Feb12

CNY is over..time really flies and it is going to be end of Feb soon. And i cannot wait for my Taiwan trip in March.

But first , i need to recover fast. I was coughing non-stop for almost 2 weeks. The cough was so bad until i had headache because i exerted alot of force when i cough. My cough also woke my hubs up at night and i cannot sleep well. The doctor did not prescribe me any antibiotics because i just finished a huge dose of antibiotics for 2 months because of some bacteria in my stomach and gastritis which was diagnosed when i went for my endoscopy 3 months ago.

So this weekend was spent at home resting and i also went for an appointment to meet a client.

Skin felt so dry. Always happens whenever im sick. I was clearing and throwing away used bottles of skincare and i found this few tubes of samples hidden stacks of cotton pads. My MIL brought it over last november.

I kinda like this. It doesn’t really brightens up my skin nor makes it glow but it does moisturise my skin overnight.

It is not sticky or oily too. The smell is also good. More of “supplement” for the skin. I am not sure how much is it retailing in KR or SG. But i saw this selling in Guardian. The descriptions on the packaging says it all. If you are looking for something that is non-greasy , nice scent and moisturising , this is something you can try. I won’t say that this is a must-buy. I don’t know why but when i used a certain kind of product and if it really gives me good results , i will strongly recommend and feels excited sharing and blogging it over here.

But here is something MUST BUY when you visit Korea !

You can buy from supermarkets in Korea.

I cannot find this in SG leh..My bro-in-law recommended this to me when i went to Korea in October last year.
If you are lazy to make and cook Budaejjigae from scratch , you just need this ramen. And just go to supermarket to buy Spam/hot dogs and throw them in.

Budaejjigae Ramen from Ottogi brand.

I have been working till late nowadays and falling sick , so i have not been cooking at home. The last time i cooked was almost a month ago ! I should start cooking again this coming weekend. Nowadays abit hard to do so on weekdays. And perhaps this year’s trip in October , i should start learning how to make Korean side dishes ( ban chan ) so i can keep them in the fridge for hubby. Sigh..now his turn to go to gastroenterologists for scope liao. I think i cooked too much good food for him and too much pork belly. When i see him eat until very full , i feel happy mah…and he has a huge appetite also. Both of us usually bbq 5-6 packs of pork bellies when we eat at home. Now i cut down to 2 packs. Feel very sinful when i open my freezer..alot of pork belly.

This was what we have 3 weeks ago at home.

We hand carried the BBQ pan back from Busan and it has been very very useful lol esp on days we have cravings for Korean BBQ and don’t want to spend the $$ ( just buy the Por Kee pork belly & shabu shabu pork belly) or want to have quality meat ( from K&J Butchery @ Bukit Timah which we try to indulge once every 2 months ). And just buy golden mushrooms and lettuces from nearby supermarkets and we are good to start our home cooked Korean BBQ !

Brand of BBQ Pan : Kitchen Art (Refael Series) . KRW 19,900

You can buy from gmarket.

Gosh..look at the thick and juicy pork bellies !

Tomorrow is Monday ! Gonna be a loong day 🙂

Next post gonna be about #Smartlady and #SGahjumma (places we go for Korean food in SG). I am still working on my Busan tour post though.

Jan25

SGAhjumma was busy for past 2 weeks.

My mum was admitted to hospital for 3 days , a couple of claims to settle for my clients’ surgery (thankfully the claims were approved), my mum’s claims, work and some spring cleaning to do.

I got a shock when i found like 5 SRJC PE T-Shirts in my wardrobe. OMG…the logos and colour still intact leh…and still so comfy to wear. Lol..Now i use it as a PJ shirt and wear it to sleep cos it is very cooling and soft.

Yup , so i was really busy. I got no time to take care of my skin and i find myself abit lazy to do housework lately. Working mums and working wives maybe also will experience this sometimes. Afterwork , you just want to go home and do nothing. Just lie on the bed , read the news , scroll your FB newsfeed , put on a face mask and sleep. I am soo tired and busy till late night until i got no time or forget to put on my face mask lor. Now my face already cui..2 clogged bumps on my cheek leh…Lack of sleep + not enough water + stress = dry skin.

So busy until i forgot to put my masks and now i even include them in my mobile calendar to remind myself at 10pm everyday to put on face mask. Yes , i am that “disciplined” about daily skincare routine.

Here are some masks i have been using for almost a year now. I like them alot and i use different masks for different days. Because sometimes my skin feels dry or dull. So i have both brightening and hyrdrating masks.

I bought them from Korea. Each cost KRW1000 – KRW 1500. which is bout SGD 1.50- SGD 2 per piece. You can buy those in this blog post from Olive Young.

I like this Hydrapeel mask from Mediheal. Really hydrating and can see the skin “pumps” up with moisture and also helps to brighten the skin alittle bit but not so much.

CNY Propolis Mask.

I like this too ! Comes with the ampoule and also the sheet mask soaked in propolis goodness.

My MIL ordered it online through TV home shopping so im not sure how much was it. But of cos cheaper to buy in Korea than in SG. It doesn’t really brightens up my skin but it does hydrates. So it is kind of like a skin “supplement” so you cannot really see an immediate effect on your skin like other masks do.

This is also one of my favourite from Mediheal. The I.P.I Lightmax Mask.

To be honest , it does not whiten my skin but it does brightens up my complexion. So sometimes i will use this mask in the day before i head out. It makes putting make up so much easier cos the skin looks more radiant and brighter.

I always go for this among my stacks of hydrogel masks. Super love and i like it alot.

Must buy !

Here are some of the brands i buy for sheet or gel masks : Leaders , CNP , Mediheal , AHC , Celderma and SNP masks. Whether it is gel or those paper sheet masks doesn’t matter to me as long as they are effective !

I am not going to Korea this CNY because im going to meet my MIL and bro-in-law in Taiwan instead ! We are going on a family trip ! Hehe..so i ordered some stuff to send over to our place in Busan and my BIL will bring to Taiwan for me. My MIL helped me ordered the Doctor Cos Snow White Water Mask through Lotte Home Shopping. I downloaded the app so sometimes i can watch LIVE home shopping advertisement videos on the app. My housemate is a Korean girl and she recommended this to me and let me try it for a day. I instantly fell for it ! I ordered the special promo set (5 tubs of Doctor Cos Snow White Water Glow Mask + 5 tubes of whitening cream or cleanser which i cannot recall cos it was a month ago). I am going to give some bottles to my female clients and keep about 2 bottles each for myself ). I realized some of my female clients are into Korean skincare too and we are able to share and exchange beauty tips!

I saw some random shops selling this in SG but i don’t dare to buy because i am scared it is counterfeit product. Moreover, those shops sell until so expensive ! $45 for this bottle ?? It is only 1/3 of the price in Korea. There are shops selling fake Nature Republic aloe vera gels too ! Better to buy the real one than risk having outbreaks or allergic reactions.

Sigh , i realized i am becoming more auntie but my hubby consoled me and said i am not auntie but i am a good wife. Everyday after work , i will check the laundry basket to see if it is full and do the laundry. And if it rains in the middle of the night , i will bring in the laundry. I like to keep my toilet and kitchen clean so i will arrange the things properly and wipe the tables dry. The living room too … after watching TV , i will put the cushions in place and fold my fleece blanket and place it nicely on the sofa. I like clean toilet so i wash my toilet every Sunday. Our place is pretty small so there are alot of boxes of stuffs and luggages but i keep them in place neatly. I have been doing my own housework and cleaning my own room since young. My mum already “trained” me since my teens.

I have very dry hands because i clean my room and handwashed my clothes often before moving in with my hubby. But now im living on my own with my hubby , i have to do all the housework. So my hands become more dry. 1 tube of hand cream lasted me a month!

My friends , my colleagues , my family members and even my female clients complimented that i have good skin and im blessed with good skin. But i don’t have a pair of smooth hands. I have a pair of dry hands. Sometimes it felt so dry and so tight. And i stopped doing manicure already. Firstly , i can save $$ on manicure and secondly , there is no point doing manicure …even gel manicure because the gel nail polish will come off after a couple of days. All the housework and dishwashing makes it come off easily. Really waste my money to go for manicure. Pedicure is still ok and the gel polish will stay intact for at least 1.5-2months if i take care properly.

The hubby has been very understanding these days. Whenever i have appointments till late night , he will help out with the housework so i can come home to have a good rest.

Enough of the nagging, going to bed and need a good sleep. A long day of appointments tomorrow !
JIAYOU !

Dec5

#SGAhjumma teaches you how to cook Kimchi Fried Rice !

I think i blogged about it before or maybe not.

It is very easy and very simple to cook.

Ingredients you need

Kimchi ( 2 cups )

Korean white rice ( if you find Korean rice too expensive , you can replace with japanese sushi rice which is selling quite cheap in Mustafa or Fairprice.

Spam (1/2 can) chopped into tiny cubes

1 egg

2 table spoons of sesame oil

How to cook ?

Add olive oil to the pan and fry the spam till cooked and fragrant.

Ok , so opening the Kimchi tupperware kinda stained my fingers so i stopped taking pictures from there. Mr Shin said he will try to help out in phototaking next time lol. If he really did lah.

Once the spam cubes are cooked , add in the kimchi and fry till fragrant and soft.

Then add in the white rice and mix together.

Add in the Kimchi water ( sauce/essence or whatever you call it…in direct translation from Korean is Kimchi Water ). You know when you buy kimchi , there is the left over sauce in the packet or bottle ? Yes , that one. Just pour in about half a cup and mix together with the rice , kimchi and spam. Drizzle with the sesame oil.

Serve on plate after well mixed. Fry a sunny side up and add it on top just like that .

I also add some seaweed flakes on top of the sunny side up and i kinda like it together with the seaweed flakes. I like my seaweed flakes crunchy so i don’t really like to fry the rice together with it.

I had craving for Korean street toast few weeks back so i made my own.

Toasted the bread on frying pan with butter. Air fry the spam slices. Topped with cucumber , lettuce and tomato and sunny side up.

So yummss ! Cooked corn soup too and i used the corn as a side dish along with fries.

I think i can open Korean cafe liao. Just kidding.

My MIL came to my bro’s wedding 2 weeks ago and she bought some cosmetics and skin care for me.

This was quite heavily raved on the home shopping site and CNP is well known for its Propolis range serums/ampoules/creams.

The smell was good and i really like it. Not that sticky or oily. I apply it at overnight as night cream. Just started using it for a week and let’s review and see if there is significant result after 1 month of use. But this is something worth getting and using. I like the texture of the cream. It feels like DYI home facial treatment.

I haven’t visit any aesthetic clinics for facials and lasers since March. And some of my friends asked how did i maintain a youthful and hydrated and radiant skin even though i did not go for facial ? How did i get rid of my black heads ?

Well , besides starting to use aesthetic skincare brands like CNP , Leaders and AHC and also toning peel products , i also exfoliate my skin once a week. It helps to remove the bumps and black heads. Also i have different kind of cleansers , serums , night cream and moisturisers for different days. Because our skin condition is different everyday. It also depends on our diet and everything. On days when i have cold or sick , my skin feels dry and on humid days , i perspire quite often so i will use something more gel-ish and avoid creams.

Here is one of the exfoliating scrubs im using from SKIN FOOD. This helps to remove and eliminate my black heads so i will concentrate on my nose and chin area when i exfoliates.

The granules are quite big actually so i will damp my hands before i start exfoliating. If you have sensitive skin , you might want to ask for samples before purchasing the full bottle. This bottle can last quite long leh. I have been using it for 3 weeks already. I also use it to exfoliate my elbows and knee cabs because it is quite gentle.

The result ? Smooth and black head free. I really really like this. My bro-in-law’s female colleagues recommended skinfood scrubs. They told me skin food products are quite good esp the Yuzu and Black sugar range. This is pretty cheap. I cannot remember how much i bought it but it is less than KRW 10,000. It is KRW 6,900 if im not wrong. I bought it during SALES online and shipped it to my MIL house and she brought over.

Speaking of my mother-in-law , we have a good news for people who are interested in getting their photoshoots taken in Busan’s studio. With my MIL’s network , ahjumma bargaining power and sharp business skills (my father-in-law and mother-in-law have been doing businesses for decades) , my in-laws will be starting up a FULL concierge service for photoshoot services in Busan wedding studios for Singaporeans. She has arranged for me and my hubby , my brother , my friends and even my clients for the photoshoot in Busan’s best studios which has branches in Seoul and other major cities. Everything went very well and now it is finally going official with full translation and transport services. Will blog about the details soon.

Nov1

I noticed my skin looks more translucent and radiant lately. I actually changed my entire skincare products because the previous sets finished already and so i got new ones in October. Got new toners (Mamonde) , serums (Nature Republic and CNP) , ampoules ( CNP ) , emulsions (Mamonde) , moisturisers (Nature Republic and Real Barrier) and essences (Hanskin).

Here are some of the few i just got recently and started using. The rest are still nicely kept in my stock up corner lol,

Hanskin Hyaluron Skin Essence.

Price : KRW 30,000 (but i got it at 50%off for KRW 15,000 during Watsons storewide sales).

Texture : Feels abit like liquid serum. Not very watery and easy to glide and absorbed into the skin.

This feels really good and easy to apply. I really like this because of the texture and how easy it is to glide onto the skin. It is very moisturising and smells good too. After applying it and absorption , i can see that my skin looks more hydrated and radiant.

It is very hard to find Hanskin stuff. I got this at Watsons though.

Nature Republic Shea Butter Steam Cream

Price : KRW 30,000 ( But i bought it during Korea Sale Fiesta at 50% off KRW 15,000 )

Texture : Feels like the soya bean pudding ( ya , i know right , what a description ! ). This is actually a popular product because of the moisturizing effect. It comes in 3 different types : Fresh , Moist and Ultra. I got the Moist one.

It promises 48hrs of hydration. I use this as a night cream/sleeping pack because it is very moisturising. Will be too moisturising to be used a moisturiser. It really hydrates my skin overnight when i sleep in air conditioned room. I really love this. It also hydrates my skin when i was in Korea during autumn.

I think this bottom can be used very long. Because of our humid weather , i do not need to apply that much.

I bought this as wedding favours for my Korean wedding too.

After 2 weeks of use , still got so much left. If you are looking for something hydrating and affordable , this is one product you should get.

CNP Invisible Peeling Cleansing Gel.

Price : KRW 18,000 ( Got it at a discount during Korea Sale Fiesta too ! )

Texture : Watery Gel like and easy to foam up. I like the smell of the foam. Smells like those aesthetic clinic used cleansers. It is not very drying also. It promises to remove dead skin cells also. My skin looks brighter and clearer these days. So not sure if this is the product or the one below and all above that is contributing to it.

Nature Republic Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream

Price : KRW 66,000

Somehow i feel that this maybe the one ? I use this as night cream because it is quite oily and rich despite being a “watery cream”. It is very hydrating and i like the smell. Feels very luxurious also. But ..the bottle is very big and chunky. Super mafan to open the cap. I apply abit only because it is abit oily. I would recommend this as a day moisturiser. Because

Transparent gel like “watery cream” with gold flakes.

I apply this on alternate days and find improvement in my skin tone.

I bought the serum too. Review later !

Nature Republic Aloe Vera Cooling Eye Serum

Price : KRW 10,900

Not much of a cooling effect as it stated but quite moisturising.

Texture : Abit sticky.

Ehh.. this one not really a MUST BUY product. Unless you are looking for eye gel at the moment , this can be one of your choices.

I use that to gently massage my eyebags . I usually keep all the emptied tubes and just use the rollers to massage my eyebags.

That’s all for today ! Lots more to review after i opened and used them for a week !

Busan : My Husband

Sep15

Here’s what i was busy with for the past 1 month.

Our ROM in SG.

11 Sep 2016.

We are now husband and wife.

In October , we will be registering our marriage in Busan, South Korea and hold our wedding there.

08 Oct 2016 is the day in Korea.

Haha we have 2 wedding dates so we are using the SG date for our anniversary date. Easier to remember also..911.

The ROM in SG is a cozy and small 80 pax ceremony where we only invite our families and closest friends. The buffet banquet will be in Korea instead.

Pardon for the lack of blog updates. Actually i have written a blog post on #Smartlady and #Kbeauty but the blur me saved it as “private” instead of “public”. So this blog post gonna be a loonnng one !

So my bro-in-law came to SG last week. I think he is quite a popular guy haha cos he is very gentle giant , knows how to cook and is capable eligible bachelor..such that my relatives and friends want to match make him. He is still SINGLE.

His arrival also means my #Kbeauty arrival which i ordered online and sent it to our place in Busan.

Here are some new #Kbeauty i bought and i really like them. There are a few more but won’t be reviewing it now because i have not used them yet or not long enough yet.

Atopalm Real Barrier Intense Moisture Cream.

Price KRW 25,600

It is a moisturiser cream and not very “scenty” like other perfumed moisturiser.

My skin feels dry lately because of late nights and also the air con in office is sooo cold and dry that makes my skin feels so dry and tight. So i opted for something more rich. I really like it because is moisturising and compliments with my base make up. My BB cushion sets very well on it. You know , some creams are too rich and the texture is so thick that when you apply your BB cushion , it sort of mixed in and makes the whole look and feel very gluey and gross.

Is it worth buying ? Yes i think it is . It works on my skin type and i hardly experience dry skin these days. It is not very oily also. It is quite a popular brand among the ladies there and my housemate is using this too ! It is in my stock up list !

If you have oily skin and wants to try this brand , you can try the gel version.

COC Brush Set

I was tempted by the pink colour so i carted out. Also i need brushes. My 3CE brushes already so cui. Used them for 4 years already so it is time to change. This set of brushes are very soft and nice. The powder and make up glides on easily during application.

Also , the packaging is compact and travel friendly. Easy to keep in your handbag or luggage. So compact that i can bring the entire set out.

When you open the casing , the whole case fans out like that with the brushes in their place. So all are neat and tidy. You do not need to dig out from your pouches and arrange them one by one.

Comes with mirror that open up by itself also.

When you close it. Just slot the brushes back into their slots and close the casing..Tadahh.

This is a super good buy i tell you. There is a bigger version but i thought i don’t need soo many brushes. So i got this set instead. It was also featured in Korea beauty show – Get It Beauty.

Price KRW 19,800

Comes with 9 brushes – Blusher brush , foundation brush , 2x eye shadow brush , eyebrow brush , concealer brush , eye liner brush , eyelash comb brush, sponge tip.

This set is super worth it and the brush are so soft and compact to keep in the bag or travel.

CNP Laboratory Milk Toning Peel

My MIL bought me 3 sets of CNP Milk Toning Peel. Yes..im a fan of aesthetic brand CNP now. They also have aesthetic clinics in Korea. Cheaper to have aesthetics done in KR.

This peel is SUPER GOOD ! If there are more than 5 stars , i will rate it more than 5.

As you can see, there is one “lobang” already. because i already used it once.

1 set comes with 4 toning peel and 4 toning masks. My mil bought for me 3 sets and it came with a brush.

You are supposed to use it once a week. So , 1 set = 1 month.

I was told that it is better to use it for 12 weeks ( which is 3 months ) so she got for me 3 sets.

This is the brush you use to apply the toning peel and its texture is similar to that of a serum.

It looks complicated with so many things but actually the whole process took 16 minutes in total only.

Open the Milk Toning Peel and use the brush to apply the “serum” onto your entire face ( avoiding eyes area ). You will feel abit of tingling sensation. I felt it and it felt like someone using a small needle to poke my skin. I felt it on my cheeks and forehead only. Guess that’s where most of my dead skins are ..maybe ? It is not painful but just felt some tingling sensation on some parts of the face. Leave it on for 1min or 1.5 minutes before you wash it off with warm water.

After which , pat dry your face with towel and put on the toning mask for 15 minutes. The mask actually helps to soothe the skin after the peel. The effect is really THUMBS UP ! Cannot praise it even more. My skin felt so soft and radiant. I didn’t even wear make up the next day after i used it the night before. Told my colleague that i didn’t put any make up to work today and they were surprised. Because my skin looks radiant and dewy.

I just used it on my husband (Gosh..not used to call him hubby or Yeobo (Korean version) ). He is very tanned because he plays baseball every week ( 2 times a week ) and have uneven skin tone. This peel evens out his skin tone and his skin suddenly looks so clean. This is my favourite skin peel so far and i really like it. Will definitely stock up more.

Price KRW 28,500 per set ( 4 times for a month use ).

Skin Factory Lip Tattoo

Also i finally tried the lip tattoo. Very easy steps.

Just apply on dry lips , wait for it to dry and peel off.

To be honest , it doesn’t really work well on me. The colour isn’t that obvious. And if you really want to buy and try , buy the one that is bright red in colour. I got 2 colours ( Coral and Red ). The coral one is totally waste of $$ because it doesn’t have any effect. The red one is still ok. Can see that my lips at least have “some colour”.
It is definitely not like what was shown in the picture below. My friend tried it and it doesn’t work on her as well.

I don’t think this is good nor does it worth the $ . It doesn’t work.

Same goes to the brow tattoo. Very messy.

Got some more #Kbeauty products but i have yet to open and use them yet. LOL. Will review more i used them.
Just got 2 BBIA cream eye shadown pencils. Can’t wait to use them. Colours look so gorgeous !

#SGAHJUMMA time !

This week , im going to share recipe to cook Korean Soya Sauce Fried Chicken.

Korean Fried Chicken + Beer = Chi-Mac !

Yes , you do not need to queue and spend $$ at Korean Fried Chicken joints. You can do it at home and it is healthier. Good for parties and for kids too because it is not spicy.

My hubby loves it and always ask for more. I cooked it 2 weeks ago. He loves it so much and i have cooked like 3 times since ? lol

Ingredients

Chicken wings and drumlets.

1 bowl of corn flour.

Sauce ingredients

5 table spoons of Korean Soya Sauce

1 table spoon of brown sugar

3 table spoon of white sugar

1 table spoon of sesame oil

1 tea spoon of black pepper

3 table spoons of honey

1 table spoon of Korean Chilli Powder

4 Table spoons of chopped spring onion

1 Table spoon of minced garlic

How to cook ?

Wash and dry the chicken parts. I use fresh chicken instead of frozen ones. It will taste better because you need to fry it twice.

After drying the chicken , coat them with corn flour.

I used air fryer to air fry the corn flour coated chicken parts. You can use a wok of oil to fry if you don’t have an air fryer.

Air fry for about 25 minutes until it is crispy brown.

After air frying all the chicken, leave them aside on a plate.

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and leave it aside.

Heat up a pan/wok with few spoons of olive oil. Once the pan is heated up , pour the bowl of sauce into the frying pan until it sizzles. Switch from medium to low heat.

Throw in the fried chicken in mix it with the sauce.

Switch off the heat and serve ! Sprinkle some spring onions and sesame seeds to garnish.

Now, here’s your home cooked Korean Soya Sauce Fried Chicken.

Super yummy ! Oppa ate all 22 pieces lol. I only had 4 ????

Also, i just made some Ban Chan ( Korean side dishes ). Will share recipe soon !

Aug15

This post was in draft for almost 2 weeks. There are some personal things i want to share after much procrastination.

This post gonna be longggg since it was in draft for 2 weeks !

Something light-hearted to start first…

#KBS

Last week , i finally met up with almost everyone in the #KBS group which i created almost a month ago. KBS stands for Korean Boyfriends and Spouses. The group is made up of Singapore ladies with Korean fiances and spouses.

We had tze char at Melben and after that , we all go to Koryo mart to do our Korean grocery shopping. It was really nice to meet everyone and we shared alot of our experiences. Good to have support in Sg and in Korea. Alot of information we can share and help each other like applying for long term passes in Korea, registering marriage or child’s birth in Korea and SG etc.

We are planning for another pot luck gathering soon and this time with our other Korean halves. If you have a Korean spouse or getting married soon (engaged already) and want to join this support group , you can send me an email at peonykissblog@gmail.com . Glad to hear that everyone is happy to have this support group and people who are in the same situation and marriages.

#SGahjumma

Hehe i tried new dishes over the weekend. This is the first time i made Korean Japchae and Spicy Pork Ribs (Yang Nyeom Galbi). I was quite surprised by my own cooking this time round. So delicious and i cannot believe i cooked it too.

Alot of work for Japchae. Quite tiring to cook this. Alot of plates to wash too.

Here’s how you can cook Japchae :

Ingredients :

Korean thin potato noodles , shitake mushrooms , black fungus, carrots, yellow/red capsicum, onions, eggs, spinach, salt, sesame oil, black pepper, soya sauce.

1) Soak and wash mushrooms and black fungus in water. Slice them into thin pieces and squeeze out the water . Fry in pan with olive oil , add pinch of salt and black pepper.
Put into a big bowl and leave it aside.

2) Cut and sliced carrots and capsicums into thin strips. Fry in pan with olive oil and add pinch of salt. Put all into the big bowl together with mushrooms and fungus. Leave it aside.

3) Crack and beat 3 eggs. Fry it into a large round omelette. Cut into thin strips and put in a separate bowl
Do not mix in with 1) and 2) ingredients. Leave it aside.

4) Boil spinach for a minute. Take out and squeeze all water out. Slice into 3 or 5 cm sizes. Put in a small bowl and season with sesame oil and soya sauce. Leave it aside for awhile.

5) Cut onions into thin slices and fry with olive oil in a pan. Add a pinch of salt. Once the onions become translucent, pour it into the big bowl with ingredients from 1) and 2).

6) Boil the Korean potato starch noodle in hot water and once cooked, take out and wash under cold water and drain away the water. Use scissors to cut the noodles cos they are very very long.

Put the noodles in a frying pan and fry with olive oil. Add 5 table spoons of Korean soya sauce and sesame oil. Add 2 tea spoons of black pepper. Fry and mix to change colour of noodle to brown. Add abit of water so frying will be easier. How much soya sauce and sesame oil to add depends on the noodle portion you are cooking.

After frying the noodles, put into the big bowl with ingredients 1) 2) 5). Wear plastic hand gloves and mix the ingredients with the noodles. Add in the seasoned spinach into the big bowl and mix them together. Add some more soya sauce and sesame oil and black pepper. Lastly add in the thinly sliced eggs and mix everything tog with hand. Add sesame seeds.

Ready to serve on plate and add the last drizzle of sesame seeds.

Now you know what i mean by alot of work and plates/bowls to wash for Japchae. Cut , fry , mix and you repeat for every single ingredient. The more ingredients you add , the more work to be done. I didn’t add in any thinly sliced pork belly or beef because i don’t want my Japchae to be too oily (oil from pork bellies). So you can choose to add in the meat or not it is up to you.

Super yummy. Double work for me because Oppa said it is so nice and i cooked the other half packet of potato noodles. He ate the entire pack of noodles. haha 1 pack can serve about 4 pax.

Yang Nyeom Galbi (Korean Spicy Pork Ribs)

I cooked this too with the Japchae. Really multi tasking. One hand was mixing and the other hand was flipping the pork ribs in the pan.

How to cook Yang Nyeom Galbi (Korean Spicy Pork Ribs)

Ingredients : Prime Pork Ribs , Korean red pepper paste , Korean chilli powder , 1 green chilli , minced garlic , chopped onions , sesame oil , soya sauce , pepper , sugar (brown sugar/honey/white sugar …in my case i used brown sugar).

Well , you need a big round bowl to mix these sauces with the ribs. So get it ready !

In the big bowl , add 4 table spoons of red pepper paste , 1 table spoon chilli powder , 2 table spoon of minced garlic , half onion chopped into minced pieces , 2 table spoon of soya sauce , 2 table spoon of brown sugar, 2 table spoon of sesame oil and 1 tea spoon of black pepper. Mix all these sauces together.

2) Wash the pork ribs and squeeze out the water. Then put into the big bowl of sauces and mixed the pork ribs with the sauces in the bowl. Just keep mixing until the pork ribs are all red. Wear a plastic hand glove and mix it with your hand. It is easier and can mix better this way and so that the prime ribs can be well seasoned. Leave it aside for 20-30 minutes before you start cooking it.

3) Add olive oil in a pork of frying pan or pot. Pour the entire bowl of well marinated pork ribs and the sauces from the bowl into the pot. Fry on high heat before switching to medium heat. Add abit of water and leave it to cook and stir and flip the ribs so that it will not get burnt on one side.

Once done , serve on a plate or the Korean earthen ware. I heat up the earthen pot first before transferring the well cooked pork ribs from the frying pan/pot into the earthen pot. The pot keeps the sauce and the meat hot and warm. The meat can be abit tough and hard if it gets cold.

If you don’t have the earthen ware , you can just serve on a plate.

Cut the green chilli into thin slices and garnish the ribs together with sesame seeds. Some people add the green chilli when they mix the sauces in step 1) but i don’t really like to eat green chilli so i didnt add in from step 1.

The pork ribs looks difficult to cook but actually it is the easiest compared to Japchae ! Just mix all the sauces together with the pork ribs and cook.

Korean soya sauce and Korean sesame oil are commonly used so if you are interested in cooking your own Korean dishes, these are the must haves in your kitchen. They are not that expensive. about $3.60 for big bottle of soya sauce and $3.90 for a small sesame oil. I bought a tin of $14.90 sesame oil (in medium size tin packaging) since i cook often.

#Kbeauty

Here are 2 of new additions into my daily skin care routine which was mentioned in the previous post. I realized i have not reviewed them yet.

It actually took me awhile before i decided to try this brand. I read reviews online and to be honest i don’t trust alot of beauty reviews or i just read their reviews with a pinch of salt because most beauty reviews are paid to do so. And it is hard to determine a product is good or not just by trying it on the back of your hand only for the first time and once. I actually went to try the tester bottles many times before i decided to buy and try. And at most if it didn’t work , just use and apply on my neck lor. CNP products are not that cheap even though they can be found in drugstores like Olive and Young (Korea), Guardians and Watsons ( in SG ). But im glad these 2 products works for me and worth the buy for me.

CNP Invisible Peeling Booster

It promises to remove dead skin cells and boost skin radiance/brightening within a week. It is to apply before toner. You don’t actually see “dead skin cells” coming off like using a peeling gel. So don’t expect to see “beads” or “rolled up” whitish stuff when you apply. Does it boost skin radiance ? The difference is not alot but i can see my skin is slightly more radiant after using it for a week.

I really like this alot. There is no need to rinse off after applying. This is the first thing i apply after my shower before i proceed with toner. It is very expensive in SG. But in Korea, Lotte mall is having 20% discount and this is only KRW 24,000 now. It is about SGD49 if you were to buy in Guardian.

I also got the Propolis Energy Ampule. I usually apply this before my sheet masking. I alternate this with Hera hydration ampule.

I feel that CNP Laboratory is like Leaders Insolution brand. They are products from aesthetic doctors and dermatologists in Korea. I really like these products and so i actually carted out a peeling gel and the serum also from CNP from Lotte.com ! Can’t wait for my bro-in-law to bring them from Korea for me this Sept ! He is coming to SG yay ! I wonder where to bring him around and activities to do. He takes really good care of me and i want to be a good host when he comes too.

Will review the peeling gel and other serums once i started using them for at least 2 weeks and if it is good !

Gonna continue the #Smartlady draft . Some personal things and experiences to share and hope it helps girls out there. And new review on the lip tattoo i used.

Aug2

Hello ladies ! Well , i receive couple of messages and emails to request for more blogging updates.

I realized that my blogging frequency kinda reduced by 50% ? Instead of 4 posts a month , it dropped to 2 posts a month. Well , kinda busy these 2 months. Plus my health was not really good in a point which is also something i want to share with everyone later. I will try to share at least 4 times a week here.

Its been 2 months since we moved into a rented apartment. Life was good. Felt like home though it was rented. Lol now i worry about moving to a new place if we were not to renew our rental here next year. Because there are so much to move and pack ! I really can’t wait to apply for his PR so that we can apply for housing here , settle down and start a family.

1 more month to our ROM in SG and 2 more months to our wedding in Busan. Friends and family members will be flying over and alot of accommodation arrangement to do. MIL sold off her hotel inn and franchised a BBQ restaurant. If she still have the inn it will be quite easy to house everyone because the location was very convenient. MIL’S apartment in Busan will only be ready in 2018. Next time my family members and friends can stay there if they travel to Busan.

So do i feel excited about our wedding ? ehhh to be honest , both of us don’t feel that yet.

Because we both felt like we were married already. After work , i will come home to do the laundry , cook if i have time and if it is not too late and i do grocery shopping every sunday.

Here’s what i prepared last sunday.

Korean Ginseng Chicken and Salad ( diced apples , lettuce , chia seeds , bavarian sausage and oriental salad sauce.

Took 1 hour to boil the ginseng chicken and while it is boiling , i will prepare the salad. So took about total of 1.5 hours to prepare.

Korean ginseng chicken is pretty easy to cook. Sounds and looks difficult but very easy.

All you need is…

1) 10 cloves of garlic ( do not minced it or chop it ! )

2) Ginseng and some herbs

3) Lots of red dates , i put about 18-20 small red dates.

5) Whole chicken (washed and with head and feet removed .

I trimmed off the fats and take away some skin ( not fully ).

6) 1 teaspoon of salt

7) 1 whole onion ( chopped into half )

Firstly , i boil a pot of water and add in some kelps. Let it boil for about 15 minutes.

In another pot , i lay the seasonings ( Onions , red dates , ginseng , herbs and garlics ) at the bottom of the pot and then i will put the chicken in nicely. This is so that one side of the chicken do not get burnt. This is also so that the seasoning will not all float to the top.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt.

Turn on medium heat for about 30 minutes to cook the chicken and after that i switched to low heat for next 30 minutes.

When i switched to low heat , i will transfer the cut the ginseng chicken into 4 parts and transfer the chicken and soup into the Korean stone pot. The stone pot helps to keep soups and stews hot because it retains heat. I prefer buying the matt ones.

Because my chicken was too big and i can’t squeeze into the largest stone pot that i had, so i cooked the ginseng chicken in a normal non stick pot and transfer it to stone pot.

It is pretty easy. Just throw everything into the pot and let it boil on medium and low heat and ready to serve.

So how about the dipping sauce ?

All you need is just salt + black pepper. Yes that’s right.

Saw the little dish that is between the salad and ginseng chicken ? That is the dipping sauce.

*
Salad was pretty easy.

I bought lettuce and cut them into bite sizes. Cut green apples and diced them.

Add chia seeds and sausage.

I bought Oriental Salad Sauce from a Koryo Mart in Telok Ayer street. The sauce is very nice and im going there to buy more bottles back !

Yumms

That was our Sunday’s dinner !

Well , i have invited some friends over for dinner and BBQ. I think the main focus was my skin care and make up collection in the room.

Here’s a “view” of my daily facial care routine.

Here’s what i keep in the toilet. Didnt include my cleanser in this photo though.

But below are what i used to remove make up and apply right after my shower.

From left to right :

After shower care :
1) Sulwhasoo First Care Activating Serum

2) CNP Laboratory Invisible Peeling Booster

Make up removers :

3) Biore Cleansing Water

4) Biore Jelly Remover

5) Maxclinic Oil to Foam Vit C Cleanser

Well , i usually remove the make up with Jelly remover because it is very gentle and i do not need to tug with cotton pads. I use the cleansing water only if i tightline my eyes with eyeliner or remove stubborn mascara.

The oil to foam cleanser was mainly to remove the BB cushion creams. Because it changes to foam after lathering with water , it does not give that oily feel.

Because i triple cleanse my face , i will buy mild cleansers so that i wont dry out my skin.

This are my serums and creams which i kept them in basket.

Sulwhasoo Essential Water , Hera Cell Essence , Leaders Vit C Capsule Serum , Bioderma Hydrabio Serum , Hera Waterin Gel Serum and CNP Propolis Energy Ampoule.

The Sulwhasoo set was a gift from Mil’s friend who works for Amore Pacific. I actually prefer the Hera ones which i used previously compared to Sulwhasoo. Well perhaps because im still trying to get used to Sulwhasoo right now.

I switch between Bioderma and Hera’s hydrating serum. Texture are the almost similar. Hydrating effect for Bioderma is slightly better but takes a longer time to absorb than Hera.

I like the Propolis Energy Ampoule from CNP. It is good and can see the brightening effect after few days. This is my 2nd bottle already. I switch between the CNP ampoule and Leaders Vit C serum depending on what kind of hydrogel or sheet mask im putting on that day.

CNP Laboratory is a Korean brand and available in SG’s Watsons and Guardians. I suggest you go to the bigger Watsons and Guardian outlets to buy because they have a bigger range. The small outlet ones have very limited products.

You can buy them from Olive and Young in Korea. But the bottles are very heavy.

Here are my emulsions, moisturizers and overnight treatment/creams.

Overnight mask from Sulwhasoo , Anti aging treatment from HERA , Moisturizers from CNP Lab and Primera and Emulsion from Sulwhasoo. I don’t use 2 moisturizers and 2 overnight creams of cos. It will be too much on my face. My Primera moisturizer is finishing soon so im switching over to CNP after that. I use the anti aging treatment on weekends and the clarifying mask from Sulwhasoo on week days.

Of cos , not to forget your eyes !

Waterin eye serum from Hera. I love this alot ! This is my 5th or 6th stick i think in 2 years. I use this day and night.

So i guess on average i apply about 8 products each time in the day and 9 products each time at night. If i were to include my 3 steps cleansing , that will be 11 – 12 products ( excluding sheet masks ).

It really takes alot of time and discipline to do so !

If you were to ask me to review and if the products above are worth buying ?
Yes they are !
I have reviewed everything before except for the Bioderma Serum and CNP Lab products. Will do so next time round !