The only entrance ticket you should buy is for the Chinese Lantern Festival, which not only allows you to see amazing displays and cool cultural performances (like a girl juggling chairs and a huge urn with her feet), but also includes entrance to the CNE. Buy the festival tickets in the day to get into the CNE and end the date with an evening at Ontario Place, where they also have food kiosks (ha! Mandarin!) if you crave Asian cuisine. ETA: I just found out it's free AFTER 6pm! Be forewarned!

"Balikbayan box" is a term used by filipinos to describe the massive boxes they fill with miscellaneous items to bring "home" to the Philippines. But really, many cultures who have families overseas use these huge, cardboard boxes and if you're born in Canada, these are awesome for moving day.

It's a no-nonsense food stop for cheap and quick burritos, both jumbo-size and regular. I had their chicken burrito, which had ground chicken with tomatoes, lettuce and spicy sauce, as well as their jumbo chicken satay burrito, which had the same ingredients only the chicken was skewered. The spiciness was just enough; not overwhelming, with just the right amount of kick.

I love reading those poetry-on-the way series. It's better than blankly staring beyond the person sitting in front of me or falling asleep while clutching my purse!

OurFaves.com is having a small get-together this Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 9pm to meet and greet with fellow favers. Sing some karaoke with a live band for backup! This is a low-key gathering of friends, not a huge party, and there's no cover charge involved. Please RSVP if you'd like to come on our Facebook event called "OurFaves Live Karaoke at Tattoo Rock Parlour" or join our Facebook group OurFaves.com Toronto.

The pieces themselves are average, but the spicy, minced salmon topping punches you in the mouth.

On dreary days, looking outside the window at brightly coloured graffiti art along the brick buildings piques anyone's interest and you can't help but admire the intricate detail that these artists must have put into their work. ETA: This photo here is a Scarborough landmark, and has been around for years. All Scarborough city commuters will agree that this and another mural that you also view one/two blocks down the rail, are equivalent to "Welcome to Scarborough" signs.

My family often sends money to the Philippines to our relatives. Barrio Fiesta can take your Canadian dollars and exchange them into pesos to be sent to your chosen destination. I believe it takes a $10 fee for the transfer/exchange, and it's worth it because I know that I can trust them.

People who are used to seeing the Harvey's at Sheppard and Brimley won't be disappointed that Jesse Jr. took over its locale. The setup, like many filipino restaurants, has a grocery section as well as an eating section. You can choose to drink a traditional ice drink like halo-halo or delicious snacks like barbecued meat on a skewer. Be sure to also catch a filipino movie on their massive plasma TV!

It's a narrow space that's often packed with hungry people at its peak hours, but the wait in line is worth it for one of Ravi's soups or wraps that he makes himself. There's even a dish called Ravi Stew, with ingredients that change according to whatever Ravi himself decides on a whim. The portions are extremely filling, and one wrap at Ravi's is equivalent to two wraps anywhere else. I also love the impressionist mural that resembles a sunset in its patio at the back.

If my grandmothers or parents can't make it, this place is the next best thing. I like buying their snacks like ube (translated to mean "purple yam" in tagalog) and their hot meals like sinigang (a traditional stew with spinach, eggplant, and meat or fish). If you plan to eat in, they've got tables and an area where you can watch a filipino channel/movie. This place also doubles as a filipino food grocery store.

Those Canadian Heritage commercials are a lie: Laura Secord went on mission to warn the British troops that the Americans were going to steal a top-secret chocolate chip ice cream recipe (fridges were another secret invention back then). Lt. Fitzgibbon was like, 'Oh, hell no!' and so they kicked Yankee ass, with much-needed help from the Natives, who also enjoyed the flavour. This is why Laura Secord's chocolate chip ice cream is much more crunchier today than Baskin Robbins'.

There's a special booth where you can buy tickets for half-price for certain shows, like Evil Dead The Musical, Spamalot and Dirty Dancing. We paid $35 each for $70 seats, whatta bargain! BUT you must attend the show the day of purchase, and when you make your transaction, you receive vouchers (not tickets) that reserve your seats. Then you exchange these vouchers at the theatre/venue for real tickets.

You can travel from Central Square all the way to the Chemistry Building by following a path through their basements. Explore it for yourself and this is the order you should find: Central Square's basement leads to Computer Science Bldg, then Steacie Science Library, then Petrie, then Chemistry. You'll feel a little like a lab rat, but you'll be better than the suckers above-ground!

I am very picky when it comes to finding the perfect shoe that looks and feels good, one that I can wear for more than a couple of hours. So, I found the brand Elie Tahari, which fits the arches of my feet perfectly and makes me feel like Cinderella. I can only find them at Winners, and apparently, the only other places to find them is Holt Renfrew's (yeah, right) and Bloomingdale's (which is based in the U.S.).

They say that there was a girl who haunts a bridge on Old Finch Road where she was raped and murdered, although there are many different versions of how she died. The stretch of pavement is made creepier because the further you drive down Old Finch Road from Scarborough towards Ajax, all you see are fields and farmland and nothing else to save you from the ghosts!

Yes, diabetes runs in my family. Yes, this icy goodness has chunks of chocolate blended with espresso, topped with whipped cream and MORE chocolate syrup. Don't judge me.

I hope my bf doesn't panic if he reads this, but c'mon, I have to admit that I like admiring wedding dresses. Danforth has a lot of small, lovely boutiques with eye-catching display windows.

I wanted to show off the fancy rooftop patio to my friend and we ended up walking all around the building on EACH FLOOR marvelling at the artwork on the walls and the variety of businesses that are based there. Sure, we looked pretty sketchy (like we're casing the joint), but who cares? You get to see photographic essays and paper -mâché wolf masks and discover offices that house cool film festivals (like ImagineNATIVE and Reel Asian) and magazines (like THIS and C Magazine).

If you're coming from the east-end, as in Morningside/Neilson/Markham and 401: take sidestreets like Milner and Progress and head west until you hit Kennedy. Then you go south on Kennedy till you hit Eglinton. Head west on Eg until you see a sign for O'Connor Road and follow it. O'Connor takes you west all the way downtown and turns into Broadview Ave., which intersects with Danforth/Bloor. It sounds lengthy, but it's a cruise compared to the congestion on 401 and DVP/Hwy 404.

It's funny because this private club/venue would probably keel over at the thought of having "combos" on their pretentious menus, but it was honestly the best burger and fries I'd ever tasted. The fries (or pomme frites) are light, crispy and not-oily while the burger patty was made from "9 oz. House Ground 'Wellington County' Beef." It didn't need to be overwhelmed with toppings, just lettuce, tomato and onion. So, rich people aren't better than the rest of us . . . it's just their food.

Located in the Annex on busy Bloor, it's refreshing both for its fare and its nostalgic feel. Go back to the days when a smiling face hands out your fave ice cream flavours (cash only) from a windowsill while happy, bubbly music plays overhead. On the small patio at its front, plenty of patrons young and old alike chat on the wooden picnic benches. They recently added organic ice cream to their menu. How sweet it is!

it's hidden away at Midland and Ellesmere in Scarborough, but word of mouth has made this place very popular. Not only do you have great service, but there are always complementary appetizers provided as well -- edamame, mackarel, and seaweed with hot sauce.

This happens a lot: you visit every computer lab imaginable, and all the slots are full or they don't have MS Word. There's another place where you can access computers in Scott on the library's second floor (across the bathrooms!) that is usually either open or has a shorter lineup. There's also a printer station.

When working late production nights for the campus paper, I often found myself wandering in Falafel Hut Village around 12am-ish and their staff will always have a friendly smile on their faces. Their chicken may be microwaved, but when they wrap it up and put it together with extra hot sauce, it is dee-lish!