Qing Hua Dumpling, Chinatown, Forever 21

Yesterday, my sister invited me to eat dumplings (she stayed at my place during the weekend because she had a job-related conference in Montreal). We went to Qing Hua Dumpling, near metro Concordia.

I remember going there with her in 2015 for my birthday, but I don't remember clearly how I thought the dumplings were nor do I even remember what I ordered... I, however, do recall waiting an unusually long time for our dumplings...

There weren't a lot of people when we arrived, so we were seated right away. I felt the place was less packed than when we went in 2015, which was nice.

Our table

My sister ordered beef and coriander dumplings and I ordered pork and coriander. I was a bit disappointed because the server asked my sister whether she wanted her dumplings fried or steamed, but didn't ask me (and assumed I wanted mine steamed), while in reality, I would have liked them fried. I know I should have just told the server I actually wanted my dumplings fried, but I was too shy/embarrassed. I don't mean to say the service stinks, just want to mention it because it made me sad a little right at the beginning. Speaking of the service, I thought it was great. The dumplings arrived faster than last time (took approx. 8-10 minutes). Our glasses of water were also often refilled. Staff was courteous.

I don't remember my sister's, but my dumplings arrived all stuck together. It was really annoying. Attempting to use my chopsticks to unstick the dumplings from one another was far from being a success. The skin would most of the time peel out, but maybe I didn't have the right "technique"?

Sorry for this repulsive picture, but eating each of my dumplings looked somewhat like the above—a total mess. I would get sauce everywhere on my face and turned two napkins completely orange. Part of it is because I am simply incompetent at eating with chopsticks, but also because I couldn't shove a full dumpling into my mouth. Some dumplings can be eaten in a couple of bites, but this one is the kind of juicy dumpling that has broth in it. (T▽T)

Although the taste wasn't exceptional (after all, it was pork and coriander), the dumplings tasted really good. I ate them all and also ate two of my sister's. But in one of my sister's dumpling, there was way too much coriander, it looked like the mixture beef-coriander had been unevenly distributed (I don't know if the one I bit into was an exception or not).

The sauce was okay but it tasted a little bland. I think it's because there weren't enough pepper flakes, most of it was just oil.

PC: my sister

We then headed to Chinatown and wanted to buy some Chinese pastries, but when we got there, there weren't any of the ones I like left.
However, I finally managed to buy 3:15pm Milk tea. It is my former Taiwanese language partner who introduced it to me back in 2013. I strongly recommend this flavor even though it doesn't taste like tea (it's really soft & sweet and not bitter as tea is IMO). For about one year, I had been going multiple times at this supermarket that usually sells it, but they never had the milk tea flavor. One day I bought the oolong one, but I really didn't like the taste.

Hello Kitty soy sauce. Very cute, isn't it?

I've seen it on Pinterest and didn't think I'd actually see it in Montreal.

Earlier during the day, I also had bought this dress at Forever 21. I had a credit since I had previously bought an item and wanted to return it—only to learn that the store didn't accept returns (I was surprised since it's the first store I had come across that didn't issue refunds).

The dress is available here on the website. Gingham seems to be really popular this season and I love this pattern, so I was happy to find it. I also bought a white shirt but didn't take a picture with it.

You can see that I'm wearing my Bobon21 low heels, in size 36. I know I wrote a post a couple of months ago about my disappointment with Bobon21 high heels being too big (size 36). Well, I ordered a size 35 earlier this year (low heels this time) and they were too small. -_- Thing is, the high heels seem bigger than the low heels (in the same size), not much in terms of the shoe sole, but more the shoe vamp that is tighter. Because of this, I can't even wear socks with the low heels. x_x Nevertheless, they still look really cute...

Sporadic Life Update & Liz Lisa Sailor Dress in Blue

I don't often use this place to share more personal details in my life, but since these three changes are rather big, I do wish to mention them here. And when I'll go back to this article in a few months or in a few years, it'll be great to remember how the beginning of the year 2018 was a peculiar one that had brought significant changes.

In two weeks, I will finally be graduating (for the second time) from university. I have this final paper to give which I've almost finished writing (needs some last editing and revising) and I'll be done with school (for good, or at least for a good while). This is one of the reasons why I haven't written something here for more than one month, although I did have some content to write about. Thing is, I still had time to blog even when I was in the middle of the process of writing this paper, but I don't enjoy writing here while being conscious of the schoolwork I need to do.
Anyway, it's a strange feeling talking about graduating when I'm reminiscing about the time I started this blog, which was in the summer of 2013. That time, I was entering university in August for the first time. My bachelor was in East Asian Studies, by the way.

Additionally, I started working almost two months ago, and it's harder than I imagined... The nature of the work requires much more analyzing and reading than I expected. It's also hard to show how I can contribute to the organization when I have zero (relevant) work experience. Basically, it's been really stressful and depressing since I started (not really a good sign nor encouraging I know). I would like to be more autonomous, but I feel I'm not experienced enough and that would just make me even more anxious and most likely result in some really poor quality work.
While I've been doing my best to learn and gain experience, I've also told myself that it's not the end of the world (although still regretful) if it doesn't work out in the end.

Finally, I officially moved into my first apartment to be closer to my workplace. It's okay, but I miss the proximity of downtown Montreal where I used to live (I didn't live in the downtown area but if I took the subway, getting there was fast thus convenient).

I could go on about my fears and distress, but I'll end this personal segment here.

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So a couple of weeks ago, I bought the Liz Lisa sailor dress in blue. I already owned the pink one and it was my favorite out of the three colors (the dress also exists in brown/beige).
I initially didn't really like the dress in blue, and pink was my favorite, but gradually, my mind changed and I started liking the blue one also... The purchase was, however, totally unexpected as I was casually browsing Liz Lisa items on eBay when I saw it for sale.
There weren't a lot of details given on the dress condition other than "really good", which seemed suspicious, but I still impulse bought it (and shortly after sent a message to the seller to ask if the dress had any dirt or damage -- should have been asked before buying I know, but I was too worried someone would buy it while I'd still be waiting for the seller's response.)

I received the dress last week, and I was really impressed with its condition. I don't know whether it's because the dress has truly not been worn a lot, or it's just Liz Lisa quality that makes it look flawless even though it's secondhand.

It's my second dress in the same model, but I'm still in awe of the details and the soft plaid.

The fit is also lovely. It fits even better than the pink I already have (which is a little sad because I also love the pink.) I'm incredibly satisfied with this purchase.

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This weekend, I also dyed my hair for the third time with this natural hair dye (well, my mom did):

You can see from the price sticker in the upper right corner that it's not the cheapest hair dye (yet still cheaper than at the salon), but I've been loving it since I used it for the first time—approximately one year ago.

Unlike the regular hair dyes I originally used to dye my hair with, this one doesn't make my hair feel thinner nor make the ends of my hair brittle.

I buy this dye at a naturist shop, but I'm certain you can find it elsewhere also.

Before (excuse my greasy hair)

Uh, I don't have an After picture right now because I forgot to ask my mom to take one... I'll post one once I have one... sorry.

As you can see from the picture above, I recently cut the ends of my hair. Back in January, my hair was past my butt, but the ends were what they call "fairytale ends" and it was atrocious.

Taken back in December

You can see korilakkuma's face through my hair—unbelievable.

I despised how my ends looked in the above picture but I absolutely didn't want to shorten my hair by cutting them. I eventually got sick of it and therefore, chopped the ends.

My hair is shorter now, but the ends are thicker, which all in all looks much healthier. Now I'm eager for my hair to grow out so there isn't any hint of past brown dyes and bleaches left anymore. Weird to say this considering that until October 2016, I was desperately striving to have blond hair...

Thanks for reading.

First Time Buying on Xianyu! (Taobao Secondhand)

**Edit Sept. 29th 2019: Read my second experience buying from Xianyu with a different proxy

I have seen multiple articles about people buying from Taobao, but none regarding Xianyu.
A few research attempts weren't conclusive: I did find two individuals on Quora and on Reddit (here and here) inquiring about buying from Xianyu, but the answers rather gave arguments to discourage OPs buying from Xianyu.

Since it was my first time with Xianyu (AFAIK there's no English version except if you use Google Translate), I was excited but also really confused and stumbled a bit on the website/app.

This post is a review of the stuff (Bobon21 clothes) I bought and as well includes specific info I would have liked to be aware of when first using Xianyu
Note that there may be unexact info since I'm relying on my first and only experience to write this post, and I apologize for that in advance.

*Except for the red sukapan that was bought on Mercari, the three other items were bought on Xianyu using the proxy service Yoybuy (I chose to include the red sukapan in this post because I thought it went well with its counterpart in grey bought on Xianyu.)

What is Xianyu?
Xianyu is an online marketplace for people to sell and/or buy secondhand goods. It belongs to Taobao (Alibaba) hence its URL "2.taobao.com". I'm certainly no expert on Xianyu, but it's basically the same as Fril, Carousell, Depop, or any other online secondhand marketplace, except that it's in China. This means that anyone with an account can post goods for sale, buy from other users, leave a rating, and so on. There are of course variations from platform to platform, but you get the point.

I found out about Xianyu in this article, while looking up for online secondhand websites in China. Xianyu appeared to me as the answer to my troubles when scouring for Bobon21 clothes from past collections, as few Japanese secondhand sellers sell Bobon21, and when they do, usually price the clothes higher than (I assume) it should be.

These are the sections addressed in this post:

• Buying on Xianyu: Computer or app?
• Buying on Xianyu without a proxy service?
• Getting the product URL *OBSOLETE SECTION—SEE THIS POST INSTEAD.
• Domestic shipping fees: where to find them?
• The clothes I got
• Conclusion

Buying on Xianyu: Computer or app?

It looks like you can't buy on Xianyu using your computer; you need to buy using the app.

First, Xianyu seems to be dissuading its users to use Xianyu on their computer. I spent a good while trying to look for a search bar on the website where I could input my keywords, only to discover that there's simply no search bar on the website (while it is easily spotted in the app):

Website version

App version (Android)

Second, let's say I've found a product I like on Xianyu. Clicking on the item's page, a pop-up window shows up:

I suck with more formal and technical Chinese, but here's a rough, definitely not 100% accurate translation: "Seller has already transferred the product on Xianyu app. Download the app and immediately communicate with the seller."

Suppose you close that pop-up window and then click on the orange button that says "立即购买" (buy now).
This will show up:

First part of the first line is unintelligible to me, but second part asks me to "please download the app to carry on the buying process."

Notice the QR codes in both pop-up windows? The one in the first pop-up window redirects you to the product's page in the app (you have to scan it in the Xianyu app itself); the one in the second pop-up window leads you to a page where the app can be download.

Conclusion: Shop and buy with the app and just avoid using the computer because it probably won't work with the latter.

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Buying on Xianyu without a proxy service?

Except if you are Chinese or have been living in China long enough to have become well "settled" by now, you most likely won't be able to buy on Xianyu by yourself.

This is because of  "实人认证", which consists of verifying your identity via the app Alipay (or certifying/attesting, not sure how to properly call it):

See text in yellow rectangle

This part about verifying your identity is a bit blurry in my head because it's been a while I've attempted this step.

If I remember well, you can choose between three/four options to verify your identity. I believe these are face recognition, passport number, link/provide your card number from a Chinese bank, and something like providing your Chinese citizen card number?

Anyway, I decided to provide my passport number (most feasible option in my situation). Though after providing my passport number, Alipay asked me to provide my bank card number—which I did—but then got told Alipay didn't support my bank card... I believe that Alipay only accepts cards issued by Chinese banks for this verification service, but I can't be sure of it.

Conclusion: If you don't verify your identity, you cannot buy a product on Xianyu; considering verifying your identity implies providing info you may not possess (because you're not Chinese), you are unable to verify your identity and buy on Xianyu, therefore have to use a proxy service in order to buy goods from Xianyu.

This being said, I don't despise proxy services, but I do have reasons for wanting to buy on Xianyu by myself:

• Can chat directly with the seller (very practical if I want to negotiate the price or ask questions);
• Don't have to use the BuyForMeService from Yoybuy, can use only ShipForMe (I save on fees);
• Can leave my own rating about my transaction with the seller;

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Getting the product URL

*OBSOLETE SECTION—SEE THIS POST INSTEAD.
From personal experience with proxy services, I usually need to provide a link so that the buying agent will be able to access the specific product and buy it for me.

However, because I'm shopping in the Xianyu app, there's no link as on a website. (ಥ_ಥ)

I tried copy-pasting the product's title from my app into Google to find the product's page on the website version of Xianyu, but none of the results generated by Google lead me to the right product.

I originally thought this issue would be no big deal for Yoybuy since they must deal with Xianyu orders on a regular basis, until I addressed the problem to a Yoybuy agent in the chat, expecting her to instruct me on what to do. But instead, when I told her that I couldn't find a proper link in the app, she searched for the item and suggested me the same product from a different seller she had found herself. (●__●)
So I improvised this very sloppy method in order to fetch a link from the app:

1. Click on the three dots in the top right corner	2. Click on the chain icon (it'll copy the product URL)

Now you've got your link. You can immediately paste it into the Yoybuy order form, or test it before in your web browser:

This is an ineffective URL to provide: it stops working after a certain time and you can't buy the product from this URL. I only use it because I must provide a link (at least with Yoybuy) to send my order in the system.
Because this URL is impotent, I mention in the comment space (still in the order form) that the link doesn't work correctly, and that to ensure buying the right product (from the right seller), I strongly advise to copy the product's title and paste it in the Xianyu (app) search bar -- the exact product I want can then be found this way.

I mean, perhaps the buying agent has its own method of finding the item that is far better than mine, but I had to come up with something after that chat with the lady mentioned previously.

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Domestic shipping fees: where to find them?

Sometimes, the sellers will mention it in the item's description or someone will have already asked it in the comments section; other times, nothing will be written. I was pretty clueless at first about how to obtain this info but I eventually found out how:

1. Click on the red button (我想要 I want)	2. The shipping fee is the text in the yellow rectangle

Note: this doesn't ensure that what is written is the accurate shipping fee. The seller may put a "standard" fee, but depending on the province where the product will be shipped, it will vary (in that case, Yoybuy notifies you by email to pay the price difference -- at least that's how it went for me).

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The clothes I got

Item #1: Bobon21 Red Check Dress

I've wanted this dress since I saw it in fall 2016... unfortunately I didn't have the guts back then to use a proxy service to buy it. I've always regretted it and was delighted to see that a lot of sellers on Xianyu were selling the exact same dress.

In the item's description, the seller really insisted that the dress was brand new with the tag still on, had only been tried on and had spare buttons. Well, when I received it, the dress didn't have any tag on (except for the brand tag but that is another thing imo), had no spare buttons and definitely didn't look "brand new" as stated by the seller.

Small black and red dots that are quite noticeable

The three buttons which look used:

I know wool isn't perfect and I surely did expect lints on it, but the seller asserted numerous times (in the description) the dress to be "new condition" (+ still had the tag and spare buttons). I feel I've been duped and I'm really disappointed, because I paid more for this dress in particular, while I could have bought the same dress for a lower price (and the state would have possibly been equivalent or better). I know that's part of the game when buying secondhand online, but still, it feels good complaining (and it would feel even better if I could leave the seller a rating.)

At least the fit isn't bad.

Item #2: Bobon21 White Blouse

When Bobon21 released their fall collection in 2016, the dress above could be bought as a set with the blouse. I originally didn't intend on getting this blouse, but eventually told myself I might as well buy the blouse if I'm buying the dress and gave in (didn't really help that I thought the blouse looked nice either...)

The blouse was said by the seller to be 90% new. I noticed that a lot of sellers on Xianyu use percentages to describe the degree of newness, such as 80% new, 90% new, 95% new, etc.

It's not clear to me as to what 90% new corresponds, but the seller did tell me the blouse didn't have any dirt or damage when I asked her the question.

Dirt on the collar (fortunately disappeared after washing)

The blouse is really great. After washing and ironing, it's in pretty good condition. I was happy to see that all the heart buttons were still there. There seems to be a lot of excess threads, but I believe the blouse was always as such.

Excess threads here and there

I like it. It fits a little on the smaller side, but it's better than too big. The sleeves' length is okay, as long as I don't lift my arms...

Awkward gap I plan on sewing close

The seller also gave me this sweater and choker with the blouse, which is a nice thought (although the sweater is kind of heavy thus adding weight for both domestic and international shipping, and I don't plan on wearing it since it's not my style, but anyway.)

Item #3: Bobon21 grey sukapan

I had already bought this sukapan in size M, but thought it was too big, so I bought it this time in size S. According to the seller, the sukapan was brand new and had only been tried on.

The bows have small flaws, but nothing serious

I'm pretty satisfied with this sukapan. The state and fit are great. Only thing that first struck me was the sukapan's color, which is not the same as the one I had priorly bought in size M:

I have no idea why the color variation is so important, nor why the bows look different on both sukapans. I won't post a try on picture since I'll post two for the same one (in red) I'll talk about next.
Item #4: Bobon21 red sukapan *Bought secondhand on Mercari

Glad to see the bows look flawless

The fit when it comes to the waist is much better than the sukapan in size M. From the side, however, I don't see a big difference with size M... I think it all comes to ironing the pleats of the sukapan actually, to make sure not a pleat sticks out awkwardly.

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Conclusion

Following this first experience with Xianyu, I am not impressed at all with my purchases, especially with the dress. The prices were not astronomically high, but none were cheap (except for the blouse that was sth. like 9 bucks CAD). Add to that the other fees (domestic shipping, international shipping, Paypal fees) and it becomes a somewhat expensive order. If I lived in China, I would probably enjoy shopping on Xianyu, but with the proxy service and international shipping, it becomes way too expensive for the quality I received.

Consequently, I definitely won't be window-shopping for fun on Xianyu but will only be buying if I need something that is insanely hard to get on Japanese secondhand websites. And I shall buy the clothes when Bobon21 actually releases them (i.e. brand new), instead of hesitating and then regretting and having to resort buying secondhand.

If however, Alipay does allow users to verify their identity with a credit card that doesn't need to have been issued from a China bank, I believe that would be slightly better since I could buy the products myself (although international shipping still is expensive).

Thanks.