[Seoul] Let's GO, Seoul●Busan! 首爾●釜山趴趴走! Day 1.3 梨大商圈●梨花女大●東大門夜市

Let's GO, Seoul●Busan! 首爾●釜山趴趴走!

안녕하세요 여러분! \^0^/

Annyeonghaseyo, everyone!

Before we depart for this trip,
I told Cong Min that I'm going to write travel journals for this trip.

At first, I'm so determined to take pictures everywhere I go.
But at last, I ended up too lazy to do so =,=
(I'm lacking behind to be a professional)
Salute to those travel bloggers out there!!!

At the meantime, I am quite worried 'cause
my writing speed is way too slow
yet we had a long journey schedule.

I wonder how long does this gonna take me......

Anyhow I really hope this gonna be fun for reading and informative to you readers.

That will be my motivation to finish this mission :)

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September 9, 2016 (Friday)

We were at Sinchon and had our lunch there.

Since we are energized and recharged,
it's time to go for a walk!

Not knowing the distance from our location to the destination,
we decide to take subway instead of walking.
(although it is just 1 station away).

Where we gonna go?

Ehwa Womans University (이화여자대학교) is one of the well-known universities in South Korea.
FYI it is located in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

Coming out from the subway Station Idae,
it requires walking for about 10~15 mins to reach the campus.

Since this area is largely populated with young female students.
many restaurants and outdoors shopping areas can be found nearby.
They are mostly budget-friendly shopping outlets and trendy clothing boutiques.

It is also said that they have live music performance organised here from time to time.
Obviously it is to accommodate the demands of the university students.
(looks like a great place to start a business!)

Also, there are many cosmetic shops can be found in this area.
But don't you worry, seriously you can find these road shops everywhere in Korea.

Since it is just our first day in Seoul,
we kept on cautious ourselves not to overspend.


Now lemme ask you...

Have you heard of Isaac Toast before? :)
Well I don't, actually.

Coincidentally, we spotted an outlet down the road.

As Cong Min's highly recommend that we should try it, and we did.
And I would regret if we didn't.

Seriously this is the most delicious fresh toast I ever tried before!!!
Probably because I didn't expect much from it,
surprisingly I am so delight of it's taste and freshness.

Issac Toast & Coffee 이삭토스트

**how to get to this location : take metro/subway to Idae (241), Exit 2**

Address : 서울특별시 서대문구 대현동 56-88 (서대문구 이화여대 7길 15)

Tel : 02-312-2444

Operating Hours : 09:00~21:00 (Mon-Sat); 09:00~19:00 (Sun)

Don't get confused.
It is pronounced as "Ee-ssak", not the English name that we know - "Issac".

Freshly from the stove~

Please guys and girls, do give it a try,
and I guarantee you will fall for it :9

Menu

Just in case you're curious,
we had Ham Special, and it is goooood :9





And I can't help kept thinking how tasty it is...
(poker face... HAHAHA XD)


Soon as you noticed a grand wall on your left, you can tell you have reached your destination.
In fact, you won't missed Ehwa Womans University's entrance as you walked down the street.
It is such a grand entrance whereby you might mistaken it as a royal castle.

Iconic flower wall

It was passed 5PM as we reached there.
A big crowd is found in front of the entrance.
Both students, visitors and cars.

Since we don't have much time before sunset,
we quickly went to the church building which is located 5 mins away from the entrance.

















**how to get to this location : take metro/subway to Idae (241), Exit 2**
Address : 서울특별시 서대문구 이화여대길 52
Tel : 02-3277-2114

Don't worry that security guard will keep you out from the campus.
In fact, they are opened for visitors to enter the campus for certain areas.
Provided it is not semester break or national holidays.


Such a lovely environment.
So much love for this campus.

I don't mind to get another degree and spend another 3 years here~ XP
(you know I'm just saying, right?)






The sunsets quicker than we moved.
We didn't even get to explore 5% of the campus @@
What a shame.
(Definitely would pay another visit here on my next trip...)

Quickly we head back to subway station and went 7 stations upwards
to Station Dongdaemun History and Culture Park.

Food truck selling all kinds of coffee

It is located next to Dongdaemun Street Market.
There will be street performance during night time.
And there are food trucks stationed on Friday nights.

Coincidentally, there was an event organized by Vans on the night we went.
The theme was "Vans Off The Wall".

They invited street bands and singers to perform that night.
I'm not sure who the band was, but it was AWESOME&ROCK!





I shoot my first Facebook live video here.
Too bad I couldn't get the live video link paste here,
so do check out my Facebook (here)
(if you're interested to get a hint of that night).

**how to get to this location : take metro/subway to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park (248),
Exit 1**

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Whoo-hoo.

Thank you and hope you enjoy reading :)
Please look forward to the next post!

[Seoul] Let's GO, Seoul●Busan! 首爾●釜山趴趴走! Day 1.2 站著吃烤肉

Let's GO, Seoul●Busan! 首爾●釜山趴趴走!

안녕하세요 여러분! \^0^/

Annyeonghaseyo, everyone!

This is a continuous from my previous post.

Honestly, I have no idea how long this Seoul+Busan travel journal series gonna be @@
I will try my best to make it as interesting (to read) as possible :)

Hope you enjoy reading :)

Let's GOOOOO!!!

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September 9, 2016 (Friday)

After checked-into our guesthouse,
we quickly settled ourselves and get ready to EXPLORE SEOUL!

Since it's almost half day gone (spent on airplane and in airport),
we really wish to catch up with our schedule.

Oh yes, we do have our schedule planned in advance.
Cong Min is the one does the planning,
and I just put it into Excel.
(Teamwork? Or maybe I'm exploiting her :p)

It's almost 2PM when we are ready.
Time for lunch!

Apparently, Cong Min is more interested in foodies,
so she did a lot of research on "Good Foods in Seoul/Busan" :D

Frankly speaking, I never heard about this restaurant before this.
According to Cong Min, this is a well-known place-to-go in Seoul,
especially for you who loves BBQ :9

연남서식당 (연남서서먹는갈비집)
延南站著吃烤牛小排
Yeonnam Standing Restaurant (Yeonnam Standing Eating Chop House)

**how to get to this location : take metro/subway to Sincheon (240), Exit 7**
Address : 서울특별시 마포구 노고산동 109-69
Tel : 02-716-2520
Operating Hours : 12:00~20:30

FYI I did a direct English Translation to the Restaurant's name,
so it might sounds weird >_<

In fact, just like its name,
you have to stand all the time while eating the beef chop!
Something new to you, is it?
Me either ^^





It's passed lunch hour by the time we reached there.
Not many people were in the restaurant.
(thank God, we need not to line up and wait)

Once you stepped into the restaurant,
the waiter will prepare the cookeries and set up the fire.

It is unnecessary to inform the waiter what you want to order,
because the only thing they serve here is beef chop.

The servings here is according to headcount.
It is impossible to order one serving and share among the group.

For instance, two (2) person = two (2) servings.
One serving is KRW15,000.
(OMG hope it worths it...)

And if you are going alone,
I'm sorry but you have to take two (2) servings as well
as it is the minimum serving.

Then the waiter will put the raw beef chop on the stove,
and he/she will tell you when it is good to eat.
I'm starving..........





She says can eat now!
I can't wait :9





If you think the serving portion is quite small,
think twice!

I thought the same too at first,
telling Cong Min, "do you think we can refill?"
(well of course if you're willing to pay HAHAHA)

But at the end, we were struggling to finish it all.
I'm quite full after that meal.

The dipping sauce is marvelous!!!!!
I love it in the first sight!!!!!! ❤o❤
The vinegar taste and the spring onion is the best match with beef chop!

You might get thirsty like we did,
FYI drinking water is self-service.
You can get a cup from the counter and go to the water dispenser to get it.

Or else, you can buy carbohydrate drinks like we did,
it's KRW1,000 per bottle.

Or, maybe you would like some beer to go with the beef chop,
IDK how much it is, but it is available :)

The lady boss knows a little Chinese,
so you can tell her what drinks you want,
then she can get for you.





Although it is not lunch time, the restaurant is still occupied with people.
And everyone is eating while standing.
That's good for digestion, anyway,





A group of people came behind us,
yet finished earlier than us O.O

You can either put your bags inside a plastic bag,
and put it under the shelves,
so it won't get it your way while eating.




After almost 40 mins, we finished our meal.

I rather satisfied with the taste and texture of the beef chop.
Not forget to mention the perfect match for it - the dipping sauce.
With soda water on the other hand,
whooooots I couldn't ask for more.

Price per say, I would say a little pricy.
(considering the depreciation on Malaysian Ringgit T^T)

KRW15,000 x 0.00369 = RM55.35 per pax

But I think the quality of the beef is rather good,
so...... I guess it worth the price.

Will I recommend this to a friend? Yes, of course.
That's what I am doing now.

Will I revisit the restaurant on my next trip? Probably, if time allows.
But of course I can't afford to eat it everyday (thou I wish to HAHAHA)

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That's all for now.
Thank you and hope you enjoy reading :)
Please look forward to the next post!

[Seoul] Let's GO, Seoul●Busan! 首爾●釜山趴趴走! Day 1.1

Let's GO, Seoul●Busan! 首爾●釜山趴趴走!

안녕하세요 여러분! \^0^/

Annyeonghaseyo, everyone!

I have just came back from Seoul, Korea.

Together with my friend and now-colleague, Cong Min,

we "conquered" our mission - 

traveling to South Korea all by our own!

From now onwards, I will be updating my travel journals

and share with you the places we went and the journey we set off.

(meaning to say, I won't be writing beauty product reviews for the meantime, alrights?)

Let's GOOOOO!!!

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September 8-9, 2016 (Thursday-Friday)

We booked our flight like 2 months before travelling date.

Flight tickets cost us roughly RM1,500+ per person, round trip.

We actually thought "it is a good deal" at first,
until we learned that people actually get WAY BETTER deals
IF they purchase the flight ticket like ONE (1) year earlier
(OMG)

I'm not a person that could tell what I'm gonna do in one year time,
so... count me off...

We are taking Easter Jet from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI)
to Incheon International Airport (ICN).

Flight time is 12:45AM.
(midnight flight babe)

We are early, and we waited outside the departure hall.
In fact, we were always told to arrive at airport for at least 2 hours before flight time,
but I don't know why O.O
Everything went so smooth, and we were bore to death in the airport...zzz

When it's time, we get on-board,
and there goes 5-hour on the plane.

Since Easter Jet is a budget airline,
there is no monitor/screen available for movie T^T
(can't compare with Asiana)

So I slept for the whole journey.

After 5 hours.......

The flight attendant happily announced that we have reached our destination.

Minor episodes happened in between,
but I rather don't bore you to death
(like what they did to meyyy heh :p)

...

First thing first, we need DATA!
Before this, we already decided to rent/buy Data Prepaid SIM.

Soon after we walked out from the Arrival Hall,
we could see the Telcom booth just located in front of it.

Apparently they increased the rate :(
And policy changed as well.

Instead of renting a Data SIM card,
now they only sell Data SIM card.
No more renting service.

We bought the 10-Days Data Prepaid SIM plan,
which costs us KRW38,500 per SIM card (tax inclusive).





Why we don't go for the EGG (portable wifi)?
We thought bringing a portable wifi
and charging it once it's battery is off,
the whole thing itself is very inconvenient @@

Why not plug in your Data SIM card,
then you can enjoy full roaming of data at all time?
Easy.

Plus, there is unlimited usage of data under this Data Prepaid SIM plan.

Once we got our SIM card done,
we are good to go.

You gonna be amaze with the lightings here!
BTW it is just a tunnel connecting from one hall to another.

Since we gonna take public transport for the whole trip,
we need a T-money card!

*T-money is like Touch N' Go in Malaysia.

My T-money card is a fluffy brown bear,
LINE character, Brown.

Don't forget to charge your T-money!
FYI the card itself has no credit value in it.
You have to charge it and reload whenever necessary.





BTW, milk in Korea is delicious~
I enjoyed 서을우유 (Seoul Milk) alot!
And I bet you know 바나나맛우유 (Banana Milk) already?
Sure you do :D

While waiting for Cong Min to retrieve her travel notes,
I was glancing through the benefits given for KT Olleh Telco users.

There are discount coupons for entrance tickets,
dining restaurants and live music show.

Meanwhile, they provide free streaming for selected KPOP albums.
For instance, we got the ones below.
(no BTS? hmmm not under genie)





After long battle with her gadgets,
Cong Min retrieved her notes and we are ready to go.

From Incheon International Airport to Seoul,
you can either
(1) take direct train (higher cost, shorter time)
(2) take all-stop train (lower cost, longer time)

We took AREX which also known as the all-stop airport railroad express.
With T-money, you can get KRW100 discount for every ride.

For instance, from Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station,
it costs KRW4,250 per trip.

If you use T-money, you will only be charged for KRW4,150 per trip.
KRW100 automatically discounted.

The trip takes around 55 minutes, 11 stations to reach Seoul.

Train available in every 10~15 minutes.

We just take our time and enjoy the trip! ^^

DON'T GET CONFUSED!
Those are NOT our luggages >_<
The grey on the right is mine.
Cong Min's is hidden behind mine, at the back.

I brought a BIG suitcase
cause I'm afraid I have too many things to carry...
(after shopping spree, for instance heh)





I should say,
Cong Min she is a dependable person.
You can definitely count on her!
(and I'm a good follower HAHAHA, or maybe not)

She did homework beforehand, and wrote it down in note.
So we follow the direction written.

We caught up in airport for quite some time,
by the time we reached our guesthouse,
it was already 12:30PM.

Although the check-in time supposed to be on 3PM,
but the owner he said our room is ready,
and showed us our room right away.

The room size is exactly how you visualize this photo.
Washroom door on the left.
Around 1.5 feet space more from the bed end.

It is not spacious, but I think it's just enough for two person.
We were satisfied throughout our 5-night stay over there.

BTW, the name of the guesthouse is Seoul Global Hostel.
It costs us KRW262,500 for 5 nights, two persons.
Roughly RM97 per night, per person.
The rate includes breakfast.

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That's all for now.
Thank you and hope you enjoy reading :)
Please look forward to the next post!

[Review] Nature Republic - Whitening & Wrinkle Improvement Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream + Essence

Welcome back and hello September! :)

We just finished our series of skin cleansing products last month, and I hope my personal review could serve the purpose (for you who is planning to buy).

Honestly, I have been planning to write this review a looong time ago. I came across with this latest Nature Republic skin care series while I visited Korea last February. In fact, I have a few more products to share from my February haul, and please stay tuned for more! ;)

A little story behind. I first came across to this series in my third day in Korea. The salesgirl speaks fluent chinese (explains very patiently), and after trying it, I couldn't help wanted to get my hands on it. But one main thing, it's quite pricy for a road shop product. Don't get me wrong. Road shop products don't mean to be no quality; however, there must be a reason why they are tagged as "road shop", correct? At least their products have to be affordable to most of the people, right? Unfortunately, I didn't bring much cash on hand, so I went off disappointingly.

Until we went to Lotte Duty Free Departemental Store, where they accept payment via card, then I bought it down, together with the CC Cushion Compact (find my product review here).

Nature Republic Whitening & Wrinkle Improvement Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream (left)
Nature Republic Whitening & Wrinkle Improvement Ginseng Royal Silk Essence (right)

As I lost my purchase receipt, I couldn't recall how much I bought for this set. Around 120USD at that time. BUT I can tell you IT IS SUPER WORTH IT 'till you find out that... with this price, they give you another one (1) set of these (watery cream and essence) + one (1) Snail Solution Trail Pack + 30 pcs of Snail Solution Hydrogen Mask (worth RM15/pcs) + numerous mini Snail Solution sample bottles. All I can say is, OMGEEEEE!!!!!! This is why girls get addicted in shopping so easily :p

The packaging itself gives people the impression of high-end products, which is very impressive. Especially the watery cream glass packaging container; on the other side, it gives more unnecessary weight (eats up my luggage spaces as well T^T).

Let's get into the Essence first, shall we?

Nature Republic Whitening & Wrinkle Improvement Ginseng Royal Silk Essence

As you can observed, the Essence is more golden-jelly like. In fact, you can find small gold particles in it. I smell slight traditional herbal scent, maybe it could be the ginseng? I'm not sure. But certainly it is not an unpleasant scent. The Essence is made so fine, and once apply it onto my face, the skin absorbs instantly! Since its emphasizes also on wrinkle care, I purposely apply and massage around my eyes.

 

Narure Republic Whitening & Wrinkle Improvement Ginseng Royal Silk Watery Cream 

In comparison, honestly I like the Watery Cream better. Similarly you can find small gold particles inside, and it is a beautiful transparent gel cream. With a little scope, it is more than enough for moisturizing my whole face.  Also I will apply some on my neck as part of the skin care routine.

For the Watery Cream, I would suggest to be careful of the portion. For my case, I will try to avoid T-zone and chin as too much of it could be too oily. Meanwhile, our weather in Malaysia is rather damp and moisture. Unless you are sleeping in an air-conditioning room, otherwise it is not necessary to apply a thick layer of it on your face.


Overall ratings (Essence):

Price             ★★★★☆

Functionality  ★★★★★
Texture         ★★★★★

Overall ratings (Watery Cream):

Price             ★★★★☆

Functionality  ★★★★★
Texture         ★★★★★

I believe this is a product which worth its dollar, and even a bonus if you are to buy during promotion seasons. Maybe you would think that you are too young for anti-wrinkle care, but think twice. Unless you're below the age of 20. If you are in your 20s, I suggest you to start now than it's too late. I heard my Korean housemate last time she said that the reason why Koreans still look young in their 40s and 50s is because they do the anti-aging skin care routine since 20s. You know what to do next, right? :D

Do lemme know your thoughts about this product review or share your experience with me in the comment box below.

Cheers!^^