Bibimbap and Barbeque

"Ahn-nyung-ha-se-yo!"

This is how they say 'hello' in Korea. I am in Seoul for a very short business trip. Before going here, I never thought I'd enjoy Korean foods, in fact I was thinking what to eat as I haven't been a fan of that cuisine in the Philippines. After two days, I can say I am actually looking forward to finding out more about Korean foods. So far what we had, well at least those that I know are the bibimbap and barbeque. I also had shabu-shabu here but they said it was japanese so I won't be dwelling much on it but it was great nonetheless.

Bibimbap
In the Philippines, bibimbap is like a rice topping where in the meat with veggies and sauce are poured on top of steamed rice. They got the idea right, here the ingredients will be given to you separately and you will have to put them all together before eating. I am not sure if they have meat here also but what we had was vegetarian.

After putting all the veggies on top of the sticky rice, add some chili paste and sesame oil then mix them all together.

Barbeque
This one is very different from what is being served in our caffeteria. With the authentic one, you have to cook the meat and then assemble it with the other ingredients provided to eat. The ingredients vary depending on the restaurant but the procedure to cook and eat is the same.

Here's the cooking... they have a grill at the center of the table where you can cook the meat.

Then the eating... get a lettuce or sesame leaf and then put the meat on top, add a slice of garlic and some bean paste, wrap and then eat. :) Oh, during this barbeque dinner, i ate finger chili... actually finished two. It was really crunchy and a bit spicy. Not really appetizing but its a good complement to the meal :).

to YOU from US

This is the tag line of the new starbucks holiday promo. :) Yes, it started today and I'm one of the million suckers who lined up to buy coffee and get started with the promo card, hahaha.

This promo card started about four years ago if I remember it correctly. I am trying to recall if I was still in COCOLIFE or was in DEVEX then. I joined the bandwagon and collected 22 stickers to get the limited edition Starbucks planner. :) From then on, I always look forward to the holidays for this. Some say it's a scam, I really don't care hehehe. As I said, I'm a sucker! :)

Here's the promo card for this holiday season. Cheers! :)

Best Birthday Gift

best birthday gift
Originally uploaded by purplesketches

When we grow old, we tend to pay less attention to our own birthdays. It becomes just another day in our lives. We pause for a while, give thanks, smile and then go on and spend our day like everyday. When we were youger, we anticipate birthdays for the parties, get together with family and friends and receiving gifts. In this point in my life I don't do parties anymore, I'd just have dinner or something with people who really matter to me. Friends and families, they have their own lives already and it's not so easy to meet up, chat and celebrate. Receiving gifts... hahaha I guess I still anticipate this but again its not the same anymore. Usually you don't get surprised with gifts, people just tend to ask you what you want and they'd get it for you. It saves them all the trouble of thinking what to get you.

But just when I thought yesterday was just another day, it turned out to be a little different. Friends I haven't heard a peep from greeted me through SMS, IMs and emails. I had a good laugh with the riot of an email thread which started with a simple happy birthday. I had some time off work was able to do some errands and go to the mall on a weekday :). I got really nice gifts from friends. Early in the evening I went to mass and then had dinner with the hubby. Then came the best part of my day... going home to my little bug. We shared birthday cake and blew the candle just like what we do every month for his monthly birthday :). After that we went up to the room just like always to play and wait for him to go to sleep. Then last night he did what he did on the video attached to this blog... he was walking... at 8 months. :) It was just so precious, seeing him do small steps and trying to balance his weight. It gave me a high seeing him do that and smile at me... he gave me the best gift for my birthday. :)

Pregnancy

Online, trying to get back to sleep after waking up early this morning to put my little bug to sleep.  I was able to catch up with my cousin, Kathrina, whose in Abu Dhabi right now with his hubby.  I learned that she is 7 weeks pregnant.  I was very happy for her and then all the memories of my pregnancy came flooding my mind.  I shared with her my experiences, some advices given to me and the joy of having a little person growing inside you.  I remembered how good the feeling is when you are pregnant.  Even if your body is being bogged down with so much chemical and biological changes, the support, care and love that the people around give you is just so overwhelming.  It feels like you can go through anything with the knowledge that all of them will be with you.  Then comes the delivery day... hahaha! I'll talk about that another day, for now, I just want to cherish the memories of my pregnancy and rejoice that my cousin is expecting too.  

Congrats Aaron and KF, enjoy being pregnant and take care always! Hope to see you soon.  I'll be here if you need some long distance pep talks. :)