Exchange Day 86 - Trying new things

I finished the last of my waffle biscuits and walnut toast today for breakfast. I think I've grown to like the walnut toast actually, especially when I eat two at one go.

Today is an exciting day because I'm going to try 순대 (soondae) at the BIFF street! I had it once before at the foodcourt in Shinsegae and it tasted horrible because it had this gelatinous consistency, which I didn't like. I don't like anything that is not jelly and tastes like jelly.

Basically, 순대 is a local delicacy made from glutinous rice stuffed into pig's intestine and soaked in pig's blood, and is usually stir-fried in hot sauce alongside 떡볶이 (fried rice cake). It is quite similar to 猪血糕 in Taiwan although between the two, I'd rather eat 순대. 猪血糕 is really an acquired taste that is hard to capture, but I would strongly recommend everyone to try it if they have the chance to. Who knows, you might actually like it!

The friendly imo preparing our food! The soondae is the one on the right, in a dirty red colour gravy.

The imo says that the soondae is really spicy, so I asked her to mix it with the ddeokbokki, which was still spicy, but of a much milder spice.

I'm glad I gave it a second chance! It didn't taste that disgusting as I remembered it to be and the taste of blood was also less distinct when drenched in the hot sauce. It actually tastes just like normal glutinous rice! The soondae today had a harder bite, which I enjoyed and I shared it with a friend so it wasn't as overwhelming as the previous time when I had one whole plate by myself.

We also ordered 만두 (dumplings) to split and I had a 호떡 (red bean pancake with nuts) from my favourite stall for dessert. The queue at the hotteok stalls are crazy long nowadays, I think the cold weather has made the hot snack even more enjoyable than it already is. Somehow it didn't seem as delicious as I had remembered it to be and I think I'll not be eating anymore of those babies for the next few months.

Because I kept snacking on random food, I wasn't hungry when it came to dinner time but I thought I should still eat something so I bought a corndog. I love corndogs, especially hot toasty ones with mustard drizzled all over it, but they didn't have mustard here so ketchup was fine too.

The corndog looked really appetising but when I bit into it, I realised that there were tiny crystals on its crispy skin, which tasted sweet and melted on my lips. Turns out that the whole corndog was coated in sugar, which was a little weird combined with the salty ketchup. I regretted buying it, but at least I tried something new.

Sorry for the bad focus, the bus kept jerking and it was hard to get a good picture!

I went to the dormitory's cafeteria, wanting to get a kimbab when I saw that dinner was my favourite satay chicken so I bought a meal ticket (although I wasn't hungry). When I went to collect my food, I was appalled to see that the people in front of me were being served stir-fried beef with rice instead of the promised chicken. The imos ran out of the satay chicken so they had to serve something else instead.

I like this but I want my chicken!!!! I like crunchy onions :)

Kids, from this we learn that we should not be greedy and only eat if we are truly hungry, if not we will be wasting a lot of food and calories on unhappy eating.

xoxo, ❀

Exchange Day 84 - Happy birthday!

I woke up feeling a teeny weeny grumpy today because of my project meeting that was scheduled right smack in the middle of the day. It sucks when such things happen as my whole day is basically wasted since I can't do much before or after the meeting, although I don't really have much things to do.

Breakfast was walnut rye bread with strawberry jam from PB! I regret not listening to my heart and buying the fluffy white bread because now I'm forced to endure this boring bread for another two breakfasts. The crust was dry and there were no crunchy bits of walnut inside the bread. At least the bread's thick. I love thick toasts.

The trees in school are all turning red and soon they'll all be bald! I should feel bad for the poor trees but I can't help but feel excited to see botak trees. Trees in Singapore are evergreen since we have sunny weather all year round so we don't get much of a chance to see them turn yellow, red and bald.

I finally had a very satisfying lunch of rice and many side dishes in my favourite cafeteria near school! Although I'm always awkward when I'm eating there (I feel like everyone's judging me for eating alone), I always finish all my food. I've eaten there for almost five times now and I still find it extremely delicious!

The young couple who was sitting beside me barely touched their side dishes and they only finished half of their rice! Why do they even step into the cafeteria if they're not hungry in the first place? I get really upset when I see people wasting their food because I feel that they're not being appreciative of the people who prepare the food. Also if everyone starts wasting food, restaurants and cafeterias will start serving smaller portions at the same price and food indirectly becomes more expensive!

I ordered bean paste stew for 3,500W and it's a little different from the ones I've had elsewhere as it's spicier. In a typical bean paste stew, you can find pieces of leek, cabbage, tofu and zucchini.

Today's project meeting turned out much more productive than expected but we're still meeting tomorrow to practise giving our presentation. I was hoping that we wouldn't have to meet tomorrow but I guess I should help my groupmates with their scripts as we'll be presenting in English, which my groupmates aren't fluent in.

I had 삼겹살 for dinner today, in (secret) celebration of my friend's twenty-first birthday, at Palsaik in Nampo-dong. Palsaik is best known for their eight-coloured fatty pork meat, which is basically fatty pork marinated in eight different sauces. 삼겹살 in Korean directly translates to 'three layered meat' and is usually barbequed and eaten wrapped in leafy vegetables. 

We ordered the Eight Colours set for 30,000W and it was good for four! The fatty pork came in this neatly classified tray that tells you the various flavours in the four most common languages used in Korea.

Other than the pork, each table is also entitled to a steaming pot of spicy seafood soup, when finished could be swapped for a pot of fried rice for a small fee.

Honestly, all the different pork tasted the same to me once barbequed and I couldn't really tell which was which. I gobbled them down hungrily regardless and I was surprised that I didn't pick out the fatty parts of the meat. Usually I do that, but I somehow forgot this time round.

After the meal, we headed to the Twosome Place for dessert, where we sprang a Chocolate Truffle cake on the very surprised birthday girl. We took a lot of mandatory selcas (but none directly featuring the cake) before heartily tucking into the decadent dessert.

The excited us who couldn't wait to tuck in.

Since there were only four of us, we each had to finish a quarter of the cake, which wasn't a difficult task actually. The cake was very rich (flimsy plastic knives would not be able to slice the cake) but not cloyingly sweet. The chocolate chiffon melted in my mouth and the lavish layer of truffle caressed my throat, rendering me speechless as I went back for more.

My sister and I both agree that I need help with food vocabulary as I seem to have exhausted mine.

Twosome Place is a dessert cafe that is better known for their luxurious cakes and chocolates, although they do serve the usual coffee and drinks. Although its name is suggestively exclusive, I believe solo diners will not be rejected from patronising the shop. I haven't tried going there alone though, but I will soon. Today's trip has left me asking for more of their yummy desserts.

xoxo, ❀

Exchange Day 81

Breakfast was a cheesecake bar and three waffle biscuits. I think drinking Starbucks yesterday made me lose sleep and I barely woke up on time for my morning class today. Scoffing down my breakfast in a hurry didn't make me full so I bought a strawberry cream pie and KitKat bar at the subway station.

The strawberry cream tasted a little like ice cream even though it wasn't put in the fridge.

This is my first time eating a KitKat bar since I left Singapore. I don't remember seeing it around much or maybe I haven't been looking.

Lunch was very satisfying, on the other hand. I ate at one of the street stalls near the BIFF zone and had my all-time favourite 튀김 (tempura) and 오댕 (oden), which was pure bliss in the cold weather. Today's weather was a little less chilly than yesterday but from next week onwards, Busan's gonna be delving into the negative degree Celsius zone. (faints) I really am not a winter person.

I tried one of each, except for the chicken wings, fried egg, spice leaf and chilli.

You can order corndogs, dumplings and kimbab at the shop too. I was really tempted to get a kimbab, but I didn't because I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it.

The very nice imo meticulously frying my tempura and cutting it up into bite-size pieces for me.

My first round of tempura - squid, crabmeat with vegetables and yam! I had two rounds in total, so yummy!

After lunch, I walked around Nampo-dong in search of a warm and cosy cafe to spend my afternoon. The cafe culture in Busan (Korea) is really huge and cafes are so prevalent that you can find one almost every ten steps you walk. Since I have a huge break between my classes on Thursday, it becomes my cafe day where I try to visit as many cafes as I can.

On the way, I found these handmade Churros! It's crispy and so delicious, 1,000W for a 30cm Churro is really a steal.

Today I'm here at Coffine Gurunaru along Gwangbok Street. It's located above a telecomms shop (I forgot which one) and spans across two floors - 3F for smokers and 2F for non-smokers. I walked in at around midday, so the cafe was relatively empty, although it did get pretty crowded around five. The cafe has an extensive selection of drinks - caffeine, non-caffeine, even alcoholic - but I think most people come here for their toasts, which were mouthwatering but it's a pity I'm stuffed.

I ordered a Jejusarang Hallabong tea, which was actually yujacha (orange tea). So much for a fancy name.

Studying in a cafe is always productive for me (it should be since the drinks are so expensive). I think I should really start studying in cafes when I get back instead of painfully trying to focus at home.

I like sitting near the windows as it feels more relaxing but the sun was shining so brightly today I regret.

I had dinner after class with my friends in a Chinese restaurant around school. We were all really hungry so we ordered two fried rice, one bean paste noodles and one large 탕수육 (fried pork in sweet vinegar sauce) to split.

The very generous imo who gave us free kimchi radish and yakult drink.

(clockwise) 탕수육 (tangsuyuk), 볶음밥(bokkeumbab), 자짱면 (jajjangmyeon).

The meat was so soft and tender I could eat a whole plate by myself. The sauce could be a little too sweet though so I recommend dipping the meat into the accompanying chilli soy sauce.

Look at the glistening pearls of rice in its full glory. I love the runny yolk and the rice tastes so much like the ones back home I can't help myself even though I don't usually eat fried rice.

I think somehow my appetite became smaller here, which can be good I guess although it means I can't try as much food as I could previously. I remember being ravenous before dinner but I felt so full after dinner I thought I would explode. I didn't even eat that much. What am I gonna do when I go back home to the embrace of my favourite buffets? (sigh)

xoxo, ❀

Exchange Day 66 - Japan hour (Part 2)

I went to the Busan Modern History Museum next, which was just down the road from the 40 Steps Street. For those who drive, there's a parking space right beside the building so no worries about leaving the car elsewhere. Similar to the Center, the Museum has many floors but only two of its floors (2F and 3F) are dedicated for the museum exhibits.

I was greeted warmly by the receptionist upon my entrance and although admission is free, I had to enter my name in their guestbook before I could explore the place. For visitors with young children, strollers are available at the reception counter free of charge.

The lift was full so I took the stairs! Climbing makes good exercise.

Everything reminds me of Baca's class and Korean political propaganda. It's really interesting when you can actually see for yourself what you're learning in school. I'm glad I picked his class, although it's the really stressful.

I think this is some sort of a treaty signed between Japan and colonial Korea.

Map of Joseon. Baca's class again.

The original Japanese flag in colonial Korea.

Poster promoting less consumption of rice during wartime.

3D map of the Jagalchi-Nampo-Jungang area. There are buttons at the front of the exhibit, which are linked to various landmarks in the area. Pushing a button will activate an informative video about the landmark and the building lights up in the 3D map.

Gyeongsong (now Seoul) branch of something I'm not too sure of.

Liquor vessels and jars that were used in the brewery industries back then.

An old phonograph.

A realistic portrayal of the modern Busan streets.

A traditional sweets house selling cakes, pastries and candy.

I thought it was a real lift, but it's just a painting.

All that walking made me really hungry so I went to Kappa Sushi for lunch. I was googling "eating alone in Busan" when I came across a review of the restaurant in one of the links. I'm quite an independent (I wanted to say solitary but I think that's too extreme) person so I'm fine with going anywhere alone, and I enjoy doing that too. It's difficult to always eat with friends as a lot of time and effort goes into planning lunch dates and sometimes all we want is just a quick bite. For all lone diners like me out there, this restaurant is a safe haven for you! (cheers) But of course, parties with two or more are welcome too.

Kappa Sushi is located in the building opposite to the humongous Art Box in Nampo and you have to walk inside the building to get to the restaurant as there are no side doors. It's hard to miss the restaurant as it'll be enthusiastically adorned with eye-catching cartoons of the 'kappa', a Japanese sea monster.

According to the number of people in your party, the staff assigns you seats and similar to most conveyor belt sushi restaurants, you get to choose between a counter seat or a normal seat. Don't worry if you have a big party because the group seats can seat up to six comfortably. Hot green tea and soft drinks are complimentary and diners can help themselves to free refills at the self-service bar.

These are the larger group seats. I sat at an individual counter.

Apart from taking the sushi right off the conveyor belt, you can also order food through its electronic menu. It's easy for foreigners to use this menu as it is available in other languages such as English, Chinese and Japanese.

The food comes really quickly in a mini KTX train, which is really cute and also saves the waiters much hassle, especially during peak hours.

After your food arrives, you have plenty of time to take them down from the train before pressing the 'okay' button, which sends the train back into the kitchen.

The food came really quickly so I didn't have to wait long. For first-time diners at the restaurant, I recommend ordering using the computer as the restaurant does not have a hardcopy of its menu. Also, its conveyor belt is pretty empty most of the time as there's only one plate per type of sushi.

Each plate of sushi costs 1,700W regardless of type and sashimi costs 3,000W per plate. Other than sushi and sashimi, there are also proper meals (bentos and udons) and dessert. Bargain hunters can catch the lunchtime special of set meals for under 7,000W on weekdays. I would say that food is generally affordable but don't expect too much from the quality.

(clockwise) Teriyaki chicken yakitori, salmon belly sushi, basil sauce raw shrimp sushi.

This was surprisingly really good! My favourite out of everything I ate today!

Somehow I don't think this is salmon belly ):

The yakitori was too soft and disappointing.

I had a mini bowl of tempura udon, which was delicious! 2,600W for a mini bowl!

My room mate and I wanted to try the cakes from the bakeries here so we decided that every last day of the month would be Cake Day! Today it was my turn to choose the flavour so we got a Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Cake from PB. Chubby says I keep eating the same food in different forms, which is amusing, but I really love sweet potato and pumpkin!

17,000W for 500g cake!

The moment I opened the box I could smell the fragrance of sweet potato and the cake was so soft and yummy it melts in your mouth. In between the cake layers were tiny cubes of potato and the cream wasn't too rich even I could accept it. The flavour is really unique and unlike anything I've eaten before in Singapore so I'm really pleased! The only downside was that it made my throat feel really dry, even though I drank a lot of water. Since this cake was meant to be my dinner, I ate one third of it and we gave some of it away. Some day I am going to eat a whole cake by myself!

xoxo, ❀