My new favorite kdrama- Fashion King

For the past couple of days all I've been doing is watching kdrama shows. Hours within my days have been filled with episode after episode. As soon as I come home from work, my eyes are automatically glued to the screen until they practically dry out. If I didn't have to wake up so early in the morning I would probably watch them all night long too.....marathon style!


I just finished episode three of my new favorite show,  Fashion King. Can I just say, I love it! I'm already hooked and can't wait to for more of the upcoming episodes. 


And I really want that new Samsung Note phone (shown in episode 2.) When I first saw the commercial for it during the Super Bowl I fell in love. Damn you, Sprint, for never carrying the good "toys" first. Four years later and NOW you finally decide to carry the iPhone?! *sigh*


Oh well. Commercial's over. Back to my other show.............

Ulm Minster / Ulmer Münster, Germany

The tallest church in the world

The Ulm Minster (German Ulmer Münster) is the landmark of Ulm and currently the tallest church in the world. The top of the tower measures 161.5m, just four meters taller than the Cologne cathedral, which was the reason, why they decided to build the tower of Ulm Minster so tall - they wanted it to be taller than the landmark of Cologne. That greatly succeeded, nevertheless, the cathedral in Cologne is by far more famous and more often visited than the Minster of Ulm. Personally I like the Minster in Ulm much better than the cathedral in Cologne, because it's not as touristy, not as besieged and much more straight-forward in the architecture (I like tall and pointy much more compared to plainly huge). Read more information here and check my photos below.

View on Ulm Minster from Hirschstrasse.

The spire of the Ulm Minster.

The middle part.

The 161.5m tall Ulm Minster in its full glory.

A photo from below.

The very top zoomed in. You can go up there, if you want.

The inside of the church is huge.

A huge Jesus on a cross is hanging right above the altar, looks morbid.

Lots of coats of arms.

The colorful windows influence the ambiance.

The minster from the side.

Another photo from the side, including the tower.

The very tip of the spire. Next time I will go up there.

The back of the church is under renovation.


View Larger Map

[My ULM post][My TRAVEL WEST page][All photos by MKL, 2011]

Happy hour

I'm lucky to have friends who share the same passion at being food junkies like I am. What better way to end the day than with Happy Hour....on a Monday night. That's how I know we're in search of a good week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

My kpop playlist- March 2012

Boom Shakalaka!!  

That's all there is to say.

BIGBANG- BLUE





BIGBANG- Fantastic Baby





Miss A- Touch





Nine Muses- Ticket





Brave Girls- Nowadays you





Ailee- Heaven





John Park- Falling





2ne1- Scream

My week in a snap

 This week went by in a flash. Spring is now here offering warming days and sunny rays.


I've been wearing the heck out of my new G-Shock Casio watch given to me for my bday. I love it!

 I got this iphone cover for my HK obsessed friend. Birds of a feather flock together.


It's so hard not to get tempted to buy anything when you're trying to save, save, save. I was a good girl and just stuck to window shopping...for the most part.

 And then the money I DID save actually went to eating out with friends. *fail* Totally worth it though.

My reusable shopping bag

With plastic bags almost impossible to break down and paper bags using up more of our resources, it's unfortunate a lot of stores/businesses don't encourage customers to bring their own reusable ones. 


While the plastic bag issue has been a concern for many years, some places have made a great effort in reducing the use of it.


Stores like E-mart and Lotte Mart (Korea) charge for their shopping bags. Others such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods ( United States) offer incentives or take 5-10 cents off your bill.


While some excuses may be the inconvenience of actually carrying around a reusable bag, others admit finding multiple use of plastic bags be it trash liners, etc. Whatever the case may be, I just know one thing. Korea has many reusable options and styles to chose from, so it's hard not wanting to carry one around. 


I got a new bag at E-mart for 3000 won (around $2.50 in US dollars.) I use it every time for light food shopping or unexpected buys at the market. No ajussi's charging me 25 cent for a bag! No siree!


 It's so easy to fold up, throw in, or clip on my purse. Plus, look how cute it is! Oh yeah. Grocery shopping just got that much better.

Ediya Coffee- Patbingsu

I'm not a big coffee drinker, therefore, I don't really care for coffee shops. Maybe it's because all I know there seems to be here in the states is Starbucks, but I haven't really come across a coffee that screams "absolutely delicious!" Although, when I am in the rare mood for coffee, my Maxim sticks usually do the trick.


In Korea, however, there's so many different coffee shops it's hard to choose were to start. Even though I have yet to try Tom N Toms (as many of my friends recommend,) I came across Ediya Coffee. Still, didn't walk in for the coffee, BUT I heard they had some yummy patbingsu. Yes! If you must know, this is my favorite korean dessert and I swear, I wake up in the middle of the night craving it like a mad pregnant woman.


Who wants a banana split when you can have this. Talk about the works, this dessert has everything! There's many variations of it, but the base foundation consist of ice shavings, ice cream, sweet red beans, fruit, rice cake, and sweetened condensed milk. The best, when I come across one that's served with corn flakes. Heaven in mouth.

And just as I thought this cafe couldn't get any cuter, their toilet seat proved me wrong.

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Trader Joe's new Kimchi Fried Rice

If you don't already know, Trader Joe's is one of my all time favorite grocery stores. Actually, it's really the only one. Even though the store offers less than half the size of most grocery chain stores, I always find something new to add to my regular grocery list. Tonight was no exception.


I'm casually grabbing my regular go-to items, when all of a sudden I stop dead in my tracks.........


What is this I see?? Could it be?


 Trader Joe's now sells kimchi fried rice?? Tell me I'm seeing things-

I couldn't believe it! 


Just in case you're wondering, you can find it in the frozen section with all the other varieties of fried rice. (Along with the kalbi and bibim bap. Their bulgolgi is in the deli meat section.)


I haven't tried it yet, being that I just made some the other night for dinner, but I will let you know the verdict as soon as possible.


Another reason why Trader Joe's is the best.


I think it's great that they're starting to integrate Korean food into the "culture" products they offer. 


A big win in my book.

UPDATE:

I finally popped open the bag and gave it a taste test. I made this for lunch with some bulgolgi on the side. The rice was actually pretty good. I thought it would have a bland taste to it judging my the frozen product, but it was really full of the familiar flavor with that slight kick. It tastes pretty darn close to the kimchi fried rice I make at home from time to time.

This is now always in my freezer as a backup. I like how the ingredients are all natural and with items I can actually understand: rice, kimchi (salted napa cabbage,red pepper powder, sweet rice flour paste, garlic, leek, ginger, salt, shitake mushroom), onion, expeller pressed canola oil, green bell pepper, sugar, salt, naturally brewed soy sauce (water, wheat, soybean, salt), red pepper powder, sesame oil.

The only thing that it lacks are the actual kimchi chunks that are shown on the picture of the bag. This may be good for some that don't really care for the pieces of cabbage, but for those that do like more of the kimchi taste and texture, make sure you have some of your own at home because there's only like 5 or 6 pieces per serving (which the bag has  total of like 2.) Other than that, it's pretty much a win win. Good taste, cheap price, and easy to make.