Lesson #1: Parking

A couple of nights ago I took my boys out for beef and leaf (Hubby had to work late - seems like a trend since being here at Yongsan this time around).  While we were sitting eating Boy 2 ask what the numbers were that were digitally running across the car in the parking lot....do you see them just below, you can see the 010-  ? 
Well, that is the phone number of the person that owns that car!  You see here in Korea the parking is INSANE!!  You can double park (even though in the driving manual it says you can never do this), you can block people in when you park and you can even park on the sidewalks.  No joke.  It happens all the time.  People leave their cars in neutral so if you need to move a car out of your way you can OR they leave their phone number on the dash so if you need to get out of a parking spot you can call them to have them come out and move their car!  Crazy huh?  Anyway, this person must be loaded to have a digital read out of their phone number going at all times.  I've always dreamed of having a digital sign in my car so I can tell people what I think of their driving....

Lesson #2: Free Korean Coffee

Most restaurants have these little coffee machines where you can help yourself to coffee - we have taught our children how to operate them so we don't have to get up.  You gotta love a little child labor. 

Lesson #3: NEVER EVER forget your ID.

After dinner the we ordered to go food for Hubby.

As soon as he took the order I started digging in my purse for my wallet.  That is when it hit me.  I LEFT MY WALLET IN OUR SWIM BAG.  OMG, OMG, OMG.  I have no credit card, no money AND NO identification.  A wave of panic sets in.  CRAP, CRAP, CRAP.  What to do, what to do....  You see no money and no credit card didn't bother me too much.  It was the no identification that had me in freak out mode.  No ID means I CANNOT GET ON POST.  I can't even go home to get money.  I'm screwed. 

OK, I'm being dramatic.  I'm not totally screwed.  Thankfully I was at a restaurant we frequent so I knew where we were.  That is a positive.  Plus I had a teenager with me that I could send home...in the end I called Hubby (thankfully he was home) and ask him to bring my ID to me and of course my knight in shining armor came out and saved the day!  :o)  I had other options too but seriously, what  a pain in the tush.  I'm betting I NEVER forget my ID again.

Lesson #4: Korean Take Out.  Know what you are ordering.

At some point during my freak out Hubby's to go food came:

It was unusually cold and when I looked in the bag, this is what I saw:

And then I got a case of the giggles.  It wasn't even cooked! I had to do it myself  AND he didn't get sides. When I ask for sides I got a big fat finger "X".  Really?  He can't have Kimchi.  Whatever I was too frazzled at this point to argue.  I was just happy to be able to get back on post so I could go home cook his 'take out'.

The more I wonder the streets of Korea, the more fun I have.  I know it is not nice to make fun of people or things and I kind of feel bad posting some of these things, but sometimes you just have to share the smile.  :o)

So Hubby did not think this was that funny, but it had me in stiches.  Kum Sung Motel.  That is just funny. (I know I'm sick and immature.)

Read it. Can you find the mistake?  It is like this at every Rotiboy.
What is Rotiboy you ask?
Bread of love.
Strong outside but soft on the inside.

Scooters and motorcycles go everywhere and anywhere in Korea that they want to.  This is in the fruit and vegetable alley at the fish market.  I swear every time I am here I think I am going to get run over by one of these scooter/motorcycle delivery guys.

I found this jewel of a sign in a local doctors office. 
As one of my friends said " If they're not smart enough to spell "tightening" correctly, then they're not allowed down there!"
What is "durasphere filler" anyway?

Till next time...

HOLY GOODNESS.  This recipe is a little bit of heaven.  Fresh clams are the way to go!   I was a little nervous about making this recipe as I have never made clam chowder before.  Boy 1 is a HUGE fan of clam chowder and is a huge critic of food in general  (his poor future wife. She probably won't cook.)  I was a little afraid this would not be up to par, but in the end it was!  He said this was the best clam chowder he has ever eaten (in his 16 years of life..  :o)  And I must admit this was pretty darn good!  It could have been a little thicker and next time I will mash a few more potatoes in it and let it cook a tad bit longer.  I take no credit for the recipe Epicurious didn't fail me - for the original recipe click here.
I only made a few minor changes.

This recipe takes a little advanced planning but it is TOTALLY worth it! 

Now go out and buy some clams!!

5 pounds small clams
3 cups water
4 oz salt pork - diced
2 TBL butter
1 large onion - diced
2 celery stalks - diced
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme - leaves removed and chopped (about 1 tsp)
2 bay leaves
1.5 pounds potatoes - diced (I used mini Yukon Gold)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Fresh ground black pepper
Kosher salt

Fill two large pots (or two sinks) with cold water. Place the clams in one pot of water, discarding any dead ones or clams with cracked shells. Gently move them around in the water and let them soak for a few minutes, then lift them out and place them in the other pot of cold water. Rinse the first pot and fill it again. Move the clams around again, then transfer them back to the clean pot. Continue to switch the clams back and forth, letting them soak for a few minutes each time, and then lifting them out of the pot, until the water remains crystal clear. The process should take four or five soakings.  

**Note if you buy your clams fresh in water this process doesn't take as long as if you plucked them from the ground yourself.

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Put the 3 cups water in an 8-quart pot, cover, and bring to a rolling boil. Quickly but gently place the clams in the pot and cover again. After 4 minutes,remove the lid and quickly stir the clams with a wooden spoon, trying to lift some of the clams from the bottom to the top so they will cook evenly. Cover and continue to steam for another 4 to 5 minutes. (The broth will most likely overflow just as the clams have finished cooking.) All the clams should be open; if not, steam
them a minute or two longer. Remove the clams and strain the broth; you should have 4 cups. 

When the clams are cool, remove them from the shells - if you choose.  I like to leave some of them in the shells.  Cover and refrigerate until later. 

Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced salt pork. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until  the pork is crisp and golden brown.

Add the butter, onion, celery, thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned.


Add the potatoes and the reserved clam broth. The broth should just barely cover the potatoes; if it doesn't, add enough water to cover them. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 10 minutes, or until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the broth hasn't thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot and cook a minute or two longer to release the starch. 

Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the clams and the cream and season to taste with black pepper and possibly a pinch of salt (the saltiness of steamers varies). If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely.  Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.

Some things in life are just too fun and too good to pass up.  If you ever get a chance to go to Noryangjin Fish Market you should go -  even if it is just to look.  If you are worried about the smell don't go on a blazin' hot day.  Go during the winter, or just suck it up and deal with it, wear a nose plug or a face mask - they are all the rage here.  After the first 10 minutes you don't notice the smell anyway.   

    Last Sunday we had friends over for dinner, but first we met early to go pick out our dinner at the fish market:

Don't worry, we didn't have that, I don't even know what that is!  However those mussels in the bottom left corner look pretty scrumptious!

The fish market is filled with rows and rows of unidentifiablefish and shellfish.  See those big mussel looking things in the picture below?  When you open that shell it looks like a HUGE scallop (see just below the shells, that is what they look like out of their shells) .  We tried them last time we lived here thinking they were going to be the BOMB DIGGITY, they were anything but!  All tough and chewy.  I'll stay away from them this time.  

However I plan to buy these prawns one of these days and pop them on the grill.  Wanna come over?  I wonder how long you cook these bad boys....I'll have to do a little research.

What the what, what?!?  I so wouldn't be able to hang with Andrew Zimmerman.  Does anyone know what these are and how to cook them?  Not that I really want to try.

And finally, our DINNER!  FRESH TUNA STEAKS!

2.5 kilos for 35,000 won!  Oh BABY!  In English that is - 5.5 pounds for $30.79

After buying our dinner we headed out to the fresh fruit and vegetable alley, but our first stop was the drink lady.  (I was a little sad she didn't remember me - I bet if we had the kids with us she would have...) When in Korea, do as the Koreans do....10:30AM and it is time for a little brewsky. (Plus it was after 5PM in the states.)

One happy man.  Beer in one hand, coffee in the other.  Life is good.  :o)

We finished our trip off buying a few veggies...

and dried fish....
(not really)

And of course no trip is complete without Hubby daring someone to do something.  This time he dared Brent to stick his hand in the live sardine bowl, and of course Brent complied....BOYS!

Cooked to perfection...

I made Hubby's favorite - Pan Seared Tuna with Avacado which was a big hit with our guest! 
(Click the link/red words for the recipe)

Trish's Tips for the fish market:
1)  If you go and plan to buy, ask a Korean friend (or go to Kohome and ask one of the workers) and ask them to teach you how to say in Hangul the fish you are looking.  Also ask them to write it down in Hangul for you.  This way you can look for the stalls that have the same word as what you are looking for, or you can show it to one of the many fish mongers at the fish market.  This will make your trip go more smoothly! 
2) Take won
3) Wear rain boots
4) Take your camera
5) Take your kids!
6) Be open minded and HAVE FUN!

On our last Saturday night here back in April of 2010 we went out with our friends Randy, Tammy, Brent and Beth.  We had a FABULOUS night that started out with an awesome dinner at an all you can eat Korean Buffet.  When Hubby and I found out we were moving back to Seoul we knew we wanted to find the "all you can eat Korean buffet" and since Beth and Brent still live here we were certain they would know where it is.  Well, that last night out we took a cab and we went through alleys, up and down hills and we got lost - Beth & Brent had no idea where this place was and they were hoping we knew.    A call to Randy and Tammy was in order and we all crossed our fingers in hopes that they would be able to give us directions and guess what - THEY REMEMBERED!!  

So last weekend Hubby and I headed out in search of the "all you can eat Korean Buffet".  AND WE FOUND IT!!  OH YEAH BABY!  
 

As with many things this buffet wasn't as good as we remembered it but that is NOT to say it was not good and that we won't go back because we will.  I'm just saying that our last Saturday night is Seoul was so fabulous that we were expecting more. (It could have had something to do with the cocktails we had before, during and after....) Anyway, we WILL go back and we will most definitely take the kids back.  This is a great place for those of you that just like the meat and rice (like our kids) as it is 'all you can eat'...

Some of the sides:

The 'leaf' part to beef and leaf.

Since it is an all you can eat buffet Hubby and I tried pretty much everything.  Here is a sampling of our seafood:
(Please notice the beer in back...that was not intentional, although it did make me laugh.)
((Can you believe I am in my 40's?))

You may find this surprising especially if you have been following me for a while, (and after my trip to Japan back in'09)  but see that little squid?  DELICIOUS.   Really.  I loved eating him.  Like the two pictures?  The one on the left is pre-cooking, the one on the right - they are done.  They totally swell up.  Crazy watching them cook.

This little guy was pretty good too.  As well as the eel in the back.

However this....I have NO IDEA what this is.  It was in a shell of sorts.  When it cooked it started growing.  It kind of reminded me of a penis. I could NOT eat this.  Even looking at it now kind of freaks me out and makes me shiver.

OK - How do you get to the all you can eat Korean buffet?  It is kind of a long haul from post, but it is fun and it is an adventure.  If you must, take a cab.

From Post -
Go out the Itaewon gate. Stay on the right hand side.
Walk all the way to the first big intersection.  You know the one - the one with the light.  The Hamilton Hotel is on the left and the only way you can turn is right.  (If you turn left you will be in the Hamilton Hotel.)
Cross the street and turn right. At this point you have about a mile to go.
Walk, walk, walk....you will be going downhill.
When you come to another big intersection and streets are going every which way continue as straight as possible, the street will kind of veer left and downhill - this is the straightest way possible....continue on.
Still going downhill. It feels like forever.  Just when you are about to give up you will see it on your left.  The tables are lined and the picture of the restaurant is at the top of this page. 
Have fun and enjoy!! 

Well, not really. She has more fun and less work.  She eats candy, donuts and drinks soda. What more could a kid ask for?

After much candy, donuts and soda this is what starts happening behind the scenes....

Coming soon to a Basic House catalog near you.

Monsoon season calls for creative parenting!  What is more fun than tossing a whole bunch of marshmallows out on the table with some toothpicks and having the kids build?  (Well, lots of things, but just go with it...) I never in my wildest dreams thought this activity would keep them occupied for over 2 hours.  And clean-up was a breeze, they just ate their mess!  Win, win baby, win, win!

The kido's had a great time building with marshmallows.  They built a campfire, bouncy house, Ferris wheel, a small city, fireworks and much, much more!  Next time I think I will get colored marshmallows and shapes! 

Seriously, this is some of the best pizza I have ever eaten.  Forget Korean take out from Dominos - I'm calling Brent.

How fun are these mask?

Good times with good friends!

Sorry I have been MIA for the past week, but this is why:

More fun stuff coming soon, I promise! 

Excuse me.....will you please reapeat that? 
Food incarnate (Street of street stall specialization) ??
I think I'll pass.  Thanks though.  

Do you know what this car is doing?  Making a LEGAL U-Turn!  It's not quite right, but I do love that you can make u-turns at random places in Korea.  In fact when I went back to the US after living here last time I'm lucky I didn't get stopped for doing this exact thing (illegally there of course)!

I thought they were olives.  They are not.  Maybe they are eggs of some sort?  I was afraid to try them.  Maybe next time.

This was my FAVORITE not quite right for the day. Dong Bang!  Oh yeah!  Don't forget to check out the hat the cashier is wearing.  This would be an AWESOME punishment for a teenager.