Aussie Life Archives | Page 17 of 42

K-POP Music Fest in Sydney!

28 August 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Entertainment

Any K-POP fans in Sydney?

“2011 K-Pop Music Fest.” will be held on Saturday, 12th of November, 2011. This phenomenal music festival is to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Australia, also known as the “Year of Korea in Australia”. The fundamental focus of this event is to promote a range of cultural artistic activities by bringing some popular K-Pop musicians and culture to Australia, superintended by JK Entertainment is a Sydney based Event & Production Company. Some highlights of JK Entertainment works include Jay Chao Sydney Live Concert, 2010 JYP Australia Audition, 2010 Korea Festival, Super Kpop Concert and many more.

To commemorate the significant ties between Korea and Australia, JK Entertainment has joined forces with MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation) in Korea to bring 12 of the most popular K-Pop groups down under! This exciting concert will take place in the ANZ Stadium at Olympic Park, Sydney. This highly anticipated concert will be the first ever K-pop Music Festival in Australian history and marks the beginning of the Kpop culture in the Southern Hemisphere. It is expected to draw some 30,000 Australians from around the country as well as overseas fans. This concert is scheduled to be aired on MBC TV Program in Korea which will further expose the popularity of the Kpop internationally.

The musicians selected for this event are popular and highly successful in Korea and internationally. Their popularity has been proved through a series of popular polls, online surveys, interviews with the public, extensive media coverage as well as an ever growing fan base across the world.

JK Entertainment together with MBC Korea are excited and proud to present SNSD (Girls’ Generation), Miss A, TVXQ (aka DBSK), KARA, SHINee, 4 Minute, 2AM, CN Blue, Beast (B2ST), Secret, MBLAQ andSistar to perform for this concert.

More details can be found here. [source]

PRE-SALE TICKETS ON-GOING!

The official sale of tickets will be on 1 September but if you are an eager-beaver like me, you can email info@jkent.com.au and they will reply a link back to you so you can purchase tickets between 28-30 August. Simply email the following details:

Your name, contact number and email address

Number of tickets required
Section where you want to sit (VIP standing $289/VIP seating $289/Gold $189/Silver $139/ Bronze $89)
Fan group you would like to sit with

The pre-sale started at 9:00 this morning and I had to get up early just to get tickets for me and the Husband. Yes! We are giving this a go even if we’re not really fond of going to concerts. Can’t wait to watch this on 12 November.

Is It Worth Shopping at Costco?

16 August 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 2 Comments Category: Aussie Life, The Married Life, Tips

I’m sure a lot of Sydneysiders are interested whether shopping at Costco is worth it. So I’ve collated a few prices of their items and it will somehow give you some leverage for comparison to prices of items in local supermarkets (all prices in AUD, recorded on 12 Aug 2011):

Colgate Plax Mouthwash, 2 x 1L – $13.29
Colgate Total Toothpaste, 4 x 160g – $11.48
Rexona/Dove Roll-on for Male & Female, 6 x 50ml – $18.59
Olay Total Effects, 3 x 50g – $65.99
Palmers Cocoa Butter Value Pack, 1L + 60g – $12.79
Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, 2 x 354ml – $17.89
Qtips Cotton Swabs, 1,875pcs – $11.99
Carefree Everyday Liner Breathable, 96 pcs – $8.99
Stayfree Day & Night pack – $20.99
Gilette Mach 2 Disposables, 14 pcs – $27.69
Gilette Mach 3 Turbo Cartridge, 20 pcs – $53.99

Dettol Liquid Hand Wash, 3 x 750ml – $12.99
Palmolive Hand Wash, 2 x 750ml – $7.29
Palmolive Shower Gel, 750ml pump + 750ml refill – $9.28

Neutrogena T/Gel Therapeutic Shampoo, 2 x 200ml – $18.99
Herbal Essences Shampoo, 2 x 735m – $17.59
Kirkland Hydrating Shampoo, 2 x 1.3L – $8.99
Kirkland Hydrating Conditioner, 2 x 1.18L – $8.99
Tresseme Shampoo & Conditioner, 2 x 1.3 L – $13.99

Palmolive Bar Soap, 20 bars – $8.99
Dove Moisturising Bar Soap, 14 bars – $18.39
Ivory Bar Soap, 16 bars – $5.99

Johnson’s Baby Bedtime Value Pack, 1.3L – $11.59
Johnson’s Baby Top to Toe Bath Pack, 1.2L – $14.99
Johnson’s Baby Powder, 4 x 600mg – $13.99
Johnson’s Baby Wipes Scented, 960 pcs – $34.98
Huggies Nappies Infant, 192 pcs – $72.99
Huggies Nappies Newborn, 224 pcs – $57.59
Huggies Nappies Crawler, 184 pcs – $51.79

Centrum Select 50+ Multivitamins, 200 pcs – $26.99
Webber Naturals Fish Oils 180/120, 400 pcs – $14.99
Kirkland Omega 3 Fish Oil, 180 pcs – $31.99
Herron Blue Ibuprofen, 24 pcs – $2.69

Kikkoman Soy Sauce, 2L – $9.99
Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce, 1.75L – $4.79
Leggo’s Tomato Paste, 12 x 290g – $12.89
John West Red Salmon, 4 x 210g – $19.79
John West Tuna in Olive Oil, 12 x 185g – $23.99

India Gate Premium Basmati, 20kg – $44.99
Grape Brand Thai White Rice, 10kg – $9.49
Golden World Jasmine Rice, 25kg – $35.99
Sun Rice Premium White Long Grain Rice, 5 kg – $7.49

Palm Corned Beef, 4 x 326g – $12.99
Spam Regular, 3 x 340g – $10.79

Kirkland Sea Salt Grinder, 368g – $4.39
Kirkland Pure Sea Salt, 850g – $3.79
Saxa Cooking Salt, 2 kg, $1.59
Sunshine Lemon Juice, 2 x 1L – $4.59

Mission Jumbo Taco Shells, 2 x 190g – $3.79
Mission Burrito Dinner Kit, 2 x 560g – $9.69

Red Island Canola Oil, 5L – $12.99
Kirkland Olive Oil, 5L – $19.99
Kirkland Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1L – $11.99

Bake One Cupcake Mix, 2.5kg – $9.99
Gem of the West Plain Flour, 12.5kg – $8.49
Gem of the West Self Raising Flour, 8 x 1kg – $7.39

Sunshine White Sugar, 25kg – $23.49

Splenda Sachets, 8 x 50pk – $19.99
Sanitarium So Good Soy Milk, 12 x 2L – 23.69
Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix, 60 x 28g – $7.99
Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows, 1.1kg – $4.79
Kirkland Japanese Green Tea, 100 bags – $15.69
Twinnings Infusions Variety Pack, 120pcs – $12.89
Tetley Leaf Tea, 4 pack x 400g – $7.49
Nescafe Blend 43, 500g – $15.99
Kirkland Guatemalan Whole Bean Coffee, 1.36kg – $21.69
Kirkland by Starbucks Whole Bean Roasted Espresso, 907g – $13.99
Kirkland Rwandan Whole Bean Coffee, 1.36kg – $15.99

Kirkland Monterey Jack Cheese, 907g – $6.29
Primo Cocktail Frankfurts, 1kg – $4.89
Primo Chorizo, 1kg – $12.59

Western Star Butter, 1.5kg – $9.99
Lurpak Unsalted Block, 3 pack – $10.29
Bertolli Olivio Spread, 1kg – $6.79

Lays Potato Chips BBQ, 425g – $5.98
Lays Potato Chips Classic, 425g – $6.49
Kirkland Lightly Salted Chips, 907g – $8.49

Kellogg’s Sultana Bran, 1.36kg – $9.79
Kellogg’s Cornflakes, 1.45kg – $9.99
Kellogg’s Just Right, 1.45kg – $10.99
Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain, 940g – $6.99

Skippy Peanut Butter, 1.36kg – $5.69

Isigny Brie, 1kg – $30.49
Dutch Edam Balls – $12.49/kg
Jindi Camembert – $24.99/kg
Happy Cow Cheese Slices, 800g – $6.89

White King Toilet Gel Lemon, 2 x 700ml – $5.98
Kirkland Free & Clear Liquid Laundry, 5.5L – $19.99
Softly Laundry Liquid Woolens & Delicates, 5L – $14.99
Kirkland Ultra Fabric Softener, 5.53L – $15.99
Downy April Fresh Fabric Softener, 3L – $16.58
Cuddly Fabric Softener, 5L – $11.99
Palmolive Regular Dishwashing Liquid, 5L – $18.99
Finish Lemon Powder, 3kg – $13.59

Panasonic Viera, 50″ Plasma, 1080P Full HD TV – $949.99
Samsung Series 5/D550 51″ Plasma 1080P Full HD TV – $1,149.88
Samsung Series D7000 WIFI 55″ LED 200HZ 1080P Full HD 3D TV – $2,999.99

Again, these are only some of the prices I was able to collate on 12 August. Prices may change everyday or every week.

The big question really is, “Is it worth paying for the annual membership of AUD$60.00?”, which my Husband and I also asked before we applied for membership. We still went on with the membership because we thought experiencing Costco will best answer that question. So for the whole year, we’ll keep our receipts and keep tabs of all the savings we got from all the sales and at the end of the annual membership, we’ll see if our AUD$60.00 was really worth it.

We also have these reasons: (1) We have families in the Philippines and shopping at Costco seems more cost effective for us and (2) Buying dry products in bulk will save us money and time.

If we found out that the annual membership is not worth it, we won’t avail of the Costco membership for the next year.

Reasons Why the Costco Membership May Be Good For You
(1) You have a big family
(2) You have a business
(3) You regularly have parties at home/organise parties
(4) You send care packages to your families abroad
(5) You love big savings on grocery items
(6) You have ample storage space at home

With that said, we also have to understand that Costco is not the be-all and end-all in grocery shopping. There are some items that they don’t have (yet). Some items are cheaper in Coles and Woolworths. We may find cheaper appliances at JB Hi-Fi, Bing Lee or Harvey Norman. I still believe that grocery shopping in local supermarkets is enough to cater to a household’s basic needs. Costco may be a good option to many families in Australia but it is definitely not the only option to all families living here.

Costco Shopping in Sydney (Finally!)

15 August 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 9 Comments Category: Aussie Life

The moment Sydneysiders have been waiting for has finally unfolded. The first Costco branch in Sydney opened in July this year and grocery shopping has never been the same again. Well for those who are members (and members who bring visitors with them) at least.

We chose to wait out three weeks before we go for our first visit in the hopes that the crowd will at least be manageable. We took a day off together last Friday because we heard that weekends are the busiest.

We left home at 9:30am and arrived at the store at 9:58am. There were many people on queue going inside Costco. We went to get our membership IDs first which took less than 10 minutes because we already registered online. All they did was check our details on the computer and took our photos for the ID.

In less than 2 minutes, our IDs got out of these machines and we were off to do some fun shopping.

Don’t forget to grab a trolley before going in! These trolleys are easily spotted in a corner in each parking level. There are no trolleys inside the store.

Since we were early and it was a Friday, the crowd was manageable. There were the not-so-busy aisles that you can easily pass thru.

And there were aisles where you seem to find everyone in it.

At 12:00 noon, the crowd got thicker. Although a lot of people are checking-out, the people coming in were greater in number. The Husband and I even witnessed a “Desperate Housewife Moment” where three ladies were about to engage in a catfight because there were two ladies chatting idly in the middle of the aisle and this one lady was getting pissed off at them for blocking people with there big carts. I would normally get pissed off too but I was too happy last Friday, enjoying my first official grocery shopping at Costco. The Costco visit I experienced in Melbourne doesn’t really count because I was just a visitor then and shopped only for chocolates.

The Husband and I just enjoyed our grocery shopping and if a crowd was too thick in a certain area, one of us will just stay at a corner with our trolley and the other one will go to wherever he/she wanted to go.

As Filipinos, we love shopping at Costco because we get to see and buy familiar American products which are not available in local supermarkets. We also appreciate the great deals and sales. I was tickled pink when I saw 60 rolls of tissue for only AUD$17.99. As a wife and homemaker, that’s a big deal for me. Finding 16 bars of Ivory Soap for only AUD$5.99 means we won’t have to buy soap for probably 12 months.

We finished at 12:30pm and decided to have lunch at Costco too. Prices of their food were very affordable.

For two hotdogs with softdrinks and a slice of cheese pizza, we only paid for AUD$7.97.

Costco Shopping for Two

We regarded our shopping at Costco the same way we shop at a local supermarket by:
1. Having a budget limit and sticking to it
2. Checking our supply at home thoroughly and make a list of must buys
3. Buying stuff we only need even if some items are only on sale
4. Buying a few items that make us happy
5. Taking into consideration storage space at home
6. Taking into consideration the expiry date of items

When you are at Costco, it’s so easy to get swallowed in by sales. In any grocery shopping scenario, a homemaker must be very smart and firm. Smart in choosing what items to buy and firm in saying “No” even if an item is on sale.

For our first official grocery shopping at Costco, we have a budget of AUD$200.00 and I made a list of supply we needed at home. When I did our list, I concentrated on dry goods instead of raw produce. Since we have a small household, we didn’t think it was necessary for us to buy big bulks of raw produce at Costco.

Items we needed to replenish: Rice, Olive Oil, Cereal, Taco Shells and Salt. We found 3 pcs of Spam for only AUD$10.79 so we bought it for “emergency purposes”.

Some toiletries: Laundry Powder, Toothpaste, Mouthwash, Toothbrush, Shower Gel, Liners & Soap. Except for the shower gel, toothpaste and mouthwash, we think we won’t need to buy these items for the next 8-12 months.

Stuff that makes us happy: These are items that we missed! Lays, Swiss Miss, Hershey’s Syrup and Chips Ahoy. We didn’t buy any American Chocolates because we still have some Japanese Chocolates at home.

After two and a half hours of going around numerous aisles at Costco, we bought a total of 23 items that amounted to AUD$199.05! We were so proud of ourselves for being able to stick to our budget.

Based on our first grocery shopping at Costco, we think, we will visit Costco every 6 weeks.

Please click this link for some of the prices of items at Costco.

Costco Opening in Sydney on 21st July

15 July 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 0 Comments Category: Aussie Life

Costco has finally announced their opening dates in Sydney and Canberra! Their Sydney branch will open on the 21st of July while their Canberra branch will open on the 22nd.

Have you registered to become a member yet?

If you want to register as a Gold Member, go to this link. For Business Membership, you may click this one.

Once registered, print out your membership confirmation and bring to the temporary office on your first visit. Costco will give you an eco bag as a special gift for signing up before opening day.

Happy shopping!

Lindt’s Winter Exculsive: Hazelnut Hot Chocolate

3 July 2011 Ibyang Sanchez 4 Comments Category: Aussie Life, Food, The Married Life

There’s something about traveling together that makes us (my Husband and I) closer to each other that after we traveled, we missed being away from each other. After our Manila & Seoul vacation, it took us almost four weeks to spend a whole day out together.

It’s very rare that we in sync our day/s off work because we usually allot that for our respective “me” times. However, for our first day off work after vacation, we decided to align our schedules together and spend the whole day traipsing around the city. Although we enjoyed our vaycay immensely, we found that we missed the laidback atmostphere and familiarity that Sydney brings.

Our date started with a late lunch at our newest Korean resto find (coming soon in the next entry) and then we just wasted time hanging out in the shops at Pitt Street. A walk along George Street led us to the Apple Store where we just played with their devices and looked at gadget accessories. We were on our way to Circular Quay for the Vivid Sydney when tea time came and it was fortunate that we were near Lindt Cafe.

It was the first week of Winter and there were signs that they are offering their Winter Exclusive–the Hazelnut Hot Chocolate.

I was looking forward to having coffee but when I saw their Winter Special, I immediately changed my mind and ordered the Hazelnut Hot Chocolate instead.

Chocolate with almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts or toffee nuts are a favourite of mine so I had to take advantage as Winter is only three months.

The limited edition Hazelnut Hot Chocolate is only available at the Lindt Cafe. It combines the richness and earthy aromas of roasted hazelnuts and Lindt‘s dark or milk chocolate, with added honey and caramel for a perfect blend.

I smelled it from a few meters away as the waiter walks out of the counter to serve our drinks. I was in hazelnut heaven from the first sip thereon. The flavour of hazelnut was abundant and rich. Truly perfect for chilly-snugly days.

The Husband opted for his usual favourite: Cafe Mocha (Dark Chocolate was his preference for the chocolate).

We shared a slice of their Wimbledon, a layered cake of mascapone and vanilla bean cream, almond vanilla cake, strawberry puree, bordered by shards of red and white chocolate.

We’ve go two more months of the Winter Season so if ever you are near a Lindt Cafe, drop by and warm up with a cup of the Hazelnut Hot Chocolate.

Lindt Cafe
Martin Place * Darling Harbour * George Street