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FOOD SEOUL

Seoul Eats | Brunch at The Beastro

seoul eats | brunch at the beastro

Since moving to Korea we have only gone out for brunch a handful of times. Not because restaurants don’t offer brunch (many do) and not because brunch isn’t good here (it is), it’s just that brunch in Korea tastes like…brunch in Korea. It’s similar, but not quite right. Either the sausage is a bratwurst, the pancakes aren’t served with syrup, the biscuits and gravy aren’t seasoned, or the ketchup is sweet. In most every instance there’s a coleslaw salad and a couple stray cherry tomatoes sharing the plate with a stack of dry toast and slab of pork belly. Over time, we sort of gave up on going out for brunch and opted instead to spend our lazy Sunday afternoons cooking at home.

We decided to give brunch another try while in Seoul a couple weeks ago. I had heard The Beastro mentioned more than a few times by expats as a great spot for brunch, and despite having serious skepticism about its claim of servung American food, we booked a reservation online. While the menu seemed legitimately American, we have been fooled in the past before. If nothing else, we knew the drinks would probably be good.

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HOLIDAYS

My Favorite Night of the Year

halloween 2016

It’s already November in these parts, but Sly and I agreed that Halloween could extend through today on account that it’s still technically Halloween back in the states and because it’s my favorite day of the year.

Last year we bought a couple bags of candy thinking that there may be the smallest of chances that we would get a few Korean trick-o-treaters, but nobody ever showed up. Of all the Halloween traditions, I think seeing kids roaming the streets in rag tag costumes is what I most miss about celebrating Halloween in Korea. It’s not like Halloween isn’t celebrated in Asia – we saw plenty of stores that sold Halloween decor and bags of candy – but it seems geared more towards a party/going out crowd. Sadly, we have yet to see a kid dressed up and toting a pumpkin, which is such a shame, because seriously, how cool would it be to have a haunted elevator (Sly could dress up as David S. Pumpkins), given that we live in a high rise apartment?

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HOLIDAYS KITTIES

Happy Halloween!

halloween 2016

We have been celebrating our anniversary in Taiwan the past couple of weeks but returned to Korea just in time to celebrate Halloween, my favorite day of the year. I’m sure that there are lots of events going on tonight (or maybe they already happened over the weekend?), but predictably we are pretty tired (and lazy) to do anything more than watch scary movies and try on the horrible, ill-fitting, toxic-smelling, masks I bought at the Korean dollar store (stay tuned).

Since Sly had to work until late last night (Sunday), he took today off. We spent the day scrounging through the clearance Halloween section of our nearby discount store and purchased some small items to add to our growing collection of cast-off Halloween decorations. Sadly, I didn’t find any good kitty costumes, but that certainly didn’t stop me from dressing up our poor kitties in Halloween attire. Rufus decided he wanted to be an elephant this year, while Max kept it simple with his sailor outfit.

Now you know why it’s my favorite day of the year.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

PS: The kitties were given many treats for their contribution to my happiness this Halloween. I suspect they will receive many more before the night is up.
PPS: Has anyone else played “Magic Cat Academy” on Google doodles? I’m kind of obsessed. Also, I’m kind of lame.

MEMENTOS

6 YEARS!

wedding photostrip

Inside an Airstream trailer that we converted into a DIY photobooth

I don’t think I’ll ever stop wondering where the time goes. Weren’t we just married like yesterday? Now that we have made it past the five year mark time seems to be moving that much faster.

This year we’re spending our anniversary in Taiwan as our anniversary gift to each other. So far we’ve watched the sunset from a gondola, rode through a national park on the back of a scooter in the pouring rain, soaked in a natural hot spring, and of course, eaten everything in sight! It’s been a great trip so far, and the best 6 years ever. 

Happy Anniversary, Sly. 

XOXOXO

(more wedding photos here)
(past anniversaries here)

FOOD SEOUL

Seoul | Mapo Eats – Hanu / Hanwoo Beef (한우) at Jobakjip (조박집)

Seoul | Hanu / Hanwoo Beef (한우) at Jobakjip (조박집)

While in Seoul, we stayed in the un-trendy, (former) blue-collar part of Mapo-gu, right next to “Mapo BBQ Alley” which is an area known for its Korean bbq, and in particular, pork ribs. After a painfully long drive, most of which was spent in barely moving traffic, we decided to find a place within walking distance for dinner. Even though I wasn’t necessarily in the mood for Korean bbq, I really didn’t feel like exerting any more energy than necessary in finding and getting to a restaurant.  Jobakjip (조박집), known for its Hanwoo Beef (한우), was one of the first restaurants that popped up when we did a neighborhood location search, and as the reviews were pretty solid, we decided to give it a try.

Thus began the start of our 3-course food tour of Mapo-gu…

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SEOUL

Seoul | International Fireworks Festival

seoul | international fireworks festivalseoul | international fireworks festival

We drove up to Seoul over a long weekend and immediately regretted it the moment we approached the outskirts of the city. What was to be a 3-4 hour drive turned into something more like 5-6. That will be the first and last time we ever drive to Seoul.

By the time we reached Seoul, a bunch of streets were closed due to the Seoul International Fireworks Festival scheduled for later that evening. As luck would have it, the apartment we rented happened to be right across the bridge from the festival grounds, something we didn’t exactly plan on when we booked our place. It took us well over an hour to cross a bridge that was literally a five minute drive from our apartment.

On the other hand, once we finally made it to our place, settled in, found a place to eat, and stuffed our faces, we only had to walk about 10 minutes from our place to reach a fireworks viewing spot.

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CHEONGDO

Cheongdo | Provence Photo Land & Wine Tunnel

cheongdo | provence photo land & wine tunnel cheongdo | provence photo land & wine tunnel

After a day of eating, hiking, and strange art coffee shops, we jumped in the car and hit up two of Cheongdo’s most popular tourist attractions: Provence Photo Land and the Cheongdo wine tunnel.

I don’t think Sly and I quite knew what we were getting into when we agreed to go to Provence Photo Land, and in fact, I think we just went along with the suggestion because it seemed like the thing to do while in Cheongdo. In my head, I envisioned a small, Asian-style, theme park with maybe a re-created town center reminiscent of the village in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; shops that sold ice cream, waffle desserts, churros, and maybe even Japanese-style sweet crepes; and possibly a Petite Prince statue scattered here and there.

Instead we got lights. Lots and lots of lights.

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CHEONGDO FOOD OUTDOORS

Cheongdo | A Weekend of Eating & Hiking with Friends

hiking & eating in cheongdohiking & eating in cheongdo

On a rainy weekend this past summer, we met up with some of our Korean friends at a local coffee shop and made plans to rent a place in nearby Biesulsan. Over cups of overpriced coffee and chocolate-dusted tteok we envisioned a quaint log cabin, long walks beside the mountain, and plenty of galbi grilled up by Sly.

As luck would have it, all the wooden cabins were booked, our second lodging option – a condo in Mt. Biseul – didn’t allow charcoal grills, and it rained all weekend. We ended up staying in a pension on the other side of the mountain, in nearby Cheongdo.

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