I went to downtown today to buy frozen chicken breast, my husband ate boiled chicken breast as part of his work-out meal. I have to go to downtown because they’re not available at the supermarket around us, while waiting for the bus going home I decided to walk inside the World Food (Asian Store) beside the bus stop. I have thought I would just buy Filipino foods for my weekly supplies rather than buying the same food all over again in NongHyup Supermarket.

I have enjoyed looking around and I didn’t notice that I already have a lot of food in my basket but still I went to the vegetable freezer to check if they have Filipino vegetables and I was happy to see that they have string beans, water spinach and bitter melon. It means I don’t need to go to Seoul just to buy these vegetables.

When I pay in the counter the owner handed me free pork noodles which I am thankful with.

Sauteed Bitter Melon with Egg (Ginisang Ampalaya with Egg) is a very simple dish but one of the healthiest recipes that you can cook at home. Bitter melon is well known as natural remedies for lowering blood sugars or treating diabetes.

The other day I decided to cook the bitter melon I bought in Hyehwa instead of boiling it to remove the bitter taste I cooked it directly so the nutrients will not be wasted.

Cooking this recipe is easy all you need is just saute the garlic and onion, add the bitter melon and fried it a little and add the beaten eggs, salt and pepper to taste.

Owning a pet is the dream of most people and the process of acquiring one from a breeder is not easy, they are sometimes expensive and full of frantic activity. While, in the province owning a pet is easy all you need to do is ask for one newborn pup or kitten from a neighbor, they’re usually given for free unless the animal has a breed which are usually sold for a certain price.

Well buying a pet is not always the answer because there are several animals that have no homes or people to care for them. If you are planning to own a pet I would suggest to look for animal shelter around you, not just cheaper but you are also able to help for these animals by giving them home and family to live in.
I am a pet person, I love dogs and cats since I am a little child because I have grown up having them at home and when I moved here in Korea with my husband cuddling a dog or kitten is one of the things I missed to do. I have been asking my husband to get me a kitten as he doesn’t like dogs (probably his tired hearing the constant barking of our neighbor’s dogs) but he didn’t approve it because the cat will just suffer being left alone when we travel and we are not going to be here in Korea long time. My husband is right so I am just contented looking pets for adoption at the Animal Rescue seeing the little cats and dogs made me wish that I am in the Philippines and I can maybe adopt them all one for myself.

Anyway if you are in Korea and want to own a pet please visit  http://www.animalrescuekorea.org – help these little guys to have a foster home and family, they need  your love and attention.

As what I have blogged previously I’ve only used half of the string beans and water spinach on my chicken adobo. I have noticed the left over vegetables are getting old and dry so I immediately sauteed them in garlic and onion. I was pleased with the result after adding a pinch of salt despite that I burnt the garlic and onion.

Eating these vegetables don’t happen every day as they are not around in the local Korean supermarket so I savor the flavor.

On our last shopping day I bought chicken and sprite so I can cook chicken adobo with sprite but unfortunately my husband drink the can of sprite when we had a spicy BHC chicken. So instead I cooked my adobo with string beans and kangkong, I also added the ladies finger because they’re getting old. I bought these vegetables on Sunday at Filipino market in Hyehwa. I just thought it would be easier if I cooked them together rather than separately as I am also planning to cook the vegetables in soy sauce.

Cooking this is just like the normal adobo you just need to add the vegetables when the chicken is already tender. I just used half of the chicken so I will not get tired of eating adobo.

On my over four years of existence in Korea, this is the first time that I attended a mass and go to Hyehwa-dong in Seoul. My friend and I met last Sunday in Hyehwa we attended the afternoon mass in Tagalog (1:30PM) where I am able to see and meet many Filipinos. It was like little community of Filipinos.

After the mass we went to the informal Filipino Market nearby, I am not able to look around when we passed by because we decided to attend the mass first before buying stuff I want.  I bought few native foods and vegetables like string beans (sitaw), bitter melon (amplaya), ladies finger (okra) and kangkong.

The Hyehwa Filipino Market is only around every Sunday from morning ’until night. To get there get off the Hyehwa station (line 4) and go out at exit 4 and just walk straight.

For the first time I went to Hyehwa to attend a mass and shop at the informal Filipino Market. I have been asking my husband to drop by in Hyehwa every time we have something to do in Seoul but he always says that if I want I can go there alone. So last week when my friend told me that she went to Hyehwa to met someone I asked her if I can tag along with her the next time she go to the place,  and right then she asked me if I want to attend the mass the next Sunday.

We attended the mass for about one hour and right after we went to the nearby Filipino market to shop together with her old friends that we met outside the church. I bought vegetables and other Filipino foods I want to eat, it was been a long time since I had these foods.

Other stuff I bought aside from the vegetables are rice cakes (kakanin), spring rolls (lumpia), barbecue and bopis. The rice cake is ₩3,000 each but you can get it for ₩5,000 if you buy two pieces while lumpia and barbecue is ₩1,000 per piece/stick, the bopis is ₩5,000 per order. I bought all the vegetables for ₩10,000 it consists of 2 (tali) spring beans, 2 pieces ampalaya, 1 (tali) okra and with free kangkong.

Aside from native foods, vegetable and cooked food some sellers are selling beauty products, chips and other local items that a Filipino cannot find in a local Korean supermarket.

Do you send your kids to summer camp for a couple of weeks to learn basic socialization while having fun? Now you can send your precious pup or canine companion to doggie boot camp to learn obedience training. Imagine a dog that is completely house trained with excellent manors, free of behavioral problems and a happy member of your family. Well-socialized dogs react well to people as well as other dogs without nipping, jumping, lunging, growling or cowering.

Obedience training performed at a professional facility using trained and caring professionals is a highly effective and natural way to treat your pet. Training methods are based on behavior modification and positive reinforcement customized for the breed and temperament of the trainee. Dog owners can choose from a variety of packages and training levels including:

• Basic Obedience Training – dogs learn the basic commands of obedience training: sit, stand, come, stay and down for direct communication with their owners. Puppies are trained at home as early as eight weeks old and may graduate to boot camp for higher-level obedience courses.

• Socialization – dogs learn how to play nice with other dogs in groups

• Etiquette – training for doggie manners when meeting and greeting at home as well as in public places while under control

• Behavior Modification – customized drills include verbal and hand commands for easing anxiety, fear or other behavioral issues that lead to aggressive behavior

Take a look at obedience training at K-9Companions.com for the original training professionals who do it all for you.

I was so hungry the other day but too lazy to cook so I went down to Homeway to buy instant noodles. I was a little bit hesitant on what noodles should buy because I can’t read Hangul and I don’t want to buy spicy food. To make the story short I just get two noodles which I think not too spicy to eat, after paying the owner told me to wait and he handed two liquid yoghurt for free.

Not sure what’s the freebie for maybe the owner feel pity on me (haha). Yeah right I went down without combing my hair nor changing my home clothes which are faded and a little big for me. Hehe

After my friend and I paid a short visit at Bukchon Hanok Village last weekend we ate in a Korean restaurant in Itaewon. It was been my long wish to eat Korean food aside from the food I have eaten that could easy purchased in convenient store. The soup tasted good and little spicy, it was served with rice and side dish.

According to Wiki Gamjatang or pork bone soup is a spicy korean soup made with pork spine or ribs, vegetables, green onion, hot peppers and ground wild sesame seeds. it is a matter of contention whether the name of the soup comes from the word for potato (감자; gamja) or not, because the soup is frequently served without potatoes.