Seoul, Day 3 - Movie & Meow

When we woke up this morning it was pouring, the wind was blowing, and it was in the 40's. Not the ideal weather for sightseeing. What were we to do? We went and saw a movie. John Carter, specifically. I enjoyed the film very much. In fact, it was my favorite summer movie this year. Yeah, it didn't technically come out in the summer, but it was a summer movie if ever there was one. Great action and VFX, and a fun ride all the way.

(I won't bore anyone with a picture of the John Carter poster. Y'all saw it. It was everywhere. Taylor Kitsch's lack of pants didn't make you go see the film.)

The only bad thing about seeing an English movie subtitled is if a character speaks in not-English, you can't read the subtitles. So, all of the alien speak in the beginning was lost on us, but I managed to figure out what was going on without too much difficulty. However, this is something I will consider next time I see a movie in a country where English isn't the national language.

The movie theatre we went to was great, a couple blocks from our hosts apartment. Stadium seating, comfy seats, good sound. And, just as it would have been in the U.S., we were the only ones in the theatre. Which is a darn shame because I would rather see a movie like John Carter any day over Avengers 5: The One Where They Battle Transformers. You know it's coming.

For lunch we had juk (gruel in English), a dish with more variation, flavor, and color than the pit-of-despair picture painted by Charles Dickens novels. This porridge was more like a loose risotto than my oatmeal nightmares.

We had one bowl with oysters and mushrooms, the other with spicy chicken. They don't joke around when they say spicy. I mixed the two together for my favorite flavor combination (17,000 W for both).

This restaurant was right across from our host's apartment. Seriously, you can just wander in anywhere in/around Seoul and the food is excellent.

After lunch, we took a bus to Meong-dong, a bustling shopping area filled with shop after shop of bright lights, cosmetics, and clothing.

But we weren't there for shops. We were there for the animals.

In the cat cafe on the fourth floor, we paid 8000 W for a green tea latte and spent an hour playing with the sweet cats who roamed the shop.

Notice the cat mascot in the background? He was outside advertising.

There are rules in the cat cafe.

This cat was my favorite. I named him Old Man Sweater because I am creative like that.

That is not me sleeping next to Old Man Sweater.

The cats were all healthy, happy, well-groomed, and social.

In Seoul, there are also dog cafes. People who don't want to commit to a pet, or aren't allowed to have one in their apartment can relax and socialize with the animals. If we had these in the States, I would go at least once a week as a treat to myself, as I have terrible allergies but still love cats and dogs.

We said goodbye to the kitties and took a subway to Nowon for all-you-can-eat tuna sashimi. This was one of our host's favorite meals in Seoul, a giant platter of all different kinds of tuna. I'm spoiled with our melt-in-your-mouth tuna sushi in L.A., so I admit, these tougher, chewier cuts of fish were an adjustment. My favorite part of the meal were the amazing side dishes they brought. I think these dishes were an attempt to fill us up so we would eat less tuna, but the roasted cream corn was amazing (not pictured, regrettably).

We were also served another variation of fish that was one of the most interesting combinations of flavors I've had in my life. I suppose the fish was tuna because everything was tuna, but it looked like salmon. This combo was tuna, raw onion, pickle, and peanut butter. This should've been something that only tasted good to pregnant women, but somehow those flavors all combined to make one delicious and unique bite of food (It's in the above photo, the triangular piece of fish on the white plate just under the white bowl).

Tuna was 25,000 W per person.

We also tried soju for the first time, Korea's vodka made from rice. Ah, soju, I like you. You taste like cold sake. We will meet again. Soon.

Seoul, Day 2 - We Ate More Because It Was Raining...Sure

We slept in today, but got a good night's sleep and warded off jet lag for the rest of the trip. Lesson learned: when flying from L.A. to Seoul, leave in the morning, do not sleep on the plane, arrive in Seoul in the afternoon, do not nap, and go to bed after 9pm. You will be exhausted, but you will sleep well, and you won't have the slightest bit of jet lag the next day.

After taking the bus into Seoul, we went to the Gyeongbokgung Palace which has been destroyed and rebuilt a shocking number of times throughout history. So, in reality, it's only fifty years old, but they still carry out the ancient changing of the guard every hour.

It's an elaborate ceremony with colorful garb, neat weaponry, and loud instruments. Definitely worth checking out, so try to be near the front of the Palace at the top of the hour.

The Palace grounds are beautiful. Being there in a cold April, it wasn't the most picturesque time, as we were a couple weeks ahead of the cherry blossoms. But the grounds were still peaceful and lovely.

After the Palace, we walked to nearby Samcheong-dong, a quiet neighborhood filled with upscale boutiques, a good place to get some shopping on. But we weren't in the mood to shop, we wanted food. This is what we ended up with.

beef bimbap

rice rolls with spicy octopus and radishes

kimchi fried rice with cheese

The kimchi fried rice with cheese was my favorite. It's cold and rainy in L.A. as I'm writing this, and I would love a bowl of it right now to warm me up.

After lunch we walked up to Bukchon, a sleepy neighborhood of traditional houses with ornate wooden doors and tiled roofs.

Bukchon is absolutely gorgeous, and so quiet. The rain started to fall when we were up there, maybe that's why it was so quiet.

Every house should have a door like this.

Rain or not, it's the perfect place to roam around after your belly is full (though it was only in the 50's, so we got cold quickly).

When one is wet and cold, the best thing to do is stop inside somewhere warm and eat something delicious. In this case it was Eric Kayser and a chocolate orange loaf/pasty thingy (3900 W). Yum.

Warm and dry, we were ready to get wet again. We walked to Insa-dong, a cutesy area filled with shops and street food vendors.

Still raining in Insa-dong.

Since we were wet by the time we got there, it was time to dry and eat again. I had the most amazing jujube tea at a traditional tea house. It tasted like chocolate. Not hot chocolate from a packet, just rich, beany chocolate in liquid form. Yeah, I could use some of that on this dreary day, too. The tea came with a fried doughnut-type treat with sugar, cinnamon, and sesame. So good.

After that, we took the bus back to our apartment during rush hour. I stupidly forgot my Dramamine (this will, unfortunately, be a recurring error because I never learn my lessons the first time) and I don't do well with starting and stopping in rapid succession over a stretch of time. By the time we got home, I'd lost my appetite, so I skipped dinner and had some fruit tea my friend had picked up in China.

We watched a romantic comedy that had been recommended to my friend, "200 Pounds of Love" (I like this translation better than IMDB's, "200 Pounds Beauty").

200 Pounds of Love movie poster

I won't be using this one as inspiration any time soon. The theme was to change yourself with plastic surgery to make your life better. This was a broad, popular movie in Korea, so it was interesting to watch. It felt much like the girl who takes off her glasses and the guy suddenly loves her sort of thing. But decidedly darker since it involved completely rearranging your face and body with invasive surgery. Aw, comedy, you travel so poorly.

Korea & Japan Vacation, Day One - A Close Call

A little late blogging about this, but it's fun to relive our vacation eight months later. The Gangnam Style craze has been really fun.

In April, Hubs and I were lucky enough to take a vacation to Korea and Japan. We flew into Seoul and stayed with my best friend who had, at the time, been teaching English in Seoul for a year and a half. So, basically, we had the best tour guide/eating companion in the world.

The trip started out a little rocky. We don't have weather in L.A. On the day we left, it was drizzling, and LAX was in a tizzy. Over a drizzle. Fortunately, our layover in San Francisco held the plane for an extra half hour because our flight had so many international connections and United knew they would be forced to put us on another airline because all their flights to Korea and Japan were full for the next two days. So we made it to Seoul as scheduled. No personal entertainment of any kind, thank you, United. But we made it.

We stayed with my friend in Bundang, a suburb, a 30 minute bus ride from Seoul. The airport was a little further away, but public transportation in Seoul is fantastic, so we were able to take a nonstop bus to a few blocks from her apartment.

Bundang

Exhausted, we ate dinner and went to bed. Downstairs in my friend's apartment building, was a simple restaurant serving dak galbi.

Raw chicken, cabbage, spicy sauce, and lots of other goodness sizzle on a hot plate built into the table.

This is what it looks like when it's done cooking and half eaten (noodles added). Best when eaten wrapped in a sesame leaf and drizzled with sweet sauce. This definitely set the tone for the amazing food we'd eat over the next five days.

More dak galbi than the three of us could eat + 3 beers = 36,000 W.

I have to preface the trip by saying that every meal we ate in Seoul was spectacular. Every single one. Whether we bought noodles out of a machine, ate at a stand on the street, or sat down in a packed or empty restaurant, it was all great. Every meal we ate, I would gladly have again. Along with Paris, Seoul is the best food city I've been to. It may have even been better than Paris, but that is a bold statement, and I think I need another visit to Paris before I make my decision. A girl can dream.

At the time of our trip $1 = just under 1100 Korean Won.

Harvest Moon

A new restaurant opened in North Hollywood, and I have to say, Harvest Moon is worth checking out. Good eggs, pancakes, and excellent hash browns and biscuits. The portions are priced right and the restaurant is bright and spacious.

the farm omelette

pancake flight

My only concern is that they have a breakfast menu that they serve on weekends until noon. Then the lunch menu picks up and lasts until close. There is no overlap = no brunch. WHAT?!? This poses a problem for me and Hubs, since Hubs loves his breakfast, and I'm more of a luncher. So brunch is perfect for us. Yesterday, I was in a rare breakfast mood, so we'll have to see how this plays out in the future. I'm thinking we go right before noon and I just wait a bit longer for my food. We shall see.

Favorite Christmas Movies

A friend listed his top seven favorite Christmas movies on Facebook, and it inspired me to do the same. I was hoping to narrow it down to five, but I couldn't make that final sacrifice. Thus, here are my top six favorite Christmas movies. These are the ones I have seen at least ten times, and would watch over anything else if they are played on network TV this holiday season. Yes, these are the ones I would suffer through commercials for.

1.) It's a Wonderful Life

If I only had one, this would be it. Has anyone ever had a better smile than Jimmy Stewart has in this film? Has anyone been more beautiful than Donna Reed? Has anyone been more evil than Mr. Potter? I love, LOVE that Potter has zero redemption, that this film is dark enough that the villain would let an innocent man go to prison for daring to step on his business. That's some balls for a Christmas movie. The lows in this movie are true lows, the worst it could get for every character in the film. It makes the payoffs ever so sweet.

2.) Love Actually

Yes, it's saccharine sweet, but I love this sugar. All the characters that tie up all-too-neatly at the end in a perfectly wrapped present. It should be too much, but it's Christmas! I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes...

3.) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

In junior high, my friend Kristen and I would rent this movie at least three times a week. Seriously. In the middle of summer. And we'd watch it while sipping on raspberry Clearly Canadians. No, that is not alcohol, and it is not a euphemism. Bubbly flavored water and Chevy Chase. It didn't get any better than that.

Every scene in this movie is funny. There's not a single moment that misses a chance at being humorous. Crazy stuff happens all the time, yet it somehow feels not-too-out-of-the-ordinary because the conflict is rooted in the dysfunctional family dynamics that we all share.

4.) Bridget Jones's Diary

Who doesn't want Christmas Pride and Prejudice with a messy female protagonist?

5.) Home Alone

Still one of the most fun and imaginative movies I've seen. Watching this, I get to feel like a kid again, and that's always a good thing. Plus, this movie has one of the great scores of all time.

6.) Elf

Every time Will Ferrell trampolines off of the couch into the Christmas tree, I cry. Without fail. It will never not be tear-inducing funny. Just thinking about it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.