: Broadcast Entertainment and Fantasia

This store's like a typical Asian gift shop packed with books, Cd's, DVDs, decorated plastic folders, stationery, key chains, plushies, bags, collectible figures, birthday cards, and whatever gift shop-like products you can think of.The best thing about Broadcast is that they always sell popular products. For example, if Hello Kitty is a popular product in the market, they'll have Hello Kitty pencil cases, book, wallets, toys, key chains, and such on sale. Right now they've got products of Domo, Gloomy bear, Anpan man, and several other adorable looking characters in stock.

They have a membership system where you earn points everytime you purchase something. I forgot what happens when you collect a lot of points though... heh.

Broadcast Entertainment and Fantasia actually has a store specialized for Asian CD's, DVDs, and magazines located in Pacific Mall (Markham, Ontario, Canada). They have a second store in Pacific Mall that sells discs and gifts. The second store is one of the oldest stores in the Mall. (-July 2012 edit- The second store was closed this past year, but another branch was reopened in the mall.)

I scanned one of their plastic bags. XD Here's an image of a few things you may find in one of Broadcast's shops:



www.broadcastclub.ca
Facebook page

Shop Spot: gagoo box

Locations:
**CLOSED**
E31, Pacific Mall, 4300 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, Ontario, Canada
Business Hours: on average 12:30 PM - 8:00 PM

**CLOSED**
319 Queen St West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Business Hours: 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM


Website: **CLOSED**

gagoo box started off as a small gashapon capsule slot machines and gift shop in Pacific Mall. It later became a business that supports smaller businesses by renting out cubicle display shelf space while keeping its gashapon machines. gagoo box opened a second shop on Queen Street in downtown Toronto.

The products in gagoo box's shop in Pacific Mall are mostly targeted to females. I once brought a few male friends in there and they insisted that they felt a awkward in the shop. I didn't notice the products' target market until I brought them there. I have yet to check out gagoo box's downtown location.

The products that are usually sold at gagoo box are coloured lenses, DIY items, handmade goods, keychains, figures, and a large variety of accessories.

Pictures of gagoo box's shops are available on their website. Their website is also on Blogspot! I was amazed when I found out about that.

Shop Spot: Animate Cos Room

[Note: Animate Cos Room closed late fall 2009.]


Location:
A13, Splendid China Tower, 4675 Steeles Ave. East, Scarborough, Ontario

Opened Hours:
... I forgot to check.


Animate Cos Room was the first japanese and cosplay fashion centered store I've seen around Toronto. They sell a variety of lolita and cosplay outfits. You're allowed to try on te outfits before buying them. Last time I checked they had a discount system where after you buy 4 items (may be only count with clothing), you get 20% off the next item you buy. If anyone knows the specifics, please comment.

Image taken with permission from store attendant.
Conclusion: Animate Cos Room is a shiny shop.