Probably the most cliché post title ever, but hey, it works.

Tomorrow morning I leave bright and early for a plane to Los Angeles, California. I’ll hop off the plane and go straight to a business presentation at one of the satellite offices for the video game company I work for, and then out to meet some friends from university for a drink. Then, it’s off to Seoul, South Korea Friday morning for an all-day flight. I arrive with my boss Saturday night in Korea and then it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday for work and meetings at our other office in Korea. Fly to Tokyo, Japan on Thursday and then meetings on Friday and the following Monday at our Tokyo office. Finally, I’ll head back to Vancouver on the Tuesday. Phew! Two weeks of travel for work!

Table in a boardroom in one of our offices

It’ll be really neat to see how our studios operate in Asia. It’s a completely different way of doing business and completely different culture. Especially for video game companies — video games are so big in Asia. The gaming cafes are huge and omnipresent, and video game companies are large and plentiful. I’ve been working on learning Korean, but I can only read and write the basics, and speak a few phrases to get me by. Unfortunately I haven’t had time to pick up Japanese, but maybe that’s something for the future. I really enjoy learning new things. Hangugo-de chogum hasuisimnida! (“I can speak a little Korean”, in Korean)

I’m also excited for the opportunity to take photographs. I’ve never really been to Asia, so it’s going to be an inspiration. I’ll be bringing my laptop and Blackberry for work, but I’ll be writing some blog posts in my free time as well. I hope you don’t mind this Vancouver girl blogging a bit about different countries

Apologies for the bad photos, I didn’t have my cameras on me — only the Blackberry. Tonight I had my send-off dinner with Allan and we went to West Restaurant, one of my favourite restaurants in the South Granville area. It’s part of the Top Table group of restaurants, which owns/operates some of my other faves (Araxi in Whistler, Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown, Cin Cin on Robson, etc). Whenever I go to West, I always sit at the Chef’s Table, which is right beside the open kitchen. I love seeing the chefs prepare my food, especially being such a fan of the cooking shows. The Top Table group of restaurants prepare the most amazing sour apple martinis (my favourite of course), but I really love the one they have at West. The little cutout apple pieces are adorable and the martini is always cold, refreshing, strong, and flavourful.

To start I had the aged risotto with shaved truffle (check out Chef Warren Gerahgty shaving it in front of me), and Allan had the seared scallops. For mains I had the halibut with frog legs and chorizo (surprisingly good, and not pretentious), and Allan had the lamb. We shared the chocolate tart with saffron meringue. Mmmm so delicious!

Anyway, I haven’t even packed yet. It’s been so busy leading up to this trip so I better get to it. I’ll try and check it often with photos and stories from the trip.

Annongygese-yo! (Goodbye!)

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Today was a crazy day on Wall Street. It’s no secret that the economy is in some troubled times. After the House of Representatives shot down the Bailout plan, the stock markets got hammered pretty much everywhere in the world. The Dow dropped about 780 points, which is its largest in its history. Yes, it’s the American economy mostly being affected, but ours is tied to theirs, and so is the rest of the world in some ways. It is a scary time if you’re thinking about retiring, but if you’re young and just getting going like me, then there’s a lot of opportunity. History seems to suggest that the greatest economic booms are made after a recession or a slow-down, so if you can stay employed and ride it out… you’ll likely be in a good spot. I’ll be keeping an eye on the economic news and crisis over the coming months.

In other news, while we wait for the housing prices to come down a bit, Allan and I have been trying to make our little place a bit more livable. We’ve sold all our furniture and more on Craigslist and are currently sitting on the floor while we wait for some of it to be delivered. Hopefully I’ll have some photos soon of the place when it is redone.

I’m also getting geared up for a busy October. First, it’s off to Tofino again for the Thanksgiving long weekend. I can’t wait. I love the coast and Tofino is one of my favourite places in the whole world. Usually we go there at least once a month in the off season (a few times a month in the summer). I hear there will be a good swell rolling in for the next couple weeks so I’m excited. Pretty much right when I get back from Tofino, it’ll be straight to the airport where we go to LA, then Japan and Korea for work in 2 weeks. Sometimes when you work in the video game industry you have to travel, and it can be tiring! I’ll be sure to post photos while on the “road” though.

This weekend, I also tried out a new recipe I’ve been dying to try out. When I was in LA a couple weeks ago, I hit up Koi Restaurant with a few friends and had a delicious dish called “Miso Glazed Cod”. It was amazing. I’ve tried to replicate it here at home, and I think I did pretty good! If you get a chance to make it, let me know what you think. It’s got a sweet and sour, flavour similar to teriyaki or soy.

Miso Glazed Cod (Makes enough for 2 people)

Ingredients

2 fillets of Black Cod (I like to get mine from Granville Island)
saké
125 mL mirin
1 cup white miso paste (I like the organic kind, it’s a little lumpier but I think it tastes better)
1/2 cup of organic cane sugar (you can use regular sugar though)

Cooking Steps
1. Pour the saké and the mirin into a saucepan and bring it to a boil for 30 seconds to boil off the alcohol in the saké.
2. Add the miso paste and bring your heat to low and mix well. Try to get all the lumps out as much as possible. Once it has been mixed, bring the heat up to high and add sugar. Make sure you keep stirring and keep going at it until the sugar is clear and liquid like.
3. Let it cool for a while.
4. Marinate cod over night in the mixture or for 2 days. Set a little bit aside, separate from the cod.
(See optional side dish preparation)
5. Preheat oven to 400°F and put the fish on a baking pan or grill/broiler inside the oven. Broil for 5 minutes to brown the fish and then bake for another 15 minutes or so. The fish should be flaky and separate easily.
6. Arrange the fish with the side dishes and serve with a VERY small amount of sauce on the side (don’t use as much as I did in the picture).

Optional side dish preparation — Mashed Potatoes with Shallots, and Steamed Vegetables:

1. Roast some garlic in the oven (let me know if you don’t know how to do this).
2. Sauté the garlic and a few chopped in shallots in 2 tablespoons of butter for about 20 minutes just before you cook the fish.
3. While keeping an eye on the shallots, boil some quartered Yukon gold potatoes.
4. Steam some broccolini and baby carrots (bunch carrots) over the potatoes while they are boiling!
5. Scoop the potatoes out and let the vegetables keep on steaming (don’t let them overcook though). I like to add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil to the water so the vegetables get some flavour.
6. Stir the potatoes around in the shallots until the potatoes dry out a bit. Add a little milk if you have it, and some butter, and then mash the potatoes until they are creamy, or however you like them. Personally I like them a little more textures so I leave the potatoes a bit more whole.
7. Serve the vegetables and the potatoes! I used a cup to make the potato shape but that’s not necessary

Enjoy!