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Being Happy: A Beautiful Message

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This may have nothing to do with food and travel but on reflection it actually does.

Being happy is something we all strive to be but we usually associate it with only just ourselves. After all, it is us who actually feels happy. What does it have to do with the Other? We travel and eat to be happy, but how?

The message of Pope Francis albeit last year’s is as important as it is now especially after all the numerous terrorist attacks. This message is too beautiful not to share on this wonderful Easter morning.

BEING HAPPY by Pope Francis

“You may have defects, be anxious and sometimes live irritated, but do not forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can prevent it from going into decadence. There are many that need you, admire you and love you.
I would like to remind you that being happy is not having a sky without storms, or roads without accidents, or work without fatigue, or relationships without disappointments.

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Zuma – My Best Japanese Meal & Steak In Hong Kong (so far)

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Pandie Rating: 👍👍👍👍

I hope you guys enjoyed my first travel post – 10 Things We Wished We Knew Before Going To Korea. It’s personal so it may not be the most comprehensive guide but for budget travelers like me, you’d certainly like it.

Now going back to food and travel! Hong Kong is my guilty pleasure. It’s the destination I’ve been going to since childhood. It’s such a teeny tiny city that my overseas friends wonder why I love it so much. There’s not much to do in Hong Kong they say but au contraire mon frere! There are tons to do in this harbour city and it’s a shopper’s paradise. Not only that, restaurants reign this city of many different flavors. You will always find a good place to eat no matter when and where unlike some cities that have restaurants opening really late. It’s the perfect city for a city gal like me.

Let me introduce you to one of my recent finds. I love love Japanese cuisine and if you’re a sushi fanatic like me, you know that the sushi selection that we have in Manila is subpar. My issue is always the freshness. If you’ve been to Japan, you know about a fresh sushi/sashimi’s umami and frankly aside from my find in Singapore (which I’ll blog about as well), I’ve never tasted a really fresh sushi in Manila. Little Tokyo’s Izakaya Kikufuji isn’t fresh at all though it’s probably a 6/10 rating and probably the best in Manila but you can’t beat the quality in other countries.

So in Hong Kong, the port hub of Asia, you know you’re gonna get fresh fish delivered DAILY. So I was very lucky to have eaten at Zuma.

Zuma as mentioned on their website is a Japanese restaurant with a sophisticated twist on the traditional Japanese Izakaya style of informal eating and drinking. Well known by expats, entering Zuma is like entering a totally different Hong Kong because 90% of the guests are foreigners. I usually like restaurants that is local at its heart but my expat uncle told me to get a reservation or else I should regret it and I’m glad I did. Going to Zuma can be quite daunting for middle class folks like me because everything was so posh.

Located at Central in Landmark where it houses most of Hong Kong’s Michelin starred restaurants (I think they have 12 now?), Zuma’s price is at the upper level tier but still attainable unlike those in Tokyo. Zuma may not have a michelin star but it is up there in their class. Let me show you what Zuma looks like

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It’s beautiful and you have legit Japanese chefs working their hearts out for us hungry customers. Let me tell you a secret – they offer weekend brunch buffets. I was quite sad that no one told me this beforehand because it was such a bargain with the amount of food that they offered. But on hindsight, I’m glad as well because I was able to try dinner ala carte AND the weekend brunch buffet. My family shares my love for food.

What I had for the Brunch Buffet (I honestly don’t know how I fit everything inside my stomach)

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GORGEOUS <3

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10 Things We Wished We Knew Before Going To Korea

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Traveling is on everyone’s bucket list right now. For the financial savvy people, they probably even have a savings account tucked away for just this specific purpose.

Under all that glamour and selfies and photo shoots and what have yous, lies the nitty gritty but also exciting part of traveling – planning.  No matter how much you plan or not plan, you will inevitably encounter something frustrating when visiting a different country especially one where you don’t know anyone. You may experience being trapped in a language barrier, getting lost in their intricate transportation systems, losing valuable items (hope not!), etcetera.

Well I and my friends are here to guide you through some of the twists and turns we’ve experienced in Korea. It’s a beautiful and lovely country and we had so much fun there! Will make a post highlighting everything good in Korea but let me tell you the things we wished we knew before going to Seoul, Korea. These tips could have saved us some time and money but don’t worry folks, we’ve charged it to experience so you don’t have to.

1. Learn and PRACTICE  speaking and writing some Korean words  (or learn Mandarin as well)

Every site about travel must have suggested downloading a good Korean-English phrase app or get a good phrase book but nothing will prepare you to the real world if you don’t practice it at home. Simple things such as learning the Korean words for the different kinds of food, calling the attention of the waiter, asking for directions are a must because, hardly no one speaks English in Korea and they have the oddest subway signs. It is a PAIN to get lost and also ordering food because either you look like an idiot to them because you don’t know the difference of grilling skirt meat and pork belly or you look ridiculous to yourself. So yes, bringing the app and practicing Korean before you leave, IS A MUST. Also do download GOOGLE TRANSLATE. It saved our lives when we had to translate pictures with words on them.

Some useful phrases:

  1. Cho-gi-yo = Call Attention to the waiter
  2. Kam-saham-ni-da = Great thanks!

Why learn Mandarin? Because the Chinese tourists are taking over everywhere! Salesladies in beauty shops already know how to speak Mandarin so conversing with them was pretty okay despite not speaking English.

2. Note the difference between ITX and Korail (IMPORTANT FOR NAMI ISLAND TRANSPORTATION)

Download the app SUBWAY for a good map of the Korean subway system.

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We learned this the hard way when we went to Nami Island. After researching how to go there, we knew that it required 2 transfers of trains. We just didn’t realize that the last transfer was moving to a different provincial train line and required separate and different tickets. What we also didn’t know is you had to purchase these tickets prior to boarding (we actually sat in the train before realizing we had to buy tickets. You could just go in the trains without swiping a card or ticket) and you had to tap your T-money on a specific side of the machine that will prompt your card that you have disembarked the Korail.

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