I have to share my newly found love here in South Korea with you all! Ready for this…. it’s called Deli Manjoo. Deli Manjoo is baked little cake (texture similar to a Twinkie?) with the imprint of a corn cob and filled with some form of custard cream (Almost like Dunkin Donuts barbarian cream filling). The name comes from the word “deli” from delicious and “manjoo” from the Korean word for “dim sum”.
Do not be fooled there in nothing corn tasting about these awesome little treats. I wondered at first because it seems like Korean’s sweets just are not as sweet as we are used to in the US. Oh, yes, not to mention it seems that Korean’s put corn in some odd dishes such as pizza or corn ice-cream.
Nevertheless the faint smell of these delectable little treats is normally creeping through the train station platforms or often found being sold by street vendors – it smells of vanilla and egg.
This delicious mini-cake is baked instantly right in front of you with an automatic patented corn shaped plated machine. In doing some research I found that this treat has made it over to the US. So if you are near a vendor or come across it on your adventures do yourself and favor and PICK SOME UP! You will not be disappointed!
My traveling buddies and I decided to check out another green park called Dream Forest located in northern Seoul. This Park is the 4th largest in the city before Seoul Forest, Olympic Park, and World Cup Park. The park was built on the land, 660,000m2 in size where Dreamland was previously located. This park is beautiful because it is surrounded by thick dense forest mountains of Byeoksan and Opesan. The park is now known for the cherry blossom paths in the spring (as shown in the pictures) or the maple tree forests in the fall.
The park features a nice array of things to do such as, Wolyeongi (the moon reflecting pond), the Wolgwang falls (moonlight falls), a 49.7m tall park observatory, Arts center, Concert Hall, Museum of Art, Restaurants, Botanical Garden, Deer Garden, Changyeongwigung Ancestral Shrine, an iris garden, Water play parks, and playground. A great place for adults and children to relax!
I took some video of the children playing at the playground on this interesting play set. It was pretty comical!
I got to try another Korean snack today for the first time thanks to my new traveling buddy! She introduced me to a triangle-shaped rice packet wrapped in edible seaweed 삼각김밥 known as Samgakkimbap or samgak kimbap. The shape is designed to keep the seaweed fresh by putting two thin sheets of plastic between it. The concept is awesome however I still need to get down unwrapping it carefully so that I do not rip the seaweed before getting to eat it. We had tuna and it was really tasty! The best part is you can pick these little guys up for about 700 or 800 won (that’s roughly 70 or 80 cents!). You can check out the pictures for yourself! Do you think you would try one?
Getting to Dream forest was rather easy too! We took line one to the Seokgye Station where we got off and followed exit 7 to get outside where we took bus #14 for 10 minutes and arrived at the park!
I’ve mentioned to friends on the phone about some of the vendors that try to sell you things when you are on the train. They hop on and roll through just as the doors are getting ready to close. On my last ride there was a woman who was used very aggressive sales techniques to sell packs of gum. She would place the gum on your lap or in your purse even when you told her “A-ni-e-yo” (meaning no in Korean). Sometimes there are socks, melons, super glue, you name it… On the way home on this trip I was able to capture a man dressed very nicely trying to sell toothpaste. Unfortunately for him no one in our car was buying or seemed interested. As soon as he moved on to the next car to sell in popped a women selling Oksusu (Roasted Corn). People were buying this up like crazy. Some purchased yellow ears of corn or Indian corn and munched away or saved in a plastic bag. What really surprised me was that in the states we typically use Indian corn as fall décor not to eat….hmmm… Guess the toothpaste guy needs to look into the Oksusu (corn) peddling business.
Of course we had to check out Itaewon while we were spending our weekend in Seoul. Yes, yes, we know that Itaewon is a major tourist section of the city catering directly to foreigners. We do respect this section of the city for that purpose and know that it is not a true representation of Korea. However it was close to our hotel and we wanted to go see what it was really all about.
Itaewon’s shopping area is 1.4 km in length, it stretches from the U.S. 8th Army Base eastwards towards Hannam-dong and has over 1,000 different little stores. The area is known for its night life scene with many bars and nightclubs to choose from. We noticed there are many street vendors selling shirts, jackets, and caps, scarfs, food, etc. trying to capture the late night buyer’s fancy.
While in Itaewon we checked out a few Irish pubs, grabbed a bite to eat, and strolled along the main street as well as some tucked away alleys, checked out various street vendors and little shops. We snapped a few pictures of the places that we were near or checked out and though we would share with all of you.
First stop Buddha’s Belly for dinner. It was Friday night and we were starving! We started out trying to find a restaurant called the Maple Leaf restaurant that was said to serve traditional Korean food (we are sure more Americanized) but after walking around and around for 20 minutes we figured it must have went out of business. Our bellies finally did the talking and screamed feed me when we were standing out in front of a place called Buddha’s Belly. Buddha’s Belly is located just above Ushmania restaurant (2nd floor) 673 Itaewon 2 Dong, Seoul, Korea; it’s located in the Hamilton Hotel Alley. In this area you can also find Indian, Italian, Korean, American, French, Greek and other nice ethnic foods.
The menu is Thai and the chef is actually from Thailand. We still noted a bit of Korean flair in the dishes we ordered but were really impressed with the overall meal.
We didn’t capture any pictures to share as the atmosphere consists of a smaller private sized dimly lit room. The décor had a sexy-sleek appeal to it. The entrees are rather reasonably priced and cost on average 12,000-18,000 won. The service was really speedy and we enjoyed that because we were both starving!
We started off with some chicken skewers that had a peanut dipping sauce. We both ordered dishes of Pad-See-Ew and a glass of wine. Each dish at Buddha’s Belly Thai restaurant is accompanied by pots of wet and dry hot chilies and Thai fish sauce so you can season your food to taste.
Overall we both agreed that we would go back to this place if we had to.
After dinner we went grabbed a coffee at Paris Baguette (The Korean comparison to Starbucks – well if Starbucks served up tons of delicious baked goods) due to the fact that Buddha’s Belly doesn’t serve coffee on the menu. We then continued to Stoll the alley’s and found ourselves in front of the Wolfhound Irish Pub.
The Wolfhound Irish Pub is located in another small alley down from the Gecko’s Terrace. Sorry bloggers we don’t have the address to provide on this one. We will continue to research for a more direct location. We were able to capture a few pictures of the place for others reference.
We enjoyed the Irish Pub atmosphere. It didn’t feel like we were still in South Korea while inside. The crowd consisted of military, teachers, and tourist in the area. The bar has two levels and features a selection of draft beer as well as mixed drinks and foods.
We enjoyed ourselves, had some drinks and decided to continue checking out what else Itaewon had to offer.
We found ourselves at Baby Guinness and Sam Ryan’s Sports Bar and a hot dog vendor (mmmmm…that tasted more like Kielbasa) before we decided to call it a night.
The next day we headed to Gyeongbok Palace. The palace was one of the first places that Larry got to check out when he first moved to Korea. He was really eager to share the experience with me so we thought with the beautiful weather this weekend we should take a tour and snap some pictures along the way. The address to go see the Palace for yourself is Seoul-si Jongno-gu Sejong-ro 1-1.
The term “Gyeongbokgung” means palace greatly blessed by Heaven. We took an English speaking tour lead by a Korean college student. We captured the beginning intro of the tour for you to try to hear some of the facts she provided us with.
The palace was actually constructed in 1395, but was destroyed in the 1500’s during the Japanese invasion. However in the late 1800’s into the 1900’s the palace was completely restored. We couldn’t even imagine living here as a King and Queen the grounds are absolutely massive! Consisting of more than 300 buildings, 6000 rooms, and more than 4 million square feet and sits in one of the busiest sections of Seoul.
When we arrived to Gyeongbok Palace we entered in the gate (Kwangha-mun) protecting the palace from Seoul. We were able to get a picture with the guards that stand there.
Another interesting fact that we learned was that Sejong the Great was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty, and ruled from 1418 – 1450 during this time he created the 28 letter system of the Korean Hangul alphabet. Today however the Korean alphabet consists of 24 letters.
Overall we had an amazing time with a very good tour of the palace.
After walking the palace we decided to needed to hail a cab and head to N Seoul Tower. N Seoul Tower is also known as Namsan Tower because it’s located on Namsan Mountain at Seoul-si Yongsan-gu Yongsandong 2-ga San 1-3. Private automobiles have been stopped from entering the mountain since the year 2005 so that they could more easily preserve the area. You really have three ways to get up to the tower and each does involve some form of walking. One, take a cab or bus but note that you can only go up so far with the cab or bus and then you will get dropped off and have to walk up a pretty steep paved road. Two, take the cable car up from the bottom of the mountain. Please note you will have to climb steps up from the cable car drop off point to get to the tower. Whatever you decide we think it’s worth it while you are visiting or living in Seoul.
N Seoul Tower stands 237 meters high, standing atop 243-meter Mt Namsan. It was remodeled in 2005, and has a rotating Western-style restaurant on top that we plan to possibly check out at night next time we visit.
Below is what each floor consists of:
1st Floor
– Olive Young (supermarket / convenience store)
– Coffee Shop
– Eatery with indoor and outdoor seating
– Food Court
– Gift Shop
– Ticket Counter
2nd Floor
– Viewing Platform
– Restaurant (relatively inexpensive with great view)
Basement
– Elevator Entrance
– Tous Les Jour (bakery)
– Ticket Counter
– Exhibition Area
Observatory Gallery
(360m altitude, reached by express elevator)
1/F : Hancook Restaurant
2/F : Sky Cafe
3/F : Observatory platform
4/F : Observatory platform
5/F : N Grill by Vips (revolving restaurant)
Tickets to get inside of Seoul tower observatory for two adults cost us 14,000 won.
We snapped pictures of the locks and tiles at N Seoul Tower. The locks are “Locks of love” and can be found on the fence outside of the tower. They symbolize lovers’ promise that they will never separate. The message tiles of love inside are something you could purchase to write a little love note on and then it is displayed on a wall within the tower.
The last day we were there we checked out Myeongdong still located within seoul for some shopping.
Myungdong is a selection of shops, like Zara, UniQlo, Forever21, ABC Mart but also features all sorts of street vendors selling shoes, scarfs, jewelry, food, etc.
We enjoyed some green tea ice cream and found a vendor who sells King’s Beard Candy. We were able to quick capture the vendor making the candy and bought some to try after we had heard great things about it. Final consensus….we LOVED it!
We can only describe King’s beard candy as a small fuzzy white sweet treat with a chewy inside and a crispy outer layer that just melts in your mouth. It’s so fun to watch the vendor create 16.000 honey strings in two minutes! They act as they are doing it too counting in English as well as Korean. Next time we see this vendor we will try to capture better video because it is really entertaining!
The last night we were there we decided to go back to Itaewon and check out Zelen’s for dinner.Zelen’s is a Bulgarian restaurant owned and operated by Bulgarians. The location yet another strange place – the same alley we were in when at Buddha’s Belly. It’s the alley right behind the Hamilton Hotel. The address is the second floor, 116-14 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan District.
Talk about amazing food! We had no idea this place was going to be this fantastic! Get ready…you know we are going to rave about it in our blog now. In the land of red pepper paste and kimchi it’s nice to experience something different once and awhile.
Once you take the steps up to Zelen’s from the alley you open the door into the second floor restaurant where you quickly see a garden-esque room that is candlelit and features an open kitchen where you can see the chefs preparing the delish dishes.
The menu is quite extensive and it’s great because the meals are detailed and named in both English and Korean. We had a chance to grab the owner Mikhal Ashminov and ask him what he recommended. We were so pleased that we had done so because he turned our decisions to the stuffed peppers that were amazing.
We ordered stuffed mushrooms and the stuffed peppers for appetizers to our meals. (You can view all of our meal and pictures of the restaurant within this blog)
Larry’s main course was pork tenderloin stuffed with smoked Gouda, green onions, bacon and tangy pickles. The dish was plenty big and we think next time we will order this dish and another and split it up to try something new.
Sarah’s main course was the vegetarian moussaka. The dish was oven-baked layers of vegetables and cheese topped with homemade yogurt. The dish really reminded us of almost a shepherd’s pie but meatless. The dish was served alongside a small rustic salad, for 14,000 won.
We were so pleased with both of our dishes that we both agreed that we will be taking friends back there for dinner.
After we ate dinner at Zelen’s we headed to the Cheonggyecheon River Walk . We learned that this river walk is fairly new to the city. It was constructed in 2005 where previously it was just concrete roadways running through the center of Seoul. The address for the river walk is, 31, Taepyeongno 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
One word for this place…calming! Once you are on the river walk path you slowly forget that you are located in the center of a huge bustling city. The walk features small waterfalls, various colors of lighting, stepping stones to cross from one side of the walk to the other, and amply amounts of greenery. We loved that we got to check this place out at night because the last time Larry visited he said it was during the day and people were everywhere!
We met three young Korean adults that were trying to snap a picture together but were not achieving the shot they wanted. We took notice of this and asked if they wanted us to get a shot of them so that they could all be in the picture together. They graciously accepted and kept thanking us! We asked if they would mind returning the favor so that we could also have a shot of the two of us. Of course they replied they were glad to do so. (Feel free to check out our various pictures of experiencing the Cheonggyecheon River Walk).
Once we got back home we looked through all the pictures we snapped and kept talking about how much fun we had on our weekend adventures.
If anyone else has suggestions on places to see or eat at please feel free to share with us!
Today is the 15th so it happens to be a day when the big market occurs in Dongducheon. We wrote about the marketplace a few blogs back however when we went it wasn’t on the 5th day of the month so it was much easier to move around and take our time checking everything out.
Sarah decided today that she wanted to walk down to the market and see if any of the street vendors that had Ho-ddeok for sale. HA-HA that’s the understatement of the year! Korea ALWAYS has street food. It’s everywhere! In the video you can see that she was able to obtain some footage of the street that most of the market takes place on.
Ho-ddeok? What in the world is that? Ho-ddeok or ho-tteok is a delightful variety of filled Korean pancakes. Typically it is eaten during the winter season, however, it’s been sticking around all year due to the popularity. Normally ho-ddeok sells for around 500 won that’s about $0.50 in the states. How to describe what ho-ddeok taste like…..hmmmm….well, the taste is similar to that of a sticky bun. SO YUMMY!! If you visit Korea you have to stop by a street vendor and try it out for yourself. Don’t say that we didn’t warn you on how delicious and how addicting they can become!
The dough for ho-ddeok is made from wheat flour, milk, water, sugar, and of course yeast. The special part about this street vendor’s hoddeok is that there is green tea incorporated into the dough. The picture is hard to see but there are little green flakes in it. The hoddeok dough is rises for several hours. You can see in the video that handful-sized balls of the thick dough are filled with a delicious sweet mixture that can contain brown sugar, cinnamon, honey, sometimes chopped peanuts. Once the dough is filled it is then placed on a greased griddle, and then pressed flat into circles with a tool that consist of a stainless steel circle and wooden handle. I was able to capture ajumma (Pronounced a-jum-ma, meaning a married women or old enough to get married) making ho-ddeok at the market on my little camera to share with all of you.
Today I was invited to go to Time Square Mall located in Seoul’s Youngdeungpo neighborhood. It was the first time I have used the train in South Korea. Luckily I met a wonderful sweet friend from church that showed me where to go once inside the train station, and where to purchase and load my T-Money (a rechargeable “smart” card for paying public transportation fares in cabs, trains, and busses instead of having to use money or credit cards).
The trip was about an hour and a half and all we did was stay on line 1 until reaching the Yeongdeungpo Station that connects an underground shopping market to the mall. It’s wonderful because once we got on the train in Dongducheon we never had to go back outside until we arrived back in Dongducheon to get back off the train.
The Time Square Mall features five main level shopping floors as well as one basement level with an E-Mart and a few restaurants. I was super excited to see that there is such a variety of stores available all within the mall. Plus if you are longing for something sweet from back home without a Korean influence there is, Annie Annes Pretzels, Smoothie King, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone, Quiznos, and Dunkin Doughnuts this place has it all!
For lunch we ate at a mexican chain restaurant called On The Border- Pretty delish! The chips and salsa is awesome and is endless!
Some other things I pulled from the brochure that the mall offers:
* Shinsegae department store: Louis Vuitton, BVLGARI, Cartier, Gucci and other luxury goods and high-end local products
* CGV: 12 multiplex movie theaters, STARIUM with the world’s largest screen, multiple performance centers and Beerhouse
* Kyobo Bookstore: 4,000 ㎡ (Don’t fear – they feature an english section)
* Courtyard by Marriott Hotel
* AMORIS, Wedding Hall
* E-Mart, Kolonsporex, I Like Dalki, Modern House
* Restaurants: Hanilgwan (70 year-old bulgogi restaurant), Jien (Japanese Restuarant), Star China (Traditional Chinese Restaurant)
What’s the verdict? I had a blast! Loved getting to meet new people, and cannot wait to take Larry back to check it out!
This weekend one backpack bee packed up and headed to the Changwon’s Jinhae Gunhang Je (known as the Cherry Blossom Festival) with friends (Mr. B was under the weather). We took a private bus trip departing in Dongducheon at 6AM to Changwon. Our guide joking stated the best comparison she could provide distance wise is like when you are in the states heading through the four southern states to get to Miami Florida. The trip down was about 5 ½ hours South including three rest/ stretch stops along the way.
We enjoyed the bus ride and traffic was fantastic right up until we were nearing the festival location. Our friends packed food for an army so of course we munched on snacks, talked, relaxed to tunes, and munched more. We celebrated Hectors birthday with a cake, candle blowing, and song, along with an anniversary.
Changwon’s cherry blossom festival is the oldest known festival beginning in the year 1952 and is held annually April 1st to April 10th. This year marked the 49th year of the festival celebration! The town is best known as the world’s largest number of flowering beotkkot namu (cherry trees). The festival commemorates Korea’s famous naval hero, Admiral Yi Sun Shin. Closer smaller celebrations near Dongducheon will take place around Seoul later in the month when the blossoms start to open.
Last year over 2 million tourists came from all over the world to attend and walk along the beautifully tree-lined streets and take in the picturesque mountain views. At some points when the wind would blow it would look as if it was raining pink petals. Words really cannot express just how beautiful the sights were.
I snapped as many pictures to try to capture what the town and festival looked like to share with all of our bloggers. In the pictures you will notice that a new friend Mary and I tried beondaegi, or known as boiled silkworm larve. Yes, ewww! Ha-ha! It was something I said I was going to try and blog about once I had done so. The taste I can’t even put in words. It is definitely something that I have gotten out of my system and do not feel the need to try again….well until I make my way to Taiwan where I hear they are actually pretty tasty.
I snapped a few pictures of the various food vendors to include the little beans that one vendor was selling. Suk grabbed the sampling plate and told our group to try them out that they were very good. Surprisingly I really thought they were good! Suke went on to tell us that these beans were a local thing that the area prided themselves on. The beans are said to provide your body with a cancer fighting preventative factor. Next year if we go back I will definitely purchase a box or so because they were so yummy!
Tonight we celebrated a good friends birthday at Beaver’s Barbeque Restaurant located north of Dongducheon in Toekgo-ri. Toekgo-ri is about 20 kilometers south of the DMZ line. We all laughed after making the drive because it feels like you are really traveling into North Korea on the tiny unpaved curvy back roads. Beavers posted little Beaver logoed signs in various places on the road as well as signs that read, “sansok,” meaning deep in the mountains. If you ever get the chance to make the trip we Bee’s think that you will be pleased!
Beavers is located deep in the hillside outside of Camp Hovey one of the US military bases in this region. The owner, Mr. Lee, started his business out by catering to the local Korean community. Eventually business grew and the Soldiers stationed at the surrounding bases found this unique place nestled in the Korean hillside much like being back at home.
You notice we use the word unique for this barbeque joint. Ah yes, this brings us to the décor. At first glance this place looks very homey with a nice big woodstove in the center of the room. Wooden tables and chairs, pool tables dart boards, American music playing in the background, stacks of biker magazines on the shelves, along with other biker type memorabilia, outside decks, etc. Basically the overall feel is a typical American “tavern” feel. However, as your eyes start to adjust and you are looking around a bit more you notice there are a few adult pictures hanging on the walls as well as some interesting coat hangers. We will not go into detail as we have a third grade class reviewing most of our blog posts and pictures. Use your imagination or better yet… take a trip there!
So how is the food?! It is delicious! The menu is rather simple with the choices of seasoned mud snail or charcoal-grilled pork barbeque with hotdogs. Our group opted for the grilled pork barbeque with hotdogs. The sides that come with the meal are corn, potatoes, beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, and more of Beavers BBQ sauce to dip in. Our friends said that you could also request a special rice dish as well if you wanted to throw in some Korean taste to the meal. So how much does the meal set you back? 15,000 won.
Everything was delicious and really made us feel like we were back in the states!
Tonight we had the pleasure of accompanying another great set of friends at a local spicy octopus restaurant called Kim Myongja Seafood. Yes, (Dad) you heard that right… we ate octopus and we really enjoyed it! I really enjoy spicy foods and this newly found love has been added to the list!
The dish we ate tonight is called nak ji bok gum. Nak ji bok gum is an octopus stir-fried with vegetables and noodles in a moderately fiery sauce. Bok-gum dishes are typically stir-fried or sautéed, and served in heaping platters to be eaten with rice. The portion was large, large enough that we ended up taking some home. The fiery spice really starts to build so traditionally the Koreans serve spicy dishes with some sort of water kimchi or a plum juice called Eun Jin. At this restaurant we were served water kimchi, rice, and a boiled scrambled egg. Feel free to check out the pictures of the whole experience!
After dinner we took a stroll across the street to a local fresh market where we picked up Korean strawberries and a small Eun Jin to show you what it looks like.
Last night we walked about 4 or 5 miles around New City exploring. We went into a few stores and shops checking out everything they had to offer. We included a picture of my ice-cream treat too. The outside is a waffle much like an american ice-cream treat. The inside however has strawberry, red bean paste and wrapped in green tea.
We went to a fun Korean BBQ restaurant tonight called Dino Meat Grill House in “New City” Dongducheon. Honestly, It really should be called Dino-mite meats because it’s absolutely fantastic! We Bee’s give this place two thumbs up! We enjoyed our meal with our two good travel buddies Hector and Doris.
We made sure to snap some pictures for our fellow blog followers so that they could partake in the experience as well.
Before entering the restaurant you remove your shoes and place them in or around the shoe slots. We were immediately greeted and seated by the host. The seating is quaint and bit different as you sit on a small flat pillow on the floor.
Next the server will bring you an array of sides that consist of salads, various sauces, whole garlic cloves, and of course kimchi. Foreigners prep yourself utensils only consist of metal chopsticks and a long handled soupspoon.
Next you take your silver tray and head up to the meat buffet. At the meat buffet you are hand selecting your own meats with metal tongs. The meat options consisted of beef ribs, pork galbi, samgyeopsal, sausages, thinly sliced marinated beef (reminding us of chopped cheese steak meat), and meat patties. We have to note again that the meat is seasoned and flavored FANTASTICLLY! Oh and that you can select as much or as little of the meats you want. However we also must inform you that you will be charged if you take meat that you do not eat. This cuts down on people acting solely on eyes and not stomachs.
Now it’s time to start up your tables grill. The grill takes about 5 – 10 minutes to get warmed up. This is where we thought it reminded us of the Melting Pot or a Brazilian steakhouse in the states. Each table comes equipped with its own grill. We were able to gather some quick tips from the teens that were grilling and chilling to the left of us. Don’t worry if you get stuck or need some sides replenished, you simply press the “call button” that is located on your table for the wait staff.
Thirsty? Glad you mentioned it! At Dino meats you can opt for various Korean beverages both alcoholic and non
So how much cabbage is this place going to set you back? Get ready for this…. 14,000 won per person! What a steal for all the meat you can eat! Remember, no tipping, the price you see is the price you pay, end of story.
So tonight we went to Mindalay Restaurant in Yangju with some friends. The restaurant is located just off of highway 3 in Yangju. Walking up to the restaurant it looks like a small cottage, more like something you would find in Germany. Inside there are large wooden tables (any restaurant that has tables is a huge plus) and dark wooden floors, really giving you the quaint tavern feel. They specialize in Bibimbap which translated means “mixed meal”. Basically you take all these side dishes that come out and mix them in your bowl of rice; then add Gojujang (red pepper paste) and sesame seed oil to taste. Mix it all up and eat it.
The meal started out with a glass of Red Lambrusco wine and some pre-meal side dishes; mushrooms soaked in soy sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds, candied figs (which were EXCELLENT) sweet and sour pork with onions peppers and carrots, grilled beef with onions, carrots and green peppers, a leafy vegetable that was coated with Gojujang and soy sauce, and pumpkin soup. Once we were done with the pre-meal sides the main side dishes and spicy bean soup were brought out. While we were finishing the Bibimbap they brought us out the cooked rice water which was boiled water that was added to the rice cooker to loosen the remaining rice; this is a Korean tradition that is not used much in homes due to teflon coated rice cookers. At the end of the meal we were brought out a “refreshing” drink (plum drink) that was supposed to sooth the mouth from the strong food tastes and pepper paste. It tasted like a cool tea that was very light and had the color of a green tea. We were also served Korean style coffee (instant cappuccino with hot water added).
All in all this is one of our favorite bibimbap restaurants; it is slightly expensive for the amount of sides and portions that you get but we give it two thumbs up for sure. Mainly due to the fact that we liked ALL of the side dishes and items. Total cost 54,000 Korean WON KRW (for 4 people) about $12.00 per person, and this is the TOTAL price since you don’t leave a tip in Korea. We will absolutely be returning here especially if we are showing new people to the area.
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