It's the holiday mood once again! To Jeju-Seoul we venture!

Ever since my retirement from corporate race, it has never fail to strike me as a puzzling fact that I actually have less time to blog now that I aint working, than when I was still a corporate rat furiously engaging with mountain-load of data, as well as other corporate minions alike.

At home, there's always something to do, something to fix, something else seemingly begging for my attention. So much so that it just seemed so exhausting (picturing in my head) to just sit down and blog. Yeah I know... "exhausting".. funny right. I know.

Yet, feeling all spiked, recharged, refueled and happy from my recent girly-pally trip to S.Korea, I know I would kick my arse oneday looking back if I did not pay "homage" to my vacation from 2 weeks ago. 

To start off, the trip was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.LY Fantastic. 

No. I wont bore you with long winded details if it had been bland or boring.

Why would I. My life is never boring to start with. Ha!   

Back to what I was saying, the Jeju-Seoul trip...

Honestly, it was way way way way off more fun(ny) than I had anticipated. There were nagging doubts prior departure, not because of my companion silly, but rather of my middle back acting up, going all strange and bitchy towards me. Like a woman scorned, it was not letting up, hardly easing on the pain factor. Movement was a bitch, esp anything that requires bending over. I didnt know what I had done to her (my back that is), but apparently I must have pulled a muscle, or hit a raw nerve somehow somewhere...so I had been painfully aware that it might be a rather agonizing 9 days holiday with my BFF.   (*NOTE: That's "Best Frens Forever", and not "Best Female Fren" as my man had so called *deciphered*)

Packing my stuff alone was double the time. So imagine for 3 hours at wee morning, starting at 12am, hobbling around trying to get things stuffed into my luggage, mindful of the 15KG weight limit imposed by the domestic Jeju flights from Gimpo. Good thing my flight to Incheon was 4.30pm. 

Great.. .. ..

How's a grown (and mildly vain) woman gonna manage 9 days with 15kg limit. My cosmetics and skincare whatnot had already chalked up some mileage in the weight department honestly. Then I had to leave a few kg for overseas victorious conquests....that effectively meant I had about 12kg max to work with. So it was *screw u* to some pants and tops, leaving them behind, with top priority going to my skincare companions, which turned out to be both a blessing and also deserving of a smack to my head later in the story development. 

Incidentally, I thought I would just mentioned it off the cuff, in case some smart alex decides to tell me that if I had flown direct to Jeju, I would be spared the 15kg limit. Well there's a reason I forego my usual deluxe Marco Polo FF's extra baggage weight allowance.

Firstly, I wasnt departing from Jeju. 2nd-ly I felt guilty my GF had missed out on the cheaper tixs from SG to Seoul coz of some delay on my travel agent part to get my flight. 3rd-ly, my travel agent mislead me on the Jeju flight schedule info, and lastly, she forgot to book my seat or she claimed she missed my email. That very email for her to book my seat. Yeah I know, first world problems right. Anycase, it worked out fine, my gf and I decided to just spend one extra night in Incheon to meet up before we slowly waltz our way to Gimpo for our domestic flight at 1.35pm.

The beauty about travelling with E is that she's an organisor and into details like me, though I must confess I am somewhat more of a slacker when it comes to travelling plans. So mightily impressed I was when she created this whole word file framework of our general "movement" plans that I was already brimming with excitement from mere looking at a word file. It's almost sad really...getting my high from a MS word file. Then again, the source of happiness must start from somewhere right?!

The good thing was that we had both wanted to do a super lepak, rest and relaxing trip. No mad rushing around. No crazy overachiever mentality to cover as many sights as possible. No. It was all gonna be nice, slow and easy breezy. We were totally in sync, though E was initially worried that I might want to do more since I had never been to Jeju before. So it was an utter relief to her that we were on the same page.

This "SNAKE" year has been a complete bitch to me. Nasty Nasty Nasty biz from Day 1. It has been nothing but a series of unfortunate health related mishaps that I would positively swear some deity has a thing against me this year. It had been a bummer year. I needed a getaway boost to cheer myself up.

I had mooted the Jeju idea in April and by May, E had the basicframework up, and by June we had a general idea of the "must visit" sites after both sides threw in some ideas. Once again, good thing we were also in sync in general about places to go. 

It wasnt very stressful, planning the trip from scratch. 

Not on my part really.
I could afford such "wanton" proclamation only because credit goes to E for the legwork really.

I didnt bother with any guide book. I did flip thru a few blog posts for some ideas and general info but that's about it. It wasnt meant to be a major sight seeing trip so I didnt see a point in getting all riled up and armed with hardcore traveller's info.

The whole idea of free and easy... That means going in free spirited style and being easy. 

Though I must say, both of us didnt want to compromise too much on lodgings comfort. Luckily for me, E was equally concerned about good bed to get good night rest and as well, free internet. Who can leave wifi behind these days? We aint on a spiritual monastery-type trip afterall so no good reason to get cut off from civilisation is there. 

In retrospect, the Jeju hotel that I had picked was the best decision because with my bloody sore back that developed before and exponentially worse during the early part of the trip, I'm telling you, GOOD bed was Godsend. It prob helped E too with her sore body parts on some days. So yes, more bloody expensive but for me at least, it was totally worth it! I must add though, I am thankful that E trusted me with my choice and that she was financially ok to go along with my pick. When I was entrusted with picking Jeju hotels and compiling a list of choices, it was a relief for me that she had reservations about some pension houses (at really really cheap prices).

So that was how we eventually ok'ed this, but not without some weird cyber incidents too. For some only heaven-knows-why reasons, my MacPro refused to LOAD any of trip advisor pages and alot of other related hotel links. It was almost like the google server hates me or something cuz I kept getting redirected to "yp page not found" error page each time I clicked on a link with synopsis that had caught my eye. It was almost near witchcraft status that I simply had to snap a picture of the error page and watsapp it to E, just to clear any possible doubt that I wasnt pulling my weight for the trip planning and making some incredulous excuses. Who on earth will believe me if I just come up and say "Oh Trip advisor doesnt load on any of the FOUR PCs and laptops at home".  Most people will think its bullocks. Cynical me might too if its a stranger.

Of coz E never doubted me, but still, even till now, I found it awfully spooky at why every link had failed to load back then and yet worked like a charm presently when I no longer had any need to those info. Honestly, I was so pissed back then, that it was only the sky rocket price of my Mac that prevented me from lifting and smashing it to the ground in exasperation. So instead, I could only smack my glass table in complete frustration and occasionally belt out a chain of non-lady-like crude swearing.

When I was finally done with my packing at 4am in the morn, my baggage weighed 14kg. By then I was in zombified state and so I figured "Fuck it". At most, I wont buy anything from jeju since that's where the weight limit is binding. I have never bought touristy stuff on any previous trip, so I figured this wouldnt be any more different. In time to come, I would kick my own sorry arse for this decision...which u will find out in good time as the story goes.

Beauty Talk: Muji Verbena Body Soap Review

I have been looking for a body shower gel that isnt too drying on my skin for some time now. Have tried many different organic "natural" based product but hasnt been completely satisfied.

However, by chance, I think I may finally have found the one I like though I;m not sure if I am speaking too soon since it has only been 2 weeks into use.

I have discovered belatedly, Muji Shower and Hair care Series.
Starting with the shower gel. There is only one option in HK Muji which is the Verbena Body Soap. Made from Okinawa grown Verbena, the product claimed to be made with natural products, and with a hint of Freesia scent. On the back, short of translating word for word, it is SLS free, colouring free, as well free of industrial mineral oil traces.

During use, the first thing you notice is that without SLS, the product is clean but without the harsh foaming action that dries your skin. The scent is very light and pleasant that doesnt send you head into a spin or become sickly. In fact, I like the fact that the scent doesnt linger on my skin except its only there when you are soaping.

After wash, your skin is as what the back claimed, feels fresh and clean. My body doesnt feel tight like a wrapped bun in desperate need of a body lotion.

Personally, I like this and I think it should be a great hit amongst ladies.
I would def recommend this product.

Beauty Talk: The gentlemen Tonics Shampoo and Aftershave Product Review

I came upon this brand "Gentlemen's Tonic" (web link) while roaming Central Landmark during last Xmas shopping for gifts. I thought the shower gel smell lovely for a guy without being overpoweringly musky.

My guy fren loved the shower gel so I thought I would try out the shampoo and aftershave moisture for my man. I would have bought the traditional shaving whip cream (based on an internet review that it was very good) instead except they had ran out of stock. So I thought what the hell, since I'm already here, might as well give the other range a go.

It's very hard to get a product review from my man. He only has "I like it" or "I dont like it" feedback.

For shampoo, he would normally give a bit more info like "it doesnt lather (well)", "It isnt squeaky clean" when he "stole" some of mine when his ran out.

This time round, his verdict was "It's clean. It smells pleasant. It lathers well enough."
I guess that's all you are gonna yank out of a man who isnt "all expressive and descriptive" about the products he use.

So I thought, what the hell, I'm gonna use it.

While it prob works nicely on a man's short hair, it was a bit of a no good for woman.
It really tangle up my hair and frankly, drying. Which I take it for my man to mean squeaky clean. It does smell nice and not overly powering.

For the Aftershave Cream, it's ok. Nothing to crow about. In fact, my man prefers the Molton Brown product which he found to be lighter and absorb better into his skin. The aftermath is also a much smoother skin surface without the irritation. Personally, I too prefer the fragrance of the Molton Brown After shave hydration emulsion. HOWEVER, the downside of the Molton Brown product is also its packaging, being that its in a GLASS bottle that makes it travel unfriendly. The first bottle my man had only lasted a week because he accidentally dropped it and well, needless to say, my floor got a face load of expensive moisturising that day...So the molton brown gal was also needless to say happy to see me back so soon then.

Ultra Light Bai Ji Hydrator . 

Going back to Gentlemen's Tonic products, there is ONE MAJOR FLAW. It's the design of the bottle. The square and hard bottle makes it extremely hard to pour or squeeze anything out. So it gets abit frustrating. Hence, my man hates to use the aftershave in the morning since as he said "Dont have whole day to muck around with the stupid bottle" So you get the drift.

The verdict, I prob wont buy it again unless they improve the product design. For shampoo I could still transfer to another empty bottle but for face creams, its tough.

Prob last resort gift for your man or guy frens as a gift, but for shampoo, def not something u should think of using, not even for emergency unless u really dont mind a mop of dry straw looking head.

Moulds? Citro Shield Disinfectant recommended!

I dont know how it happened but after living here for almost 3 years in my place, I experienced the first attack of mega Mould attacks on my wall, no thanks to the horrid dampness and terrible humidity in HK.

It didnt happened while I was at home, since there was adequate ventilation I supposed. Those bastards attacked while I was away for a week attending some sorry-arse-waste-of-time "look at me I am so skinny and beautiful Queen Bitch" wedding in SG few weeks back.

As if the expensive trip back wasnt bad and the wedding wasnt nauseating enough, I have to return home to discover the invasion of the fungi....making themselves at home all over the study and guest bedroom walls. Fuck. Though i must be thankful they had only attacked the walls and left my leather goods and clothes alone. Amen.

The worst was areas behind the door and behind the bookshelves...these offenders are dark black and almost furry bastards.

My man was off on his business trip and so it was all left to me to wipe those bastards off the wall.

This is when this product comes highly recommended. I had used this in my master room months back and the wall remained clear of mould in this recent invasion. So I supposed it worked well even though I havent dehumify my master room ever since the wipe down.

I only had to resort to diluted bleach in study when I finished the bottle for just one room.
I could have used vinegar and soda mix, but firstly I was low in vinegar and secondly, these moulds frankly looked too nasty and if I am gonna waste so much time cleaning it, I rather get them right the first time and not leave it to chance for a possible second wipe down if not done right.

So far, I can only find this product in 360 supermart.
I use to get them at Central 360 but they closed and only left at Elements Mall.

It's a pain to get to Elements but I guess I dont have a choice now that I am out.
Maybe I should write to City super and get them to consider stocking this over some other crap they have on shelves.

If you live in HK, you should keep this handy.
Not only is it effective on wall moulds, I used it in toilet once in a while for those sprouting moulds in the grots. Its effective but doesnt sting your skin, nor does it destroy your wall paint.

I had tried Mr Muscle Mould fighter (the orange bottle) for the toilet and while it works, it was horrid on my wall (not to mention my skin and lungs with the stench) . It was too strong and destroy my grot and it cracked. I wont buy Mr Muscle anymore by a long stretch.

Plus, handy in kitchen for wiping down countertop and supposedly child friendly. So with all the bitey habits of kids, you might want to spray over common areas your kid lay his or her palm over.

This Australian product is odourless, doesnt sting your eyes when the spray mist is in the air.
I would highly recommend this.

Beauty Talk: Aveda Damage Remedy

Before I had my hair sniped off, I thought I would give Aveda Dry Damage Remedy Hair shampoo and conditioner series a try. Just to give my hair some "variety" in treatment since they say product loses its effectiveness if used over prolong period.

Quite frankly, it didnt do squat for my hair. My hair remains dry and not significantly better. When my hair was dry, still plenty of flyaway. The conditioner did detangle during application but I wont say my hair is any softer or more manageable. The scent wasnt all that fantastic either. I had to go back to saloon grade hair mask to save my hair. (Something I bought from Hairdo a long time ago)

The shampoo itself also wasnt very good. Not sure why but it often ends up giving me mild dandruff after a week of use. This despite that I would use a dryer to blow dry my hair by 50% before allowing it to dry naturally for the rest.

For this price and the effect, I honestly wont be tempted to buy it again.

Hong Kong Supermart: Japanese Red Bean Milk Ice cream

I am a sucker for buying and trying things.

In the mood of ice cream, I picked this up from the Jason's supermarket.
Wanting a change from my usual picks, I decided to go for this Japanese icecream.
It's milk icecream with red bean.

It's pretty yummy really, except that the red bean center at the bottom can be a little sweet if you do not mix it with the milk icecream.

Silly me actually finished all the milk icecream before I realise there was a small pile of creamy red bean paste at the bottom....

I should have read the diagram depicting the red bean paste placement on the box cover BEFORE I started eating...but oh well...more reasons to buy more.

Hair Scalp massage product

For those who had been to AR salon by Ito san, and wanted to know what is the hair product that us used to massage the scalp, I thought I will take a picture for your benefit since I remembered someone asking me about it before. It's by Milbon.

May 2013 Hair updates: I cut my hair!!!

After years and years and years of long hair, I decided to cut it off finally!!!

I brought my mum along as well since she too needed a trim. As she was there and I didnt want to keep her waiting for me to finish the perm, I have only completed "Part One" of the haircut, which is to cut. I will leave the Part Two- perming another time:)

It was quite uncanny that the minute I sat down, and Ito san asked me what I wanted for today, he started laughing when I said cut it short. He said when I entered the salon, the first thought that flashed across his head was also to suggest having me cut my hair!! So he was both happy and surprised when I suggested it. Talk about synchronised thoughts!!! In fact, he suggested just above shoulder length but I told him shorter.

While I was still talking in the middle of my sentence, Ito san took his scissors and chopped it off and showed me my "hair remains" in a bunch in his hand. My first reaction was "You are so fast!" The other staff laughed because he exclaimed "I havent even have the chance to put the towel and cover over you yet!" We all started laughing. It was quite funny thinking about it. Practically no chance to change my mind, not that I will since I wont suggest it otherwise.

So ....Sayonara my lovely long hair...

Though I didnt have time to perm, I still went ahead to have my hair coloured a lighter shade of brown than my previous. So Beedy and Mandy did my colouring as usual.

After the hair treatment, Beedy continued with the scalp massage and patiently taught me  how to blow dry my short hair so that it wont "hew hei" (in cantonese) - meaning curl outwards like omega sign. The trick is to blow it towards my chin.

 After the hair is blown dry, Ito san did another round of check and trimming

The final hair style in Part One stage. Will update again when I finish Part Two stage with the perm.
I am enjoying my short hair tremendously!! It's like weight lifted off my head!

The funniest joke was that I didnt tell anyone I cut my hair and when I attended my brother's wedding, my blur mum didnt even recognise me (I was wearing my shades). She was shocked but she actually liked it very much. My cousins and all complimented on it, saying it made me looked younger...floating. Ok...they are prob being polite...hahaha.

My man said "It feels like I have a new chick" Lol!

Huge praise to Hainanese Chicken Rice store At Far East Plaza, Singapore.

Wonderful experience today!! 

Took mum and dad to the Hainanese Chicken Rice for lunch at Far East Plaza today. There was a long line and at least 3-4 groups of people before us. I grabbed some spare chairs and had my in laws sat down & wait by the side while I Q. In under 5 mins, the chicken rice stall guy approached our parents, found out they were with me, and immediately sought the consent of the young people before us to serve us first because they didnt want old folks (our parents) to wait so long. This is TRUE service.

I was pleasantly surprised and thanked all the people before us for being nice enough to let us go ahead. Throughout the service, they happily spoke to us in Cantonese and constantly checked on our parents if they are ok. They werent pushy too and told us to order extra later only if the portions really wasnt enough. This is one place that hits the right spots all the way from food to service. 

Thank you!

Value add service @ Jasons Supermart

The thing I really love about Hong Kong is "Service Service Service!" Apart from loaning umbrella and leaving my letters to be posted with the information counter at Times Square shopping mall, I found another new added service elsewhere. Living on HK island,  Life is truly a breeze and the system is here to make life easier for consumers.

I dont know if Singapore Supermarkets offer this value add service since I have been living away for so long, however I found a nugget of surprise here in Hong Kong Supermarket.

I was purchasing my groceries at Jasons Supermart@Hysan Place. While the Filippino cashier was helping me sort out the groceries into my 2 recyclable bag, I remembered to ask for some ice for my meats since I was still going to head for lunch before heading home. As she was slotting the ice inbetween my meat packs, I causally started chatting with her and explained that I still have to head for lunch which explains the need for my ice request. I didnt have to tell her anything but well, it's just me having a chat occasionally with retail staff when I aint in a rush.

The cashier looked up and asked if I was heading out to Causeway bay to have lunch. I told her no, just going upstairs to grab a meal at the food court. Immediately, the cashier told me "Why dont you leave your grocery bags with us, I can even put the meat bag into the fridge. It will save you having to carry 2 heavy bag all over"

I was over the moon. Honestly, I never knew such service existed. The ice service yes but leaving my bag behind and to collect later. I wasnt that surprised since this is Hong Kong but still, it brightens my day. So all I have to do was to fill a form with name and contact number and that's it! I went back 40mins later to collect my purchase with my very satisfied belly.

Thank you Jasons for such fantastic added service.

Recipe: Honeyed Soya sauce with Apple Cider Vinegar Chicken Thighs

Took me 3 separate attempts to perfect this dish to the balanced flavor I like. This is a modified version from the Filippino's version of chicken adobo since I like my meat to be more balanced with a tinge of sweetness. For recipe, read here. It's my all time quick fix dinner that is cooked under 30mins!

In Mandarin, Fitted bedsheet is known as ....?

In Singapore, we commonly refer our bedsheets as 床单, well at least it was in my case.


Today, thanks to a Chinese lady muttering the product label to herself, I just found out that I have been missing out another "bed terminology" my whole life up to this point. 
Fitted bedsheet is also known as 床笠 (li4) here in HK?! At least that's what the sign in Ikea says. 床单 refers to bedspread. OMG!   

Living in Hong Kong has not only taught me a new dialect -Cantonese, it has taught me many Original Mandarin terms and words which has been overly simplified or used inaccurately in Singapore. 


Truly, as long as you are on the lookout, there is something new to be learnt everyday:)

Japanese Style Teriyaki Salmon Recipe

Finally found time to update my all time favorite!

Teriyaki Salmon Recipe -> Read Here in my new blog.

Recipe: Sanma Shioyaki or Japanese Style grilled Pacific Saury

I have finally got round to creating a separate blog for my food recipes... So if you are interested, please bookmark the new website instead... http://atarashicook.blogspot.hk/

Basically recopied some of my old recipes over as well and going to add the new ones there from now on...Just figured to keep my ranting blog separate from my cooking recipes....

Just added a new recipe - Sanma Shioyaki or known as Japanese style Grilled Pacific Saury.
Recipe, read here

Oblivion movie

Just watched Oblivion. It's not bad way to be entertained. It isnt a groundbreaking plot since both my man and I guessed the plot from start till end at the first 10mins. That's how predictable it is...but still, I would say it is an enjoyable movie nonetheless.

Basically it's about this drone repair tech guy Jack Harper who goes around servicing damaged drone killer machine that had undergone battles with the scavengers. Scavengers are the invaders of earth who refused to back off even when the world is nuked and half the place is destroyed with radiation.

However, Jack Harper kept having dreams about this woman but he didnt know who. His partner as well as colleague told him not to think about it and just focus on doing a good job so that they can return to mother ship Titan.

Through chanced encounter, Jack Harper saw something falling through the sky and he went to investigate. To his shock, he found human survivors only to be killed by the drone who went to investigate. Jack only managed to save one, the female crew who appeared in his dreams.

The rescued lady wanted to check the flight recordings and Jack against all rules, took her out and just when they found the recording, they were captured by scavengers.

The scavengers wanted and needed Jack's tech expertise in their master attack plan. They were ready to kill him and the rescued lady but one of the scavenger let him loose to "decide" for himself.

When Jack Harper learned the truth, he was shocked but that;s when things heat up.

I wont tell you the ending but it's a good predictable ending.


The only part we didnt quite linked up was firstly, how did the scavengers know the code to the spaceship to beckon it back to earth, and secondly, how did they on earth, knows that there are any spaceshuttle survivors out there? Why should they not assume they are dead and why did they take 60years to even attempt it?

Anycase, I am still trying to second guess if the the 1st leading lady knew, or didnt know the rescued leading lady 2's connection with Jack Harper all along? Mainly because of the line "It's always about her isnt it" or something along that...made me wonder if she harboured some secret liking for Jack even before all the world changes happened....

Plus, why did the 2nd tech repair guy venture into the radiation zone to try to repair the drone?
Isnt the radiation zone strictly off limits?

I havent watched Iron man 3 yet. Gonna wait till my man gets home from his biz trip.