Monday, November 27, 2006 Korean Drama : Jewel In The Palace Posted by juphelia at 00:37

Currently, I am hooked on the Korean show "Jewel In The Palace". Perhaps people may think I am a loser for watching this type of show, but this show did not generate excellent reviews for nothing. Everything from the plot to the cast to the acting to the sets is excellent!

Actually my parents and relatives watched the show last year on DVD, and they wanted t0 get me interested too, but at that point in time, the only Korean show I ever watched is "Winter Sonata". Recently, to satisfy my curiosity on why the Jewel show caused such a hype, I started watching it.

I have only watched twenty episodes so far, and already I am hooked! The show is excellent from the start! It is so captivating that one wants to keep going! And I get to learn good tips in cooking and the different types of Korean cuisine.

Now I know what makes a good cook. Although it is a show, but what the supervisor said to the kitchen maid was really useful. She said that there are two qualities that determine a good cook.

One, to be able to feel the taste from your fingers. Some are born with this natural ability, some achieve it only through lots of trial and error. When the food goes through your hands, you must be able to know which food goes with which so as to bring out the taste.

Two, the ability to mix and match ingredients. Not many people have this ability. This means that without even tasting, the person somehow know what ingredients are used to prepare the food, and which things will make the food taste better.

For instance, most people will choose to use plain water to prepare soup, but someone gifted in the second ability will know how to use spring or mineral water instead, as that tastes sweeter. Essentially, cooking goes with one's own gut feeling on which are the best ingredients to use to prepare a certain type of food, and some people are just able to feel it better than others.

And from this show, I have another idol - Officer Min aka Ji Jin Hee!

And this is what he looks like in real life.

Not forgetting my other idols :

And of course, my ultimate favourite - the one and only Yong-sama!

Sunday, September 11, 2005 Korean Drama : Winter Sonata Posted by juphelia at 04:15

I am finally done with the "Winter Sonata" marathon, which started at 9:00pm Friday night and just ended about half an hour ago, with an eight hour siesta in between for sleeping, eating and cleaning. This is the third time I watched the series, and I still cry over the show.

BYJ is still the most suave, charming, gentlemanly and sensitive screen persona I have seen. Oh, if he can only look at me that way, I will not mind doing anything for him. The actress Choi Ji Woo is definitely the luckiest girl, able to hold his hand and share kisses together. And the scenery.... it is so beautiful and picturesque, directly out of a landscaped painting. Oh, why did I go to Korea so early? If only we had waited a couple more years, we could have gone to Korea and went along the "Winter Sonata" trail - the actual places where the series was filmed.

And the way she fussed over him when he was unconscious in the hospital. How I wish there is someone for me to take care of, or better still, how I wish I have someone to take care of me day and night when I was in the hospital. True love really exists. Everything she did was for him, and everything he did was for her. If you really love someone, you will want the best for the person, sometimes even to the extent of making a painful decision to leave the person and never return.

I still remember the most touching line in the show, where they were in a church and he said, "Dear God, there is a woman I love deeply. I want to be with her and take care and protect her forever. I want to have children with her and be a good husband and father. I want to be their protector, their hands and legs to warm them up forever. I want to be always there for her, to love her and cherish her. Please let me be with this woman I love so deeply." And he turned to her and asked, "Will you marry me?" Yes, I will definitely marry you........

After watching the show for the first time, I got so into turtleneck sweaters that I made use of the end-of-year sale to buy turtlenecks (both long and short-sleeved) from G2000, Mango, Zara and Iora. I specially chose colours like white, green, mustard and pink, as featured in the show. I also went into the long winter coat phase. I bought a fur-lined jacket (fake fur of course!) from Mango (which incidentally, was the exact same one Monica was wearing in FRIENDS - I got a big shock when I saw the jacket she was wearing, but that proves I have good taste!), a white trench coat from Wanko, and a fur-lined pea coat from This Fashion (a very big bargain - nice and cheap!). Needless to say I have not used any of the coats yet, since I am still waiting for the day I can save up enough to travel to somewhere cold, or else wait for someone willing to sponsor me a trip to somewhere cold. :-D

I also scoured the entire island for the "Polaris" necklace, the necklace which he gave her as a Christmas gift. I finally found it at a jewellery shop at Tiong Bahru Plaza. Although it cost a bomb and set me back a big sum, I was so happy to be able to own the necklace. It is so precious to me that I wear it only for very special occasions.

Meanwhile, I am finally turning in, hopefully with sweet and pleasant dreams of BYJ!

Monday, September 5, 2005 Television / Movie Fest! Posted by juphelia at 01:27

I had a VCD / DVD Marathon earlier on. It is such a bliss staying home with nothing to do sometimes. Finally I can catch up on all the shows and movies I have been accumulating but have not had the time to watch. I started to indulge in TV and VCD watching to get my mind off the frustrations and worries of the past few days. Thus I turned into a couch potato and started snacking on durian chips and finished up half a box of Ferrero Rochers as well.

First on my list was the Hong Kong serial "Angels of Mission", which I started watching on Friday. It was a twenty-parter. I wanted to stay up the whole night to finish, but by the time it was 5:00am on Sunday morning, my eyes finally closed and I had to finish watching the last four episodes in the afternoon. The show is on the Counter-Terrorist Unit (CTU) of HKSAR Police Force. The main characters are three female police officers who have to deal with terrorists, bomb threats and cope with their own tumultuous love lives at the same time.

Next was "Sleepless in Seattle". I have been wanting to watch this show for ages after I heard the song, and when I realise it is starring Tom Hanks. I first watched this show when my friend taped for me on cable back in 1999 or so, and now that I am watching it again, it still brings tears in my eyes, especially what Tom Hanks said about "You know the feelings are real, as they come just like magic." I love the part especially when they met each other at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day at the end of the show. Such a tear-jerking moment. This is what love should be - magic. I know too well the feelings just come all of a sudden without warning.

The third show was "Untold Scandal", a Korean period movie on dangerous liaisons. I get to drool at my idol Bae Yong Jun on screen the whole time throughout! Although I still prefer him with the golden streaks in his floppy hair, spectacles and long winter coat in "Winter Sonata". He is just so suave and charming! He still looks better in contemporary gear rather than period costumes. Now I cannot wait for his new movie to start screening in October.

I wanted to watch "Shall We Dance?" as well, starring the ever-suave Richard Gere, but my eyes cannot take it anymore. I need to sleep since my eyes are watering already. My body is probably telling me something. Thus I have to save Richard Gere to tomorrow (hopefully I will not be too shagged from work).

Meanwhile, I will sleep with hopefully nice dreams of my idol Bae Yong Jun. A bout of Brad Pitt, Legolas or Christian Bale in his batsuit will not matter too. :-p Good night!