[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Ida Seoul

Posted on by Jamie Liew

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although I now live in Hong Kong, I still keep up to the up and coming restaurants in Seoul. 뭐랄까.. it’s always been my hobby looking at amazing restaurants and I’ve always been very open to try new things. so this trip back, I made it clear that I want to make the most of it by visiting all these restaurants that I’ve been drooling on my computer for so long. truth it, it’s impossible to go to all.  but for a great after exam celebratory brunch with my best friend, this quaint little restaurant in Ikseon-dong was it! (and because it was really good, I am so excited to share my findings with you!) not to mention my current obsession with the Scandinavian style small plates obsession I currently have (for people in HK I recommend Okra! blog post for that soon..!!!)

I was intrigued by this new restaurant mainly because it is somehow opened by a restaurant owner whom owns another successful (and beautiful) restaurant around the corner and how the ingredients are so colourful and attractive in the pictures I saw online. also one of the chefs an adoptee whom’s not afraid of expressing his own version of modified Korean food which makes everything a whole lot more interesting.

NOTE: this place do not sell authentic Korean food, but instead a creative twist (the style here might come across odd for people whom are not as adventurous) on Korean ingredients therefore if you are looking for the traditional and local Korean experience, I recommend you to read my other food posts as I have a lot of them! 

Continue reading “[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Ida Seoul” →

[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Beautiful Hanok Cafes in Seoul

Posted on by Jamie Liew

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while I was in Seoul last autumn, I finally got to go to this new hipster-ish area near Bukchon Hanok Village; Ikseon-dong. unlike Bukchon, this place isn’t situated on the hill but all the homes here, like Bukchon are the only few areas in Seoul where people actually still live in Hanoks. while I have an obsession with Hanoks, I also love Hanok cafes because they seem to be Hanoks at its best.

I guess I was always very fascinated with these Korean traditional buildings because they are sturdy although built without nails, look absolutely phenomenal, normally have a 마루 (Maru; a flat elevated deck) in their yard where people can chill at and great great heating systems; the 온돌 (Ondol).

Continue reading “[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Beautiful Hanok Cafes in Seoul” →

[London] Lyle’s

Posted on by Jamie Liew

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as soon as I reached London, I headed straight to Lyle’s. haven’t heard of it? well, Lyle’s a restaurant that focuses a lot on the natural essence of each ingredient which made it one of the 50 world’s best restaurant. and I couldn’t WAIT to try it. and so I did! and here’s my review about it. mainly because I really liked it (of course!).

Continue reading “[London] Lyle’s” →

[HK: Sheungwan] Frantzen’s Kitchen

Posted on by Jamie Liew

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Frantzen’s Kitchen is probably the only one true Swedish restaurant in HK and it is also opened by Michelin 3 star chef Mr.Bjorn Frantzen who’s restaurant Frantzen is the first Swedish restaurant to get 3 michelin stars. funfact: they just got the 3 stars this year! (the restaurant in Sweden that is.) I was very excited as I actually came here on my birthday and it’s actually my second time having Nordic fine dining, the first being at Taipei’s MUME. and also because of the recent modern cuisine taking the world by storm, especially when NOMA in Denmark was ranked as the best restaurant in the world. have you tried Nordic fine dining yet? Continue reading “[HK: Sheungwan] Frantzen’s Kitchen” →

my fulfilling student life

Posted on by Jamie Liew

hello everyone.

today, I would like to talk about my fulfilling student life. as much as older people tell you “enjoy your student life” and that they say that they wanna go back to that “free” life, I can’t entirely agree. I think it is much more important to have a fulfilling student life. and that, is not by just enjoying, but by creating all these memories that when you look back you’d tell yourself “so much happened, and they were all great memories or an experience to learn from” rather than “I just smoked, clubbed and repeat.” which I never got to understand anyways. but the fulfilling student life I had was in my opinion, the greatest thing happened.

in Korea, people tend to do a lot of club activities and be in groups rather than work alone. being a foreigner, it was never easy to fit into the locals but if you are just true to others, trust me, great friends will come. people around me would know that I am far from being a “chill” person despite how I may portray myself on social media. I am always very anxious, I’m a perfectionist, and I want everything to go as planned. but I do notice that that was/is also my biggest flaw. and I am trying very hard to overcome that.

but did that make me regret? nope, I definitely don’t regret my student life. why?

because I took every opportunity there is. Continue reading “my fulfilling student life” →

[Tokyo] Marukin Ramen

Posted on by Jamie Liew

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hello all! hope you guys love ramen just like I do. in Japan, ramen is deemed to be a man’s food and me liking it made my friends call me a.. ramen-girl because it’s so odd to have a girl as a ramen fan. I used to eat ramen so often that I could eat it everyday! well, because it’s cheap and it’s just so slurpingly good!

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while many people thinks that Ichiran and Ippudo’s the best, the thing that foreigners don’t know is that.. there is a ramen for everyone, and I highly urge everyone to try out different ramens to find their perfect fit! Continue reading “[Tokyo] Marukin Ramen” →

[HK: Wan Chai] Classified — best place for brunch.

Posted on by Jamie Liew

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nothing’s better for an expat working in hectic HK other than Saturday brunches. I just felt like brunch is the only time where I can slow down at this very fast-paced city. there are quite a number of places offering brunch in HK but they are normally over-crowded, not brunch-like and over-priced. but classified, a chic european styled chain here, is really my style. Continue reading “[HK: Wan Chai] Classified — best place for brunch.” →

Living Expenses in HK

Posted on by Jamie Liew

hello all!

it’s been a long time. time flies and I’ve already lived in HK for over 2 months. it’s crazy how fast time goes by when you’re busy at your desk. I thought I would have a lot more time to blog because I get off at 6pm sharp everyday haha but my brain’s pretty much paralysed at the end of every day. but it’s going to be better. I hope. haha.

for today, I thought it would be interesting for me to share about the (crazy) living expenses in one of the most expensive countries in the world.

if you’re a long-time reader, you probably would’ve known that I am very (very very very) frugal. but as frugal as I can be, this city definitely isn’t cheap. at all. and  living expenses here is like 4 times of what I spent back in Seoul, which isn’t the cheapest city out there. the average salary here is 16,000HKD which is around 2,000USD. starting salaries are obviously different across industries but it can go as low as 9,000HKD and as high as 70,000HKD for fresh grads in the financial industry. honestly, it may sound a lot to some people but very little to some as well, especially when HK is considered one of the most expensive cities out there. but let’s do a little breakdown on what’s “normal” from my observations so far. Continue reading “Living Expenses in HK” →

[Seoul: Bukchon] Layered – Cake Cafe

Posted on by Jamie Liew

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so right before leaving Korea, I went to one of the most amazing (and hip) cafe I’ve ever been to. unlike many other cafes’ that’s only pretty and ONLY instagram worthy, this place is a little different because not only is it great for instagram, it has one of the most delectable cakes in Seoul — baked FRESH. Continue reading “[Seoul: Bukchon] Layered – Cake Cafe” →