Fatty Tuesday: Fish Pic

This is a bit of a cop-out, I know and I'm sorry, but I have a good excuse (#firstweekofwork). Here's a pic from another yummy fish-and-chips meal we had at The Sailors this past weekend. (I promise we eat Chinese food too.) 

So we went to a flea market...

...and we picked up some succulents, a pair of earrings, and a ukulele. Because every household should have a ukulele.

The flea market was actually pretty cool. It was attended by locals, as opposed to most other events we check out that are usually crowded with expats. There were cupcake bakers and jewelry makers, vintage clothes and printed tees. We'll see what goodies we come home with next time.  

P.S. It doesn't look as if Hong Kong will happen this week. Crazy ticket prices and bad flight times. Another time! 

Zhoumo kuaile!

Happy weekend, all! I just started mine the right way -- with a foot massage :).  

Tonight is teppanyaki (if you don't know what that is, think: Benihana's, the original) with friends for all-you-can-eat-and-drink (sounds dangerous). And the big goal for the weekend: finding a battery for my watch (these things aren't as obvious in a foreign country). 

I hope you've enjoyed this week's recap of last week's trip to Korea. Remember to check out pics here. And stay tuned 'cause next week may bring us to Hong Kong! 

Impressions of Seoul

I really liked Seoul. Our friends said it reminded them of Montreal; we thought it was similar to Tokyo. It had great energy, and its people seemed friendly and sophisticated. But what struck me the most was the insane amount of coffee shops in the city. Every other storefront was a coffee joint, and not just Coffee Bean or Starbucks, but Korean chains like Holly's, Angel-in-Us, and Tom n Tom's (and several others with random names). Apparently I'm not alone in my observation.  

The majority of our first day in Seoul was spent at Changdeokgung Palace where we frolicked in the bitter cold (it was freezing, literally) -- photos here (along with a few taken in Dalian) -- and then ventured over to Insadong, a maze of small, pedestrian streets filled with shops and restaurants. We explored different neighborhoods, had beers in each, and went back to Gangnam (yes, Gangnam; cue Psy), known for its after-work drinks/dinner hangouts. 

The next few days were spent in the mountains. We had taken a $15 bus from Seoul to Yongpyong -- this all took a good amount of research, by the way, but we figured it out (and by we, I mean Mike). Remember, none of us speaks or reads Korean (and it's nothing like Chinese, in case you thought it might be). Yongpyong was the bigger mountain, but we stayed in Alpensia, at the Intercontinental, one of only two hotels we could find and book online. It was cold and the snow was pretty hard-packed, but overall the conditions were good and it was great fun to be in the mountains. 

We packed our last day in with more sight-seeing (the museum; see below) and shopping (though we didn't buy anything) and eating (which I think I covered in my last post) -- oh, and drinking (Soju is my new favorite beverage).    

Fatty Tuesday: BBQ and Bibimbap and More

We ate well in Korea, and although I can't say that it's my favorite cuisine (sorry, Rich!), it was fun being adventurous with food and trying new dishes. 

Our first night, while awaiting the arrival of our travel buddies, Mike and I went to a BBQ spot recommended by our hotel. Instead of BBQ, though, we got a Korean version of hot pot (= various ingredients cooked in boiling broth; the Chinese love it). By the way, this is a frequent occurrence in Asia -- when you don't read or speak the language, and you rely on pretty pictures for ordering, you get lots of surprises when the food comes out. Even though it may not have been exactly what we had expected, it was good! The meat was perfectly marinated and made for a delicious soup at the end of our meal. All of the side dishes were fun too, but, I must admit, I didn't love too many of them (cold soup and iced noodles, for example, and kimchi, of course -- which, I found, I'd prefer to handle in small doses).   

While exploring the city, we happened upon some awesome street food. Not sure what all of it was, but  what we did taste was fantastic -- a fried potato on a stick, some kind of donut with a sweet, nutty filling (not pictured; I was too distracted by its yumminess to photograph it), and kimchi fried rice (served from inside a small hut; bottom photos).

There was some tofu soup -- but I must admit, I like Tofuya's better (our spot in LA) -- and there was some bibimbap, but the highlight meal was our last one in Seoul. After some quick research, we decided on Gae Hwa Oak. It was an adventure finding the restaurant (and we only found it thanks to one very nice Korean cab driver), but when we did reach it, we stayed for hours. We were treated to nine courses (I think, 'cause we lost count after a while), made up of dishes with several ingredients I wasn't familiar with. There was some kind of crunchy root vegetable topped with seaweed and egg white (which rendered it somewhat slimy, but somehow, we couldn't stop eating it); abalone (which I'm not sure I'd order again); there were several different kinds of kimchi, served with thinly sliced pieces of beef and chunks of pork belly; perfectly grilled vegetables; and, marinated meats that could sway the strictest of vegetarians. It was fantastic, more so for the experience than the taste for me, but the perfect end to a great trip.