9/30/2016

Diy: rubber gloves into useful big bands



If you're an avid pink glove user, you might just might have felt too guilty to throw away the worn pair (the right pair always seem to be the one that wears out first because I am right handed) while you're in the midst of finishing up your dish washing session.  I have.  Felt too guilty to throw a good pair just because I couldn't stand trickle of dirty water penetrating my index finger.  


To lessen this first(second) class world problem, just grab a pair of scissors and cut away!  


You can make little or big or stretchy or tight bands, for different uses and occasion.   

I use the looser band for big bags like pet food or beans, and tigher bands for closing up frozen food bags. 


It's very useful to have different bands for different occasions.  Now you can feel less guilty of throwing that almost good pair away.  


These are the fun little things house keepers like myself can come up and feel good about (patting myself on the back) when you do a chore many occasions enough.  

Bonus:  you can cut a big wider piece to help you open up jars!  


9/22/2016

Organic milk soft serve - BaekMiDang (IFC mall Yeouido)


I don't eat as much ice cream in summer than I should considering what a hot summer we had.  But there is one place that I always get my share of ice cream whenever I see this place, no matter what always, most always.

Baekmidang is an ice cream place that serves their famous organic milk soft ice cream.  It was mind blowing the very first time I had it.  It's so soft, creamy and heavy with good organic milk!  If you like pure taste and milk, this soft serve is a must.


This one in IFC mall in Yeouido was a new store.  I was super thrilled to see it!  It didn't look like it belonged there amongst the clothing stores on the 3rd floor - most eateries are located on the bottom floor. 


They interestingly also have tofu soft serve ice cream.  But I'll stick to my organic milk one. 


It doesn't look like much - but I love the natural milk taste and organic factor.  But one thing I don't particularly like is their cone itself.  The bottom gets pierced down with the soft serve and drips easily.  You either have to eat it fast in a hot weather or just maneuver your way into biting the bottom when it starts dripping while eating the top all at the same time and trying not to look lest silly. I've managed to hone that skill with a few tries.  I don't think it's such a negative, but my husband dislikes their weak cone.


So he got a latte ice cream.  It's strong coffee and their soft serve.  


The coffee is pretty strong and of good quality and the creamy ice cream adds a bold contrast with the bitter coffee.  It's like a big affogato!


I purchased this book today!  

With that added book find, today was a good day. 


Ilho Myunok in Lotte castle arcade (Yeouido)


As previously stated, I enjoy "hamheung" nengmyun out of all the nengmyun out there.  So my "nengmyun enthusiast" husband wanted me to show a proper hamheung nengmyun. 

We headed to Yeouido Lotte Castle arcade.  


One thing I love about korean restaurants is that the menu is limited. Sometimes options (unlimited) makes (my) life much complicated than it should be.

I appreciate the smaller menu here.  As usual with nengmyun restaurants, we ordered mandoo with our hamheung and bibim nengmyun.  The spicy latter nengmyun is mine.  


The mandoo was superb!  It had plenty of veggies to combat the pork taste.  I didn't particularly enjoy the dipping sauce that came with it.  It wasn't the vinegar and soy sauce mix we concoct.  But very happy to have ordered these!


Getting mandoo in a nengmyun restaurant is a must for us because we enjoy the warmth meaty pairing with our cold noodles and because it also gives a good judge on how seriously they take their trade.  


The soupy "hamheung nengmyun" boasts a thicker creamier looking broth!  And it tastes as amazing as it looks.  They pride in making natural broth and the taste is a result of it. 


My "bibim nengmyun" was very good as well!  There were enough "skate meat" in it that made the dish very rich.  It's hard to find so much skate meat in these bibim nengmyuns.  No, it's not the scary fermented skate, but sweet and spicy vinegary skate meat that adds a chewy and refreshing meaty texture to a could be bland dish.  

I was overall very happy with the meal.  Koreans pride in making one kind of dish really well and that's the case with Ilho Myunok.  If you are around Yeouido and enjoy nengmyun, I would recommend this place. 


Lotte Castle arcade has many restaurants inside if cold noodles aren't your thing, you will probably find a good alternative here.  The "monk fish restaurant" I blogged earlier is located here too.  


9/21/2016

Jelly pudding cups in 7-11


Those days when you want something sweet and refreshing, but not heavy or creamy - head to the jelly section in convenient store!

Grabbed these jellies!


One is grape - it has real grapes on the bottom.  And the other one is "coco-strawberry"


They look like the perfect treat!


Can you see the green grapes on the bottom? 

It's sweet, but not heavy and the real grape bites makes you feel like you're eating something a bit healthier (but not likely so).


The coco-strawberry is not as sweet as the grape one!  It tastes a bit creamy from the coconut milk addition. 


I like the jelly more than the chunks of jelly on the bottom because they were too sweet for my liking.


Enjoyed these thoroughly..!

What's your less than guilty sweet treat?! ;)


9/20/2016

Earthquake in Seoul


On Monday September 19th, 8:33pm, I felt like I was lifted briefly in the air (very briefly!) while lying down on the sofa.  I looked over my husband and he too knew what it was.

We got our 2nd earthquake after just a week ago when it felt like the building shook (side to side) very briefly and ever so lightly.  This time felt like I was lifted up and down.

Very small number of people felt it in Seoul this round - that's what I get for being so sensitive.  


This is not my first experience with earthquakes - I grew up in the Philippines where I remember my mom holding us while the earth shook and things were flying off the shelves.  This is my 3rd earthquake feel in Korea since 2007.  

I can't say what this means - but perhaps it's natures way of reminding us that our time is brief here and any moment could be our last.  

Koreans are super scared because they always believed they were safe from earthquakes.  I can feel the paranoia here.  The way the government is handling small matters doesn't make it all assuring that if something big does happen that that might be it and the end.    A bit negative, but you can't blame them for being so paranoid. 

All I know is that we are all at the mercy of nature.  

On a lighter note:  Japan has lived with it and so can Korea.  They just have to start taking some actions for preparation and education in many required areas to better deal with earthquakes and its aftermath.  

What the Chemtrail! (Seoul, Korea)


Chemtrails... 

After a few days of beautiful clear days - I guess they didn't want it to last - the sky is covered in Chemtrail film of gray dusty looking blanket.  


Is there a jet show?  You gotta wonder what's up there. 


I like to ask questions.  I don't know how I came about learning about chemtrails - but glad I did.

Doesn't hurt to ask and learn why.  I'm lucky enough to live high enough to see the beginning of spraying process  (streaks of white lines) before it settles and makes a thick blanket of gray coverage.   


Geoenginering is nothing new. 

It's not some tale anymore.  More and more people are waking up to learn why the sky is the way it is.  


You can actually see the plane when you look closely that's spraying the sky and altering nature. 


The residue it leaves behind looks like clouds - but it's not.  It's very deceiving. 


How about a free "jet show" with a hint of aluminum dust to accelerate Alzheimer's!  Anyone?!


No one wants to know that evil is being done - but you have to wake up to see the truth:   

Everything is connected. 


9/19/2016

After chuseok - fall weather


The weather this chuseok wasn't as pleasant as it should have been - no blue sky in sight, but pale gray polluted air.  But that's no more!  


Ironic how the weather turned inside and out upside down after Chuseok.  We can see the ever so pretty blue sky and cotton candy clouds.

Fall also finally landed its path to stay - probably not as long as everyone hopes it would because autumn is one of the prettiest season in Korea.  Cool air, falling foliage leaves covers the streets makes you want to stroll and skip along with your favorite person hand in hand - and did I mention sweaters?  Hoodies?  It's my favorite time of the year!


The library in city hall had some books on sale in front.  I go giddy seeing books.


As pretty and colorful as they look - they were way too expensive for their condition - looked as if they were all thrown in a storage room 5 years ago only to be recovered and sold now.  

I hate to see books waste away and hope these find happy owners.


It was a lovely day to stroll and clean our lungs.  I felt relieved that the air cleared up. 

Cheonggyecheon stream still had people who enjoyed their river feet soaking - it felt too chilly for me to even try that.  The weather cooled off as the day went on.


There are plenty of restaurants and cafes around Gwanghwamun nowadays.  We love checking out what's new. 


We love this area.  Still have so many places we have yet to check out and eat.

What's your favorite place?



9/17/2016

Still my favorite chocolate cafe - Laderach in SFC mall (Gwanghwamun)


After all these years... I can't seem to replicate their chocolate drink.. I've been close but never the same.  I can't seem to replicate their delicate balance of subtlety and boldness in flavor of chocolate.  It's never too sweet and always just the right sugar content.  Now that hoodie season is here, I know this will be my cafe for the season.

Laderach is my favorite chocolate place located inside SFC mall in Gwanghwamun.


They have a great selection of chocolate in front.  However enticing, I always stick to my "classic chocolate drink."


My husband enjoys the cool choco mint drink.  I can't seem to mix mint and chocolate like that in one sip - however I do like it in solid form. 


SFC mall has many restaurants and cafes.  Not many but enough to pick something - but it's not really on the casual side and a bit more on the expensive side.  I would say mid range - the cheapest option probably is bulgogi brothers. 


There's 5cijung cafe inside - it's a fun and cute cafe for the ladies.  Dainty and calming.

There's also Tartine now which is new. You can get American pies.  I haven't tried this one here - but I have enjoyed the original shoppe in Itaewon.

There's a bit of shopping but very little - it's more for upscale eating and good cafes.  It's a nice place for a blind date night when you don't want any nuissance from the weather to make sure your hair stays on par and makeup never to melt away.

 

Paris Baguette sandwiches for lunch!


Paris Baguette, I will call PB from now on, has been around Korea forever since I've been here.  They are notorious for being on every other block in the country.  They dominate and conquer the bread scene here.  As much as Koreans are majorly big rice eaters (although that percentage is slowly decreasing nowadays), they seem to need a PB accessible just as much as a convenience store.

But I'm happy to have their presence around nowadays because their quality has increased tremendously!




Anytime we want something fresher and lighter to eat - we now head to PB downstairs to pick up these sandwiches that are actually a lot cheaper and even better tasting than the fancier cafes in the city.

Their overall bread taste better because they somehow use "natural certified yeast" now.  They were known for having rather rubbery bread - now that's old news.  You can actually taste the difference in quality!



Thanks to increased in taste and expectation - PB finally upped up their game and I actually like their goods now.



The chicken and vegs taste fresh and tasty.  Nothing that can make you go, "oh why did I get this one.."



Even their famous "pizza breads" are pretty good now.  Although I pick all the sausage bites out - I still enjoy the remaining taste of ham in these baked goods.  Overall a big increase in their quality!



So I can safely recommend PB as a "good bakery chain" - not the best, but of pretty good value.  Not everything is great on their menu - but some of their sandwiches are good enough to ditch the fancy cafe fare.  I also enjoy their ice cream ;)


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