Seoul Food: 1

samgyetang (삼계탕) from school lunch ^^ ~ chicken ginger soup

Shabu Shabu

School lunch

Bibimbap (비빔밥)

Sundubu (순두부) with banchan (반찬) ~ spicy tofu soup with sidedishes

hoddeok (호떡) ~ pancake with melting brown sugar filling

Fish Market: Busan

One of the most famous attractions in Busan: the Fish Market.

The main building is separated into two floors. The first floor is all vendors selling all sorts of seafood. You roam the aisles and take your pick of the selection.



They will cut up your fish for you, and if you want to eat your goods quickly, you can head up to the second floor, which is basically an eating/cooking hall. You hand over your fresh seafood and for 10,000 won, they will cook it for you & you can enjoy your seafood from tank to plate in mere minutes :)



Besides all the amazing shellfish, I tried abalone for the first time--and it was not at all like how I thought it would taste. Not sure if I'm a fan. Overall, everything was amazingly delicious and simply prepared to allow for the freshest taste :)

Munchies: TACO SENORA, Busan

Being from Southern California, one of the things I find myself missing the most from back home is good Mexican food. There are places to get "Mexican" food here in seoul, but my one and only time doing so was such a disappointment that I gave up altogether. Because it just looks pathetic if you are crying into a burrito.

But in visiting Busan, I was led to this little taco shop and although weary, I took it as a good sign that the inside looked like this:

Taco Senora is this tiny shop that has become sort of like a pilgrimage sight for travelers in Korea in search for a culinary awakening.

Another good sign. Real avocados!

The menu is simple: burritos, tacos, fajitas, quesadillas. But their guacamole is fresh and is the best thing this side of the pacific, no joke.


The thing that I appreciate the most about Taco Senora is the attention given to each plate that goes out. Taco Senora tries to give an authentic experience--because you can get "Mexican" food in Korea, but wrapping rice & beans with cheese & lettuce in a tortilla does not mean you are having an authentic experience. Taco Senora tries to mimic the flavors of something I would eat back home--and sure, some things will be different as some ingredients won't be readily available here in Korea that are found in Latin American cuisine, but Taco Senora does it's best.

And it's best is pretty darn delicious. I nearly cried when I sat on the beach with my burrito...this time out of sheer happiness.

Munchies: The Library at Shilla Hotel for Afternoon Tea

I know I said that I would update about Busan, and I will, but I ventured out with some friends for Afternoon Tea, and it just needs to be written about.

It was a taste of England, right in the heart of Seoul.

For those who know me, and know me well, it comes as no surprise that I make it a point to take about tea. More specifically, I make it a point to go to Afternoon or High Tea. What may come as a surprise is that it's taken me almost two and a half months to finally go out for tea here in Seoul.

Part of the reason for this delay is that, and this should come as no surprise, Seoul/South Korea isn't exactly keen on English tea service. Tea houses are aplenty, but they are decidedly Eastern in service, presentation, selection, and ceremony. And for good reason too.

So what is a girl to do when craving for a nice, dark, cup of tea, a flaky scone, and some clotted cream?

Even trying to find a tucked away English tea house was difficult to find--most places that had a so-called Afternoon Tea Service actually only had tea available with a variety of dessert. You can get that in any cafe, in any city, and for a lot cheaper than they were promoting. A random assortment of tea, served with with whatever bakery's signature cake? No thank you. That is not what I want.

I found that hotels are your best bet for a decent English Tea Service. No buffets, no dessert platters masking as a tea tray, no teabags.

Today, I opted for the Shilla Hotel's Afternoon Tea Service held in their Library.

Before we get into the tea service proper, a word on the Shilla Hotel. It is gorgeous. The staff was friendly and spoke English, which was nice, and the structure itself is a mixture of modern design and Korean traditional architecture.

The lobby has a stunning chandelier display made of crystals what was simply breathtaking.

Shilla's Library is dark wood and lots of light, which is nothing less than handsome.



Like many places in Korea there is a smoking and non-smoking section. We opted for the non-smoking.

The Menu:

A decent menu that includes all the favorites, and two unusual teas for variety: Pearl Jasmine and Wedding Imperial.

There are three kinds of service you may order: traditional, champagne, and the champagne Piper Heidsieck.

I opted for the traditional tea served with the Wedding Imperial. Mostly because I can find Earl Grey and English Breakfast anywhere, and wanted to try something different in this tasting.

This was exactly the cup of tea that I needed. Fragrant, acidic, scents of caramel and delicious sweetness. A splash of milk and I was in heaven.

Tea, poured into your cup, served table side.

Yes. On the left, my friends, is clotted cream. I could die.

The Assortment:

The Standouts:

Pieces of Roquefort between croissant-like bread, touched with a dab of real, honest to goodness, honey.

Raisin scone. Not dense as a rock like the Starbucks kind. Buttery. Moist. And yes, that golden sheen is due to egg wash <3

Macaroon. There was another macaroon on the top tier of the stand (purple), but this one was larger, and, I suppose the best way to describe it would be to say that it was an artisan macaroon. It was malformed but well-crafted as only handmade baked goods can be.

The Disappointments:

I don't know exactly what this little cake was supposed to be--the best I can figure is that, taste wise, it resembled the sponge cake often found in sticky toffee pudding, the different here being, of course, no toffee sauce. There was nothing exceptional about the cake, and it would have been fine, if it didn't taste like it had sat in a refrigerator for an extended period of time.

Super duper dense chocolate cake. There was dark chocolate in the center. Maybe I was expecting too much, but this fell rather flat for me--and I love myself some chocolate. The texture and everything was fine, but much like the other sponge cake, it tasted like refrigerator. And not even the strong taste of dark chocolate could change that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the tea service at the Shilla hotel. Someone asked me if how it compared to any other tea services that I had been to, both in the US and in England, and for the most part it was pretty comparable. There was nothing, on the whole, that I thought was seriously lacking and I would definitely come back again.

The Library at the Shilla Hotel, Seoul
202 Jangchung-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea 100-856

Directions:
-subway line 3. Dongguk University Station (Dongdaeipgu), exit 5

Munchies: Yeolbong

After school today a friend and I headed over the Gangnam to visit Se7en's steamed chicken restaurant, Yeolbong. We actually wanted to go last night, but apparently we got there too late because it was closed. I guess it closes early on Sunday (unless they aren't even open on Sunday?) since we got there around 930 & their twitter page says they should be open until 11pm. I was slightly disappointed, since we walked around forever trying to find the place.


But we went again today, got there in record time since we knew exactly where it was, and this time it was open. yay!

The Setup


The first thing you notice is the infamous Se7en cardboard cut out that greets you by the entrance. Many a person, both famous and otherwise, have taken a picture with this cutout, including yours truly ;)

It's actually super, duper small. The seating area is pretty much "L" shaped with tables along the walls and in the middle. We had to sit down in the middle tables since everything along the walls was taken.

The restaurant may be small but it's really handsome. Along the length of one of the walls is this really pretty white tile, and a shelf that housed all the pictures of the YG Fam & other celebs who have visited Yeolbong. On the shelf there were these less attractive white rocks & various chicken figurines. Along the opposite wall was a different kind of tile, almost like limestone, and I loved the contrast. All the furniture was the lovely dark and heavy wood I adore so much, and the light fixtures were these white wired "nest" things. All in all, it provided a cozy and warm sort of atmosphere, intimate but casual.


Of course, right when you walk in there's that crazy tree that has peppers hanging from it, as well as pictures of various celebs & YG fam that have visited. Yoo In Na seemed like she went the most. Followed by the members of Big Bang: GD, TOP, Daesung & Taeyang.

Yoo In Na & Taeyang sitting in a tree... ^_^

The food

The usual set up. A soup to start (this one was cold broth with bean sprouts) & banchan of radishes.

The menu pretty much has two kinds of chicken you can order. You can determine the level of heat (one pepper, two peppers or three peppers), as well as size (small, medium, large). There are a few other things you can order on the menu, which are primarily side dishes of rice with tofu and seaweed, or a tofu dish.


To be honest, I don't remember what our dish was called. But we ordered the small, heat level: one pepper. The size was perfect for two people & we ordered some rice to go along with it. The chicken came out in this amazingly flavorful sauce that had stewed potatoes, carrots, and red pepper. Also in the sauce were clear noodles & greens.

I mentioned earlier that we opted for our food heat being only one pepper. I don't think I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy things, but my friend and I were practically dying, it was so spicy. But we kept eating, because it was so good. When our water started to become ineffective against the spice, we decided to order some juice. Mostly because we saw that everyone had some juice on their tables, instead of milk like we were used to. There was pineapple juice available, and something at the time we thought was like cloudy apple juice. We opted for the cloudy applejuice because we thought it was yogurty/dairy and might help with the heat.

heaven sent.

We stumbled upon the most pleasant of discoveries. It wasn't apple juice at all, but rather peach juice & let me just say that it was heaven sent. Delicious and helped in all the ways a drink should help you when you eat something incredibly spicy. Much to our dismay, the korean girls around us clearly had dishes made of 2 or 3 peppers, and were having no trouble getting through it! I was astonished, because for a while I was on the verge of tears!

The whole thing came out to be roughly 23,000 won for two people. Decently priced for a wonderful atmosphere, good food, and the possibility of celebrity watching! There were all sorts of people in the restaurant, and I saw more than one person taking pictures of the pictures on the walls. I had heard, though, that you aren't allowed to take pictures inside the restaurant--this was debunked when I took pictures right in front of the woman working the register. She didn't seem to mind that I was openly fangirling! Oh, and the music that was playing inside the restaurant was nothing but YG artists.

Ninja video, since I wasn't sure I could take pictures inside. Plus, I didn't want to be that girl.



Directions to Yeolbong:

- Gangnam (line 2), exit 7 (<---fitting, right?)
- Go straight out of the exit until you reach a store "POOM" & turn right going up the little hill (if you've hit the UNIQLO then you've gone too far)
- At the first intersection on the little hill, turn right
- Take the first left down side road, it will be on your left hand side, 2nd or 3rd store down (Se7en will be there to greet you