nanoomi

When out walking the streets of Insadong and at various festivals, it’s common to see crowds forming in front of stores selling 꿀타래, or Dragon Beard Candy. Here’s what Wiki has to say.

In Korea, the treat was a favorite of the Royal Court and made predominantly from honey (꿀).

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I haven’t visited St. Louis in 18 years, and I certainly don’t remember the city for its Asian food. So it was a treat to eat at a Korean restaurant there during a recent 20th high school reunion trip to rural southern Illinois.

St. Louis is the nearest major metropolitan area with a sizable airport to my little hometown, located more than an hour east. After a long flight, my husband and I were hungry. On my asking about nearby Korean restaurants, the hotel clerk directed us to one about a mile away in the suburb of St. Ann.

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The Liège Waffle originated in the Belgium city for which it is named. They were invented by a chef during the 18th century as an adaptation of brioche bread dough. It is now the most common type of waffle sold in Belgium.

What’s your favorite snack to go with afternoon tea or coffee?

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Tucked between buildings, The Banana Tree stands out with its bright yellow walls.

When I first heard about this cafe, it was a request from a member of U-Kiss, saying we should all check out this cafe’s Facebook page and like it. Like a faithful Kiss Me, I did as suggested. However, when I looked at the facebook page, I was enchanted by the quaint looking cafe, and intrigued, because the cafe offered a food I hadn’t had in a long time.

Their specialty is pudding. Banana pudding.
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Recently, Jo and I ventured down to Songtan (송탄) to meet up with a good friend and enjoy a little all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. Here’s our trip in just under 2 minutes! While Meat Restaurant (미트홈) is not a popular chain in Korea, there are several unlimited BBQ places across the nation.

To see more, read the blog: http://wp.me/p1hnjj-18a

What’s your favorite BBQ place?

Meat Restaurant aka Meat Home (미트홈)
Address: 314-14 Sinjang-dong, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do
Phone: 031-611-6678
Hours: 12p-10p
Franchise Website: http://www.gajogsarang.co.kr/

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I feel like the last couple of days have been a gift from the summer past.  Using that as an excuse, let me sneak in one more dish I made back in August.  How I imagined things in my head were much better than what actually came out (which is usally the case), so I held these off, thinking that I would try it one more time.  Well, that one more time hasn’t come yet and this is it for now.  I am also realizing bibimbap is something I’ll return to once in a while with different iterations, so the ‘bibimbap’ concept will also continue to evolve with this blog.

My Bibimbap posts from the past

Crispy Bibimbap, Revisited February, 2011

Crispy Bibimbap January, 2010

KOREAN WORDS

mushroom  버섯  (beo seot)

carrot         당근  (dang geun)

My favorite food in Korea is the kimbap (김밥), although with the new romanization rules, it’s now written gimbap! It’s a snack and a meal that isn’t native to Korea. It was introduced by the Japanese during the occupation period as the futomaki. Gimbap is made from rice (bap/밥). The gim (seaweed/김) is used to roll the rice and other ingredients into a tight package and then is sliced into bite-sized pieces for consumption. The rice is typically lightly seasoned with a little salt and oil, giving it a slightly different flavor than if ordering rice with a meal. Typical ingredients also include fish cakes, imitation crab meat, egg, radish, ham, carrots, spinach, and cucumbers.

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The biggest and best change to Korea’s beer drinking culture is just arriving and it will catch on like wildfire: the self-service bars. It’s an idea that originated back in 2006 in England and has been gaining traction across Europe and the United States. The premise is simple, rather than having patrons wait on staff to bring them their adult beverage of choice, the customer is given free reign of the establishment to grab their own any time they desire. At then end of the night, just simply settle up with what you consumed.

What’s your favorite watering hole?

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The pajeon (파전) is often referred to as the Korean pancake, and in many ways it’s a good analogy. Both are made with eggs and flour, but that’s where the similarities end. Pajeons are also made with rice flour and stuffed with all sorts of goodies. 파 (Pa) is the Korean word for onion, the main stuffing in this treat. Rather than use white or yellow onions, the stuffing of choice happens to be green onions. From there, the chef can be creative when adding other ingredients, including octopus, squid, and even kimchi.

It’s easy to find street vendors in most town making this treat, but the best place to eat pajeons is when you’re coming off a mountain. Most restaurants and stands located close to popular mountain trails will have them as part of their standard menu. Since pajeons are about 30cm in diameter, they’re made to be shared and can run anywhere between W8,000 to W15,000 per pajeon.

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