Red Mango

Red Mango is big in Korea. It's all over the place and no matter what time of the day it is, it is always crowded! I heard even Leonardo DiCaprio bought and installed a Red Mango yogurt machine in his office because he loved this nonfat frozen yogurt so much! This frozen yogurt has so much flavor in it, you don't even need toppings to taste the fruit. But who can resist wonderful toppings?

We ordered the large nonfat yogurt with 5 toppings (grape, mac nuts, choco chips, raspberry & blueberry). It came out to 9900 won ($9). I am still shocked at how expensive coffees and desserts are in Korea and still adjusting to this culture shock. It's definitely a luxury to eat desserts here but don't get me wrong. I'll be going back to taste more of this absolutely delicious and flavorful yogurt!

I love the interior of red mango and any other coffee shops or restaurants in Seoul. It has windows for its walls and although you are inside, it feels like you are always part of the action with the outside world because you can see everything from your window. And windows make it easier for you to see (check out ^^) people and also be seen.

Indoor Rock Climbing at KU

Steve, who is from Utah is a rock climbing fanatic. Apparently rock climbing is huge in Utah where he's from so he invited all of us in the program to come out and try it out. Conveniently, there's an indoor rock climbing facility in the sports center of our school so here we are getting all the equipments to rock climb!




I learned what rock climbing in Korean was for the first time today. 암벽등반 ambyukdeungban. No one was there so we had the whole place to ourselves. Yay!







Group photo with our equipment on. We look so happy! Thank god for self timer function on the camera.











OK, I'm finally ready to rock climb...

Kelly says: Belay!
Steve says: Belay on!
Kelly says: Climb!
Steve says: Climb on!
















Aigo aigo~
It is harder than it looks. I'm hanging on with all my strength here. You use a lot of your forearm, underarm, shoulder, gluteus and finger muscles. I found out the day after. Ouch~ I really need to exercise and work out regularly.











But I made it to the top! See! My hands are touching the ceiling!

Jazz and the City- Honey Circle

This is our second time attending the Jazz and the City which is held at KT Art Hall near Kwanghwamun. Tickets are only 1000 won ($1) and different bands perform each day. Today, it was a group called Honey Circle and they were awesome. The band consisted of a saxophonist, a keyboardist, a guitarist, a bass guitarist, and a drummer. (Bass guitarist was the cutest!) But besides their look, the music was amazing and so was their stage manner. I became a total fan after today!

We took a group photo with the band after the show. I was so nervous here~

But it's kinda hard to tell who the band member is... Can you find the 5 of them?

Enjoy their performance!

사골 만두국- Ox bone soup with Kimchi Mandoo

This is suppose to be a blog about my adventures in Seoul including shopping, sightseeing, and eating but it just turned into Kelly's eating adventure. I seem to only eat and not do anything else... I shop sometimes but I think I definitely do eating more than any other activity. I'm always hungry and it's gotten worse since I got to Korea. It's just that there are endless list of famous restaurants and dishes and for the sake of my blog, I have to try new food and restaurants~ OK, it's my excuse trying to justify all the eating but there are really good Korean food here and CHEAP!

This restaurant that I visited recently near KU is famous for its jajang-udon and Mandoo soup. Most of its dishes are about $3 with all you can eat rice and banchan (side dishes).


See! Jajang udon is only 3000 won or $2.50!
All you can eat banchan! They had kimchi, kaktugi (radish kimchi) and takuan
I had the ox bone soup with kimchi mandoo, or is it kimchi mandoo ox bone soup? I don't know but I think you get the picture, right? The soup was so rich in flavor and I loved the egg & nori flakes on top!

Samgyupsal- Pork Belly

This needs no explanation. It's samgyupsal (pork belly), favorite meat for all Koreans. I guarantee it! Just look at my pics and it's pretty much self explanatory. Yum~ I think I eat this at least 2-3 times a month. I know it's fattening but how can I resist this juicy meat? I eat 2 servings (or at least try to eat only 2 servings). I know some people who eat 10 servings by themselves but not me... I have self control!

Pojangmacha (tent bar) in Bomun

I love pojangmacha and wanted to try one near our house. This is just few minutes away by cab in Bomun Market. Pojangmacha food is the best!

The first dish that we ordered was spicy 주꾸미 (tako, type of octopus) that you cook on the table on a hot stone. It was really spicy but I loved the mochi (the white circular pieces that you see above) that was nicely browned on the stone and chewy but tasty 주꾸미 legs that were well seasoned with kochujang sauce. It was 10000won, like most of the pojangmacha food, but well worth it.

A close up of the 주꾸미  or the octopus leg. Yummy~

Although it sounds gross, I love 닭똥집 or chicken gizzard. This dish is prepared differently depending on the restaurant and personally I don't really care how it's prepared. I like it yakitori style, spicy or just simply seasoned with salt and pepper.  This restaurant seasoned the intestine with salt and pepper and I loved its simplicity that accentuated its natural flavor and chewiness. I also liked the vegetables that came with it, such as onions, green peppers and garlic. It definitely helped us soothe our burning taste buds from the spicy 주꾸미 (octopus). 

Oh my god, when we thought spicy octopus was hot, 골뱅이 무침 (seasoned escargot) topped it off! We had to eat the somen noodles to ease the burning from the sauce and asked for few more refills of the somen noodles. This dish apparently can be moderated in its spiciness so we asked for normal spiciness but this is where we made the MISTAKE. When Koreans ask you how hot, you answer not spicy! This will still be spicy for the most of us, even those of you who think they can handle spicy food. We should've definitely asked for not hot! I still feel the burning sensation in my mouth. Nonetheless, spiciness is addicting and we still ended up finishing up the dish while letting steam off of our tongues!

Rotisserie chicken truck- street food #1

I bet you will never find this in the States... rotisserie chicken truck in the middle of a street! I love this truck! I see this truck everyday in front of my bus stop. The smell is just torturously good and it's only 6000 won, which is like 5 bucks for the whole chicken. I always have to try to resist my temptation to buy it when I'm waiting for my bus. I wanted to start on my diet which meant no fried food but the smell is just too painfully good~ You have to smell it to know what i mean. I love street foods in Korea and this has to be one of my favorites. Yum-yum!!! And these street foods make it impossible for anyone to be on a diet!

Famous Kimchi chige Restaurant near Kwanghwamun

This hole-in-the-wall restaurant is called Kwang hwa mun jip or Kwanghwamun House. It only serves kimchi chige, keranmari (tamagoyaki or egg roll) & spicy pork. Don't be fooled by its shabby appearance because this place is famous! It's located near many foreign embassies and you'll find both local Koreans & foreigners alike lined up to eat here. 

This is serving for 2, cooked right on your table. They have it premade so as soon as you sit, they bring this out even before you order since everyone who comes here eats kimchi chige. It's 10000won but it was more than enough for the 3 of us. 

 A close-up of the kimchi chige. The pork was sliced thick and chunky (just the way I like it!) and the tofu was really flavorful with kimchi soup soaked into it. Yum! Can you see the steam coming off of the soup?

 

Keranmari or egg roll was really fluffy and perfectly seasoned. I hate egg rolls that are too salty  or sweet but this one was just perfect. The color, texture, taste, and smell... I tried to replicate this at home but it's really hard to make it this fluffy.

Napa in Seoul- A story of Korean wine called Mak-gul-li

If you go to Korea University, you have to stop by at Napa. Ok, it's not the California winery you probably thought of but seriously this is what Korea University students call this pajun, makgulli joint. It's actually short for Nagune Pajun, taking the first syllable of each word. Korea University is known for its drinking especially makgulli. It was my first time trying this white, milky-colored, tangy drink but it's really smooth and before I knew it I drank 2 bottles! Of course knowing me, I didn't feel anything but a small buzz, but it really is a good drink that complements your food. Everyone that comes to Napa orders Makgulli with seafood pajun and deep fried stuffed peppers. You see the size of the pepper? And the pajun was also stuffed with seafood that is at least an inch thick! The best pajun ever!!!! It's only 8000won ($6.15) each. Can you beat this price? I don't think so! I love Korea!

Apparently there are a lot of makgulli brands out there but this one, Seoul Makgulli is most popular amongst the young Koreans. I definitely prefer this brand. It's 3000 won or ($2). And it definitely tastes better when you drink it out of this stainless bowl.

Pajun or chijimi (Japanese people call this chijimi) was huge and thick! I loved all the squid legs that were in there along with pa (green onion). The crust was perfectly crispy and the inside was cooked just right. I'm salivating as I'm writing this. It was THAT good and only for 8000won!

When I first saw the pepper tempura, I thought 'man those are some huge peppers!' I was nicely surprised to find after my first bite that it was actually stuffed pepper, stuffed with some kind of meat (I'm assuming pork because beef would be too expensive to use) and once again very crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. This one also only cost 8000 won. This has to be the signature dish here. Highly highly recommended!

Kimchi, Mandoo Kalguksu!

This is one of my favorite restaurants near Korea University. When I look for a place to eat lunch near school, it has to meet few criteria. It has to be 1) less than 2-minute walk 2) cost less than 3500 won ($2.70) and 3) refillable. Since it's been like 20 degrees everyday, I only seem to crave hot spicy soup and I found a place that met all my tough criteria. As you can see from the picture above, this noodle house is known for its 바지락 (clam) soup base. I had the 얼큰이 (ulkuni, or spicy) which basically is kimchi noodle soup with mandoo, clams, bean sprouts and of course, kimchi. In a cold weather and also if you have a hang over, this is the perfect soup for you. But the biggest reason why I like this place has to be owner lady who remembers everyone. (She remembered that I still had my cold) She is so nice, she even offers rice if we want to add rice in the soup and yes, soup is refillable. 

Live Jazz Cafe in Daehangno

I went to my first live jazz cafe in Daehangno called 천년동안도 (Chun Nyun Dong An Do, which can be translated as 'For Thousand Years.') Daehangno in Seoul is a college town area, with many options of entertainment. It is especially known for its live music cafes, theaters, comedy shows and wine & coffee shops. You'll find many young Koreans (including myself ^_^) hanging around here. Lots of things to see, eat & drink!!

As for the jazz cafe 천년동안도 that we visited, it was very cramped with tables and chairs all facing the stage. You definitely feel like they overstuffed that place with too many tables. We got to sit at the very front which was nice but I had a pillar in front of me that blocked the view of the drummer. He did some cool tricks with his drum sticks but missed most of it from the blocked view. :( oh well. As for the menu, drinks were very expensive. I had to pay 12,000 Won ($15) for my cosmo and 9500 Won ($11) for my Hoegaarden, oh also 8500 Won ($10) for the performance. It got pretty pricey but I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I get to visit more live jazz cafes...