Exchange District eats!

Hello everyone,

So we're back at school now and you know that means back to blogging religiously. So you can all look forward to some wonderful school-time (or anytime) recipes from me.

But today, I'd like to pay homage to a wonderful little spot on Albert that I can't believe I've never been to! It's called Ken Hong. I can't provide a proper review because everyone at my table had the won ton soup (which is good for an entire lunch and it's only $4.99). It's made with a rich beef broth (I think) and it's loaded with won tons, green onions and crunchy noodles.

The restaurant is fairly small with only about 10 tables and there didn't seem to be air conditioned. They are only open until 3p.m. so unfortunately, lunchtime is really your only option.

The prices were perfect (especially if you're a student). Exchange District restaurants are usually so expensive so it will definitely save me some money this year knowing I can get lunch for under five bucks.

Here's a photo of the soup that my friend Lorilynn took:

Off topic: PR at its finest

I thought I'd write something a little off-topic today just because I'm such a PR nerd and I don't care who knows it.

I’ve recently discovered this blog that I’m absolutely in love with and have been reading non-stop (it appears I have a lot of catching up to do considering she started blogging in 2009). It’s a fashion/beauty blog written by an English girl named Zoe. Her blog is called Zoella. Zoe writes reviews on different makeup she’s tried, posts photos of her clothes and outfits, and simply writes about her thoughts and views in general. It appears I’m not the only one who loves her blog either as she has almost four thousand followers.

Zoe is not a PR student like me, and until she had her blog, I’m sure she didn’t think much about PR at all. As you can imagine, the number of followers she has really puts her on the map as an influential blogger and as a result, cosmetic companies (or PR agencies representing cosmetic companies) send her samples to review all the time. She even gets invited to parties that companies like The Body Shop throw so that she can have a sneak peek into their new products in hopes that she’ll mention them in a positive way for her many followers to read.

With that said, this post she wrote fascinated me and I had to really hand it to the PR people she wrote about (FYI – the store is called Zuneta and it’s based in the UK). What is the number one rule in PR? Know your audience. And know her they do. They would have had to take the time to sit down and read several blog posts to get to know Zoe. They knew the way to her heart and she explains what she loved about them in her post. She also explains what she doesn’t love about other PR people – how they can be lazy and just send her generic, formal letters asking her to review her products. She’s still a 21-year-old girl. I’m sure she doesn’t want to be told what to do, especially from some stiff, boring business man.

What did they get out of it? An extremely positive review about them as people and a positive review of their product. What more could a PR guy ask for?

Camping food!

Tis the season friends and with my own camping trip just a week away, I thought I'd share some camping food ideas. (I’ll be sure to post some photos of our camping food experiences when we get back).

I know what you’re thinking – weenies and chips are good enough! Why go through the trouble of cooking when you’re camping and it’s a pain in the ‘you know what’? Well, for a foodie like me, the challenge of cooking when you’re outdoors is half the fun!

One of the best tricks I’ve come across for camping has to do with marinating meat. Steak, chicken, salmon – you name it – this works. All you have to do is put your newly purchased meat into a Zip-loc bag with whatever marinade you like, stick it in the freezer overnight and when you’re ready to leave to go on your camping trip, take it straight from your freezer into your cooler. Voila! The meat will be perfectly thawed by the time dinner rolls around and the flavor is already built in.

You can also check out Canadian Tire’s camping recipes here. They’re great because not only do they outline the ingredients you’ll need to make the dish, but what utensils and tools you’ll need to make it. (I know from experience that it’s very easy to forget a spatula when you’re used to being in a kitchen stocked with spatulas galore.)

No matter what you choose to make though, there’s really nothing better than cooking outside and the taste of food cooked simply, without fancy gadgets or appliances.