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 83 - Frozen goodness

I was supposed to go bird-watching again at Eulsukdo Nature Reserve today with my friends to make up for our previous failed trip and then visit our Korean buddy at a horse stable she works at but no plans were confirmed so I decided to go out by myself. Thankfully I went ahead with my own plans because if I had waited for their response, today would have been a wasted day. (or maybe they did go out but I wasn't informed)

Breakfast was honey cake that I bought from the dormitory's welfare shop yesterday and Mommy does not believe that it's only 230kcal for a big slice of cake. Well, it says so on the packaging, (I've checked umpteen times) and there's no saying that the cake's more than one serving. So I guess it really is only 230kcal. (smirks)

The honey cake was much tastier than I had expected. I refrain from imposing high expectations on a convenience bread because I'm afraid of disappointment. These few days I'm losing all interest in my food. (frowns) The honey cake was sweet, fluffy and so addictive I ate the baking paper that was stuck at the base too. Two bites worth before I realised it was paper. Oh well, more fibre in my diet.

A honey cake didn't satisfy my voracious appetite so I downed three waffle biscuits and a cheesecake bar. They still didn't do the job but I decided to curb my greedy tummy.

I had planned to eat something satisfying like rice for lunch but I ended up having frozen yoghurt from Yogurberry along the streets of the Dong-A Hadan campus. The shop has a self-service concept where customers choose a cup size and are free to take whatever yoghurt and toppings they like, before paying for their froyo at the counter. Prices for froyo go according to weight at 220W per gram and mine weighed exactly 200g so I paid 4,400W, which was similar to what I would be paying in Singapore.

There were altogether eight flavours - green tea, chocolate, mascarpon cheese, strawberry, blueberry, plain, mango and grapefruit - and more than twenty different toppings to choose from. I like being able to try a variety of flavours, so I took a bit of green tea, chocolate, cheese, blueberry and grapefruit. Green tea was fragrant but not too overpowering, chocolate wasn't too sweet, blueberry tasted a little creamy and grapefruit felt like a tangy sorbet. I liked all the flavours I picked except for cheese, which I felt was too rich.

I took the smallest size cup, which when filled to the brim is enough to be shared amongst two people, although eating it alone is much more satisfying.

Other than frozen yoghurt, the shop also sells 빙수 (shaved ice) but it isn't a fixed thing on the menu so it might change with the seasons. From the pictures, the shaved ice didn't look as appealing as its yoghurt so I would suggest to stick with the froyo unless you're sharing with friends.

Today's destination was Dongdaesin on Line 2, home to the Dongdaesin Market and neighbour of the Seodaesin Market. The word 'market' excites me a lot as it usually has the connotation of being cheap and local, which I love and hence I rushed to the market in hopes of finding cheap and delicious hawker fare to satisfy my grumpy tummy.

Every time I visit a market, I always draw stares from the ahjummas because rarely are there people my age at the markets. I bet they must all be wondering if I got lost while trying to find somewhere else. Unfortunately for me, most of the cafeterias weren't open for business, even when I walked all the way to the Seodaesin Market, so I left and walked out onto the main street.

I found a bakery, very happy that it wasn't part of any global franchise so I decided to give it a chance. There were so many mouthwatering bread and pastries I had a hard time deciding but I eventually succumbed to a 고구마빵 (sweet potato bread). So predictable I know. My sister must be mumbling to my mom how I keep eating the same thing over and over again.

Although the label describes this to be bread, I think that it's just a sweet potato baked in cheese. There's nothing about it that tastes like bread to me but anyhow, it was sweet and delectable. Very pricey at 2,000W but worth every single penny. The potato filled me up finally and I didn't even feel hungry for dinner although I still ate.

I went into Toms and Toms Cafe, for it's the only cafe along the street I haven't been into and I try not to repeat, and ordered a Rose Flower Tea. I was really disappointed because they didn't serve my tea in a fancy porcelain cup and the only thing fancy about the drink were the pretty rose buds in the tea bag. Not worth my 4,200W. The cafe was a little stuffy at the first floor where I sat but it might be better on the second floor, where most of the other customers sat.

The first floor of the cafe. I sat in one of the red leather chairs close to the windows.

My expensive rose flower tea.

Studying again! It's sweet for my books to always accompany me on weekends but I wished they'd find other friends.

Dinner was 튀김 (tempura) and 오댕 (oden) again from a popular street vendor in Hadan, although this time I ate significantly less and had a mini 김밥 (kimbab) too. You can find the shop outside Exit 3 of Hadan Station and the food is really affordable at 500W per piece. The tempura is always freshly fried and I'd recommend requesting the imo for the sweet and spicy deokbokki sauce to go along with your tempura for a gastronomical experience.

I succumbed to temptations. ): The ice cream was rock hard, which I loved but I got cheated by the calorie label.

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 80

Today nothing much happened. It's probably the most boring day so far here. But the weather was really cold again today, it dropped to 3 degrees Celsius. My classmate told me that the newspaper reports this year's winter to be the coldest yet in Busan. My first winter and bam I got a big one. I really miss sunny Singapore and frozen yoghurt that actually melt.

Breakfast was half a packet of Snyder's Honey Mustard and Onion pretzel pieces I got from PB yesterday and six waffle biscuits. I was supposed to finish the entire packet but it was so salty I think I'll never ever buy it again. Nor try any of its other savoury flavours. The caramel one was pretty good though although it can potentially break my teeth. But, I love challenges.

As I didn't want to leave the room until I finished typing out my essay, which my professor didn't even bother checking (I think he forgot), lunch wasn't until I reached school and had only half an hour to chow down a meal. I hastily settled it in the school cafeteria.

I was deciding between tuna omurice and 정식 when I figured I owed myself more than just tomato rice and a thin slice of egg so I took the latter. I love it when a lack of time forces bursts of decisiveness out of me. Time's always wasted pondering over the many choices I always have to preempt myself on my next move. Sounds so robotic.

(left to right) Minced meat patties, fluffy white rice, kimchi cabbage, kimchi kelp, spicy mungbean sprouts and cabbage soup and potatoes with quail egg. No s.

Since lunch wasn't all that satisfying, I bought a packet of Chicken Pop! This time, I made sure to try the other flavour - Hot Chicken. Sure enough, it was hot. It's the first spicy snack to ever make me feel warm inside out (a wonderful winter snack) and I swear if I finished the entire packet in one go I could breathe fire.

My classmate gave me a chocolate from Jeju Island. She got it from her mother's friend, who had travelled to Jeju Island. It's so cute and tasty.

Dinner was a small cup of fried chicken and hashbrowns from the stall opposite school and our favourite Isaac Toast! I should have tried other flavours but I didn't feel like being adventurous so I stuck with the usual ham and cheese.

The christmas drinks are out at Starbucks! As usual, I drank Toffee Nut Latte. The two other flavours are Christmas Cookie latte and Mocha Praline. My room mate took the cookie one and it tastes like gingerbread. I shall get that the next time! Okay I have nothing else to say, good night.

xoxo, ❀

Exchange Day 72 - The day I get my superpowers

Despite only going to bed at an ungodly 3am yesterday, I woke up before 8 because the exchange students are going on a field trip to a nuclear power plant! This is it, I'm finally going to realise my destiny of being a superhero. I hope my powers don't make me look too abnormal, I would like to remain human thank you.

Breakfast was a red bean cake that my friends gave me the night before! They went to Gyeongju last weekend and brought back some local snacks to share. I didn't take a picture of the cake because we were running late and I had to eat breakfast while deftly running down the mountain, which was challenging enough, I can't handle having to juggle a camera too. The cake looked like a small traditional mooncake with red bean filling and was really delicious! The bean paste wasn't too sweet and for a small cake, the chef managed to squeeze in a lot of red bean paste.

Our first stop was to the Busan Cinema Studios where we learnt more about filmmaking in Busan and the Busan Film Commission. The BFC was established in 1999 to help budding local filmmakers through the provision of appropriate filming locations and equipment. To this day, it has helped produced more than 130 films and is continuing to be a strong support in making Busan a film city.

Our guide of the day (in blue) briefly introduced the BFC before moving on to the technologies they have that help filmmakers save resources during production.

The green screen is a technology that is heavily utilised in filmmaking today where animation is interjected into real footage, allowing for the production of exaggerated scenes at lowest cost. According to our guide, the screen doesn't have to be green, but they chose the colour as it is soothing the eyes, which is an important consideration for the workers who have to look at the screen all day during production.

Footage from cameras are directly sent from the outdoor cameras to the computers in the studio, allowing for images to be projected onto the green screen in real time.

Our guide then brought us to the set of an ongoing project by the director of Haeundae. As filming was still in progress and not ready for commercial release, we were not allowed to take photos. The set was huge and it was really interesting to see how different movie sets looked in reality as compared to onscreen. Looking at the messy studio brought back nostalgic memories of the days in 206 and 225 where my group mates and I scrambled to find suitable props and practically lived in the studio where we filmed.

Next, we went to the neighbouring Busan Post Lab where independent houses such as AZworks engaged in post-production work. AZworks is a company that specialises in animation and special effects, and has won many accolades over the years. We were brought into a comfortable theatre where the PR director briefed us about the operations of the company. Although we did not get to explore the work labs, we had the privilege to watch two of their short animations that have not yet been released.

To wrap up the film segment of the field trip, we visited the Busan Cinema Center, the world's largest theatre, where a guide showed us around their state-of-the-art facilities. The place was humongous but really empty, which made me wonder if sustaining the place was a problem. As much as Singapore would like to, I don't think we would ever be able to have such a spacious theatre in our small country. 

The Center is divided into the classical theatre and the modern cinematic theatre. As there was an ongoing rehearsal, we could not see what their classical theatre looked like.

The Center holds a Guinness World Record for having the largest ceiling possible with just one supporting pillar. According to our guide, in times of earthquakes or typhoons, temporary pillars protrudes from the ground to give the ceiling extra support. 

The Center also has a open theatre that can seat up to 5000 people, which is only used during BIFF.

For lunch, we went to a Korean restaurant in Centum Dream Center for 소불고기 (beef bulgogi). The restaurant's specialties are its bulgogi dishes and bibimbab, but I noticed that not many diners ordered those. They seemed to prefer the restaurant's wide array of other traditional dishes.

The food was already there waiting for us when we reached (perks of reserving the seats beforehand) and I was really grateful for that because I was so hungry. The beef was sweet and succulent and I loved the juicy mushrooms, but the rice was overcooked and too soft. The side dishes didn't appeal to me as they were too salty and spicy so lunch on the whole was quite boring, but I'm thankful that I didn't have to pay for it!

One thing that made this restaurant stand out over the others I've been to would be its self service counter where diners could fry eggs using the pans and cooking utensils provided. There's no limit on the number of eggs a diner can consume but I guess we should only take what we can finish.

We had five grain rice, which you could refill it for free at the self service counter.

We pushed all the beef into the boiling water so it could cook faster as we were really hungry. Apart from the beef, there were pickled cabbage, sweet potato noodles and mushrooms in the pot as well.

After the meal, we headed towards the supposed highlight of the day: KORI Nuclear Power Plants. I felt really sorry towards the guide as he couldn't speak English well and nobody could understand what he was saying so nobody really paid attention to him, but he was professional about it and stuck it out till the end. As much as I tried to listen, I have to admit that the tour was a painful experience, which I could not wait to get done with.

One of the first few machines used to generate hydroelectricity.

The very first model of a car by Mercedes Benz.

Our poor speaker trying his best to explain how nuclear energy is harvested by the machines.

Examples of a house in the village near the KORI Nuclear Plants.

I went shopping at Nampo with my room mate after the trip and we managed to spend some quality time together! She managed to get a bag that she really wanted and I finally bought red hair dye to colour my hair. We had a light dinner of bread from PB and street food.

Fish bread from the roadside stall near Hadan station! 2 for 500W! I like this version more than the Japanese taiyaki as it's crispier and the filling is chunkier.

Tiramisu pastry from Paris Baguette at 2,500W! It tastes more like chocolate and cream cheese instead of tiramisu but is yummy nevertheless! I tried my best to eat glamorously but it is near to impossible.

The best yakitori I've ever had oh my god! Totally worth the 2,500W I paid. The chicken kebab was 30cm long, soft and tender and glazed with sweet teriyaki sauce.

I feel so hungry typing this oh gosh but I'm so tired I'm gonna go sleep. Good night!

xoxo, ❀