Sundae

Having tried sundae (blood sausage) when I was in Korea last year, I was happy to find it on a menu here in a Korean restaurant. :) It is an acquired taste. 

Korean Food & Dessert

It is a sign. :)

Korean Lunch

Had a most wonderful and relaxing Korean lunch with my friend, Liyana. Was still wondering if I could post our lunch on Facebook and then I realised I am the "boss" so why not hahaha. :D

Craving

Craving for Korean food. Why?!

Tteokbokki

For Marieann's birthday lunch, she requested for Korean food. Her current favourite Korean food is tteokbokki! Spicy rice cake! I am surprised that she could take all that spiciness. :O

Craving

for Korean food haha. 

Korean ban chan or side dishes. I love these

Korean BBQ pork lettuce wrap

Sarang Again

We went back to Sarang Korean Restaurant again, this time for dinner. We pretty much ordered the same dishes as before. In addition, we ordered Bingsu, Korean style ice kachang (red bean, orange slices, pineapple cubes, mango ice cream, etc). :)

Sarang Korean Restaurant

We had lunch at Sarang, Orchard Central because the girls wanted to buy the Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Starter Pack from a games shop at OC. However the stock was not in yet.

It was fairly late, close to 2.30pm when we had lunch. Not a lot of people having lunch then so the food was served pretty fast. We ordered Drunken Pork, Ginseng Chicken Soup, and Dolsot Bibimbap and for dessert, cinnamon pancakes. The food were delicious and the pancakes were yummy. We would be coming back here again for meals. :)

Asian Food Day

The girls and I didn't have any Asian food throughout the entire time we were in Sydney. We suddenly craved for Asian food this weekend! We had Korean food for lunch and we had Japanese for dinner. Talk about overdose of Asian food lol. :P

Halloween Birthday

It is Halloween today and it is also my mother's birthday. The girls were thrilled to know that their grandmother's birthday falls on Halloween. They also think she has supernatural powers because she always knows when they are up to no good! Lol.


It is also one of the stormiest Halloween ever. The thunderstorm this afternoon/ evening was one of the worst ever. We could hardly see anything out the window because of the heavy rain and the thunder was rambling most loudly. :S

Initially I wanted to take my mother out for lunch but a close family friend came over so only we went for lunch. We went to Nolboo Hangari Galbi, Orchard Central because the girls' father wanted to try out this Korean restaurant. We tried the Korean glass noodle ($18), Ginseng Chicken soup ($26) and Grilled pork belly. There were complimentary side dishes and appetiser. The taste is pretty good. The pork was grilled in front of us which was interesting for the girls but downside, the smell got onto our clothes.

Little Seoul Again

For the second weekend, Juliane and I were back at Little Seoul, aka Square 2. She wanted to have Korean food again. I was rather surprised lol.

We went back to Hansang Korean Family Restaurant. We shared a Samgye Tang Lunch Set ($15) which came with half a chicken Samgye Tang, side dishes, rice, tea/ coffee and dessert. The portion was just nice for the both of us.



After lunch, we explored Square 2 for a bit. I managed to buy two dresses lol. :P

Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes and Seoul Food

The girls were really excited when they woke up this morning because we were going to watch Disney on Ice - Princess Wishes 2009.

We went to watch the 11am show at the Indoor Stadium. We were seated just six rows away from the stage so we had a really good view. :) It was not very packed as the previous show Disney Mickey's Magic Show 2007 which I accompanied them to as well. Maybe it is the result of the economic downturn. The show which had a 15 minute intermission, ended at 12:45pm. The girls really enjoyed the show, naming me the princess who appeared and telling me who had yet to come. Lol. I enjoyed listening to the songs which appeared in the Disney movies such as Part of Your World, Under the Sea, Kiss the Girl, Be Our Guest, A Whole New World, etc. :)






After the Disney on Ice show, we were famished. We went to Square 2 to have some Seoul food. :) We had lunch at Hansang Korean Family Restaurant. We ordered the Samgye Tang Set ($60) which consisted of Ginseng Chicken Soup, Bulgogi (chicken), Pancakes, Sweet Potato Noodles, Dolsot Bob (rice with sweet potato), sides dishes, tea/coffee and dessert (rice cakes) and a Mandu Gug ($13) which was Dumpling Soup. The ginseng chicken soup, the noodles, the pancakes and the dumplings (which were made of pork and kimchi) were quite tasty. :)






After lunch, we bought some rice cakes and walnut cakes from Hankook Rice Cake House and some Korean snacks from Sol Mart. The girls seemed pretty keen to go to Korea after our little Seoul adventure today lol.

Last Weekend before CNY

This morning, it was going to Bengawan Solo to get cakes and giving them as CNY goodies to my grandaunt, a close family friend and my primary school teacher. After that, Juliane and I were dropped off at Suntec City mall. The main purpose for going there was to collect the studio photo that I took during my staff lunch last Saturday.

Before we went to collect my photo, we had lunch at Shillawon Korean restaurant, Sky Terrace. We were both missing Korean food lol. :P We shared a Dweji Boolgogi Set ($11++): marinated grilled pork which came with 3 side dishes, rice, seafood soup and fresh fruits. We both love the grilled pork which was sweet to the taste. Most delicious. :)



After lunch, we stopped at Toys 'R' Us for Juliane's "turn-turn" before going to the photo studio. However, on the way to the studio, I got side-tracked. We ended up browsing at boutiques on the 3rd level and I bought 3 dresses from one boutique. Well, they were on promotion, a real bargain, haha. :P Ok, no more shopping for the next few months, lol.

Wow, all 6 photos of me looked great! :) We are given a free 3R photo because of the staff lunch. In the end, I bought another 4R photo for $12 and both photos received digital touch-up and lamination. The staff at the studio was very nice. Instead of asking me to go back in a week's time to collect, he asked me to collect the photos in an hour's time. :) Meanwhile, Juliane and I went to Atrium to have fun decorating cookies with icing. With my purchases, we were entitled to 3 cookies for decorating.


After collecting the photos, we went home tired but happy.

In the night, we spoke to my brother and his younger son via Internet. It is the first time the girls saw their younger cousin and they were thrilled. I hope they will have the opportunity to go to UK in the near future to meet their cousins in person.

P1 Orientation

Today is Marieann's P1 Orientation. She is totally excited about it.

Everyone got up early so that we would be in time for the orientation which started at 8am. We have to report at Marieann's assigned class. As we walked to her class, I met a number of my former colleagues. There were several "Har?!! Your daughter in P1 already?!". Hahaha. Yes, time really flies. :P

Once at the classroom, the parents had to fill up some forms while Marieann was at another corner of the classroom writing her name and drawing with the other girls. I guess it is a way to relax them. From 9 to 11 am, there was a briefing for the parents first, followed by a concert for the parents and the 2009 P1 students. As we were seated in the second row in the auditorium, we couldn't see Marieann walking in with her class from the back into the auditorium when the 2009 P1 students joined the parents for the concert. A pity. :( After the concert ended, Juliane and I went to collect Marieann from the amphitheatre while their father went to get the P1 textbooks. Thereafter, I was chatting most happily with my former colleagues in the staffroom lol. It is great that my former colleagues still remember me haha. By the way, a former student remembers me too. She came up to me to ask if I taught at the school before when I was speaking to Marieann's form teacher. Yes, I did and she said she was a student when I was teaching at the school. Oh my goodness. A former student is now a teacher in the school! Gosh, time really FLIES! :P It was 12pm when we left the school.

We went for lunch at Su Korean restaurant as I was missing my Korean food lol. :P The girls were against having Korean food but I veto-ed them hahaha. It was so nice to have my side dishes, my Ginseng Chicken Soup and my Seafood Pancake with Onions again. Yummy! :)

The side dishes with my Ginseng drink with Honey



After lunch, we went to the uniform shop at People's Park Centre to buy Marieann's uniforms. We didn't get them in school because it was too crowded. A good thing too that we decided to go to the shop direct because there were fitting rooms so we could try out the uniforms to find the correct fit. :) We had some desserts after getting the uniforms. I guess it was a just reward for everyone after such an exciting and hectic day.

Thoughts on My Korean Trip

I have many thoughts about my Korean trip. I have definitely enjoyed my whole experience in Korea, despite it being a country with different culture and language and the cold weather lol. I have gained in a number of ways just on this one trip to Korea.

First, I have gained a lot in terms of conference experience. It is the first time I was the sole representative of my project at an international conference. So there was a lot of responsibility to do my project proud haha. :P In that aspect, I think I did rather well by being awarded the Outstanding Presentation Award. :) As well as being given an invitation by the Editor-in-Chief of a prestigious tier 1 journal in Science Education to submit the full paper of my presentation for publication in the journal! :) I think these are the most wonderful kinds of encouragement and support being shown to a budding researcher like me. :) I am really appreciative. Not to forget, my PI and a good friend, K who were cheering for me back here in Singapore when I was at the conference in Korea. Thanks, guys. Love you guys. :)

Second, I have gained in terms of friendship. I have made a number of new friends from the conference as well as gotten to know two of the keynoters better through the outings organised after the conference. I will definitely keep in touch with my new-found friends in Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and UK.

Third, I have gained in terms of cultural experience. It is my first time in Korea. I am delighted to have learnt about Korea's culture, history and heritage through the visits to its palace, traditional village, through conversations with my new Korean friends and through Korean food. :) Through Korean food, I have also gained a different kind of experience - standing and eating at street food stalls on the cold autumn nights, lol. :)

Fourth, I realised that I am a risk-taker to some of my friends lol. :P They told me that I was very brave to have gone to Korea alone lol. Well, no "risk", no gain, right?! Hahaha. Seriously, if I had not gone to Korea due to fear of being in a foreign country, fear of language barrier, fear of travelling alone in a foreign country, I would never have gained so much and experienced so much.

Fifth, I have also learnt something about myself. I realised research means a lot more to me than I have admitted. I realised now that I am passionate and enthusiastic about research to the extent that I went to the conference to present the findings of my project despite the lack of funding for my trip to the conference. :)

I have indeed gained a lot from this Korean trip. It is a trip that I will remember and treasure for a long time to come. :)

Insa-Dong, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Korean Food

Today is my last day in Korea. :(

In the late morning, I hopped over to the outlet mall that I saw last night. Mostly are still autumn/ winter stuff but I managed to buy a skirt and a dress for myself suitable for Singapore and something for the girls. I went back to the accommodation to have a light lunch before heading to Insa-Dong via taxi at 1pm. I wanted to take a taxi so that I can see more of Seoul city sights. I decided to go early to Insa-Dong so that I can do a bit more of souvenir shopping before meeting my Korean friend at 2:30pm.

The Raboum Outlet

I got a few more souvenirs and I also had the chance to dress in a hanbook at the Insa-Dong Tourist Information Centre. :) I became a photo opportunity for others haha. :D I soon met with my friend at 2:40pm and we walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace which was nearby, about 10-15 minutes walk.


We went on the 3:30pm guided English tour around the palace. I have certainly learnt some interesting information about the palace, about palace life and the history of Korea. :) I took many photos at the palace. Now my Korean friend knows why I can easily take 100+ photos on one day lol. :P After the tour ended, we explored the palace grounds on our own until closing time at 5pm.

















Gyeongbokgung Palace at sunset. Goodbye.

We headed back to Insa-Dong where we parted ways. We will meet back in Singapore soon enough lol. I browsed around the shops for a while before going into one of the teashops. It was rustic and traditional in decor. I wanted to try Korean traditional tea and snack. I ordered an Omijacha (Five Taste Tea) and Rice cake. The rice cake was toasted and served with honey for dipping. The omijacha was very sweet, sourish and pleasant in taste. It tasted a bit like hawthorn. The rice cake was nice, crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It went well with the tea. :)




After my tea, I tried out street food that I haven't had the chance to try like Eomuk (Skewered Fish Cakes), sushi roll, and Skewered Chicken. The fish cake was very delicious and the radish soup the fish cake was boiled in was very tasty. It is served in a little paper cup. It is really nice drinking the hot soup on a cold, windy night like tonight. :) Now I know why Koreans are always holding a paper cup in their hands when I was walking around Insa-Dong previously and at Hongik University area. I did the same tonight, talking a walk down Insa-Dong gil while sipping my hot soup from the paper cup. It was an enjoyment. :) The chicken was really nice too. Even though I asked for not spicy, the chicken was basted with a sauce that was still a tad spicy as in peppery. :P




I decided to go back to my accommodation because it is a very windy and cold night. I got back around 8pm Korean time (7pm S'pore time). Plenty of time for me to pack and update my blog. :)