Seo Kang Joon

 Seo Kang Joon

One of my Korean actor crushes is Seo Kang Joon. I really like his eyes.

NewGate Lentil Soup

 NewGate Lentil Soup

I haven't tried lentil soup up until my friend let me have a try when we went to an Indian restaurant in London. It was good, really. So, I remembered to try out Lidl's canned Lentil soup which costs around.

I'm not a fan, it could do some more work with it's spices. There's a hint of tomato puree in there.

Wikinger Hotdog

 Hotdog

If you're looking for a lesser Tender juicy hotdog which hits Filipino taste buds and closer to home, I think that this hotdog is it with being less salty

M&S Raspberry & Peach Iced Tea

 M&S Raspberry & Peach Iced Tea

While waiting for the next bus, I've decided to try out M&S Raspberry & Peach Iced tea which costs around. Sadly, I didn't like it.

Netflix: Korean drama - Resident's Play book

 Netflix: Korean drama - Resident's Play book

I'm smiling from ear to ear because they are cute! I liked the progress of the 2nd leads rather than the main character.

Warning. Next paragraph contains spoilers

Sa-bi and Jae-il

Ep 9 

Remaining 13:50 - Sa-bi was found out to be a long time fan of Hi-Boyz

Ep 10 Remaining 9:27 Churros

Ep 11 

Remaining 57:56 Wheelchair

46:41 wheelchair

36:50 grabbing coffee

Ep 12

26:13 Jae-il admits

Nam-kyung and Gi-on

Ep 7

7:30

Ep 12

23:40

Attempt to make Longganisa recipe

 Attempt to make Longganisa recipe

I tried the Savory easy recipe and it really tasted like a Longganisa which needed a bit of tweaking.

Tiktok - Fintech Founder

 Tiktok - Fintech Founder

I like how she was able to explain things in a sensible way. She dissect personal finance in a simple way which is digestible (don't take it literally).

The 50 quid in the UK

 The 50 quid in the UK

If you're going to the UK and is planning to spend money using cash (though everything is pretty much cashless nowadays here), it was advised by my UK based agency not to get the 50 quid (or pounds) as you would only be suspected of having fake notes. The 50 quid is not commonly used.

Kani cucumber salad

 Kani cucumber salad

There were ingredients in the fridge that has been there for a long time and I was hungry so I decided to make a kani cucumber salad tonight.

Here are the

Dive - Olivia Dean

 Dive - Olivia Dean

Kind words from a colleague

 Kind words from a colleague

At the end of the shift, I'd had the opportunity to talk to one of my colleagues and the conversation somehow went into how long have I've been a nurse.

Then, I had the feedback that I've been doing well and I am good with my patients which is very much kind of her.

Fern - Aleksiah

 Fern - Aleksiah

Villains Are Destined to Die

 Villains Are Destined to Die

I'm absolutely engaged in this manga series. I've stop at 164 episode (end of season 4)

Valentine - Kina Grannis

 Valentine - Kina Grannis

When I was on my break during my night shift, I suddenly reminded of a song and it seems at the tip of my tongue. I tried to rack my brain to retrieve it. 

Luckily, I was able to. This is such an OG song. I personally liked the animation in the video. 😁

Hash browns!

 Hash browns!

Hey there! How are you today? I hope you're alright with the sunshine today I'm the UK. 

I think that I'm definitely in the right country. I always liked potatoes, absolutely adored mash potatoes, can't get enough of their chips (it's called fries in America) and my dream of having hash browns to my hearts content!

I used to order it in McDonald's in the Philippines during breakfast but as not frequently as much as it is a bit pricey for a small one. Im talking like less than the size of my hand.

In here, you can purchase a frozen one less than a kilo gram for 2-3 pounds and enjoy.

Got my third credit card yesterday!

 Got my third credit card yesterday!

I just tried on my HSBC and I got another one with a 3k limit. Woohhoooo!

Decoding my P60

 Decoding my P60

I thought I was taxed the wrong way but it was a good thing to go through over it again as I was ready to email the payroll!

I received my P60 for the year 2023-24. So in the Pay and Income details, just add all the basic pay, pay arrears and deduct the NI pension and there you will have your final Income for the whole year.

Making Spinach Dip

 Making Spinach Dip

Though it's not my first attempt in making a spinach dip. I like this version better

Blanch spinach in boiling water and rinse in cold. Drain and chop using scissors

Saute minced garlic and onion in butter until almost translucent.

Add chopped spinach.

Add cream cheese and cheese

Add salt and pepper.

Adjust according to your desired taste.

Top this on a toasted bread.

 

Gyoza dipping sauce

 Gyoza dipping sauce

This is my favourite dip so far that I invented

Knorr Liquid Seasoning

Blue Dragon Mirin or mizhan Mirin

Spring onion, add a lot!

Better if one red chili or if not available, chili flakes

Pepper

Lemon

Braised Salmon

 Braised Salmon

Salmon fillets

Dark soy sauce and Japanese Mirin 1 espresso cup:2 

Minced Ginger

Spring onions

Marinate at least overnight

Panfry the salmon

Add the marinade

Add the chopped spring onions

Simmer

Yippee! Got my 2nd credit card approved!

Yippee! Got my 2nd credit card approved from Capital One!

And yes! Being the bearer of good news today.... I got my 2nd credit card today!! Woooohooo!!

To tell you a story, it was in my mind for weeks now to increase my total credit card limit minimum of 4k pounds so that it could also increase my credit score.

I was contemplating on applying for a credit card increase in my first credit card with a credit limit of 1k but when I did some search on how much should I ask for an increase so that there is a high chance for it to be approved, it says around max 25% of your current limit. So that is like 250 more.

So I thought why now apply for another one? If I could get another (since the 6 months period has passed, so it's safe to apply for an account), then I could add another 1k into my total limit.

God is good! All the time! I was approved from Capital One with a credit limit of 1.5k!

How to increase credit score in credit karma

 This is something that is like trial and error.

But I discovered that you can increased that by maxing up to 25% of your credit score and leave it until end of the month.

Miso soup

 Boil water with diced onions

Add dashi and dissolve according to instruction

Add bokchoy

Add tofu

Add miso paste

Enjoy!

Ginataang kalabasa

 

Saute ginger then garlic and onion until light golden brown. Add small amount of butter

Add the shrimp. Let it cook halfway. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper 

Add the kalabasa. Saute for a bit

Add Blue dragons coconut. Season with Patis, salt and ground pepper. Adjust according to taste

Credit score Uk

 

Less than 25% utilization

Before end of month pay

Before generation of statement date

The Romance Between Tiger and Rose

 The Romance Between Tiger and Rose

Why is Sweden anti alcohol

 

I was talking to my patient and he was saying that Sweden and they had laws on alcohol and it has something to do with their history

Kdrama - Shadow Beauty

I'm mostly bed rotting when I'm home because of the cold weather. It's nice for a change that I have accomplished finishing a series of Korean drama though it is only 13 episodes. Technically, I watched it in one go. Yay! You can watch this in Viki.

The story was good. It revolves around Koo Ae jin, a high schooler who is bullied for her looks so she has her alter ego, Genie, a popular influencer which she made using her photoshop editing skills.

What also made me watch this drama is Cho Bomin. I thought that he looked familiar. He was is 18 again and I found him cute there. I looked him up and was surprised that he is an idol.

 Yutaka White Miso Paste

I was craving for a sour broth in salmon with miso which we call in the Philippines as "Sinigang na Salmon sa Miso". I remembered that in the social media I saw, some use the miso paste instead of the usual white miso that can be found in the local palengke when in the Philippines. 

This costs around 1.75 GBP for a 100g in TESCO which I can gauge be used 1-3 times for dishes. 

It has a great depth in umami flavor which is quite different what we normally have. White Miso in the local palengke/supermarket in the Philippines has coarse bits of the soybean and it is usually sour (because it is fermented).

Melitta Coffee Filter #4

Because I was able to brought back my favorite ground coffee beans from the Philippines, I need some coffee filter paper. Unfortunately, UK supermarkets doesn't have readily available coffee filter papers as I researched that they are more consuming espresso drinks which I have not verified this yet.

Anyway, I've looked in Amazon and they costs around 2.99 GBP for 80 pieces per box. This can be used for filter coffee machines. I haven't anticipated that the pour over coffee which I also bought was smaller so it looked like this:

Probably a #2 then. Ahihihi. 🤣

Anyone care for some pink onions?

Would anyone care for some pink onions? Well, it caught my attention that onions has also a pink variety.

Sinigang na Salmon sa Miso using paste

Sinigang is one of the known signature Filipino dishes. I've been craving for some sinigang, but make it a salmon as one of the main ingredient. Head of the salmon could make this dish a chef's kiss, but I'd kept it simple for now.

Ingredients:

• Oil
• 4-5 chopped garlic
• 2 big red onion diced
• 5 cherry tomato
• Fish sauce/Patis (approx 2-3 tbsp)
• 3 tbsp Miso paste
• 500 ml water
• Salmon fillet
• Pak choi

In a heated pan with oil, saute the garlic, onion and tomatoes until soft and translucent. Add the patis and the miso paste. Mix well. Add water. Once near boiling, adjust broth according to your taste. Add salmon.  Cook for around 6 minutes. Add the Pak choi and simmer until soft (6-8 minutes). Enjoy!

You can also add cut long beans, radish/Daikon, eggplant into the mix. Just put it before the salmon.

 Italiamo Pecorino Romano

I'm still constantly looking out for a cheese which has a resembling taste to Eden cheese back in the Philippines and this one I think is the most nearest taste that I've tried so far. Only that, it has more depth of flavor. I bought it at Lidl for 1.99 GBP.

Pan-fried Soy sauce based Salmon

Shessh. I don't remember now how did I cook this but what I know is that in this recipe:

I coated the salmon in flour first and fried in the pan until lightly golden brown.

Put equal parts dark soy sauce, Yutaka Mirin and the Blue Dragon Mirin in the pan. Cook in medium heat until caramelized.

Cooking Angus Beef Patties

In the Philippines, we rarely opt for the Angus Beef because it is expensive.

I am not familiar in cooking beef patties which are thick so I made again another experiment and can conclude that these patties are cooked 4 &1/2 to 5 minutes each side.

Garlic Butter Mushroom stir fry

Ingredients:

• Chestnut mushrooms 

• Butter
• Oil
• Garlic
• Garlic granules

Heat small amount of oil in the pan.

Add chopped garlic until light brown. Add butter.

Add mushroom.

Add small amount dark soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper according to taste.

Add mirin.

Cook until tender.

Fresh Touch Spa

When I went to a brief vacation in the Philippines this year, it was in my plan to pamper myself and my family. I thought that I will not be able to tick this item in my checklist but during one Saturday, my brother jokingly commented that we need to have massage after going to Mass. It is a good thing that we were able to secure 4 persons reservation in the morning, and the massage was in the evening because I forgot to call them a day prior.

This is not the first time my family and I went in Fresh Touch spa. Their basic massage price has gone up from 299 php to almost 500 php. It is not posh but I could say that it was relaxing and worth it for it's price. They got promo packages which you can check out and honor senior discounts. They also accept cash and credit cards. My brother decided that we have Package 5 which costs around 549 php.

Package 5 - 759 php

Body Massage

Chinese Foot Massage

Ventosa

One thing that I won't repeat anymore is the Ventosa. Not really a fan once I've experienced it.

Eye Republic

3800. 800.

9k

675? 750?

...

 

Making Kwek kwek

 Making Kwek kwek

1 cup Plain flour

1/4 cup Cornflour

1 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Magic sarap granules

Salt

Pepper

Food colouring

Water

Trying out Argos' Click and Collect

Hi there! I am Trying out Argos' Click and Collect because curiosity won.

So when you proceed to the checkout, you pick the click and collect which will let you save on delivery fees and you can get the product right there and then.

I thought that you have to collect it on the same day so that's why I've been holding back in trying this service.

Fret not as it takes multiple days before they take out in their storage the unclaimed products.

Anyway, back to the story. After checking out. They will send you multiple emails which one of them contains the acknowledgment and receipt that they had received your order. Inside one of those e-mails is the details and the bar code which you might want to keep on your phone. This will be scanned by the store attendant in order to process your order.

It took less than 10 minutes (was it 5?) to get my items. Which was cool, BTW  

Making Mashed Potato

 

Making Mashed Potato

2 big potatoes, cubed

Salt

Water

Boil potatoes in a hot water with dash of salt for 15 minutes or until fork tender.

Drain potatoes.

Using fork, mash potato and add lurpak butter.

Adjust according to your preferred creaminess. The higher amount of the butter you put in, the tastier it gets.

Add small amount of whole milk in order to make it a bit fluffier

Season with salt or pair up with your meat. Enjoy!

Making Gyudon or braised beef?

 Making Gyudon

500 g lean diced beef

1 large red onion diced

Dark Soysauce

Mirin

Sugar

Pepper

Marinade overnight

2 large onion julienned

Oil

Fry until half translucent

Add 1 beef bullion 

1/4 cup water

Soysauce

Mirin

Mix

Add marinated beef

Slow cook for 1 hour

Add Soysauce, adjust accordingly

Gyoza Dipping Sauce

 Gyoza Dipping Sauce

Knorr LIquid Seasoning

Yutaka Mirin

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year! I may not be in the best festive mood today as this is my first time celebrating(or not!) so celebrating the New Year as I slept up until 12:30 midnight due to exhaustion of my previous long day duty.

To tell you the truth, I'm starting to feel like an empty cup. And I know for sure that I'm not feeling homesick.

The gloomy weather here doesn't help either.

Tweet tweet

Make it matter. - Sanegeal Farmhear

Cup of Tea - Desiree Dawson

To tell you frankly, it's almost year end and I'm almost a year here in the UK. At first it was exhilarating. But when the novelty passed off, that's when I started to feel the emotion of loneliness. It didn't helped that family back home is not always available to talk to (well, obviously due to the time difference and their busy schedules). To make it a bit harder is the gloomy weather here in the UK which you should not definitely do underestimate. It also doesn't help the feelings of hopelessness and stupidity I'm feeling recently. I hate being a burden to anyone and I felt like being useless. But I'm backing myself up again. 'Cause I'm all I've got. (I retract that one, I've also got God and Jesus so yeah. I'm still alive and thriving - hopefully)

Anyway, sharing this lovely song from Desiree Dawson.

Things I'm Thankful For - JJ Heller

Things I'm Thankful For - JJ Heller

British names

There was a thing that I was curious about and I noticed that the British people have no second first names. I was then like, is a second name not popular here? How will they be able to distinguish a person to another if ever they have the same first name and surname?

But when I asked a British colleague about this, they do in fact have second names! They only use their first name though. Their middle name is their 2nd first name which is different from the middle name in the Philippines as you will be using your mother's maiden surname instead.

Oh, in the UK, you will also encounter filling up forms with the term Forename instead of First name!

Fish and Chips

 Fish and Chips

If you are residing in the UK, you might already know that every Friday is Fish and Chips day! I saw previously on Tiktok of a Filipino nurse who asked his British co-worker why is it a Fish and Chips day. She said that it goes down to history (i think they are more Christian in religion during the past) that they were fasting and refrain from eating red meat every Friday which Catholic Filipinos also do during Semana Santa. But aside from turning to only fish meat, monggo guisado is rather the well known viand during Fridays of fasting.

The other day, I also learned something new about fish and chips. One lovely lady was having her fish and chips for lunch and she was querying how there is no vinegar. I looked into her table and pointed it out. Then the one I was assisting to the toilet, answered my question that it was necessary to have vinegar with fish and chips. It makes sense though to have the vinegar in order to ward off the fishy taste.