Myeongdong Shopping Break

Saturday's cool weather was perfect for outdoor shopping at Myeongdong. My friends and I rested at a cafe. Like European cafes, Korean cafes sell alcoholic beverages AND teas. I opted for the citron tea (yuja cha). Made from the lemon-like yuja, this tea is a comfort drink for the sick. Sweetened with sugar and honey, it's the perfect mix of sweet and sour. The marmalade-like mixture is sold in jars. I love the chewy rinds that lurk at the bottom of the glass. My friend wanted a sip. She has a jar of citron tea at home, but they use it on toast, not as tea!
We also ate complimentary snacks:

Peanuts with sweet, seaweed-infused sticks. I love the sweet-and-savory taste of Korean snack foods.

On the other hand, I do not like the buttery, light nature of Korean cakes. Looks pretty, though!

Starbucks Saturdays

I study for my personal trainer certification almost every Saturday at Starbucks. Usually I meet my study friend at the "Itaewon West" location.
In 2001 during my first stay in Korea, cafes were rare. This time however, a new one seems to open every week. In fact, two Starbucks have opened in Itaewon since my arrival in 2007, making a grand total of three!
Post already has two locations of its own. The on-post locations feel American. The off-post ones have Korean touches: green tea scones, no sugar free options, liquid sugar. The Korean ambiance is there: noisy, crowded, hot, and multi-storied. The smokers have their own section, a glass enclosed area with the best view and the most natural light. To use the free internet, one must have a Korean identification number. The Korean Starbucks also have recycling bins for lids, cups, liquids, and everything else: This weekend Eric made a surprise visit:And promptly feel asleep in his chair!

Tteok Cafe Jilsiru

We had to try the rice cakes after visiting the museum. Each rice cake cost 1500W or about $1.10. So many choices! We drank persimmon leaf tea rich in vitamin C:The tea was disappointing. I could have prepared a cup at home with a leaf cutting!Potted herbs and lit, scented candles sat on each table. The place was quiet, even relaxing, a rarity for a Korean cafe.Our plate of rice cakes (from left to right) included dense black bean, dense pumpkin and seeds, green tea round, and citron acorn. The citron rice cake, our favorite, tasted like a fresh orange. I loved how the rice cakes were halved despite their small size.A sweet, green tea paste filled the green ball. I swear the powder is ground black bean and not dirt!

Would rice cakes have a place in America's 'Starbucked' culture?

Tea & Treats at Insa-dong

After a chilly shopping day at Insadong, we stopped a tea place. This tea place sold tteok (Korean rice cakes) instead of the standard muffins and cakes. We smuggled in our own sweets, the ginger (left) and sugar (right) candies from a street vendor:
I tried a sugar one in the spirit of my Korean food blog. Of course I didn't care for the sweetness or aftertaste so I spit it in my napkin. (Unlike at Sancheon, where I simply returned a bitten kimchi fritter to the community bowl.)
(Photo courtesy of Studio Sans.)
We warmed ourselves with tea: citron, plum, and Chinese quince to be exact (from left to right). The server gave us a metal thermos of hot water to top off our tea cups. Thank goodness, since the teas were so sweet.
The menu contained all sorts of health claims for these teas, a no-no in the United States. For example, my plum tea supposedly treated constipation (probably true), and another tea addressed type II diabetes (not sure about that one).

After tea, we stopped by a popular shop where young, outgoing, attractive Korean guys make candy. The process requires two people. The first person mixes sugar/honey with starch. He pulls and tugs the blob until it forms thin strands:

The second person plops a scoop of sweet red bean and nuts onto the strands. Then he uses a pair of chopsticks to spin the strands around the red bean. The finished product is a small, white stringy soft "candy" with a bean/nut center:

If you're lucky, they'll give you a sample. If you're female, they'll probably demand that you eat it straight from their outstretched chopsticks!

Special Starbucks

Supposedly, the Insadong Starbucks has the only non-English sign in the world. Roughly translated, it says "Suh-tah-buk-suh Kuh-pee."

Famous Tea Place in Samcheondong

My friends and I stopped at this famous tea place after a hilly walk through Bukchon. I had been craving its traditional red bean juk ever since trying it with a Korean friend. Koreans call this dish a dessert, but it's a rich soup in my eyes. Juk literally means porridge, quite a dreadful-sounding word for such a tasty food! The menu offered two herbal Chinese teas ($5-$7 each), a ginger tea, a persimmon tea, a rice tea, and this porridge. As per Korean culture, we received one menu for the four of us.
The sweet, thick red bean base was topped with cinnamon, red beans, and chestnuts. A glutinous rice ball lurked beneath the surface. I can not think of an American food equivalent to the rice ball. It took me awhile to adjust to the gummy texture. I can't help but wonder if the globule is now bobbing around in my stomach.