samantha

Saboten Aberdeen –

Food court in Aberdeen Centre time! Saboten is a Japanese pork cutlet franchise from Japan. I have always been a fan of Japanese deep fried pork cutlet. Especially when they pour the rich gravy sauce on it. You can’t go wrong with deep-fried pork slathered with gravy on a bed of fluffy white rice! I was pretty intrigued on how well it would taste compared to some of the other cutlet joints in Vancouver. On first look, it looked underwhelmed since the portion was very small. The cutlet itself was palm sized, which was disappointingly small. Overall the taste was not bad but in comparison to other pork cutlet places like Saku or the korean pork cutlet places. This isn’t as extraordinary or as special as one may think it is. I’ll most likely pass on this one.

March 6 2022

The Rec Room

The Rec Room – Three10 – The Rec Room was complete nostalgia for me! It reminded me of Playdium but better since it attracted both adults and kids since there was also bar food and drinks that all ages can enjoy. I took a seat at their eatery by the bar – three10 and ordered a drink and two appetizers. The artichoke dip with pita and tortilla chips and calamari.

Both items came out piping hot and fresh. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the bar food was going to be in the Rec Room. The pita bread was fluffy and soft with butter coated on it – so when you dip into the artichoke it has a melty and smooth texture in your mouth. The tortilla chips were lightly salted with a wonderful crunch and held the dip very well. The calamari was a perfect combination of batter and squid – and the seasoning made it wonderfully crunchy when you bite into it with the soft chewiness from the squid. The dip was a great combo to have – it dipped well with the pita as well.

As for the drinks – it was well made and the bartender was friendly and open to providing suggestions on what he can make for us. If you want some nice entertainment and decent bar food with friends and family – this is the spot to check out.

samanthaReal Estate Market Stats

March 6 2022

Highlights From the Real Estate Board February 2022

“As we prepare to enter what’s traditionally the busiest season of the year, the Metro Vancouver housing market is seeing more historically typical home sale activity and a modest uptick in home listing activity compared to last year.”

“Despite having a higher volume of people listing their homes for sale in February, the region’s housing market remains significantly undersupplied, which has been pushing home prices to new highs month after month,” Biggar said.

“A lack of housing supply is at the heart of the affordability challenges in Metro Vancouver today. We need more coordinated action from stakeholders at all levels to help create an ample, diverse supply of housing options for residents in the region today and into the future,” Biggar said.

Sales of detached homes in February 2022 reached 1,010, an 18 per cent decrease from the 1,231 detached sales recorded in February 2021. The benchmark price for detached properties is $2,044,800. This represents a 25 per cent increase from February 2021 and a 4.7 per cent increase compared to January 2022.

Sales of apartment homes reached 1,854 in February 2022, a 5.4 per cent increase compared to the 1,759 sales in February 2021. The benchmark price of an apartment property is $807,900. This represents a 15.9 per cent increase from February 2021 and a 4.1 per cent increase compared to January 2022.

“NOTE: this representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board or Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver which assume no responsibility for its accuracy.”

Download The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s February statistics Package. Click Here

Download Fraser Valley’s Real Estate Board’s February Package. Click Here

March 6 2022

Food for Thought on Real Estate – February 2022

samanthaFood for Thought on Real Estate

When Is the Right Time to Move?
Seller’s market – A seller’s market is when there are more people looking to buy then there are homes available. This causes a rise in price above the long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio of 20% or higher.
Buyer’s market – In contrast, a buyer’s market is when there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers. As a result, prices increase slower than the long-term average rate of inflation. In extreme circumstances this can cause prices to decline. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio below 12%.e
Balanced market – A balanced market occurs when supply and demand are about the same, with home prices rising in line with long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio between 12% and 20%.Summary Over a sustained period of time:
- a seller’s market is represented by a ratio of 20% or higher
- a buyer’s market is represented by a ratio of 11% or lower
- a balanced market rests between 12-19%

March 6 2022

March 2022 Newsletter Introduction

samanthaNews & Announcements

Spring is slowly peeking through! – The weather has been pretty gorgeous lately but still a little chilly. As the days get longer, we can look forward to doing what we do best in BC, being outside! So what’s been happening since our last update. For the first half of February, there was a fury of non stop bidding due to the lack of inventory and high demand. It has resulted dramatic benchmark prices to have moved up significantly in a matter of days. However, this momentum has slowly lost traction in the third week of February. Depending on types of properties, there has been huge buyers’ fatigue and buyers are being priced out of the market. These variables, along with increase interest rates have seen the rage of bidding to be less aggressive and prices sold are reasonably close to asking. The government has also decided to implement a few regulations to help dampen the market along with 30 recommendations to be considered to help facilitate that. So let’s see how March will fair with these changes!

#CovidBC update:

British Columbians aged 60 and older will be able to pick up COVID-19 rapid antigen tests at local pharmacies starting Monday. The move is the next step in the province’s phased distribution plan for rapid tests, after they were made available to people over the age of 70 in late February. Vaccine passport update – Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in January that some restrictions, including those around capacity limits and events, could be lifted by Family Day on Feb. 21, Dix noted. And he emphasized that B.C.’s vaccine card mandate was extended to June 30

– Sam

February 5 2022

Leieve Tea

Leieve Tea – I am pleasantly surprised to find a local bubble tea shop in White Rock that serves great tasting drinks. I didn’t think there were any in the area. We wanted to go for a drive and check out the pier after it was rebuilt from that insane storm that destroyed it a few years back. We stumbled upon Leieve Tea during our stroll, and the selection of tea that was posted on the window enticed me. The hubs always goes for a classic milk tea as his staple. I ordered the passion fruit green tea and the matcha milk tea. I decided to grab two since it’s not very often we come to this neck of the woods due to a long drive – ie – close to an hour drive to get there.

The matcha milk tea was disappointing. I wasn’t sure whether it was due to my ordering request that left this drink to be very lackluster. The drink was very watered down. There was very little matcha flavour at all – and it wasn’t very creamy either. However, I am wondering if this drink was a failure due to my poor ordering choice. If I had chosen hot, or no ice or full sweet – would it have changed things Unfortunately, I won’t know till I go back again.

As for the passion fruit green tea – the drink was amazingly delicious. There was enough sweetness, and the right amount of citrus tang to cut down on the sugar. The green tea was so smooth that it didn’t leave an aftertaste that some teas do. The aftertaste usually reminds me of spinach metallic taste

Last but not least – the classic milk tea! The texture is silky smooth and creamy. The sweetness blended well with their own brew of tea leaves which perfectly goes well with their pearls. The pearls weren’t soggy or overly chewy. It paired very well with the drink itself. It’s definitely one of my favorite milk teas besides chatime and a bakery in Honolulu. If you ever stop by in White Rock – then I would highly recommend heading to Leieve tea if you’re feeling thirsty and craving for something sweet to sip on.

February 5 2022

88 Noodle House

88 Noodle House –Needed a quick bite while I was running an errand around the Burnaby Metrotown area. I decided on the 88 noodle house which served Korean cuisine. It was close by, and it was a place I haven’t tried. The menu was small but it has the staple dishes that you normally expect to see in Korean restaurants. I had decided to order the spicy seafood noodle soup. It’s one of my go to dishes I like to have for Korean food.

When the noodle soup arrived, I had not expected how large the portion was! It was large enough to share with another person! If you’re unfamiliar with the spicy seafood noodle soup – its filled with heaping amount of onions, some wood ear and carrots, green onions and some shanghai bok choy! There was some generous amount of seafood as well – which included squid, mussels and shrimp. The flavour was a great blend of spice and sweet seafood taste. It wasn’t overly spicy that it took away from the flavour of the seafood.

The noodles were nice and chewy and also absorbed some of the soup which made it all more enjoyably tasty. Since it’s my first time at the restaurant, I was surprised at the large size of the noodle bowl and the taste. I would come back again to see how their other dishes fair.