OLLE KOREAN BARBECUE (LONDON 2024)

While planning our itinerary in our LONDON TRIP 2024, we focused not just on the museums and historical sites but also on the restaurants!!!

We were able to go to a  lot of places but one of places I really wished to go to was OLLE KOREAN BARBECUE. 

You may be thinking... Why would we want to have Korean food when we should just be focusing on Fish and Chips, Sunday Roasts, English Breakfasts, etc????

Well... Let's just say that this BTS fan has learned that OLLE KOREAN BARBECUE is the restaurant that my favorite group went to in LONDON, and if I cannot (yet) be in their presence via a concert, then I will at least go somewhere proven that they have been to, so I could at least get a bit of their essence.

Yeah. Gross I'm gross I know. Ha ha ha ha ha! 

Anyway, the bad news is that as expected, didn't get to see or catch BTS' essence (ha ha ha ha). The good news is that I saw some of their actual autographs and I was able to take pictures with it. So I was able to touch something that they did... WOAH (shivers).

OH and the food was very good too! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Sharing our dynamite of a dinner in OLLE KOREAN BARBECUE and if you're a true blue BTS fan, it is indeed worth a visit. Hoewever even if you're not a BTS fan (like, what is wrong with you???) but craving for some Korean grub while in London, you could check this always packed resto too! 

Yup! Because if BTS loves it, then it's really recommended! He he he he he he he he he! 

Woohooo! I'm at OLLE KOREAN BARBECUE!!! 

KAYA POWERPLANT MALL (2019)

(This was documented before the ECQ....)

One Saturday, the Yub and I invited the boys to go out for Saturday gimik night. Andrei was game na game to go. As for Mati? He was like, "Meh. Never mind."

With that, the Yub, Andrei, and I went to have dinner at Kuya's favorite -- KOREAN!!!

Belat. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

We're at KAYA!!!!!

ROMANTIC BABOY (SAN JUAN)

It was a very hectic day for me and the Yub but we're thankful that it ended on a delicious (and "romantic") note.... He he he he he!

First, we got our passports renewed in the VIP department... Ahem ahem...

OF SPIDERMAN AND BONCHON

One of Master Mati's close friends, Johans, is sleeping over for the weekend and we told them that they could do anything EXCEPT play PS3!

HUWAAAAAAAAT??? Suddenly they wanted to cancel. Ha ha ha ha!

Kidding! They know that I cannot resist them and their cuteness.

Truth be told, they really didn't mind TOO much that they were not allowed to play PS3 because they bought new Gundam sets which they agreed to assemble at our house.

After about 2 or 3 hours of working, look what they finished! Yay!

SEOUL KOREAN RESTAURANT (SUBIC)

THE YAPPY BUNCH were having a Subic getaway with our BP (Bawal Panget) group and while having our afternoon swim, we were already deciding where to have dinner (yes, that early... ha ha). I was in the mood for some Korean grub (Master Mati's favorite) and thankfully, the others agreed.

Dear Chel recommended this delicious yet affordable Korean restaurant that her family and Team Virrey had before.  Since most of us we're clueless as to where to eat in SUBIC, we all said yes.

And it's great that we did because we were able to answer our Korean craving without breaking bank.

Yohooo SEOUL KOREAN RESTAURANT!!!

The signage!

HYUN HEE KOREAN RESTAURANT (MANDALUYONG)

One night, I was craving SOOOO hard for Kimchi Soup that I haven't even greeted or texted the Yub to ask about his day when I immediately whined to him that I wanted some Korean food.

Okay! My Yub agreed with matching smiley faces and hearty hearts.

Wait a minute. That was a little too fast (with matching lambing lambing pa), that I became suspicious: Baka may hidden agenda?

Whatever it was, I plan to enjoy the gloriousness of my Kimchi Soup first then just pick a fight with him afterwards. Bwa ha ha ha ha!!!! That will spoil his obvious "plan."

Yeahh... I'm a model wife I know.  

YAY! I'm going to have some Kimchee soup!

WHAT WE ATE IN KOREA 2019 (PART TWO)

THE YAPPY BUNCH were in KOREA and besides the sights, the shopping, and bonding, we were also in this K-pop dominated country for another thing...

FOOD!!!!

And though we were confined to what was included in our travel group, we still enjoyed the authentic Korean grub served to us.

Check out part two of this very tasty tripping!!!!

ENJOY!!! We know we did! He he he he he!

For our 3rd day in Korea, we finally went to Everland!

Check out what we ate in the first part, HERE!

WHAT WE ATE IN KOREA 2019 (PART ONE)

To be honest, I'm not really sure of what to do in Korea. When planning the trip, the Yub and I just decided to go there because it's one of the must-see Asian countries that we haven't been to. I'm not into Koreanovelas so going to some of their popular TV attractions might not interest me. What I do know however is that I absolutely LOOOOOOOOVED Korean food, and it's something that I was SUPER looking forward to for our trip.

HOW-EVER, we were joining a group tour (with Aning's family) and while chatting up with my mareng Gail (who recently had a Korean tour via a travel agent), we figured out that the establishments we'll go to might likely be the same. She said she didn't enjoy the food and that (mostly) everything was blech (probably because they went to the commercialized touristy places). So yeah, my excitement (foodwise) sorta went down the drain after that. What only lifted me up was the thought that we'll sneak a bite or two from Mcdonald's (since we'd usually try one in every country) or feast in 7-11 (like what Strictly Dumpling did). Yun lang, hope we could do it with our travel group tour schedule!

What happened? Let's just say we were all pleasantly surprised.

Read on and enjoy!!

YEHEESSSSSS.....

YIHIII! We're in Korea!!!

And we're HUNGRY for some authentic Korean food!

OUR KOREA TRIP 2019 (DAY ONE)

SO EXCITED! SO EXCITED!!!!

Just in case you cannot imagine how we're saying that, please refer to how Kevin Hart said it in his recent comedy special:

Yup! Because that's how we were leading up to our KOREA trip that days before our flight we kept on doing that chat of SO EXXCIIIIITED while twirling our bodies like genies from a tiny bottle. He he he he he!

And come the day of our flight, WOHOOO! SOOO EXXXCIIIITED!!! We're finally in KOREA!!!!!

HOWEVER...

You know how sometimes you're so excited for something but only get disappointed in the end?

Well.... that DIDN'T happen to us! He he he he he!!! Our trip was as fun as we hoped it would be. Of course there were still hits and misses but we made the most out of it and still had an awesome family time!

Check out KOREAN TRIP series. This early on I apologize because you'll be burdened hundreds and hundreds of pics! He he he he he! Let's just say that I want to remember every minute of it even at somebody else's optical expense. He he he he he.

Or maybe we want you to feel that you were also with us? Ah eh... Yes! Yun yon! (Justified na... he he he he)

Enjoy!! We know we did! YOHOO!

We're in KOREA!!!!!!!

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL AGAIN (2019)

We were having my 44th... este... 34th birthday celebrations and my favorite foodie family of THE FOOD ALPHABET invited us to have a Korean lunch.

Me (with pa-pouty pouty effect): Wag na mare, nakakahiya!!!!!!

Mareng THE FOOD ALPHABET: No mare, birthday celebration namin ito for you.

Me: Mare are you sure???

Mareng THE FOOD ALPHABET: Oo naman. Tara na mare sa Saturday.

Me (kunwari  nagiisip pero decided na talaga): Hmmmm.... SIGE NA NGA!!!! Sure ka ha??? (Pahabol... he he he he)

Honestly though, as embarrassed as I was with THE FOOD ALPHABET family, I always have a great time with them that whenever there's an opportunity to meet up, we go. Great thing too that they invited us to go to JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL -- I had a delicious dinner there with my HS school friend before that it was indeed high time for a part two.

Tapos just in time for my 44th... este... 34th birthday celebrations pa!!!

BAWAL DIET. He he he he he!

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL!!!!

SAMGYUPSALAMAT SAN JUAN (2019)

SAMGYUPSALAMAT UNLIMITED KOREAN BBQ had been in my must-try radar for a long time now because I've heard from my friends how they served delicious meats at such an affordable price. However, as much as we wanted to try out SAMGYUPSALAMAT, the scary stories of the horrendous lines kept us away. So we just controlled our deep craving to try out this popular restaurant and just waited until the time was right.

Last January, when Master Mati's was having his birthday celebrations, my big guy said he really wanted to have some Korean barbecue.

This is it, I thought. This is our signal that we have waited long enough -- it is now time to go to SAMGYUPSALAMAT and just endure whatever lines they're having.

After all, aren't birthday celebrations reason enough to make sacrifices? Add to that the promise of delicious hot meats in the end.

AY SULIT NA SULIT!!!!!

:P

We're in SAMGYUPSALAMAT!!!!!!

We decided to try out the SAMGYUPSALAMAT branch in P. Guevarra, San Juan.

There was a waiting area for those listed but I was not able to take a picture of them. We were about the 10th group in the wait list but it's okay. We had snacks naman. 

AND something tells me that my guys are SOOOO busy anyway.

(Sarap agawan ng mga celphone!!!)

THE NEW KAYA - POWER PLANT MALL (2019)

One Sunday, THE YAPPY BUNCH went to our favorite mall in the metro for dinner. The Yub and I were not really craving for anything. So we asked the little lords:

"Where do you guys want to eat?" (It's really a standard question because we always go for what they wanted. Ha ha ha ha!)

The first one to speak up was Master Mati (since he's our resident foodie) and he hurriedly said KOREAN!!!!!!! (Just in case we changed our minds).  So the Yub and I decided KAYA may be a good choice for us that night because we haven't eaten there since it opened. 

And KAYA it is!!!!

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL (PODIUM)

My friend from High School, Virginia, invited me and the Yub out for dinner one time and when the venue was discussed, there became the usual "tennis tournament" on where to go:

"You pick."
"No, you pick."
"Ikaw na."
"No, you na. Ikaw mag-treat e."
"Ano crave mo?"
"Wala pa naman. What about you?"
"Kahit ano fine with me."
"Me also. Whatever's fine."
"Pero ikaw na mag-pick."
"No, you pick."

And so on and so forth.

To put an end to it all, I asked Virginia what is her favorite restaurant in The Podium, she gave out two choices. I have already tried the first one, as for the second, hmmmm.... Interesting.

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL!

I haven't eaten at JIN JOO and I saw that there were some pretty good reviews online. Secretly, I was really glad that she gave out this option because well, I could never have enough Korean grub, AND this is a restaurant in Podium that I've also been wanting to try.

JIN JOO LOVE!!!

Corny.

I bet you didn't get the reference from the ka-cornihan.

:P

(Actually, even I have forgotten what my joke was when I was writing this. Yes. Ganon sya ka-corny. -- Jaz) 

JIN JOO KOREAN GRILL!!!!

DONU AGAIN WITH THE FAMILY

For one Sunday family lunch, my Mommy craved for some Korean food and asked where we could go after mass.

Hmmmm..... Korean restaurants are so abundant now in the Metro that deciding where to go could be a Herculean task. Not only that, the popular ones would surely be sporting long lines that the shortest wait time would probably be an hour or more.

Poor us! Eh we're hungry na!!!!!

I then remembered our recent midnight dinner at DONU and mentioned it to the family. I told them that DONU is a simple Korean restaurant that satisfied our cravings before.

GAME, they said. That's where my Mom will treat us for Sunday lunch they said.

And life was so well again! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Yep! Food does that to us.

May reklamo?

:P

DONU!!!!!!

PREMIER THE SAMGYUPSAL (SAN JUAN)

The YAPsters have this tradition of fetching the little lords on their last day of exams ( be it for the 1st, 2nd, or etc quarter) and treating them out to their restaurant of choice. It's more like a good job pat from me and the Yub for the boys that they could eat. He he he he he he!

For that Saturday (yes, the last day always falls on a weekend), I asked my guys what they felt like having for lunch and they both shouted "Korean!!"

I suddenly had an epiphany (yep food does that to me) and remembered how the Yub and I passed by this Korean restaurant going home from work.

PREMIER THE SAMGYUPSAL.

What really caught our attention was that they offered this buy 1 take 1 promo for their diners since it was their opening month. And after reading the reviews of their other branches, I was convinced that it was worth a try.

So really, it was density, este, destiny for us. And not because of the buy 1 take 1 deal, or how near it was to our place, but we all had an enjoyable lunch because we loved the food.

Wohoo! Korean!!! Annyeonghaseyo!!!!!!!

Hellooooo boys!

DONU AFTER A HEART-ACHE

It was a Saturday and THE YAPPY BUNCH were in Master Mati's school because it was their cheering competition for their Intramurals. Every year, each House (Rinaldi, Rua, Caravario, and I forgot the last... ayun Sandor) would come up with a song, dance, and cheer to kick off their week-long sporting event. It could be actually very competitive and it was evident in their colorful and super entertaining cheers. 

The start of the cheer was at 5:00pm but since Master Mati had to be there ng 2:00pm, we stayed and waited for it na lang.

At least we were able to get good seats for the event. Yun lang, our pwits suffered SO MUCH!!! He he he he he he he!

OH YEAH. All for one and one for all kami lagi!

GINZADON AGAIN WITH THE TITAS OF TAPE

One of the original and pioneer staffmembers of TAPE INC, Tita Peng, was visiting from the US, that's why my group the Seniors... este... TITAS of TAPE Inc. planned a ladies night out in her hownor.

NAKS!!!

I was pretty excited because I don't get to go out often with my TAPE friends as we're all busy with work and family. AND since we're all tanders na, we don't like staying out late too much. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Don't worry, I said "WE'RE" naman.

In deciding where to go, we all chose to go back to GINZADON because we remembered how much we enjoyed our last meal there. And just like before, we all enjoyed the food that energized us to an awesome night. Yup! We were all noisy having super fun that you'd think we were all 20 year olds.

20 year olds jamming to Juan Miguel Salvador.

Egad we're TITAS na talaga.

:)

Yay! Tita Peng is here!!!!!

Ladies night out starts NOW!!!

Wives, hide your hubbies, these hotties are coming!!!!! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Kidding!

SODAM KOREAN RESTAURANT AGAIN

One Sunday night, my BP Family met up craving for some Korean food. And when deciding where to go, they asked me for recommendations. Now even if there were many Korean restaurants offering all you can specials, there was only one place that I strongly recommended that would surely give us all a great time at a very practical price!!

SODAM KOREAN RESTAURANT!!!!!!

SODAM is located in San Juan and it is my favorite among the Korean restaurants that offer "Eat All You Can" dishes.

KAYA ( POWERPLANT MALL )

The family was in Powerplant Mall and attended a mass offered for my Daddyowzers. When deciding where to eat, my Mom asked the little lords.

Me: "Mati and Andrei na naman will decide?? What about me?? I'm the bunsoy! I'm the foodie! I'm the one who has different cravings that are always a hit with the family??? Tapos I will again be second fiddle to these snotty boys???"

Mati: "I like Korean food Lola so let's go to KAYA!"

Me: "(Realizing that I too was craving Korea that night) Aaaah... Eeehhh..... Yeah! The boys know best nga naman! What they want, they will get! They're the real bosses!"

He he he he! Maybe that's why my loving Dad (rip) and Mom would always go for what my boys wanted: they have such great taste that they could  never go wrong!

(Sipsip!)

:P 

KAYA EXPRESS Korean Restaurant!

SAMBOKOJIN FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY (2018)

The Chinese Panget and I celebrated our 15 years of married life and I guess based on what I called him, you'll see what's the excitement level is in our marriage.

MEH!!!

Kidding! Although yeah, I got to admit that we are so comfortable with each other that we could do undesirable things (FARTING RULES!!!) while the other one (aka the hub) cannot get mad.

Tee Hee!!!!!!

Okay. If I was going to give any kind of advice to young lovers out there (siguro naman may karapatan na ako at 15 years na kami), it is VERY important to get somebody who loves you sooooooo much and is very committed. Of course it should be both ways, but you should study your partnership: if you are the temperamental type who loves excitement and movie-style romance, etc. etc.,, then make sure to marry someone who will still love you amidst all tantrums and is willing to stay on even after the 10th time that you dramatically asked him/her to leave.

Yeah... Yeah... Guilty as charged. But infer, LOVABLE din kasi ako. O ANO???

Don't forget also to pray to St. Joseph and ask for the partner who is meant for you. I cannot count how many times I beamed with pride when the Chinese Dimpol shows how he is a much better husband than this person and that (sobrang bait naman kasi niya). But then I think, maybe it's also because of our partnership and how we are both thriving with each other.

If you prayed for the right person to be your partner, then always think that God has a reason why you two are together during the times that you think you two are incompatible (trust me THAT will happen a lot too). It's normal so don't just always follow your feelings. Just follow your faith and commitment that is based on LOVE.

NAAAAAKS!

Anyways, for this year's anniversary, the Yub and I did not book a staycation or had a romantic dinner by our twosome. We decided that since our marriage formed a team that caused us great happiness and purpose, we thought of celebrating this momentous 15 year anniversary with our dearests Mati and Andrei!!!!

Yes because our wedding date is officially our FAMILY ANNIVERSARY as well!!!!

For that night, we were not looking for someplace swanky or sosy wosy, we just wanted somewhere that served our delicious food. With that, the little lords chose SAMBOKOJIN (our buffet favorite) because the food selection there is a win win for everyone. I made reservations to ensure good seats because Fridays could be a bit hectic.

And that night was, as expected, very unforgettable for all of us (especially our tummies... har de har har!)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US, Yub, Mati, and Andrei!!!!! I love you all soooo much!

WOHOO!!! THE YAPPY BUNCH is 15 years old!!!!!!!

That night, the Yub and the boys picked me up from work!!!

Grabe when I saw them all tall and handsome like this I can't help but reminisce how when I was younger, boys didn't give me a second glance. Nobody took notice of me that I'm usually just the 3rd wheel or the wallflower.

But now naman, WOW!!! I got all for myself these 3 super kind and super pogi men who sometimes fight for my affection and are my knights in shining armour (especially when there's ipis... agawan sila kung sino papatay... ha ha ha ha!). With that, I cannot be more thankful!!!!!!!!! 

And we're here!