©yj

What’s more pleasing than having a bite of a frosted cupcake? In Korea, it’s hard to find heavily frosted cupcakes because Koreans prefer less sweetened pastries. Although I’m a Korean as well, I sometimes have a strong crave for something extremely sweet,but something small in size so I don’t get a stomach ache. What’s more perfect than a small cupcake adorned with ample frosting?

Craving for a “American” style cupcake, my friends an I, started a journey in the search of a cupcake store. We went through the busy streets of Apgujung-Dong and the crazy cars on the streets. Turning right and left here and there, going into this street and that street, we finally arrived. Destination found. We didn’t know the bakery’s name, but we just knew how to get there. It wasn’t hard to recognize the store because of its appealing display of cupcakes. After the “oh my gosh” moment, we hopped inside the bakery. It smelled like Magnolia Cafe in the States. It had been a while since I’ve smelt this sweet bakery smell. It felt like home or heaven maybe. As if the smell of sweet cupcakes made us hyped up, we were laughing and dying of ecstasy. There were four different kinds of frosting- chocolate, red velvet, lemon, and raspberry. It was an indecisive moment, but since we were three we found a way out. Each one of us chose a different flavor so that we could try three out of the four different cupcakes. The cupcakes weren’t cheap, but worth it. It was $5 every small cupcake, but every single bite was joy. Pure pleasure. Trust me, at the end of our pleasing eating time, there wasn’t even a crumb left of the small cupcake. Not to mention how we stayed after finishing the cupcake for about 20 minutes just staring at the cupcakes making promises to come back and try other flavors. We were still amazed or glad that we found a “American” style cupcake bakery. Leaving the place was hard, so we all took our phones out capturing the cupcakes- not wanting to say good-bye.

article from Korea Herald

Starbucks is the hot spot for gossip. Pushing the glass door, the coffee aroma rushes into my nose. I told myself that I’m not going to drink coffee today, but it’s impossible to bare the smell of Starbucks coffee.

As usual, we order a vanilla latte, caramel frappucino, and a caramel macchiato. Waiting for our drinks, we smell the coffee beans. Yet, as soon as our drinks are ready we rush up stairs to find a comfortable seat. Mina as usual wants to sit on the couch and she does. We start taking sips of our incredibly tasting coffee. Soon, the coffee brings us together in our own little world. Looking foolish, we sit there laughing for the oddest things. Talking loudly, we gossip like no other girl. It’s a coffee break, the time we update each other on the “latest news.” Moreover, the time we laugh at everything. Thinking about it now, there’s so much told at Starbucks, the current events. It’s surprising because life seemed just same old life without anything new. Sitting with a cup of coffee and two best pals just made life interesting. Explaining about our day or days makes time fly away. There seems to have been many new things that happened for the past few days. In a way, boring happenings in life become the funniest things in life. Yeah…not sure how it happens, but it sure does happen every hangout. Just a little amazing how a cup of coffee can spice up life immensely..or is it the sugar in the coffee that just hypes us up? Oh well, as long as we’re happy the cup of coffee is worthy. I’d say……

starbucks=ecstasy

“Can I get a Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip?” (full on the Korean accent). I order an ice cream at Coldstones as usual. What’s unusual is the guy taking my order and friends giggling at me. All of the sudden, I was nervous, but more puzzled about the source of these laughs.

I finished ordering and came back to the table where my friends were sitting at. They were still laughing mocking the way I pronounced, “Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip.” Of course, it isn’t funny, but I tried pronouncing it with a Korean accent very slowly so that the worker understands me and also because I detest repeating myself. Soon, I realized it does sound awkward and funky. I think it was more of the pronouncing and the speed that made my whole ordering a big funny issue. Speed and the way words are pronounced makes the same words sound like a total different language. I found it quite interesting how much words are affected by the tone, the speed, and the accent. It was quite entertaining pronouncing the same phrase with different characteristics to it, I felt like i was speaking millions of differing languages. Next time I take a visit to Coldstones, I am going to order Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip with a contrasting speed and accent, we’ll see if they chuckle again.

Image from Flickr

A break up with the guy you thought was the right one? Run to the freezer for a bucket of Ben Jerry’s ice cream; a typical scene in a romantic comedy about break ups. Yet, it is surprising how much a scoop of ice cream helps to go through emotional turbulences. Stressed, upset, or angry at something? Go grab an ice cream and it alleviates the hard feelings. Although it seems like a cliché and untrue, but it does not hurt to try. As soon as a scoop of the cold and milky ice cream goes into the mouth, the next step is the most alleviating feeling. The soft texture of ice cream touching the tips of the tongue and instantly melting, giving chills in your whole body, and shaking off all the worries. Trying hard to chew every bit out of the smooth ice cream, the sweet ice cream is gone in an instant and there’s a craving for more of the heavenly ice cream. Now, a scoop of the flavor that seems to have fallen from the sky has shaken off the sadness. Hence, there is a craving for more than a scoop or even more than a bucket.

Image from Flickr

Different people are like different poptarts. There are numerous flavor of poptarts and different people like different taste. Poptarts are adorned with frosting and sprinkles on its outer coat. Every flavor of a poptart has a different coating than the other, but it is the inside that matters. The inside of a poptart are varied as well and it is the jam in the inside of the well cooked biscuit that differentiates the taste. At the end, all the poptarts have the same base and shape; therefore, are all equally made, just like humans. Although as humans we dress pretty and adorn ourselves with makeup and expensive perfume, the only different is our flavors. The human flavors vary from personalities, looks, philosophies, culture, and many disparities. Yet, it is a cliche, but we were all equally made. However, we are criticized and liked by different people. It is not about how much perfume put on a perfume or what color sprinkle is on the poptart, it is the inside personality and the jam that brings individuality.