We used to have to wait for RM's comeback livestream to hear about what went behind the melodies, the lyrics, the production, and the why they made the decisions they did, so I really love that they decided to hold this type of conference with the whole group to talk about the album and what went into each song. God, I can't wait to cycle through this album again and again and again.
Also, serious props to the live translator. To have to think about not just the direct translation, but the nuances of the words and meanings, and then having to type it all out in real time? The translators are the real MVPs here.
I was expecting an English language song to be their title track, but I wasn't expecting it to sound so… lo-fi, mature, low-key sexy. The vibe kind of reminds me of "Black Swan," where there are undercurrents of darkness to it, a hint of sexiness, and a splash of melancholy… It's catchy, of course, but it's not flashy, it's not anthemic, and it's not overly poppy or energetic. It's understated, in the best, most beautiful way. It's the kind of pop song that I can listen to on repeat and not get sick of, which is honestly the best kind of title track. I cannot freaking wait to play Arirang on repeat for the next, like, six months.
Swim, swim
Water falling off your skin
Swim, swim
I could spend a lifetime watching you
Swim, swim
This is how it all begins
Swim, swim
I just wanna dive
I just wanna dive
Bad world
Gone away and I still wake up in this mad world
Name a place that I could breathe on this map, world
Lookin' like a goody-goody in this bad world, bad world
Don't know how to act, girl
I'm in the deep, tell me where the hell you at, girl?
Oh, you ain't even gotta love me bad, girl
You know that I'm never holdin' back, girl
So easy
Don't make it so hard
Nights like these
I just wanna get lost
Right here, with the moon and the sharks
I ain't gotta think 'bout a thing, baby, I just
Swim, swim
Water falling off your skin
Swim, swim
I could spend a lifetime watching you
Swim, swim
This is how it all begins
Swim, swim
I just wanna dive
I just wanna dive
Water, water, so deep
Water so deep
Take it off the ground
I ain't never gettin' cold feet
Yeah, you know me
Yeah, you know me
Sittin' on the shore
Now I'm ready for the whole sea
I can feel the high waves comin'
Why you run away, you can run in
Salt on my tongue, she's stunnin'
You're the only place that I wanna be
Swim, swim
Water falling off your skin
Swim, swim
I could spend a lifetime watching you
Swim, swim
This is how it all begins
Swim, swim
I just wanna dive
I just wanna dive
Splash, drift
I make waves with my two fins
Splash, drip
I just wanna take it across the line
Under here we don't chase the time
Baby, everything can't be so sad
Turn my face from the land
I just wanna dive
I just wanna dive
Swim, swim
Water falling off your skin
Swim, swim
I could spend a lifetime watching you
Swim, swim
This is how it all begins
Swim, swim
I just wanna dive
I just wanna dive
And ahoy, matey! Shiver me timbers! Avast ye, scallywag! Dead men tell no tales! That is all the pirate speak I know, and I'm not even sure if BTS are supposed to be (really sleek, sexy) pirates here, or if they're just like, (unrealistically beautiful) sailors, but either way, they've got captain chic down pat. (Also, took me a full minute to recognize her, but it's Betty Cooper!) I am so freaking excited for their comeback performance at Gwanghwamun Square this Saturday!
To ARMY's Lil' Meow Meow, Bangtan's most savage rapper, one of the music industry's most talented producers, and my bias wrecker, happy 33rd birthday! Thank you for your words of comfort and wisdom, for always standing up for your rights, for always voicing your opinions, for speaking up on global issues and mental health, for your adorable gummy smiles, for being the ultimate softie even though you don't like showing it, and for writing some of my favourite songs of all time. Happy birthday, Min Yoongi a.k.a. Suga a.k.a. Agust D a.k.a. Min Suga Genius Jjang Jjang Man Boong Boong. I can't wait to see you in August. 💜
"The BTS ARMY will have to wait a while to see their favourite band again."
I can't believe the wait will finally be over in 16 days. I cannot wait for what will undoubtedly be the biggest, most epic, most jaw-dropping comeback in music history.
A Chinese holiday wouldn't be complete without dinner at NKS Banquet Hall with my mom and her bestie:
Thick-cut char siu (BBQ pork)
Stir-fried sirloin beef with broccoli and candied walnuts
Stir-fried gai lan (Chinese broccoli) with garlic
Steamed tilapia with soy sauce, ginger, and scallions
Crispy skin free-range chicken with shrimp chips
Longevity buns
A complete meal of land, sea, and sky! (Okay, chickens don't really fly but it's still a bird, and IT'S SYMBOLIC, OKAY?) Got all of our favourites — including, yes, the best char siu I've ever had in my life — along with the traditional steamed fish in soy sauce and scallions (for prosperity, of course). Finished off with some piping hot longevity buns that the staff gifted us since my mom was born on Chinese New Year in the lunisolar calendar (yes, she is the only person I know that gets to celebrate two birthdays just because of this). Anyway, if you're wondering how the hell the three of us could eat all of this food — we didn't. There was enough food for two more dinners. And, obviously, since I am way too lazy to cook and they take pity on me, I got to take home of all the glorious leftovers!
To Bangtan's eternal sunshine, K-pop's King of Dance, and ARMY's Piece of Peace, happy 32nd birthday! Thank you for blessing us with your unparalleled street and freestyle dance skills, your infectious smile, your incredible work ethic, your amazing ability to change cadence and flow in your rap, always choosing to be hopeful, and for being the backbone of BTS. Most of all, thank you for helping us step into our futures with a rhythm of positivity. Your birthday this year falls on the day after Lunar New Year, so on top of wishing you an amazing day full of joy and laughter, I also hope you get to eat tteokguk with all your loved ones. 💜
I took the day off and went for Chinese New Year dim sum with my parents at Purple Orchid:
Egg custard tarts (daan tat)
Steamed pork and shrimp dumplings (siu mai)
Fried glutinous rice dumplings (ham sui gok)
Steamed shrimp dumplings (har gow)
Steamed BBQ pork buns (char siu bao)
Steamed bean curd rolls
Lion dance!
The dim sum was good — classic options, standard portions, no frills but tasty (though the char siu bao were a little too soft; the bottom was almost mushy), and decently priced (about $60 in total after tax and tip for six dishes plus tea service for three people). A solid choice for dim sum in the Richmond Hill area. Bonus: we got there just in time for the lion dance show. A great start to the new year!
For my mom's birthday, I went to celebrate with her and her bestie at their go-to Chinese restaurant:
Thick-cut char siu (BBQ pork)
Cantonese poached chicken in soy sauce
Stir-fried sliced beef with sponge gourd and cloud ear mushrooms
Cantonese-style omelette with silver fish and green onions
An excellent dinner as per usual, but especially the SUBLIMELY SUCCULENT thick-cut char siu that the chef prepared that afternoon. Apparently, they don't always have char siu available because the chef who prepares it only comes in a couple times a week, so when it is available, it's sells out fast — and for good reason. I say this with no hyperbole: this was the best char siu I have ever had in my life, and I have had A LOT of char siu in my almost 40 years. The flavour is PERFECT — the most ideal combination of sweet and salty with a slightly smoky edge — and meat is super juicy and insanely tender, almost melt-in-your-mouth. They serve you two cuts of meat, one leaner (probably pork shoulder) and one fattier (probably pork belly), but even the lean cut was incredibly soft and juicy. I don't even think NKS is known for char siu, but it is TRANSCENDENT.
My only complaint from this dinner is that the omelette has cilantro in it (so unnecessary), and was therefore ruined for me. But my mom and her bestie really enjoyed it, which is what counts, I guess. Whatever, this post is really an ode to their char siu, anyway.
To celebrate the end of the year (to clarify, the end of the Year of the Snake) as well as my mom's birthday, my dad made reservations at a Cantonese restaurant called The Big Brother.
Traditional salt-baked crispy skin chicken
Pan-fried green peppers stuffed with house-made fish paste
Stir-fried beef with bitter melon in black bean sauce
Hakka-style tofu stuffed with minced pork and secret seafood sauce
Deep-fried salted egg yolk kabocha squash and fresh oysters
The food is EXCELLENT. The menu is actually relatively small for a Chinese restaurant — it's literally a double-sided laminated sheet about the size of a placemat, and nearly every dish comes with a picture — which usually means every single dish offered should be executed exceptionally well. And it was absolutely true for our experience tonight. Cantonese restaurants are a dime a dozen in the Richmond Hill/Markham area since the majority of the people here are Chinese, but The Big Brother offers notably incredible, authentic Cantonese/Shunde-style dishes — even my parents, immigrants from Hong Kong, commented on how good each dish was with not a single complaint or criticism (you'll know how rare this is if you have Chinese parents). The Shunde-style deep-fried salted egg yolk squash and oysters dish is especially memorable — incredible flavour, perfect crispy exterior, ginormous and meaty oysters — probably because it's not a common offering at Chinese restaurants in general.
My dad told us that his friends had went to eat at The Big Brother around the time of its opening last summer and that while the food was good, the servers were so rude that they would never return. I'm glad to report that they've either gotten new staff or new customer service training because I found the three or four staff that served us were great. They greeted us warmly, they were accommodating, and they were efficient. Also, the space is clean, sleek, and bright, unlike many other Chinese restaurants where you question how they possibly passed their health inspection. It's a little out of my way, but I would absolutely come back here to eat again.
Okay, I'm used to BTS comebacks having a lot of promo, but it usually starts off with a fairly modest livestream on Weverse (or back in the day, V Live on Naver, RIP), not ON NETFLIX WITH AN ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTARY FILM. I know BTS are the kings of breaking records, but this is undoubtedly the biggest comeback in K-pop history (maybe in music history?). To think I literally just cancelled my Netflix subscription a couple weeks ago to save a little money after spending way too much on BTS tour tickets… Guess I'm re-subscribing on March 21…
My friends Chelsea and Braden invited me over to their house for a New Year's dinner of sorts since I couldn't see them during the winter holidays last month. On the menu for tonight:
Roast beef sliders with provolone and horseradish cream
Asian sesame coleslaw with sriracha
Garlic chipotle potato wedges
Dinner is served!
Chelsea had also made an appetizer of Boursin cheese topped with balsamic glaze, honey, and crushed pistachios served with baguette slices. Unfortunately, we were too hungry and dug into it before I could take photos, but trust me when I say it was incredible. (If I didn't think I was getting lactose sensitive these days, I could've eaten the whole thing. You know, if we weren't sharing it.) Of course, dinner itself was excellent. I haven't actually had any meals at Chelsea's that wasn't exceptional, though I think she and Braden tend to make more of an effort for me because they know I don't cook at home. Though she's a hairdresser now, Chelsea actually studied culinary arts after high school and I find that she excels at unexpected flavour and texture combinations to make really well-rounded meals.
It's funny because she's actually gluten-free and also found out that she's allergic to eggs, chicken, and soy, but I think that's made her even more determined to find good recipes that work for her. I would never have thought to pair roast beef sliders (Chelsea had gluten-free buns for herself, but the rest of us had Hawaiian buns that were doused in au jus before going in the oven — my god, these were so fucking good) with Asian slaw (also so fucking good, to the point where I had three helpings), but I guess that's how fusion restaurants came about. Another epic home-cooked meal for the books!
My friend Minji kept seeing TikTok videos on these super adorable, ultra-photogenic desserts at Evana Pâtisserie & Café, so in lieu of a birthday cake for Daniel's birthday, we decided to get a whole load of treats instead:
Matcha Tasting Flight v3.0: Earl Grey, Raspberry, Black Sesame, and Pistachio
If you're a fan of matcha, the Matcha Tasting Flight (Toronto's first and only!) is incredible. They're currently on their third version, which includes Earl Grey, raspberry, black sesame, and pistachio. It is on the pricey side at $25 for four short glasses, but I found the experience unique enough to be worth it. They even provide you with an instruction card on the proper way to try them as well as the recommended tasting order. Honestly, all of them were so good, I couldn't pick a favourite. (Minji's favourite was definitively the Earl Grey, and Daniel's was the black sesame followed closely by the Earl Grey.) I will say that the raspberry is the most unique and surprisingly the one I drank the most of, but I would happily order any of these separately.
Citron (right): Basil vanilla Bavarian mousse with lemon crémeux
We also ordered four mini cakes to share. Minji and I both agreed that the Mandarin one was our favourite, for both flavour and texture combinations (it is extremely similar to the Orange de Terre Mini at Patisserie Fleur). It starts with a Creamsicle-flavoured cream but ends with an incredible shortbread crust. On the flip side, the Citron was my least favourite, even though it was my pick because I love lemon desserts. However, the shape and name of this cake is a little misleading because it really just tasted like plain, slightly sweetened cream. (And for that reason, it was the only one they let baby Lillian try.) There is a barely-there hint of lemon on the outer shell, but that's it. Despite being really cute, it was just a little too boring.
My second favourite was the Croissant (not to be confused with their croissants), which has a very similar flavour profile to tiramisu with a delightfully nutty undercurrent. It is intensely sweet, though, so I imagine it would start to get too cloying after a few more bites. Definitely one to share, unless you have an extreme sweet tooth. Finally, the Cacao — Daniel's pick because he's a chocoholic. It's the combination of textures in this dessert that keeps it unique, with the stretchy jelly-like exterior, smooth fluffy mousse interior, and crispy pearl topping — but as expected with most chocolate-only desserts, the flavour is quite one-note (though surprisingly less sweet than the Croissant). Daniel really enjoyed it, though.
Overall, an excellent experience. And judging from the constantly revolving door of customers in the middle of subzero winter, the hype is real here. I will absolutely be coming back — their croissants (not to be confused with the Croissant mini cake) look too glorious not to try. And maybe they'll be on the fourth version of their Matcha Tasting Flight by then!
After seeing multiple reels about it on IG, I finally went to try out Hinode for lunch this afternoon with Minji and Daniel:
Duck meat udon with onsen egg
I got the duck meat udon, one of their bestsellers, and added an onsen egg for $2.50 plus a side of shrimp tempura for $6.99. The udon comes with a thermal pitcher of broth on the side so you can control how much soup you want with your noodles. The udon, which is made in-house, is the star here — it's slightly thicker than other udon noodles I've had and has a silky, bouncy texture with an excellent chew. The duck meat is tender, smoky, and savoury and works well with the broth, which has a very light, mild flavour. I plopped the onsen egg right into the bowl and mixed it into the noodles and broth, which added a really nice rich, creamy texture. It is the first time in my life that I finished all the broth in my noodle soup.
Assorted tempura
The tempura is lovely — airy, golden, and perfectly crispy. I added a side of three shrimp tempura to my udon for $6.99, but we did also get the assorted tempura appetizer for $11.99. While the quality of the tempura is significantly better than Japanese AYCE places (which tend to be too oily, soggy, or over-battered), my palate couldn't really discern it from many other Japanese restaurants. $11.99 is pretty steep for two shrimp and three vegetable tempura (today's variety was yam, eggplant, and enoki mushrooms), but I do think it was worth it to add three shrimp tempura to my udon for $6.99. (Hinode does somewhat remind me of Hanamaru Udon in Japan but, you know, not a chain. And way more expensive.)
With add-ons, eating here can get pretty pricey, but the food is delicious and comforting (especially nice after the BTS ticketing mayhem yesterday!). It's not a huge space, so I imagine it'd be quite busy during dinner service and on weekends, but on this Friday afternoon around 1:00PM, we got a table right away (though turnaround is relatively quick, with a stay time of around 30 minutes per table — and there's a section near the back specifically for solo diners). I don't find Hinode unique enough to go out of my way to come here, but would definitely eat here again if I'm in the area. In any case, it's a great option to have with this city's over-saturated ramen market.
IT'S OFFICIAL: I AM GOING TO BOTH DAYS FOR THE BTS WORLD TOUR IN TORONTO!!!
The Bangtan gods were shining down on me today because I was 2852 in queue the moment I got out of the waiting room and managed to get a fucking amazing floor seat within 10 minutes in the presale. (Sadly, I decided not to get a VIP soundcheck because they're $1,215 PER TICKET and property tax is due in a week and I have to be a somewhat responsible adult.) But then my friend Iris managed to get two amazing floor seats for us for Sunday even though I wasn't planning to go both dates. So, yes. BTS ticketing is one of the Top 5 most stressful things in my life, but IT IS SO WORTH THE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. (Don't worry, I took my medication.)
Denise, '86 liner. Chinese-Canadian, born, raised, and still living in the Greater Toronto Area. Professional make-up artist turned office manager. Introvert with brilliant extrovert skills. BTS ARMY since 2016, OT7, Jungkook and Jimin biased. BTS and BT21 merch collector, amateur foodie, skincare fiend, mascara connoisseur, shopaholic, teetotaler, Scorpio, avid The Sims 4 player, K-drama addict, and Potterhead since 1997. Penchant for live concerts, collecting figures, dining out, building LEGO, and food photography.
About the Site
Circuits of Fever is a personal blog and a hobby only. It mainly features my interests in BTS, food, beauty, music, photography, travel, lifestyle, and culture. The name "Circuits of Fever" is a song by Thursday from their 2009 album, Common Existence. The title of this blog has no relevance to the actual purpose of or topics discussed within the blog.
All photos since November 2023 have been taken with an Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max. All photos are taken by me, unless otherwise noted. Please do not use my photos or blog content without permission. Photos are edited by me using Adobe Photoshop 2024. This blog is written and edited by me using Blogger through Google Chrome, on an Apple MacBook Pro.
Note: None of these posts are sponsored. All products reviewed or shown on this blog are purchased by me for personal use only.
Playlist (March 2026)
BTS - 2.0
BTS - Aliens
BTS - Body to Body
BTS - FYA
BTS - Hooligan
BTS - Into the Sun
BTS - Like Animals
BTS - Merry Go Round
BTS - NORMAL
BTS - One More Night
BTS - Please
BTS - SWIM
BTS - They Don't Know 'Bout Us
