Myeongdong, Seoul

Myeongdong is one of my favorite shopping districts in Asia. I love the vibrancy, energy, people and the contrast - big name department stores & small, niche shops, big streets & small alleys, expensive restaurants & cheap fast food joints, branded & no-brand products, day & night ambience. There is something for every girl here in Myeongdong! 

Tip #1: Don't just stop at 1 trip to Myeongdong when you visit Seoul, visit Myeongdong at different times of the day and feel the difference. 

Tip #2: Buy your skin care products at Myeongdong. They give you more freebies than other places.  Yes, I'm a sucker for freebies. =) They have all the Korean brands - Missha, Face Shop, Nature Republic, Etude House, Skin Food, etc. You name it, they have it. I am not a paper facial mask person but became one in Myeongdong!

Tip #3: Of course, not to be missed while in Seoul is the Nanta show. They have multiple places playing the Nanta show and we went to the one at Myeongdong. We paid about Won 40,000 for each ticket and it is all worth it. My son laughed so hard that his nose bled. =)

We saw the brown team

Choices of food/restaurants are also endless and such a joy to explore! 

Custard cream puffs

Korean version of french fries?

If you can find this Korean BBQ restaurant, try it!
Update on 29 Nov 2012: In my last visit to the area in October 2012, I can't find this restaurant. =(

Till my next blog entry, happy shopping and eating! =)

Postcard from Marina Del Rey

Missing the blue skies in LA. Did not do enough shopping. =(

Till my next blog entry, be good! =)

Bukhansan National Park

I do not like the heat and the humidity in Bangkok and so I try to refrain any form of physical activity outdoors. When I go on holidays, I like to travel during fall or winter when the temperature drops and the humidity is low. I also like to experience a mix of city sightseeing and off beaten paths. And this is how my family and I landed up at the BUKHANSAN NATIONAL PARK last October when we visited Seoul.

Getting to the park is relatively straight-forward. Take the subway to the Dobongsan Station and follow your fellow-hikers to the entrance of the park. We went on a weekday and there are many hikers on the train. You will recognize them by their attire and the equipment that they carry. Just get off the train and follow them. =)

We had a great time at the park. We laughed at each other's climbing clumsiness & heavy panting and pointed out interesting sights. However, we were very unprepared for the hike and did not make it to the top. We made it up to the Big Rock, like many Koreans did, and turned back there. We went on a weekday and my hunch is all Korean kids are at school, so we did not see a single kid around at all. I am so proud of my son who went through the tough climbing despite his short legs. And we did not bump into any foreigners too, so I guess this must be a local haunt.

One of the biggest learning from the hike is to GO PREPARED. Look how prepared the Koreans are - hats, shades, jacket, backpack, walking sticks, hiking shoes, gloves, food, etc. The path uphill is very rocky and steep and more than 2km to the top. You will definitely need all these equipment.

Come prepared like the Koreans

And NOT like this

In our small bag, all we had was one small pack of chips and one bottle (400ml) of water for the three of us. BIG mistake. We also wore our city clothes which hindered some challenging climbing movements.

Importance of the walking stick:

Other than helping you keep your balance and negotiate steep slopes, walking sticks are also good for pointing out places on maps. =)

Without the walking sticks, we had to do a lot of 'hand-holding'

What I love about the BUKHANSAN NATIONAL PARK:

• On the way to the park, there are a lot of shops selling hiking equipment and food. I hear that they have good bargains and cheaper prices than the shops in the city.
• The signboards for directions are very clear. Just follow the signs, you won't get lost. And they are in English too! =)

• I did not manage to get a picture of the toilets but they are really clean and come with a no-hand flushing system. They have levers near to the floor and you press on them with your foot to activate the flush. 

• At the end of the hike, they have 'high pressure air blowers' to help blow away all the soil and dust that get stuck to your shoes. I love the Koreans - they think of everything! =)

Orderly queue to get your shoes 'sprayed'

All in all, we had a great time. The next time we go, we will be very well-prepared to make it to the top.

Till my next blog entry, go hiking! =)

Draw Something

Draw Something is my latest addiction. It is so much more fun than farming. Have you tried it? =)

Draw Something. Give it a shot!

Till my next blog entry, play something! =)

Indulging in condensed milk

I love, love, love condensed milk. Some people may say that it is sinful but to me, it is the perfect comfort food. It perks me up, gives me fond memories of my childhood and is a permanent fixture in my fridge.

Condensed milk is made from cow’s milk from which water has been evaporated and sugar has been added to give a very thick, sweet and syrupy liquid. In South East Asia, this very sweet milk is used for baking, cooking and sweetening beverages.


Some ways in which you can enjoy your condensed milk are:

• Add it to your Milo Dinosaur, coffee or tea. Skip the sugar and let the milk enrich your beverage without diluting the taste.
• Liberally drizzle it on a slice of toasted white bread. Sprinkle some chocolate rice on top to give a twist to a Hong Kong 'cha chaan teng' favorite.
• On hot and humid days, top your ice kacang with the milk for that very special sweet treat to cool off.
• In Thailand, I love condensed milk on hot roti.
• My personal favorite – add a cup of condensed milk to your pound cake recipe and celebrate it with your friends!

Here is a condensed milk pound cake recipe that I use when I want to spoil myself .....


(For 8 inches by 3.5 inches pan)


Ingredients:
120 gm butter
40 gm sugar
0.25 tsp salt
1.5 tsp vanilla essence
0.5 cup condensed milk
120 gm cake flour
0.75 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 tbsp cocoa powder
some hot water


Method:
1) Line pan. Preheat oven to 170oC.
2) Mix cocoa powder with hot water.
3) Using electric whisk, cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
4) Add in salt, vanilla essence and condensed milk. Whisk till incorporated.
5) Add cake flour. Whisk using low speed until batter is smooth and not lumpy.
6) Add in eggs, 1 at a time. Whisk well.
7) Take out a third of the batter and mix in cocoa solution.
8) Pour in one third of batter to pan, add in the batter with cocoa solution next. Pour in remaining third of batter.
9) Bake in oven at 170oC for 50 minutes.

Condensed Milk Pound Cake

Till my next blog entry, stay hungry! =)

Starbucks Japan says ...

You'll get the gist of this notice. I love translations! =)

Till my next blog entry, stay alert! =)

What boys want ....

If you have a child in primary school, you can definitely relate to this blog entry.

Every half a year or so, my son will came back from school and request that we get him the latest craze in school. I call these crazes ‘toys’ but he calls them ‘cool gadgets’ (Sigh! Generation gap.). These crazes include:

Bagugan: I still clueless about what these small but heavy ping-pong balls do. They pop open to expose something when thrown to hit something. What exactly are these things?!?

Nerf: These are scary play guns for adults. They range from some small ones that hang onto a key chain to machine-gun-looking ones that fire out a string of ammo darts to motorized water-blasting ones. I strongly resisted getting any Nerf guns for my son but a friend of mine from the US bought one for him and he was ecstatic. =(  

Small pocket-sized Nerf

Beyblades: You spin these things off to a ‘stadium’ hoping to knock some other beyblades off. What is the kick here?!? The beyblades come in fighter-sounding names like Storm Pegasus, Dark Wolf, etc. These things are so popular that they even have competitions at shopping malls in Singapore.

Beyblades with the launcher

Match Attax: Soccer players trading cards. I would give away all the bad-looking players and keep the good-looking, yummy ones but that is not the way it is done. =)

Match Attax trading cards

And the latest that my son is into – Yo-yos: Do you know that there are responsive and unresponsive yo-yos? When I was a kid, there is only one type of yo-yo and they cost about S$1 piece. A few weekends ago, my son spent Baht395 on his yo-yo. That is S$16. 16x more than what I spent on my yo-yo! I should go and work for a toy company like Hasbro. I hear they made about 20% operating margin last year.

Blazing Teens Yoyo

One craze that I am all-nuts over is Cabin Fever. This is the latest installation in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. This sort of healthy reading crazes, I like and can support. =)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Cabin Fever

Till my next blog entry, stay young always! =)