Food Review: BINGKI

BINGKI

Blk 7 Tanjong Pagar Plaza #01-106 

Singapore 081007 

Opening hours:

Sunday - Thursday 11 am to 2 am

Friday and Saturday 11 am to 4 am

BINGKI ! 

I was initially skeptical about the whole bingsu craze, because it just seemed like overrated ice kachang.

More so after I tried places like O'ma spoon, and Nunsongyee - which was the worst, in my opinion.

All of them tasted like I expected - shaved ice with toppings on top.

That being said, at least O'ma Spoon's shaved ice had a slight hint of milky flavour, 

unlike NSY, which you needed to pour the milk yourself, and so ended up unevenly distributed.

On a random whim after our Tori King Ramen Keisuke, we decided to give BINGKI a try.

This Bimb was already on a bingsu spree, 

cause she was eating at 313's Ice Lab only the day AND 2 days before! hahahah.

Menu!

Ordered 2 types to try - Mango and Watermelon - $15 each

Bimb was actually hesitant to order the mango in case it was sour, 

so she dee siao the korean waiter and asked him if the mango was sweet or not.

Poor guy obviously didn't understand such chim sentences, HAHAH so he was like ????

His colleague had to step in to save him LOLOL.

And later on when he delivered the bingsu to our table, he commented "Mango sweet, very sweet!"

BWAHAHAHA no it turned out sour #laughdieme

Bimb: "Is this supposed to be Pooh Bear?" 

HAHAHAH I hope not omg #差太远了

Looks more like Boss instead.

Watermelon is my favourite!

Both flavours had super fine shavings of milky ice, which was not too sweet and cloying.

I've never had bingsu in Korea, but this is definitely another level from what I've tried so far.

And I love how the fruits are fresh and juicy!

Well, the sour mango wasn't actually that bad, just not totally ripey sweet if you get what I mean :B

Yay first bingsu try with #bimbgluttonboss #pluspok !

Second time was with Manlin, and we ordered the Green Tea - $15  

Same with the previous time; fine shavings of light green tea milk ice.

No improvement with the art deco hahahaha.

Third time - after dinner with these crazies!
Friday nights are super crowded and this time we had to queue around 20 min.

LOL at that time Pokemon Go was still quite popular,
so me pok and bowei actually went roaming to catch a Jynx and Onix HAHAH.

Make a I'm-seriously-writing-for-bingsu face !

Omg bowei HAHAH.

Resting bitch face on hahahahah

Bimb's like YOU WANNA FIGHT?! 

Janchi Bingsu - $22

Mountain of shaved milky ice, topped with almonds, blueberries, grapes, mango, rockmelon and watermelon.
This was ginormous!
Enough for 7 of us to share comfortably so it was pretty value for money :D
And it's Instagram worthy too hahahaha.

Definitely would recommend this for larger groups.

As a gauge this bowl can fit my #buddingyeast's face, so yup it's big *bwahahah ;p*
 

BINGKI is definitely my to-go place for bingsu!

However, I've also come across some recent reviews on their fb, 

who are complaining about the service and quality of the food.

Hopefully BINGKI will be able resolve their issues,
because they definitely have the potential to go far in Singapore's competitive cafe industry.

Review: Korean Beauty Products

Short review on some of the new Korean beauty products that I've tried!
Mostly ordered from Althea when I was their beta tester.

Laneige's Multiberry Yoghurt Pack - 80 ml, and I got it for $25.20

The yoghurt pack promises to hydrate, promote collagen synthesis, and exfoliate skin.
It contains multiberry extracts for an antioxidant effect too.

I was soooo mindblown because it really smells like a tub of berry yoghurt.

The texture too! Felt like I was smoothing real yoghurt on my face. Not that I've tried la, hahaha.

No wonder the instructions said "Do not eat"

Spread a thin layer on after washing your face and using toner. Avoid the eye area!

I do have to say that the first 30 seconds it feels kinda uncomfortable, like I have something realllly sticky slathered on..

Gets better after awhile, you can sorta feel it melting into your skin. 

Wash off with warm water after 5 to 10 minutes and you're done!

My skin feels really fresh and there's really a slight bounce which lasts throughout the night.

Laneige recommends to use the Multiberry Yoghurt Pack twice a week.

However, due to the creamy texture, it might be overkill for those with oily skin.

Once a week or every two weeks might be better.

Holika Holika Pig-Nose Clear Black Head 3 Step Kit - $1.80 when I got it.

No idea why is it called pig nose seriously. It is usually termed strawberry nose leh..

Anyway, got this because I was curious about how it's different from the usual pore packs.

I have tiny blackheads on the sides of my nose - not very obvious but they're stubborn.

 

All of the information printed on the back is in Korean, so here are the usage details.

Step 1 is supposed to open up your pores for easier exfoliation.

Step 2 is the actual pore pack. Super sticky!

Step 3 acts like a pore minimizer, for after you've ripped removed the pore pack.

Both Step 1 and 2 nose masks were like sheet masks, while Step 3 was like a gel mask.

I can't say this product was helpful to me, because I didn't see much removed dirt on the pore pack.

My stubborn blackheads were still stubborn too, despite the claims of Step 1 to help in opening pores.

It did work for some beauty bloggers, so maybe it's just not the right pig.. I mean, pack for me.

Innisfree Green Tea Cleansing Foam - got it at $8.10

Now this is the right one for me.

I ever went for a complimentary facial treatment once; 

and the consultant told me that I had slightly dried out skin and might want to think about changing my cleanser.

Recognized that as a sales pitch so I told her I'll think about it.

Like nooo I'm not spending any money, this is supposed to be free LOLOL.

Okay so previously, I was just using my sisters' Avene Cleanance Gel Cleanser - for oily skin and acne.

Afterall, my skin type was combi and I was prone to breakouts on the forehead, nose and chin so I thought it was okay.

Then I read some reviews about this cleansing foam and I thought why not,

since Innisfree's Green Tea series is really popular and has different products catering to each skin type.

For those who're wondering, its a smooth cream type cleanser, and it doesn't actually 'foam up'.

I loveeeee the light and fresh green tea scent too!

Like woahhh I can feel the difference in a week.

Because my skin actually became less oily at the forehead areas, and I had lesser breakouts.

Might be a sign that puberty is really over and i'm not that young anymore LOLOL,

but seriously since then I haven't had gigantic pimples on my nose anymore.

Only once a month (ahem) do I get one enormous hormonal pimple either on forehead or chin.

I now have 3 bottles stocked up in my storeroom hahahah.

Skin Food Wash Off Masks - $8 each 

I got the Rice Mask and Black Sugar Mask.

Pearlyn got me to buy this for her when I went Korea, so I decided to try it for myself!

 

The Rice Mask moisturizes and brightens your skin tone, while the Black Sugar exfoliates and nourishes.

With regards to usage, both are very different!

For the Rice Mask, you should use it after cleansing and drying your face.

Avoiding the eye and mouth area, massage gently for 10 to 15 min before washing off.

I know righttttt, so jialat need to rub for 10 mins..

The grains of the mask is quite fine, and it really smells of rice water. 

For the Black Sugar Mask, also use it after cleansing, but! you can mix the mask with water or toner to reduce skin irritation.

Avoiding the eye and mouth area, massage gently and leave it for 10-15 min before washing off.

The grains are coarser and gives you more of the scrub feel than the Rice Mask.

There's this slight warmth, which is normal and supposedly opens your pores to allow better absorption of nutrients.

Quite shiok la massage with facial scrub once in awhile.

I love the Black Sugar one more than the Rice, well, because I can leave it on LOLOL.

Last but not least, Skin Food Fresh Apple Mild Pore Peeling Gel - $11

Yes I'm quite a fan of deep cleansing I know :x

The gel smells great, with a tangy and slightly sweet green apple scent that I love. 

Ahem, abit like DKNY Be Delicious, the only perfume I heheh. (walao perfume also smell like food)

It has a brief fine, sandy texture when rubbed into skin, which assists in exfoliation.

You should expect it to melt into your skin, producing the white clumps of dead skin and dirt we love to see get washed away.

I actually have mixed feelings about this.

You know how super liberated it feels like, when there are lots of white clumps produced?

The more clumps there are, the happier, cause you're removing it (even though the amount scares you LOL)

The first time I used the gel, I was so happy because my T-zone and chin had so many clumps. Like yay I'm cleaning my pores successfully!

What's more impressive is that my cheeks almost had nothing on them,

which led me to believe that the gel really works at targeting dirt, and it's not just friction causing the clumps to form.

Sorry la, science student, what do you expect?

However, for the subsequent times I used it, there were NO clumps at all. 

Like wut I'm not that clean leh, cause I can still see some stubborn blackheads present hahah.

Maybe it's cause I also changed my cleanser?

But oh well. :x

Omg I still have a two more Laneige items to share, and one of my current favourite brands for sheet masks too. 

Sounds like I keep buying leh wut.

Review: Althea - For Korean beauty products addicts!

Not a sponsored post - I'm not being paid to advertise for Althea or their referral program, but just honestly sharing a site that I've come to love.
So please don't income tax me LOLOL.

I was approached by Althea last Sept 2015 to be a beta tester for their launch in Singapore :D

Why so excited?

Because Althea is all about bringing you your favourite Korean beauty products,
at prices cheaper or even equivalent to Korea's retail price!

No need to dedicate luggage space for those heavy beauty products liao!
Which means I can buy more clothes #unstoppable :B

Imagine Laneige's Water Sleeping Mask for SGD$27 only?

Give you all a sneak peek at their bestseller prices.

They have periodic markdowns on popular products, occasional freebies you can just cart out with purchases,
and best of all, the 1+1 daebak deals.

No kidding, I've bought the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask at 2 for SGD$31! Like wut 賺到.

Oh yes, and brand day discounts - 30% discount on all products under the specific brand.
There's been Tony Moly, Holika Holika, Missha, etc.
I'm waiting eagerly for Innisfree's turn :D

As a very smart marketing technique, they love to share the deals on social media more than their email subscriptions.
So do make sure you're following their Facebook and Instagram accounts for faster updates.

Other than the products itself, I love the ultra gorgeous boxes they are sent in!

This is the standard pink box..
If you know me, that's not what I'm excited about.

Lined with even more pink paper on the inside. HAHAH.

Okay tadaaa. The special edition boxes are the highlight!

This was for Christmas, damn chio la the wine red. and all the sides had winter scenes.
There was a forest green box too, but siao la cannot buy so many beauty products leh.
I only have one face, and I'm actually quite lazy when it comes to skincare.

CNY special edition box! I didn't know about this design if not I confirm order one. T.T

Wait I'm starting to sound like I'm buying for the box and not the products LOL.

#suckerforpackaging

Okay la some products are not available on their website, like my current love - Innisfree Sheet Masks.
So I just got my bff to stock them for me on her recent trip to Korea, hiak hiak.
The Hyaluronic Acid one was so popular, it was sold out in many of the stores she went to,
and when she finally found it, she cleared the entire 30 pcs off the shelves LOLOL.

Xiexie #buddingyeast! :D

IF YOU HAVE BEEN TEMPTED TO CHECK OUT ALTHEA.

Good news, because you're now reading the main intention behind my post. *evil cackle*

All new customers will receive $10 credits for their use!

And that's not all.. because if you sign up via my referral address here, and use my code 'JTJASLYNN' at checkout,
you get another $5 off your first order!

Of course, I also get $5 credits to use during my next order, so it's a win-win :D

Shall review some of the items I've gotten to try next time

Seoul Travelogue: Day Five !

Day Five!

Light breakfast at Isaac before we head off to Myeong Dong for last minute shopping!
Eating in the middle of nowhere again ;p

On the way to Myeong Dong!

Had our breakfast at Bonjuk, which serves Korean Traditional Porridge (juk)
Its like Cantonese porridge, thick and the rice grains are mostly broken down.

There is quite a variety of flavours available.

Some are really the traditional types, like Pumpkin, and Black Sesame. 

We ordered Abalone, Mixed Vegetable, and Oyster with Mushrooms.

Each bowl came with banchan (side dishes) - Kimchi, Anchovies, Chilli Bean Paste and Radishes.

I thought the abalone one was nicest! Couldnt get any huge chunks but the taste was there.

Oyster and mushroom was quite salty.

Mixed vegetable was nice but nothing very special. 

Levon says its sick food. HAHAH.

Cotton candy flowers - so cute!

We went to StyleNanda's outlet in Myeong Dong, where it was super crowded!

What made it worse was the fact that many of the items we wanted was out of stock.

With time to spare, we visited the flagship store at Hongdae.

Thankfully we managed to get most of our stuff, and it was more spacious too.

Received news that our flight was delayed for 7 hours, due to the typhoon.

We were mentally prepared for it, so it wasn't so shocking.

Wandered down the streets near our hotel, and chanced upon Yoogane!

Yoogane specialises in Marinated Dak Galbi - Marinated Chicken, which was stir fried.

One of the best meals we had, and cause of that I was secretly thankful for the delay LOL.

  

Lots of cabbage, chicken, and sliced tteokkbokki all stir fried together!

We also topped up with ramyeon and cheese.

Simple ingredients but such a taste of heaven omg.

I'm drooling right now.

Our pretty server!

Bimb asked for permission to take photo, and she thought we wanted to photograph the food.

She was so paiseh and blushed when we said no, we wanted to snap her instead :B

Photo credits to Bimb!

Did a last minute raid of the convenience store!

Hehehe for supper at the airport.

Obviously in love with pudding and the famous milk !

The pudding is super soft and smooth. I got my sister to bring a whole dozen back from her trip :B

And everyone probably knows the packaging of the milk - the banana flavour is famous.

But my favourite is the melon one! 

This one's strawberry, cause its bimb's hahahaha.

Photo credits to Bimb

Last selfie before we board the plane!

Our unofficial Day Six. hahaha.

Actually had many other antics (ahahaha McSpicy Tender Kiss wtf.),

but I'm not allowed to post them..

Gorgeous sunrise! Erms I woke bimb up to see this without thinking . oops !

Safely back in Singapore !

It was an awesome trip with my #newsstandgirls ! 

Packed with food, shopping, and crazy videos.

Five days is super short, due to my stupid leave booking system, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

And I'm always very touched by the fact that they are willing to rush the trip for me.

They refused to let me fly back earlier myself too. <3 p="">

Hoping for more trips with them in the future!
Still hoping for a clique trip too; but we'll see. :x

Seoul Travelogue: Day Four

Day Four! 

4 group selfies to kick it off.

Seriously you didnt think we'd only eat and drink in the subway?

When the lighting is this good, you spam selfies. No excuses.

Also spotted Bimb's handsome-men-in-all-white-navy-uniforms on the subway.

Wabbit Levon

Two gluttons playing the violin.

Our first stop for the day is Ehwa Women's University!

Other than the beautiful university grounds, we also enjoyed shopping there.

Everything was much cheaper than in Myeong Dong, especially the cosmetics. *angry*

Gorgeous campus.
We saw some students on their way to school, and it was a Sunday. :o

Honestly I think I'll die if I'm a student there.
Imagine if you're late and you still have to trek so far to get to the buildings..

Our ootds!

Dandelion. Pretty!

We went crazy and started jump shots on the grass.

If we attempted this in TP we would have been fined like mad, hahahah!

And in such a Harry Potter-esque campus we had to do something Harry Potter-esque.

Of course, we also filmed our infamous #supportlocalproduction video.

A video posted by Jingting Jaslynn :D (@jingtingjaslynn) on Sep 9, 2014 at 7:53pm PDT

For brunch we visited Egg and Spoon Race!
It's located along the main street leading to Ehwa Women's Uni, but the entrance is facing an alley.

One of the best meals I've had in Korea, and best cafe there.

Love the cosy ambience and quirky deco in the cafe!

Just reach out for utensils. ;p

We ordered 3 dishes to share among the 4 of us!

Cafe food is generally more expensive than traditional cuisine, 

but here, you're really gonna enjoy your money's worth.

ALL DISHES WERE SO GOOD. And had generous portions.

Behind the scenes, hahahah.

Potato Omelette Plate

One of the recommended items, and I couldn't agree more!

A soft fluffy omelette filled with sauteed spinach, diced potatoes and bacon.

Nothing ever goes wrong with bacon. and eggs. and potatoes.

Waffles and Sausage Plate.

A guide online recommended Matcha Waffles, which wasn't on the menu when I went.
but we decided to go ahead and try the waffles anyway.
It turned out to be a great decision - the waffles were perfect.

Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the interior, it was not too sweet either.
The waffles did have a light green color, so maybe it was matcha after all?
I didnt taste matcha flavour though. Just a light sweet taste.

How the perfect waffle looks on the inside.

Grilled chicken, Sausage and Bagel Plate.

This was least impressive because the other two really blew me away. 

The bagel was slightly over-toasted and hard.

Chicken was nice, packed with herb flavour and not too salty.

Two sexy Strawberry Teas.

Shopped like crazy in the vicinity after refuelling ourselves!

Ehwa is really a good place to shop for us, 

because the prices are very reasonable and clothes are suited for young people.

I guess it's especially catered to the students in the area.

Some stores do have repeated items though, at various prices.

When shopping in Korea, please do yourself a favour and BUY SHOES.

Seriously. super comfortable, with no blisters whatsoever. Regardless of heels, wedges, sneakers.

And usually the shoes are cheap! 20k - 27k won.

Buy more pairs and its also easier to ask for a discount - kkakga-ju-seyo !

As for sizing, shoe sizes go by mm here.

I'm a size 38, UK 6 and US 8 - my Korean shoe size is 235-240 mm.

Of course, cutting matters too.

Say Melon !

Adorable white Japanese Spitz!

Other than Ehwa, we also shopped at Hongik Uni area - also known as Hongdae.

Similar to Ehwa, prices are affordable, and there are more clothes for guys there.

If you're an accessories fan (like my three girlfriends),

Redeye is a large accessories and clothing store - Hongik's branch is more spacious than Ehwa.

Some of the jewelery were pretty unique.

I kept having to hover near Levon to remind her why she'd wanna by this and that.

Think my presence scared her, cause she was like GO AWAY whenever I walked near. #sadface.

Can't visit Hongdae without dropping by the Hello Kitty Cafe.

This was probably the highlight of the day for Bimb and Levon, hahaha.

This is the old premises; the new cafe has been opened on 14th Nov 2014.

For directions on getting there, refer to the official website.

Word of warning though: the map is always changing. 

I was sooooo annoyed, cause I only updated it 1 week before the trip, 

When we were there we got lost following the directions provided.

Checked the site to confirm, and voila. 

Totally different subway exit and directions, but the same route mapped out. -.-

In the end, a very kind hearted ajussi led us there when we asked him for directions.

We merely wanted verbal directions, but he went the extra mile and brought us right there.

Didn't even get the chance to thank him, cause he simply turned and left to get back to his friend.

Warning, extreme flood of pink, ribbons and kittys.

Kittyfi?

Everyone loves to leave their mark on the walls. 

We were no exception.

#newsstandgirls #shoppingseouls. 

Hi I'm Shirlee/Bimb, look at my leybin!

Toilet also need to deco until so cute.

Downstairs

Photo credit to Sok!

Upstairs

The surprisingly good matcha latte.
Waffle was average only.
Kind of expected because the cafe is definitely focusing on deco, rather than real food.

Continued shopping around Hongdae, and we decided to nom dinner at this random bbq place!

Photos all credit to Bimb. Phone was reserving fuel :p

Got the boyfriend to translate this - the restaurant is called Guiga.

We were attracted to it because of the delicious smell wafting from the store!

If I didnt remember wrongly, it is located in an alley, left turn from a main street.

This wasn't included in our itinerary, so sorry that I couldnt be more specific :x

They were heating up the charcoal outside.

Be prepared to wait for about 15 minutes during peak hours.

The hallmarks of a classic Korean style BBQ place:

Charcoal grill, and space looking vaccuum funnels which suck all the smoke.

It still doesnt help you avoid smelling like bbq though.

Ordered one set of meat at 28000 won, 

which included 500 g of samgyupssal (grilled pork belly) of different quality.

And ramyeon, which wasnt outstanding.

Had these white button mushrooms which we popped over the grill, 

Set some pieces of pork belly to add flavour. NOMS.

For a meal with such good quality of meat, the price was affordable.

Most importantly, we enjoyed it. Stuffed ourselves silly !

Sigh I'm actually salivating, thinking about it. 

Want to go back to Korea soon !