Tag Archives: Sushi

Early Signs of Spring

This past weekend, we met up with Mr. B’s cousin Kelsey to celebrate her birthday and a group of our friends that are shortly departing South Korea, for a day of all play in the magical city of Seoul. What is it about that city? You know, it’s really hard to put into thoughts and words and I feel that the photos just never do it justice so I always yearn to go back every chance I get. Despite the typical haze, the weather was gorgeous and it was as if Spring unexpectedly surfaced just for us for the day.

Ah! the history, the food, the massive building structures, and the seemingly endless panoramic views from Namsan mountain’s Seoul Tower. Don’t just take my word for it, enjoy some of my favorite moments captured below why don’t you…

We started the day early with our daily dose of protein, fresh milkshakes, and perfectly crisp french-fries at Brooklyn Burger. Our friends found this restaurant and immediately decided this needed to be included on our next adventure. The arteries might be clogged, but the rave reviews truly didn’t disappoint! Even baby Jilly bean approved as she tasted my peanut butter banana milkshake. Then again who doesn’t trust a place that features a photo of Ice Cube on ice machine?

PS: Get to Brooklyn Burger early and get your name on the waiting list. The restaurant only has about 5 tables and it doesn’t take long until the place gets a crowd.

We then walked around the French district, Seorae Village. We checked out a few little gift stores in the area and of course made a stop by Paris Croissant and picked up some handmade chocolat and macarons. I was absolutely in my element. I learned that although Paris Croissant is a chain bakery, this location was the only in South Korea that uses true French flour. Oh! the aroma…As soon as we crossed the entryway the amazing aroma of freshly baked breads and pastries filled the air. The space was beautiful with a grand staircase that lead down to the basement where you could shop for incredible cakes, French cheeses, wine, macarons and chocolat. If you went up the staircase from the main floor, you could eat the goodies purchased from the main floor or basement, or continue up the staircase to the Café. I found myself stopping on the staircase watching the bakers as they prepped the counter space for another batch of bread. I was in a trance as they kneaded and rolled. I then realized that everyone had already left and was waiting for me outside. I snapped a few more photos and jetted out the door. à bientôt as ah bee-ahn-too!

(I’m loving the photo bomb of Kelsey’s kimchi fingers)

After our shortly lived trip to “Paris” we hailed a cab and headed over to Namsan mountain to take the cable car up to Seoul Tower. Unfortunately a lot of other people had the same thoughts as us and the lines were a bit out of control. Nonetheless, we eventually made it as the sun was starting to set. We walked around a bit, checked out the views both from the observatory and from the restrooms. LOL yes… the restrooms.

After we took the cable car back down the mountain we hailed another cab and headed for our predetermined sushi house dinner. You know when we come to Seoul sushi is almost mandatory, few exceptions.

Sunday morning we all slept in, truly it was needed after the long fun-filled Saturday we had. It was another beautiful spring like day so we took a walk to show Kelsey around our little neighborhood. To continue on with celebrating Kelsey’s birthday we went to Dino meats, previously featured on the blog, introduced Kelsey to various cuts of meat, followed up by a birthday potbingsu. A perfect ending to an absolutely perfect weekend!

Happy birthday dear Kelsey! We are over the moon your here and we got to celebrate your special day with you!

Brooklyn Burgers:
551-32 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu.
02-533-7180

Paris Croissant:
Address: 95-9 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu
Telephone: 02-3478-9139
Hours: 7am – 11pm

Namsan Cable Car:
Fare: Round-trip: 6,300 won, One-way: 4,800 won
Hours: 10:00~22:30
83, Sopa-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 중구 소파로 83 (회현동1가)

Backpackbees

Christmas Parties

Hello dear Christmas friends near and far!

We just ended our weekend of work Christmas parties. Very exciting, I know! But really…it was! Here are some photos from my fabulous Christmas party. We didn’t quite make it to Mr. B’s due to the unfortunate luck of Friday night Seoul traffic. But…It actually worked to my favor however, I was feeling quite achy and under the weather. Rest..lots of rest was what was in order.

Now, back to the good stuff, the party! Oh goodness it was a riot! Live entertainment both from the actual paid entertainment and also my co-worker and her husband getting up and dancing. I have to go on record and tell you all what she said, “When I hear the music, I try to control myself, but my hips… they are just uncontrollable and I have to get up and dance.” Too funny! Many belly laughs share by all, exchanging of secret santa gifts, and a boat load of A-mazing food, no pun intended.

Overall I’m pretty much always a fan of nights that involve celebration, holidays, Seoul at night, and dressing to the nines.

How was your weekend? Hopefully you enjoyed just as much merriment! Cheers!

PS: Santa’s on his way!

Address:

85-1, Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul-si
서울특별시 영등포구 여의동로 290 (여의도동)

Yeouido Dock
Yeouinaru Station (Subway Line 5), Exit 3.
Yeouido Dock is 5min from the station.

Dinner buffet cruise:
Weekends: Adults 65,000 won / Children 33,000 won
Weekdays: Adults 60,000 won / Children 30,000 won

Routes & Schedule
Yeouido-Yeouido
Regular: 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 16:10, 17:20, 22:00
Magic show: 15:00, 18:10
Live concert: 19:30, 20:40
Dinner buffet: 19:30

Backpackbees

Scenes From My Birthday Week

My Birthday week involved:

All sorts of fun surprise gift packages in the mail,

pedicures with a dear friend,

Fab-o korean mushroom stew,

So many birthday message notifications on Facebook,

sushi with my love,

A new charm for my bracelet that I had been swooning after for months, (Thank you Beebs!)

Phone calls from my loved ones,

The infamous Snookie birthday card that talks,

the most fabulous work birthday celebration ever! TWO cakes, so naturally, yeah!

TONS of smiles and good laughs,

It was absolutely simple and perfect!

Thank you all again for all of the love and birthday wishes too.

AH! I am very blessed to have you all in my life.

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Love, one very lucky little lady!

 

All Things New On Saturday

Saturday I invited a good girlfriend to tag along to Seoul with me. The main purpose of the trip was to check out a newly established farmers market located right in the downtown area of Seoul. I was particularly excited because a few other bloggers mentioned the freshness, the organic quality, and how everything was sold direct by the farmer themselves. How awesome is that?

Per the directions we were following, we got off at the Palace. We arrived just at the change of Guards. We watched for a few minutes, snapped a few pictures and were off.

Well…we made it to the Farmers Market location at around 10:30AM, the market should have been open for at least 30 minutes already. I was so delighted that we had found the location. Easy! However, there were no vendors insight, the park was completely empty. I was disappointed, I think my girlfriend was too. Was there a Korean holiday today? Was the weather to hot? Did the market take a break? Eek! All these things were left unanswered and unknown. Perhaps next time? I have at least until October to check things out.

Fear not! The great thing about Seoul is there are just so many other things to let yourself get into. We were only a short walk away from Insadong. Insadong if you recall from past posts is such a fun, lively, little area. Always something new to see or experience too. To Insadong we decided!

We arrived with a mission in mind. FOOD! Oh, and postcards too. We walked a bit, Korean, Italian, street vendors stands, Indian. Indian! That really sounded like the best choice in the moment. WE were both so eager to check the place out, we almost forgot that we’d have to lift baby G and his stroller up the narrow staircase. Almost.

WHEW! We ladies worked up quite the appetite. First I’ve just have to mention how unfriendly South Korea is for handicap people as well as mothers of small children. Okay, okay.. Enough about that. We chalked the entire experience up to getting our workout on, cardio and step climbing!

Once we made our way to the top of the steps with baby in tow, we were greeted by a young Korean girl and made our way into the Cafe Little India.

The ambiance was really eclectic. We both decided on Marsala dishes with sides of rice and yoghurt sauce to top it all off. I went with Chicken and Mrs. p, shrimp.

Oh! Baby G playfully enjoyed his Indian chicken fried rice too.

So, ratings on the entire restaurant. Out of five stars we both agreed a three wold be most suitable. The dishes were good, however nothing to write home about. The service was good too, not over the top, but also not bad in the same breath. The price was a bit steep..but…this is Insadong, a very touristy section of Seoul. We know, we know.

After lunch we enjoyed making our way through the rest of Insadong.

Of course I had to make a special stop along the way for Patbingsu! MMMmm..I seriously cannot get enough of this stuff! Plus I wanted to let Mrs. P taste it for the first time too. I was so proud of her, lord knows she was defiantly unsure of this crazy mixture of things.

We came across more new things as we walked. These crazy looking things, almost the shape of a candy cane, they tasted like a cross between a churro and a sugar cookie, and they were filled with a vanilla ice cream. What a special we three were. Then we caught a glimpse of the other brave shoppers that decided they had to give iterate vet this was a shot too. What fun, we giggled like little school girls forever!

Speaking of new and crazy… I’ve seen these little pastry chocolate filled guys before when in Insadong. I was told they represent piles of landmines(use your imagination here folks). Korean friends, is that true?

We finished with Insadong, hopped back on the train, switched lines, got off at Myeongdong. Mrs. P had never seen Myeongdong yet. I was thrilled to at least get to show her around a bit and share something new too. I think she was blown away at all the people pushing their way through the mass crowds while shopping.

Whew! The heat, the lifting, the steps, the walking, and the train. These things just drain you. We were both ready for naps, it was after 4:00PM. We knew we needed to mosey our way back North towards home.

A little after 5PM we arrived home. Hugged Mrs. p, blew kisses back to baby G, the elevator doors closed I thought to myself at last…time to relax.

Wrong! Mr. B promptly reminded me that we were going to dinner since our Friday night plans fell apart. Ahhh…I completely forgot, not to mention just assumed we were staying in tonight.

7:30PM back walking down to catch the train South for the second time today. No biggie! I enjoy the train, plus I adore my thoughtful hubby. Oh and by the way sushi was involved too. He he he…

Mr. B wanted to celebrate my birthday ahead because it falls on a work weekday. Yes, yes, I know, Wicked and Sushi was my early birthday gift. Trust me when I say I reminded this man about 50 times this entire weekend. How did I ever get so lucky? Really folks?! Goodness.

We arrived in Uijeongbu, just in time too! Most restaurants don’t start getting crowded until later in the night for the dinner rush. This typically works well to our advantage because we are early eaters. Tonight was just an exception to the rule.

We never ate at Hanabi Sushi house. All we knew is we walked past it various times on the way to some other restaurant or plan and kept saying, I want to try that sometime. Plus it had a sushi track, looked clean, and usually looked busy.

I have to admit, not only was this sushi restaurant new to us, the concept of the sushi track was new to me as well. I was delighted once I quickly learned the concept. Each plate has a color, the menu tells you exactly what the plate could be, and how much the price of the plate is. Simple, right? Gah! All this time…intimidation, and for what? Who knows. The sushi was awesome! The rolls were delish! The service was right up there too. Oh yes! We Bees will be back.

Eeek! Check out the damaged we did! I think I’m growing gills as we speak!

After sushi we decided on dessert. Mr. B said my birthday, my pick. Typically I’m so go with the flow not caring where we go. Today I threw that right out the window. I was milking this! Ann House. Decided.

The very much willing and open to checking out Ann House, Mr. B, let me lead the way.

Oh boy… Where to begin?

Dear Ann House,

Thank you for completely throwing we Bees for a loop tonight. We really thought your cutesy, girly, pink, purple, flowery, and lace ambiance was going to be so sweet and innocent. However, you have shown us a completely different side. Open until 2AM, playing tunes with the lyrics “F*%$ that S!$&” and let’s not forget the song S^% on the beach followed up by Whitney Huston’s, “Will always love you”, heart spoons that look like a persons behind, a massive Patbingsu that included everything but the kitchen sink, i.e.- tomatoes, whipped cream, ice cream, corn flakes, chocolate covered pretzel sticks AKA: peppero sticks, red bean, shaved ice, chopped nuts, vanilla wafers, all topped off with a Ritz cracker and tiny drink umbrella. We really thought we were on an episode of the Jersey Shore at moments, LOL!

Thanks for the memories!

Sincerely, The Bees

Ps. Don’t you think I look like Alice in wonderland in that oversized chair? How about Mr. B showcasing his princess palace pride in our plush private booth? Too funny!

What’d a Saturday! What did you think of the Ann House’s Patbingsu? Would you try it?

Fishy Friday

iPhone shots of Korean sushi dinner in New City(restaurant located directly across from women’s cultural center) with Mrs. B’s work ladies.

Much like most meals in Korea, the sides and various dishes just kept coming and coming. I found myself more and more impressed with each new item brought out to our table. Mmm! Korean sushi was a tad different but what a treat and experience!

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Sushi, Sashimi, on Saturday -Oh My!

Today we woke up to one of the most beautiful days since summer had begun in Korea. Nearly no humidity, sun not scorching, and NO RAIN. The statement of NO rain is pretty big in its self.

We Bees had another hectic week. This time we both suffered an unfortunate visit with food poisoning. We will let the surprising culprit remain anonymous from our blog. Maybe eventually they will redeem themselves…in a year or so?

We set out with the only intention of scoring some good grub. Along the way we took a bit of a detour to stop at Bukhansan National Park and visit Jinkwansa Temple and take in the sights and play with the camera. Jinkwansa Temple is well-known for temple stays. On a side note, we will be blogging about our temple stay experience in a few weeks at another well-known temple here in Korea.

Now onto the good stuff, sushi! After a few days of eating plain white rice and plain jane toast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, one finds themself wanting and craving something different and flavorful! Sushi!

Recently we were let in on a little best kept secret that goes by the name of Fuji Restaurant. We were delighted to finally get to check this place out and like we said it could not have come at a better time.

Fuji’s menu features an assortment of roll’s and sashimi. the rolls had names such as the Caterpillar, HOT Night, Crunch, Alps Mountain, and Las Vegas. There were plenty of others but we are not going to spend time typing them all out. Plus we don’t want to give too much away if you go and check out for yourselves. Sashimi menu options are tuna, white tuna, salmon, tempura, and udon.

Sushi or sashimi more of your partners thing? No worries, Fuji’s menu also features dishes like Bibimbap, fish cutlet, rice, fried dumplings, salads, bulgogi, etc.

We Bees shared a combo of eel, tuna, salmon, shrimp, the green dragon roll, crunch roll, and crazy roll. For dessert we each had mochi ice cream. Final verdict, we LOVED the food! The prices were much better than what we would have paid in the states.

After dinner we messed around with the camera some more but of course all good things must come to an end…RAIN! Luckily it was just a passing shower and it went as fast as it came.

Please feel free to view our pictures from our Saturday and let some comments.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your week!