Is Parle By Viet Fresh The Best Pho Restaurant In Ottawa?

Parle By VietFresh claims to have the Best pho in Ottawa and has really rave reviews on Google Maps with a rating of 4.8! So I decided to head there and see what it was all about!

When you enter the place, it does look nice and is quite spacious compared to other Vietnamese restaurants I have been to which have a more outdated look. I could see a lot of umbrellas upside down hanging on the ceiling and a sign saying “FEED ME BANH MI AND TELL ME IM pretty”. Apparently the sign has become quite popular among locals who come to the venue just to take pictures with it!

The place doesn’t serve alcohol so my friend ended up ordering Blue Butterfly Peaflower Tea which I had never tried before or even heard about it, but apparently it’s a caffeine-free tea derived from flowers. It didn’t have a strong flavor or smell, and felt only a little bit sweet.

For my pho, I had the VietFresh Special which had a variety of meats. All of the ingredients were definitely fresh, which is very important when you are having Pho! and I had to add Sriracha into my Pho to make it more spicy. I had ordered medium sized bowl (the place only offers medium and large) and found that my pho had a decent quantity of meat in it. Surprisingly I was able to finish my meal!

Trying out the Pho at Viet Fresh, I am not sure if I was impressed much by it as the place claims to be the best pho in Ottawa. It does taste good but I wouldn’t say that it was excellent. Service at the place is good and I did felt that the server was checking on us quite often.

Address: 313 Dalhousie St, Ottawa, ON K1N 5T4

Rating: 7.5/10

Tom Mehra

Tom Mehra, an Ottawa-based Software Engineer with a Masters in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Dallas, shares insights on local food spots and top attractions in Canada and the US. He’s also a former resident of the US, UK, and India, and in 2023, his blog was nominated for an Ottawa Award by Faces Magazine. He is also a cat sitter.

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Jenga Night At Chateau Lafayette In Byward Market!

After visiting Chateau Lafayette, I feel like this bar has a really good potential to become my favorite bar in the city! While the lafayette is a dive bar, it’s one of the few bars in the downtown area that plays country music!

There is limited seating in the patio however their indoor is quite spacious and is suitable for large groups. I didn’t knew this but the bar also has some games that are available to be played for free. My group was able to get a hold of the Jenga, which we played through the night and what made it even awesome was that each piece of Jenga had a dare written on it so it was fun playing them out at the bar.

Apart from Jenga, the bar also has Pacman arcade and some other games that are available on request. You might have to just look around as there does seem to be some interesting stuff in the bar.

Since this bar actually plays country music, even though the dance floor is quite limited, you will end up seeing people do line dancing sometimes! They do have a DJ playing music on the weekends but also you have the option to play your own music using the touchtunes machines on other days.

Chateau Lafayette promises to be a really good spot for group hangouts. Drinks are priced a little higher than what the other dive bars like Dominion Tavern charge but this one offers a very different experience.

Address: 42 York St, Ottawa, ON K1N 5S6

Rating: 8/10

Tom Mehra

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Good Vibes And Elk Burger At The Works Ottawa!

As soon as I entered The Works @ 580 Bank Street, even though the place was empty, it does appear to have a really good atmosphere! The place is all well lit up, clean and quite spacious! Also I didn’t knew this but I have been told that the Works is really well known among the locals for its burgers.

The way how things work at The Works is you decide one of the burgers off their menu, and depending on your preference you can customize it a bit more than what other restaurants offer. So you can decide on a variety of patty’s that they have (chicken, wagyu beef, elk, plant-based). Also you can go for a number of sides that they have – fries, chips, broccoli, weeds, poutine, salad, onion rings and more! They also give you an option to what type of bun you want – White, Bunless, Lettuce Bun and Multi Grain.

Elk Burger and Sangria at The Works Ottawa

Most of the times, when I am out, I go for the beef patty. However I saw that they had Elk Burger on their menu so decided to go with the Elk on the Beech (with multigrain bun). For my side item, I ordered their spicy die-cut chips. I also ended up ordering Sangria on the side.

I found the Elk Burger quite flavorful! It’s one of the few times I have had an Elk Burger and I think I did enjoy eating it! But I found their spicy die-cut chips quite delicious! I wasn’t expecting the chips to be that good! For me, the portion of the meal were good enough. By the time I had finished the burger, I was feeling stuffed.

The Sangria that I ordered, tasted a little off but it appears that I just to stir it a little bit to get the flavors right.

Service at The Works is good, our drinks came up at our table real quick and the server tended to us often checking if we needed anything. I would definitely recommend this place.

Address: 580 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1S 3T3

Rating – 8/10

Tom Mehra

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Chivas Rumberas – Party Bus Experience In Cartagena!

If you are coming to party in Cartagena, then you must do the Party Bus Experience that the city has to offer. It’s called Chivas Rumberas (literally translates to Traditional Party Bus) and you will often see these party buses around the Walled City of Cartagena with disco lights and loud music! Just wave your hand if you are interested in hopping onto the party bus.

Price for the party bus can be around USD $10-20 per person depending on the kind of bus, how long the party bus goes on and other stuff included in the package.

Chivas Rumberas is for everyone!
It doesn’t matter if you are alone, in a group, young (18+) or old! You will see people from different demographics on the bus. While there are a lot of people from Latin America, you will end up seeing people from North America and Europe to experience the Colombian party experience!

Alcohol is available on the bus!
If you pay a bit more, you can have alcohol on the bus. You will be handed a bottle of alcohol and cups to fill in your drink. Ice is available as well. You have the option to bring in your own alcohol or buy it when the bus stops on it’s routes.

A single alcohol bottle might be enough for 2-3 lightweight people! It’s really a lot of alcohol. A lot of people prefer to get alcohol on the stops which can be cheaper.

Party on the bus!
That is the main thing about Chiva Rumbera! There will be music and the party gets rolling! It’s absolute hours of fun and does get crazy on the bus! Music genre can depend on the party bus but it’s usually Latin Music (Latin Pop, Salsa, Bachata, Reggaeton) and a little bit of English Music as well.

Make new friends
While on the Party Bus, you actually end up interacting with a lot of people and it can be an opportunity to make new friends! The Party Buses have a host who does a quick orientation of all the people on the bus!

Take pictures at popular Cartagena’s popular attractions
Depending on the Party Bus that you have signed up for, the buses will cover a number of popular locations within Cartagena. The buses stop on multiple places during the ride, and you have ample opportunity to take pictures.

An opportunity to tryout Cartagena’s street food!
As the bus goes through different parts of the city, you can also end up grabbing a meal through the street vendors. Try out something new that you haven’t had before, you might be surprised 🙂

After party at a night club!
The last destination for the Party Buses is going to be one of the popular nightclubs in the City. There won’t be a cover charge as it’s included in the package. Parties at the nightclub usually ends up around 3-4 am.

Whether you have been on a party bus before or not, it’s absolutely worth signing up for! There are tons of party buses throughout the city and they are packed on the weekdays as well! Just like Vegas, they have a saying – “What happens in Cartagena, Stays in Cartagena!”.

Rating: 9/10

Tom Mehra

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Extreme Chicken Wings At The Royal Oak GastroPub In Ottawa!

I have been trying Chicken Wings at different places within Ottawa and this time I ended up ordering myself Chicken Wings at the Royal Oak (Bank Street). I had noticed that the restaurant had not only just Hot Wings, but they also offered Extreme flavored sauce for their Chicken Wings.

I enquired about what was the difference between the Hot and Extreme and was told that the restaurant used Frank’s Hot Sauce for Hot Wings while they had something a bit more hotter for the Extreme Wings. I decided to give the Extreme Chicken Wings a go.

The Extreme Chicken Wings definitely smelled hot, and came with a few pieces of celery/carrots and sour cream to tame the heat. Trying these wings, yes they felt they were a little bit more hot but not extremely hot as I was thinking.

I think that the wings had a little bit of tabasco and vinegar apart from the hot sauce added into it for that extra hot flavoring. The wings did taste good but I didn’t felt amazed by them.

You do have the option to have the chicken wings classic or breaded. Also if you think Extreme flavor is not for you the place does offer mild as well as salt and pepper flavoring for their chicken wings.

The overall vibe at the place is good for a group hangout. It feels like the restaurant does attract a sports crowd as they have a number of TV screens with sports playing all the time.

Rating – 7/10

Address: 318 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K2P 1X7

Tom Mehra

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Overnight Stay At La Quinta Inn & Suites Oshawa

Due to work I ended up doing an overnight stay in Oshawa at a hotel called La Quinta Inn & Suites By Wyndham Oshawa. I had booked the hotel just an hour before I was to arrive at the location and also found the location to be perfect for me since it was in the downtown area. This was the cheapest place I could find at the time for about $90 tax included.

While the hotel looks a bit dated, the room and the bathroom looked clean. The room also was equipped with a closet, tv, fridge and microwave. All the rooms at the hotel are equipped with air conditioning and heating.

If you plan to work inside your hotel room, there is a work table and chair as well though I didn’t like the slap on top of the table as it felt cold while working.

The only thing I didn’t like about the room was that the drapes were very dirty and I mean filthy dirty like they had not been cleaned and replaced for years. Also it was not possible to cover the windows properly and I tried not to touch the drapes.

You might end up hearing people outside your suite or when they are walking in the hallway but I did not find it bothersome as I was just staying for a very short period.

The location for the hotel is quite nice though, and being right in the downtown, you can head to a bar straight after arriving there even if you are quite late.

Address: 63 King Street East, Oshawa, ON, L1H 1B4, Canada

Rating: 6/10

Tom Mehra

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Can An American Work Remotely In Canada?

While it’s possible for US citizens to work remotely in Canada, there are two immediate concerns –

Immigration – US citizens (who are not Canadian Permanent Residents or Canadian Citizens) have certain restrictions if they are in Canada for work.

NAFTA (USMCA) allows US citizens (who meet NAFTA Professionals list) to work in Canada without a work permit as a professional either as an employee of a Canadian company, through a contract between the person and the Canadian company or it would need to be a contract between US employer and the Canadian company.
If you are coming as an Intra company transfer (being transferred from US company to Canadian company) as a manager or executive, then you are going to need a work permit.
You are allowed to be in Canada for business purposes. Business visitors are allowed to carry their activities without a work permit.
Traders and investors need work permit.

If you are not sure about your immigration situation, you can always contact the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada regarding your situation who would be able guide you on this.

Taxation – Once you are in Canada, if you are spending more than 183+ days during the tax year, you might be considered a tax resident of Canada. If you are working for a US employer, you might have to file taxes in both US and Canada because US citizens are required to file tax in the US and as a tax resident of Canada, you would be required to file taxes in Canada.

It would be best to consult a tax consultant if you believe there might be certain exemptions that apply to you due to the nature of your business.

Tom Mehra

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How I Was Able To Bring My Stress And Anxiety Under Control!

About 2 years back, I had a very weird feeling with my heart. I had been working late, and had a lot of soda pop that night. While I felt alright, I just felt real uneasy for some reason while laying down in bed.

Since I felt something weird with my heart I wanted to see what my heart rate looked like on my phone, while it initially looked normal, it just jumped out of nowhere and immediately I went into what felt like was a heart attack. I had never experienced something like this before, and I called 911 immediately. Luckily, my place wasn’t far from the hospital and the ambulance was able to arrive within minutes.

While I was having a racing heart beat and shivery, the paramedics assessed me and informed me that what I was going through was a panic attack. Before, this happened, I had never even heard of that term. I was taken to the hospital and my blood report and electrocardiogram looked normal. After monitoring for a few hours at the hospital, I was released and told that I should check with my family doctor if anything else needs to be done.

While the racing heart beat and shivering had gone before I left the hospital, I felt like my whole body had messed up, for some strange reason it just seemed like it was hard to breath and I had to really focus to keep breathing while trying to sleep. I felt slightly better after waking up.

I thought it was a one-time event, but it started to happen often and since my blood report came alright, I couldn’t figure out what was causing it. Whenever I would start to feel anxious, I would try to drink water and go for a walk and that seemed to help a bit. The issue started to bother me a lot since it was happening everyday.

Always Consult A Doctor
I consulted my family doctor who informed me that panic attacks are quite common and it can take a while for your body to heal. Also he mentioned that it takes some time to stop thinking about going into another panic attack. The blood reports appeared normal to him as well so no prescription medication or additional tests were advised for me.

Stop Having Caffeine Based Products
I started to monitor what I was eating, and doing, and then I realized that there was a pattern. I noticed that whenever I took Dr Pepper (soda pop), I would feel anxious and think that I might go into a panic attack. I looked up online and turns out caffeine in drinks was responsible for causing panic attacks. To test this out, I stopped drinking soda for a couple of days during which I felt better and then tried to get back on drinking soda, which seemed to bring anxiety back.

Before this I loved caffeinated drinks and chocolates. But now I can’t have a single piece of chocolate or a sip of drink. I have tried to get back on such products but everytime I have tried, it has brought my anxiety back.

Cutting off caffeine, really helped bring my symptoms a lot under control. Even though I still feel my stress/anxiety go up, it was a lot worse when I took caffeine based products.

Try Out Meditation For Sleeping
It was really hard to sleep for the first few months, with my mind thinking sometimes that I will go under another panic attack. So I started to listen to meditation music which helped me take my attention away from what was going on my mind and helped me to sleep.

Try Stress Relief Supplements – Ashwagandha and Vitamin B Complex
I started to look into products that might potentially help me reduce my stress. I didn’t think that they would work initially but I noticed that my anxiety reduced significantly once I started taking Ashwagandha and Vitamin B Complex on a daily basis. Now my stress/anxiety issues don’t impact me on a day-to-day basis.

I have tried some other anti-anxiety supplements however the most that have benefit me were Ashwagandha and Vitamin B complex.

Exercise Might Reduce Stress
Personally I have noticed that the days when I exercise, I feel I have less anxiety compared to other days when I have not exercised. I don’t know exactly about how the body works but exercise seems to help me feel a bit better.

Aromatherapy With Essential Oils Might Benefit
It’s a little hard for me to measure how much impact this has had but I have just felt a little nice whenever I have my diffuser on with essential oils. It might be worth trying aromatherapy and see if you feel better yourself as well.

Avoid Thrill Seeking
From time to time, I have felt that if I tried to accelerate fast, honk while driving it can cause me to get anxious. So I try not to do that anymore. Also I realized that sitting on a speed boat can cause me to get anxious as well. If you have felt the same, then it’s time to put a break to your thrills.

It took me a while to figure out what works for me and what doesn’t. Also what worked for me, might not work for you. This list is also not comprehensive I am sure that there are many other things that you could try out to keep your stress and anxiety under control. I was surprised to see that there are stress relief shoes available in the market these days, while I haven’t tried them out yet, I am really interested in getting a pair and see if they would work for me.

Tom Mehra

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What Does Housing In Cartagena Colombia Look Like?

When I arrived at the apartment building in the Old Town of Cartagena, I was thinking that I had made a mistake getting that unit. The building looked quite old and the floor looked a bit dirty.

I had gotten the place using Airbnb for my short term stay and it had really good ratings, so I was a bit disappointed as the entrance looked a bit different than what I expected. The layout of the pathway for the apartments also reminded me like I was in a dorm.

However once I entered my unit I was quite pleased. The unit wasn’t too big but was clean and looked nice! There were 2 bedrooms each with a closet and television.

There was air conditioning installed as well to cool the whole unit. I had been told that usually houses in Colombia don’t have air conditioning as the temperature usually hovers around room temperature but this day was a bit hot so it was good to have air conditioning. The unit also had a small living area and dining area sufficient for a family of four or a group of friends.

There was enough space in the bathroom however I felt the kitchen was quite tiny. It was only possible for one person to fit in. Luckily, I was going to be eating out all the time so it wasn’t much of a concern with limited space in the Kitchen.

Even though Cartagena has tried to preserve the architecture and it’s old buildings, you will not have any issues finding modern housing in the city. It might look a bit dated from the outside but you can expect luxury inside.

Rent in Cartagena can vary but you can expect anywhere between 400 USD to 1000 USD per month depending on the area, number of rooms, and amenities. Apartments in the city center can cost more as it attracts tourists.

Tom Mehra

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Cooking Chicken Wings With Cool Runnings Hot Sauce!

Cool Runnings has a Hot Chicken Wing Sauce that I only noticed recently while going through the international foods store near me. As per the claim on the bottle, the wing sauce is suitable for chicken or to be used as a dipping sauce.

I decided to cook my chicken wings using this sauce as the marinade! As per the bottle, the sauce is good for about 2 pounds of wings. I was going to make half of that so I used 1/4 of the sauce as a marinade and I was going to use 1/4 more to pour over the wings once they were cooked.

While the instructions mention to marinade the wings for an hour, I didn’t have that much time and was quite hungry so I just marinated the wings for about 15 minutes and then I tossed them into the air fryer.

Marinated Chicken Wings in the Air Fryer!

It took the wings about 25 minutes to be perfectly cooked in my air fryer. I had to turn them around during this time to make sure that they were cooked properly. The wings appeared to be a little burnt but I later realized that was just because of the sauce.

After that I poured over about 1/4 of the hot wings sauce over the wings and they were ready to be served. The wings looked really hot and spicy.

If you cannot tolerate much spice, what you could do is instead of pouring over the sauce on the wings, you could have some of it as a dipping sauce.

Trying out the Hot Wings sauce I felt that the sauce is not hot enough does have a bit of kick in it. The taste came out to be a mix of sweet and spicy, which is still enjoyable though. It might appeal to people who prefer to have only a bit of spice in their food.

Rating – 7.5/10

Tom Mehra

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