Busan : Where to Eat

Busan , South Korea is my 2nd home.

Busan is where my husband is from. It is also the 2nd largest city in Korea and well known for its long coast – Haeundae beach.

People in Busan speaks their dialect and they also can speak standard Korean too. So you do not need to worry about it. It is just like our Teochew , Hokkien , Cantonese etc. In Korea, they also have their own native dialects. But everyone can speak standard Korean which is the Seoul dialect.

Beside the beaches, Busan is famous for its specialty food like ……

Fish cakes (O-Muk 어묵)

Fresh and live sashimi (회)

Mil-myeon (a kind of spicy cold noodles 밀면 )

Pork Soup (Dwaeji Gukbap 돼지국밥)

These are the must have food!
If you like the restaurant Yooganae in Singapore, you should visit its flagship in Busan. It is a Busan brand and yes it tastes must better in its homeground.

We just had our wedding in Busan in Oct 2016. We go back twice a year usually during Spring and Chu-Seok (Autumn). Some people asked me how many days should they stay in Busan ? Some told me that there is nothing much and just need a full day or two will do. To be honest , if you really want to tour around Busan and its outskirts thoroughly , you need at least 5 days. Just like Seoul , if you want to visit historical places or amusement parks , you need to travel to the outskirts which is about an hour or two via bus/car. There are alot of things to do , eat and shop in Busan. Just that you need to know where and how to get there.

Let’s start with SHOPPING first. And will go on to attractions later !

These are the places i go and the more popular places among tourists.

Places to Shop in Busan !!!

1) Nampo-Underground shopping centre

How to get there : Jagalchi Station (Busan Subway Line 1) Exit 8. Left side of Exit 8

This underground shopping centre linked up Jagalchi Market and Gukje Market.

As usual, underground shopping centres are common sight in Korea. You definitly will not missed it. The moment you come out from gantry and turn left or right , you can see many shops lined up all the way to street level.

I just briefly walked past this stretch before so no pictures here. But it something similar to that of Seomyeon underground shopping centre but i prefer to shop at Seomyeon underground instead of Nampodong underground.

2) Gwangbok Cultural and Fashion Street

How to get there : Nampo Station (Busan subway line 1), Exit 1
Turn right and walk along Gudeongno22beon-gil st for 2 blocks

Busan is famous for the fish cake and Ttaebokki (spicy rice cake). So this entire street you can find alot of streetfood and fashion shops. Crowded place so becareful of your belongings !

The street stalls are inbetween 2 rows and blocks of fashion shops. So you can eat and shop at the same time. If you are going there as a couple , the guys who are bored with shopping can indulge in the street food while your gfs shop inside the shops.

Clothings are cheap and you can find basics at KRW 10,000 and coats at less than KRW 50,000 during SALES.

The famous Gukje Market is just 1-2 lanes away. So they are linked up together. At Gukje market , you can find vintage stuff and traditional. Whereas at Gwangbok fashion street , you can find more fashionable stuff.

3 ) Gukje Market

How to get there : Jagalchi Station (Busan Subway Line 1), Exit 7.
– Go 30m, turn left, and walk straight 5min to arrive at the market.

Gukje market has a long history and you can find alot of shops selling vintage , used and traditional korean wares.
Nothing much there but more of a look-see look-see place. I just briefly walked through and go to Bupyeong market.

This place goes all the way back to Korean war. Where many Koreans fled to Busan and they opened stores and sell their wares for a living. If you are interested to know more about its history , you can watch this movie which was a big hit and was filmed in Busan. It featured a couple of popular places in Busan and abit about its history.

Movie name : Ode to My Father (국제시장)

4) Nampo Street

How to get there : Nampo-dong Station (Busan Subway Line 1)

My favourite place because this is the “Myeongdong” of Busan. Busan Tower is also located here.

Busan tower is like the “Namsan Tower” in Busan. Something similar. You can find an escalator that goes up along the Nampo-dong shopping stretch.

Really crowded and alot of your favourite Korean skincare and beauty brands here.

You can also find street food lining up before the entrance to Nampodong.

That is me “hiding” at one of the street stalls because it was really cold during winter. The soup is free flow and keeps me warm.

1 stick of odeng cost about KRW 1,000 and the soup is free flow.

You will not miss this famus Hoddeok. Long queue and it is just outside an Aritaum stall. Haha..that is how i remembered where it is.

Nampo-dong shopping street is really crowded and bustling at night. Lots of shopping.

Beauty, skincare , fashion shops , international brands and cafe etc. Pretty big place and 1 night to shop here is not enough for me lah.

Come of the MRT and you can find a huge Lotte Department Store selling my favourite brands like Hera , Sulwhasoo , Primera , Laneige , Amore Pacific , S:UM37 etc etc.

5) Seomyeon Underground Shopping

How to get there : Seomyeon Station (Busan Subway Line 1, 2), Exit 12

I can shop the entire day here. Both underground and street level. This place is really awesome. Same as Gangnam station. Clothings are cheap also.

I will suggest that if you see anything that you like , just buy because it is a verrry long stretch and difficult to go back to find the same store again. Somemore it has 2 sides/lanes. I shop here pretty often for clothings because they are cheap.

6) Seomyeon Shopping Street

How to get there : Seomyeon Station (Busan Subway Line 1)

This place has alot of good food and great shopping. I also shop here and have my lunch/coffee here.

If you prefer quality clothings , buy from those shops at street level but it will be abit more expensive.

*For 4) and 5) , alight at Seomyeon station. Come out of station immediately is the underground shops and go to street level is 5) already. Also Lotte Department store is just above MRT.

It can get very hyped up and bustling at night. Alot of youngsters. I have 4 of my favourite fashion shops but i cannot remember the names except i know how and direction. I cut and perm my hair here to.

You can find the Medical and Beauty street at Seomyeon too. That is where all the plastic surgery clinics, aesthetics clinics , hair salons and nail salons are.

7) World’s largest shopping mall in the World – Shinsaegae

How to get there : Centum City Station (Busan Subway Line 2)

They have a rooftop garden spa and jimjibang ( korea’s version of onsen ) and you two can go there and relax , shop and have some coffee. Next to it is Lotte and also Homeplus supermarket and Lotte supermart for you to shop and buy things.

Tax refund is also immediately. It is near the Tiffany or Gucci boutique. Bring your passport when you shop here so you can get your Tax refund immediately when you go to the customer service centre. Super good service here.

Details of spa here :

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/10/travel/busan-spa-land/

8) Busan University Shopping Street of Youth

How to get there : Busan National University Station (Busan Subway Line 1), Exit 1 or 3

Didn’t managed to take pictures here because i went at night so i just grabbed this from the google.

Because this is a common gathering place for uni students , you can find cheap food , restaurants and fashion shops here.

Pretty good buy ! Managed to grab some cheap and good basics here ! And you can find skincares going on sales too.

That’s about it.

Will add on the list if i go to any interesting places again !

Will work on Attractions in Busan soon !

Jan4

Because someone was commenting that there is no “Christmas” atmosphere in SG (because he was used to snowy white Christmas) , so i decided to prepare some steamboat , invited his friends and also decorated the house with some ornaments i bought from daison. Lol..but it felt like CNY to me because one of the mama store in the neighbourhood was already playing CNY songs and i was having steamboat at home lol.

Bought moscato , beer and cutesy kitchen wares from Daiso because we only have 2 sets at home.

Whether is it Korean bbq or steamboat..i need to have at least 6 packs of Enoki mushrooms and 2 packets of crabsticks.

I made my own chicken stock with corn.

Bought the steamboat pot and induction cooker at the last minute from Giant for $40..hehe cos they were having discount and i can use it for Army stews, any other stews or Ddokbokki ( with ra-myeon ) soon ! Maybe cooking army stew this coming week. Let’s see.

The table was “separated into 2 sides” – 1 side are all the meats ( Korean style ) and the other side are all the yong tau foo ( Chinese style ) which is for me and oppa’s baseball teammate’s gf who is a Malaysian.

That was how we spent our Christmas at home . After that , we had drinks at the balcony which had a beautiful sea view and keppel port view.

Whereas for NYE , we had a quite and quality time at home. Because it was our 2nd anniversary ( the day we met ). We watched fireworks from our balcony.

After which on 02 Jan , Vivi and I brought the oppas to East Coast for their first prawning and BBQ. Can’t compare our prawning to the prawning in Korea which is more natural. But at least we were having fun and yummy prawns because we caught many. We even bought pork belly , beef , Kimchi, Korean seaweeds and hehe of cos Enoki mushrooms to bbq. Paired with my sambal belachan which all of them were addicted to.

I really had a good rest for the past 2 long weekends and did alot of cooking too. When i had appointments , i will cook and prepare Korean “bento” which is known as Do-Si-Rak for Oppa and he just heat up during meal time. It includes rice / porridge garnished with seaweed shreds , 1 meat / korean style omelette , 2 side dishes ( ban-chan ). Very easy , just need 30 minutes to prepare.

I had a good time and yummy Korean food with my gf at Tanjong Pagar – Tomdamgol. I am getting the ban-chan (side dishes) recipe from his mother and hopefully i can start making them as soon as i get all the ingredients i need. Not easy to find certain ingredients and sauces.

Ramyeon + Ddokbokki

Jjim-Dak ( Braised chicken with glass noodles )

O-muk Tang

(usually known as O-deng but hmmm oppa is quite particular..i can’t use jap names for Korean dishes. O-deng is actually japanese. In Korean , it is known as O-muk which means fish cake). Busan is well known for its fish cakes , so if you are going to Busan , this is something you must try. You can find alot of such street stalls in Nampo-dong selling them at $1 per stick ( KRW 1000 ).

CNY is coming and it was year end which is the only time i shop because it is SALES everywhere for past season designs and at the same time you can see new 2016 designs.

After which i will go on a hiatus on shopping till November again lol.

Korean websites are having sales too. Christmas and Lunar New Year sales so it is a good time to shop for coats which i will need since i will be traveling to Korea twice a year now and maybe 3 times after the wedding lol.

One shop i will go to without fail everytime i go to Korea is the MLB shop. They sell alot of cool baseball caps and jackets.

Whenever i watch Korean variety shows , i will look out for the caps the hosts and guests are wearing. Especially for Running man and Infinity Challenge because the hosts are always in new and latest designs. Not only their caps but i do look out for their shoes and jackets. Because the ones they wear are always soooo nice. Quite lucky i managed to get the one G-dragon was seen wearing when i went to Korea in Oct. Alot of people wanted me to sell to them and some even offered a higher price (all because G-dragon was seen wearing same design during a performance ).

I don’t have a black cap. So i decided to get this one. I had this in White with silver Sox logo and Navy with white NY logo. So this is my first LA black one with gold outlined logo. MLB is having discount. So haha i just have to get it.

Usually i wear caps when im out or when im wearing simple spag tops with denim shorts. It adds abit of chic-ness to the entire outfit. And also on days when im lazy to put on any make up , i will just wear a cap.

I was thinking to get the leather one or not but my head quiet small so snapbacks may not really suit me.

This looks like the one from Chrome hearts. If only they have it in camouflage prints instead of black. It will be nice too.

CNY is coming and do look out for AE’s CNY collection coming this weekend !

Here’s a sneak peek of an upcoming lace dress. Look out for discounts too !

Dec7

I guess i haven’t blog for quite a while and the last check was 2 weeks ago . And hmm i forgot my wordpress password ??

And i just managed to check my blog’s email and saw that i have some incoming emails from readers.

Lately , i have a couple of friends who are travelling to Korea for holiday and they asked me where to make specs and contact lenses. Because the shops there are known for the fast delivery and you can collect your specs ( frame + lens ) within 30 minutes. I don’t know how they do it but maybe they have stock up of lenses in different degrees. Even for contact lenses too which is immediate.

Oppa always have his specs and contact lenses done at Davich. He has been buying here for many years since his schooling days. Bought his specs (frame + lens ) and contact lenses and get them immediately. No waiting.

Lots of color and cosmetic lenses too. About KRW 10,000 per pair which is about SGD $11.

I had Korean bbq 3 times in a week last week. Feeling really guilty and sinful. Better drink more liang teh if not very heaty.

Had a great day spending time with his seniors and their families. Their kids are soooo cute esp Bong Bong Ee ( the baby below and Bong Bong Ee is his nickname ). Sooo cute when he place both his hands on his belly , did a little cute squat , bow and said “Annyeonghasaeyo” when he greeted me.

Feeling really fat these days because i have been eating alot of good food lately when i meet the oppas. Korean BBQ , shabu shabu , chicken and home cooked Korean food. Oh i cooked Sogolgi Jeongol ( Beef soup stew ) last week and i will share the recipe later.

And i heard that Aeon Aesthetics and Medical Centre has expanded their space ! Korean body contouring services are now available at the clinic. Saw the newly renovated clinic and i will share more pictures of it soon !

AEON is glad to be the first and only clinic currently to carry and do treatments with the third, latest and improved version of Ultrashape in Singapore.

I did Venus Legacy tummy toning and firming which is a painless process. It feels like having a “stomach facial” actually.

Changed to a comfortable wear in the new space that looks like a spa. Spacious room with a bed in the middle.

Angela , the aesthetician applied a layer of cool gel on my tummy area which i want to tone. I hardly exercise these days ( or should i say MONTHS ? ). And i like to wear tight dresses so i need to tone my tummy. My weight also fluctuates these days. Sometimes i weight 52kg and sometimes im 54kg. I got a shock when i stood onto the weighing skill. Because i was only 45-46kg before i met Oppa so you can imagine how much weight i gained 😦 And the all go to the hips , tummy and bum area.

Room was spacious so that the aesthetician has space to move around and also i feel very relax because of the space and luxurious decor and bed. You can also have your facial and body contouring done together in this room. The aesthetician adjust the temperature of the machine to achieve optimal results.

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The whole process took only 30 minutes and during the process , Angela will check to ask if i feel any discomfort. But it was so comfortable that i feel asleep. After which , she will use a hot towel to clean the excess gel and i get to change back to my own clothes and have my cup of hot Korean tea.

Aeon is having Christmas Surprise Promo and you can enjoy these services at a Promo rate. T&Cs apply.

The tummy toning and firming i did is Venus Legacy. You can call 6733 2002 to enquire and do drop by to take a look at their newly expanded space.

I spent my weekend at a fan meet.

Thank you Koryo Trading Pte Ltd ( Koryo Mart ) for the invitation to the Monsta X and Sistar fan meet.

I got the VIP Cat 1 tickets for 2 so Oppa and i went to attend this fan meet.

Wahh alot of students and we felt old there..i was joking to Oppa saying that why is this ahjussi (oppa) doing here lol..

It was an experience because it was my first time to an invited Fan meet. Being able to come up so close with the kpop stars whom i always see online only. Bora from Sistar is my favourite and she is soo pretty !

We get to see Sistar and Monsta X performing their top hits , Hi 5 sessions and phototaking as well.

I don’t know about Monsta X until few months ago when i chanced upon their MV on youtube. They are quite shuai actually when we met face to face during the Hi 5 and phototaking sessions. Haha Oppa was jokingly saying that im already a Noona..no hope already hahaha. I realized Korean guys are quite big build and tall. If you ask who are my favorites ? It will be Bora from Sistar and Shownu from Monsta X. Both are good at rapping and i find guys who rap quite have “seh” one leh

If you don’t know who is Monsta X yet , you can see some of their videos below. They are from the same company as Sistar.

Thank you Koryo Mart for the tickets.

If you were wondering what is Koryo mart , it used to be known as Lotte Mart but they changed the name and now known as Koryo Mart. If you are a Korean food fan and frequent Tanjong pagar , you will see a Korean supermarket. Yup , that is the one. They have several outlets in SG where you can buy Korean snacks , ramen , sauces and more. All imported from Korea. I have been to other Korean marts in town which though was named Korean mart but alot of stuff are from China and can buy from NTUC. Can’t even buy decent Korean dumplings at those marts because they sell chinese mantous and wantons..hmmmm…

I shop at Lotte /Koryo Mart for my Korean sauces and ingredients which i used to cook Korean food at home. All the chilli paste , soya bean paste , vinegar, sesame oil and soya sauce etc. Even the BBQ pan which can filter oil. The standard sauces are chilli paste , soya bean paste , vinegar , sesame oil , soya sauce and chilli flakes. These are the basic sauces you need to have and with these , you can cook quite a number of dishes and stews already.

Going there to shop for more stuff soon !

You can check their Facebook page HERE for details. They just opened a new outlet at Marine Parade.

Long time no see and here’s a selfie taken when i had pedicure done.

Have a good week.

Busan Korea

Oct5

Back to work today and i really miss the autumn weather in Korea.

Imagine clear blue sky accompanied with a nice breeze and the air was very fresh especially at the mountains in the day.

The haze condition in SG is getting worst. It was bad before i left and even after 2 weeks , it got even worse. My nose itches and i kept on coughing whenever im outdoors.

This post is going to be lengthy one with my personal thoughts , 2 good news to share and also continued updates on my Korea trip.

A couple of my friends who have been following my blog and instagram asked me why haven’t i been updating my social media platforms as often and why have i not even started snapchat ?

To be honest , i really enjoyed my trip this time without considering so much about taking pictures just to update on my social media accounts. I don’t want to keep thinking about what pictures or visuals to update on my instagram page or other social media platforms. I don’t want to spend time arranging the food nicely on the table for visual purposes. I just snap a simple pic and enjoy eating the food while it is hot and nice. I want my blog to stay true where i jot down all my daily life and memories. I can be abit blunt sometimes but they were straight from my heart and mind..

I want to keep the pictures for memories and document my travels , food i ate , places i have been to and share genuine reviews and tips with people. Sometimes , i even flip back my past posts to refer to when i need to and read my old posts with my bf. Because i forgot how to get to that place or what brand , what address or how it looks like after awhile.

Now that i am turning 30 next year , i just want my life to be simple. Enjoy time with my love ones , document and share my travel experiences , beauty and make-up journeys. I enjoying sharing and exchanging tips and feedbacks with readers too. Just simple and sweet. It is also time for me to settle down.

I know i have some regular and long time readers of my blog who have read about the ups and downs that happened in my life. And i am also glad to have their support. It was really touching to receive their emails with words of encouragement during my down times. During my down times , i was in no mood or in any good condition to reply anyone even though i read their messages because i wish to be alone. But i do felt touched by their words even though i didn’t express it out. And also i made friends with my readers and even customers. Like i said , it is time for me to settle down , so i have 2 good news to share with you especially with people who were there for me and always encouraging me.

First good news is….

Oppa and i are already planning for our wedding in Sept 2016. We are looking for photo studios to shoot our pre-wedding photos in Seoul or Busan and also to look for wedding venue in Busan. Whereas in SG , we are looking for a venue for the ROM ( + event styling and catering ). The main wedding will be in Busan. Planning to do pre-wedding shoot in Spring 2016. It will be nice because of the cherry blossoms.

I will be tailoring my own hanbok for the wedding on my next Korea trip. I am thinking of pastel tones ( Ivory top with Peach/Pink bottom skirting).

It will be a Korean + SG wedding. The ROM in SG will be a small affair. We ever thought of holding it on a yacht with a few of our close knit relatives actually because he was a ship navigation 2nd officer, has license to operate a ship vessel and he loves the sea. We were also considering holding it at a nice cafe or somewhere with a touch of nature because i love gardens and flowers and the budget is more affordable.

Here is one of my shortlisted venue in Busan. Something garden-ish.

For 2 years , this man has never made me worried and he really takes good care of me. He supports me in whatever i do and he understands my fear and bad experiences with trust in relationships so he always assures me. He feels and thinks that it is the responsibility of the man to take care of his woman and his family.

After going through ups and downs in my life and in relationships , i know what i want in a marriage. I only hope for a happy and simple marriage life. Just need someone to be there for me and to be there for me for life and our family. It has been my dream marriage since young which is to have a happy family with my kids and a dog.

I will document down my planning process and hopefully to share and exchange tips with fellow readers who are in SG-KOR relationships or weddings. If you ever held a SG-KOR wedding , please drop me an email at peonykissblog@gmail.com.

Thank you !

Life and work have been exciting and challenging for me these few months. If you were wondering what am I studying for and what industry did I venture into ,

Well, Here comes the 2nd good news !

I am embarking in the Financial Planning career.

I have always been interested in the Finance industry since graduating from SIM with majors in Banking and Finance.

For 3 years, I worked for a Private Bank and I am happy to be back into the finance industry once again. To be back, it is something that I have always wanted to do. And this time, I will be at the front line happy at crossing lives and getting in touch with people at the same time.

So from now instead of just blogging about my make-up and skincare reviews and Korea travels , i will share some of my financial planning work experiences and financial matters too.

If you have any questions or need any suggestions or opinions regarding financial matters , beauty and skincare , you can email at peonykissblog@gmail.com

So what about AE ? I guess this will be what most people will be curious about. It is still running by my family as usual. There were a lot of shifting and moving to a new office for the past 2 months but you can expect a new collection this coming Sunday ( previews are up on facebook page ).

I celebrated Chu Seok ( Korea Thanksgiving Day ) on 27th Sept with Oppa and his family. And that was when i met some of his extended family members. I spent the day in the kitchen helping his mother with the food and to serve the guests. It was a tiring day because the cooking and preparing started as early as 5am. All ended after lunch time and all of us knocked out till evening.

Because Oppa’s dad passed away more than 10 years ago , his relatives will come over to pay respect to his father on Thanksgiving Day. It is the day where Koreans pay respect to their ancestors and family members who passed away. Only the men will be paying respect and the women in the kitchen. Men must be dressed formally in suits , pants and shirts. Managed to snap a pic secretly while preparing to serve lunch.

After the lunch , i helped his mother to clear up before i KOed.

Next day , Jinjae oppa took leave and drove us to a small own near Ulsan for the famous and popular beef BBQ. It is an hour drive from Busan. I just realized that the best food are located at the countryside. Cheap and good.

Supposedly to go to Gyeongju this Sept but Oppa has to renew his driving license because he has not driven for 10 years. So he has to attend a 2 day course and take the driving test again. So we shall bring the Gyeongju trip to next year.

Busan itself is so big. Went there 2 times and stayed there for 1 month in total but i have not been to every corner of Busan or even the outskirts of Busan.

It was a fun car ride chit chatting with each other and Ommoni is happy to have her 2 sons by her side and traveling with her. The BBQ place was so popular that we have to wait for 30 minutes. You can wait at the shelter near the pond.

Saw GDragon and other celebs wearing the Seoul Olympic 1988 cap before. So when i saw it while shopping at a fashion concept shop , i have to get it ! It is the last piece too. He also wore one in the latest Big Bang US world tours concert held few days ago.

I looked at what caps the celebs wear whenever i watch Running Man , Infinity Challenge , Returns of superman or any other variety shows because their caps are all so nice. The HALYANG cap which Kang Gary from Running Man is often seen in is a hot item too. Can see many places selling it when i was shopping in Busan.

Look who joined us that day ? The youngest in the family , Bomi !

We have to hide her in the bag when seated in the restaurant. But she managed to sneak out after smelling the BBQ beef.

While waiting , we went to buy the Hae Bbang ( custard bread ) which is quite a popular snack in this town.

My bf and his bro.

They are my 2 big pillars and bodyguards.

Jinjae oppa is such a good cook ! The pastas and food he cooked are so great.

First time trying Samjang soup and it tasted so nice ! I want to learn to cook this !

After our hearty meal , we drove to this big field which was just 5 minutes away from our lunch place. Popular hangout with the locals. Weather was perfect , grass were green and clean and you can see many families having picnic and chilling out on the field. Ulju is a town in the city of Ulsan located at the easternmost of South Korea.

The first place to see the first sunrise of the year in Ulsan (below)

2nd largest mailbox in the world and you can post your postcards and receive them a year later.

I don’t know is it the angle or my flat hair…why i looks so bah bah here ?

Back to Busan after our trip to Ulju in Ulsan.

We went to cafe street which is just opposite our house. This cafe street is Busan’s version of Dempsey hill + Holland Village + Haji Lane. Alot of concept cafes here and the prices are affordable and cheap.

You can find many interesting cafes with unique decors and concepts.

Fans of lobster rolls can enjoy lobster rolls at only KRW 15,000 with fries. Wanted to try this but it was full house. Saw the rolls from the window and they looked so delicious with generous servings of thick juicy lobsters.

We settled for pizzas.

This big pizza is only KRW 15,000. So huge and we struggle to finish it. Bread and side dishes are free flow. You can toast your own bread at the “SELF” corner. “SELF” in Korea means self-service.

After our pizzas , it is time for dessert. Saw a promotion and this strawberry ice cream bingsu cost only KRW 3,900.

So yummy with generous servings for strawberries and raspberries.

After which , we went for our favourite bubble tea – Bubble Pong.

It is located across the road from NC Shopping mall’s Lotteria.

My favourite bubble tea place and i have it almost everyday.

Served in a cute little bottle which you can bring home if you order the large size.

That’s how we ended our day 10 !

Just started using some of the new skincare products i bought from Korea. Loving it and shall review it soon.

Busan : Where to go and eat

Oct5

Day 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 in Busan, South Korea.

Here we go !

I came back weighing 54kg. OMG . I went there with my luggage weighing 15kg and came back with almost 30kg because it was filled with food and my skincare stock ups as well as my friends’ stuff which they asked me to help them to buy.

One thing i absolutely looked forward to was the BBQ. I can eat till my heart content and the price was not expensive and the meat were sooo yummy and fresh.

Here we are at one popular BBQ place in Seomyeon , Busan. The place where the talk about marriage started.

The place was huge and really spacious. There are private rooms , traditional floor seatings or table seatings. The decors and interiors are so nice. The toilets are even nicer. I kinda enjoy the toilet tours in big shopping malls like Shinsaegae and big restaurants like this. They looked so grand , bigger and better than some 5 star hotels’ toilets. The interior decors for the make-up area are baroque style.

The name of the restaurant.

After BBQ , Koreans usually have cold noodles or rice.

Oppa’s mum ordered rice whereas both of us had cold noodles and one of them was the North Korean cold noodles.

Saw a couple of restaurants serving North Korean food. Wanted to try but maybe next time. Saw the menu and food looks almost similar to South Korean food.

After our lunch , we went to Seomyeon and that’s when the shopping started. I got only some new make up products ( which i will review soon once i started using them for almost a week. Can’t tell if a product is good after 1 try. Will need a week for me to see if it is good or not ). Didn’t get alot because i know i will be going back again in 7 mths’ time and they will change the packaging and improve their products frequently. So there is no need for massive stock up therefore i just get what i need only. Haha and most of the bulk of the make up buys belong to my friends. Their shopping lists are longer than mine.

I really love Seomyeon . Not because of the shopping but because it is quite a hip place and you can find both expensive and cheap things around easily. To the left of our apartment , you can find wet markets , mountains, cheap and nice food. To the right , is the hip place with all the shoppings , make ups , beauty , bars , food , cafes , supermarkets , aesthetics and plastic surgery clinics and departmental stores. Right infront is a departmental store and i can see people eating yummy buffets everyday in the mall when i do laundry at the balcony. Very convenient. There are 5 aritaums and many other brands just opposite our studio apartment that’s why i have no problem buying stuff for my friends. Also Lotte Department store and hotel are just 1 street away.

Oppa’s hometown is in Haeundae , Busan South Korea. Haeundae is a popular beach place and flooded with tourists and Koreans during summer because of its long coasts and beaches. And the world’s largest department store Shinsaegae is just nearby. Seafood restaurants , bars , chill out cafes and pubs everywhere in Haeundae. It is only 15 minutes drive from Seomyeon. Love these 2 places.

Well on Day 6 , we had Kimchi jiggae at the restaurant right below our apartment. Nice and cheap. I like the concept too.

There is a free flow self-help egg corner where you can fry omelette , scramble eggs or sunny side ups or whatever you want to do. Salt , pepper , oil and ketchup or mustard sauces were provided too.You will see this sign “SELF” in most Korean restaurants or petrol stations. It means self-service and it also means free flow also in restaurants.

Hehe i fried 4 omelette rolls and 1 sunny side up.

Our Kimchi jiggae hotpot. So yummmz !

Our pot of rice.

Our bill came up to KRW 13,000 for 2 pax. Which is approx SGD 14 for 2 pax. Damn cheap right ? Just take a lift down to 2nd floor and we can enjoy yummy food.

Korean drip coffee.

If you travel to Korea and had meals in restaurants , you will often see a coffee machine near the entrances. They are free of charge and are for their customers. Some Korean restaurants in SG do also provide the free coffees but quite rare.

One interesting concept i like about this Korean Kimchi jiggae restaurant was that the rice are free flow too and you get an entire pot from the rice cooker . Lol. It is a “SELF” corner too.

I have been taking the lift up to our apartment so many times since April and i didnt know there is an Amore Pacific office branch just right at the 4th floor of our building . I didnt know it until the lift door opened at the 4th floor because i pressed the lift button wrongly. Heh..it means buying my Hera and Sulwhasoo is so much easier now eh ???

Oh i always go to this restaurant that serves Jjim Ddak (Steam Soya Sauce Chicken) whenever i miss Singapore local home cooked food. It tastes like the chinese version and it is soo nice when served with sweet potato clear noodles.

Actually cooking Korean food can be easy if you know how to mix the sauce well and accurately. Oppa’s mother made Yangnyeom pork ribs and they tasted so good. Very easy , she just mixed the sauce for us in a bottle and we just throw in these ribs and fry with the sauce. I just managed to learn the recipes and how to mix different kind of sauces.

So yummy and i really have to master how to mix the sauces well.

That pork rib was for our lunch and here’s what we had for dinner after meeting his friends.

We spent most of our time in Seomyeon and Haeundae. His hometown was in Haeundae , Busan South Korea. Haeundae , Nampodong , Seomyeons etc are like towns or districts in Busan. Same as Myeongdong , Gangnam , Hongdae etc in Seoul.

So we spent most of our time meeting his friends in Haeundae and Seomyeon during the day and sometimes at night for drinks since he only get to see them twice a year when he goes back.

So we had Tonkatsu for dinner. Tonkatsu was very cheap and only 7500KRW per pax. I seriously need to exercise more soon because i have been eating so much and gaining so much weight !

On Day 7 , i went for my C curl perming. Initially , i wanted to go to Hwamiju in Seomyeon but hmm someone was lazy to walk there ( 10 minutes walk ) so we ended up at Juno Hair in Seomyeon which was just 2 minutes walk from our apartment.

I love getting my hair done in Korea because of the prices and services provided. Salons are spacious and the staff attended to their customers very fast. They will say sorry even if they made me waited for 2 minutes because he dropped the towel and he has to get a new one for me. Koreans don’t like to wait i realized. Alot of my friends complained that the cashiers in SG and staff in SG salons worked too slowly that’s why queuing and waiting time are always that long in SG.

I remembered having my hair dyed , volume rebonded , cut and wash all in 2-2.5 hours . I realized sometimes in SG , i was made to wait because the stylist was attending to other customers at the same time and i have to lie that i have something on so that they can work on me faster and put me as priority. Time is precious and i don’t like to sit there for 4 hours just for something that can be done in 2 hours.

While conditioning my hair , i was served tea and light snacks ( you can even ask for instant cup noodles if you haven’t had your meal ) and was given a crescent shape pillow for me to rest my arms and magazines. The cushion made everything comfy instead of having to bend my neck down to read the magazine or holding it up at a weird angle. You can put this cushion on the chair while getting your hair cut too. It will curve around your chair because of its crescent shape and it makes reading easier. You can also rest your arm comfortably.

Perming starts.

My own locker with keys to keep my belongings so i do not need to worry leaving my things unattended when i wash my hair.

Final touch up and trimming. Because i was the curls to look natural and slightly wavey.

Price tag for perming : KRW 120,000 which is approx SGD 130. I want to talk about maintaining C curls and i will blog about it later and separately.

Sunday , 27th Sept was Chu Seok( Thanksgiving day) and i wanted to buy Eu Yan Sang (bird nests) but can’t bring it into Korea. I brought them in before and they were confiscated at the Korea airport customs. Hmmm it was considered as livestock.

So i ordered from some Korean shopping sites and bought for his mum this set.

During Thanksgiving , Koreans give gifts such as traditional snacks , shampoos and food as gifts. Just like our Mooncake festival , we give out mooncakes and traditional snacks.

It comes with traditional silk scarf wrapping too.

Yay , i managed to wrap it up nicely !

After which , we went to Haeundae to meet his friends for dinner. His friend owned this restaurant so we get to eat alot of yummy food. This is considered first round and after that we went for 2nd and 3rd rounds at different places respectively. Initially i was amazed how Koreans can talk , eat and drink from dinner till early morning. After experiencing it for the past 2 years , i got used to it and kinda enjoy it because the food are always good and so much to eat , learn , talk and listen. That’s how i improve my Korean too. But usually i got tired after the 2nd round and started stoning at the 3rd round.

That sums up our day before Chu Seok ( Thanksgiving Day ).

Shall update again , getting late and i need to put on my moisture mask ! LOL.

Mar12

Can’t wait for my Korea trip next week ! But i still gotta work even though im overseas and wifi accessibility is very important for me. So every time when i go to Korea, i will rent the Wifi egg from SK or KT telecom. Well , if i remember correctly , SK doesn’t cover whole of Korea. Only certain cities and you may experience weak signals in some cities. So incase you are renting the Wifi egg, check for the coverage in the cities that you are going to before you rent it. You can see Sroaming , KT or SK websites for information. Click HERE for KT’s Olleh wibro estimated pricing and coverage.

So before going to Korea, i will jot down my shopping list and also pack my luggage at least 1 week before my trip.

I ever blogged about it HERE .

I have not been blogging much about Korean skincare or cosmetics for the past 6 months. That was because i have stocked up enough and still using them. The products im using now (95% are from HERA are working well on my skin so im still using them ). I have blogged about them before. I have some new products which im buying. I was given some samples and i love it so much that i have to buy the full size.

Alot of people have been asking me about Hera and other Korean beauty brands and i realized that when i review them , i usually review all together and group them under the tag “Korean Make Up” or sometimes i forgot to tag. I will try to review each product one by one and tag them under the individual brands instead so that it is easier for anyone to refer to . YAY ? You can see individual brand tags at the side bar now. But because of memory size constraint , some pictures cannot be viewed. And some requested for me to redo a blogpost. I will do a summary of the basic HERA products im currently using when i have the time maybe this sunday morning.

Now it comes to packing my luggage.

I prefer to travel light. Especially im going to stock up a year supply of skincare products from Korea.

Well , heres what i packed for my upcoming trip !

When traveling during cold season like spring , autumn or winter , we need thick jackets, thermal wears , boots etc. They can be very heavy and you definitely want to travel light if you plan to shop ALOT.

Good thing about traveling in Spring , Autumn and Winter is that there is nothing much to buy and if you are traveling to Korea, you probably can only buy tonnes of skincare ! LOL can save money ! I only changed SGD600 to KRW for this trip lol.

I love those kind of thermal wears which you can easily buy from any Korean boutiques for KRA 14,000 t0 KRW 25,000. I got some of them during season sales at KRW 9,900 !!

Not only do they keep you warm and are light weight, they do make you look good too. I realized Korean fashion styles are either very very tight clothings or very very baggy clothings. There is no in between. I love their skinny jeans because they are super tight and nice. But the sizing super small. I wear their size 28 even though im a ZARA size 34. I was like WTF ! IM FAT but chey….it’s their sizing issues not mine.

Here are some that i bought during season sale or in Spring/Autumn (picture below) , i just pair them with stockings and booties or boots thats all. They are durable and im still keeping them even after 2 years. You can hand wash them so there is no need to spend on laundry services. You can mix and match them with skirts , stockings or pants. When wearing skirt , i tuck it in.

If you travel often and prefer to travel during cold seasons and you happen to visit Korea, then you should stock up trendy basic pieces from there (like the ones i got below ) because they are so cheap. Even angora knits and fleece leather leggings are priced at KRW 19,000 – KRW 30,000 only. Don’t expect to wear them in SG. I tried it before…IT WAS SOO BAD AND HOT TO DEATH. I ended up with heat rashes. These pieces will look good with booties , walker heels or peep toe boots.

I don’t know if it is their photoshop skill , but the model’s body is too perfect.

Leggings. It is a chore to layer and layer of pants or thick and heavy jeans. That’s why i prefer to wear leatherette leggings. Fashionable and also there are some that comes with fleece inner layers to keep you warm while still looking good and fashionable. Hehe..i have a total of 6 pairs. 2 normal ones without any fleece for spring , 2 pairs with thin layer of fleece for Autumn and 2 pairs with thick furry fleece for winter for sub-zero degrees. They are light weight, easy to pack and i bought them at only KRW 9,900 except for the winter ones at KRW 13,900 probably because of the thicker fleece layers. I can roll them and put in my handbag. Save space. I do not need to put on so many layer of pants when the weather turns cold because the fleece inner layer is enough to keep me warm.

Fleece layer to keep you warm

Trench coat. Their fabric seems much lighter than the ones i got from Zara and yet still keep me warm.

Trench coats are cheap if you buy them off season. I got this wool trench coat for only KRW 49,000. They kept me warm during my work trips and holidays. Cheap, nice and light. One problem is sizing. Their clothes are mostly FREE size..they are either too big or fits me nicely. Only the jeans are too small for me.

So if you are running out of clothing for cold season , just pack 2 sets over and get the rest there instead.

Shoes and hats.

Just buy from there. More variety , cheaper and nicer. Especially their sneakers and sport shoes. I love their range of sport shoes and sneakers. Sadly , i don’t really wear them out often so i don’t buy them.

Oct23

There are many people i know heading to Korea to see the beautiful and colourful autumn maple leaves.

Well , decided to blog about a list of things you should buy if you are going to Korea.

Below was a picture of me and my other 3 girlfriends’ luggages when we went to Korea for the first time back in 2012.

We went with one and came back SG with additional luggages , boxes and more and more hand carry bags.

So how did we went with only 1 but came back with erm… so many ? Well , we spent more than sgd800 per pax at Laneige in Myeondong and they gave us a free luggage each ( The ones with polka dogs , mine is the pink one in the picture ). That was for my 1.5 years of supply of facial care and it came with generous supply of samples which in fact tempted me to get more of their newly launch products. Only you can buy 3 items in Korea and get alot of samples. Hera was more generous when i bought my first set of facial care. They gave me like 4 sheets of the white program masks and REALLY ALOT of samples. Not that i am a cheapo for the samples but these samples are convenient for my travels and it actually tempted me to get the full bottle of product instead and now i am a big fan. My friend’s sister used to send me new samples that last me 1 month and i love the results and ended up buying the full bottles and stock up on a year’s supply.

I don’t like how some counter ladies in SG were abit stingy with it when you ask for few more sachets and they look at you like as if you are some cheapo who want freebies. Maybe they have their reasons for doing so because there are really cheapos doing that but not all are so cheapo okay. There are genuine buyers like me.

It doesn’t make sense you see , your products claimed that with continuous use for 14 days , you will achieve radiant skin. But how can you expect your customers to see the results by giving one pathetic sachet ? Tell me how can you convince your customers the product is good with just one sad sachet and expect people to spend money on the full bottle ? To be reasonable , you should give samples that last at least for 3 days to be able to convince consumers how good your product is.

Ok back to the list of things you should buy in Korea !

1) Korean beauty make up

Nature Republic, The Face Shop, Etude House, Innisfree, Tony Moly, Holika Holika and Missha.

Reason why you should buy the make up products is because they are cheap and good. Korean ladies are very good with “natural make up look” so most of their products are not very pigment heavy. The colours are light and refreshing. They like to play around with lip colours so you can see a range of colours for the lipsticks.

Because they are cheap , you can buy many colours and have different looks. I usually shop off the city area because there are some outlets with 1+1 deal meaning buy 1 get 1 free ( usually for masks and lipsticks ) and some have up to 50% discount for make up products. I got my masks , make up and some accessories from the boutiques off city centre and i get to enjoy 30-50% discount or 1+1 deal. But this depends on your luck because sometimes they don’t have such promotions. Usually there are such deals at theend of each season . But the thing is that you don’t get to enjoy tax refund. But i think i saved more with those deals than the tax refund if im getting hell lot of them.

Can’t decide to get a lipstick in Pink , Coral or Red ?
Just get all 3. They will probably cost less than sgd20 for 3. If there is any 1+1 or discounts , you save more.

2) Amore Pacific Brands.

Beauty is important in Korea and girls there do take extra time and care to maintain their looks and skin.

Brands such as IOPE , Laneige , Sulwhasoo and Hera are under Amore Pacfiic. They do have a house brand too.

You can buy Laneige , Sulwhasoo and Hera at any Lotte Department store or Shinsaegae Department store in town. They are available at the airport as well.

Iope is available at Emart , Lotte mart and Aritaum.

If you a big fan of these brands , there are few reasons why you should buy in Korea ..

1) Cheaper than SG and there is tax refund.

2) Brands like IOPE and Hera are not available in SG.

3) Generous samples

4) These products works on my skin very well.

Below were my buys from Laneige back in 2012 when i was still using their products before switching to HERA. I was given a free luggage and hell lot of samples for purchase of SGD 800 and above. It filled up that entire luggage.

I bought home 1.5 years of supply of facial product.

I have since switched to HERA and because it is not available in SG and i have to really stock up .

3) Aritaum

You can find brands like IOPE , Laneige and Mamonde in Aritaum. I love Aritaum make up produts because they are cheap , nice colour and pretty good.

See the crayon lip tints and crayon eye shadows ? They were going at 1+1 for KRW 6,900. It is cheap and can’t decide which colour to buy ?
Just get all lah !

You can find whole range of IOPE products in Arituam. I have been to Korea 4 times but i have not seen any Iope boutique before.

Even blushers come in the form of cushions.

4) BB Cushions and CC creams

Korea is the mother of all BB and CC Creams.

And now the BB Cushion and CC cushion for easy application !

My favourite goes to Hera UV Mist Cushion and Hera CC cream. Iope is another popular choice among the locals.

They come in various shades which suits Asian skin tones. It costs about KRW 40,000-KRW45,000 and it comes with a refill pack.

5) Facial masks

Again not only being cheap is the reason but they have lots of selections for different skin types. It also work very well in hydrating the skin.

I bought like 300 over packs to last me 1.5 years. Instead of keeping them at room temperature , i kept them in the fridge so that the sheets remains moist and preserve the essence on the sheets.

My favourite brands are from Missha and Sulwhasoo. I bought 300 packets of Missha masks at 1+1 and each was KRW 1000-KRW3500 depending on the type of mask. The hydrogel ones are more than KRW3,000.

You can buy from the boutiques at Myengdong ( for tax refund ) or Supermarket such as Lotte mart and Emart. Usually the ones at Myeongdong does not have discount or 1+1 promotions. I realized it on one of my trips. I was helping friends to buy Missha masks and got some from the boutique at Myengdong and i swept up all the green tea stocks available at their boutique ( about few hundred pieces ) and i have to go to else where to get the remaining. So i went somewhere and i saw a Missha at subway underpass and saw that there was 1+1 promotion ( no tax refund ) . So you have to work on your maths to see which one is cheaper and you save more.

6) Seaweeds and snacks.

You can buy Korean snacks from Emart or Lotte Mart which can be found at departmental store. You can find your favourite and delicious and cheap Korean snacks there. I always buy a trolley full and bring it back to SG. They don’t give you plastic bags so bring your own HUGE bag or you can use the boxes found near the cashier to wrap up your shopping.

However , if you prefer a bag , you can pay for a paper bag. I dont recommend that if you have TOO many things because it breaks quite easily.

7) Kimchi and side dishes

Seriously , you can never get them so tasty in SG.

I never buy Kimchi in those aluminum packages and instead i bought those homemade ones because they are much tastier.
You can buy them from Emart or Lotte Mart. Be sure to wrap them up properly and suggest to send it back to SG in a box or else the Kimchi juice might leak and stained your clothes and the smell may linger on your clothes for a while.

8) Made in Korea apparels

Myeongdong , Dongdaemun , Namdaemun , Hongdae , Ehwa , Garusil Gil etc

Just to name afew , there are the popular places among tourists.

I skip on Dongdaemun and Namdaemun because some are china made and very platinum mall Bangkok like pieces. And are very overpriced. The ahjumma there are not very friendly. I deal with a supplier from Namdaemun before and they are really rude.

I only shop in 2 local boutiques at Myeong dong because they sell their own labels and design their own means there is quality control. And the apparels are priced tagged.

Try to bargain when you are buying. Some shops don’t indicate any price tags and i usually avoid those unless i really like the item and find the price reasonable. I was quoted KRW 32,000 for a skirt and a friend was quoted KRW 18,000. The salesman must have thought i am a tourist and don’t understand Korean and when my Korean friend asked for the price again , she was quoted cheaper ( almost half the price ). The salesman must have thought we were not friends . But i understand what the price he quoted to other person in Korean.

So for those shops that does not have any price tags on their apparels , do try to bargain.

9) Cute and little accessories such as stockings , socks and samsung mobile covers.

I get all my winter, spring and autumn stockings from there because they are very cheap and good. You can get a winter stockings/leggings with fleece for KRW5,000. That is why i can still wear skirt with the stockings in such cold weather.

They have tonnes of cute little stocks with ribbons and prints at KRW 1,000 each ! Some were going at KRW 800. Samsung mobile covers are cheaper there. I got one for my cousin from Korea for her Note 3 at like SGD 20 cheaper ?

I got my stockings and leggings from Ah jummas at the road side stalls. Or you can get from shops that sells those cute little socks and hair accessories.

******

Happy shopping in Korea and worry about overweight luggage ?

One tip is to send all your shopping buys back via EMS Korea to SG.
It takes 3 working days. Meaning if you send it out on Monday , you will receive it on Wednesday.

I sent 500 pieces of Missha masks to my friend from Korea ( helped her to buy..you see im such a good friend haha , carrying 100 pieces each time x 4 trips is really not easy and super heavy ) and it costs about KRW 34,000. It is cheaper than paying for extra baggage weight.

And i buy my Hera skin care products from the airport duty free. There is one counter which carries the full range. Hera bottles are made of glass and very heavy. Definitely going to add weight onto your luggage. So i will buy at the airport and hand carry up to the plane instead to save on overweight baggage fees.

Well , have a good time and happy shopping !