The Last Dinner (of the trip)

The kind of pizza looking stuff is called pajeon, and in this case it is actually haemul (seafood) pajeon. Kimchi pajeon tastes good as well, and Sylvia makes it for me once in a while.

I don't know exactly how to explain what pajeon is. It is sometimes called a "Korean pancake", but that isn't really in the ballpark. The ingredients are put in a batter and then cooked, but that is about the only resemblance.

Unfortunately, the paejon at this particular restaurant that I've been to several times before seemed oilier than in the past. I probably won't be going back when I visit Seoul again.

The thinks on the wooden skewers are spicy chicken skin. Imagine the best part of friend chicken (the skin), minus all the other junk. I think that these are baked or broiled rather than fried, but they taste great. I will have to remember to look for a Tudari (chain restaurant name) the next time that I'm in Seoul.

Blatant Lie

Here are two of Jon's favorite places in Seoul. I forgot which place he told me that he got a footlong weenie from though...

Sylvia's siblings

In the first picture we have Sylvia's brother along with her younger sister and her husband. In the other two pictures are Sylvia's two older sisters and their husbands.

The Little Loogie

You can't say I didn't think about work while I was on vacation. While waiting to meet Tina (next post) near a busy subway exit, I saw someone hawk this rather nasty loogie on the ground.

My first three thoughts were: 1) Eww, nasty! 2) Now it is contaminated and we couldn't use it for any kind of testing. 3) Too bad we can't use it, it would have been a great specimen and would have made an excellent gram stain.

Rather curiously no one stepped on this for about 20 seconds, but then back to back people stepped in it and it was gone. But it's OK, I have this picture and it's story to retain in our memories.

Meeting a Former Coworker

I worked with Tina at English Friends in Seokgye from 2003-2005. She met me along with her husband In and her daughter Hannah. Hannah was not shy at all and I think that I have a friend for life now after buying her some chocolate ice cream.

The samgyeopsal (pork) that we ate was really good. I'm not usually big on kimchi, but when it is grilled it takes on a different taste. Along with the 2 types of mushrooms and bean sprouts, plus the necessary samjang pepper paste, the samgyeopsal was excellent.

The Outfit

I met my longtime friend Han's cousin Kyung along with her friend Hyo Jung and her fiancee. It was good to see Kyung again, she helped me a lot when I lived in Seoul.

While waiting to meet them in front of a large department store, I noticed this guy directing taxis and other drivers. Myself, I would not be comfortable with so much pink. You wouldn't even catch me gardening and wearing the hat even if I thought no one would see me.

Masked Bandits

This picture was taken along Seoul's version of the Boise Greenbelt, this is a path along the Han River. This is actually part of the course that I ran during my half marathon.

At different points during the race I would see people on bikes pass by wearing bandannas. I guess that the purpose of this is to breathe cleaner air, like when you see people wearing surgical masks (mostly an Asian thing). Still, it just looks a little odd and got bemused chuckles out of me.

If they were going to rob a place, what kind of place would it be?

Korean Foot Torture

I think this is worse than Chinese water torture. There are many different textures of stone paths to walk on. When I tried this years ago, some were tolerable while others were simply painful. Not my cup of tea.

Tea time

Sylvia and I went with her younger sister, Hyung Joo, to Insadong. This is a part of downtown Seoul that is very touristy/artsy. We went to a tea shop and my tea tasted like lemon and was wonderful. Sylvia's tasted like medicine and utter shite, but I guess it was supposed to since it was healthy.

Dad you probably remember this area from all the haggling you did when we went shopping there. I didn't know you had it in you.

Pics from around Sylvia's parents' home

The first picture is a miniature version of a mountain range in N. Korea.

I'm not sure what kind of flowers the red ones are but they looked very pretty. I probably could have found out since there were little tags on all the flowers/tree with their names written in Korean, Latin, and English.

Interesting store names

Probably the less I say the better.

Headed home

More pictures when I get back.

Hiking up to Namsan Tower

This is Seoul's version of the Empire State Building, Namsan Tower. It's a pretty good hike, but there is lots of pretty scenery and you can somewhat escape the buzz of the city.

For Mom

When my parents visited me in 2005 this sweet treat was something that my Mom liked. It tastes something like a warm Twinkie and is cooked in the molds seen behind the first picture. Hopefully next time I come they will come as well.

Samwon Gardens

This is a fancy restaurant that Bill Clinton and Paris Hilton have eaten at. The scenery is really peaceful compared to how busy Seoul is. I'm glad that Sylvia's parents picked up the check.

BBQ Chicken

Koreans really know their barbecued/fried chicken. I've eaten once at KFC in the last decade, but barbecue chicken twice this trip (NOT from KFC).

BBQ is a large chain and is my personal favorite. As you can tell by the picture, it is pretty spicy. The radishes that come along with the meal help cut through the heat a little bit.

Delivery is free and is brought to your place via a scooter like the one shown.

Samgyeopsal

Another of my favorite Korean dishes is Samgyeopsal. It is pork and looks a lot like a piece of bacon. Though I like bacon, this tastes a lot better in my opinion.

sweet, sweet pigs feet

This restaurant is famous for its jokbal, or pigs feet. I won't lie, I love the stuff. I even brought both mine and Sylvia's parents here five years ago.

Joining me for dinner were my two best friends in Korea, Jin Pyo and Chan Min.

Bad hair day

This guy had a sweet combover but I just missed the wind gusting it up even more. It was just like Bill Murray's character in "Kingpin".

I shouldn't laugh, I may have to resort to this someday.

Itaewon

Mom/Dad, this should look a little familiar. Remember when we went to the sauna Dad? There really were a lot of steps, it wasn't just my imagination. I went to a much better one a few days ago, it was sublime.

Hottest thing so far

This was spicy! Not just a little warm, it was full on water guzzling and sweat mopping hot. The idea is to take the octopus in the red sauce and intermix it with your bowl of rice/veggies. Unfortunately while it did pack the heat there wasn't much taste to it.

Dinner at two Nigerian places

There is a small African population that can be found in Itaewon, the most culturally diverse part of Seoul. I tried two different dishes at two different restaurants and didn't really like either. The white stuff has the consistency and heft of unbaked bread. You are supposed to pinch off a piece, roll it in your hands a little bit, and then dip/mop it in the soup. Although the food wasn't that great, the people in the restaurants were extremely nice. Four people either wished me a good evening or said that they hoped that I liked the food.

The first restaurant, Mama Africa, had a succession of music videos by the same singers playing. The music is pretty catchy and revolves around love and religion.