Monsoon - Asian Kitchen & Lounge

So I'm trying to catch up on posting. I have a lot that are just sitting in my drafts waiting to be typed and pictures to be edited. In between my blog and work, my boyfriend and I decided to go out for dinner. We went to Monsoon, Asian Kitchen & Lounge. 

We've been there twice now and we love the food and drinks. We just wanted to go out to dinner to relax and have a nice night together. Monsoon is actually built into an old bank building in the Village of Babylon.

The inside is very open with high ceilings and a lofted dinner area and bar/lounge downstairs. They also hang all these different light bulbs from the ceiling. It's very intimate when dining there.

Red and black is their main colors so they used it from the tablewares to the puzzle piece screens cover the large windows. Also they have a projector screen playing video from different Asian countries. 

Here are our drinks. I had a Cherry Blossom, which was a prosecco and cherry bitters. My boyfriend got a Mai Tai, which they made with Bacardi, Myers Orgeat syrup and Orange juice. Very delicious and strong. I have an average tolerance and these drinks usually get me super red. 

Here are our appetizers. We ordered a Typhoon Roll, made of spicy tuna, scallions, spicy mayo, eel sauce and fried potato. It's crunchy with that kick of heat that tingles your tongue. We also ordered Pork Steamed Buns, made with pork belly, hoisin sauce, and cucumber. It's like having Peking Duck but with pork.  So delicious. The hoisin sauce is sweet, the cucumber is refreshing, and the pork is mouth watering.  

 

For dinner we ordered two dishes. They serve it family style and you can order a bowl of rice to share. We got Sweet & Sour Chicken with pineapple, sweet peppers, snow peas and the chicken was tempura. It taste like what it's named. The sweet pineapple and peppers with that sourness from the sauce.  The tempura chicken, though tossed in this sauce, was still crunchy in texture. Also the Caramel Pork with shallots, garlic, oyster sauce and morning glory. It's salty and very tasty. The pork just melts in your mouth. This is one of my boyfriends favorite dishes. 

Here is my boyfriend smiling after eating all the yummy food. We did take home some of the leftover Caramel Pork and our server was very kind to give us some extra rice. I packed this as lunch for my boyfriend for the next day. We were so full we didn't get a chance to have dessert but they do have some delicious ones.  

At the end, they gave us fortune cookies with some pretty interesting fortunes. They are kind of mocking the ones you get in fortune cookies.  I thought they were funny. 

Afterwards we headed back to my house and he stayed over. He was so full, he got food-itis and fell asleep. Isn't he adorable?

Point is...

If you are ever on Long Island or looking for an Asian fusion restaurant, I recommend Monsoon. 

Off to catalog my nail polish. Happy Blogging!

Beauty is in The Eye of The Beholder...

But what happens when everyone, from friends, family, tv, and magazines tells you that you are ugly...

I came across a video about a documentary film on a Korean high school by Kelley Katzenmeyer. It tells the tale of students in South Korea, preparing for their final exam of high school and what they will do after.  Not only will it show the beauty of Korea and the fun these kids have, but the harsh reality of what it takes to finish school and venture into real life.  These kids study 16 hours a day and don't leave till 9:30pm. They are studying for their final 9 hour exam that will determine their "economic and social status". Not only do they worry about their academics, but they all care about appearances. They believe beautiful people have big eyes, "double lids", noses that stick out, small bodies and white skin. The stresses of school and social appearance has led to a high number of deaths. As it is stated on the website:

"Korean students have some of the highest test scores in the world, and a higher rate of acceptance into American Ivy Leagues than any other foreign country. But Korea also leads the world in two not quite so stunning ways- the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita, and a higher suicide rate than any other developed nation. "

I'm mainly talking about this image of beauty that these kids have growing up. I have seen and read many things on the internet that speak about what Koreans think is beautiful and many are willing to have plastic surgery to look exactly like it. There are blogs dedicated to the before and after pictures of Korean plastic surgery. I've read about people who have lived there and weren't pretty enough.

As you watch this video, many of these students talk about what surgery they will get done or what beauty products they use to look beautiful. It's just what they think is pretty and see every day through magazines, advertisements, and other celebrities. It's hardwired into their brains to think like this. I'm haven't even touched based on how they must excel academically or they are considered failures.

Here's an article about the Miss Korea pageant and how the contestants look very similar to each other and an update on the actual competition. Though I'm sure Photoshop was used to tweak things here and there, but they really look like this. Even the competition, they performed in the same outfits, they started to look like a K-pop band.

Maybe because so many of these celebrities look like this, that kids feel that they need to look like that too. No matter what though, we all want to look "beautiful" but we all don't see beauty in this one way. The word "beautiful" means different things to different people. We are a mixture of cultures, races, and people. We look and dress differently from each other so our picture of beauty is not one image. We see the "perfection" that people have inside and out. 

As far as the academics, the pressure to be smart and get into a great school is what we all want but it seems like all these students do is study, study, study. Many don't have other hobbies or activities outside of school. The stress not only comes from school but from their parents. They want their kids to be the top of the class; to be the smartest; but what are they striving for? What are their dreams? What do they want to become? Or are they given a dream and don't develop their own?

Watch the excerpt video on this documentary. 

What do you think? Have they gone to far? Do you think this can or will change?

Other Links:
I Wasn't Beautiful Enough to Live in South Korea
31 Crazy Before And After Photos of Korean Plastic Surgery

To Cosplay, Or Not To Cosplay, That Is The Question:

Hi everyone! Hope you all had lovely weekends. I've been quite lazy this past Fourth of July weekend. I mostly spent time at home, playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf, BBQs, fireworks and being completely lazy. Oh and I finally cleaned out my closet and switch to my Summer clothes. Now I have a pile of Fall/Winter clothes to donate. So now it's back to the work grind and it's been super busy but I am trying to get some post out. I know some of you have been waiting to see my nail polish collections. I'm working hard on it! I want to take pictures and list every single one of them, so bear with me.

As I was lazily lounging at home, I came across a BuzzFeed article, DC Comics Superheroines Dressed as Modern Hipsters.  These character illustrations are by Elizabeth Beals. Her illustrations are a mix of modern and Art Nouveau, my favorite art style. She draws her own characters and does commissions, as well. Check out her website and tumblr. 

Anyway, she just released this illustration series, Hipster DC Girls, at HeroesCon 2013. They are currently available as prints. I think they are AMAZING!  I think these are seriously unique and totally capture the feeling/personality of each character.  Also, I'm super happy to see that the bodies on these girls are varied and much more realistic than their comic book counterparts.

Here are few from her Hipster DC Girls series.
From left top to bottom right: Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Batgirl, & Supergirl.

What really caught my interest was that these illustrations were also featured on Nylon Magazine's blog. They loved the rendition of Wonder Woman and her fashion style.

They even mentioned where you could find a pair of shorts just like the ones she is wearing. That got me thinking...

"Wouldn't it be awesome to cosplay as one of these hipster DC characters?"

So I picked my favorite out of the group: Harley Quinn.

If you don't know much about her, here is a short bio. Harley Quinn is a super villian in the Batman series. She is usually dressed as a harlequin jester in red, black and white. She actually started as Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, an Arkham Asylum psychiatrist, where she meets The Joker and falls in love with him. She helps him escape but once the Joker is captured and placed back in Arkham, Harleen quits her job and becomes the Joker's right-hand woman/girlfriend. 

I'm not an expertise at sewing and I don't really have any pieces like her outfit. I decided to search on some clothing websites to see if they have anything similar to what she is wearing. Here is what I found.

Forever 21, Slanted Flap Pocket Blazer in Red - $34.80

Forever 21, Diamond Printed Sweater - Was $19.80 / On Sale for $15.64

American Eagle Outfitters, Skinny Jeans in Black - Was $49.95 / On Sale for $39.99

Zappos: Madden Girl Tremor in Cognac, $49.95

Payless Shoe Source: American Eagle Brady Convertible Crossbody and Backpack in Brown, $26.99

I wear black-rimmed glasses when I don't feel like wearing contacts and I would have to make the POW keychain. As far as wigs go, I'm not a huge fan of buying and wearing. I've worn wigs before for two costumes, but I hate getting all sweaty and feeling like it's moving around after wearing it for so long. I will have to debate about the wig.

Point is...

I like seeing modern takes on characters from movies, stories, tv, games and comics. It's another way to show off your inner geek without wearing a cape or cat suit. Plus, most of these pieces I would totally wear on a daily basis. We'll see if I do cosplay this for NYCC or Halloween. It would be awesome to get a group of ladies to dress as these characters.

What do you think of my selections? Would you cosplay as a modern-day character? If you did, who would you choose? (TV, movie, video games, books, etc.)

Liked these illustrations? check out these other modern-day characters -

• 14 Disney Characters As Modern-Day College Students
• Hipster Disney Princesses
• 39 Stylish People Who Are Secretly Disney Characters

Target Haul - Review [#3]

Time to review another product from my Target Haul. I had picked up Starbucks Via Ready Brew Refreshers in Very Berry Hibiscus. I've had the one in Starbucks before and I figured this is an alternative to driving to Starbucks. 

This box comes with 6 packets, each makes 16 oz. of water. It's naturally sweetened with Stevia leaf and made with real fruit. Unsure of the percentage of real fruit in it. It also uses green coffee extract to give you that energy boost.

The package says this drink has blackberry, hints of hibiscus, ginger, and lemongrass. It sounds really refreshing and sweet. I like the package design. It's simple and branded well to fit the other Via Ready Brew packages. The drink is right in your face and the colors are bold.  The information is easy to find and read. I like that it is thin and stands up in my desk draw in between the boxes of snacks.

My Wicked cup from the show holds 16 oz. I'm not sure when its at 16 oz., so I filled it almost to the top.  

I poured the powder in and it turned a dark red violet. It was a little clumpy on the bottom but dissolved with stirring.  

I took a few sips and it really hits the tastebuds with a POW! It's very sweet, but it could be because I'm drinking from the bottom where the powder clumped together. The blackberry is the sweetest taste and then you get an after taste of the lemongrass, the spice of the ginger, and the floral notes of hibiscus.

It's a pretty good drink for when you want to stay away from energy drinks and coffee.  I did feel more energized from drinking it, but that may be the sugar talking. I'd probably dilute it with more water; maybe 20 oz. instead of 16. They do have another flavor, Cool Lime. I've had this one as well at Starbucks and the lime was very overwhelming. 

Point is...

Very Berry Hibiscus is a delicious drink for the summer. Very refreshing and the flavors really give you an energy boost. If you like sweet drinks, this will satisfy that sweet tooth. I give this an 8 out of 10. Easy to use, rejuvenating, a little too sweet for my taste, but overall very satisfying. 

Any one else try this drink before? Did you get it in Starbucks or have you tried the Via Ready Brew packets? 

Summer Fun - Nail Polish Review [#3]

I'm super behind in my posts. I've been super busy between plans, work, and cleaning out my closet. But here is my latest nail polish review.  I recently posted a picture of my nails recent on instagram. 



I used Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstinis' Bahama Mama. I picked up this polish at Target for $2.99. Also, I used Rainbow Honey's Soul Gem. I got Soul Gem as a FREE limited edition for buying the latest collection, The Summer of 199X. You can check out the collection here. 



Bahama Mama is a very pretty coral color with a gold shimmer. It's a great Summer color and I think it'd look great on anyone.  It's very balanced in the amount of coral and pink in it.  Depending on the lighting, it looks more pink or more coral. 

It actually reminds me of Rainbow Honey's Fire Spring from the new collection. 

What do you think?

I decided to try something different and accent my pinky nail. You'll notice that I didn't have anything on my pinky in the picture above. I thought I could get away with just using Soul Gem without any base under it. I was wrong. The glitter is fine and it would have taken several coats just to cover my whole nail with it. I used one coat of Bahama Mama on my pinky and then about two to three coats of Soul Gem to get overall coverage.  

I used Seche Vite as my top coat. Though it has Toulene in it, it works great and dries quickly  I did notice that when I used it, I could smell that sickly, sweet smell that Toulene has. I notice that many of the nail polishes I use don't have a strong smell, which I think is mainly because they are 3-free. I'll just have to use Seche Vite sparingly. 

Point is...

Another awesome color at an affordable price. If you are looking for a summer color, Bahama Mama is one of them. It has a great shimmer and is really pretty and feminine. I have one more polish to review from this haul and then I'll show you all my latest additions to my collection. And possibly a list of all my nail polishes will be posted. 

What's your favorite for this summer? Happy Polishing!