Tag Archives: South Korea

What Does Summer Taste Like?

Well, to me it taste like….
F r e s h W a t e r m e l o n
&
B l u e b e r r i e s
With the summer temperatures soaring into the upper 80’s and 90’s, I find myself craving chilled thirst quenching fruits. I am on my fourth watermelon of the summer. While some (cough, cough, Mr. B) claim it’s borderline obsession, I like to think of it as simply getting my fill of the summer fruits in while I can. Those long days, warm nights, fresh vegetables, fruits and summer, itself, will be a memory before you know it! *Sigh*

I guess it wouldn’t come as a shocker to know that I heard the Watermelon truck near our place this weekend, rushed out immediately and purchased another one. Obviously I wasn’t the only one needing a watermelon fix…

I was the first one to the truck. No sooner did I turn around from paying for my prized possession, people were darting across the street and pulling over out of traffic to grab one too.

Right away, I took it home and sliced it up. Naturally.

This weekend I got to Skype with my grandparents as well. It’s always so nice getting to talk to them. We always end up reminiscing about my childhood or theirs. Not to mention seeing someones face at the other end makes missing home a bit more easier.

Anyways, we talked about how fruit trucks were something normal from when they were growing up. They said it was normal to purchase your fresh fruits,vegetables, and sometimes fresh fish, from a truck that would stop by your home about once a week or so. My Grandma said that sometimes she thinks that times like those were more convenient than that of today. Fresh milk at your door every morning, eggs, etc. What an interesting perspective.

Strangely enough, South Korea has many of these options still available. The ladies that I work with get a weekly delivery of eggs, and a daily delivery of yogurt to their homes.

Also while talking with my grandparents we discussed various foods we both had been cooking lately. Cue the blueberries! When I was growing up, I can always remember the summer weekends during berry season at my Grandparents. I think because my Grandma would make a simple yet absolutely delightful instant vanilla pudding with fresh blueberries on top. Mmmm!

Well, you know me, clearly, I’m all about nostalgia these days so I knew I needed to make some for to cherish with Mr. B <3

Dig in!

Secret Dipping Oil


He dips his bread, dresses his salad, and sautés his chicken in his secretive homemade oil.

So….

What’s in this stuff?!

Good question!

Guess you just have to stop by and enjoy with us!

Don’t forget to pick up a freshly, sliced baguette along the way too!

Date Night: Songchoo Gamagoll

For date night this week Mr. B and I decided to try a new option. This was a place we’ve passed a zillion times on the way into the city of Seoul, always muttering to one another we should come back and try one day almost regularly. Well, today was that day,
what a wonderful choice!
Songchoo Gamagoll was well priced, the atmosphere was open and fun, and the meat was so moist, tender, practically melting in your mouth.
The staff was so friendly. We giggled because we got preferential treatment, they didn’t trust us foreigners with the grill.
We’ll definitely be going back!


Grab the map coordinates here!

2012_07_06 Songchoo Gamagoll

2012_07_06 Songchoo GamagollJun 24, 2012Photos: 28
 

Tune Up

Let’s face it, vehicle tune ups are typically rather….

how do you say…

boring

inconvenient

and always end up being expensive!

Are you ready for this ?

….

Not in South Korea!

Yes, we did wake up at 5AM to travel to our car appointment in Suwon for 9AM. Yes, we did arrive an hour early, fearing the morning traffic would be beastly. But, we lucked out! The trip was easy peasy! Plus, they took us wayyy ahead of our 9AM scheduled appointment.

Talk about service!

ooOo they were working us…

Then we saw the lounge…

20120704-084930.jpg

20120704-084948.jpg

What’s that? You want to play a round of golf? Sure! Go ahead!

20120704-084959.jpg

Oh, you forgot your laptop? No problem! Free wifi and computers to take care of you.

20120704-085102.jpg

Stressed from the commute? Work? Have a kink that needs worked out? Sit down, relax!

20120704-085013.jpg

Finding yourself parched? Cafe latte, hot chocolate, or plain old Americano? They are endless while you wait

20120704-085038.jpg

Ahhh….perfect blogging conditions!

20120704-090034.jpg

You can order your own vehicle parts and the dealer will put them on for you, labor is cheap, andddd they told us they will be updating our software for free!

Sold! Hook line and sinker…I think they’ve got us!

Happy Birthday, America!

No matter what your age is, isn’t there just something so enchanting about fireworks?
I have such fond childhood memories of my grandparents taking me near and far to see the majestic displays.
Happy Birthday, America!
You know, I don’t believe I’ll ever outgrow wanting to see the beautifully colored pixie dust explode in the night sky.
Oohing & Ahhing!
Your nose pointed upward towards the sky in anticipation.
The loud thunderous booms you feel in your chest.
We were able to get home in time as dusk rapidly approached. I drug Mr.B towards the nearby US Army Base to catch the 4th of July show. We sat down a blanket in a church parking lot. What fun seeing and hearing the Koreans just as excited to watch as we were. (Mr. B, Thanks for loving my inner fun child side too!)
Whether you celebrated with fireworks or not…
We hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!
* * * * *

Goodbye

I tried with all my being to fight off today’s occurrence of Rebecca leaving. I’m sure by now you realize that it didn’t matter, it was inevitable, and I just had to accept the fact she has to continue on with her journey to Israel.

When I think of Rebecca and our friendship, I’m instantly reminded of The Anne of Green Gables characters, Diana and Anne and how they become bosom friends instantaneously.

I just adore Anne! Every time I watch Anne and Diana, I get teary eyed and think of my dear friend Rebecca.

Do you have a friend like that?

You know, that friend that when you met one another you instantly connected, like you were kindred spirits?

And no amount of time or time zones between you could make you any less closer?

Gah! That’s how it is with Rebecca and I.

This week, as stated previously, was just incredible! I’m so thankful I could share my current life with her in South Korea.

So what did we do on Rebecca’s last day? Great question!

We toured the countryside up North, all courtesy of Mr. B, sipped on tasty mango smoothies and milkshakes by the water reservoir, watched the boats and water skiers go by, and picked up a Korean pizza on the way home for dinner.

Happy weekend everybody!

2012_06_24 Rebecca Day Ten

2012_06_24 Rebecca Day TenJun 24, 2012Photos: 27
 

Day 9 R&S Invade South Korea

Today is day nine…I can’t help but think about the fact that in a few short hours my wonderful week with my best fiend is coming to an end. Nevertheless I am very determined to not let that gloom over my head and not let me enjoy the precious hours that I do still have left with her.

Rebecca is still recovering with her medication. We again decided to have an easy, slow, at our own pace type of morning. With no rush or real plan in place, we all woke up, ate some breakfast, talked, and got ourselves around for the day.

We eventually decided that once the sun was setting we would head up to Herb Island, a fabulous (i’ll admit a tad bit cheesy too) botanical garden facility near our place. I really enjoy going to this place and was absolutely delighted when Mr. B first took me there. I just knew Rebecca would feel the same way and really enjoy it too, or at least I really hoped so!

Mr. B had some things he needed to tend to during the afternoon hours. This left Rebecca and I more time to just lounge around the house, nibble on our left over market goodies, and giggle. A few hours later we both looked at each other and decided that we were growing incredibly hungry. We were in need of something light, not in the mood for something heavy. Perhaps a sandwich shop? Hmm…the Subway shop nearby? No… that wasn’t sounding that appetizing or appealing in the moment. Ah! We could dine at the local GS 25 (A local convenient store) and raid the place for interesting finds. Yes! We thought: what a perfect idea!

We sat on the patio and munched on divine foods such as seaweed covered tuna triangles, chicken triangles, banana milk, with some sort of crazy circle things? Friend that speak Korea, throw me a bone and help me out! HA HA! We had a blast just sitting there watching the world go by, eating our triangles.

On the way back to our place we stopped by a local grocery store and perused the place for some goodies that we could box up and send back to the states for Josh (Rebecca’s amazingly sweet boyfriend!). While we were running amuck we found the popsicle display case and it was marked 30% off! SCORE! Of course we had to!

We strolled home in the heat with our melting popsicles. Mr. B had arrived home and gave us a ring to find out our location. We were so close so we just decided it made sense to meet back up at home again.

Around 6:30 we all piled back into the car and Mr. B took us on a nice drive through the countryside North of our place, no not North Korea HA HA! Rebecca really enjoyed getting to see all the mountains and all the lush green farmland. It’s such a change from hustle and bustle of Seoul and the city. It’s refreshing, calming, most of all it reminds us a lot of home.

We looped back around and found ourselves at Herb Island, exactly where we wanted to be once the sun had set. Excellent timing! The place was not jam-packed with people and we free to mosey around as slow as we wanted.Plenty of time to stop and smell the flowers, or in my case snap a million pictures. There were just to many silly or beautiful things that I couldn’t pass by without capturing.

After our Herb Island trip was almost complete we ended up at the restaurant, or what was left of it, that we wanted to share Herb bibimbop with Rebecca. Phewey! Herb Island was doing some major construction and the building was no longer standing in the place it once did. We opted to head into the bakery and munch on all the delectable samples of freshly baked breads. Mmm… this place is Mr. B’s Achilles heel.

We had to decide on something different for dinner. Our options were herbed meat or pizza. We didn’t have much reassurance in the pizza place because it was fairly empty. We all decided, meat it is. It wasn’t the herb bibimbop, but it was still tasty.

What a great night! Rebecca had a blast! Yippee! The night was a total success!

2012_06_23 Rebeccas Day Nine

2012_06_23 Rebeccas Day NineJun 23, 2012Photos: 41
 

Day 8 R&S Invade South Korea

Rebecca was up and out the door this morning at 6:00AM to catch the metro down to City Hall in Seoul. Today is the DMZ tour and it takes approximately one hour and ten minutes to go from our metro station to the City Hall station. What a trooper! She woke up with a very runny nose and stuffy head. It might be allergies, it might be just a plain old case of the Korean crud, either way I knew it was going to be a pretty rough day for her.

Mr. B and I both had to finish out the work-week today. We were both delighted that Rebecca could go tour the DMZ and get a feel for the hope that exists for North Korea and South Korea to reunify. Rebecca said that the tour guide was a riot and reminded her of a little gangster when she used certain phrases or exhibited certain expressions. She thought to herself while on the tour that Id get a kick out of it. She knows me so well, I’m sure that I totally would have!

Once we were all back home in the evening, We wanted to hear how the tour was. Rebecca said it was good however the visibility was much like that of looking at North Korea on a google map. Eeek! That bad?! Yes, the sky was rather gloomy all day and it definitely would have affects on the South Korea DMZ observatory. That mother nature can really be a Debbie downer sometimes…All and all, Rebecca and I both are grateful, we know it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity experience.

Rebecca’s symptoms were definitely peaking in the evening and she was in dire need of some antihistamine or decongestant. We took care of her, many thanks to Mr. B, sometimes I am not sure what id do without this man folks, what a godsend. We hung out for a bit allowing the medication to sooth Rebecca’s system. About twenty or thirty minutes later she was actually starting to dry up a bit. She commented on how nice it was not to have to blow her nose every few seconds.

The semi re-charged Rebecca bravely blurted that she could handle going for dinner when we were ready. Dinner, dinner? Did someone mention dinner? Mr. B’s ears were certainly perked at this point. All week Mr. B knew that Friday night dinner plans meant D-I-N-O-M-E-A-T-S,those words were magical to Mr. B. and he was up and about and ready to go in no time. Uh-oh Rebecca…hope you are ready for this place.

We like to go to Dino Meats occasionally. Okay, okay, using the word occasionally very loosely here. This is a restaurant that is very popular because of the copious amounts of meat that you can consume. You hand select every cut and type of meat that you personally will grill and eat right at your own table. You must take off your shoes before entering and you must sit on the floor. We enjoy seeing the reaction of people who go for the first time because of all the key items listed above such as the floor seating, all you can eat meat, grilling at your table, and removal of shoes. It’s fun!

So how does one eat like a dinosaur? What a splendid question! I think we should ask Rebecca about that one…

Mmmm Hmmm… we indoctrinated Rebecca right away. We let Rebecca hand select the first round of meats. We then proceeded to provide her with a gigantic lettuce leaf and let her go to town. Mr. B said she had to eat it the Korea way. The Korean way, she asked? Yes, prior to consumption, you take whatever slice of the cooked meat you like and place it on the lettuce, with some cooked rice, or any combination of the vegetable such as the sliced garlic, kimchi, mushrooms, bean sprouts, or grilled onions. The final step, roll everything up in the leaf, and shove the entire thing in your mouth. It sounds easy right? I swear, it’s some form of mastering food art.

What a champ! She did it! Enjoyed it too! We giggled about how the first time Mr. B and I had to eat the meal this way we were trying to be all proper and have manners. Trying to perhaps tackle the leaf with some scientific approach and tear it in half, this way it would be smaller bites and smaller portions. WHOAAAAA!!! That wasn’t flying with our accompanying friends. When you are in a Korean “beef and leaf” restaurant in Korea, all the years you were drilled not to shove your mouth so full with food goes right out the window.

Bellies stuffed to the gills we went home.

2012_06_22 Rebecca Day Eight

2012_06_22 Rebecca Day EightJun 22, 2012Photos: 9