Just a quick savings update with Chantel!
Check out her blog HERE and follow her on twitter HERE.
And also, HERE‘s a link to the blog I mentioned in the video 🙂
Keep an eye out for more vlogs coming soon… Itinerary vlog with Grace will be next 🙂
안녕~!
Filed under Saving Update, Sydney
As promised, here is my latest Savings Update! Hope you savers have been doing well!
Since mid-February, I have been trying to save a minimum of $4000 for my Korean holiday! I have great news! I have just hit the $1k mark with ten months more to go until holiday time! Seoul, I can almost smell you!
No more trying to hitch rides to Korea!
So what have I been doing to save up, exactly?
Well, the Easter Holidays have just past and everyone had the opportunity to get away from school and work, and just have some family bonding time.
….Almost everyone.
I worked during Easter Sunday so I could get holiday penalty rates of time and a half. I find that if you don’t have anything planned for a public holiday anyway, why not just work? Make a quick buck. I made sure I still had the time to spend with my family because of course, family matters. So instead of celebrating on Easter Sunday, we had dinner on Easter Monday instead with our extended family.
Since reaching the $1000 mark, I thought I’d reward myself a little bit. I think I’ll be doing that now every time I reach a certain threshold! I don’t want to be too much of a tightass! You’ve still got to have fun and reward yourself a little every time you achieve something worthwhile! Before I started rewarding myself though, I made sure to transfer a percentage of my earnings into my Netbank saver account so I won’t be tempted to spend it!
So my mates and I went out last night for dinner at Alrose Garden in Strathfield for some hearty traditional Korean dishes. Apparently the spicy food there is really, really hot so I took the coward’s way out and just ordered a Chicken Schnitzel instead. I didn’t get to take a picture but their servings are MASSIVE! My Schnitzel didn’t even fit on the plate!
The Menu at Alrose Garden
All in all, the prices were really good in relation to how big their dishes are. The ambience was great, too, and they played K-Pop which was cool. 🙂
To continue on with the theme of big things, we went to Noggi afterwards to drown ourselves in their Frozen yogurt. We ordered the Groupi which is their largest serving and we demolished it in no time! Omnomnom!
This is the Maxi... not as big as the Groupi.
Also, we went to China Town Friday Night Markets in the city. I bought some dragon beard candy and I was going to buy 4 Minute’s new mini-album Volume Up but I found that the internet sells it for much cheaper! So online shopping it is!
I won’t drag on any longer, but I wish you guys the best in saving! And just remember to live a little, and spend a little to reward yourself every once in awhile!
Good luck!
안녕~!
Filed under Saving Update, Sydney
So as some of you may know, I am an aspiring singer and a major YG Fan! So when I heard YG Family were having auditions right here in Sydney, I grabbed the opportunity!
I won’t bore you with the minor details but basically, we got to Chatswood very early (mind you I live almost two hours away) and I got to be the 14th Auditionee (is that even a word?) !!
Like my haircut? 🙂
I sang 아파 (slow) by 2NE1. I knew it was a popular song…. but I didn’t think it was that popular… I was Number 14, and I met two other people who sang the same song before me. Can you imagine how many other people would have sung it after?
Anyway, here’s a little snippet from my audition….
The night before I had completely lost my voice from recording with my band, but thanks to steam inhalations, ginger, honey, lemon and prayers I got my voice back long enough to sing!
Did you audition for YG? Or any other Korean companies such as JYP last year? Rumour has it that SM Town will be having auditions in Sydney later on in the year, so for you Sydney siders out there, keep your eyes peeled!
Anyway, I’m keeping positive but if I don’t get it this time around, YG, you’ll be seeing me again. I’ll be auditioning in Seoul next year. 🙂 I’ll leave you guys with Park Bom’s audition for YG Family!
Extra trivia: Did you know Park Bom was rejected from YG multiple times before finally being accepted after three years? (So to everyone who auditioned, stay positive!)
안녕~!
It’s a Friday night, you’re tired from work, you don’t want to go home yet but you just want to wind down… So what do you do??
What exactly is a Noraebang you ask? The Noraebang is translated into English as literally meaning the “singing room” or “the song room”. And don’t mix your Noraebang with Western Karaoke! It’s two completely different things. Koreans take their karaoke seriously! (As do most other Asian cultures, amirite?)
In the past week alone I have gone to Noraebang twice! TWICE! (I take my karaoke very seriously, too.)
Sydney Noraebang @ Town Hall
There are many Karaoke rooms in the Sydney CBD. Most of which are great establishments. The two I went to this past week was 시드니 느래방 (Sydney Noraebang – pictured above) and Mizuya (A Japanese Karaoke Room). So obviously, in this post I’ll be talking about the Korean one. ㅋㅋㅋ
Korean Noraebang’s are next level shiz. You get the whole shebang when you go and that’s why I love it so much! Think of your average karaoke… now add some fancy lights, tambourines, shakers, alcohol, food and even costumes and you’ve got a Noraebang. Scared that you’ll embarrass yourself? Don’t be! You don’t even need to be able to sing in tune! Just as long as you’re having a good time (which you will) and hitting all the notes (whether right or wrong)!
Isn't that right, Cat? Hahaha!
Sydney Noraebang can be found near Town Hall Station next to Hungry Jacks. It’s quite a quaint place and it’s fairly hard to find but that’s what makes it more exciting. If you ever go, just look out for the neon sign above and just take the lift to Level 2. And don’t worry! Songs are not only in Korean, but also English, Japanese and Chinese. What I love most about 시드니 노래방 is that songs are updated very regularly so most of your favourite new tunes will be available for singing at your next visit.
In comparison to most other Karaoke Boxes, Sydney Noraebang is fairly cheap ($15 per hour on weekdays) and it’s great quality, too.
Can you read that??
Anyway, enjoy your noraebang experience!
안양~!
맛있어요!!!
Imagine the scent of a barbecue wafting through the air. Sticking to your clothes and staying in your hair. I don’t know about you but i am absolutely enamored with that scent. The scent of a barbecue gets me in very high spirits. Even more so when I can barbecue with my mates at a Korean Barbecue!
If you’ve never gone, I suggest you cancel all your plans this weekend and make the trip.
There are many great KBBQ’s in Sydney. I don’t know how popular they are elsewhere in the world but they’re starting to gain hype here in Sydney along with other Korean dishes like Bibimbap and Kimbap. I’m sure if you look hard enough, there will be one near you and it’s definitely worth it.
My friends and I went to the Charcoal Mine BBQ House in Parramatta the other night just for fun as a way to celebrate before they go back to uni. According to their website, Charcoal Mine was the first smorgasbord KBBQ in Australia. As a matter of fact, my first KBBQ experience in 2007 was here and I’ve been to many other KBBQ’s since then and this place is still my absolute favourite and I highly recommend it.
Korean Barbecue, also known as 고기구이 (Gogigui), is different to Western Styled barbecues because other than the fact that it is grilled indoors, it is served fairly differently.
Banchan!
First of all, usually when you order your meal, appetisers will be brought out to you straight away. These appetisers are called Banchan and are typically eaten on their own. I know people usually make the mistake of trying to make a K-Barbecue “Taco” by eating their banchan together with the meat, using the provided lettuce as sandwiching. Banchan is just meant to be enjoyed on it’s own as a separate side dish.
Also, as I mentioned above, lettuce is served with your barbecue. The lettuce is there to create a wrapping for your freshly cooked meat. What you have to do is tear a little bit of lettuce and wrap the meat. You can also add other things to your little wrap such as bean paste and grilled garlic but make sure you don’t overdo it! I don’t know if you’re meant to but I love adding a bit of Kim Chi to mine. Omnomnom!
My friends and I had a great time at KBBQ (as we always do). We left absolutely satisfied and the $30-something we spent was well worth it. We couldn’t even walk after our meal because we were that stuffed (mind you, Ian sprained his ankle beforehand so he couldn’t walk either way).
Anyway, after writing this blog my mouth is now watering and since I don’t have anything KBBQ-like here, I guess I’ll go grill some bacon… Can’t wait until I go to Korea!
Annyeong~!
savingupforkorea.wordpress.com 