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."

Rice Cake Gift Box

I received an unexpected gift at work from some Korean vendors:A box of Korean rice cakes or tteok!
Of course I sampled everything right away. I took a few bites of each one. Because the texture was gummy and dense, it was difficult to eat much more. The pale orange one tasted like fresh pumpkin, mildly sweetened. The second one tasted like rice seasoned with soy sauce. I did not care for it.

The third one looked unappetizing but tasted wonderful. Mashed black beans surrounded a tender, rice cake center. A few green peas added color and a mildly sweet flavor.

This multicolored, dense rice cake was bland and extremely gummy. I spit out my bite. Maybe it would be better with a sauce?

And, finally, my favorite cake: coconut covered sweet rice cake with red bean filling. Delicious!

Hike to Ulsanbawi (Ulsan Rock)

The next morning we purchased breakfast at a mom-and-pop convenience store. I found two healthy items, Dr. You's "Hi-Protein Bars" and Kellogg's whole grain crackers with sesame seeds. (I also drank a protein shake from home.)

The Nutrition Facts label included the calories for the crackers plus milk. I've only seen milk included on food labels for cereal in the United States.

The Dr. You brand seems to have cornered the market for healthy snacks. I wouldn't even call the snacks 'healthy.' Rather, like other so-called healthy snacks, they are an improvement over other processed, machine-made foods.

We started the morning with a tram ride to a mountain top (elevation no more than a few thousand feet). We were on the first tram to the top! No crowds for us. The lady at the snack shop was shaping hotteok dough. I would have bought one, but our return tram arrived.

Next we hiked to the top of Ulsanbawi, where we had a great view of the valleys, neighboring towns, and beaches. It was rainy so the trail was empty. We didn't pack snacks or drinks because we knew the trail was very developed.

In fact, the snack stand below resembled some restaurants in Seoul, plastic chairs and all:

A fresh stream of water kept these beverages cold (See the non-liquid snack item in the mix?):

I was surprised to see the eggshells and other trash next to the grill: Alcohol and ramen seem to be popular trail foods (above left in photo).
On the way back, ajummas beckoned us to buy chestnuts. We saved our appetites for snack bar foods at the tram's building. Eric played it safe with waffles, coffee, and a ham sandwich. I played it safe, too, with the bibimbap:

I scraped off the uncooked yolk and gim (seaweed), though. Raw egg consumption can lead to salmonella food poisoning, at least in the United States. Should Koreans be concerned, or are Americans too hygienic?

Mr. Pizza Loves Women

That evening we stayed at a $25 dollar-a-night motel near Outer Seorak. We decided to drive back to Seokcho, the closest large town, to find a pizza place. We scoured the city until we finally found one block with a Mr. Pizza, a Bueno Pizza, and a Pizza Hut (which we unfortunately did not notice until after dinner).
We chose Mr. Pizza. The hostess lead us to our seat. A few minutes passed until an English-speaking server could be rousted out of the kitchen. Here is a picture of the menu cover:

Apparently, Mr. Pizza loves women and knows how to please them. He serves ingredients that women love: dough with wheat from Canada, fresh cheese, beef from Korea or Australia (NOT the U.S.).


Mr. Pizza even did a survey to determine women's favorite ingredients. He then created a speciality pizza with women's faves. Eric chose a dull-looking spaghetti plate: He called it "spaghetti from a can." The pickles added an interesting touch to the meal. Ironically, I chose the women's pizza before learning about Mr. Pizza's survey.

The pizza contained fresh mozzarella cheese, vegetables, spicy chicken, mashed sweet potato, golden crust, and swirls of blue cheese sauce. I said anyo to the blue cheese sauce. The pizza was tasty in a spicy, flavorful Korean way. Fortunately, the "golden crust" referred to the sweet potato stuffed in the turtle skin. Delicious!

After the meal, we both went to the bathroom. Since Mr. Pizza loves women, the women's bathroom was spacious and furnished with a comfy couch. And, since he knows women, he even stocked the women's bathroom with a mouthwash dispenser:

According to Eric, no such amenities for the men!

Sunday at Seorksan National Park

Thanks to a holiday weekend, Eric and I headed to Seoraksan National Park for a few days. I was amazed by the beauty and serenity of the park. What a needed break from the hustle-and-bustle of Seoul.



I loved how the rest areas became quaint and deserted the farther we drove from Seoul. (A typical rest area contains hundreds of cars and buses, bathrooms with fifty stalls, and people everywhere.) At this convenience store, men drank tiny paper cups of coffee while huddled around a table. Eric actually needed to use his Korean language skills (and the universal language of hand gestures) to order his cappuccino.
The seating area doubled as a stock room for fresh produce:


We stopped by Naksan Beach for lunch at Buy-the-Way market. We avoided local restaurants based on the plethora of seafood places. Even the souvenir merchants were selling fish: We hiked to a Buddhist temple overlooking the ocean. Hikers lined up to taste the fresh water on tap:

Four metal ladles hung next to the fountain. Though I'm used to ladles by now, I'm still surprised by the number of people who actually use them.

Variations of a Theme

Bibimbap is the "safety" food I order in Korea. It's simply rice, vegetables, egg, the occasional meat, and red pepper paste. The variations, though, are endless. Bibimbap even varies according to region. Jeonju Bibimbap tops the list of varietals; many restaurants specialize in this style.
Jinju Bibimbap is famous for its small quantity, and Tongyeong Bibimbap uses a lot of salted raw seaweed and seasoned cooked radish. A region's speciality produce can usually be found in a bowl of its bibimbap. This hearty, hot version contained squid and mushrooms. Mom and Aunt Bev ordered it by themselves at Seoul Tower.

The big black bowls contained large helpings. This version included the typical vegetables. Sandy and I found this place during one of our evening walks in Itaewon.

This cold bowl contained ground beef and few vegetables. I had to ask for a meat-free bowl. We ate this dish at a rest area during the DMZ tour.

These cold bowls tasted great after a hike to the summit of Bukhansan!

And, finally, a healthier bibimbap nouveau - note the colorful, fresh vegetables. Instead of white rice, barley and mushy cornmeal were served. This place was hidden on a side street in Samcheondong.

Hallowe'en Night in Itaewon

We put on our costumes and headed out to Wolfhound, a popular bar on an Itaewon side street. Festive orange jell-o shots with extremely cheap vodka. Only $1.50 each. I think the sign even advertised them in dollars! (Side note - the awesome exchange rate has now dropped down to 1234 won on the dollar from a high of 1484 on Tuesday.) Chugging down the shots with my friend.
Our next stop was The Bungalow, where we found a private room. This place was pretty dead, but the music was loud. Fortunately we could ring a door bell to receive service.

Back on the street, we saw a Mexican food court competing with the typical Korean food tents. Perhaps a hot dog stand (Koreans love hot dogs) or pizza stand (for the East Coasters) would be more successful. How many people crave an empanada at 2:30AM?

As for us, we headed to our old stand-by, McDonald's. All of us claimed we were only eating there due to a lack of options. I loved how Eric's bulgogi (beef) sandwich was neatly tucked into a cumberbund. So tidy!