Seoul "Soul" Food Day 3: Bon Juk, Gam Ja Tang, & Mr Pizza

Because we had such a big late lunch the previous day, our stomachs requested that we skip dinner, so naturally we were STARVING the next morning.  Seoul is still really cold (low around freezing, high of 50s) at this time of year and we wanted to stick with traditional Korean food for our meals.  Hot + traditional Korean food led us to....

Bon Juk!  Some of you drama junkies may already be familiar with Bon Juk because it was the franchise featured in "Boys Over Flowers" as the store that Geum Di worked in.  Last time I went to Seoul I didn't make it there, so this time I really wanted to go at least once.  Here's some photos of the menu (sorry for the crappy quality)

Top: Meat/Veggie Juks
Bottom: Traditional/Kids Juks

Top: Popular/Famous Juks
Bottom: Well Being Seafood Juks

 Juk is basically Korean porridge.  They can be salty or sweet.  On the menu at Bon Juk, all of the items are salty except for the ones in the traditional section.  At first glance I was surprised at the expensive pricing of the dishes (7500 - 20,000 won which is about $7.50-$20 USD).  However, when the food came out I realized that juk is considered as a full meal, hence the full meal pricing.  Note: It is a LOT of food, so if you don't eat a lot/aren't very hungry, ask for a half portion!

The tuna & vegetables juk that I ordered...

 See what I mean by it's a full meal and a lot of food?  I have a pretty big stomach and at 9am, this was pretty hard for me to finish completely.  I think I left a little unfinished.  As with all Korean meals, it came with a few side dishes (panchan) that you can also eat with the juk.  They also served a radish soup to cleanse your palette and sweet cold cinnamon and plum (?) tea.

The next meal was Gam Ja Tang, per one of my friend's requests.  The information center told us there was a good place in Insadong, so back to Insadong we went!  I don't think they serve this in any Korean restaurant around Austin/Houston, so this was a completely new Korean dish that I was trying.  Here's the menu:

Gam Ja Tang on the far left.  It comes in 3 sizes, S (1 person), M (3-4 people), L (a lot of people).

When I heard the name of the dish, I thought it was potato soup because potato in Korean is Gam Ja (감자).  You can imagine my shock when this came out:

The white slices are potato....but definitely what I was expecting lol.  Apparently Gam Ja Tang is traditionally a hot pot style spicy pork bone soup that you eat with a lot of people.  The veggies are called "trash" (sseuregi 쓰레기) so if you like them, you can ask for more trash. Here's what it looks like when it's cooked:   

 And a picture of the humongous bones that are in the soup.

When you order they'll ask how you want the rice to go with the soup.  You can get a plain bowl of white rice (called gongjibap 공기밥 and costs 1000won p/bowl) or request that bowl of rice to be mixed with the remaining soup in the form of fried rice.  We requested the fried rice.

The rice was soaked in the soup's flavor and "trash" veggies cooked to the perfect crunchiness much like in stone pot bibimbap.  Deliiiiicious.

Even though we were already ridiculously stuffed from another large meal, if you're in Insadong, it's really hard to say no to all the food stalls that line the street.  So we caved in and got these sweet snacks:

호도과자, which literally translated is walnut snack. It was pretty cool watching the assembly line while waiting for our freshly made snacks.  It's a walnut shaped cakey/doughy outside filled with red bean paste.  I think it cost 2500won (~$2.50) for a small bag with 6? Sorry, my memory is failing me.

At the end of the day we ended up in Gangnam.  I couldn't remember which exit from the subway would lead us to the popular street lined with shops and restaurants so naturally I chose the wrong one.  We were hoping to eat food stall food, but since there wasn't any nearby, we came to Mr. Pizza (http://www.mrpizza.co.kr/).

Mr Pizza is a Korean pizza chain that sells Korean-ified pizzas.  They offer a salad buffet for 3500 won (~$3.50) if I remember correctly.  The salad buffet was pretty pitiful to what we're used to in the states, so we just got a pizza.  We ordered the regular sized Oh My Rib (오마이립) pizza with a sweet potato stuffed crust which cost 25,900 won (~$25.90).  There's no additional charge for different types of crust.  Here's the photos of the pizza from the website:

And this is what it actually looked like.  Can't accuse them of false advertising eh?  The pizza wasn't as good as I remembered from the first time I had it in Sinchon.  I'm not sure if it's because we didn't order a good pizza (one of my friends didn't like the BBQ sauce on the ribs) or if that particular branch just wasn't as good.  The sweet potato stuffed crust part was awesome though and highly recommended.

Wow, this post turned out a lot longer than I expected.  A very productive food day, I'd say  =)

Seoul "Soul" Food Days 1 & 2: Sam Gye Tang & Han Jeong Shik

The next series of posts will be about my recent vacation to Korea.  As I was organizing photos I realized that out of the 600+ pictures I took, 500+ of them were of food, so I decided to recap the vacation through a food diary.
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The plane ride to Seoul from San Francisco was pretty rough.  On top of riding in an old and uncomfortable plane (it didn't even have personal TVs!), the food was terrible AND they only served us twice!  They didn't hand out any snacks whatsoever!  Everyone knows that a hungry Tiff is not a fun Tiff, so after arriving the first thing we did was go eat!

Sam gye tang in the restaurant two blocks away from our hostel in Sinchon.  Usually the chicken soup is a clearer yellow color.  We each ordered half a chicken which ended up being just the right amount of food.  The one that I ordered had extra medicinal ingredients (dates and the like added into the broth), hence the redder color.  It was really good soul food after a long flight and gave us energy to shop in Edae.

The next day we decided to feast like kings in Insadong and ordered a 50,000 won han jeong shik.  The information center recommended a place called Ji Hwa Ja (지화자) so we went there.  I wonder if we went to the right store though because later a Google search showed a different location for the same restaurant name (http://visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=932560).  I was disappointed that the food didn't all come out at once and that the plating wasn't like what you see in Dae Jang Geum, but it was delicious.  I've never had such good chap chae in my life.  Below is just a tidbit of all the food that came out.

You can't drop by Insadong without getting traditional Korean tea, so after some shopping and the Ssamzigil, we went searching for a place.  A Visa guidebook led us to this hole-in-the-wall tea shop (which also ended up being not the original shop we were searching for; obviously we're great with maps/directions)

The dduk snack was salty, not sweet which I did not expect.  The tea I ordered, a plum tea seasoned with cinnamon had a sour and tart taste that I liked because it cleansed my palette after the humongous lunch and is supposedly good for digestion.  The teahouse was in a traditional Korean house, so the atmosphere was nice and relaxing and a cool "cultural" experience.

Refresh. Restart. Let's go!

Unintentionally, exactly a year has passed by since I've even looked at this place.  I've definitely gotten too lazy with this place, and with 2013 now officially in, I want to try to start anew and get things in order here again!  But first, as my last post was on my 2012 goals, let's start with an evaluation of 2012.

2012 Goals (From this post)

• Take more pictures.  Utter failure.  My friend took 99% of the photos for my Taiwan/Japan trip this year. *hangs head in shame*
• Lead a healthy lifestyle.  Did exercise a bit, but not consistently enough.  OL life hasn't been too bad to my body though; been able to maintain my weight for the most part.  Semi-accomplished goal.
• Learn to live more with less.  Bought several big items, but I don't regret any of them.  Could always save a little more money, but I hit my savings goal.  Accomplished - success!
• Keep up language abilities.  This will definitely be a lifetime goal, as it's hard to keep up language skills when you don't use them daily.  So still working on this....trying to find a Korean language exchange partner in Houston now.  If you know anyone, hit me up! 

2013 Goals

• Update blog template.  I have ideas, it's just a matter of getting it from my brain to your eyes.  Setting an ambitious goal of having this done by end of January. 
• Blog at least once a week.  100 blog posts failed (here) so I'm cutting it to something more manageable.  Rather than focus on the number of posts, I hope to make blogging a habit like keeping a diary.  
• Learn how to use my camera. Since I intend to focus more on my blog this year, this seemed to be a good goal to have in parallel.
• Achieve my career goal.  It's already been almost a year since I started my first full-time job.  Now that I've fully adapted, I'm ready for the next step.
• Memorize a Chinese poem a month.  I can't believe 3 years has already passed since I first posted this up.  Only 3 out of 21?!  Unacceptable! So here's my attempt to cross out #2 on the list.
• Finish reading Sherlock Holmes series.  I still am struggling to get myself to read more as this is very hard to juggle with my drama watching life.  
• Meet more people.  Moving to a new city is always hard because you have to rebuild your social circle.  I already have met some wonderful people in Houston, but would like to continue to expand that circle this year.

Hope you guys will occasionally drop in to monitor my progress and root for me!  And belated but still, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Reflection and hope

2011 just "whoosh!"ed by.  Like a meteorite!  Like a plane!  It was definitely an important year in my life as I got to fulfill many of my dreams and experience a different life abroad.  Never have I traveled so much in a year.  DFW Airport and I are buddy buddy now :)  But before I welcome the new year, I'd like to remind myself of some hopeful changes for myself.  Let's see how well I measured up.

• Write (at least) 100 blog posts.  ...Yeah, totally failed.  But I did pick up writing in a journal again, so you win some and you lose some.
• Budget money more wisely. I'd give myself a 85 out of a 100 on this.  Made a few purchases that I regret (mainly those crappy Myeongdong purses that I had to throw out after less than a month of use) and was a little over budget for Japan and Korea, but I stretched my money pretty far.  Hopefully this won't be an outlier and will become a continuing trend for 2012.
• Read more.  Didn't exactly read a book a week, but definitely read more than I used to.  
• Redefine my style.  A work in progress, but glad to report that I only wear free t-shirts out once a month.  
• Experience life more.  A no brainer.  I felt both the ups and downs.  A hell of a rollercoaster ride that I cried, yelled, laughed, and endured through.  

To be honest, I did a lot better than I expected o_O  So since Round 1 was so successful, let's try again for Round 2! ^_^  Hopes for 2012:

• Take more pictures.  Sometimes, words just can't do it and you need that visual to trigger those memories.  Since I'm not much of a photographer, I'll aim for at least one picture a week.  And I did buy a Polaroid...so I should use it....
• Lead a healthy lifestyle.  Need to lose these thunder thighs if I wanna look good in jeggings.  >_< And now that I'm about to begin the OL (OL = Office Lady) life, that's going to be a big task.  So not only do I need to eat better, I need to somehow move enough so that I burn more calories than I consume.  (Can't bring myself to use the word "exercise" because it scares the crap out of me haha).
• Learn to live more with less.  I already have a gigantic list of planned purchases for 2012, but I would like to also remind myself that the material stuff isn't everything.  Keep it real.
• Keep up language abilities.  After leaving Korea, my Korean ability has tanked.  I need to keep not only Korean, but also my Japanese and Mandarin skills.  And maybe I can finally tack on Cantonese or Taiwanese.

I've already changed a lot in just one year, and with all these new changes upcoming, I foresee a busy 2012, too, filled with new travels, new friends, a new life.


To a wonderful 2012!

Innisfree Mineral BB Cream Review

Finally getting around to reviewing this ^^

Innisfree Mineral Waterproof BB Cream with Jeju natural mineral and organic green tea in #2 (SPF 50+/PA+++ and 12 hours waterproof), 50 ml, 18000 won (~$18USD)


Rating: 5/5
Packaging: 2/5
Uses:  concealer, foundation, whitening, and sunscreen

I actually didn't intend to buy this as I was gifted a bareMinerals starter foundation kit and had been using that.  However, when I was shopping with my friend in the Innisfree store, a nice sales lady tried this on me and successfully pulled me to the dark side lol.  Innisfree is a relatively new Korean cosmetics brand and advocates using natural ingredients in its products.

  
What caused me to buy this is how naturally it blended into my tan skin as you can tell in the picture above.  Other Korean BB creams that I tried were too light, ashy, or rosy and didn't match my skin tone at all.  I bought this in #2, the darker shade.  The texture is slightly thick compared to other BB creams but doesn't feel as heavy as foundation when I apply it.  It has a scent, but it's not flowery...just smells like makeup.  Or perhaps it's the Jeju minerals...?  Anyway, this BB cream does have slight whitening properties, so be careful of over-applying product as it will cause you to look ghostly.  Here's what it looks like on my face.

It does a good job in covering redness and dark blemishes and brightens your skin while keeping your complexion natural and matte.  The photos above are with just the BB cream; no finishing powder applied.  Other highlights include waterproof for up to 12 hours and a high SPF, meaning that I don't have to waste time and money on applying a sunscreen.  And not only is it actually waterproof, it stays for 12+ hours.  I would get ready for class at 7:30am and come home at 1am some days and it would still be there.  As the makeup oxidizes, the brightening effect subsides a little and blends in with your skin tone.

One complaint though is the long tube packaging.  Other BB creams have a wider and fatter tube or are in a bottle with a nozzle.  The long tube makes it hard to control the amount of product that comes out sometimes, for instance if it was sitting in your makeup bag pressed against something, when you open it the pressure will cause the BB cream to ooze out uncontrollably.  Then you waste product and the cap gets messy.  However, everything else about it I love.  This is definitely one of the best BB creams I've tried so far and for the amount, I think it's a fair price.

Dislike:

• Packaging can get messy
• Easy to over-apply product

Like:

• Color matches skin tone perfectly
• Covers redness and blemishes
• Made of natural ingredients
• Waterproof
• High SPF

Nature Republic Rice Mask Sheet Review

From Nature Republic website

Nature Republic Rice Mask Sheet (with Hawaiian deep sea water)


Rating:  1/5
Packaging:  N/A
Uses:  (straight from packaging)  "This facial mask sheet helps brighten the skin with rice extract." 


Note:  Sorry for not having any pictures for this review...I accidentally deleted the pictures TT_TT But I still wanted to share this review, so here it is.


I bought this because I desperately needed a whitening mask after getting really tan from waiting for THE Jang Geun Suk.  Usually I avoid whitening products because of the harsh chemicals, but the shade of my BB cream was slightly light after the tan (will review soon!).  Doing a mask is the quickest solution to prevent awkward ghost moments.  Nature Republic was having a sale, so I stormed in, expecting the masks to be on sale too.  Unfortunately they weren't, so I picked up the cheapest one, which was this.  Now on to the actual review....


The first thing I noticed when I opened the folded mask is that it's really, really thin.  Other masks I've used are as thick as heavy card-stock paper, whereas this one is as thin as film paper.  Then I tried to put the mask on and realized that the holes where your eyes, nose, and mouth are supposed to go didn't fit the respective parts at all.  The piece between your nose and mouth was very thin and the eye holes were small and droopy like panda eyes.  Also, the side slits of the mask around the frame of your face are not long enough.  Hence the mask sagged around my jaw and couldn't stay on my face.


As for the brightening effects, there was none as far as I could tell.  The mask also had minimal moisturizing effects.  I even left the mask on longer than the recommended 10-15 minutes.  Verdict?  Sometimes the price is too good to be true.


Don't like:

• Thinness of mask
• Bad cutting of mask 
• No brightening or moisturizing effect

Like:

• Price (Only 1,000 won, so about $1)
• Made of natural ingredients

Korean cosmetics stores

Cosmetics shopping in Korea can be really fun and daunting at the same time.  There are so many different choices that it's very overwhelming, so I wanted to share some of my thoughts and tips about the brands and how to go about it.  First, some overall shopping tips:

• Don't feel obligated to buy something if they hand you a free sample to lure you into the store.  You don't have to!  Nor should you feel guilty, because they pass it out to get you in the store.
• Wait for the sales if you're in Korea for a longer stay, like a month or more.  You'll see 50% off sales around.  Note though when there are sales, they usually don't give you samples.
• Don't buy a product unless you really like it.  Chances are you'll find your HG at another brand and regret buying the product you settled for.  
• Test the products before buying.  All the stores have testers, so feel free to test all you want!
• You must go to that exact same store that you purchased from if you want to return or exchange.  Computer systems aren't as integrated as they are in the States, so you must go to the original store.  Also, the product must be unopened and unused.
• Would personally avoid cosmetics shopping in Myeongdong on weekends.  Waaay too hectic as there are so many people.  

Below is a list of Korean cosmetics brand stores and my analysis (non-inclusive list ordered alphabetically, images via google)

Etude House (pronounced eh-twee-de)

Past & present spokesperson(s): Park Shin Hye, Jang Geun Suk, Lee Min Ho, Go Ara, etc. etc..

Price: $
My thoughts:  Overall good quality products sold at low and reasonable prices.  Out of all the brands, the pricing of Etude is the cheapest.  The packaging is also very cute.  I like the pink theme going as it makes you feel like a princess, but some may find it overwhelming.  One of my favorite brands.

Holika Holika

Present spokesperson(s): CN Blue

Price: $$
My thoughts:  With the purple themed decor and band music, Holika Holika came off as a more indie brand compared to Etude.  The sugar pop cuteness was exchanged for a more bold personality.  The makeup seemed to be of good quality. 

Missha

Present spokesperson(s): Kim Hye Soo

Price: $$-$$$
My thoughts:  This brand targets older people, probably ranging from late 20s-50s.  They have higher quality products than the brands that target the younger crowd and it is reflected in the price (though when it's on sale it's quite cheap). 

Laneige (often sold in a Sephora-like store called Aritaum)

Present spokesperson(s): Song Hye Go, Hyun Bin for men's line

Price: $$-$$$$
My thoughts:  Laneige is a department store-like brand that caters to a wide audience.  I like to compare it to Shiseido as it has cheaper lines for younger people and as you move up the age bracket the price increases.  It's verrrrry expensive abroad, so it's definitely worth buying in Korea.  

Nature Republic

Past & present spokesperson(s): JYJ, Jang Geun Suk, Rain

Price: $$
My thoughts:  This brand is relatively new as it was launched some time in the 2000s.  It markets itself as selling naturally made products.  None of the products stood out to me though.  I just went in to get the free facial mask samples with JYJ and JGS on them.  They did sell $1 nail polishes though, albeit very watery.

Skinfood

Past & present spokesperson(s): Sung Yuri

Price: $-$$

My thoughts:  All the products are based on some kind of food (ex. avocado, tomato, to just name a few.)  I feel like the products here though are kind of hit or miss, though the packaging is nice.  It also markets itself as a "natural" brand.  Its theme color is a yellow brown shade.

Innisfree

Past & present spokesperson(s): SNSD's Yoona

Price: $$

My thoughts:  Also a relatively new brand to the scene.  Similar to Nature Republic and Skinfood as it markets itself as a natural, organic brand.  The price is slightly more expensive than other brands (by slightly I mean like ~$2-3 more), but the quality is good and the products suited my skin well.  One of my favorite brands.

The Face Shop 

Present spokesperson(s): Kim Hyun Joong

Price: $$

My thoughts:  Probably targets older teens to women in their 30s.  Quality seemed to be a notch below Missha even though it has a little older customer base, though it is slightly cheaper.  

Tony Moly

Present spokesperson(s): Song Joong Ki

Price: $$

My thoughts:  The brand I liked the least because of its pushy sales associates!  They grab your arm as you walk by and literally drag you into the store.  When testing the products, I also felt that the quality didn't justify the price.  When testing some of the hyped about products in the store, I felt disappointed with the effectiveness.

The Saem

Present spokesperson(s): Lee Seung Ki

Price: $$

My thoughts:  Seemed to be very similar to The Face Shop (they even share the same brand color-white).  They handed out uber cute pens as samples.  It was the only brand that I found to sell a gradient nail polish set (which I will review later ^^).  Other than that, the store didn't seem to differentiate itself very well.

Hope you found this helpful.  As the weeks go by I'll post product reviews of the makeup products that I bought in Korea.  

"I open at the close."

Quote from the snitch Horcrux clue that Dumbledore left Harry.  My half year of travelling abroad has come to an end, since all good things must come to an end.  It's been a roller coaster of a ride, with all the ups and downs, though everything worked out in the end.  This Asia trip took me to 4 countries that I've been wanting to visit for a really, really long time.  Here's a quick wrap up.

1st stop Taiwan is always fun because of the great food, shopping, and culture.  Still haven't been able to do a complete tour of the island (gotta leave some things for the next time I go back =P), but this time I was able to make some friends, so it wasn't as quite boring and lonely as usual.  And at least I now know that if all fails in life, I can always go to Taiwan and join the lucrative English teaching industry lol.  

2nd stop Hong Kong!  My Cantonese friends always rave and rave about how good HK is, so I had kind of high expectations going in.  Best dim sum ever..I don't know how I'm going to be able to eat dim sum outside of HK anymore.  What was most special about HK was how it felt like a Western city in terms of the openness and internationalism of the city, yet the setting of the city was definitely Asian. Would like to take advantage of the tax-free shopping more next time, to be able to do more of the tourist sites, and a day in Macao.

3rd stop Seoul for 5 weeks were the best 5 weeks in my life.  Honestly after Seoul, I'm glad that studying in Japan didn't work out so that I had the opportunity to visit this city that has been #1 on my list ever since I got into Korean culture.  It met and exceeded all my expectations, though that's also because I met some awesome people in my program that made it this fun.  Fried chicken, waffles, pizza, who thought that the Koreans could make it taste so good that it tastes even better than its Western counterparts?  And of course, Korean food is always good.  Surprisingly I never got sick of Korean food.  I even started turning Korean with my stomach not feeling quite satisfied without seeing kimchi at every meal.  And it was cool to gauge my level of Korean proficiency.  At least all those hours I've wasted on dramas wasn't completely unproductive!  Living with my native Korean roommate was a great experience also.  Through her I felt like I got a deeper look into Korean culture.  

Final stop, Tokyo.  First thing I have to say: yes, it truly is as expensive as you've heard.  If you want to eat relatively well (besides fast-food and cheap Chinese food shops) meals average 1050Y, which is like $14 with the current exchange rate.  Not only that, but transportation costs are also high.  I limited myself to the Tokyo region and still spent about $100 on travel for 2 weeks.  Tokyo seemed overrated because I felt that the city didn't have much to offer after staying a week.  It's just another city for eating and shopping, mostly, like Taipei.  Though admittedly some neighborhoods were fun to people watch in.  (Seriously, the Japanese have an amazing sense of fashion that only the Japanese seem to be able to pull off.)  But the country itself has a lot to offer in terms of travel.  So next time I visit, I'll just spend 3 days in Tokyo then get out to see the other parts of Japan.  

A few of the tons of pictures that I've taken over these 6 months

Though this trip has ended, I'm also excited about this upcoming fall semester as it's going to be my last semester of college.  And if all works out well, I'll be back in Asia again.  =)  Over the next few posts I'll be jumping everywhere from my daily life to product reviews from my Asia haul to restaurant reviews in Tokyo.  Since I did such a bad job of posting abroad I gotta make it up now! *laughs*  Thanks for reading!

First Official Day in Seoul

It ended up being a really, really random day, but that's the fun of life =)  My airbnb hosts first took me to an open flea market near their house, which is around Sindang station.  A very different feel than the usual Seoul, since the vibe of the flea market was kinda dirty and gritty.  Loads of different kinds of secondhand items being sold.

Don't know how they manage to thrift through that pile

Then on our way to the Seoul fortress wall we passed Dongdaemun.  omg....belts for $2?!  Like, seriously?  I LOVE SEOUL. lololol.  Walking up the fortress was kind of intense because of the steep incline, but I was rewarded with a frame from a drama.  The kind of scene where the main character walks forever to find a humble house.  Yea, I got to experience that.  keke.

Cute, but terrible stairs to walk up.

View from the fortress wall.

After walking around the fortress wall, we made our way down and ended up near the Hyehwa station, which is like the theater district with lots of cute themed cafes.  Apparently there's also a Malaysian/Singaporean market in the area, so we checked that out.  My first lunch in Korea was Malaysian/Singaporean food haha.

Since we walked around for so many hours, we decided to get some shaved ice, bingsu in Korean, at Paris Baguette (and free AC lol).  Was kind of disappointed as it wasn't as good tasting as the Taiwanese shaved ice.  The ice looked more flaky and like little shards of ice instead of the fluffy kind like the Taiwanese style.  The strawberry sauce tasted kind of like jam, too, and the strawberries weren't fresh.  I did enjoy eating the white things though.  Kind of like marshmallows, but firmer and sweeter.  The grape one tasted better than the strawberry one.  It had cornflakes, which actually goes remarkably well with ice, and peanut powder and red bean.

Strawberry shaved ice

 Changgyeong Palace was nearby, so took a walk around there.  It's kind of hard for me to distinguish between all the palaces since they look pretty much the same to me, just that each building is named differently.  This palace apparently was used as a zoo when the Japanese reigned, so the area was large, but the actual palace small in comparison to the other palaces.  

After touring the palace, we walked to the nearest station and I got to ride the subway for the first time.  Can you believe it?  We walked all around Seoul without taking the subway!  I think that's pretty rare. lol.  So far I haven't felt any huge culture shock as Seoul feels a lot like Taipei, except that everyone speaks Korean instead and there are nicer pavements.  Then again, I haven't had really exotic food yet either.  Maybe I'll check out the intestine soup, since it's famous in this area.  I did notice though that Koreans are on average a lot taller than the Taiwanese.  In Taiwan I'm considered pretty tall, but here I'm just average.  My self-esteem just fell a little.  

Well, so that was my first official day in Seoul.  Field trip to Gyeongju tomorrow with the Yonsei program!

Easter Weekend Getaway to Hong Kong!

Very late posting, but better later than never, right?  I visited Hong Kong for the very first time over Easter weekend.  I didn't realize that Easter is such a big holiday in HK, and early May is a busy time for HKers, so it was quite fun to be in the middle of the festivities, of which the parades around each district in celebration of the Tin Hau goddess were my favorite.  Brought back good 'ol memories of Chinese dance performances.  Hong Kong definitely lived up to its name of eating and shopping paradise.  So next time I want to do some real damage to my wallet, screw NYC.  HK ftw!~

City impressions

Though it's a typical metropolitan city and I'm used to the way of life in Asian cities, I still felt a little culture shock upon my arrival (and not because of all the Cantonese around me).  Stepping off the plane, first thing I noticed is the humidity.  Taiwan and Houston rank #1 and #2 respectively in my "Most Humid Places" list, but Hong Kong beat both of them, making me very thankful that I didn't arrive in the summer months because I would literally melt off the road.  Second thing that I noticed (actually second and third) is that the buildings are ridiculously high and flat.  They're so flat looking that if it was a windy day, I'd be afraid that the building would collapse on me.  Someone later explained to me that due to Hong Kong's small size and monopolies over the housing market, housing is ridiculously expensive and apartment sizes very small.  A major turn off..I need my space!

But, there are also lots of things that I love about HK.  Besides the food and shopping, I love how you can easily switch environments within a matter of a half hour to an hour bus ride.  Day trip to the beach, mountains, heck, even China.  All in the grasp of your hands.  It's really refreshing to be able to get out of the city so easily.  Also, the night view of HK is amaaaaazing.  A shot I took from the famed Peak:

It's also really interesting to note the extent of influence the UK has on the city.  From the red double decker buses to the street names, it all screams London to me, except for the fact that everyone around you is Asian lol.  Hence the city has a more distinct Western feeling than other Asian cities.  For instance, only in Hong Kong would you see ethnic restaurants (ex. Thai food) being advertised in Thai rather than in Chinese.  Despite the Western influence though, try to not use English in Hong Kong.  You'll get more help if you speak Chinese.  

On to the transportation...

Compared to Taiwan, transportation in HK is more expensive. Fare is calculated by zones, so depending on which zone you get on the bus, your fare could range from 1.7HKD to 15HKD, even if you're just going down a street.  Though the subway is very easy to navigate, it didn't cover all the places that we wanted to go.  Plus the nearest subway from our accommodation was a 15-20 min walk away, whereas the nearest bus stop was right in front of our apartment.

So, we ended up riding the bus a lot.  Buses in HK are quite tricky though.  First, there are two types of buses: city buses and minibuses.  City buses are alright because there's usually a ticker inside telling you what the next stop is.  However, minibuses, you either ask the driver, who may or may not respond, or just get off when everyone else gets off.  In addition, not all bus stops are clearly labelled and bus routes are different for opposing directions.

And for my favorite mode of transportation: cable cars!  These cars are over a 100 years old.  So. Cool.  And really cheap!  Only 2-3 HKD.

I also learned the hard way that I don't like ferries.  Tip: if you easily get motion sickness and have to take the ferry, pick a seat in the middle of the ferry.  You won't feel the motion as severely and it will make your trip more bearable.

On to the eating...

Dim sum, congee, egg noodles, seafood, specifically crab, are all must eats!  Many dim sum dishes can only be found in HK, not to mention that it's quite cheap.  For many HKers, it's like afternoon tea.  Like the English, they adore tea too.  Unlike the English, they like their tea strong.  I got a headache after eating dim sum because of the strong tea.  They also have a special Cantonese way of cooking crab that you can only find in Hong Kong.  You basically can't go wrong with food in HK.

Reading the menu was an interesting experience too because their naming of foods is so different.  For example, 出前一丁, when you translate the Chinese characters into English it loosely means "right before you leave"  Reading that on a menu is like "wtf???" until you realize they're referring to instant noodles.  Toast there is also called 多士, though it's not the type of crispy toast that we imagine.    

On to the shopping...


The night markets for me were disappointing.  Most were tourist oriented and sold crappy souvenirs and counterfeit items.  The counterfeit items took me by surprise as I haven't seen that in Taiwan for years.  It didn't occur to me that these are still very popular.  Though doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose of buying name brands?  Aaaanyway, that debate is for another day...

Shopping malls are practically at every corner, so feel free to shop till you drop, especially because there are no taxes whatsoever in HK.  You'll still want to comparison shop though, as price differences can be quite large.


As for the sightseeing that I did during my stay, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  My sister is visiting Taiwan soon, so blogging will *hopefully* be more frequent as I crawl out of my hermit and resume tourist activities.