Dating Tips: What to EXPECT when you are DATING a KOREAN GUY??

2015 will LEAVING soon, everyone were BUSY to FINISH their annual leave at my office! Lucky me, ( I've been working in ANOTHER sector) we are ALLOW to finish our annual leave before 31 January 2016! Wee ^^ On LAST weekend I was on SHORT getaway and enjoyed it so much!! Since I was AWAY I didn't get a chance to write, well actually I'm just LAZY!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ However I force myself to write LAST entry for year 2015!ㅋㅋㅋ

I keep looking for a NICE topic to write about, ASKING few of my Korean friends but I got NO good suggestion!ㅠㅠ I kept READING and somehow this TOPIC pop up to my mind.ㅋㅋㅋ CURRENTLY I'm NOT dating any KOREAN guy but yes I have EXPERIENCE for having KOREAN guys as my LOVER so I think I'm QUALIFIED to write about this TOPIC isn't it???ㅋㅋㅋ Why I choose LOVER instead of  BOYFRIEND?? O-o For me that TYPICAL word can be with ANY guy as a FRIEND ㅋㅋㅋ compare to LOVER. We all know that many KOREAN guys are being POLITELY or NICE. This is because of their background, MANNERS.

For those who NEVER had any SPECIAL relationship with Korean guy, this might CONFUSING you.ㅋㅋㅋ DON'T simply fell head over heel seen how GOOD they TREAT you!!ㅋㅋㅋ There are  some DIFFERENT when any KOREAN guy treat you just as a FRIEND or a SPECIAL one. It's HARD to explain. However few POINTS below might make you UNDERSTAND. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Having a KOREAN lover is just the SAME like having ANY other guys (RACES) as LOVER!! DON'T  expect them to be so ROMANTIC just like in KOREAN DRAMA!ㅋㅋㅋ Some might be so lovey dovey but some might just typical guy who FORGOT your BIRTHDAY or SPECIAL day between BOTH of you!ㅋㅋㅋ Disappointing?? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That's the REAL fact! When I was with him, we DO celebrated OUR 100 days but I'm the ONE make it SPECIAL for us. ㅋㅋㅋ For other SPECIAL occasion we hardly celebrate since he forgot and we were in long distance relationship, but lucky me he REMEMBER my BIRTHDAY!ㅋㅋㅋ

Expecting him to CARRY my bag AROUND when we meet?? Well when I FIRST meet him, TRUE he DID this!ㅋㅋ CARRY my bag around until I ALMOST left my bag with him!ㅋㅋㅋ However after a while, this NO longer happening.ㅋㅋ We both CARRY our own bag when we travelling together. While we buying stuff, sometimes I NEED to ask him to CARRY for me!ㅋㅋ Sound like typical guy isn't it?? ㅋㅋㅋ There are times he OFFERED to bring my STUFF too.Apart from that, there are times when I just went out with my Korean GUY FRIEND, and he CARRY all my shopping bags! About  this I think DEPEND on that GUY himself.ㅋㅋㅋ.. Your Korean LOVER might a type of CARRYING all your stuff or just an ORDINARY Korean guy friend will did this to you.~

What about PAYING when having meals?? Many KOREAN GUYS pays whenever they went OUT with their LOVE one but again NOT 100% Korean guys doing this. For this factor, I think DEPEND on the guy SITUATION or PERIOD you been together. Yes I had a Korean guy friends who PAID all the TIME when I WENT out with them! I was like, hey CAN you GIVE me a CHANCE to pay for you at least ONCE??!!!! (BOTH  just my ORDINARY guy friend) ㅋㅋㅋ so again this DEPEND on that GUY himself!

LAST but NOT least is COMMUNICATION. Ok about this, so far my PREVIOUS lovers are a types of KEEPING IN TOUCH with me ALL the TIME,ㅋㅋㅋ so basically we BOTH let each other know what HAPPENING now, next and share almost EVERYTHING together. Before I had Korean lovers, I'm a type of NOT care much if he TEXT me or CALL me EVERYDAY(with non Korean lovers). However after I had KOREAN LOVER, I'm CHANGED! ㅋㅋㅋ I become a PERSON who expect KEEPING IN TOUCH all the time!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

p/s: This entry will be the end entry for 2015! I know its Christmas TODAY , for those who celebrate it, HAPPY CELEBRATING to you! (People might wonder why I didn't wish them with normal greeting during Christmas isn't it?? Well I have personal reason for that. ㅋㅋㅋ Anyway like I said HAPPY CELEBRATING for all readers who celebrate it ^^. Happy holidays to everybody too! Till we meet again on 2016!! May 2016 bring more happiness to all of us! Peace ^^


Photo Credit: lovingkorean.com
                      mypinkkorea.blogspot.com

Korean Food: ODENG (오뎅) is a MUST during WINTER???!!

I'm BACK!! Missing me?? :P Yes I know I HAVEN'T write any ENTRY for THREE week! ㅠㅠ I miss to WRITE and SHARE information with all of YOU but due to my busyness I DON'T have time to make some RESEARCH and write.. My NEPHEW got married, so rest of FAMILY were extremely BUSY! Thank God, all went smoothly! Pheww!

LAST entry was on late AUTUMN isn't it?? I can't remember well!ㅠㅠ... WINTER finally arrived! Wee ^^ Some of my KOREAN and JAPANESE FRIENDS sent me snow PHOTOS and VIDEOS! Ahh I CAN'T wait for my WINTER trip!!ㅋㅋㅋ Speaking about that, I might be BUSY again for following WEEKS since I have to FINISH my work BEFORE I go for my TRIP!! I have TWO UPCOMING trip on JANUARY!! Hmm WHY we MUST pay VAT on JANUARY??!! Grr >-< Plus I have to FINISH my ANNUAL LEAVE before END of JANUARY!ㅠㅠ Still STRUGGLING scheduling my WORK/time!ㅠㅠ

Anyway lets MOVE to my TOPIC today! Harsh WINTER is coming, so WHAT else you can do to keep yourself WARM??? Yes of course I KNOW that wear ENOUGH layers is a MUST! What about SOMETHING else?? Like FOOD??? Any idea?? O-o FEW years ago I WROTE about bbong eo bbang (붕어빵) and hobbang (호빵), these FOODS are FAMOUS street food during WINTER! Its EASY to get, AVAILABLE almost everywhere in KOREA and INEXPENSIVE too! ^^ㅋㅋㅋ

For THIS year I CHOOSE something else!ㅋㅋㅋ Have you heard about ODENG (오뎅) ?? I know,some people especially JAPANESE will say that THIS winter food is ORIGINALLY from JAPAN, but hey why would we CARE much about it! FOODS, something that we SHARED all the time regardless WHERE it come from!ㅋㅋㅋ  Practically ODENG are WELL KNOWN in Korea, Japan and Taiwan that it can HELP people to keep some WARM during WINTER!The BEST part is its YUMMY too!!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Personally I HAVEN'T try it since I NEVER went to KOREA during winter!ㅋㅋㅋ Yes I SAW it during other SEASONS but as MUSLIM, I should ASK first about INGREDIENT for DOING it and the PROCESS of MAKING the BROTH! At THAT time I was RUSHING so I DON'T have time to ask about it! Hmm maybe NEXT time during my UPCOMING winter trip??ㅋㅋㅋ I did ASKED some of my KOREAN friends and make some RESEARCH, most of  THEM said Odeng or Eomuk literally MAKE from FISH. For the BROTH, this DEPEND on the SELLER, some ONLY use vegetable, salt, soy sauce. However some might USE animals sources, like chicken stock, beef stock, pork lean stock or seafood! For MUSLIM, if you wanna try I think you better make sure to ASK FIRST!! ^^  

p/s: I think ODENG is NOT only FAMOUS at East of Asia COUNTRIES, we have our OWN version of ODENG too!ㅋㅋ Of course with DIFFERENT name!ㅋㅋㅋ Plus we DON'T have winter, so its AVAILABLE 365 days at my country!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

p/s: For MUSLIM, you must be EXTRA careful! Not ONLY about animal lean for BROTH! For making odeng itself, some use RICE WINE! Make sure to ASK about that too! ^^ Some of my Korean friend said they DON'T, but there are so many RECIPES to make Odeng so, its just for precautions, ASK BEFORE TRYING!~

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oden
               http://www.10mag.com/a-taste-of-korea-odeng/#

Photo Credit: flickr.com
                      gyopo.wordpress.com
               

Coffee Addicted: Cafe Cappuccino Friends

November almost FINISH soon! Time flies so FAST isn’t it?? For me seems like we just START 2015 yesterday but it’s almost OVER like a BLINK of eyes!ㅠㅠ AUTUMN will PASS by soon and here come the white WINTER!ㅋㅋ A SEASONS that I’ve been WAITING for!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Too BAD I’m NOT heading to KOREA but to SOMEWHERE else!ㅋㅋ Yes, I HEARD snow flakes STARTS in certain AREA within Korea but at the SAME time FOLIAGE still YELLOW lay down offside the ROAD path! Beautiful! Its makes me MISSING Korea badly!ㅠㅠ 

Whatever it is,  my KOREA trips always feel FRESH on my MIND!ㅋㅋ I still REMEMBER many things about it EVEN THOUGH it’s been a YEAR I HAVEN'T come BACK to KOREA!ㅠㅠ While I’m in Korea I’m such a HEAVY COFFEE LOVER but when I’m HOME (Malaysia) I drink COFFEE once in a while!ㅋㅋㅋ Perhaps I drink coffee MUCH there because of the WEATHER/SEASONS?ㅋㅋ Since Korea temperature is DIFFERENT from ours so I felt drinking COFFEE makes me WARM!ㅋㅋㅋ

Apart from that, in Korea CAFE are almost EVERYWHERE, with DIFFERENT THEME and CONCEPT! There are so MANY cafés to explore COMPARE when I’m BACK home!ㅠㅠ. Even though you went to SMALL or RURAL area, still there are CAFES!ㅋㅋㅋ Back to my TRIP on 2013, while I was in BUSAN, I got a CHANCE to stop by at a SMALL café!This cafe LOCATED on SECOND floor of shop rows. Seen this CAFE for the FIRST time makes me think is this a cafe?? 

The café CONCEPT is very DIFFERENT from the NORMAL café! Normal café, we will see that there is COUNTER and so many row of TABLE SET isn’t it? This café is DIFFERENT though!The set of TABLE is within cubicle ROOMS. NO door for the cubicle room but there is CURTAIN to go in. Each CUBICLE room provided with a TV and there is NO seat.Basically you have to SIT on the FLOOR and there is some sort of Japanese table set. While having your COFFEE and DESSERT you can watch TV! The AMBIANCE makes you feel like you at HOME!ㅋㅋㅋ

The COFFEE is GOOD too!! 냠 ^^ INSTEAD of having Latte or any other, that night I had AMERICANOㅋㅋㅋ What else is a good PAIR for it?? It's a CHEESE CAKE!ㅋㅋㅋ Simply DELICIOUS!^^  Since its COLD outside its good to kept WARM, enjoying our DRINKS and chatting a lot! Good memories.ㅋㅋㅋ I bet IF the cafe's FACING the SEA VIEW it would be the BEST!ㅋㅋ However the cafe VIEW is facing BUILDING! Too BAD.. That's ok,ㅋㅋ the IMPORTANT part is their CONCEPT is different from ORDINARY cafe! THUMBS UP for them!ㅋㅋㅋ   

p/s: Sometimes you should just TRY some SMALL cafe too rather than LARGER chain COFFEE MAKER/BRAND, because even the cafe is so SMALL the BEST TASTE lies behind it! ㅋㅋ Enjoy your COFFEE dear COFFEE LOVERS!ㅋㅋ

Guideline/Life: How to get HALAL RAW ingredient within SEOUL??

Living as MINORITY in FOREIGN countries might make some of us been STARED all the TIME. Sometimes it makes you think "am I wear my shirt upside down,torn shirt or is there something on my face???"   O-o Some of them STARED at you with their EYES like popping out isn't it?? and that's make you felt like UNEASYㅋㅋㅋ  RELAX, I experienced those before while I'm VISITING foreign countries especially KOREA!ㅋㅋ At first I felt UNEASY too but after a while I ADAPT it wellㅋㅋㅋ.

With HIJABB on while travelling people KNOW that I'm MUSLIM and I DON'T have to tell them.ㅋㅋ Yes some might ASK "didn't I feel hot wearing it??" I just ANSWER them politely that I got USED with it.ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ  Plus its COMPULSORY for Muslim WOMEN to wear it. ㅋㅋ There are many other TOPIC for MUSLIM to be CONSIDERED of before went ABROAD or MOVING in another COUNTRY. For example about HALAL. Halal is NOT only APPLICABLE in term of FOOD but even in DAILY stuff. ㅋㅋㅋ  

Some of my FOREIGN friends always telling me this, owh you MISS so many CHANCES to try many GOOD food due to HALAL! Well for ME its NOT an issue ㅋㅋ. I believe there are so MANY other SELECTION cuisines that I can TRYㅋㅋ so NO big deal for me!ㅋㅋㅋ Long time ago I once WROTE about ONLINE shopping mall in South Korea isn't it??  ONLINE SHOPPING plays such IMPORTANT roles in Korean DAILY life due to their HECTIC schedules. They even have Emart which is mainly for FRESH ingredient or READY FOOD market online. 

EMART makes LIFE easier when LIVING in Korea. People DON'T need to go to MARKET everyday to get their STUFF but for MUSLIM, there are NOT many HALAL CHOICE at Emart. We know that to get HALAL ingredient, MUSLIM have to go to ITAEWON. For some of them maybe its NOT practical to go there EVERYDAY due to their HECTIC schedule or DISTANCE. So what is the SOLUTION then??? Buying ingredient ONLINE from ABROAD?? Hahaha thats takes few DAYS or even MONTHS to REACH you!!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

THANKS to the world of INTERNET, NOW there is HALAL ONLINE MARKET in SOUTH KOREA!!대박!! (Daebak)ㅋㅋㅋ Of course the STUFF is LIMITED for the TIME being, and the DELIVERY is WITHIN SEOUL CIRCLE! However I believe as the DEMAND continue to GROW the OWNER will ADD more SELECTION on it and EXPAND their DELIVERY area soon! Wanna know the LIST of HALAL PRODUCT in HALAL ONLINE market?? Visit here. For MUSLIM who LIVE in Korea, this ONLINE market will HELP you a lot! For MUSLIM TRAVELERS, rather than SPENDING too much MONEY at luxury HALAL RESTAURANT maybe you can TRY to COOK by YOURSELF while you at KOREA! ㅋㅋㅋ 

p/s: I THINK some of you might SAY its NOT easy for COOKING as you guys NEED cutlery too right?O-o TRUE I AGREED with that. (I DID that before when I TRAVEL with my ex, I BOUGHT CUTLERY and CROCK)ㅋㅋㅋ Maybe you have to go to DAISO to buying those?? ㅋㅋㅋ One of my BIGGEST hope is, SOMEDAY some KOREAN or MUSLIM FOREIGNER who LIVE in KOREA might CONSIDER to PROVIDE friendly HALAL accommodation?? ㅋㅋㅋ

Souces: http://the-tjgroup.com/tjmart/index.php?route=product/category&path=435

             http://emart.ssg.com/category/main.ssg?dispCtgId=0006110000&tlid=
             http://www.ifanca.org/Pages/staticwebpages.aspx?page=whatisHalal

 Photo Credit: Facebook.com

            

Event: Seoul Lantern Festival 2015

We all know that SOUTH KOREA is a country that RICH with HERITAGE, astonishing place to VISIT, full with TRADITIONAL charm, yet UPBEAT with LATEST technology isn't it?? What else you can ASK for when YOU are in KOREA??ㅋㅋㅋ ^^ SEOUL, a city with VIBRANT colors and all YEAR round FESTIVAL! ㅋㅋㅋ There are so MANY about Seoul that CAPTIVATE travelers HEART once they ARRIVED in KOREA!ㅋㅋㅋ

AUTUMN will saying GOODBYE soon and white cold WINTER is making their WAY back to Seoul! ㅋㅋ Some of my Korean FRIENDS told me this "ahh winter is coming! I HATE it!"ㅋㅋㅋ What can they do? LIVING in 4 seasons COUNTRIES, they have to BEAR it!ㅋㅋ Before autumn CLOSE its curtain, as USUAL Seoul will having LANTERN FESTIVAL! ^^ This festival is an ANNUAL event and the SCHEDULE normally around November.

For 2015, the event will STARTS on 6 NOVEMBER until 22 NOVEMBER. I've NEVER get a chance to JOIN this festival when I WAS in KOREA.ㅠㅠ I've been to Korea at end of AUTUMN few YEARS back but I'm completely FORGOT about this EVENT!ㅋㅋ Plus I was too BUSY meeting my Korean FRIENDS in other PROVINCE at that TIME. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

For those who PLAN to VISIT Korea this WEEK, make sure to put this on your LIST!! This EVENT will be HELD at CHEONGGYECHEON STREAM from 5:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. It's in the HEART of Seoul! Have TIGHT budget??? Swept away your WORRIES,ㅋㅋ LANTERN FESTIVAL is FREE!!ㅋㅋㅋ and NO need to do RESERVATION or whatever. All you NEED is a MAP or DIRECTION to the event AREA!ㅋㅋㅋ Taking SUBWAY is the BEST choice and why not STROLLING from Jogno area to Cheoggyecheon if you STAYING around there! ㅋㅋㅋ For DETAIL and DIRECTION you may REFER here.

p/s: For this year, the theme is ILLUMINATED SEOUL! Along with the main event there are some other event, check here. For other event, there is charges to participate! Check before sign up!ㅋㅋㅋ

Sources: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=1121607

               http://www.visitseoul.net/en/article/article.do?_method=view&m=0003001006003&p=04&art_id=83605&lang=en

Photo Credit: koridoor.co.kr
                       koreatimes.co.kr
                       blog.korea.net
                       kiwigirlinsuwon.blogspot.com
                       seoulpatch.blogspot.com
                       gotrazy.wordpress.com

Trend: Pastries Industries turn SOUTH KOREANS to be more WESTERNERS???

Long long time ago, South Korean having rice as their main dishes all the time. This including breakfast, lunch as well dinner. However during these past few years we can see the trend changing! In fact NOT only in South Korea but almost across ALL Asia! ㅋㅋㅋ Why I choose South Korea then?? I choose South Korea because this country favor me more. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Travel have taken me to a few countries, yet I found myself back and forth to Korea for few times! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Even I've been there three times so far, I felt there are still so much to explore!ㅋㅋHowever, I take a break for one or two years maybe as to give myself a chance to explore other countries too! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Looking at our topic, maybe my next trip to Korea (somewhere in the future) ll be eye opener to me?? Or I will find new side of Korea as its quite hard to look for RICE while I'm there??ㅋㅋ I hope NOT!ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Everyday I have to eat RICE at least once!! ㅋㅋㅋ Don't take away my rice!~ ㅠㅠ I can't live without RICE!!ㅋㅋㅋ

Apart from that, we know that Korean are obsessed with anything that looks cute!! Just list it down, from fashion, pets, even to meals!ㅋㅋㅋ For me if meals/food are too cute I might NOT eat it! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Even though you guys knows right that I'm addicted to their coffee??Too bad I'm NOT a fan for their pastries!!ㅋㅋㅋ It's NOT because the taste is NOT up to my expectation but I need to make sure is it HALAL or not. That's one of the reason, why I don't eat it much! Another reason is like other people, seen such cute pastry, cake or dessert I cannot help myself to snap some of  photos! yet I can't eat it!ㅋㅋ

Back to our topic, do you know why these days Korean are more keen to pastries, cake or dessert?? The first reason is due to their hectic schedule! Many Korean wives who works prefer to prepare bread/toast for family breakfast instead of rice.ㅋㅋㅋ This is because to preparing rice, it takes many times and most of them need to rush to the office!! Preparing toast is simple as A, B,C compare preparing rice with side dishes!ㅋㅋ Some even just buy it from shopping mall and add some other stuff like cheese, jammed, peanut butter or chocolate syrup! Depend on their taste buds.ㅋㅋ

Another reason is quite cliche.ㅋㅋㅋ People might wonder why I said like that isn't it?? Well there are many Korean who adores western culture!!ㅋㅋ For them western culture is the best!ㅋㅋㅋ Hearing it makes me think "aha!quite.." ㅋㅋ It's not only culture but almost anything related to The State.ㅋㅋ Movie, drama, ability to fluent in American English and even food!ㅋㅋㅋ For them eating fancy bread or pastries will make people around kept eye on them.ㅋㅋㅋ Hmm I'm NOT sure if I used correct phrase!ㅋㅋㅋ However one of my Korean friend said that.ㅋㅋㅋ Which I found it quite funny! ㅋㅋㅋ

Those two reasons already show some significant downturn to rice producing! I guess some people think that this topic is not much important isn't it?? I mean people might says," who cares?? If I eat pastries or rice"??ㅋㅋ For those whose NOT working in agriculture sector might think that way ㅋㅋㅋ However for farmers who planting paddy, this had affected them! Poor them.. Yes Korea produce both paddy as well wheat. However paddy production is greater than wheat. This make them to import more wheat from outside to cover the demand. If you asking me which one you prefer I still said rice ㅋㅋㅋ because for me eating those pastries cannot fill my tummy for a long time!ㅋㅋㅋ

p/s: Too cute pastries??? Well, yes but its contains so much sugar in it! ㅋㅋㅋ Be careful or you will register yourself as diabetic patient soon ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Photo Credit: alltheawe.wordpress.com
                      tumblr.com
                      flyingonajetplane.wordpress.com
                      pinterest.com
                      en.wikipedia.org