When in Seoul: Andong Jjimak

Living in Seoul for 5 months on a student budget was tough. I survived thanks to milk, free study-hard noodles, and those “military” tasteless free biscuits given out in Myeongdongs. (Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit here as I also get to occasionally buy $5 pizza from Pizza School and splurge a bit with a cup of Dunkin Donuts Caramel Macchiato.)  This is why I promised myself that I’ll buy a fancy (or at least good) meal or two when I visit again. And when I finally did, we had a nice start with…

Andong Jjimak.

Thanks to my good friend, R who happens to be a very fluent and you’d-think-is-local, we got to discover Andong Jjimak. He said that it was one of his favorite restaurants in Myeongdong and even thought of bringing it in Manila. Hearing these from him made my expectations really high.

And seeing the place packed seems to prove it. We were lucky though as the diners eat fast here.

We opted to get Jjimak (37,000 ₩, one and half order good for 3-4 pax) and four bowls of rice.

While waiting, we enjoyed the free appetizers—pickled radish and spicy kimchi.

The pickled radish was pretty refreshing and cleanses the palate while the spicy kimchi was…spicy. One bite was enough for me as it made me gag. (Yes, my tolerance for anything spicy is very low.)

Service was pretty quick and our huge bowl of jjimak was served in less than 10 minutes.

Taking Gifting to the Next Level

Christmas is just around the corner. (Okay, a few more corners.) The trickling Christmas decors are all over the Metro and despite the intense heat, I still want to sing, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." And with November halfway over, I started to think... what do I want to give my loved ones and myself this holiday season?

And so... here's my shopping list this Christmas. Let's start off with my parents.

I want to give them the gift of HEALTH.

With my parents not getting any younger, I want them to stay strong and mobile. Before, I was supportive of them learning how to use the new technology but I realized how much time they wasted in just sitting and staring at small screens. 

I plan to buy them something that will make them fit. Simple free weights and workout outfits would be a nice start for this. Let's throw in a few workout videos. (Or they could just search YouTube too for that. Yay for free workout videos!)

As for my sister who looks so frail, I want to give her a bucket of fat! (I kid.)

I want to give her the gift of SUCCESS.

We all heard it before. We are how we dress. If we dress poorly, then chances are, we won't make it up the ladder (which is usually true if you want to go corporate). There were also studies that show that those who dress smarter and wear make up to work are more often than not paid higher than others who dress not as sharp or do not groom themselves as well as their colleagues. 

Given this, I want to buy my sister a few sharp office outfits that are bound to impress and a few cosmetics to make her look lovelier. (Because she already thinks she's pretty.)

For R who makes my heart skip a beat every time, I want to give him the gift of HAPPINESS.

I know R is happy to some extent but no one can ever say that he or she is too happy. The nice thing about these gifts--health, success and happiness, is that it is limitless. I want him to experience a different kind of happiness through cooking. 

I love to bake and he likes sweets. I think that those two are perfect. A nice baking day would be a fun experience for us and a nice memory to keep (and hopefully yummy brownies to enjoy). 

Oh, let's also throw in a new pair of bedroom slippers as he had to give away the ones he recently bought. 

For myself, I want the gift of CREATIVITY.

Well, technically, you can't buy creativity (which I wish I could) but there are ways that could help me discover (if there is) and enhance my skills. 

I plan to buy some canvas to practice painting and hang on my empty wall my masterpiece no matter what it'll look like. I also intend to buy some oil pastel in case I fail with using real paint. Let's also add an apron for the artist feel. And if I surprisingly do well, I'll definitely give my love ones some artworks too!

Promo Alert: Max's Chicken All-You-Can stars this July 17!

THIS. IS. IT. The wait is over. (Sort of.) Max’s has announced the start of its well-loved Chicken All-You-Can promo.

The chicken lovers have spoken and they chose Friday as the Chicken All-You-Can day! So mark your calendars now. The feast will start on July 17, 2015 and will continue every Friday until August 14, 2015 from 6 PM to 10 PM.

For only PHP229, you get served a quarter fried chicken with a glass of any Pepsi product. You could request for another fill of quarter fried chicken when you finish the one on your plate.  And just like any eat-all-you-can promos, sharing is not allowed. This is also not available for take-out, deliveries and conjunction with any other existing promos.

See you soon, fellow chicken lovers! I’m targeting to finish 2 whole chickens (8 servings) this time.

-Gluttonshopper

McDonald's Happy Meal Alert: The Minions Are Back!

I still remember how much nuggets I ate just to complete my Minions Happy Meal toys. I had a Happy Meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three consecutive days! And yes, I manage to complete it before they ran out of toys. *mwahahahaha*

I was pretty surprised though that McDonald’s thought of pre-ordering for the fans this year. I guess they received a lot of complaints last time.

Interested to pre-order and complete your collection hassle-free? If yes, then here are the steps to having your new batch of minions:

Go to any Mcdonald’s store from June 15-20, 2015.

Pre-order your complete set of Minions Happy Meal at the front counter for PHP949.

The Happy Meals are pre-selected and these are the inclusions:

                -Complete set of Minions Happy Meal Toys (10 pieces)

                -4 Burger McDo with regular fries Happy Meals

                -2 Chicken McDo Happy Meals

                -2 McSpaghetti Happy Meals

                -2 Burger McDo Happy Meals

You will be given a claiming stub which you must keep along with the official receipt of the pre-order transaction.

Notes:

1. Claiming of HAPPY MEALS starts June 15 and ends August 19, 2015. Coupons are no longer valid beyond these dates. Claiming of MINION HAPPY MEAL TOYS starts June 25 and ends August 24, 2015. Coupons are no longer valid beyond these dates. No stub and official receipt, no redemption.
2. Want a lot of minions? You can order up to 3 complete sets! If you want 4 or more, you have to bring a friend along to buy because pre-orders are limited to 3 sets per person.
3. Only PWD discount of 20% is applicable for this promo.
4. Pre-order is not available in Boracay branches.

I’m not sure if I’ll avail of the promo though as I’m not fond of the meals included. I want McNuggets! I’m a nuggets person and they did not include it. (I guess to make the total price more attractive?) I’m okay with “upgrading” if needed. Well, we’ll see. :)

-Gluttonshopper

All images are from McDonald's Philippines' Facebook Page