I Kid You Not!

This is a picture of a map I saw in Kangwondo. Apparently, there's a cafe called "The Bicycle Thief" there. Thoughts?

Korean Food Project: O-jing-oh Bokkeum

While cleaning the fridge yesterday, I saw a couple of slightly-withered veggies hidden amongst pile of banchan. They all looked like they need to be cooked right away or they'll be good as trash in a few days. I tried to think what I could make of it but I didn't have any meat, so off I went to Homeplus. They were selling squid at a really cheap price so I bought 2 large ones for 3,000 won. The veggies at home are perfect with the squid to make O-jing-oh Bokkeum (stir-fried squid in uber spicy sauce). I've never tried making this dish before, so excuse me if my methods are kind of odd and my proportions are unheard of.

You'll need: A quarter of a cabbage, bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, carrots , onion, garlic and a couple of spicy green peppers. You can slice it any way you want to.

And for the sauce: I used gochujang (red pepper paste), gochukaru (red pepper powder), soysauce and some honey. This recipe calls for sesame oil, but I don't really like the taste of that so instead, I used extra virgin olive oil and toasted sesame seeds for flavor. I'm not really sure of the proportion, but a tablespoon of each is a good bench mark. I didn't want it to be too spicy so I didn't put a lot, but you can add more according to your liking.

Mix it all together in a bowl till you come up with a paste like this.

The hardest part in making this dish is cleaning the squid cause it could get pretty nasty. You really have to wash it well to get rid of the smell. Then you have to remove the skin, the backbone, innards, and the creepy looking head (but save the tentacles!). When it's all clean, slice it into rings and stif-fry it in the pan.

When the squid is nearly cooked, add in the veggies and the sauce mixture. Stir continuously till all of the squid is covered in sauce. Don't overcook it or you'll end up with a tough squid.

Add a dash of toasted sesame seeds before serving.

I served this for dinner and Chris really loved it! It may not be as good as the ones they serve in restaurants (God knows how much MSG they use to make it really tasty), but it's a delicious, cheaper and healthier alternative for that. I ate only a small portion of this and Chris finished it all in one sitting. How's that for a compliment?!

Our Foggy Day Adventure in Yeongdeok.

After our stint in Gyeongju, we drove to Yeongdeok next. Yeongdeok is a small, rural county lined with mountains and beautiful coastlines in the North Gyeongsang province. We've been here last summer, but only to eat their famous King Crab. This time around, we wanted to explore more and see the beautiful sights there.

Yeongdeok is about an hour and a half away from Gyeongju. We arrived around 9 pm and it was raining so went to the first inn we saw to rest. It's right in front of the coast, and it's also near this colorful bridge.



In the morning, the view from the floor-to-ceiling glass is spectacular. Outside, the view is even better. We only had to walk a few steps to reach the coast. It was a bit foggy and the sky was all dark and gray from the rain - not exactly the kind of weather you associate with beaches and stuff. But you know what? I did enjoy the weather. It's nice to see and experience it for a change.



Here's Chris enjoying the view.


We had an early lunch at a restaurant nearby. Or menu was crab soup and Mul-hui (mul = water, hui = sashimi).

After that we drove towards the mountain and the view got even better.

We arrived at the Sunrise Park (해맞이공원) around 12 noon. This tower is the first thing that caught my attention. We climbed towards the top, and boy... it was so cold and windy up there!

Below the tower, there's a stairway that'll bring you closer to the water.

It was hard to go down cause the way was muddy and slippery. I was scared to death I'm gonna trip and roll towards the icy waters... ^^;

This is where you should be when you want to have the best view of the sunrise.
Too bad we're too late for that. : (

The place is so beautiful there are endless opportunities to take pictures. Standing in the middle of wildflowers, with fog and the beautiful sea at the back, it felt like I was in the middle of a beautiful dream...

After a while, the rain grew stronger and fog became heavier so we decided to leave the Sunrise Park and go to our next destination. See how foggy it was? It was almost impossible to drive at that time.

We were supposed to see plenty of gigantic windmills (력발전단지) at our next destination, but unfortunately the fog was so thick we couldn't see any. I was disappointed cause I heard it's pretty cool.

The rest of the afternoon was spent driving beside the coastline and watching the waves grow bigger and bigger. When we grew hungry, we went to the Crab market to eat. Our menu was steamed King Crabs just like what we had last year.

You can have the crabs anyway you want to, the staff there will cook it for you. But both us agree that steamed is the best way to enjoy the natural taste. It was soooo delicious! And the taste is forever seared in my memory. This picture looks a little nasty, but my mouth waters just by looking at it!

Chris paid 50,000 won for four crabs, and we got this shells for free! It's a little hard to eat this. You need to use a toothpick to get the meat out of the shell, then you dip it in gochujang and pop it in your mouth.

I'm sure you all agree that a delicious meal like that is the best way to cap off an amazing journey!

Take Your Tastebuds For A Rollercoaster Ride In Gyeongju.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think I'm packing on some serious poundage these days. Maybe it's just PMS bloat, my new haircut, or probably the clothes that make me look a bit chunky. But whatever it is, it's freaking me out, and I can't stop myself from measuring my waist like crazy every single day.

I'm actually pretty good at sticking to my diet when I'm alone. Whenever I feel like binging, I just think of the revolting smell of animal fat in fried chicken or the glistening crust of pizza smothered in oil ~ nothing kills my appetite than that. But when I'm with Chris, it's a different story. It's hard to stick to any form of dieting when all your partner could think about is FOOD. I can't count how many times we argued at HomePlus cause he fills the cart with the things I hate the most. Chris calls it food, I call it lard, trans-fat, and heart-attack-waiting-to-happen wrapped in shiny packaging. He's not like that before, but after he contracted a bad case of flu and lost a lot of weight, he became obsessed with eating. The poundage he lost or that I gained is always a bad news. There's nothing more depressing than seeing myself looking like an elephant while standing beside his skinny-scrawny physique in pictures.

Chris knows how much I deprive myself of food at home, so whenever we travel, he makes it a point to bring me to restaurants that serve really good Korean food (but not the ones that will torture my arteries in the process). And the best thing about Korean food is that you can eat it without guilt. Well, except for their grilled meat dishes, cause the very smell of those is already filled with fat and cholesterol. :)

This is the Sambap restaurant in Gyeongju that Chris brought me to. For those who are planning to visit Gyeongju, I highly suggest you visit this place. I forgot the name, but if it helps, it's located right in front of Daereungwon. There are many Sambap restaurants there, so be sure to look for that tacky arch to know you're in the right place.

An elaborate, sumptuous feast with dishes you can hardly count - how could anyone be disappointed?

This is how you eat Sambap: Get a piece of their blanched vegetable (some are raw), then put meat, rice, and some spicy sauce. Wrap it all together and eat.

This salt-cured fish is one of the side-dishes they served. It reminds me of bagoong. You have to be very careful when you eat this cause it has so many bones. It's also very salty - as in deadly salty it could make your tongue flinch.

And this is chot kal or salted fish innards. In the Philippines, we usually throw the innards, but here they make it as chot kal. It looks disgusting but it has a very interesting taste. One word of caution though.. you must eat it this with a mouthful of rice cause it's salty as hell.

And if you still got room for dessert (which I doubt unless your stomach is as big as a bathtub), try visiting a Chal Bori Bbang store - it's scattered all over Gyeongju. Chal Bori Bbang are mini pancakes made from sticky barley. It's really, really delicious but not in a sugary-sweet kind of way. A box of 20 costs 10,000 won.

All those delicious food equates to insurmountable amount of calories to burn right? The good news is, there are always mountains to climb, and plenty of rivers, waterfalls, valleys and parks to visit after. So don't be afraid to take your tastebuds for a rollercoaster ride when you're in Gyeongju!

Rice Cake For The Sick.

Remember the chestnut-filled pastry Chris brought from Japan? Well, it was so delicious that it triggered a serious craving for more chestnuts. So the other night I went to the supermarket to buy some. I didn't have any idea how to cook it, but I read online that it can be boiled so I boiled it. Peeling it was a disaster, but I was able to eat it anyway. Little did I know that something as innocent as a bag of chestnuts could have a violent reaction to my stomach. I was sick after, had diarrhea, and my stomach constantly growling in protest for what I ate. The next day, I was still sick and couldn't eat anything the whole day. Chris was worried sick that he called thrice that afternoon to check on my condition. When he came back home, he brought some rice cake for me. I had it with a cup of Oolong tea and somehow, it calmed my tummy. Maybe I was just hungry, but the tteok was really, really delicious! It was pillowy soft and chewy, unlike the ones I've tasted before. Heard he got from Dachae Tteok Zip - a specialty rice cake store. Do check the link if you're in for some cuteness overload. : )

A Fusion Of Art, Culture and Food.

Whenever I travel, I make it a point to scour the area for some quaint, little restos that could offer something new to my palate. I just love tasting new dishes, especially the ones that are hard to find in the city. Sometimes, I go as far as asking the locals if they know some famous restaurant in the area. Other times, I rely on brochures given at Tourist Information Centers as to which menu to taste or restaurants to visit. Chris on the other hand, likes to do his research online. It's where he found a place called Anygol, and he brought me there during our trip to Ilsan.

Anygol is a small village/budding tourist destination filled with restaurants, cafes, and music bars all clustered together. Of all the restaurants there, we chose this place called "Dubu Han Jeong Sik", little did we know that there's more in store for us than a sumptuous meal.

The first thing that floored me upon entering are the hanbok-wearing waitresses. Next are the interesting pieces of art on display. There are so many cool things that caught my attention, so while waiting for our orders to arrive, I looked around and took pictures.

This is the walkway going towards the restroom.

Everywhere I look, there are amazing pieces of arts and crafts reminiscenct of their culture, tradition and long history.

We were surrounded by a huge collection of dolls wearing hanbok in different styles and colors.

There are private rooms for those who come in groups.

And this is the spot where we sat. Notice how the chopsticks and tea cups are arranged?

And this is what we ordered. The food was great! Their Gganjjang Gae-jang (raw crabs in soysauce) was exceptionally tasty.

For this meal, it costs 24,000 won for each person. But I'm telling you, the experience that goes with it is worth every penny!

Korean Food Project: Dubu Gganjang Jorim

I first tasted Dubu Gganjang Jorim (Tofu simmered in soy sauce) at a friend's house, it's one of the side dishes served that evening. I liked it so much that I asked my friend for the recipe so I could make it at home. Like most Pinoys, I'm drawn to food cooked in soy sauce so this banchan easily became one of my favorites. It's healthy, delicious and fairly simple to make. Here's my version of it.

You'll need: 300 grams of tofu, half a cup of soy sauce, a teaspoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of chopped garlic, leeks, green peppers, egg and olive oil for frying.

And here's how I do it:

Slice tofu into bite size pieces, and dip into a beaten egg mixture before frying it in olive oil. The recipe doesn't really call for eggs, but I use it so the tofu wouldn't stick to the pan. You could always omit the egg if you have a teflon or a non-stick pan.

In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, chopped leeks and peppers (with the seeds removed). Mix it well and pour it in the pan. Make sure to turn the tofu to the other side so both sides are covered in soy sauce. Wait till the sauce is reduced before turning off the heat.

And here's the finished product.



It's best to eat this at room temperature with a hot bowl of rice. Eventhough it has some peppers on it, it's not really spicy so even the kids would surely enjoy it!

Fueled and Caffeinated.

The oil price is giving us a headache these days, so kudos to my friend T and her husband M for bringing me here all the way from Bucheon last Saturday. I can't thank you enough guys! They were our first visitor in our humble home, and the least I could have done was serve them some snacks, but unfortunately our fridge was understocked and there's nothing to offer except for a few alcoholic drinks and some nuts.

Chris and I are not environmentalist in the truest sense of the word, but we are advocates of saving nature's finite resources. Chris does his part by going to work on foot, and we only use the car when it's absolutely necessary. So if there are other mode of transportation available or if the distance is "walkable", we prefer to leave the car at home. Not only does it save us a lot of money, but walking is also good for exercise. On days when we just have to bring it, fueling it sends us the shiver. Even though it's a small car and it's consumes less fuel, the staggeringly high oil prices is enough to elicit a couple "ehyu" and incomprehensible mumblings from him.

It is often said that Korea is The Land of Freebies, and gas stations are no exception. Here they call it "service" meaning free of charge. They usually give out tissues and bottles of water, but Samil gas station gives out free coffee (how great is that?!). I love coffee as it is, even more if it's for free!

Chasing Cherry Blossoms Part 2

Last Saturday, Chris drove me to his hometown to visit Incheon Grand Park, and later to meet some friends whom I haven't seen in a while. The said park is known to be the best place to view the Cherry Blossoms in all of Incheon, but we were kind of disappointed to see that the flowers are barely out of their buds. Seeing how disappointed I was looking at bare trees and dead grass, Chris offered to bring me to a different place where I'm gonna see the flowers for sure. But I figured it's better to make the most out of our time there instead of chasing the elusive flowers.

I've visited Incheon Grand Park before so I know how insanely beautiful it looks come spring time. I can't help but blame the strange weather for ruining what I thought is gonna be a picnic-perfect day. And so we walked for a good 2 hours or so, slowly taking in the view and admiring how big the park is. The lake and the zoo are still under construction and that sort of added to my disappointment, but I did enjoy watching people having picnics and walking their dogs. They all looked like they're having a blast inspite of the cold and breezy weather. Anyway, here's how the park looks...

I realized I haven't posted pictures of myself lately, so here are some pictures of me all bundled up in a thick jacket (which for some reason they call "jumper" here). Like I said, the weather is still too cold for skin-tight cardigans and light sweaters. But days are becoming warmer so I think I gonna give my winter jacket a rest soon.

Later that afternoon, Chris brought me to Bupyeong station to meet my friends. Just outside the station, we saw lots of Cherry Blossom trees so I didn't pass the opportunity to admire them up close.

I really had a blast that day, especially after seeing my friends. For now I'm gonna put the chase for the Cherry Blossoms to rest. There are so many things to see and look forward to this Spring that'll keep me entertained for sure.