D tower - restaurant mall in Gwanghwamun

The weather is the hottest its been in almost 20 years in Seoul.  What can you do?  Where can you go?  Because sweating your pits in this smothering heat melts your bb cream away and leaves you crankier than being on your menses days.

I'll tell you where!  Head to DTower in Gwanghwamun!  It is the blocky building next to Gyobo building.  You will know what building it is right away by the swarm of folks like you who are retreating to stay cool and eat at hip restaurants - they will congregate around the building because the first floor also has some cool cafes and little eateries that's attracting people like magnet.  No doubt it's a cool space.  

DTower to describe is a mall of well established restaurants.  I mean this as in  - you wait to be seated kind of restaurants.  There are a few big chains there, but there are also the unique cool tasty ones that we have yet stepped foot in.  

If you want to be safe, you can head to "power plant" - an area where you wait to be seated to choose from mini stalls(restaurants) of eats, like Manimal(bbq).  The beer selection is also decent.  It's like entering a special club, not a dance club, but "food club".  The music blasted to ear drums sensitive mode and the temperature is cold(even for summer).  It feels like you're at a hip club, but you are also chomping down on those Manimal ribs while you're trying to listen to what your friend is saying behind the loud music.  Not family friendly unless you've trained your young ones to listen to metal and electronic music.

My husband is fond of Manimal.  I am not.  This was my first time trying their chicken bbq and much to my hyped up anticipation that it would be good as my husband says it would be, all is lost when I bite into the rather dry salty not unique in taste chicken piece.  

The salad, cranberry sauce and cuts of pork was better than the bbq.  I took solace in the salad.  That's more of the type of food I prefer anyway.  More veggies than meat.  I appreciated my husbands enthusiasm for the food, but perhaps it was the elevation in expectation that proved it harder to be worth the price (foreign foods in Korea is so expensive than it should be).  

Lose fat naturally - corn silk tea and green tea pills(catechin)

They're everywhere in Korea.  Go to a 7-11 and you'll see bottles of it next to green tea and water.  Jun Jihyun used to parade it's slimming properties on ads in tv for the longest time.  I just never got it.  How can "corn silk tea" be slimming?  I thought it was just another health fad.

Boy was I wrong.  I am delighted to be wrong with this one because I myself is benefiting from its benefits.  

I pour myself a drink of hot corn silk first thing in the morning.  My favorite brand is this organic corn silk tea I order online from Emart.  

It's my new morning ritual.  I sip it slowly even in this summer heat to warm my tummy and get my body ready for its diuretic effects.   It makes you go peeee - but that's a good thing because you're getting rid of toxins, water retention, and all that stuff that makes you heavy - meaning you're body is slow to detoxify daily "garbage" you inhale, breathe, and absorb(skin).  

I didn't think much of it the first few weeks.  I've been enjoying the nutty corn taste - it's actually one of the better tasting tea!

And behold, my husband comes back from being away for 2 weeks and compliments on what I've done to slim my legs.  Mind you, I have disproportionate heavy set of legs compared to the size of the rest of my body.  I also get crampy legs at the end of day and occasionally turn to my husband to massage it out.  He knows my struggle. 

I have noticed my body feeling lighter after picking up the corn silk tea habit.  I don't feel as bloated (especially those menstrual days before and after).

I've also been taking WILD DIET 24 (from VITAMIN HOUSE) for its catechin benefits to speed up fat burn.  Instead of trying out newer diet pills, I thought I'd try something that's been around forever, green tea. Catechin or cathechin is from green tea.  I thought about how slim Japanese are as a whole nation, genetically they are very slim people (I know it's I'm so simple minded), so I thought they must have something in their genes that's keeping them so slim.  I know I know.. but that's how my mind works sometimes.  Connect the dots.

 

So has those things worked?  

Perhaps. 

Yes, I do feel lighter and slimmer.  To add, my face hasnt been breaking out like it used to from hormonal and "WTF-where-and-why" pimples.  Perhaps its the speedier detoxification, or just drinking more water.  I don't know exactly, I wish I could I could tell you.   

I don't workout like I used to (kettle bells and all).  I just move my body often nowadays, but I don't make it a do or die routine either. But I do yoga when I feel like it, which is once a week (40 minutes sessions from youtube).  I usually try to do some morning stretches - like moving my neck, shoulders, down dogs, simple stuff.   I also make a point not to go to sleep with cramped legs (body).  Overall, I guess I make sure I have good circulation at the start and end of the day.  I try to be aware of my posture as well.   Staying active as a life style has kept us slimmer.  We walk/bus/train it when we go out.  I don't prefer taxis - their service sucks balls (oops) and I'd rather get my body busy and moving with out trying to workout.  Working out feels so forced sometimes to me, and I think that stress factor is not so healthy. 

 

I have my husband take this big daddy catechin 630mg bottle.  I take a 200mg(not this one).  Note that this contains caffeine.  I make sure he takes this with a fatty meal.  As a caution, we do not take our vitamins/supplements daily.  I make sure we don't over do it nutrition - just enough is good for us.  Enough food, nutrition, and workout.  I'm trying this formula and we'll see how it goes.

NOTE:  I am not a doctor or health expert.  Please do your due diligence with any information online.  

Apartment hunting and signing the contract - Seoul, Korea

This was our second apartment hunting in Korea.   This experience is over a year old - but I thought I'd share this finally.

Let's just say I hate don't particularly enjoy the process.  I am not one to enjoy shopping and choosing between unlimited options.  I even despise shopping for necessities like grocery.  Maybe I've been spoiled - because shopping takes too much time and effort when I can just rely on experts to pick the best apples and eggs through an app.  Gosh I love Korea, emart, and technology for this. 

Again going astray.

First of all, apartment hunting in Korea is like a game of get it or it will be gone tomorrow.  The truth is that half of it is true.  Things go fast here, especially if it's a good apartment.  But you gotta trust instincts. 

We set our eyes on this apartment complex because I don't know why - it just had everything - a Paris baguette downstairs, connected to the subway, and a 24 hours kimbap place.  

Sometimes we go all out on a plan, but one month before having to move out, we decided the hell with it and look at what looks good.  We picked a random realtor from the building and luckily she was diligent enough to show us 10+ apartments without appointment. 

We saw some places with great views of Han river.  

Seoul sky is beautiful - Mapo, Yeouido, Gwanghwamun

I thank God and the universe for bringing me to light on the beauty of this city.  

We are are totally thankful for the sky view we get to enjoy.  Our apartment wasn't planned - we were planning to downgrade to a smaller sized apartment, however, something told me to take this one despite our plan to downsize, but to see how things go (go with the flow).  I'm glad I went with my gut instincts.  

We were getting worn out from the city life here - planning our move back home to the states soon was on our agenda.  But a new light has been brought to us.  

Because of the view we get - the sky, clouds, mountains, birds, bugs (yes indeed, lady bugs fly up and stick to our windows salivating on my pots of green plants) - I feel like I've been able to really take in the beauty of Seoul.

The sky lately in Seoul has been one of the nicest.  Perhaps it's because I've been aware of them more lately, but either way, looking up and seeing the beautiful silk woven sky glistening against the buildings in this city makes it ever so worth breathing car exhausts daily (sorry, I gotta add that sarcasm in there, or it wouldn't be me).

I admit that my attitude toward the city hasn't always been rosy.  I realized that perception is reality.

It's just amazing what a blanket of pretty sky can do to wake one up from a gloomy outlook.  Sometimes humans can be so darn complicated and simple. 

Nature wins it all.  It shows you that you were wrong all along.  

It serves to remind one on what beauty really is. 

These pink sky photos were from Gwanghwamun across D tower.  We weren't the only ones enjoying the view.  People around looked up and you could see their demeanor soften and liven up. 

It's just amazing what nature can do.

We've been enjoying the sky lately here in Seoul.  

The photo below is one of our favorite spots to just lie around and hangout.  Yeouido-park is a nice place to look up at the sky and just relax, take a breather, whatever however you describe that activity that gets you to be you.  

I love the lawn space there because you can just lay yourself down and look up.  When was the last time you really looked up at the sky?

This photo below is our view from our living room.  Amazing what a view of sky and mountains can do to ones spirit.

Jung-in Myun-ok (pyungyang nengmyun) in Yeouido

Pyung-yang nengmyun is THE nengmyun.  No doubt about it.  The appeal is undeniable.  However, you won't find me going out of my way to for it.   

But my husband would.  As you can see, my better half and I are polar opposites when  it comes to food.  He praises the natural healthy flavor of PY nengmyun.  I am a "hamheung" nengmyun gal.  I enjoy the msg taste and although a health nut, I can't conform to liking it any better because it tastes milder and perhaps healthier, but sometimes, some things are unexplainable..

 PY nengmyun lovers will appreciate the subtle differences in different restaurants. Although BongPiYang is better, JungInMyunOk isn't too bad.  

Their main star is 9000won.  

Nengmyun is always almost better with meat pairing.  This time is "sooyook". 

And some mandoo to be safe.  

You can't go wrong with either pairings with cold noodles. 

Not as delicate and tasty as BongPiYang, but it's different, and that's not such a bad thing.

It doesn't look as exciting, but nengmyun  is never wrong in summer. 

Located in Yeouido.