Friday Five: Do-re-meme

This week's Friday Five:

1. When have you yelled at a cat? I don't know if I've ever yelled at a cat. Then again, I'm not often around cats, let alone be close enough to one to yell at it.
   
   
2. Would you please tell us you're looking forward to the weekend without telling us you're looking forward to the weekend? It's FRI-YAY!
   
   
3. What first-world problems have you recently complained about? The sensor on my Brita water filter doesn't work anymore. My apartment doesn't have enough space for all my BTS merch. I can't buy groceries at Costco because the portion sizes won't fit in my fridge. I mean, realistically, aren't all my problems first-world problems?
   
   
4. You have one job this weekend: what is it, and how might you mess it up? Laundry, which is the only chore I have to do every weekend. But I never mess it up.
   
   
5. What did you learn when you were today years old? The Sahara desert has an area of 9,200,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq. mi.)! (My boss is currently in Morocco and he was trying to call me but the reception was terrible and as it turns out, he was somewhere in the Sahara, so I decided to look it up on Google Maps.)

Cooking at Home: Za'atar Chicken Bulgur Bowls with Baby Spinach and Chopped Olives

Za'atar chicken bulgur bowls with baby spinach and chopped olives
In an effort to both save money and be healthier, I decided to stay home for dinner and make my last Hello Fresh kit of the week: Za'atar chicken bulgur bowls with baby spinach and chopped olives. The chicken came out really juicy (again, props to my air fryer) and I don't mind bulgur (it was my first time trying it), but at the end of the day, the whole dish just tasted really... healthy. I don't mind eating healthy, but with the amount of seasoning and the addition of olives, I thought it would be more enticing. It really was just like a warm chicken salad. Also, I absolutely hate the feta that Hello Fresh includes in their kits. It's already pre-crumbled, so it doesn't look or taste like real feta. It's not a huge deal but, you know, it's a new-found pet peeve.

Cooking at Home: French Dip Burgers with White Cheddar and Caramelized Onions

Cheesy creamy prosciutto penne with roasted cauliflower

Had six tubes of blood taken this morning during my blood test so I was like, "I NEED BEEF." And thus, I made my French dip burger kit from Hello Fresh for dinner. It includes white cheddar cheese and caramelized onions and a most delicious au jus on the side, and for flavour combination alone, I would give it a 10/10. But a round brioche bun is just not the most ideal vessel to dip into au jus (it needs to be a French roll or baguette for optimal dippage), so for that, I must take off one point.

Cooking at Home: Cheesy Creamy Prosciutto Penne with Roasted Cauliflower

Cheesy creamy prosciutto penne with roasted cauliflower
The AC has now been activated in my building so I can cook again without getting heatstroke. So tonight's dinner from Hello Fresh: Cheesy creamy prosciutto penne with roasted cauliflower. Quick, easy, and totally delicious. Although, compared to the creamy butternut-sage penne I made last month, I gotta say I prefer the sage flavour. Perhaps I can combine the two recipes next time and create the ultimate prosciutto penne...

BTS EPISODE: Permission to Dance: On Stage in Seoul

GOD, I MISS THEM SO MUCH. 😭

Praying for a world tour announcement after Proof drops. 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Dining Out: Assorted Sushi, Sashimi, and Maki Bento Box at Gal's Sushi

Assorted nigiri sushi
Assorted sashimi
Assorted maki
Assorted tempura

We're having some sort of mini heat wave right now and my condo building doesn't turn on the AC until tomorrow so my apartment is currently at 31℃ and therefore I refuse to cook dinner because I can literally just sit on a chair and start sweating, so my mom and I went to Gal's Sushi for some bento boxes and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Gal's Sushi

3621 Highway 7 East, Unit 106

Markham, ON L3R 0G6

(905) 305-7753

Take Out: The Holy Chuck from Holy Chuck

The Holy Chuck

When Ronsee asked me this afternoon if I wanted to watch Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with him, I was like, "Ehhhh..." But then he said, "I'll bring burgers from Holy Chuck." So I immediately responded, "Alright, come on over." Because I can absolutely be bribed with (excellent, top quality, truly delicious, juicy) burgers.

(The Leafs lost, but Denise won.)

Dining Out: Shanghai-Style Dim Sum at Ding Tai Fung

When my colleague Linh shamefully told me that she had never been to Ding Tai Fung, I knew had to rectify the situation immediately. And so we had a Shanghai dim sum party for dinner:

Steamed pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao)
Pan-fried pork and chive pockets
Green onion pancake
Pan-fried pork dumplings
Stewed beef pancake wraps

She's obsessed. We're already planning our next visit. Mission accomplished.

Ding Tai Fung

3235 Highway 7, Unit #18B

Markham, ON L3R 3P9

(905) 943-9880

BTS — MBTI Lab 2

I'm at a cafe studying for exams and some friends drop by. Who would I be more angry at?

a) Min Yoonji who ordered another drink to cheer me up but spilled it all over my summary notes.

b) Jeon Jungsun who took photos of my summary notes I worked on all night while I went to the restroom. ✅ (I would then promptly dump Jungsun as a friend, the snake.)

A friend is upset about how bad they did on a test. What would you say?

a) It's okay, it was difficult for me, too.

b) Which question? You'll do better next time. ✅

A friend comes up to me and says, "I don't think your current job is working out for you. Why don't you quit?" How do you reply? Why is my current job not working out for me?

I got into a car accident. The first thing my friend says on the phone is, "Do you have insurance?" Do you feel:

a) Upset ✅ (Why the fuck would I be driving and not have insurance? And as a friend, YOU WOULD KNOW THAT.)

b) Not upset

I cooked for a friend, but it doesn't taste that good. How would I want my friend to react?

a) Thank me and telling me that they're touched I made a meal for them.

b) Thank me after honestly telling me how it tastes. ✅ (I want constructive criticism, though. Don't just say, "Hey, this tastes like shit," but not tell me why it tastes like shit.)

My friend seems angry at me these days. What would I do?

a) Organize my thoughts, whether it takes a week or a month.

b) Ask right away what the problem is. ✅ (I have no patience for guessing games.)

I clean my room:

a) Regularly. ✅

b) Whenever I feel like it.

I'm going on a trip with some friends. How do we prepare?

a) Booked the flight and hotel. All ready! ✅

b) First day is this, second day is this, third day is this. What do you think?

My phone screen is broken. It's working just fine, but ugly to look at. What would I do?

a) Schedule for a repair right away. ✅

b) It's still working. Repair it later.

I got a day off after a long time. What would I do?

a) Think about when, where, how, and why first. I don't want to just go out. ✅

b) I don't know where to go, but just get ready and go wherever my feet lead me.

My daily routine during school vacation:

a) Prioritize my vacation plans, allot time, and make a schedule based on the plan.

b) Allot time for sleep, meals, having fun, and decorate the empty spots. ✅

I recently got in touch with an old friend and we decide to meet next month. What do you prefer?

a) Let's see how our schedules turn out.

b) How about lunch on the 10th next month? ✅

Jungkook: "They peel off one perilla leaf. Next thing you know, they're holding hands. And fall in love! And they end up getting married!"

Jin: "Why would they get married over a perilla leaf?"

I LOL'ed so hard at this because WOW, JUNGKOOK THE DRAMA QUEEN. But also, is peeling off someone else's perilla leaf considered flirting in Korea? I mean, I know it's a conservative country, but it seems a little too excessive to read into...

Friday Five: OMG

This week's Friday Five:

1. Recently, when did you consciously decide to MYOB? Today. My boss does something shady literally everyday and I just mind my own business because the more you find out, the more liable you become.
   
   
2. In what area of your life is KISS your guiding principle? Outfits, makeup, and hairstyle. Before COVID, I used to care about all these things and now I'm like, "How the hell did I put that much effort into my looks everyday?"
   
   
3. What caused you this week to LOL? Every time my boss says or does something stupid. I LOL a lot at work.
   
   
4. In the past several days, what's the longest you were AFK? Not counting the 6 or so hours of sleep I get a night, I'd say today, actually. After work, Linh and I went for dinner and then went to get massages and then I showered once I got home, so I'd say about 5 hours in total.
   
   
5. Whom have you met IRL after being acquainted online? Back in the early 2000s, when I was a web designer, I made a really good friend from San Jose through a web design community. We chatted all the time, we had a ton of stuff in common, and we became online besties. She came up to visit me in 2002. As it turns out, though, we should've remained online friends. She was totally different than what she was like online and I ended up not liking her at all. When she went back home, we became very distant and our friendship dissipated. 

Cooking at Home: Turkish-Style Spiced Chicken with Almond Rice and Yogurt Sauce

Turkish-style spiced chicken with almond rice and yogurt sauce

Tonight's dinner from Hello Fresh: Turkish-style spiced chicken with almond rice and yogurt sauce. Excellent flavours, great amount of spices, and a good combination of textures. Both the chicken and the sweet potatoes were cooked in the air fryer and came out PERFECTLY. (Enter ode to my air fryer here.) Probably could've used more vegetables, but I'm not complaining. Also, yogurt sauce is freaking delicious and I wanna eat it with everything. (Enter ode to yogurt sauce here.)

Cooking at Home: Pork Chops and Garlicky Gravy with Roasted Vegetable Medley

Pork chops with garlicky gravy and roasted vegetable medley

Decided to start off this week's Hello Fresh dinners with something a bit healthier after a weekend of dining out: Pork chops and garlicky gravy with roasted vegetable medley. Okay, aside from the garlicky gravy, which is DELICIOUS and ADDICTIVE AF, I cooked everything in the air fryer, and can I just point out HOW PERFECT EVERYTHING TURNED OUT? The pork, the veg, the potatoes, everything. The air fryer is really my one true love. (And this meal was only 620 calories!)

BTS — Proof Tracklist for CD 3

BTS Proof Tracklist — CD 3

YASSSSS, WE ARE GETTING DEMO VERSIONS!!! AND AN ACTUAL RECORDED VERSION OF "TONY MONTANA" WITH JIMIN!!!

Man, this anthology is even better than I could have hoped for.

BTS — Proof Tracklist for CD 2

BTS Proof Tracklist — CD 2

Looks like CD 2 includes only solo and subunit songs, but randomly ends with "Dimple"! I can't wait to hear "Run BTS," which is also co-written by Jungkook and Daniel Caesar, who they've never worked with before. Is it OT7? Is it a subunit? Maybe they're opening and ending this CD with OT7 songs? I also find it interesting that they chose to include "Cypher 3" instead of "Cypher 4" given that the rest of the tracklist includes songs from Love Yourself or later, but chose to exclude "UGH!" altogether, which is the most recent rapline song. What will CD 3 bring???

BTS — Proof Tracklist for CD 1

BTS Proof Tracklist — CD 1

It only took 7 years, but WE'RE FINALLY GETTING "BORN SINGER" ON AN ALBUM!!!