BACK IN THE LION CITY

41 hours of flight... 22 days of travel... 3 different cities... 2 weddings... 1 baptism.

It's been a hell of a trip but I am home in SINGAPORE. While I am suffering from some Jetlag, it is good to be back at work and living at home rather than from a suitcase and a hotel. Michelle returns on the morning of August 3rd along with her friend Michelle Dall who will be staying with us for two weeks. I can't wait for them to get here.

In the meantime, here's some pics from my adventures in SAN FRANCISCO, as you can tell it revolved around two main things: work & food! We'll post some our VANCOUVER pics once when Michelle returns so we can upload her more recent snaps.

CROSSING THE RUBICON

My work trip is complete but I decided to stay in San Francisco for the weekend so that I could actually spend some time in this city with a few friends, it's a rare opportunity and one that I jumped on. Saturday was a great day, Steve picked me up at 9am and we headed to his place in Marin County, we then met up with Mattman and forged ahead for a day in WINE COUNTRY.

Our first stop was Sonoma (a wine town on the other side of Mount St. John from Napa), a cute little berg filled to the brim with Wine & Artisan Shops. People come from far and wide to spend the day in the local square having family picnics or tasting the latest Sauv Blanc. We then headed into Napa for the main event but not before a quick stop at the Oakville Grocery for a fresh Deli Sandwich! Dear god, these were tasty, I had the roast beef & blue cheese and it was to die for!

Finally, the main event! Our afternoon was spent at the Rubicon Winery which is Francis Ford Coppola's home. We had a VIP tour with a great guy named Harold who told us about the history of the house and the winery itself, took us on a tour and ended the afternoon with a private tasting of some amazing wines. I even bought a bottle to take back to Singapore for Michelle to enjoy, wish I could bring more! This place is amazing and I highly recommend anyone who has the chance to spend and hour or three at the Rubicon (which was named after Ceaser crossing the Rubicon river for his commitment to Rome and Coppola's personal commitment to making wine).

We ended the evening with a swim and kick ass BBQ and then as Gamers tend to do, played some Green Day Rock Band while enjoying to spoils of our day. All in all, a great Saturday with the boys!!!

Check out the pics HERE!

THE KING OF PHILLY CHEESESTEAK

Growing up in Canada and now living in Singapore, one of the many "classic" food delights that I have never had the honor of trying is a real-deal ALL-AMERICAN PHILADELPHIA CHEESESTEAK... until now. That's right, while I am not in Philly, I was able to go to a Philly owned and operated Cheesesteak restaurant here in San Francisco.

Why is it so important that it's from Philly? Well, the Cheesesteak Sammich was created in Philadelphia as a hoagie with grilled beef, peppers and cheese whiz. It may not sound appetizing to some but trust me, this sammich is a behemoth in popularity and despite its simplicity it's often imitated but rarely "the real deal".

So when I had the craving for a Cheesesteak, the guys here at the office took me to this little hole in the wall called THE CHEESESTEAK SHOP just off of Sutter & Divisadero. It's tiny and it's rundown but when you walk in you are greeted with the amazing scent of grilled meats and peppers, awesome. This joint flies in its bread daily from Philadelphia, it also flies in the local Philly Dessert, Tasty Cakes (think Hostess cupcakes without the cream in the middle) which come in a plethora of flavors. The default cheese here is Provolone but you can get the classic Cheese Whiz if you ask for it, otherwise it's all the same: bread, meat, peppers and cheese.

At the Cheesesteak Shop, you can add additional fixins to your 7", 10" or 15" Cheesesteak to create an even more monolithic sammich but I opted for the KING OF PHILLY. A 10" Cheesesteak with 50% more meat & cheese. That's right, I added even more meat and cheese to my already meaty cheesy sammich. They grill up the sammiches fresh to order and wrap it up tight so the juices soak into the bun. Then you unwrap the sucker and dig in for the ride of your life!!!

The Cheesesteak is amazing: hot peppers, grilled beef and melted provolone all mingle together on this fresh juice-infused bun to deliver a taste sensation that will keep you eating. It was truly a taste worth waiting for an one I think all of you should experience at one time or another in your life. Yes, it was that good. Six of us went for lunch that day, six of us ordered various types and sizes of Cheesesteaks and all of us were filled to the brim with meaty/cheesy goodness... it truly was worth the wait.

Chalk one up for the Philadelphia Cheesesteak, it really is a great sammich!!!

CONGRATS SARAH & GEORGE

As you can see see from the last post and this one, one of the major reasons for us to come back to Vancouver this summer was for weddings. This last weekend, we were lucky enough to attend the great ceremony of our friends SARAH & GEORGE at a cool patio wedding/reception at Bridges on Granville Island. Although I was not an official photographer, I was co-emcee along with my buddy Gamble and we still managed to snag some good pics as well. Sarah looked fabulous, the evening was filled with laughs and tears and went one until the wee hours of the morning. Congrats again to Sarah & George and check out our pics HERE!!!

CONGRATS LANCE & RAYELLE

One of the major reasons we came back to Vancouver this summer is for the wedding of Michelle's nephew LANCE and his longtime girlfriend RAYELLE. On Sunday, July 11th, a small contingent of family and friends gathered at Eaglequest Golf Course in Surrey for this great day, our friend Chad even joined in to help take some photos throughout the day. The ceremony was sweet, the dinner tasty, the speeches tear-inducing and we all partied well into the night. It was really great to spend some quality time with Michelle's family at the wedding and again the next day at the fantastic Gift Opening BBQ!

Congrats once again to LANCE & RAYELLE, enjoy the honeymoon and enjoy our PICS from the day!!!

IT'S OUT!!!

The Secret of Monkey Island 2 Special Edition available on XBLA, PSN, PC, iPhone & iPad. Check it out yo!!!

HAPPY CANADA DAY

It was CANADA DAY! Michelle was in cold & rainy Vancouver, I was in warm & rainy Singapore. Michelle was out with friends, I was at work with friends. We however, as you can tell, were not together. Nope, we were on opposite sides of the globe, which is fine... it's ball-sucky but fine. It just means that in one week today, next friday, I will fly to Vancouver and get to spend some quality time with Michelle in our hometown. To me, that's a great way to think about Canada Day!!! So wherever you are in the world you Hosers! Happy Canada Day to you and yours!