Never Knew Fried Chicken Can Be This Good???

Hands down last week I've ate the best fried chicken in my life, currently.

It was a Korean franchise fried chicken restaurant, called Chir Chir. My friends recommended this to me however just last week I've finally had the chance to try, and IT. WAS. SO. GOOD. I thought it will be plain blah like other Korean fried chicken fast food one such as L*tter*a or ridiculous one like *jj*. But hell this one was on another level.

Why ah? Why fried chicken can be so good???

  

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Didn't really remember the menu names that I've ordered, but I ordered the garlic chicken wings (first photo) and a sweet spicy chicken tender, added with ricotta cheese salad to neutralize the buds.

Ordered the beer as well but the taste was just meh. Was hoping the beer will taste like Suntory's Premium Malts one..(you wish)

Plus the fat: whipped cream! Insanity.

Anyway, left with a happy full tummy and definitely craving for more!

Feast.

Anyone with better recommendations than Chir Chir, challenge me, I dare you.

(Almost Everyday) Skin Care Routines

Not my intention to become too much of a brag, I realize that sometimes I’m praised for my skin and people often asked what skincare products did I use.

To be honest… I’m a very bad skin-care-adviser as I didn’t know exactly what’s making my skin is good (which I always assume it was probably genetics, and age). Besides, since I believe skin care products will react differently for each person, I can’t guarantee whether what I’m using currently will be giving the same result for all of you. 

However I believe as well that sharing information brings no harm! Which brings me to write this very, very long post which I haven't done for while.

So, quick to the point, shall we! 

Item below are the steps and product that I use in sequential order:

1. Mild Oil Cleansing – MUJI

Works just the way it is. This is already my multiple purchase products (maybe 10 times plus already), very effective in removing all makeups especially for waterproof types. Usually use 2 pumps for normal makeups, 1 additional pump for heavy makeups. Not to mention it is quite cheap compared to other brands, 1,190 yen for 400 ml, enough to last me 4-5 months if used every day. Pump to your dry hands, and lather all around the face and the makeups will just melt away. Just be warned that it has quite a bit of a "fishy" scent for you who aren’t used to it, as MUJI didn't add any artificial scent to this product, which is should be good for sensitive skin actually.

2. Face Wash

No Photos!! Because I use whatever face wash my mom use (and usually it changes every time). Several brands that I have used before are Biore's, Dove's, Face Shop's. However my all-time favorite is Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Pore Cleansing Foam, because it gives me a psychological effect and motivation that all of my blackheads will go away if I use that products continuously. Sadly last time my dad borrowed my 1/4-used of that cleansing foam and it never came back to me.

3. Angels on Bare Skin - Lush

*no pic as the tub already so dirty

This I use for scrub and I think this is the best scrub that I ever use in my life! Actually they claimed that this is not a scrub but a face wash product instead but I still think that washing face without soap-y products is very strange and not so clean, thus I use this product after washing my face with soap.

This product was introduced by my friends and I thank him for life for this. THIS. IS. AMAZING. It will leave your skin moisturized af you won’t believe you've just scrubbed your face. I never knew these kind of product exist?!? JUST. BUY. IT!! And try it. But be warned the smell were a bit strong to some people.

The smell is not chemical though! It's all natural scent from all the natural ingredients inside.

I always bought this in Japan, 1,280 yen for 100 gr, enough for 5-6 months use or more if used once per week. They say have to finish in less than 3 months, but I always finish WAAAAY later than that.. And It is fine... At least for me.

3. Sensitive Skin Care Light Toning Water Moisture - MUJI

My multiple purchase product as well. Last time in Japan I use 'High Moisture' version in winter, but now in Indonesia I stick with the 'Moisture' level (there's the 'Light' version as well for very oily skin). Its 908 yen for 400 ml, enough for 4-5 months if used daily.

Just fyi, I never use cotton for toner, as I thought It is such a lot of waste of products if I use cotton where most of the products will be thrown away with the cotton. I just pump enough in my palm and apply it on my face bit by bit.

This product are not so extraordinary, just served its purpose well which is to soothe and moisturize.

Not to advertise this product, but this is alcohol-free, paraben-free, and perfume-free toner which should be very good for people with sensitive skin.

Beside this actually I have my long-missed favorite toner which is IOPE BIO Essence Intensive Conditioning Toner which I bought and finished several years ago.

Last time I bought it, it came with promo price with the purchase of IOPE BB Cushion. If no promo, normal price is around $50-$80 USD. No wonder it works wonder to my skin; it moisturize, smoothen and brighten the skin. I will repurchase once I'm older (and richer).

4. Fresh Herb Origin Serum – Nacific

Just tried this one several months ago. It sure refine my skin more as this boost my previously "just enough" hydration from toner and moisturizing into something thicker.

They said that this is a "damn serum", which you will feel a stinging sensation as the serum fix problematic area in your face but will be less stinging with continuous use as your skin condition will get better. However, for me, it didn’t sting at all since the first time I’m using it. It's either my skin condition is already good, or it's just gimmicky advertising.

I've applied this one too much the other night and woke up with super oily skin, I guess this prone to be the cause of breakouts in several cases especially for people with oily skin. But all in all, it smells nice, works nice, pore became smaller quite significantly, but still open to other products if I found anything else better than this one. IDR 135,000 for this 50ml serum.

5. Lululun Moist Gel

Honestly bought this just because of the cute packaging! Luckily it suits my skin; no issues at all. Moisturizing effect is a bit low, but just fine with the combination of the serum that I've just mentioned above.

Will work well in oily skin I suppose. People with dry skin type will need much more moisturizing formula. Will not repurchase as I want to explore a bit more from the other brands. 1,620 yen for 80 gr.

I'm still no doubt impressed by its beautiful package with sturdy glass jar. Who else bought some products cause of the packaging?! I know some of you do.

6. Belif Moisturizsing  and Firming Eye Cream

Bought this 'cause I read it's good review somewhere. Is it truly good I don't know yet. Maybe when I'm 30 and I didn’t see any wrinkles around my eyes then at that time I can just say that its all thanks to this product. 

Have to commit daily to use this product though, as I often skip this part. Have been struggling to finish this since 3 years ago (and yes I know MAYBE it's expired already but still I'm getting all my money's worth!!). Bought around USD 48 in Korea, for 25 ml of products. Just realize that this is the most expensive products that I use currently.

7. Jeju Pore Volcanic Super Clay Mask

Just managed to use this twice, not very sure for the effect but surely it gives a soothing, minty feeling when applied. Bought this for its amazing reviews here and there, and finally decided to try this myself. Currently I’m using it interchangeably with my normal face mask that I usually buy in Innisfree or Face Shops, as this one is not moisturizing, but more to deep cleansing, I suppose. Will have to use more often to see its effect on my skin.

8. Kiehl’s Lip Balm

Not part of the skincare, but this product is definitely worth the mention. Some say that this is the best lip balm in the world, and if it’s not in the world, at least it’s still the best in my world. The applicator is a bit meh but the moisturizing power is awesome. Proved it in a very dry winter in Japan and it protects my lip VERY WELL all day without much reapplication. Repurchased several time and will always be. 1,000 yen for 1 tube in Japan, around IDR 130.000 in Indonesia If I’m not mistaken.

Please note that everything are daily use except the scrub and the mask.

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Aaaand that’s all! For my not-so-complicated skin care steps that I do currently. Or at least that’s what I think. I didn’t say that it was ALL cheap products too as some of the products are quite pricey as well, but not all of them are high end. For example MUJI products can be considered drugstore products in Japan, as its price competes with some real drugstore products in the market. However yes I admit that I prone to use foreign brands up until this point, Maybe next time I should try to explore more on local’s (Indonesia) one.

Other reasons I’m not keen on sharing my skin care routine is that I knew I can’t trust the quality of my routines due several weak points below:

1. Sometimes I skip skincare routine at all at night because I'm too sleepy.
2. In a week, maybe skip 2 times.
3. Even when I don't skip I often skip moisturizing and eye part, stops only at serums.
4. I go blind on trying moisturizing products, sometimes bought them only because the packaging is cute, not because it suits my skin.
5. I tend to change brands often for the sake of trying something new, which legit making me can’t say specific product to be introduced to people who ask me which product that I use regularly.

However I hope that what I’m doing right now is already on the right path rather than not taking the skin care steps at all.

Other tips related to skin care which I follow quite seriously because logically it sounds true to me:

1. Never wipe the face with towel downwards as it will make the skin droopy snoopy. Only patting is allowed.
2. Never do point 1 to neck as well.
3. Never wash face in downward motion as well. Same reason as point 1.
4. Go bare face in a while, to help skin breath. I go bare face as well when I feel like my skin is not in a good condition compared to how it should be usually.
5. Scrub once in every 1-2 weeks.
6. Will change the entire moisturizing above with face mask if my skin was too dry at times.
7. Always moisturize neck ‘cause neck will tell your age, no matter how young your face looks.
8. Use cold water to wash face if can to avoid pore enlargement (but I always fail). 

And that’s it.

I suppose all of the tips above were quite common?? That’s why I feel that it’s quite embarrassing sharing and giving you all the tips like above as I knew that I’m a person which still are not perfect at taking care of my skin, at all. I hope the next time I’m asked about my skin care routine, I will be much more prepared for the answer and maybe I can just share the link to this blog here. Problem solved!

Anyway, just let me know some tips/product recommendations that I need to know beside all of the above and not to forget that your feedback for my writing is much much appreciated!

See you all in my next post!

Sugeng Rawuh Ing Ngayogyokarto

November last year, or, 2 months ago to be exact - (am still refusing it to become “last year”), I’ve had the chance to explore more of Java which is Yogyakarta, to be specific. 

Went there with my buddies, it was such a nice trip. What excites me the most was my visit to Borobudur Temple, which is one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Finally here!!

The sun was BRUTALLY shining and It was quite a stupid of us as well, visiting this temple in the middle of the afternoon, like around 13.00ish, which successfully burned our skin off. My makeup’s melting as well. But it was all worth it.

Utterly satisfied with this! We hired a tour guide to walk us through the temple to hear some of the temple's history and fun-facts; and it is a must do, actually, rather than just strolling around and taking photos like most of them tourists do.

Our guide became our cameraman too! Since he knows some perfect spot and angles for the best pictures, we gave quite a generous tip afterwards to him.

Melting afterwards.

Aside from Borobudur Temple, for another museum and cultural trip, we went for a museum called Museum Ullen Sentalu, which told us stories related to the history of Yogyakarta and its monarchy. What surprised us was that this museum’s was not governments’, but private’s owned. No wonder it was so well maintained.

We couldn’t take much photos because it was prohibited in the most areas, however the museum have prepared one photo spot for all the visitors to get. 

This was one of my most memorable museum visits all the time, since the tour guide (included in the ticket fee) explains everything so well and detailed you’ll be longing for more at the end of the trip. This is one of the must visit place, I believe, and If you interested, please do your homework here!

Aside from those 2 main places, we’ve enjoyed ourselves well too from culinary trip, cute hotels, and beautiful natures.

Dangerously beautiful Jogan Beach.

Dinner at Jejamuran, where all the foods here are made from mushrooms!. "Jamur" means mushroom, fyi.

The legendary Sate Ratu, best for their spicy chicken satay. Super yum omagah. The place were famous between foreign tourists as well they have a wall full of photos of people from around the world.

Yogya's must eat: Ice Rojak.

And not to forget our cute and comfy hotel as well!

It was called Oemah Njonya Bed & Brasserie.

Delish Indonesian breakfast included!

It was a short 4 days 3 nights trip, however all in all, it was so fun and am glad to have this chance of holiday to be the closing of my 2018 trip, especially with these guys here since most of our holiday plans usually were not executed and ended up in another café-visit only, somewhere in Jakarta.

Hey, you two.

Hope we can explore other places as well in Indonesia soon!

A Perfect Morning

At least, it is, for me.

I wish it goes on forever.

Old Me Hold Me

Yesterday night I’ve made such a wrong, wrong decision. At noon I and my friends met and we switched some photo files of our trip to Yogya back then. When I rechecked them again at home, I’m checking other old photos as well, thinking that it will bring back lots of good memories but hell how I was so wrong.

Most of the photos that I managed to go through with were the photos I took back then in Japan, both when I did some traveling alone or together with my friends.

I’m just amazed that how can I laugh so sincerely, considering how shitty my days back then.

My often solo trip to One Piece Museum, which I've been eyeing for for forever. 

Strolling around Harajuku with my friend, Shelley, whom I missed so much.

Disneyland. Shelley. Argh.

Damn happy skinny bitch. Not my boyfriend fyi.

Gunma with this guy. Not my boyfriend also. At some point I wish, tho.

Korea, alone.

Hongkong, alone as well. Crayzy bithz is cray.

The more I browse some photos the more frustrated I've become.

I think I’m just missing my old, carefree self, that’s all. And I pitied myself for this.

Considering I’m gonna be in my end of 20s now, it’s just that being “carefree” comes with a lot of responsibilities afterwards.

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“I want to travel somewhere far away; however I need to save as well.”

“I want to quit my work and try to do some new things, however in my age right now I’m not in a place where I can be “explorative” anymore.”

“I’m ok with being single and carefree however somehow I need to settle down at one point, at least for the sake of my parents.”

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These excuses have never been in my head when I’m on my early 20s, however lately these thoughts start to creep in and somehow I have no power to fight them. I feel like I ran out of time.

Somehow I wonder if anyone’s feel the same…

And I Will Call You By Mine.

Watched a movie, and SUPER hooked.

Great great great movie, 10/10. How can I knew this movie just now??

Hands down, Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer successfully melt me down with their acting, and thumbs up as well for Luca Guadagnino as the director and most of all, Andre Aciman as the author of the novel (yes, it IS adapted from a novel). Genius.

Looking from the poster, you guys may have guessed, that....YES, this movie is rotating around romance between 2 guys. I'm not a pro-LGBTQ however this movie were SO GOOD that you kinda fall in love with them falling in love, with the chemistry between them, and with all the meaning they deliver. 

After the movie ended, I feel like I've just watched.. an art.

Every picture is a painting.

Is it better to speak, or to die?

Every scenario is a poetry.

I'm in love.

Pro tip though: not a with-the-whole-family watch material as there were some very awkward scenes inside.. 

But do watch them! 

I'm not gonna spill the summary here as it will be too long (do your own homework if you're interested) however here is the website that I found which explains some meanings inside some scenes in the movie; which blows me on. 

All in all, it is one of the movie which makes me feel shitty for several days, in a good way, of course.

All the pain, worth it.

Will try to get the book as well; if the movie were THAT GOOD, how will the novel be?

Super excited!

Will keep you posted and see you on the next one :)

*just a foot note that all pictures above were not mine.

H A P P Y

Just realized this morning that I’ve only had 2 posts on my 2018 blog archive, and it saddened me a bit because I remember that each week of 2018, I kept reminding myself to update my blog frequently however I seem can’t find even a just a little time to do this. I realize that my blog has not been my priority, at least until now.

Just recently I really miss writing some thoughts in my not-so-secret blog; a place to keep my memories present in a web somewhere where people can also enjoy what I’m feeling about. Being vlogger or youtuber seems to be more promising these days however blogging will always be my sanity place, where I can keep ranting and talking via keyboard and keep me mentally stable.

But now welcoming 2019, I think I will start to write again, somehow. To remind myself that my blog is all compilations of what I truly enjoy and makes me happy, and updating it makes me happy. 

Happiness even from the simplest form.

Just like this socks that I wore this morning.

From the book that I’ve read: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, she said that one way to make yourself happy is to spend – money-wise, can be - but more of like, use all the cute notes that you keep tucking away for collections, all the nice accessories that you saved for “later”, postcards which were usually kept on the folder, and so on.

Those things make you happy, so why not use it?

- and so I’ve thought this morning.

So I decided to use my Totoro socks that my brother gave me months ago – which I’ve been saving for “later”.

To a happier me, and no more "later", in 2019.

What to Eat in Disneysea (or What WE Eat in Disneysea)

Just so you know that last month I have this amazing chance to go to Disneysea again!! It’s not a big surprise really, as maybe this was already my 5^th or 6^th trip there however this is kinda more special as it was the first time I went there with my brother! It was quite an achievement at least for me, as this year, I managed to bring one family member to my most favorite place on earth (currently) and hopefully I can bring my mom and dad too. Hopefully next year?

However! This time I would like to focus on what kind of stuffs we ate there. Disneysea is quite famous for their food, either heavy foods or finger foods, and bringing my brother definitely gave me chances to try them all especially some of the famous one, as we can share some of the foods together (and a growing lil boy’s stomach is bigger means more variety of food that we can try).

So here we go!

The 1^st food that we tried is this 3 Little Green Men Mochi from Toy Story.

Price: 380 yen
Location: not fixed, around Toy Story area until Barnacle Bill’s (still inside American Waterfront Area)

*At the same time, introducing my lil bro, which will be the model for some of the photos.

You know that usually cute stuff didn’t follow with good taste; however this is the best dessert mocha that I have ever had in Japan! 3 pieces of soft and cute green mochi with generous vanilla, strawberry and chocolate filling. The trickiest part of this cute mocha is that the wagon location is somewhat keep changing. I usually found it in front of Toy Story area (around  2 times), and most of the times I didn’t find it at all (maybe sold out), but this time we found it in the front of Barnacle Bill’s wagon, it was right before the big bridge to Port Discovery area. We were lucky enough to notice a long queue in front of a wagon and bam! We saw that the green men was being sold was and directly queuing for it. Yumyum.

Finished with The Green Man, we went for a wagon called Seaside Snack to hunt for our 2^nd food called Ukiwah Bun.

Price: 500 yen

Location: Seaside Snack Wagon in Port Discovery

This is a swim-ring shaped shrimp filling bun that wrapped in a cute swimming Donald wrapper. The filling is quite a lot, and the bun is very soft. I read good reviews about this, and we can't deny it. It was pleasant and fulfilling. However me and my bro agreed that this was not the best food that we had here. There are some seats available around the wagon, allowing you to enjoy the bun and the pleasant view from this area.

After this, we didn’t find so much good stuffs around Lost River Delta, so we just continued our way for lunch in Arabian Coast, as we were quite starving at that time.

Our 3^rd food is our lunch, which is Curry Sets. If I remember correctly, it was available in Chicken, Fish, Beef and Combination of those 3.

Price: varies from 600-800 yen.

Location: Casbah Food Court in Arabian Coast

We ordered 2 Chicken Curry Sets (780 yen each), Salad (350 yen) and Original Lassi (350 yen), totaling 2,260 yen. We notice that the chicken cut was quite big, and the curry was delicious. What we curious about is the double carbs in one set as it have both rice and roti prata altogether (What’s wrong with Japanese and double carb, they eat ramen with rice too...).  Apologize for not taking proper photos, as we were both ravenous at that time we just remembered to take photos when our food was already damaged haha.

That lunch last for a good 2 hours more or less, and we continued to our 4^th food, which is Potato Churros, since my bro asked for one.

Price: 380 yen

Location: Churros Wagon in Mysterious Island

The least food that we liked here. As it was potato churros, the taste resembles French fries however this is like the big version of it, and the texture is softer than regular churros. However since it was quite a unique kind of churros, this is worth to try too. Maybe some of you will like it?

Since my and my bro were not satisfied enough with this churros, we went straight for our 5^th food, which is Cotton Candy Churros.

*Last photo so blur, forgive me

Price: 380 yen

Location: Open Sesame Wagon, in front of Sindbad’s Storybook Voyage attraction.

This churros is better than the potato version, and it was saluted with purplish sugar which taste like cotton candy (they said). This version of Churros is limited as it was part of the 35^th year celebration of Disneysea at that time. I assume that the wagon will be selling original churros when there’s no event of it. This was nice and we liked it!

Nearby the wagon is the Sultan Oasis area, which is like a small cafeteria that sells some snack. That’s where we buy our 6^th and 7^th food at the same time:

Easter 2018 version of Chandu’s Tail

Price: 500 yen

Location: Sultan Oasis Cafeteria

Chandu’s tail is one of the infamous foods in Disneysea, and this time they serve it Easter Special with pink ribbons (I can’t figure out what’s the form actually, rabbit?) and curry fillings. The normal version one has chicken cream fillings and orange in color with black stripes, but I liked the curry version as well. Should be considered one of the best food in Disneysea.

Vanilla Smoothie and Coffee Jelly Drink

Price: 500 yen

Location: Sultan Oasis Cafeteria

The vanilla smoothie taste like regular milk shake with coffee jelly toppings and choco powder. What I like is that it was not as sweet as I expected, and it balances well with the Chandu’s Tail. Perfect for hot summer weather. Oh, and this is the specials for 35^th Celebration Food too!

Not stopping there, before we went for our final show in Mediterranian Harbor, we went for snacks that will accompany us to watch the show:

8^th food: Garlic Shrimp Popcorn

Oh helloooo, Nemo!

Price: 350 yen

Location: Mermaid Lagoon

We are tempted to buy this because of the MSG aroma that lingers around Mermaid Lagoon, which area we have to pass in order to go to the Mediterranian Harbor. Couldn’t complain anything about the taste as it was good! Just FYI, the Curry Popcorn in Arabian Coast is much more famous compared to this one, however this time I’d prefer this one to try.

9^th Food: Gyoza Dog

Price: 500 yen

Location: Nautillus Galley

This one, I think, was the best bun that Disneysea’s have. It was a looong bun with lotsa gyoza filling, and most of the people hunted this bun a lot that they decided to move the selling place to a bigger area which is the Nautillus Galley. Since it IS big, I think this should be enough for dinner for most of the people.They have a lot of signage of this Gyoza Dog around Mysterious Island so I think it will be hardly missed. Nautillus Galley itself are quite hidden, as you need to go downstairs to get to the café.

Aaaaand that Gyoza Dog became our closing food that we ate in Disneysea. Since we are NOT like most people, in the end we went to convenience store around our hotel too to grab a very proper late dinner which was around 23.30.

Like I said before, I never had the chance to eat THIS MUCH before as usually I went there with my girl friends, which usually were not a good foodies. However, with my brother and his deep stomach pit, it was glorious! We got the chance to eat most of it and realize we spent 6,130 yen or around IDR 800.000 for all of this. Expensive, indeed, but all in all it was worth the experience! And taste, of course.

I can proudly say that most of the stuff that we ate here are some of the top items that people usually hunting for, so feel free to note them, hunt them on your next trip to Disneysea and share your thoughts!

Tips: don’t forget to take Entertainment & Information called “Today” Brochure when you take the Guide Map in front of the gate, as it has all of the information especially limited edition goods, foods, and special parade according to the event during your visit.

See you on the next post!