The Face Shop - Charcoal & Konjac Cleansing Puff/Sponge

The charcoal & konjac cleansing puff (or sponge as I think of it), is one of the beauty tools you can find at The Face Shop, a very popular Korean beauty products company.  With at least nine locations in the GTA now, the first I believe at Pacific Mall in Markham, they seem to be expanding at a ferocious pace!  Check out the facebook page for locations.

I don't do beauty reviews since I rarely experiment with new products, but I recently had to pick up another puff/sponge from The Face Shop and thought, "it's a product I like so why not"?!

This is what the sponge looks like.

When wet it has a bit of a jelly-like texture.  If you hang dry it, it will become hard and you'll need to soak it in warm water before your next use.

The purpose of the sponge is to "improve skin waste-removing effect" or I think of it as "eliminate excess oil/sebum from the skin to ensure clearer skin".  Konjac is a root vegetable consumed in Asia sometimes for it's purported detoxifying abilities, but often as a diet food; here's the wiki.  Or to many, it is the little konjac jelly cups (lychee flavour being the first) from Asia that were so popular many years back.  The bamboo charcoal component is supposed to help with oily skin.

Since using the sponge (often with a foam cleanser though), my skin has been clearer and my pores a little less noticeable, except my nose which I have accepted will forever have large pores.  But, I digress. I really like the sponge as it's very gentle (great for my sensitive skin) and I feel it does remove dry skin.  If I do have acne, it goes away a lot quicker when using the sponge in my experience.

Unfortunately, I can't speak to any scientific backing for the product but it's been working for me and at $5 it's worth a try!  (The brand Boscia has a similar product.)  In fact, their beauty tools section is quite good and well priced.  I also picked up a round brush for blow drying for $4 and have purchased their cotton cleansing pads and cotton swabs as well.

But last time I checked, not all the stores carry the puff, I've picked up mine at Fairview Mall and Pacific Mall. The location at Eaton Centre did not carry the product when I was there in the winter.

In terms of the store itself, the service is always very friendly at the locations I've been to and they provide samples of other products when you purchase something.

Bulgogee House: Bento Box Lunch

The Yonge-Finch area of Toronto is known as Koreatown north and there are some pretty good Korean restaurants to check out.  Going south on Yonge, there are less Korean restaurants but we recently decided to try Bulgogee House on Spring Garden one weekend and it was surprisingly pretty good.

Bulgogee House

41 Spring Garden Ave

North York, ON M2N 3G1

416-250-6094

First Impression:  Quiet place for weekend lunch (which suited us quite nicely)
Second Impression:  Good value for the lunch specials!

Not a whole lot to say about the place, they have all you can eat Korean BBQ which is what most people probably come here for at dinner time, but we were there for the lunch specials which are available everyday.  LA Galbi box was $10.95 and the Beef Bulgogi box was $7.95.  If you're in the area Mon - Wed, the LA Galbi box is on special for $8.95, a sweet deal!

Side dishes (banchan):  Four were served, the basics which included bean sprouts, seaweed, napa cabbage kimchi, fish cake.

Beef Bulgogi

 What I especially like about the box was they provided a whole square of tofu and they had fruit and a little Yakult drink as part of the bento box, cute!

LA Galbi

 A note about the decor, it's not the nicest looking place but has an old school feel to it, lots of wood panels.  Service was also polite.

Oh, Those Lovely Green Leaves! A Simple Kale Side Dish

Kale, thick vibrant green leaves packed with vitamins and antioxidants such as vitamin C and beta carotene , it became the new "superfood" a few years ago and made it's way onto the menus of so many restaurants.  I remember eating an awesome kale salad at Gusto 101 in the King West area of downtown Toronto.  Dressing was citrus-y with the right amount of sweetness.  Because the leaves are quite thick, it also held up really nicely too.  Oh, and just a quick mention, wine on tap here for $1/oz was also pretty decent!  Anyway, back to kale...

Inspired by this spinach and walnut recipe over at Humble Bean, I made it with kale and substituted the mirin with PC brand Splendido "White Condiment with Balsamic Vinegar of Modena" (Ingredients include: wine vinegar, concentrated grape must, balsamic vinegar of modena, sulphites).  Because the vinegar was on the sweet side, I also cut down on the sugar by one third.  I would have rather used mirin but didn't have any in the house; in the end it still tasted pretty good and was easy to make. Again, easy to make, very key these days!

So, try out the spinach and walnut dressing or use kale like I did!  If using kale, boil the kale for about 5 mins.  You do lose quite a bit of nutrients by boiling so you could steam it or chop into shreds and consume raw to retain the nutrients.

May: I'm Dreaming Of...

It's the beginning of May.  The weather is finally getting warmer, the days are longer, and May two-four is just around the corner. With my little princess keeping me busy, the months have passed by too quickly.  To help me focus on enjoying with her some of the special things every month and season brings, I thought I'd start a series of monthly posts (inspired by one of my favourite blogs).   So to begin, I'm dreaming of...

- warm sun with little humidity, great for afternoon walks
- evenings still cool enough to wear boots but warm enough for a light dress
- pastry cream desserts...just because I'm missing that luscious sweet taste
- tree blossoms (sakura trees in high park especially)
- the beginning of Ontario's fruit and vegetable season
- this year's batch of green tea, already picked and processed...hoping to enjoy some on my balcony!

Scribbles in Taiwan: Fresh Air and Relaxation at 53.1 Homestay

Whenever I drink oolong tea from Taiwan it always brings back so many memories of great food, friendly people, and of course flavourful teas.  Recently I opened up a package of tea I had bought from our homestay owner and tea grower in Rueili Taiwan (part of the Alishan region) when we travelled to Alishan in 2013.  Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to go to their tea garden while there, but we did get to have tea with the owner and visit his shop across from the homestay.

Here is the tea that I purchased.  A 2013 Alishan roasted oolong that was picked in the spring, their middle grade.  I found when this tea cooled down, the roasted flavour came out even more.

53.1 Homestay is the kind of place that makes you want to stay longer.  It's by no means for the frugal though, the homestay has a lot of comforts, is spacious, and warm, and was a nice retreat from the smog and noise of Taipei but it is on the pricey side for Taiwan (but average for the location).  I was there last year for 2 nights.  When I was planning the trip I searched the web for info so I thought I'd post about our stay to help future travellers.

We set out for Chiayi County on the high speed rail (NT$1045 in 2013) which got us there quickly but no buses from the high speed rail go towards Alishan.  Our homestay was about halfway to the Alishan Scenic Area so we had to take a taxi which took a little more than an hour winding up the mountain.  If you take the regular trains, it is slower but there are buses in the morning that go up the mountain and saves you money.

Here are pics of the homestay...

Arrived late afternoon, so the fog was setting in.

Too much fog so we couldn't see the sunset both nights, disappointed but what can you do...

Common area

Our room, 53.2

Wall of the dining area

First breakfast

Yes, there are persimmons in the sandwich...

Second breakfast

A trail you can walk up but it is very steep...

It was slippery that morning so we didn't make it to the lookout, just stopped in the middle of the bamboo forest.

We had a nice local dinner our first night, getting there was quite a challenge since the area was covered in fog, the sun had set and there were no street lights.  Luckily our phones lit the way and a local dog accompanied us as we walked the 5 mins to the restaurant.  Here is what we had...

Local restaurant, no frills but good home-cooking style place.

龍鬚菜, the literal translation is dragon's whiskers or beard.  Had to look this one up, they are chayote shoots which are common in Taiwan.  Quite a nice tender green.

Fresh stir fried bamboo shoots.  Simple yet surprisingly tasty

Tea oil fried chicken

Monkey mushroom soup.

A close up of the soup.  

Dessert:  fresh persimmons.

I really enjoyed the soup as the mushrooms were very "meaty" in texture and the soup itself was "sweet" in a broth kind of sense.  I'll be posting the recipe soon!
Unfortunately in Toronto we don't carry fresh monkey head mushrooms, only dried.  The dried mushrooms were very mushy once reconstituted thus it just wasn't the same.  It can be still made into a soup though and is supposed to be healthy, only you don't really eat the mushrooms.

After dinner we had tea and pumpkin seeds.  The pumpkin seeds were so sweet and can be purchased there!  

And the next day hiked the Alishan Recreation Park.

The owner and his family were really nice and helpful.  They also drove us to the Fenchihu town for us to sightsee after hiking.

Luckily we got to see the sunrise amidst a tea garden our second morning before leaving

Taking a walk

The weather was beautiful today!  Perfect for a walk with my little one and we needed it!  More me actually since I've been having a hard time putting her to sleep and needed a break.  Well, let me re-phrase...I've been rocking her to sleep but she has been waking up every time I put her down.

So, how does a baby sleep while the stroller moves along bumpy side walks, cracks, and traffic noise?  Whatever the reason, it did us both some good and I would recommend it to any new mothers out there, go for a walk!

I got to stop by Wiki Star, a local Taiwanese food place, to pick up lunch.

Three cup chicken

Had the Three Cup Chicken and it was okay tasting (but personal preference, could use more ginger and basil), portion size was good.  One difference between this one and the ones in Taiwan, they use boneless chicken which makes it easier to eat.  Wiki Star in general is a good place for Taiwanese food.  The beef noodle is decent but if I was going to rave about something there, it would be their oyster omelette.  It's better than some places in Taiwan!  If you've never had it before, the texture may be a bit strange to some as it's chewy and slippery.  It's also a savory sweet type of dish which they do well.  Sorry, no picture!

And, had another tea drink at ShareTea, the Hokkaido Milk Pearl Tea.  The milk is a rich custardy taste and was okay...but...(yes, I'm hard to please when it comes to tea), there was too much tapioca. 

She slept through most of this walk and it felt good to get out.  Now, I guess my only concern is trying not to spend every time I do go for a walk! 

Another Taiwan Bubble Tea Shop: Sharetea

There is no shortage of Taiwanese bubble tea shops in Toronto (well, North York anyway)...yeah!  They've been opening so rapidly it's hard to keep track now.  I remember a time where I had to drive at least 30 minutes to Market Village in Markham just to have Ten Ren's bubble tea.  Now, I can walk to Ten Ren's, 168, ChaTime (they've opened their 4th location and are quite popular), a few other non-franchise places, and a newer place called Sharetea when a bubble tea craving calls.  (Although I have to say, I still love the overall experience of having a bubble tea at the Green Grotto at Warden and Steeles or Ten Ren's Times Ave. location.)  This past weekend, it was time to check out Sharetea, located at Northtown Way in North York.

Sharetea

15 Northtown Way, Unit 22

North York, Ontario

416-901-9988

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UPDATE:  Here is their website (North York location only.)

The place is very small, only 2 tables so not the place for a long conversation or games.  But, service was quick.   Location is great for those living in the 4 buildings at Northtown Way.  

Ordered a hot matcha milk tea, 80% sugar.  It only comes in one size but was enough.

Overall, taste was good but I would have liked the matcha flavour to be stronger.  I'd have to have a few more drinks to see if there is a difference from ChaTime (their closest competitor) or if something stands out.  You will notice there won't be a long line-up and I think it might be slightly cheaper than ChaTime.  My partner had a kiwi and jelly tea which had real kiwi in it but wasn't anything special either.

Service:  nice.