Category: Living in Canada

Walmart Sells Sushi And It’s Not That Bad!

As soon I entered the Walmart Supercentre in Plateau, I noticed that they are actually selling Sushi! Eating out at a restaurant has gotten more expensive recently, so instead of heading out to a dining restaurant for the day, I thought it would be good to try out Walmart’s Sushi as the price seemed reasonable.

I was able to get the Crispy California Spicy Roll for about 8 bucks. The box included Ginger, Sushi Sauce, and Wasabi. At 470 Calories, it can be a nice lunch for 1 person.

Crispy California Spicy Roll by Naoki

Once I opened up the box, there are a couple of things I noticed. The sushi sauce tasted quite different than the usual soy sauce that I have at home, and so did the Wasabi. I think that they might be using a lighter version of the soy sauce which has less sodium or maybe have some other formulation. For the Wasabi package I noticed that it actually is ‘Wasabi Flavored Horseradish’. I only noticed this because it was taking some time for the Wasabi to get dissolved in the sushi sauce.

The Crispy California Rolls actually tasted alright though. The main noticeable ingredients in the sushi roll were imitation crab meat and cream cheese (or perhaps mayo). It actually was quite flavorful and much better than what I expected from Walmart.

I think the quality is a lit lower because of the cost cutting but if you are looking for a quick meal or just want sushi on budget, it might be worth just picking up sushi from Walmart!

Address: 35 Boulevard du Plateau, Gatineau, Quebec J9A 3G1

Rating: 7/10

Fancy Cocktails In Ottawa At Montgomery Lounge!

I have been to Montgomery Scotch Lounge a couple of times and whenever I go there, I find something new! Turns out the place has some really nice specialty drinks so I decided to try them out this time!

Cocktails at Montgomery Scotch Lounge

The first drink I ordered was called the Cruising Altitude which is made of Glenmorangie Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Amaro Nonino, Aperol and Lemon. If you like sweet flavor then this would be the drink for you.

The second drink was a bit of a different experience though – it was the Pompatus of Love which is part of their Enlightment Series. This drink consisted of Aberfeldy Scotch Single Malt, Aperol and Amaro Averna! What’s unique about this drink as you actually get a Smoke Bubble on top of your drink! Blow it up before you sip your drink!

Both drinks had a strong flavor and I had to drink them out sip by sip. It is really hard to chug these drinks even if you are thirsty.

Whenever I have been there, there is always a band performing! I was thinking that the lounge always plays country music but that is not the case. They were actually playing a blend of soul, funk, jazz, reggae and latin music this time and the performance was great!

Mecca of Stank band

I have enjoyed all my visits at this place and recommend it! However there wwere two things that I noticed about this place that I didn’t like. While I have been to the place before when they perform live music, I have never been charged a cover before. But during this visit, there was a cover charge ($10). While it’s okay to charge a cover, none of us were told upon entering the venue that there would be a cover charge.

The other issue was that one of the persons in the group got a sample of the drink and was charged for it. I think it’s important to let the customers know about such charges especially when other bars do not charge for trying out a drink.

Address: 1154 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1S 3X6

Business website: http://montgomeryscotchlounge.com/

Rating: 8/10

Can Canadians Travel To The US Without A Passport?

It is definitely possible for Canadians to Travel to the US from Canada without a passport however instead of a passport you are going to need a document that confirms your citizenship.

Currently there are two documents that are accepted by the US Customs and Border Protection that can be used in substitute of your passport. You can either use your NEXUS Card or an Enhanced Driver’s License (if your province issued you one).

I actually tried it out myself by driving to the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge! All I had to do was show my NEXUS Card to the border agent, was just asked where I was headed and I was free to enter the United States! I wasn’t asked my passport and it was a complete hassle-free experience.

Entering New York from Ontario

I have only tried this at the US- Canada Land Border, and haven’t tried just using my Nexus Card instead of my passport yet for flights from Canada To the United States. If you are planning to just use your Nexus Card, you should check with the airlines if that is okay as some airlines can have different rules.

If you have a Nexus Card but don’t have Canadian Citizenship, you might still be required to provide the border agent your passport.

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.

Parle By VietFresh

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

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.

Chateau Lafayette

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

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

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.

Extreme Chicken Wings

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.

Royal Oak Gastro Pub

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

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.

La Quinta Inn Suite

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.

Dirty drapes at La Quinta Inn

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

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.

How To Get Free Adult Vaccinations In Quebec?

Turns out even though Quebec has a public healthcare system, if you go to the pharmacy to get vaccinations, you might end up paying a lot of money for it. I just had that experience when I had to pay over $200 for just a single vaccine!

However, turns out that you might be eligible to get certain vaccinations for free if you just look up online through the health portal as they are sometimes being offered at certain pharmacies and hospitals.

As example, when I searched for Adult Vaccinations on Clic Sante portal, the first pharmacy that showed up had vaccinations available only with fees.

Paid Vaccinations

However I was able to find another place not too far away from me where certain vaccinations were available without fees.

Vaccinations with No Fees

You can save a lot of money especially if you have other family needs who need to be vaccinated as well and don’t have a private insurance that covers the cost of getting vaccinated!