Hello readers, I wish you a Happy Christmas 🎄 New Year’s Eve and New Year! I am writing to you from the Starbucks Reserve opposite our hotel in Hongdae, Seoul, ignoring Fafa, who has been trying to make small talk with me.
Sip your coffee Fa; let me write and publish one last time this year.
Highlights
🥝 ━ I went to Auckland for a work trip early this month and managed to squeeze in some exploring over the weekend. I went to the museum, library, casino and bookstore. I also had Indonesian food for lunch in the CBD and went on Sandringham Food and Spice Tour.
🇰🇷 ━ Our Korea trip! If you are a long-time reader, you might have picked up that I am not a fan of repeating my travels, but revisiting South Korea is one of the best travel decisions I have made. I love noticing the similarities and differences in Seoul after eight years. I also love that I am here with Fafa, who has been eating fried chicken as if he wouldn’t be eating fried chicken for the rest of his life.
🥔 ━ On a weekend, we hang out at Shiv’s place together with Liz and her partner. Shiv cooked Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon and Dauphinoise Potatoes. It was so delicious that I kept thinking about it until now.
🤲🏽 ━ I had unplanned Palmistry reading done. The reader told me, based on my life and love lines, things will get better from now onwards ━ and that I will be more at peace with life. I will take that!
🎄 ━ We had two work Christmas parties, and since I just joined the new team/company last month, it was nice to hang out with some new work friends.
🍷 ━ Liz and I hangout at Kaprica for one last time this year, exchanging gifts, tasting wine and sharing dreams for 2023.
🥕 ━ This month, I harvested the tiniest onion bulbs from my garden. I’m not sure it’s enough for even one dish, but I’m still a proud veggie-mama.
🛋️ ━ We finally figured out how to operate the kitchen exhaust and installed a new dining lamp after 16 months of moving into the house and hating the previous dining lamp with every fibre of my body. It’s a small thing that felt like a big accomplishment.
🍢 ━ I made Indonesian-style anchovies (Ikan Teri Sambal); it was nowhere as good as Amma’s. Fafa still loved it, but that’s because the man has yet to try Amma’s. I also cooked various tofu-based dishes, maybe because I am low-key missing Jik and the food she cooked for me while I was in Sydney.
Love and Found
📚 ━ I read Idol Burning by Rin Usami. It was an easy and, at times, relatable read. I could equate her obsession with her “osin” to my obsession with blogging. Counting Idol Burning, goodreads informed me I have only read 16 books this year, not even reaching halfway to my 38 books in the 2022 challenge. This time though, instead of blaming myself again, I am reducing my 2023 reading challenge to 12 books. I am sure I could easily tick it off. And this way, anything more is a fun bonus – and I deserve fun bonuses.
📚 ━ The book of the month in our book club was The Last White Man Standing by Mohsin Hamid, which I didn’t read because I found it triggering. I almost bailed as I felt guilty about coming to a book club session without reading the book; thankfully, Jik convinced me to go. I am so glad I listened to her as I had a really good time discussing the book and sharing our points of view while enjoying some pate, baked camembert and house wine.
📚 ━ A fellow book club member also got a blog! It’s called BirdGhels. It’s about responsible travelling, detailing adventures around the world, focusing on Australia/Melbourne. Do check it out. I have bookmarked 30 Things To Do in Melbourne in Winter, and I can so relate to her 8 Years of Travel Blogging (Sort Of) post.
🎄 ━ Here is a Christmas lo-fi I played in tandem with lighting the Christmas candle almost every day this month.
💰 ━ I have been binge-reading Refinery’s Money Diaries ━ it’s about a typical week, living in different cities around the world, with different salaries.
🧳 ━ I succumbed to an IG ad and got myself a July carry-on which I brought to Auckland. It is green, has a power bank (I have yet to figure out how to operate it), a laptop sleeve and a hidden laundry bag. So, all in all, it could just be another investment luggage like my trusty Samsonite.
Media Watch
📺 ━ I watched Kumari and, consequently, Life and Population 436, which somewhat fall under the same genre on Netflix. I finished playing Borgen in the background while doing other things on my laptop. Also, I watched Bodies, Bodies, Bodies on the flight to Auckland. I was surprised to see Pete Davidson in it. It feels like he is everywhere these days. The movie itself was kinda good – a horror-thriller for the gen-Z.
Foodie Guide-y
🍩 ━ During the food tour in Auckland, Mary taught us a DIY Pani Puri. Also in Auckland, I revisited Giapo. This time, I had the selfie ice cream.
🌶️ ━ We went to Issan Thai Street Food in West Footscray for lunch one day. It’s one of the few places that is Thai spicy.
🍨 ━ We got some ice cream from Kariton Sorbetes, Fafa’s fave ice cream joint, to celebrate summer. My favourite still is their signature Ube Halaya, but I also like the latest Brew’Ha.
🥡 ━ Baxa, the Asian stall at Melbourne International Airport, is finally open again!! I loved this place, mainly because there is no other half-decent restaurant in the airport. I polished off their spring rolls with a glass of Chardonnay while waiting for my delayed flight to Auckland. It turned out to be a good decision because the food on Qantas flights to and from Auckland was so bad. Seriously do better Qantas!
Browsing History
Best article I read this month: I Didn’t Post an Old Photo of Myself on Instagram and Now I’m Cursed with Two Years of Bad Luck. And the most relatable article of the month was Neera Mahajan’s I like reading diaries of other writers. The Weird Way Traveling Can Lead to Weight Gain.
✿ A mountainside barbeque feast in South Korea ✿ Yeoyu – Korean Short Stories ✿ How Norigae Evolved From Fashion Accessory to Tattoo in South Korea ✿ Korean just Banchan shop in the US ✿ Exploring ‘The Land of Morning Calm’ ✿ 10 Days in Seoul: A food guide
Tiny Joys
Free lunches ♥ Banana Bread in the HUB cafe ♥ Hotel beds ♥ Being lullaby-ed by the hustle and bustle of city nightlife ♥ Writing nine things I appreciate about our home for nine days straight – it’s a Fengshui practice ♥ Payday ♥ Yoga classes ♥ Getting a jar of Scorpion Chilli from Jik and Mulled Wine candle from Jacqui as Christmas gifts ♥
Meanwhile, on Kulture Kween:
I wrote a travel diary series in Auckland, from Sleepless in Auckland to Goodnight Auckland. I also visited Eastwood, Sydney’s Korea Town and wrote about the Korean food I ate there.
Time Machine
Read more about last year’s happenings.
Thank You, Next!
🐯 ━ It was our 13th year anniversary yesterday, and we plan to commemorate it by getting semi-matching tiger tattoos today. I will share the story on the blog next year if all goes well.
🛏️ ━ No travel plan in January, but I am hoping I could convince Fafa to stay in an Airbnb somewhere during Australia day weekend.
🥟 ━ I am planning to explore Melbourne Chinatown’s food scene. It’s a long-due thing on my to-do list, and I hope to tick it off this month.
Meanwhile, I wish you a plan-ful and playful January. Keep Kultured! ━ KK.
Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.
That sounds like a great end to the year. Great work on this blog, loved checking it and reading all the fun posts. May you have an amazing new year and may this blog be filled with fun posts ❤️