Dragon beard candy in Insadong (인사동 꿀타래)

Mmh, nothing like 16,000 strands of stretched out sugar wrapped over nuts to satiate your sweet tooth!



You can find these 꿀타래, or dragon's beard candy, stands in touristy areas like Insadong and Myeongdong; they can draw quite a crowd with their enthusiastic cries of candy making joy in just about any language you please. (Well, for the record, I've only heard it in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese.) Is that really 16,000 strands, you say?!

Where NOT to go for soondubu: Tofu House in Palo Alto, CA

Don't believe the Yelpers! True, my soondubu standards have been raised since moving to Seoul, but there's just no excuse for going to So Gong Dong Tofu House (소공동 순두부) in Palo Alto, CA unless you're really desperate, i.e. starving Cast Away style, meaning you've been stuck on an island for weeks having nearly eaten a volleyball named Wilson. I can't believe it got FOUR stars on Yelp. I must have went on a bad night? A really bad night where the cooks forgot to come to work? Let's see shall we.

Unless you're a fan of eating glue, I suggest you not order the haemuljeon. They've yet to perfect the egg-flour-water ratio.



The banchan selection? Cheap and bland. I'll let the japchae photo speak for itself.



And in a restaurant named after its supposed specialty, well, you'd think they'd try a bit harder than overboiling last night's leftover veggies in hot water.



Needless to say, we were really hungry after dinner, and thankfully, Red Mango saved the day.



Although I like Korea's version of the yogurt better, you can't beat FRESH California fruit.

Thursday food diary: Agu jjim and cake

Dear Food Diary:

I promise once I'm back Stateside, I'll be better, e.g. I won't drink soda for breakfast. Yes, today I had a can of Fanta for breakfast. Can. Of. Fanta. Normally I wouldn't do this. I don't even drink Fanta, especially after those horrid Wanta Fanta commercials scarred me for life. Besides, I've always been more of a Sunkist type of gal. Not that I really drank that either. But something screamed orange fizz at me today and I went for it. Damn those street carts and my lack of discipline.

I was kind of hoping to eat some dak kalbi for lunch, but a turn of events led us to Caribou instead, so I had a soy latte and a taste of something called "cheesecake." Let's just say you shouldn't go to Caribou for dessert.



SJ suggested agu jjim (아구찜) for dinner so we checked out a recommended place called 천벙 in Gangnam. It was creamy and spicy and a lot tastier than my first my first Korean agu experience. Still, I think this is one of those dishes that needs to grow on you.



We later headed to a recently opened Take Urban, a pretty lil Korean based cafe chain, and SJ spotted the owner checking things out. It was packed all night - he's got nothing to worry about. Except maybe carrot cake. It's been a while since I've had carrot cake (or seen it in this country!), perhaps I've forgotten what it's supposed to taste like. But I do recall carrots... oh and cream cheese frosting. This must have been the extra light carrotless version. Carrot cake, I will bake you right once I have access to an oven.



Excuse me, I need to go take a few laps around the track right about now. Or run a marathon.

Sunday food diary

Dear Food Diary:

과식했나보다... > _ <

#1) Lunch at a noisy and packed institution in Myeongdong for gom tang (곰탕), beef soup with rice (no, I still don't eat beef) and way too much ggakdugi (깍두기). This was my first time trying it with ggak guk (깍국), basically the "soup" (liquid) from ggakdugi kimchi - good stuff, Koreans sure do know how to make the most of everything!




#2) Afternoon UFO pastry from the "dessert gallery" at Passion 5...it tasted like a cross between a roti bun and gyeran bbang (egg bread) minus the huge boiled egg.




#3) Passion 5 pudding... yum.




#4) Afternoon iced mocha latte, a rich dessert in itself, from Wein Bakery (because apparently you can't sit at Passion 5 without making a reservation).



#5) Dinner at Czen Asian Noodle Bar, nothing special. At this point, I was already stuffed and really didn't feel like eating (gasp!) but still managed to throw down some kung pao chicken and noodles.






#6) An impromptu roti bun from Rotiboy... because roti buns are good even when you think you can't possibly eat another bite!



#7) Iced dark chocolate (70%) in a cup from Lucycato. (I have to say, the 45% dark blend goes down much smoother.)




Off to Jeju in a few hours to visit some fam where the eating inevitably continues... wish me luck.

Sincerely stuffed and yours,
C

Red Mango fun

Wonder why there's so much English on the walls?
It must be all the gyopos. Well, except for Heather Bowser maybe.


Can you read that aloud for me? (Hint: Bottom Center, if you're in the least bit interested, and for the record, I didn't get the "sofa king" reference at first... Yep, gotta be those damn summer schoolers!)


People watching, a wonderful pastime - best seats in the house.


Couldn't resist. ㅋㅋ I'm dead meat. 미안 ^^;;

Bread and beer

That honey toast looks delicious. (Note: It's not that photogenic.)



Uh, is that a parsley garnish?



Guys, I just realized...we're eating a loaf of bread with whipped cream. Like, an entire loaf of bread. Did we just order an entire loaf of bread?

You're only realizing that now?

And we're eating it with beer.

Is that strange?

You're in Korea.

Right.

It's like drinking chocolate

Iced chocolate heaven is now available at the recently opened Lucycato shop around Ewha Women's University. If you like to chew on your drinks (yes, it's sort of like drinking melted chocolate), then this is the place for you. Plus, it's pretty and girly and a little Jetsons-esque, if that's your sort of thing. Not only do they sell chocolate in a cup, but you can also find ice cream, fancy little cakes, and truffles... everything chocolate, just my kind of place. ^^

Chamchi...welcome to the world of Korean tuna

The world of all-you-can-eat chamchi restaurants in Korea is one like no other. Maybe I've been spoiled. I mean, I've been graced with the presence of the one and only Yoshio, possibly the funniest sushi man in the world, ever since I could walk. Even in Boston, we managed to find a few decent places, one in particular that imports their fish fresh from Japan, and in New York and San Francisco - well, good sushi isn't exactly hard to find, now is it?



So, I didn't really know what to expect in Seoul. At first, I was a little thrown off by the dime a dozen chamchi restaurant concept...mostly, that a restaurant would specialize in one kind of fish, and the fact that it's served nearly frozen. But I have to tell you, I do love tuna, and this time around, it wasn't half bad, judging by the three trays of sashimi that were consumed between the two of us. My favorite was the teriyaki grilled ahi nigiri. I just love it when things melt in your mouth!








And just when you thought my appetite couldn't get any better... what better than pumpkin cheesecake ice cream (bring on the fall flavors!) in a waffle cone to top it off?



I am seriously not going to be able to fit into that bridesmaid dress.

Butter toast, the guilty pleasure

I'm wayyyy behind on food posts, but figured I'd throw this one in quickly b/c it was well worth mentioning. If you're in Seoul, head straight to Tom N Toms Coffee and get the butter toast! It's bound to clog your arteries, but who cares when something so bad can taste so good at 1 in the morning!

She might kill me but...

I think this is the cutest photo. ^^

(She's chowing down on this.)

Korea will miss you, Annie. : (