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Presenting… The Pandie! (And Other Works)

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When I was in my previous blog, I had a mascot for it. A Witch Panda because I love Harry Potter so much. For this new blog though, I figured I needed a new brand mascot and since I wanted it to be essentially me, I asked Art of Maryam to create one for me. So this is the Pandie that I imagined and what I imagined myself if I were transported to an animated land. And yes… I’d have red hair because I can! HAHA

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Please DO NOT USE image.

An explanation – I love Ariel’s red hair and if I could, I would dye mine red as well. I liked how she made Pandie with Asian features (she got my mole xD) especially the eyes. Pandies are Pandas who love food and she got that with the chocolate strawberry cake (I LOVE STRAWBERRIES AND CAKE), and since I started to like archery, she was also able to add a bow in there. The outfit is an explorer’s outfit and the nice puffy jacket is a nice touch. I have a similar jacket but in blue! hahaha.

By the way, have you seen her incredible art? Maryam’s art caught my eye when I saw someone share her Disney Princesses with an animated look. I’m very picky with anime art because I wanted it to be more than the big eyes and slim face. I wanted it to have character with clean lines and great coloring and I was just captured by the beauty of art and how simple it is. I like Sakimichan as well on Facebook but hers was too digital and 3D. Maryam’s was better.

Check out her other works. I love Mulan, Merida and Ariel the best. Her Aurora, who I think is the most beautiful Disney princess of all based on the traditional 2D art is also wonderful! Well actually, all of them are beautiful. Check out that improved Anna!

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Went to Thanks Nature Cafe Disguised As A Sheep – Seoul

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Pandie Rating

Experience:  👍👍👍👍

Food:  👍👍👍

I’ve noticed one thing that usually happens around animal cafes.

The animals don’t care about you. 

Well most of the time anyway. If they’re dogs, they’ are either lazily sleeping or looking for the next person with food in their pockets or hands or if they’re cats, they are either lazily sleeping or plain ignoring you. You don’t strike a bond with these creatures because they see different people everyday and being a star is exhausting isn’t it? It’s like having to sign autographs 8-5 with few breaks in between. I can just imagine the boredom of these creatures.

But I am an animal lover. I wanted them to love me as well so when I decided to go to Thanks Nature Cafe in Seoul Korea, I wanted the sheep to like me as well. How else could I attract their attention. Hm… by dressing up as a sheep of course! I remembered my mom went to a sheep farm somewhere in Taiwan and she bought me this Sheep hat. It is SUPER CUTE and actually will help keep your face, head and ears warm. You can also put your hands in the long flaps of the hat as well to help you not freeze to death.

So let’s go to Thanks Nature Cafe!


It’s located near Hongik station, on the main road of Hongik-Ro but be careful. You might miss it because it’s located downstairs in the basement with only a small sign to signal its presence. Once you go down, you will immediately smell the scent of wildlife (or sheep poo and sheep smell) and the little cafe right beside it.

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Image from Google Maps

We arrived a bit early around 10:30 am (sorry was too excited!) but the cafe was closed so we kinda roamed around a bit checking out shoes at the nearby New Balance store. Once the clock struck 11, we dashed towards the cafe and got the best seats in the house because we were the only customers there. The interior of the cafe was cute and filled with little sheep paraphernalia.


My Greywind funko pop tried to mingle with them but they oddly didn’t budge. xD


We got caramel macchiato, hot chocolate and green matcha tea. While they weren’t exactly mind blowing drinks (the hot chocolate tasted a bit like swiss miss chocolate but I liked it), their waffles though were in a totally different league. The ice cream blended the crispiness of the waffle and the fresh taste of the fruits. When in Korea, I swear order strawberry everything because these fruits are divine during the winter-spring season. I wish I could eat this everyday. A friend who went there also praised their crème brûlée and cherry blossom white chocolate.

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Pandie Survey: Where To Eat In Tokyo

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I’m so excited everyone because I’m actually going to one of the craziest countries that I know of… JAPAN!

So I’ve been fed with a good amount of Anime back when I was young. I was one of those kids who couldn’t wait to get home and watch the latest episode of Fushigi Yuugi (what was my mom thinking??), Akazukin Chacha, Rurounin Kenshin, etc. and my knowledge of Japan started here. And as I grew up and learned more about Japan through Nintendo games, Pokemon, and weird Japanese commercials, I knew that I had to go here someday.

Will only be going to Tokyo due to time constraints this April 12-19 and a side travel to Shibazakura festival, Mt. Fuji and Fuji-Q, but I really hope 8 days is enough for me (who am I kidding, course not) and my college friend to cover at least… um the basics?

Must visits include Harajuku, Akihabara, Odaiba (science museum & onsen), Shibuya, Shinjuku, Meiji Shrine, Ghibli Museum, Ginza, flea markets here and there… but I don’t know. Am I missing something?

Especially for restaurants!  Tokyo is the capital of food gastronomy and the food quality is incomparable to other countries. It hosts the most number of Michelin starred restaurants and if you’re feeling local, you can check out Tablelog’s dependable reviews to find a restaurant to your fancy. Because of this impromptu decision to go to Japan (there was a seat sale at Jetstar. How can I say no to 6,000php roundtrip Tokyo ticket), I couldn’t get in my must try restaurants because they require 2-3 months of reservation in advance. Namely..

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1. Jimbocho Den – Moden and whimsical take of the kaiseki style Japanese dining. The style hails from Kyoto and is a degustation type of setting. I will be missing these dishes though I hope to be able to visit next time (YES THERE WILL BE A NEXT TOKYO TRIP even though I haven’t even set foot in Tokyo).

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