Pasalubong from South Korea

I remember when I was young, I used to be active in the church. I was part of our Youth Ministry before and summer is a very busy month for us because of Vacation Bible School and Youth Camp. There is also an Educational Trip to South Korea too that I wanted to join but I know that we don’t have a budget for that. Life changed when I started working, got married, and moved to the province.

For the past decade, I was able to watch Jewel in the Palace, Queen Seon Deok, Baker’s King, and The Heirs. I only watched four Korean series so I don’t consider myself a Korean fanatic but I like Lee Min Ho.

Things changed when my friend gave me a copy of 5 Korean series last February and one of my friends suggested a website where I can also watch other popular series. So now, I can say that the Korean series is taking over my life. Starting in February, I already watched 11 Korean series.

1. W - Two Worlds
2. Descendants of the Sun
3. Legend of the Blue Sea
4. Doctors
5. Love Story in Harvard
6. Love in the Moonlight
7. Goblin
8. Cinderella and the Four Knights
9. Personal Taste
10. Boys Over Flowers
11. K2

I’m currently watching the Weightlifting Fairy. Care to share your favorite Korean series so I can add it to my list. And because of this, mas lalo ko ng gusto pumunta sa South Korea so I can see those places that I’ve seen in the series. I need to save for that trip pa, who knows I can see my oppa Ji Chang Wook and Lee Min Ho.

Anyway, since we haven’t been to South Korea. I was happy to taste and try stuff from SoKor. My husband has Korean officemates who generously give pasalubong. One of his officemates gave this Line Friends Prestige Chocolate for my son, I’m not familiar with the brand but it looks sosyal. Hehehe! One box contains different flavors of chocolate which is just okay for us.

We also received the Nature Republic Facial Mask and Missha Frui-Tea Cleansing Foam. Nature Republic and Missha are both South Korean cosmetic brands. I even teased my husband na baka maging kutis Koreana na rin ako after using this.

I think the facial mask is very common in their country because I also see men using this. If you watch Descendants of the Sun and K2, you see soldiers and bodyguards using a facial masks. I got curious about Korean Beauty Products so I purchased some products from Althea Korea site. Check my first shopping experience at Althea Korea here.

Long Weekend Bonding

There is no holiday this March but my son has no classes last Friday so off we went to Valenzuela. My mom and aunt are here for quick vacation so family get-together again for us. And we have Freia chocolates again, I like this chocolate but I can’t find this anywhere so pag may pasalubong ko lang siya natitikman. 

We had a quick visit to my grandmother and other relatives. 

I can already feel the heat of the summer but unfortunately sa April pa ang summer vacation namin. Hay, ang tagal ng pasukan namin ngayon. Non-awardees/non-graduating students in school, nakabakasyon na as early as March 17 but my son has an award so we need to go back to school for Recognition practice hanggang April. Waah! Ang tagal noh, para sa 1 minute na pag-akyat ng stage.

I even told my son, wag ka na kaya magpractice. Yes, I know, bad influence ako. Hehehe! I’m lazy to iron his uniform and bakasyon na bakasyon na ko. But my son wanted to attend the practice, pinaghirapan nga naman niya yung award na yun. Hehehe! 

Anyway, they swam last Saturday sa clubhouse lang ng brother ko. We will be having a family outing in Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm this weekend. It’s been months since the last time we went to the beach so we are all excited. 

Read: Staycation ay Macampao Beach and Leisure Farm

Last Sunday, we fetch my mother-in-law to celebrate my son’s recognition in advance and to redeem the vouchers that we got. We ate at Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City at SM Southmall and watch Beauty and the Beast movie. 

My husband needs to redeem his Globe Reward Points that will expire this March, so we were able to watch a movie again for free. Yey! It is nice to eat, shop and watch a movie for FREE. 

Read: Lunch at Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City
Free P10,000 eGift Credits 

Lunch at Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City

If you still remember my post, I celebrated my birthday at Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City at SM MOA by the Bay branch. It is too far from our place but since it was my birthday, dinayo namin.

Read: Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City

Last year, I learned that they already have a branch here in the South so malapit-lapit na sa amin. I was planning to eat here after my son’s Recognition Day but unfortunately, coding kami sa araw na yun. 

So we celebrated in advance na lang, hehehe! I was so happy because we did not spend anything for this celebration. Two weeks ago, we received FREE eGift credits and one of the partner merchants is Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City so I redeemed P3000 worth of gift vouchers. 

Read: Free P10,000 eGift Credits 

My husband called to reserve a table but he was advised na “walk-in” na lang so last Sunday, as early as 9AM off we went to SM Southmall. We registered and pang #4 na kami. Start of buffet is still 11AM but they start calling the number before 11AM. 

The branch in SM Southmall is not that big if I will compare it to SM MOA by the Bay. But what I like it here, we have our own stove and hotpot. We can choose our own Shabu Shabu broth and cook our own food, no sharing na. 

They will give you their Soup Menu and you can choose from the following: Pork Soup, Chicken Soup, Fish Soup, Sinigang Soup, Sukiyaki, Miso Soup, Chinese Herbs, Haidilao Tomato Soup, Haidilao Pickled vegetable, Haidilao Mala Soup, Haidilao Mushroom Soup and Sate Soup. 

We chose pork soup, chicken soup, sate soup and haidilao clear soup. Just like the other branches, they have different sections where you can get meat, seafood, vegetable, desserts, drinks and even cooked food.

 Two years ago, there is no steak or lechon in their buffet but now meron na. Yey!

The serving of the sliced meat is already limited compared to my first experience, which is okay for me to avoid leftover. There is an additional charge for leftover. My son had fun in cooking his own food na pinaubos din sa akin. Hehehe! Click here for the video.

I like the puto bumbong here.

When we asked for the bill, the staff suggested na magdessert pa ulit kami or coffee and tea. As much as we wanted to stay pa, we were in a hurry because we need to watch the Beauty and Beast movie at 1PM. I hope next time, we can stay long at ng masulit namin ang buffet rate, expensive na kasi siya e. Good thing, we got it for FREE. 

Read: King One Rotary Hotpot 

Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City Rate 

Adult

Weekday Lunch: P688 
Weekday Dinner: P888 
Holiday and Weekends Lunch and Dinner P888

Kids below 3ft: FREE 

Kids 3ft -4ft 

Weekday Lunch P188 
Weekday Dinner P288 
Holiday and Weekend Lunch and Dinner P288 

Kids 4ft - 6ft 

Weekday Lunch P388 
Weekday Dinner P588 
Holiday and Weekend Lunch and Dinner P588 

Prices are subject to 5% service charge 

Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City Branches 

SM Southmall 
SM MOA by the Bay 
Cubao

Spending our Free P10,000 eGift Credits

Last March 15, 2017, my husband informed me that he received a text from Citibank, he was advised that we have FREE eGift credits worth P10,000. What! FREE P10,000.  At first, I thought he was referring to our points since we haven't redeemed it yet but I was wrong. He sent me the text and I checked all the details.

“Congratulations! Your accumulated spend on your Citi credit card/s from December 16, 2016 - February 28, 2017 entitles you to free eGift credits worth P10,000. To redeem, register & input your redemption code: XXXXXX at www.giftaway.ph/citi from March 16 - May 15, 2017, Monday - Friday, 9am-6pm only. 

You can redeem up to P10,000 worth of eGift credits. Use redeemed vouchers at selected merchant/s until May 15, 20117 only. Visit www.citibank.com.ph/egc-10K to know more. T&C apply. DTI#12656S16.”

SPEND = SHOPPING CREDITS

We are not aware that Citibank has this promo. We always use our credit card but we are not big spender since we only use the card if needed. So we were indeed surprised when we received the text. When I read the promo period, I remembered that two days before the promo ends, we bought plane tickets for our summer trip. Yey! Buzzer beater, buti na lang naihabol yun or else we won’t ever reach the required accumulated spend. 

The P10,000 eGift credits are not convertible to cash so we have no choice but to purchase eGift Vouchers. You can redeem vouchers for shopping, health and wellness, travel, and food. We chose the following merchants: 

Krispy Kreme P1000 
Four Seasons Hotpot P3000 
Sperry P6000 
Total P10,000 

There is schedule on when to redeem it so I told my husband that we will discuss it after his business trip in Vietnam. There are several merchants but we only chose 3 because of our limited time to redeem it.  

I chose Krispy Kreme because we always buy doughnuts here. Four Seasons Hotpot to celebrate my son's Red Eagle Award in school. Sperry because we like to buy shoes there but it is so expensive for our budget, but now we have ecredits so we can buy shoes na. hehehe! 

Read: Lunch at Four Seasons Buffet and Hotpot City

They provided a step by step guide on how to redeem the credits so purchasing voucher is so easy. You can save the eGift code or print the eGift vouchers and present it to the store manager.  I printed all the vouchers and present it to the store, they will verify the code and that's it. 

We’re so happy for the free eGift credits because we were able to eat and shop for FREE. Indeed, you can really save money by just using your credit card. 

Read: How to Save Money by Using your Credit Card 

Glimpse of SASCO Rose CIP Lounge in Tan Son Nhat International Airport

My husband thought that there is no airport lounge in Tan Son Nhat International Airport so he was surprised when he got an airport priority pass for SASCO Rose CIP Lounge. 

When I checked the list of International Lounges of Philippine Airlines, Rose Lounge is included in the list naman. For Mabuhay Miles Elite, Premier Elite and Million Miler card holder, check below the list of airport lounges that you can access for FREE.

Domestic Lounges
International Lounges

The lounge is a long walk from the check-in counter. The room is very bright because of the glass windows where you can see the runway. Maaliwalas tingan. 

One advantage of airport lounges is FREE wifi, there is free wifi at Saigon airport but my husband could not connect so he was thankful for the free wifi of SASCO Rose CIP Lounge. You can see the username and password on each table. 

Refreshments are also available so you can eat and drink while waiting for your boarding time. Just like other airport lounges, there is a maximum hour of stays, you can stay for 3 hours at Rose Lounge. Good news is, two children under 12 years admitted free per adult.

The size of the lounge is quite similar to our Mabuhay Lounge at NAIA 2. 

Read: Glimpse of Ho Chi Minh Vietnam 
Le Meridien Hotel in Vietnam
Glimpse of Mabuhay Lounge at NAIA 2

Who has Access to Rose CIP Lounge?

You may relax in Rose CIP Lounges if you are Mabuhay Miles Elite, Premier Elite and Million Miler. If you are not a member but you have a Business Class ticket you can access the lounge for FREE.

Read: 5 Ways to Get into Airport Lounges

Le Meridien Saigon Hotel in Vietnam

Le Meridien Saigon Hotel is located in the heart of the city, it is 8.5km away from Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN) and 7km away from Saigon Train Station. It is really accessible so commuting won’t be a problem. 

There are so many tourist spots in Ho Chi Minh and most of these famous attractions are near the hotel which is about 10-15 minute walk. You can visit the History Museum, Pagodas, Temples, Saigon Zoo, Botanical Garden, and even shopping malls and markets like Ben Thanh Market and Union Square Shopping Centre. 

My husband stayed at Le Meridien Hotel in Ho Chi Minh last week, 3PM is standard check-in time but he was able to check-in before 11AM without additional charge.

He was upgraded for river view side so he sees Saigon River every day. 

This is the room. When I saw the room, I wanted to join his trip, ang ganda kasi e. It is big enough for one person. 

The room and bathroom are divided by glass walls but don’t worry, there is a curtain for that if you want privacy. 

There is a bathtub. 

The hotel offers a swimming pool, spa, and fitness center but unfortunately, my husband was not able to try these facilities and amenities. He has no free time. 

The room package includes a buffet breakfast at Latest Recipe, it serves regional and international cuisine. Aside from this restaurant, you can also eat at Bamboo Chic, Art Cacao Desserts, Explore Bistro, and Latitude 10. 

Ice cream is also available in their buffet spread.

You can also eat outside, Ran Bien Seafood Restaurant is just a few minutes walk from the hotel. 

Read: Glimpse of Ho Chi Minh Vietnam

Update: January 2020

Hubby went back to Ho Chi Minh again and he stayed at Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers and Le Meridien Saigon. Here are some photos of his stay last month. 

Read: Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers 

Le Meridien Hotel 
3C Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1  
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Phone: (84)(8) 62636688