Going Semi-Nude at Kraze

No. This is not a risque entry.


When I say Semi-Nude, I mean this:

Semi-Nude in my foodie world means no bread, just meat and veggies. *wink*

Two all-beef burger patties grilled medium well, 3 bacon rashers, a portion of sweet grilled onions, a juicy tomato slice, melted cheese and, a perfect egg over easy. Oh, and almost as if an afterthought, a side of salad greens with a light dressing of honey mustard and a sweet vinaigrette.

Is it any wonder that this is my favorite burger in Seoul? I get my fix at Kraze Burger, a homegrown burger chain in Seoul which is slowly making its way to the rest of Asia (I think there are branches of this in HK and Macau). This chain has the tagline, "The Healthy Burger" because they supposedly use only good oils and well, they grill their burgers. Hmmm, not actually enough to tag their burgers healthy.

But I don't care haha. In a country where burgers are limited to Lotteria and McDo and a few mom-and-pop burger places, Kraze is the one consistently good burger chain with reasonable prices in Seoul.

And yes, this is not fastfood. They cook your food upon order in the open kitchen, a trademark of Kraze Burger joints here ( I don'r know though if the open Kitchen concept is also applied to their overseas branches). The prices are reasonable by Korean standards but not something I can afford everyday. The Semi-nude is 9900 won (about 450 pesos) without fries. Which is sad,
because their Idaho Country Fries are seriously good: Thick potato wedges with crispy skins surrounding soft, almost mushy innards.

They claim that their potatoes are freshly made~ i.e. they cut and fry their wedges themselves, unlike most fastfood joints that buy them in ready-to-fry bags.

What I like about Kraze Burger, aside from their burgers, is that they will let you order any item to share. It is not uncommon to see diners share one burger and an order of fries.

And how about the drinks? Well, they have their Ades, even Heinekens, but like most Korean eateries you don't actually need to buy a drink here as they provide water for free. In fact, the water at Kraze Burger is lovely. Slices of lemon swirl around a pitcher of water, giving tha hint of subtle but delightful lemon tang to the H20. And you get that for free! (Now where in Manila can we have unlimited Lemon Water free of charge? :-( )


There are no desserts at Kraze Burger though, so for something sweet, most diners would transfer to a coffee shop, or, if you're like me and my friend, we go here:

Go to Krispy Kreme for a bit of Bunny Donuts and other sweet, pillowy, airy doughs of deliciousness!

Scrub-a-Dub! TM and Happy Bath Body Scrubs

Body Scrubs are good for your skin. At least that’s what a search on google would yield. But really, what are body scrubs but mere exfoliants (the grains in the scrub) in a moisturizing base.

Sure, I can always exfoliate using my trusty Italy Towel and there’s the use of Body Milk and Moisturizing Soaps to give that smooth, velvety touch to the skin but sometimes all I want is the the feel of my hand slapping and scrubbing grainy, overwhelmingly fragrant goop all over my wet skin. Oh and the scent! I want the shower smelling like a scent bomb as silly me scrubs her way through relaxation while singing off-key to whatever tune comes to mind. Ah, shower bliss!

I reserve my scrub-a-dub indulgences on weekends. And today, with the gloomy rain and the winds, there is nothing as comforting and as timely as a good, long scrub-a-dub bath in the morning to set the pace of cocooning all day at my flat.

My current Scrub stash:

Happy Bath Natural Body Scrub (Soft Peeling)
Tony Moly Milky Vanilla Moisture Body Scrub Wash

The Happy Bath Natural Body Scrub has really fine grains. It reminds me of St. Ives’ Apricot Scrub (which is for the face). It smellls of milk and cereals with a faint perfumey scent. When I use this I am reminded of freshly laundered pillows with that telltale afterscent of Downy haha. Though the scent is not something I love, I scored this set on a BOGO (Buy 1 Get 1) sale a few months ago and it does moisturize so it does a good enough job for an inexpensive body scrub.

I use the Tony Moly Milky Vanilla Moisture Body Scrub more than the Happy Bath one just because of the delicious Vanilla scent. Its sweet , milky vanilla-y with a hint of coconut scent lingers in the bathroom hours after my scrub-a-dub session. The grains are a bit bigger and rougher, the texture akin to Skinfood’s Black Sugar Scrub. Is it moisturizing? I think so. I found that its scent is a perfect complement to the fragrance of my Burt’s Bees Milk & Honey Lotion.

Though I just buy my scrubs in shops, it does seem that body scrubs are kind of easy to make. A friend makes her own using Brown Sugar + Olive Oil + essential Oil (or vanilla extract) . Maybe one of these days, when I finally run out of scrubs, I’ll try mixing one too.

How about you? Do you use body scrubs too? What’s your favorite?

MY JUNE ROAD TESTS: SF, Kiehl’s, Tony Moly, Etude and Strawberry Milk Soap!

These are stuff I’m testing out now but haven’t found time to blog about. (A Crystal Clear Note: All items posted in this blog are bought personally by me with my own money. )

KIEHL’S ULTRA FACIAL TONER

I found a nice deal at an online sampler shop in Korea for this expensive toner . I have the travel version, not the full sizes. My comment so far: Nothing special, will not purchase the full size any time soon.



ETUDE PUT YOUR HANDS UP DEO MULTI-POWDER

It’s a Deo Powder you can use all over your body ~ pits, back, calves, wherever. It has a built-in puff applicator which makes using it very convenient. Just puff some and go. I used it on its own to the office, and I didn't sweat muchbut maybe because it’s pretty cold at the office. Will do a full roadtest during one of my weekend jogs to see if it can withstand this humid summer.



SKINFOOD GREEN TEA FOOT MIST

I needed something to combat the sweaty feet that summer brings. So far so good. Its smell is a bit astringent–like but bearable. I use this with Korean shoeliners.


LG SAY STRAWBERRY MILK SOAP

I wanted something yummy-smelling and LUSH-like (but not priced as prohibitively as LUSH) and saw these at the local grocery. In the shower, it really smells like strawberry milk and is pretty moisturizing. Sad thing is, the scent doesn’t really last. I will stock up on this though when I come to the Philippines and use it as a car freshener. (Do you also do this neat and cheap trick? Stashing a bar of fragrant soap in the car in lieu of an air freshener? It really works! My mother uses Happy Bath bar soaps for this but I think this Strawberry Milk Soap will be a nice yummy change of scent)

TONY MOLY MAXI POWER FOOT PEELING LIQUID

I have very high hopes for this! It's supposed to remove dead skin cells, relieve any itching, deodorize and refresh your feet. You soak your feet in the peeling solution with the accompanying plastic socks for about 1.5 hours, rinse the solution off and wait for your feet to peel on the fourth day. I used this for the first time last night so I guess my foot will start peeling on Wednesday. I have ugly brown feet so I hope this works! Will give feedback if this lives up to its promises.

Dr. Robbin: A Diet Food Bistro in Seoul

Last Weekend, after watching X-Men : First Class in Myeongdong, a friend and I went hunting for a new, potentially good eat in NOON Square. NOON Square is my current favorite mall in Myeongdong. Why? It’s relatively small but it has H&M, Steve Madden, Mango, ZARA, Billabong, Jessica Simpson, Adidas Originals plus stalls of hard to find Korean Cosmetics ~ Elisha Coy, Skin79, Pure Minerals. At the basement is a bookstore with a reading area and a little Cold Stone Creamery outlet. On the fifth floor are small indie clothing brands with reasonable prices. i.e, brands started by young Korean entrepreneurs.

The food section on the sixth has a dimsum place, an American diner, A Japanese Buffet resto, and a traditional Korean Restaurant. In the end, we went to Dr. Robbin.

Dr. Robbin promises the following: No Sugar Added, No MSG, Reduced Oil, No Butter, ½ Cream, ½ Oil. When a restaurant promises you great food with the fewest calories possible, wouldn’t you be hooked too?

A check on their one page paper menu showed reasonable prices with entrees running at an average of 10000 won (about 450 pesos). Not bad for Seoul.

The restaurant has a nice ambience and even has an al fresco dining area which is great since it is on the 6th floor, so you get a good view of Myeongdong’s busy shopping streets. But it is summer in Seoul, so we stayed indoors and enjoyed the A/C comfort and funky prints on the resto’s walls.

THE FOOD

The requisite free appetizer: pickled pink cucumber and green peppers.

Chicken and Tofu Salad. First let me say that it is incredibly hard to find good and reasonably-priced western style salads in Seoul. You know, those with good greens and nice dressings. It might be because, the usual Korean meal is already replete with a lot of veggies~ in the soup, in the kimchi, and in their numerous banchans (appetizers).
This Salad is pretty good, the serving hefty enough for sharing. The Chicken part is actually steamed chicken breast slices, the tofu is simply steamed and doused with a sweetish, soy and sesame oil- based sauce. The greens are crunchy fresh and goes well with the sweet and salty sauce.

Aglio Olio Pasta. While good, I still pledge my allegiance to the Aglio Olio Pasta of Pizza Pamilya in Davao City. Dr. Robbin’s version is dotted with a lot of parsley and is ironically not spicy enough for my taste. More pepper flakes please!

Oreo Brownie. By far the best tasting, fudgiest, richest brownie I've tried in Seoul. And this is supposed to be sugar-free? Hmmmm. Addicting, though a bit expensive at 4000 won (about 180 pesos).

We spent about 22000 won (900 pesos) for this meal. Certainly not cheap, but for the ambience and considering it is supposedly “good” food, it’s a reasonable enough.


NOON SQUARE
Myeongdong Station Exit#6
Seoul, S. Korea

I Love You, Bella Bamba!

This is my current make-up obsession: Benefit Blushes

Once upon a time, actually just a few months ago , I was a loyal user of inexpensive yet good Korean cream blushes. Why not, when both Skinfood Rose Cheek Chalk and Lioele Peach Beam Blusher did the job at extremely reasonable prices (about $8 dollars each).

Of course, I’ve heard of Benefit and I knew of the Benetint and Corralista, the brand’s much raved about blushes. The problem is , Benefit items are amazingly pricey in Seoul. A full size of Benetint costs about $45. It was just not practical to buy a tube of something I might not like when I was completely satisfied with my 8 dollar blushes.

But a few months ago, I bought Benefit’s Finding Mr. Bright Kit, which contains a travel-sized Posie Tint, a sheer but super pretty liquid pink stain with a great staying power. I used it in sweltering heat in Pinas, and it stayed on!

So when a friend went to the US for a business trip, I asked him to buy some Benefit stuff for me. Two months on, and I’ve been using nothing but Benefit blushes. Can you smell addiction?



My Benefit Blushes:

Bella Bamba: A very pigmented blush with gold sparkles. It is described as a watermelon shade at the Benefit site. Depends on how heavy you are with swatching, you can get really colored cheeks or a slight flushed look with this beauty. This is what I use most of the time. I think the color will suit all tones. It's not really very shimmery, just a hint of sparkle to make your cheeks shine.

Posie Tint: a sheet yet ultra pink tint to give you that oh so natural flush. It’s a lip and cheek tint, but I use it only on my cheeks haha. Just a teeny swipe on your cheek will give you a day’s worth of flushed cheeks.

Dandelion: This is actually a highlighter powder which you can swipe on your temples, cheeks, nose and forehead for a bit of contouring. But I use it at times as a blush (I do need to apply more when used as a blush though, but at least it is buildable). Because it is so light, you just get a subtle but there coral tinge.

From the Lightest to Darkest: Dandelion, Posie Tint, Bella Bamba


(Yes, the background of the pics is the latest issue of High Cut Magazine featuring Ko Soo, a popular Korean actor)

What I love about Benefit Blushes:
1. Expensive but cost-effective. Most of their blushes retails for $28 plus taxes in the States. But you only need a bit to get the blushes working.

2. Fragrant yet not overpowering. Bella Bamba, in particular smells like a yummy fruity candy!

3. No-brainer, easy to use blushes even for make-up noobs like me. I think this
goes out to most of the Benefit goodies I have. They’re expensive but are well
worth the price because they do their job well and are pretty easy to use.


Hmmm, maybe I should have made the title, A Cautionary Tale of A New Benefit Junkie.

Postscript: A week ago, my pretty Korean friend let me try her Cha Cha Tint (which she bought here in Seoul for $45!), Benefit’s latest tint~ It's supposedly a mango tint reminiscent of Carribean and Tropical colors. Whatever, haha. It is actually a bright orange tint which when applied, looks really peachy on my skin. It’s actually very pretty but since I still have a lot of Benefit blushes, I’ll wait it out a bit. ☺

Do you also love Benefit blushes or Benefit Products? What’s your favorite? :-)

Choco MooMoo!

BOOO!!!

No of course, I am not prepping for some Halloween party, silly. It’s just me with chocolate muck on my face.

Yes, I am in most respects a Chocolate Monster. I love good quality chocolates. In fact my most fervent dream is to one day have the chance to savour the five most revered, yet hard-to-get, artisanal chocolates in the world– Amedei, Bernachon, Michel Cuizel, Vosges, and William Curley.

And yes, I’ve come to the point of slapping chocolate goo on my face. Haaa! You can laugh now, but here in Seoul, slapping chocolate goop on your face is big business. Proof? Most known brands here in Korea have some kind of chocolate mask – Skinfood, Missha, Nature Republic.

What I’m using though is the famous Zamian Gold Cacao Pack. It supposedly has gold particles which siphons of impurities from your skin but honestly I haven’t noticed. What really hits me when I use this is the amazing chocolate sensory experience. The chocolate aroma is so rich you'd want to lick the thing off your skin. But DON'T. It tastes chocolatey, yes, but incredibly bitter too. I know because my stubborn tongue took on a swipe of dried out pack at the corner of my mouth ages ago. Repeat after me, this chocolate mask is not meant for the mouth. Just be thankful that this mask packs a chocolate euphoria without us gaining a few pounds.

Anyhoo, I bought and opened a new tube of Zamian Cacao Pack a couple of weeks ago. See, the weather has changed in Seoul. Spring has gone and the hot and humid summer days have swooped down upon me. Which means one thing: a slight tweak in my skincare regimen to combat the oilies that Summer brings with it. I guess I must also say that I need the Zamian Pack because I’ve been eating a lot of chocolates the past weeks . Good stuff, I must add –Lindt, Guylian, Hawaiian Host. How can one resist when they are on sale at 50% off?! Eating Chocolates and Clear Skin just doesn’t go hand in hand in my world. I know that too much chocolate will make my skin act up. Ironic really to think that what calms my skin, irritated by too much chocolate, is made of Cacao.

The ads in Korea for Zamian Cacao are a bit crazed and honestly unbelievable. It can remove stubborn acne in just 10 days? Yeah, right. I don’t think even Roaccutane, the most potent, prescription-only drug for acne can promise that.

So please do not ask me if it can really erase acne in 10 days. I am sure it can’t. It’s a mask not a miracle pill. What I can tell you is that it really lessens the oils and calms the skin. There are days when I am stressed and my skin is stressed. Don’t you have those days too? When you just know that you’re about to get a zit and your skin is just plain irritated? Well, times like these, I slap on a layer of the Zamian Cacao Pack, relax and inhale its chocolate aroma, and it surprisingly works in calming and removing the redness on my face and prevents cystic pustules from popping out.

The manufacturer’s sleeve says the cacao pack contains Gold Powder, Cacao, Aloe Extract, and Hyaluronic Acid. Maybe so, but I think the soothing effect is really from the Cocoa Butter.

We retail it for a little over 800 bucks per set at the shop ( the set includes sheet masks, a Cacao Soap which is also good and a Pore Minimizing Soap) but I personally use only the Gold Cacao Pack these days.Is it worth the pesos? I think so. It’s a pretty big tube and one tube is good for at least two months . I use this only twice a week and when my skin needs an emergency i.e. on the verge of a breakout.

This will not cure your acne or remove your scars (if it did, I'd be without marks now!) but I can vouch for how it helps in controlling the oiliness and preventing a zit from going fullblown.

Hmmm, so let's see, I guess it's true then, not only are chocolates good for you, their food for your skin too. ;-)

☺

A LOOSE COMPARISON: SKINFOOD PEACH SAKE vs. SKINFOOD RED ORANGE SUN POWDER

After months of use, I have finally finished my pan of SF Peach Sake Silky Finish Powder. To those new to this blog, let me reiterate my love for this Skinfood product. It is the best oil controlling loose powder I've tried to date. It comes in only one neutral shade ~ white. Which means it will fit most complexions. It is not meant to be a full coverage powder, so do not expect your flaws or blemishes to dissapear with this (For a loose powder with buildable coverage, you can try the 3W Palgantong Powder instead). What it promises to do however is to keep your face from the oilies and it does a superior job of sucking away the shine.


Now, most people I know would not not even consider trying out a new powder. Like, why rock the boat, when you've found a great product?

Well, I would like to put the blame on "reseach purposes for the shop". But that is of course untrue. I wanted to try Skinfood's Red Orange line, the Summer 2011 new release. And what better time to try than now and get the thing I've ran out of~ loose powder!


So this is the Red Orange Sun Powder:

What it promises:

Sun Protection~ It has SPF 45 +++, the highest I've seen in loose powder.

Oil Control ~ manages shine because of the red orange extract.

Light Coverage ~ light, finely milled powder. Comes in two shades, #1 Light Beige, #2 Natural Beige

Skin Vitamins ~ apparently this powder was formulated with vitamins to help the
skin combat darkening and provide added protection.



Price: More or less in the same price range as the Peach Sake Powder.




The Innards:

A powder puff is provided with the powder. Unlike the Skinfood Peach Sake Powder where the container has a typical plastic powder separator, the powder dispenser/separator for Red Orange is made of fine woven mesh. Think woven fabric with tiny holes in it. Now this is my biggest issue with this powder. If you go out of your way to make a good product, shouldn't you have spent enough time to test out your container? I don't really know what the logic is with this new powder sieve. But this I have to say: It is the worst loose powder dispenser I've ever tried. Why? See what happens when you accidentally tap on the powder container. Voila!

See all the wasted precious powder? It's a messy sight. You have to be very gentle with this powder sieve otherwise, you'll be wasting a whole lot of fine talc.

*Sigh* Is it me just being ignorant on how to use this powder container, or is there really something wrong with the container's design?


The Powder:

The product itself is good. Plus it's pretty light on the skin. I tested it on a not too hot weekend (15 deg C) while running around doing errands-- shipping out stuffs, going to Myeongdong, buying stocks. And yes it does have a pretty okay oil control.

However, the shade of this powder is a bit too pink for me. Or maybe it's because of the high SPF.

Here comes a boring explanation: Most make-ups/foundations/powders with high SPFs (sun protection factor) give off white casts. This is particularly obvious in photos. The reason is simple. Most make-ups get their SPFs from Titanium Dioxide. It's a white powder which acts as a physical barrier between the sun and your skin. Because it is white, it reflects and gives off a greyish cast on the complexion. This is the culprit for the white casts. For the Red Orange Powder, yes there is a bit of a white cast here. But because I use it only as a finishing powder, it's really not too bad. Plus, the surest way to combat a white cast is to highlight your cheeks with a great looking blush and a strong lip color.

On a range of 1 to 5, I give this a solid three. Peach Sake Silky Powder is about 4. Will I buy it again, probably not. I'll stick with my tried and tested Peach Sake Powder.

A Room of My Own

“So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters.” ~Virginia Woolf

I have been living and working abroad since I was twenty-five. When people ask how I got started, I draw a blank, because honestly I did not really set out to have this sort-of-gypsy life. The opportunity to work abroad just presented itself and at twenty –five all I could think of was, Yay! Adventure!

So seven years and three foreign lands later, I am still a nomad with my feet currently planted in good ole Seoul.

If I were to advise younger people at all, it is for them to take the chance to work away from their comfort zones. To really try to have a life or a place of their own. It does not have to mean going overseas to work. What I mean is that one must experience a life without the conveniences we so often take for granted, in my case, family and helpers. Striking on one's own teaches one a lot about who you are, what you really want and what you can’t stand.

While we’re young, now is the most opportune time to get out into the wild and build ourselves. To know what it is that we really want to write.

Cheesy? Maybe, but I say this with the hindsight of someone who transformed from being such a shy, meek and pretty scared person into someone who knows what she wants in life ;-)


Pretty heavy, huh? Now to make this a bit more fun (and admittedly self-absorbed haha!), here are snapshots of my teeny weeny flat in Korea. It’s a small studio flat provided by the company I work for. The built-in closets and cooking-washing areas are included in the flat ☺ All other cheesy and yellow accoutrements are my own.


The Sitting Area

My cheap find: Candy Ball Centerpiece

My little book nook

Big yellow bed

My work area

A cheap and cool buy: The green circular cabinet holding my perfumes and knick knacks

My disorganized dresser

The tiny breakfast nook and kitchen area

Pat Bing Su, A Frugal Dinner et.al.

This is what a perfect weekend is made of:
~ the perfect weather: sunny but cool at 16 deg. C
~ Monday is a non-working holiday. Hello, long weekend!
~A hundred tasks to do but enough time to accomplish them
~Time to jog and enjoy the spring weather
~And comfort food as your reward for accomplishing tasks!

When your morning begins at 7 AM, waking up early on a Saturday to finish important tasks for something you are passionate about, leaving the house at 11 AM to deal with what shall remain as supersecret things at the moment , I did feel that I needed some food shopping therapy to reward myself for a good start into the long weekend.

The late lunch (Take-out):

Tendon Rice Bowl~ See how great it is that the rice is separated from the prawns and sauce?

Takoyaki Balls~ my favorite food in the world

On the way home, I passed by the Food Section of AK Plaza to buy some crackers. I went home with these:

Pack of Crackers, Lindt Lindor Assortment 500g , Hawaiian Host Dark Chocolate Covered Macadamia.
Because I still have A LOT of chocolates from my last week’s sale stash , I’ve set these two chocs aside for the care package I’m sending out to the family in Pinas by the end of June ☺

The After-Lunch Dessert:

Pat Bing Su~ red beans, shaved ice, sweet milk and chewy, sweet rice cakes! Korea's favorite summer dessert.

The weekend is my only time to jog and wander along the river so I walked and jogged for close two hours this afternoon.

The jogging path near my home


All that lunch extravaganza and the jogging made me want to have a frugal dinner:

Crackers, Mazzetti Pesto, Vegetable Juice. It might be frugal (in calories!) but because Pesto is my second most favorite thing in the world, every little bit of pesto smeared cracker is for me, delicious beyond words. Hmmm, this kind of made me think...

That with food, as with friends (and in life), it is not the numbers or the variety that counts, but the truth that what you have, what you are savouring is something you really want.

MLBB - My El Cheapo Way

MLBB stands for My Lips But Better. It essentially describes a natural looking, “nude” look for your lips that highlights its natural coloring while giving it a bit of color.

What you want is a natural looking lip color that will suit your complexion.

Popular MLBB lipsticks are MAC’s Hug Me,/ Blankety, Bare Escentual’s Gingersnap, and Clinique Black Honey but these are pretty pricey brands that are really expensive in Seoul.

Truth is, it's more of a trial and error thing to find an MLBB shade that’s a right mix of beige and pink. So far, I am quite happy with my own MLBB look. I call it the El Cheapo MLBB because well, though I use two items to get this lip look, both items are pretty inexpensive, the two items totalling less than 500 pesos.

What I use to get my MLBB look:

Samsung Lava Lipstick in 77 (Nude Beige) + Tony Moly Berry Berry Magic Lip Tint in Strawberry.

The Lava lipstick is really pure beige but it is offset by the pinkish tones of the Berry Tint.
Bonus point for this tandem: An application of the Lava Lipstick + Magic Lip Tint lasts about four hours of full color and the color will not totally be erased even if you forget to touch up ☺

What about you, what's your fave My Lips But Better lippies?