Sonamu - a Korean dining experience

This culinary adventure started when I visited the Korean stall at Global Day in AUS about two months ago. My expert throwing skills won me a gift certificate for the chef's special set menu for two at Sonamu in Asiana Hotel, Deira. With the expiry date drawing near (precisely in two days :P), I decided to put the voucher to good use and I took my mum along for the ride. We got all dressed up and prepped our tummies for the lunch.

The restaurant was very pretty (unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of it) with a pleasant ambiance and it was tastefully decorated in shades of brown and orange. Though I liked the wooden floors at the entrance, they made my heels sound VERY noisy! The staff were courteous and helpful. As we started tucking into the courses, little did we know that there would be eight of them!! Note that we are people who eat very little, so we weren't quite prepared for the quantity. As for the taste, I was quite impressed and I enjoyed the meal (what I ate of it, that is).

I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality - we were seated in a rather dark corner.

The first course was tuna with lotus chips, and after that came Korean crepes with mustard sauce. There was a bite to the crepes that I think came from horseradish in the filling.

The third course almost caused me to puke though. It was RAW fish on ice. I don't even do cooked fish (except for the canned variety), so I won't even THINK about uncooked fish. Hence, we had to politely asked the waiters to take it away.

Next came some chicken and scallop satay that were quite delish. This was followed by a seafood noodle dish with mushrooms, which we enjoyed. We actually thought that this was the last course before dessert, but we were wrong!

The sixth course was snow fish, which I politely declined because, as I mentioned before, I am not a fan of fish.

After ALL of this came the main course, finally. It was a beef dish with rice and horseradish soup. My mum even asked if there was anything more to come because we were already stuffed. The waiter seemed quite surprised that we were full!!

The dessert was the dish with which I was least impressed. It was some chewy dough with a brown filling. Nothing much to it.

All in all, the whole experience was quite satisfactory, but if you were to ask me if I would go back there, I would probably say, "Only if I get to choose what I eat!"

This is the outfit I picked for the lunch: a blue waterfall skirt, black blouse and black heels with some gold accessories.

Happy eating!

P.S. If the food in the pictures looks half eaten, it probably is - I usually forget to take photos of it before I start eating :P

Mini Shoe Haul

"They had a sale!!!" Isn't that always a valid excuse for stocking up on a few pairs of shoes? So that's exactly what I did last Saturday. I got myself 4 pairs of brand spanking new shoes :D

This first pair isn't part of my recent haul, but I just had to include them. They are so dainty and girly yet have a take charge kind of look. At four inches, they are the highest heels I own.

Every girl needs a pair of white ballet flats and since my old pairs were getting worn out, I grabbed this simple design that will go with any outfit.

Here are my reasons for buying the following pair: Shoe express was having an amazing sale and I don't have pink shoes! Quite simple isn't it?

I think these boots are just fab! And I'm totally loving the floral design on the inside and the versatility of the boots; you can wear them pulled up or folded down :)

The last pair I snagged was these lovely, lace boots in a beige color. They are girly, but the cut makes it edgy.

Of course, this leaves me with the dilemma of how I'm going to carry all my shoes to Canada and if I'll have space to keep them, but it's worth the doing a bit of planning for!

Happy styling!

BreakFAST

Since I haven't done a cooking post in a while, I decided to take to the kitchen for some b'fast. One thing you must know about me, however, is that my breakfast recipes need to be super quick because my stomach does not have the patience to endure a half an hour of cooking. Hence, these almond pancakes were the perfect recipe with which to start the day.

All I used was half a cup of almond flour, about a half teaspoon of cinnamon, some stevia and four eggs (you can add only the egg whites if you wish). The original recipe called for some nutmeg too, but since I'm not a fan  of the spice, I eliminated it. The next step is to put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk away with a fork.

Then, pour the batter in a pan (add some oil beforehand) and cook till you've got beautiful almond pancakes!!

I added some pancake syrup and strawberry sauce for some added sweetness (and yes, sadly, one of them got messed up when I flipped it over). The entire process took me all of ten minutes, so I had a satisfied tummy :) The pancakes taste like nutty omelettes and I'm loving it the new flavor!!

Happy cooking!

OOTDs from loooong ago

Here is a collection of some of my rather ancient outfits. They are some of my faves though :)

This ensemble was put together for a day out in Dubai with Christine Castillo. I'm wearing a black chiffon blouse with a white heart print, tucked into a pair of blue shorts, along with my blue suede boots.

Below is a shot of what I wore for one of the Honor's Convocations at uni. I belted in the white dress to give it more of an A-line shape and added the black bolero and a pair of dainty black wedges.

This was the outfit I selected for my first day out in Paris. I had to include a pair of leggings and the cardigan to protect against the unexpected rain and wind. I bought the flower print jumpsuit at Forever 21.

The attire I chose for our trip to Versailles was a pair of culottes, with a tucked-in horizontal striped tee and my cardigan (once again for the cold). Both the top and bottom are from Forever 21 (clearly, one of my favorite shops!!).

That's all for now.

Happy styling!

The Flower Shop Mysteries

Bloomers is a charming little flower store that can be found in the small town of New Chapel, Indiana. With two bay windows flanking the yellow framed door, it also houses a dainty coffee shop. This establishment is frequented by college students and law enforcement officials from the courthouse in the town square. Its owner, Abigail Knight, is a lively, energetic persona and she is assisted by the lovely Grace and Lottie.

Oh, and did I mention that Bloomers is fictional? So are Abby and her assistants. Where do they exist, you may ask. In the pages of Kate Collins' Flower Shop Mystery books. Of the thirteen books in the series, I have read six and they have left me utterly captivated. The protagonist, Abby Knight, isn't your usual perfect heroine. She's got her own share of flaws that make her more relatable to readers. She has a tendency to get herself involved in sticky situations that take her on roller-coaster adventures!

She is an amateur 'detective' who likes to poke her nose into other people's business (invited or not) that most likely puts her smack-bang in the middle of a mystery. Yet, there is a certain quirkiness to her character that I find irresistible (and at times, slightly annoying). She is stubborn but gets the job done, so there's always a happy ending :)

A recurring character that adds spice to the story is Marco Salvare, former Army Ranger (he provides the romance factor). A bunch of other eccentric personalities, such as her mother and cousin, make appearances that provide for comic relief. The plot may not always seem realistic and sometimes, makes you wonder how so much of drama can take place in a small town, but it allows you to let your own imagination run wild. Kate Collins takes the reader along for the ride; I tried my hand at playing detective and made attempts to solve the mysteries as I read the books. This series is for those who want light reading with a bit of a thrill.

These are the titles I've read in the series (aren't the covers themselves so adorable?). I would love to read all the other books in the series, so that I can get my dose of comedic adventure!

Nails galore

I am one of those girls who LOVES doing her nails AND experimenting with colors and designs. Strangely, I never used to be like this when I was younger; you could say that I almost feared nail polish!!! Then, when I was in my teens, I got into glitter nail polish, but still shunned colored varnish. It was only after I came to the UAE that I became bolder and boy am I glad I did! I haven't really documented my nail escapades very properly, but here are the few pictures I managed to dig up.

I just love the vividness of this turquoise green ("Fly" by OPI). I know it's difficult to see, but I added some gold polka dots on the ring finger and thumb.

The color is "Thanks a windmillion" by OPI.

This vintage floral pattern by Bubzbeauty had me jumping with joy. And it's NOT difficult to do. The only tool I used was a toothpick!

Here, I've used "I have a herring problem"  by OPI and added some glitter to the base of my ring finger and thumb.

 More polka dots!!!

My most recent manicure is a light pastel shade by the name of "Planks a lot" by OPI. I added some cute kitty cat nail stickers.

Happy styling!

P.S. I'd love to meet the person who names the colors by OPI :P

DIY Home decor

It's quite possible to turn almost anything into a DIY project, home decor included, so I decided to dabble in it a bit and came up with quite a few creations. You don't need a lot of costly materials - just some items from the dollar store, super glue and spray paint, and you're good to go!

My first project is a re-purposed picture frame which I spray painted in white. I simply added some backing paper, ribbon and sequins to the background of the frame and turned it into a vanity tray that now sits on my dressing table. It's quite nifty for organizing the accessories/ make-up that I plan on wearing the next day.

While I love the color of my phone cover, I thought it needed more personality. This came in the form of some lace and a few rhinestones scattered here and there. This way, it's unique and all glammed up without the need for spending too much :)

I just loved my Body Shop strawberry body butter so much, that I didn't have the heart to throw the container away when it was finished. Hence, I spruced it up a bit and made it a container for my bobby pins. And there's no arguing that it's eco-friendly ;)

I picked this innovative idea off YouTube. It's a canvas frame to which I glued some material with holes in it (no idea what it's called :S). Any clue what it is? It's an earring holder. Genius right?? Plus, it's a great gift idea.

This is yet another project straight from the video realm of YouTube. It's supposed to be a jewelry stand, but it can be simply used as a free-standing ornament. All I had to do was super glue two plates together with a candle stand in between and add some paper roses to the base. I adore the way the red stands out against the pastel colors of the plates.

Here's yet another stand (this time, with three tiers). I added a dessert cup to the top. All the items were white which was quite blah, so I spray painted them in this gorgeous mint green. The black ribbon and white and lavender paper roses contrast yet complement the green (it took me AGES to make the roses, but in the end, it was worth it).

This was originally a boring jewelry box which I recycled to make look like foiled metal. I topped it off with the leaves, which were a pair of earrings that I never wore, and a paper rose.

Aren't these erasers the cutest? Though their functionality is rather questionable :P However, their versatility came in handy and I converted them into embellishments for my empty jar. It currently has no use, so it's just sitting there looking pretty on my study table. Any suggestions as to what I could fill it up with?

I recycled another body butter tub and added fruity erasers to the lid to cutify it :)  Okay, so the eggplant isn't a fruit, but whatever, it lends color to the whole arrangement :P

I hope to start more projects like these very soon :)

Happy DIYing!

Avocado chocolate mousse

For some reason, my cravings for sweets have increased recently, but I also don't want to gorge on sugary treats. This has led to my extensive search for healthier alternatives. Since I had a ripe avocado sitting in my fruit basket, I decided to put it to good use and make a mousse out of it.

Avocados contain healthy fats and have fiber which can keep you feeling full for quite some time. They also aid in the absorption of nutrients and help to maintain steadier blood sugar levels.

Now, onto the recipe which is as simple as ABC! Peel and mash the avocado, add some cocoa powder, vanilla essence and a sweetener (Stevia, honey, date syrup etc.) and voila, you have creamy chocolatey goodness!! I layered some crumbled sugar-free shortbread cookies between the mousse to add some texture, and my sweet tooth was satisfied. The mousse with vanilla ice cream is another divine combo!!

Happy cooking!