It's been one month since my officemates and I decided to go on food trips every once in a while. And by "every once in a while," it means every pay day (or ako lang ba ang nag-iisip nito??! Chars.) Oh well. It's our second session and we have decided to eat at one of eLBi's most popular food trip getaways: Seoul Kitchen.

As a frequent customer, I would always order one of SK's best sellers: red chili carbonara, the popular creamy "white" and bacon-y pasta with a little touch of chili and spice. 

This time, however, I decided to try my friend's recommendation: the oriental chicken pasta. Maiba naman. The dish is good, sweet, and savory but personally, I would still prefer the red chili carbonara. HAHA. (Not really a fan of sweet pasta dishes, sareeh).  

Aside from the good food and Korean MVs shown on the resto's TV screen, the homey and relaxing ambience plus the cute architecture (and eating utensils, lol) contributed a lot on why I prefer Seoul Kitchen among the many other restos in eLBi.

Location: 9005 Pearl Corner F.O. Santos, Umali Subd., Los Banos, Laguna 4030 (nostalgia feels~)

Price Range: Around Php 90-200~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ [4/5]

Ravioli Lasagna

Kalderetang Batangas

Kani Salad

Seafood Pizza

Red Velvet Cake

Blueberry Cheesecake

Tea

"Kung pagod ka na at ayaw mo lang bumigay dahil ayaw kitang bitawan, wag mo na kong isipin. I'll be fine." These were the exact words I told my Beni last Saturday. 

We were both sick and bed-ridden for almost a week. For me, I got a lot better after taking lots of medicines, but that's not the case for my canine bestfriend. He was with me for 11 loving years and it seems the time has come to finally bid our goodbye. 

A few months earlier, our veterinarian found a variety of lumps over his body but the most alarming was the hand-sized cyst on his neck. He was diagnosed with cancer. Of course, I broke down after I heard the diagnosis and our vet told us that he needs to undergo surgery to remove the cyst and also needs chemotherapy afterwards. We didn't dare to take the risk as it is not practical and the very low probability that he can survive the treatment considering Beni's age.

I would like to call it a miracle that the lumps eventually subside a few weeks after diagnosis. Even the hand-sized cyst also dried up. I was really thankful for that short-term miracle and that we were given the chance to shower him with love a little bit longer.

But then, 11 years is no joke. His age actually hit him these past few days. It was hard for me to see him so weak. So fragile. So helpless. It came to the point that he could barely stand up, eat, and even take a sip of water. My heart shattered every time I greet and kiss him during his last few days. 

After he left us, I realized how selfish I was. I keep thinking, maybe he was really suffering even before but he couldn't let go because of me. He has always pretended to be strong as he stood before me, even if he's always trembling due to his frail legs. He has always acknowledged my presence by wagging his tail once just to not make me worry and to give the assurance that he's still alive. He has always pretended and forced himself to eat so that I wouldn't nag him for not eating. He made sure that my heart is at ease knowing how paranoid his mom was. 

No one is ever mature enough when you are a dog-parent. I thought a day or two would be enough to grieve over my loss, but I think it will take a little more time. Friends, please bear with me. Beni has been with me for almost half of my life. He was more than just a pet nor a best friend. He's part of my family. A part of my life. A piece of my heart. 

P.S. Beni died on 5 September 2016, my dad's 12th year death anniversary. 

*Disclaimer: hover the mouse over the images for source. Thanks! 


My heart can't contain continuous heavy dramas after watching The Princess' Man so I decided to watch something lighter. While browsing my favorite k-drama hosting website, I saw something intriguing. After reading the synopsis, I knew right there and then that I would be hooked with this drama.

Plot. A story about the struggle of 33-year old lawyer, Kang Joo-eun, to bring back her former glory as Daegu's Venus by shedding the excess baggage she accumulated over the years. She seeks the help of a professional trainer, Kim Young-ho (a.k.a. John Kim), who returns to Korea to escape a scandal with a Hollywood actress. The two eventually falls in love as they venture the road to health and fitness.



I've read a lot of negative reviews on Oh My Venus and I completely understand why. Poor writing and some minor lapses on the storyline may be the culprit why this drama didn't receive top ratings despite the overflowing cuteness and chemistry of our OTP. To briefly describe the plot: it is light and uncomplicated. I greatly appreciate these factors, honestly, since it didn't give me the emotional stress that I usually encounter while watching k-dramas. However, I believe the viewers would've appreciated OMV more if they added a little more substance to the background details underlying the characters' lives. I think the last few episodes also seemed shortened. Parang minadali.

Despite the many loopholes on the plot, I really love how the drama demonstrated women empowerment and emphasized the importance of inner health over beauty especially now that women are so obsessed with their physical appearances.



Cast and Characters.

Shin Min-ah as Kang Joo-eun. Branded as Daegu's Venus during her teenage years, Kang Joo-eun is everyone's first love. She dreams of becoming a lawyer with both beauty and brains. But after becoming a lawyer, Kang Joo-eun gained a lot of weight and her self-esteem dropped low. She then meets Kim Young-ho who always come to her rescue during difficult situations.



One of the things I was looking for in the plot is the reason behind Kang Joo-eun's strong motivation to become a lawyer. At the beginning of the series, I was really expecting that maybe her father died and their family didn't receive any justice or she experienced something bad during her younger years, idk. I also noticed that despite her strong personality, she was sometimes a damsel-in-distress that needs to be saved, as she frequently utters "Please save me" and her exxagerated reaction when she was being followed on the street as if she had a traumatizing experience before. And I also want to know why always removes her band-aids and stick them to the wall?

I really really wanted to understand Kang Joo-eun's character more, but a part of her still remained a mystery.


Being naturally cute and charming, I think Shin Min-ah was effortless in giving life to Kang Joo-eun's character which is the wackiest that I've seen of her. If I were as cute as the chubby Shin Min-ah, I wouldn't even try to lose weight, jk haha~



So Ji-sub as Kim Young-ho (a.k.a John Kim). Like the typical male leads of k-dramas, a chaebol. He spent most of his childhood in hospitals due to a devastating illness which also led him to live a healthy lifestyle. After gaining the spotlight in America, he decided to go back to Korea until the scandal settles down. Unfortunately, his grandmother stopped him from returning to America and convinced him to take over as the Director of their family business.

Kim Young-ho can be described as strong (both emotionally and physically), determined, serious-type but bubbly, and of course, insanely sexy. 


Given So Ji-sub's manly and strong facial features, I never expected that he can also pull off the cutesy and playful character of Kim Young-ho. Asdfghjkl~~ The way that he delivered the diversity of scenes is also highly commendable.



Jung Gyu-woon as Im Woo-shik. Kang Joo-eun's first love and long-time boyfriend. After 15 years of being together, he eventually lost interest of her and secretly went out with Oh Soo-jin. *** SPOILER ALERT*** Despite the break-up, Woo-shik still genuinely cared for Joo-eun even up to the point of beating up her stalker. *** END OF SPOILER***


Some may view Im Woo-shik's character as a total asshole. I was also expecting that, honestly. But over the course of the drama, you will find that he's not really hateable. Here are two of my expectations that didn't happen:  *** SPOILER ALERT***

1. He would eventually try to win Kang Joo-eun back after she has achieved her Daegu-Venus-figure, but no.
2. He will do everything just to ruin Kim Young-ho's image and try to stop him from being the Director at all cost (hey, that's a norm for dramas right?), but no. *** END OF SPOILER***

Relationship goals na sana oh.. Haha~

Yoo In-young as Oh Soo-jin. Kang Joo-eun's former best friend in high school, who is back with a vengeance. She was overweight back then and very lonely until Joo-eun befriended her. After a failed date set-up by Joo-eun, Oh-Soo-jin's self-esteem was crushed and thought that Joo-eun only befriended her out of pity. Now that she has also achieved her dreams: love, successful career, and killer body, she still finds herself lonely and full of insecurities.


Another character that did not meet my expectations. Haha. I like how the drama showed her fragility despite her bitchy attitude towards Kang Joo-eun. Even if she claims that she hates her former best friend, you will see that she deeply cares for her and her bitchy attitude is superficial.


Before Oh Soo-jin, I first saw her as Han Yoo-ra in My Love From Another Star. Oh Soo-jin and Han Yoo-ra are quite similar given the not-so-friendly roles. Han Yoo-ra is the more bitchy and despiteful one while Oh Soo-jin is more of the irritatingly cute side. You want to hate her but you also feel sympathetic towards her. Yoo In-young was able to deliver a different side of malevolence effectively.

Sung Hoon as Jang Joon-sung. Joon-sung has a troubled past and he was saved by John Kim, who later trained him to become a professional boxer. Also known as the "Korean Snake", he was invited to do a CF with Jang Yi-jin who fell head over heels for him.


Even if I like the depth of Jang Joon-sung's character, I was really disappointed with how his love story with Jang Yi-jin was written. This is one of the flaws that I noticed with the plot. It was cute and promising, but it lacks substance. **Sighs**


I was really surprised with Sung Hoon's performance as Jang Joon-sung. Most of the episodes, we would see him act as a serious boxer during his training, as a cutie pie (during his scenes with the main characters), a little snobbish/irritable/surprised towards Jang Yi-jin. ***SPOILER ALERT*** But what impressed me the most was  his heartbreaking scene on episode 13 where he sees an injured Young-ho inside the car. You can feel the intensity of the scene and heaviness of the atmosphere through his effective delivery. Very, very impressive indeed. ***END OF SPOILER***     


Henry Lau as Kim Ji-woong (Ma'am!!). He acts as Jang Joon-sung's manager and initially, Kang Joo-eun thought that he is John Kim. Unlike his partner in crime, the Korean Snake, little is known about the background of his character. His character is light and goofy, but OMV definitely is incomplete without Ji-woong. The, Perfect. Mood. Setter.


As an ELF, Henry is definitely not my bias in Super Junior. But after watching OMV, I had to say that I grew fonder of him in every episode. (Ma'aaam!!!! Haha!) I know very little of Henry but I can say that Ji-woong's character is quite similar with the real Henry. After all, Super Junior is Super Junior if you know what I mean. Haha.

Overall Production. For Kang Joo-eun's chubby face, it really looks realistic and you might think that she really gained some weight just to fit the role perfectly. However, for the body I think the fat suit is quite obvious. Still, I want to applaud the production team for a job well done and dedication in transforming the sexy Shin Min-ah to the oversized yet cute Kang Joo-eun.

Just what I've mentioned earlier, Oh My Venus might have a number of flaws with regards to poor writing of the story line, but I would assure you that it's not a total waste of time. As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed watching it and I may watch it again some other time. It is light and less dramatic, and it would definitely make you laugh your asses out. Every episode is worth looking forward to. I would still recommend this drama to every k-drama fans out there.

Final verdict: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ ♡ [3/5]

*Disclaimer: hover the mouse over the images for source. Thanks! 

After watching Arang and the Magistrate, I decided to watch other similar sageuks that I didn't get the chance to watch. The Princess' Man was definitely listed next. It's been a week since I finished watching this drama and I had to say that every scene still lingers over my head.

Plot. Hardcore heavy drama. The Korean version of Romeo and Juliet, with a twist. Kim Seung-yoo, our Romeo, falls in love with our Juliet, Lee Se-ryung, the daughter of Grand Prince Suyang who is responsible for the demise of his family. Despite its similarity with the famous Shakespeare tragedy, the Seung-Ryung love story has one element that I truly like: it was never love-at-first-sight. It all started with pure curiosity that blossomed into a deep-rooted romance.


The story begins when Lee Se-ryung learns about her impending arranged marriage with Kim Jong-seo's son, Kim Seung-yoo. Out of curiosity, she decides to swap places with Princess Kyunghye and attend the royal lesson to catch a glimpse of her intended husband.

With the death of King Munjong, the whole world started to lose its colors for the lovebirds as Grand Prince Suyang started the wave of bloodshed towards the throne. He annihilated every court officials that are against him, including Kim Seung-yoo's family whom he considers one of his biggest political threats. I believe you already have an idea of what happens next...

I really like how the writers carefully recreated history with this drama. Although some people might find this misleading, it will still give you the urge to know more about Korea's history especially for non-Koreans like me.

With Romeo-and-Juliet and sageuk combined, lust for power, bloodshed, and tragedy are to be expected. The ending pierced my heart, but I was satisfied.



Cast and Characters. This is probably one of the few dramas that I would highly commend each actors' brilliant performance.

Park Si-hoo as Kim Seung-yoo. Very, very impressive. This drama completely turned the tables on how I see Park Si-hoo. I felt the depth of Kim Seung-yoo's character through Park Si-hoo's brilliant performance. He perfectly executed the many faces of Kim Seung-yoo:




Moon Chae-won as Lee Se-ryung. I've seen a number of K-series starring Moon Chae-won and with the number of characters she has played, I think Se-ryung would be my favorite. Lee Se-ryung's personality is a fusion of being feisty yet charming, careless yet elegant, a little bit of a tomboy but feminine, and definitely strong yet fragile. Moon Chae-won's versatility as an actress brought out the best in Lee Se-ryung's character.


I love Moon Chae-won's chemistry with Park Si-hoo: they complement each other perfectly...



Hong Soo-hyun as Princess Kyunghye. This character received my sympathy as she was the one who lost the most: her royal status, family, and even her pride. At first I expected that I would really be annoyed with Hong Soo-hyun because of her resting bitch face, but eventually I learned to understand her character more. She needs to be strong to protect the monarch from the usurping threats of his uncle and she's the only one that the young king can depend on.


I also love how she finally learned how to love her husband.  **SPOILER ALERT** It was heartbreaking to see her swallow her pride and accept defeat by kneeling in front of Suyang just to save her husband. **END OF SPOILER** 



Lee Min-woo as Jung Jong. Another character that will definitely catch your heart. Honestly speaking, my first impression of Jung Jong wasn't that good either, just like when the Princess first met him. Aside from the fact that his family is debt-ridden and he's not as courageous and charming as his two other friends, it may appear that this guy is definitely not the one you would want to spend the rest of your life with.


With the turn of events, I really admired this character and he earned my respect. He was a gentleman and patiently waited for Princess Kyunghye to love him in return. You won't see him sword-fight against his enemies, but he was courageous enough to stand for his beliefs and risk his life to protect it.



Song Jong-ho as Shin Myeon. Disappointment. That's how I feel every time I see his face on the screen. He wasted not only his friendship with Seung-yoo and Jong, but he wasted his whole damn life because of his poor decision-making skills. It is true that he may be forced to side with Suyang because of his father, but at the end of the day the choice is still on his hands. He was also given a lot of opportunities to change a lot of things and prevent unnecessary bloodshed, but he still chose the other way around.



Kim Yong-cheol as Grand Prince Suyang. I really appreciate Suyang's scenes with Se-ryung as it shows us how deeply he cherish his daughter. It also gives us a deeper understanding of why Se-ryung cannot fully detest her father. Although it is to be expected that a daughter cannot fully detest her father, the scenes gives us a glimpse of Suyang's gentle side.



Production.

At the beginning of the story, we see a lot of vibrant and lavish hanboks which may represent the state of our characters. But if you paid any attention to the characters' costume, you'll notice how things have changed and their lives losing its colors.

I also appreciate the OSTs selected for this drama. It was perfect in setting the mood while watching.

It's been a while since I last watched a heavy drama like The Princess' Man. It wasn't a perfect drama but it will definitely be tattooed in everyone's heart.

"Although I lost my sight, I have retrieved my heart. Although I lost the desire for revenge, I got you instead. --Kim Seung-yoo"

Final verdict: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡ [4/5]