Are you a BTS Army? Are you heading to Seoul soon? Do you love delicious Korean food? If your answers to these 3 questions are a solid yes, then you must plan a trip down to Yoojung Sikdang! Yoojung Sikdang was featured on Rookie King when the Bangtan boys revealed on the show that it was their go-to restaurant during their pre-debut, trainee days. I had no idea what to expect at Yoojung Sikdang other than "Korean food", but according to the boys, Yoojung Sikdang serves food that tastes like their mothers' cooking, and so I decided to have faith in the boys and just go for it!
Address: Yoojung Sikdang, Dosan-daero 28-gil, Nonhyeon 1(il)-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea (click for google map link)
The nearest station is Sinsa Station, and although it is no where near the station itself, I would say it is still a walkable distance. We did take awhile to find the restaurant, but I think the key thing to take note of is that this restaurant is located at a really quiet area with not much shops surrounding it. So if you find yourself at a really, really quiet area... You're probably on the right track.
From the outside, I could already see the walls plastered with photos, posters, and banners of the boys. Entering the restaurant was like entering a whole new BTS world.
Ordering the food was a little bit of a struggle even though an English menu was available. We didn't really understood what the menu was describing, moreover when we tried to order the first dish on the menu which was called something like "veggie wrap rice", she told us that we had to order 2 servings of that which made us really confused since we wanted to order the bibimbap too. This is just based on my experience, but after we couldn't decide on what to order (because she basically insisted that we have to order 2 servings of the first dish), she simply walked off and ignored us for awhile. I'm not sure if she was pissed at us but in the end, we decided to order what she suggested which was 2 servings of the "veggie wrap rice" plus one bibimbap.
We went during lunch time (~2PM on a Sunday) and it was pretty packed as the restaurant is actually kinda small, but there were no troubles getting a table. Most of the customers were fans, but there were also locals who just popped in not knowing that this is actually a popular spot for BTS fans. A group of locals sat next to us too and I overheard them saying that they are surprised at how many foreigners are in the restaurant! We also chatted with them a little during our meal.
The food arrived and it was obviously way too much for the two of us. A family of 4 who sat next to us literally had the same order, but we had no complains! The food was one of the best we ever had in Korea and wiped everything out (hehe). In case you're just as confused as us, 2 servings of "veggie wrap rice" is actually a set of that massive pan of pork, soondubu (tofu stew), 2 bowls of rice, and some fresh veggie leaves. We kinda understood why she insisted on that 2 servings after finding out that "veggie wrap rice" was a set. I'm probably the worse blogger ever because I forgot how much this costs, but if I'm not mistaken, it's around 10,000won - 12,000won per serving.
The bibimbap is my favourite! I'm not sure what the pork dish was seasoned in, but the bibimbap had the same flavour and pork in it, as well as a mixture of seaweed and lettuce. Yes, unlike the traditional bibimbap where you'll find carrots, radish, beansprouts, basically all the veggies I don't eat, this one only has seaweed and lettuce! Again, I don't remember the exact price but I'm pretty sure it was about 9,000won - 10,000won.
Dump your bowl of rice in it and mix it up! Fun fact, there is a nickname for this bibimbap and it's called "Bangtan"! So don't be surprised when you hear the staff shouting "방탄 하나!" ("Bangtan hana" which means 1 serving of "Bangtan").
My boyfriend wasn't that keen on visiting Yoojung Sikdang since to him, it just sounds like a gimicky restaurant to scam die-hard BTS fans. But his opinion completely changed as like I said, this was hands down one of the best meals we had in Korea. If we'll ever go back to Seoul again one day, Yoojung Sikdang will definitely be in my itinerary, not because of BTS, but because of the delicious food. Even if you're not a fan of BTS, I highly recommend you to visit this restaurant for some awesome Korean food!
Labels: BTS, food, korea, lifestyle, review, seoul, travel
If you've watched my
Korea Beauty Haul, you'll know that I finally got my hands on the highly raved
Krave Beauty skincare products! I've been wanting to try them out ever since I found out that they are Youtuber Liah Yoo's very own skincare line, but because Krave Beauty only ships within the US, I had to arrange a meetup with the Krave Beauty team in Seoul to get them at the original retail price. Arranging the meetup was super easy, just e-mail them at least a week or two before your trip and they will let you know all the details such as the stocks availability, payment methods, meetup point, etc. The meetup point is subjected to change, but I met them at Nonhyeon station which is around Gangnam area.
Since it required quite an effort to get their products, I decided to bite the bullet and just try everything they had to offer. I didn't start using all the products at once, but it has been 2~3 months since I got them and so I think it's time to give my honest review about all the products.
Starting with the
Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser (US$16, 16,000won), I was most excited about this one because I was actively in search of a gentle cleanser to replace my pricey, beloved, Drunk Elephant Beste No.9 Jelly Cleanser. This being only 16,000won, I thought it'd be an affordable replacement and so I actually bought 2 of this.
The key ingredients of this cleanser listed on their website are matcha, hemp seed oil, coco -betaine, boco-glucoside, decyl glucoside, vitamin B5 and sodium PCA. Looking at the ingredient list, there isn't any problematic ingredients such as sls, fragrance, or drying alcohols which is definitely a good sign that this is indeed what it is, a gentle hydrating cleanser. Being acne prone, of course the existence of hemp seed oil got my attention, even though hemp seed oil has a comedogenic rating of 0 and is usually marketed as an oil that is suitable for "all skin types", if you have severe acne prone skin (a.k.a you have pores that easily get clogged), I would still suggest you avoid all kinds of oils since oils
are clogging.
I felt that it was worth giving it a shot, I don't really have severe acne, moreover I even bought 2 of this, I
have to love it. So I started using this pretty much a couple of days after I came back from Korea, and after about 2 - 3 weeks, I had to stop as it just wasn't working for me.
First of all, I wasn't fond of the texture at all. It felt powdery for some reasons (maybe the matcha?) and although it did foam a little due to the existence of surfactants, I just didn't like how it felt on my skin. I must say that it was very gentle as it didn't leave my skin feeling tight or dry after cleansing, but at the same time, I never really felt like my skin was well-cleansed as compared to the Drunk Elephant Jelly Cleanser which made my skin feel very well-cleansed and at the same time, it was non-drying. My skin was improving steadily until I started this cleanser. After realizing that I was constantly breaking out
again, I figured out that it was time to switch out my cleanser again. I decided to try the Cosrx Good Morning Low Ph Gel Cleanser because this was a cleanser I used in the past and I remembered it worked great with my skin as I did recommend it in a video talking about
the best K-beauty skincare products for breakouts. In comparison, the Cosrx Good Morning Low Ph Gel Cleanser does feels a little bit more drying and harsher, but somehow it worked for me and a few days after the change, my skin begun improving again. Currently, I'm very happy with the Cosrx Good Morning Low Ph Gel Cleanser, especially because it is only 9,000won.
Overall, the Krave Beauty Matcha Hemp Hydrating cleanser is a very gentle cleanser with no harsh and drying ingredients. But honestly, there isn't anything attractive in this cleanser for people oily skin and so I definitely will not repurchase it.
Next up, the
Kale-Lalu-yAHA (US$25, 25,000won). This is marketed to be a gentle exfoliator as it contains 5.25% of Glycolic acid (AHA), a chemical exfoliant, which will help increase cell turnover rate, decrease the chances of clogged pores and therefore improving the overall skin texture. Along with AHA, this toner is also formulated with antioxidants like kale, spinach, parsley, and moisturizing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin. Another key point to take note of is this toner also has a pH level of 3.5 to 4 which is close to our skin's pH level.
Now I've had both, good and bad experience with glycolic acid. The Drunk Elephant's T.L.C Glycolic Night Serum worked wonders on certain parts of my face, but it also gave certain parts of my face a chemical burn since it does contains a very high concentration (
ahem, 12%) of AHA. So while I did love the results I see on the parts that could withstand the intensity, I had to stop using it ultimately because of the damage it was doing to the other parts of my skin. Seeing that this toner only contains 5.25% of AHA, which Liah states is a good amount for her, I decided to slowly incorporate it into my skincare routine, using it only twice to thrice a week as recommended on the bottle.
The first 2 weeks went well as there weren't any irritations, possibly also because I was being very careful with it and only applying the thinnest layer possible. I could barely tell any difference in my skin as compared to when I was using the Drunk Elephant's T.L.C Framboos Glycolic Night Serum but that's fine since this is a much gentler exfoliator. Until the third week of using this, my skin suddenly reacted to it and it was so bad that I actually had to wash it off after the stinging feeling didn't go away within a minute. I thought everything was fine since I washed it off, but it actually made the lower part of my face peel for days. Obviously, I stopped using it after and decided to come to a conclusion that this isn't a product for me.
Nevertheless, I don't think you should distance yourself from this product as the ingredients do appear promisingly gentle and it is also free of harmful drying ingredients. To top it up, I used to use the Pixi Glow Tonic which contains 5% Glycolic acid (and fragrance!! :( ) and my skin didn't react to it at all which means it is very possible that the lower portion of my face was still in the midst of healing and it could be entirely my fault for introducing glycolic acid to it again so soon. Either way, glycolic acid is known to be one of the stronger AHAs and so if you have sensitive skin like mine (i.e the lower portion of my face where all my breakouts are occurring), you can consider other gentler AHAs like Mandelic acid or Latic acid instead. If you're like me and you're attempting to restore your skin barrier due to over-exfoliation, I will suggest you to completely stay away from acids for the time being.
Moving on, as I've mentioned, I am currently trying to restore my skin barrier, especially on the lower portion of my face after over-exfoliating with chemical exfoliants. Therefore, I was immediately attracted to the
Great Barrier Relief (US$28, 28,000won) as you can already tell from the name, this is literally a product that is marketed to help restore one's skin barrier.
The key ingredients are tamuna oil, saffflower oil, rose hip seed oil, NMF, ceramides, squalane, and niacinamide. The first 3 oils are included for it's ability to recover damaged skin, including hyper-pigmentation and acne scars, while the remaining active ingredients are known to provide high levels of moisture. Niacinamide, also known as vitamin B3, is also a well-loved ingredient in skincare for it's ability to reduce inflammation, redness, and excessive sebum production.
So once again, being acne prone, I wasn't sure about this product because it is an oil-heavy product (and remember,
all these oils are clogging!) but nevertheless, I gave it a go because I mean I bought it already, and miraculously, I would say, I actually felt a huge improvement in my skin overnight. Prior to using this product, my skin would get so itchy, a.k.a irritated, but after using this for just one night, the itchiness just went away. Despite the amount of oils in this serum, the texture of this serum is surprisingly lightweight and overall just feels like a light facial oil. After I felt like my skin got better, which is probably about 3 to 4 days later, I immediately stopped using it.
While I really like how fast it worked in calming down my skin and providing my skin with a ton of hydration as a quick fix, I really do not like how this contains so much oils as down the road, clogging will definitely come since tamuna oil itself has a comedogenic rating of 3 which is rather high. Even though these oils claims to be able to provide a ton of skincare benefits, like it helps with the fading of scars, it promotes healing, etc, all these benefits looks really attractive to people with acne prone skin but you can actually get these benefits from other ingredients, without the risk of them clogging your pores. For example, treating your skin gently and making sure it's properly moisturize will also promote healing, aloe vera promotes healing, using chemical exfoliants help fade acne scars, niacinamide itself reduces redness. Maybe these oils will work quicker in delivering your these benefits, but at the same time, it might also be causing you reoccurring breakouts, so it's really up to you to decide whether you want to be patient and go the long way that'll definitely bring you to your final destination, or take a shortcut but risk ending up going around in circles.
Eventually, this isn't something I will repurchase but unlike the first two products, I still reach out to this at times whenever I feel like my skin, particularly my neck and hands, needs it. I will not be using this on my face any time soon because of the oils. I think people with normal to dry, and non-acne prone skin will love this product because it does have a really nice, light and smooth texture. It doesn't contain any harmful ingredients, and it also smells really good.
Finally, we have our final product which is
The Beet Shield (US$20, 20,000won). I am just gonna go straight to the point and say that I am actually disappointed that this product has alcohol in it. Although Krave beauty did explain why they chose to put in a large amount of alcohol (it is the fourth ingredient) in this sunscreen on their website, and although they have also said that their test on a group of users didn't reflect any signs of irritation or negative reactions, they have also state that they wouldn't recommend this to anyone who has skin diseases like rosacea. I don't know about you but rosacea, like eczema, is a type of skin disease which you can actually develop, so instead of waiting until I got rosacea to avoid this product, I thought it would be wiser to just avoid it since let me tell you, there are a whole bunch of sunscreens in this world that doesn't contain alcohol.
I am obsessed with sun care and because it is an essential for everyday wear, i.e. it's something you must use, every single day, I've been testing out many different sunscreens. During this period of 2 months, I've used a total of 4 different sunscreens; Supergoop's Unseen sunscreen, Etude House's Sunprise Natural Corrector sunscreen, Some By Mi's Truecica Mineral 100 Calming sunscreen and The Beet Shield. Out of all 4 sunscreens, although the Etude House and Some By Mi sunscreen contains a small amount of fragrance, The Beet Shield is the only one that contains alcohol in it, moreover it's the fourth ingredient in the list. Therefore, even though I do like the texture of this sunscreen, it is very lightweight which creates a lovely base for makeup, it doesn't leave a white cast, it actually feels refreshing and moisturizing to wear... This is definitely not something I will repurchase. Ingredients such as alcohol and fragrance can cause damage to your skin and this might not be noticeable until a couple of years later. So even if it feels good at the moment and you don't see any irritations, it still isn't good for your skin.
If you want recommendations for sunscreens, so far the best one I've used with no problematic ingredient is the Supergoop Unseen sunscreen and the Bioderma Photoderm sunscreen. These sunscreens do not contains alcohol, essential oils, or any other drying ingredients. The Bioderma does have fragrance but since it is the last ingredient, it shouldn't be capable of damaging your skin at all as it probably only has like less than a tiny drop of it.
Overall, I really appreciate that most of the products do not contain harsh ingredients, making them suitable for most people, in a sense that if you're not acne-prone, it's most likely that the products from Krave Beauty will be suitable for your skin since they will not cause further dryness or damage to your skin. Unfortunately, they didn't really work well with my current skin which is acne prone, and damaged.
Labels: beauty, face, haul, korean, review, skincare
Love Korean fashion but hate shipping fees? Well then here are the 5 Korean fashion brands you must check out while in Seoul! Majority of these fashion brands are not only unavailable here in Singapore, but their flagship stores are also worth visiting even if you're not buying any clothes (yknw,
Instagram?).
2 years ago, I wrote a blog post on the
10 best places to shop at in Seoul and that blog post still stays very relevant as of today so if you're interested in that, feel free to read that once you're done with this post!
1. Chuu 츄 | click here for online store
Chuu is a Korean brand that offers not only clothing and accessories, but even stationery, phone cases, and plush toys! Fashion wise, they offer a huge variety of different styles - basic, cutesy, formal, you name it. One of my favourite is definitely their pajamas range but sadly I didn't get any because I already own the BT21 pajamas so any more would be too much. Another one of my favourite from Chuu is of course, the infamous -5kg jeans! They actually have a +5cm jeans collection but I haven't tried that yet though I know yeah I probably need them...
Chuu's first flagship store is located at Hongdae, and although it requires you to walk a little (maybe a 10 minutes walk?), it is just right opposite the Style Nanda flagship store so you can hop over there after you're done with Chuu. Chuu also just recently opened their new flagship store at Myeongdong and lemme tell ya, you have to visit that outlet. I did upload a separate post for Chuu, so
click here if you're interested to read more about Chuu and their flagship stores!
Don't let the extravagant interior design fool you as their prices are actually very reasonable! I actually bought a total of 5 pairs of jeans from Chuu and you can see them in my Korean Fashion Haul where I've included the name of the jeans as well as the prices. Some of the jeans were pricier (~35,000won) as they were from a different collection, but the basic ones were only 18,000won each! For good quality jeans that has a brand... I'd say it's a steal. Ah yes, I also bought a button down shirt and it was only ~12,000won!
2. Style Nanda 스타일난다 | click here for online store
I'm sure you know Style Nanda, but there are a ton of Style Nanda stores all over Seoul, mainly the flagship store at Hongdae, the Style Nanda Cinema store at Apgujeong, and the Style Nanda Pink Hotel at Myeongdong. So which one's worth visiting? Well for me, my favourite one is the one at Hongdae. Firstly, it's the biggest and therefore has the full collections, and once again, located further from the subway, I find that this one is generally quieter than the other 2 outlets.
This is the only outlet that has a photobooth, and it's FREE! That itself is enough reason for me to visit, to be honest, but there are another reason. Recently, it has opened a new pink pool cafe at the top floor and it's freaking cute. And it smells delicious!!
Sadly, we didn't dine there because we already went to the pink pool cafe at the Myeongdong outlet which was so tiny in comparison. During our visit to the pink pool cafe at Myeongdong, we ordered the Lemon Detox and Iced Americano and both tasted horrible. Just thought I'd mention it.
I thought the prices were pretty reasonable too for a well-known brand like Style Nanda and I love their jewelry! Whilst you're there, make sure you check out the sales section on the second floor (of the Hongdae flagship store) too.
3. Im Vely 임블리 | click here for online store
I discovered Im Vely after I started using their makeup and skincare line, Vely Vely. If you've been following me then you'll know that I love Vely Vely products and have been using their products for over a year now. I follow their founder Im Jihyun on Instagram who is a Korean fashion influencer and so she often posts outfits with clothing and accessories from Im Vely. Apart from female fashion, Im Vely also offers men's wear, and she even has a homeware collection!
The Im Vely flagship store is located near Hapjeong and Sangsu station, but it is also walkable from Hongdae. I suppose it is because it's not located directly at the hot spots, the entire building was kinda empty which was nice and made photo-taking really easy heh. I didn't buy anything in the end because I ran out of money, but the flagship store was so cute it was worth going! It also has a gorgeous cafe on the top floor.
Exit the store, turn right, and you'll be able to find a photobooth there too! The sad thing is, it's not free and I think it was 5,000won.
4. Mixxmix 믹스엑스믹스 | click here for online store
Mixxmix is an affordable Korean brand that offers clothing that are more street-style and casual. Many celebrities and K-idols such as Red Velvet, Song Jihyo, Kim Sejong (Gugudan), etc, were also spotted wearing their clothing!
I don't think I can consider the Mixxmix store as a "flagship" store, but they do have a physical store just opposite the Chuu Myeongdong flagship store. The store had 2 levels and was pretty empty... In a sense that they didn't had a lot of clothing or racks. Despite the affordable prices, I did not purchase anything though because I felt like I don't suit the street-style look but if you're the kind who loves street-style, this brand is worth checking out!
5. Aland 에이랜드 | click here for online store
Aland is another famous store in Korea and thus has countless of outlets... Everywhere. It has an outlet in Hongdae, Apgujeong, and even two outlets in Myeongdong itself. The biggest outlet I've been to so far is the one at Apgujeong where there are a total of 3 levels if I'm not mistaken. They sell clothing and accessories from many different brands so you can find different styles of clothing and apparel in every price range in just one store.
I do feel like most of their clothing are again more street-style and so I've never bought any fashion items from Aland, but whenever I see an Aland store, I step right into it because Aland is also the place where you'll be able to find beauty brands such as Heimish, Cosrx, Klairs, Mizon, Beauty People, and more. Ah and they also have cute gadget accessories and stationery which will make great souvenirs! I didn't take photos of their clothing selection since I always go straight to the beauty section, but you can browse through their online store to check out what they have.
Labels: fashion, korea, korean, lifestyle, seoul, tips, travel
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