Food Review: Kim's Mini Meals

Love Food, Love Your Health & Body More...

I am a lover for food and drink. If I had the money, I would be dining out every evening in different places of different food! Sadly I am still a poor student, with a piling debt.
If you know me in person, you might know that I actually eat loads even if I scream I should diet. I don't believe in diets to be frank. I eat whatever floats my boat, I eat with no worries....well that might be a lie. What you do is if you think eating all that food is going to make you regret, you'd exercise. There's no easy way about it and I do get very annoyed when girls ask me how to lose weight without exercising! First of all, you won't earn anything in life by being lazy, second of all, liposuction it is for you then! Exercise doesn't have to be painful like a spin class, but you could maybe go outside and take a long stroll, walk your dog if you have one or put some upbeat music on and just dance crazily or flap about in your room (possibly when no one is looking). Of course it will also keep your body healthy with a bit of exercise, after-al, what is the point in being slim if you can't enjoy it for longer? Your health is your own responsibility and yes I do nag at my friends to stop starving themselves because I fear it will damage their health! Dare say I'm not the healthiest though I do try.

There's a hype about anything that is Korean these days. Korean dramas seem to be the thing that lit the candle, then it was Korean music (Big Bang, 2NE1, SNSD, Brown Eyed Girls to name a few....and back then for me it was SG Wannabe and Epik High). People began to obsess with Korean culture; their food, their fashion, their make-up, their brands -we could go on and on!
I admit it, I'm one of them! I'd watch Korean dramas, laugh and cry along with them. I'd listen to the latest "K-pop" and chant along loudly in my car as if I knew how to speak Korean. I would Youtube "Korean-look" tutorials and product reviews. And then all of a sudden, in Edinburgh (my home-town) someone had opened up a Korean restaurant!  For the first year it had opened, it was talk around town and we were all eager to try it! Over the years, I would hear other cities opening a restaurant serving Korean food here and then and in Edinburgh, someone opened a Korean take-away or something, while this year we had a newcomer: Kim's Mini Meals.

Korean grape juice. Yes those are actual white grapes.

When you first enter the restaurant, you'd feel this warp of warmth; the place is small but cosy, rather homey? Don't be startled if you have join somebody else's table because you honestly have to forgive them for the lack of space they have. I went "on my tod", so I was given a little table at the corner, which is just as well!

Mushroom Soup

 The menu was limited, but there are mixed feelings when it comes to how many dishes you should offer; some prefer a small list to keep choice-making easy, others would like to see a whole range. I don't really give a toss as I believe that if you only had one dish to offer and it had satisfied me, I'll still be back. Price wise, was really decent. If you are a student like me and looking for a meal out, this would be perfect. I think my meal (excluding my drink) was around £10? The meal comes in a set with soup of the day, a dish of tasters and your chosen main accompanied with rice (all pictured).

Tasters: courgettes, mushrooms, omelette and something that's like spam? Of course there was kimchi!

I ordered the set that was with beef, but they said they had ran out and it would take quite sometime to wait for it. As to why, I wouldn't have a clue, perhaps they would have to marinate the beef and wait until the beef soaks up the marinate? I was slightly gutted and reluctantly ordered pork even though I'm not a "pork-fan". But I thought chicken would be awkward stir-fried with the Korean spicy sauce - don't ask me how I suspected this!

Stir-fried pork in Korean spicy sauce, with side salad

I wasn't keen on having the sprinkle of  sesame seeds, but I guess it's just one of those things you can't help but would notify them the next time you are in. The pork was lovely, but it's probably not the best if you prefer a blander taste. Asian food normally are strongly flavoured though and I myself grew up with a strong taste bud. The salad is also as tasty as everything else, there is something about that salad sauce but I don't know what it is! I can't even begin to describe it...

Purple rice? 

You must be asking if this purple rice has artificial colouring in it. I don't believe it does. There is a type of rice that is grown to be purple and it is most popularly used in desserts. In Chinese it's called 紫米 (zi mi). This rice will have it's own particular fragrance which makes it unique as well as the colour. My brother told me that you could get free refills of rice, but I think unless you were extremely starving, you won't be needing a refill as the entire meal fills you up pretty quickly. I, unfortunately couldn't finish my meal.

Overall I was rather pleased with my meal. I can't say it's the comfiest of places, but it has this homey-feel and  you will be interested at the little pieces they display on their window sill - very cute indeed. Seats are very limited too and I had seen quite a few people being rejected because of a lack of space. I don't know if this has affected their business. It was also rather surprising that the son of the owner had went to the same high school as me ( he was the year below me and was in the same class as my brother). Coincidence?

Find it at:

5 Buccleuch Street

Edinburgh

EH8 9NJ

Tel: 0131 629 7921 

Web: http://kimsminimeals.com/ 

Opening Hours:

Mon-Sat: Lunch (12-3pm) Dinner (5:30-9pm)

Sunday: Closed (although group booking is available upon advance booking)

OOTD: Casual Autumn

I had went back home yesterday for my father's birthday dinner that my brother and I had organised for him. I think we did a good job =] It was just a small dinner, my father, two brothers and myself. But my brother and I tried to order the best food we felt that was best from the chosen restaurant. Of course, with my love with lobsters, I had asked my brother to order it (as he was friends with the owner's son).
It was an enjoyable night with papa Chan. Hope he had liked it and hope he has a Happy Birthday on Friday even if he has to work. =]

So this is the outfit I came out with yesterday. I'd say perhaps I should have worn a bit more as the weather was turning frosty again.

Kimono/ extended shoulder cardigan £27.99 [New Look]

Shirt/blouse £24.99 [H&M]

Grey jeans £29.99 [H&M]

Black ankle boots £14.99 [H&M]

All-around-scarf in blue £7.99 [H&M]

Pleated brown belt £3.99 [H&M]

No surprises there that most of my clothing are from H&M... but my belief has always been, it's not where you bought it, it's how you wear it. Do you agree? If not, let me know why. =] 

Ok I do look for quality in clothing so there are some places I don't go.

On the face!

I am the type that's easily persuaded by adverts and packaging; some days the products are actually what they say, some days I feel like I've been hustled. But that is the case with most things in life nevertheless.

Three face products I have bought recently and I must admit sometimes I do ask myself, why am I wasting my money over such products?!...

Garnier BB Cream in Light

A bb cream?! In the UK?! Some of us were questioning whether this would work or not, especially within the Asian community as some of us have tested a variety of bb cream brands from Korea, Taiwan and Japan already and would have high expectations of what a bb cream should be. 

I'm appalled at what this product is actually is. It' not a bb cream to me. I think of it as tinted moisturiser instead. I compared this with my L'egere bb cream and you would notice a massive difference between the two. I felt that Garnier hasn't grasped the concept of bb creams just yet.

The coverage is low from this even though when you swatch it, it looks like it will cover very well, once you try to blend it onto your face, it's a very different story. 

It claims to even tones and boost glow, blurs imperfections, smoothes out fine lines. I think all this is complete jibberish, if not, a damn lie. It's disappointing because I'm normally rather fond with Garnier products. The only claim I do believe is 24 hydration. It does seem to be moisturising but other than that... Let's just say if I wanted to moisturise my face I would spend money on a moisturiser.

Garnier needs to realise, that bb creams, are not tinted moisturisers and that they should still hold a good coverage whilst consisting other factors like moisture, SPF, evens tone etc. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on this product, but to be honest, I do ask had they really done any relevant research? 

If you own this product what do you think? I felt robbed since this costed me £9.99... *swears in every language I know*

Rimmel's Stay Matte Foundation in 100 Ivory

Something must have hit me in the head purchasing this. What it reminds me of is one of these cheap quality foundations back in the days when I was a kid. I think I was so impressed with Rimmel's 25hr Foundation, I thought this one could not be that bad. How wrong and naive was I. 

What's this that it claims it has shine control? Are you sure? I put it on and my face looked like I had just dipped it in a grease bowl. No where near the "matte" effect I had expected. The coverage is also rather sheer but not as bad as the above. At £5.99....well with that money I would rather buy another of Rimmel's lipsticks instead as they seem to never fail me. I really don't want to rant on and on about this product; it was a waste of money so I'm not gonna waste too much of my time over it. My advice is, "no". Say "no".

Revlon's Age Defying in 10 Bare Buff 

 I bought this as it was on a special price of £9.99 instead of the original £13.99. It wasn't bad-buy although if I was to compare with their Photo Ready foundation, I would recommend the Photo Ready. This one I felt it takes a bit longer to oxidised once you've applied it on your face. Coverage is medium and it does leave a bit of shine. It's very similar to Rimmel's 25hr foundation although this has more shimmer and it's staying power isn't as good. For example, sometimes I get a bit sweaty because my room at the student halls is always too warm for me, the 25hr foundation would resist it perfectly, but this one would melt. But it's not all that bad, it does contain SPF20 which the 25hr one doesn't have and once it does oxidise, it does give you that smooth skin effect that you will look for in a said "age defying" product.

Swatches of the products

So these are my three recent liquid face products. Have you found a foundation or bb cream that you feel that's worth every penny? Let me know. =]

The £36 lipstick - was it worth it?

Two months ago (I know I know I'm really behind with my blog posts, but the new uni life has taken up my life and I'm only just beginning to settle in) I had purchased my very first Tom Ford lipstick. When it first came out, I didn't think much about, and so many times had I walked past the counter forgetting it had even existed! I have heard some good news about the collection though.

So one day I actually gave in and took a look at it. Swatched some of the lipsticks, and felt that I the colours aren't very exciting until I met Ginger Fawn, the beautiful coral-red lipstick! The moment I swatched it I knew I had fallen in love with it. And I did, of course.

Tom Ford lipstick in Ginger Fawn - I got the white packaging, it also comes in a black packaging

It took me a while to actually decide whether or not I should waste my money over it. But as you know, I have an obsession with collecting lipsticks, and quite often nowadays, corals and reds. The photo above probably doesn't give justice to it's true colour, my photography skills aren't the best though I do try.

On the lips...

The product itself contains ingredients like shea butter and seed oil, which ultimately creates a lipstick that is moisturising and you don't even need to read the ingredients to acknowledge how moisturising it is, the texture of it will make you believe (although I do fear that some may not like this type of texture as it may feel too "greasy" for them. Personally I don't mind it).
The girl at the counter had said to me whilst applying the lipstick on me, that it is very long lasting. I think she was just making things up to sell it to me to be precise. It does come off when you are drinking water or eating e.t.c. However it isn't too bad; it isn't "very" long lasting, but it does last for a decent time - a while?
This is extremely pigmented, none of that sheer crap. For this, I loved it! A note on the smell; it smells very like the MAC lipsticks - vanilla? I've always liked the smell from MAC lipsticks anyway, although some may not be keen on it.

Photos taken with Nikon Coolpix S6100

So the question was, was it worth it? It all depends what sort of person you are to be very honest. What I think is, if you are strapped for cash, then don't do it! You may find similar colours through some drug-store ranges i.e. Rimmel's Lasting Finish in 214 Firecracker (yes I own this one too). 

To me, it was worth my every penny because the packaging is excellent, it smells fine, pigmentation is quite obviously what makes it the winner and to top it off, it's moisturising after all those oils they've added to it. Since it was £36, I asked myself, was it luxurious enough for it's price? I gave it a big fat YES! 

This is my obsession with lipsticks, I know some people don't even wear lipsticks, but there you go, everyone has different obsessions, perhaps what I'm hinting is, don't judge me. (har har!)

Photos taken with my iPhone 4 using filters from Instagram app.

That's it! I will try my best to update regularly, but do keep in mind uni work has just taken over my life. I just happened to loaded myself with a cuppa tea by mistake when I'm suppose to be sleeping -caffiene!