Korean Street Snack: Hoddeok 호떡

Someone needs to keep reminding me that its freaking EXAM WEEK! And i have 3days till my first 2 exams that I have not finish revising! Not even half! So why da hell did I not go to school and sit here at home and start making 호떡 (Korean Sweet Pancakes with Brown Sugar Syrup filling)????

Anyway, since I already made it, might as well just tell you guys about it :)) Well, 호떡 is a Korean Street Snack that is a pancakes with Brown Sugar Syrup filling! I still remember when I was studying in Korea, there is always an 아줌마 (Auntie) outside the university's main gate selling it. At first we did not noe what is it but me and my friend were starving so we went ahead and buy one. Without knowing what is in it we just start biting and biting and biting when suddenly "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH", my friend screamed her lungs out cos the syrup filling squirted out and it was burning hot and spilled all over her hands and shirt. haha, ever since then, i always bit my 호떡s super super carefully and NEVER walk while u eat it :)))

No, I did not make this (i wish). This is the one i had in korea :) mega miss!

So I missed korea A LOT, but since my friends refuse to go there with me for graduation trip and I am too much of a considerate bitch, I can't go there this year and munch on 호떡, therefore I made my own and will munch on it NOW! *bite*.....*HEAVENNNNNNNNNN*

I got the recipe from Maangchi :) She has this AWESOME youtube channel on korean food and it makes me drool like CRAZY and super "home" sick XDD And I hav no idea how she stays so chill n pretty while making 호떡...I SWEATED LIKE CRAZY n the kitchen was in a HORRIBLE MESS! Seriously, how do all those people on youtube cook so elegantly.. its like freaking WAR here for me.

So here you go my 호떡 making process

Before the rise...mega focus fail

rose and  stirred

soooo stickkkyyyyyy

the filling :) actually had to make 2 batches coz I am a greedy bitch and refuse to use CHEESE as a filling (ew)

The dough with flour...in the middle of a severe WAR
(I just can't focus properly can i?)

MORE MORE MORE MOREEEEEEE

fryyy 'em

THIS ONE IS CRAZY! Have to show u! I WAS SOOO GREEDY that many of them leaked and this one, u can SEE the brown sugar HAHAHAHAHAH!!

trying hard to pretend i m in KOREA eating this :)  

Cannot imagine how much weight I am gonna gain eating all these...shall just share them :'((((((((((

OKAY, shall eat one more and go back to revision, thats the plan :) cya...AFTER EXAM!! *yeah right* HAHAHA KAY BYEEE~~

Love,

Finals Revision Snack: Mozzarella and Prosciutto Sandwich

Whenever its exam period, you have so much to do but you never end up doing anything. Instead you start exploring new things around you or on the internet and spend 10 hours on it, that is how I discovered 9GAG, "new" tools in the kitchen that has not been used for centuries and worst of all, all those food channels on youtube like Laura Vitale, Sorted Food, LovelyLadyCakes and YoyoMax12. They not only made me keep clicking on all the related videos at 5am in the morning, but they actually made me addicted to cooking / baking (yes that's how it all started), I even begged my mum to get me an electrical mixer..yes I'm asian so we don't have these things lying around..  so yes, I had to beg for one. 

Now, 6 days till my first final exam, I am here sharing with you guys what I made for "Revision Snack', yes this is what I do when I "revise" at home, I go to the kitchen and make comforting food and end up blogging about it instead of opening my notes. Anyway, this is one of the recipe I saw from Laurainthekitchen and it made me drool - BADLY. So since I woke up at 1 and decided not to go to the library, I went to the kitchen instead and made this.  

Mozzarella and Prosciutto Sandwich

I've decided to make this delicious little baby cause I suddenly had a craving for mozzarella and I found something new (well i didn't noe it existed)  Tost & Grill Machine ..*super excited* To be honest I have NO IDEA why we have one of this at home, its not like any of our chinese food needs grilling or...wait no scratch that, what I meant was ITS NOT LIKE MY PARENTS COOKED ME ANY FOOD THESE PAST 20 YEARS! well, if frying a burnt egg counts..Fine! then, ONCE! 

Anyway, as I was saying I found a toast & grill thingy, so I've decided to give it a use so I settled to make Mozzarella and Prosciutto Sandwich<3<3

Its so "new" that the grills still have plastic wraps on them = = 

Took me 10 mins to change it....god, why u no have instructions?

 Ingredients, only 3! :)  And trust me, its not hard to find AT ALL, everything is available in my supermarket and I just got my helper to get them for me (too lazy to even get out of le door). They are just buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto and just any bread of ur choice :) since I am CRAZYYYYY over english muffins (mainly because of mcmuffins), I'm going for those round white little babies!

 First just prep ur bread, I dunno, do whatever you want with it, slice it in half, cut it into shapes or i dunno write your name or sth.

 Well so that the mozzarella will melt a bit and my muffin is crispy, tbh just SO I CAN USE MY GRILL :D I just put my muffins in it and wait for the light to change colour :) If you don'y have a grill just heat ur bread up on a pan! Works the same..

 Meanwhile, just chop up everything or just lay them out :) I had to stop myself from using the ENTIRE mozzarella! LOL super tempted!

 So when I am waiting for the muffins to be grilled....hahah i took out the zebra shortbread from sortedfood. Promised my friend to share in the library, but didn't end up going so I am just munching them while i cook :P

 So the last step is just to pile the baby up and drizzle olive oil and add some pepper and

MUNCH ON!

 Is it only me or food that has been bitten looks more drooling XDDD

Okay, really need to head back to revision! at last! HAHAHA but heres the actual recipes of the  Mozzarella and Prosciutto Sandwich and the zebra shortbread (i use chocolate ganache n Nutella instead of chocolate).

Laura in the Kitchen - Mozzarella and Prosciutto Sandwich
Sorted Food - Zebra Shortbread 


Nom Nom,

The end of my undergraduate journey..

Its 8 pm and although I am still in my University's library, my undergraduate study journey has come to an END  (sob). There are still exams and presentations to go but there are not more lessons, meaning no more walking into the lecture hall 45 mins late, then start playing oven break for the whole lesson and walk out that lecture hall 20 mins later and head to the cafeteria with 10 other people for lunch then back to hall and sleep.  Lol, that kinda sums up my year 1 university life. The uni I am in is famous for being super super stressful and competitive, I suffered from so many metal break downs and failures in year 2 & 3, but now that I've finally started to get used to it, I am already at the end of the road.

When I was in high school, our teachers kept telling us how FUN university life is, all the freedom, the party the guys and stuff like that, to be honest, I was super excited and can't wait to get my fat ass out of the school I was stuck in for 7 years and go see the world. But who knew I would windup in such a harsh and crazily nerdy university, with no parties, no cheerleading team, no fun and cool societies, just simply -- boring. I then spent all these 3 years in university looking back at my high school life, visiting teachers and looking at my old photos, trying to cling on all those good and sweet memories while I try to survive this living hell.

Finally, I am here, just have to finish all my exams then I can get out of here!!  Ironically, I am actually missing all this! I am gonna miss staying in the library until 11pm just so I can have midnight snacks with friends while walking along the seashore, running out to campus for class in my PJs, slippers and a pen and paper in my hands, cam whore & skype & watch dramas in lectures halls that are so dark that no one can concentrate. It is not as crazy and fun as my other friends who always travel around europe and party all nite, there are many many awesome tiny memories and experiences that me and my friends made in this campus. We don't have clubbing sessions or trip to paris, but we do have tiny pub nights and food parties :D We might not have the most exciting photos to post on facebook, but we had our moments!

One of my senior once shared on facebook once

"We spent 7 years of high school looking forward to university. And spent 3 years of university missing our high school life. Then for the rest of your life remembering these 3 years of youth"


Me and a few high school friends were saying "Ha, wtever, that is if you were in an awesome and cool uni, but us? We'll just enjoy the rest of our lives without this damn uni" FAIL! look at us now, in our last school day of university, running around the campus, taking photos with everyone, trying to grasp hold of this last moment as an undergrad student as well as friends and memories we made here.

No matter how bad your grades are or how sucky you think your university life is, it would be a lie to say that you do not miss it! It is that thing when you take something for granted and never really cherish it, then suddenly it's taken away from you, it is the time when you wish you spent more time enjoying rather than moaning.

It's already the end for me, but for those of you out there that are still in universities or  high school or even already in the society working hard, do NOT take anything for granted, be grateful for even the smallest thing and LIVE IN THE MOMENT, FULLY! So when one day, when you no longer have it, you will still miss it but won't regret anything!

Woah, so sentimental! hahahaha, last day of school's effect. Anyway, as I am still in the library, I should start revising! I have something super cool to show u next week!

friend took a photo of me n my camera while calling people to join us for photos :D

will talk to you soon,

[Review] * My May Glamabox *

Recently a few friends were talking about these subscription beauty boxes / bags and they were researching what were available around us and comparing which one is good. So since I've been subscribed to Glamabox for the 5th month now, was thinking why not I share with you guys what's in this month's (may) glamabox & lure them into subscribing to glamabox! (darn, I should get some commission for getting so many ppl subing to them!!!!)

Anyway, this glamabox is totally fresh and hot news since i got it like 3 hours ago! I woke up and this black box with the actual glamabox in it was already sitting on my table :)))  No, darlings, they do not deliver them to ur table, my helper delivered it from the door to my room! Anyway, since i just got this month's (may) glamabox, can't really do the products review straight away coz I only have one face, one stomach and one head. BUT I promise to update this blog with reviews on all the products in this glamabox after I've tried it :))

So without further ado, here's may 2012 glamabox review (dumrollllll....)

Staring from Jan (I think), they've added in a tightly cardboard warp around our boxes and have FINALLY standardized the size of the boxes! Made my life so much easier when storing them!
Will show you what I do with my boxes later <3

The actual glamabox - with 2 of my favorite colours: Pink and Black

This month's theme is MOTHER'S DAY (thxs for the reminder, dun even remember. since May is the EXAM MOTH for me)

These are the actual products -
1) Kerasys Repairing Shampoo & Conditioner

This is one of the "I NEED TO TRY THIS NOW" and runs into the shower product! I have been wanting to try this ever since I studied in korea! But since they only have those HUGE ones and I only have like 2 weeks left there, I didn't end up buying it :(( But hey! now i get to try it and remember abt it! This is the beauty of Glamabox :) Oh, I'll tell you how the "repairing" goes, cause I have the worst damaged hair ever! best hair model to try it on :P

2) Talika Bio-Enzyme Renaissance Mask (Anti-aging)

The same brand where we had the tooth whitening and lip volume up pen! hahahaha, tht thing didn't really work on me....I had to go back with whitening stripes or just brush my teeth like 5 times a day :P Well I got the anti-aging one, which is suppose to reduce fine-lines. Well don't really have fine lines apart from my eye area, so I'll give tht to my mum and she'll get back to u XDDD (doubt one mask is gonna make any differences)

3) Caviar extract Anti-Aging Essence

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ANTI-AGING STUFF?! (RAWRRRR). All the ones from last month are still stuck in my drawer! Well this one has a cool packaging so its staying with ME! :D And its suppose to stimulate collagen~ hm..... okay, next

4) Shea Organics She Body Butter

I LOVE SHEA BUTTERS :)) This one says Mother & Baby.... Whhhhaaat?? not a mother nor a baby so.. whatever *open* *sniff*...... right..this thing must be natural or organic, lol its smells, RAW & WOODY! LOL, doesn't have the body shop body butter smell but i tried it although it says store under 25 degrees and erm its 32 degrees here.... Tried it on my legs and its NOT STICKY AT ALL and absorbs very fast. Definitely gonna use this thing when its not above 25 degrees, LOL!

5) Mask House Celebrity Snail Extract Moisturizing Gel Mask

Another paper mask, tbh, I'm not a huge fan on paper mask, cause they ALWAYS gets me allergic and I have this weird feelings towards them. But this one however is from korea, has snail extract and apparently "victoria beckham & princess kate" uses it! LMFAO.....so might give this a try, and be ADVENTUROUS!

6) ANKANG Beauty Restoring Essence

AT LAST! I CAN"T WAIT TO DRINK THIS and actually looking forward to this cause it clams to relieve stress and helps u sleep while giving you collagen and giving both ur skin and your nervous system a boost! well, I have my doubts and we shall see tonight.
But I opened that bottle, *sniff* SMELLS LIKE Chicken essence LOL!!!(got tricked by the pink bottle) *sip* OH MY GOD.....what is that taste?! SUGAR SYRUP WITH CHICKEN ESSENCE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! SOOO WEIRD! Anyhow, still gonna drink the whole thing tonight, throwing it into the fridge for the moment!

Well here it is, all the products for this month's GLAMABOX :D I'll make sure to update all the product reviews asap :) And if you got other products instead of these! OMG PLEASE SHARE WITH ME!!!!! I can't wait for the official announcement! Enjoy and GO SUBSCRIBE if u haven't! HAHAHAHA! its good :)

Oh yes, storing of those empty glamaboxes, well I know some people just toss them, but I just think that they are such cute boxes and it would be such a waste to toss them, so I kept all the old ones :)

And then I just stuff all those skin care products I use only when I have breakouts, some seldom used paper masks and best of all, ALL THOSE TESTERS I GOT from korea :))) Theres now places to store them neat and tight!

I am not one of those people that are crazy over saving the tiny cute earth, but hey! these boxes are pretty and can store things, dun toss this out and buy plastic boxes! Just use them and save some money for another month's subscription fee! LMAO :D Okay I'm done ...phew such a long post!

Don't forget to join my blog, so I can entertain u on a regular basis <3

need water cause the beauty restoring essence thing is still in my mouth lol! arghhh...

Wish I could be determined enough to stand up for my dream

Human always have this tendency of ignoring what you have then staring and wanting what you do not have. In chinese, we have a saying called "rice next door always smells better". It's just like when you are a kid, you would do anything to make yourself grow up faster so u can start going into clubs, doing whatever you want without your parents nagging you. But when you've finally grown, you start to miss those days when you don't have to plan out your own stupid timetable, think about what to wear and worry that one day you will just look old and saggy, sitting in an empty house with cats around you.

This is exactly what I am going through at the moment. When I was in high school, I spent it all on imagining what it will be like to be in Uni, and now I'm in Uni, I spent the 3 years remembering those good old days in high school. Although I would die to relive my high school years, but I was also looking forward to this one special day - university graduation. Wearing that black fancy gown, walking around the school and proudly take photos with friends and family, the day I've been waiting for since the first semester in university and I just can't wait for it to come. But everything I want it to come faster, I seem to ignore all those things i need to sort out before that glamorous day- all the final exams and papers I need to get done, all the decisions I need to make for my future, basically all the pain in the ass shit.

There's only 27 days left for me in university (hopefully), and I realize I've sorted out ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Not only I have not done ANY revision, typed anything for my seminar and most importantly I have not sent out ONE application for jobs / postgraduate studies.

So Doomed 

Well I guess I can finish all the revision and essay in 2 weeks, but what about those that will determine my future? Should I work? Should I continue on studying? Most importantly WHAT job / course I want to study. I swear, up till this second my answer is still a big fucking fat I DON'T KNOW. I tried to figure that out for a long time, well maybe since I was in year 12, but i still do not have an answer. You might wonder why did I choose my current major? lol, cause my dad said it sounds cool. And why did I choose that masters program I am busily applying for? Oh, cause my dad said it would lead to a good career. Yes, I have to admit, its a no brainer that I am NOT going to succeed in any way cause its not even my passion, or something that I like, but as a freaking asian, what ur parents say is like the LAW, there is not way that you can do anything without their approval. Unless your parents tell you to be a lawyer and u said you wanna be a doctor. But since I have nothing to reject their proposal with and I have got the shittiest grades in the world, I just need to go with the flow.

To be honest, I do have things that I kinda like and would want to give it a shot at and since my parents kept telling me that "oh you can do whatever you want, we will support you. we are not stubborn at all", i was naive enough to tell them. I am a super crazy and outgoing person, love socializing and just basically interact with people, I had a dream of becoming a DJ when i was a kid or a PR, a manager for artists etc. I  also spent most of my live watching different TV shows, dramas and following celebrities, therefore I thought about doing communication, journalism or a super cool course i ran into called "TV and Radio script writing". Like a 5 years old kid going up to their parents asking for a toy, i went up to my parents suggesting doing these courses, thinking that they would actually consider it seriously and give a good thought. But within split seconds my mum was like "can u be serious about your future and do something productive, these are just useless crap!". That was the moment i realize, it really doesn't matter what I like, it is the matter of fact if they approve it or if they think it is something they can tell all their friends and family with pride. I guess if i want it bad enough and determined about it, of course i can turn things around, but its my fault that I am a sad little puppy that is too frightened to tell them and to stand up for myself.

Well, I am just saying all these to moan about my life. Yes, I'm a fking coward that is destined to fail since I am not willing to stand up and do something about it. But i guess, this is indeed a safer path to take and I guess i just have to brighten my life up by going to korea more often.

Heading back to revision as I've had enough time moaning about my life and being "unproductive",