lick, slam, suck

i fear my korean class is getting too big. a bunch of new students enrolled today: a german girl, another russian chick, another dude from bangladesh, two more from china and another japanese guy. i am still the only one from the states. most of the new kids are from the korean language institute at yonsei university. are they taking this additional class because they want extra practice? goddamn overachievers. i liked it better when the class size was small and most of the students played hookie.

today’s commercial was for baekseju (so named because you supposedly live to 100 if you drink it and you don’t die first from liver cancer). then we discussed korean drinking culture: turn your head away when you drink with elders, never refill your own glass, it’s bottoms up before receiving a refill, etc. then as usual, the teacher goes around the room and asks each of us, “what is the [topic of the day] custom in your home country?”

everyone else always has some fascinating cultural morsel to offer. like did you know that in turkey, young adults hold their left hand on their head while doing a shot with the right hand? and i’m left saying, well, in the united states, there aren’t any specific drinking customs – unless you count doing body shots with tequila as a uniquely american imbibing ritual.

the hubby arrived at the tail end of dinner and we mozied back to the hotel for drinks. the lounge, called timber house, was chock full of architecturally interesting details which did not go unnoticed by the three architects i was with tonight.

the drink prices were steep (wine by the glass starting at $30, whisky $20, my sake politan was $19!) but i guess that helps absorb the cost of running a swanky place like this: the decor, the white lady singing the blues for entertainment, and a level of service that was so attentive, i was sure if i went to the bathroom, the english-fluent staff would follow me in and offer to wipe.

well, almost. as we were leaving, a gentlemen escorted us to the elevator and pushed our buttons. literally, pushed the buttons in the elevator for us. now, that’s service.

pina colada, june bug and whisky sour

for ee-cha
we had drinks at cafe lucas, named after george lucas and even filching his logo but not an ounce of movie paraphenalia in the place. you can, however, get free toast provided you make it yourself.

post-concert

drinks in jong-no, or as mike calls it, “the ghetto myung-dong.” at night, it’s crazy packed with youngsters in search of food, drink and dance. in our own bar quest, i kept getting harassed by the low-life pickies, who’d mutter “나이트 안 찾으세요?” “looking for a night club?,” “night club, tonight?” (these pickies are on the lowest rung of the gangster hierarchy and can be identified by their cheap wiz-salesman suits). it’s one thing to ask, but i got really annoyed when they would touch or even grab my arm. don’t they know that it takes hours to wipe off that kind of slime?

we finally settled on “james dean” bar. i had a teeny weeny vodka tonic while hae-sun and the guys had oversized mugs of draft beer. i guess you could say they were getting drunk without a cause.

just one drink

after the disappointing movie, we had a nightcap at 딱한잔, a korean pub right in our neighborhood. i’m a sucker for a cute sign and adorable illustrations and i like their name which means “just one drink.”

we drank bek seju, a somewhat nasty soju infused with ginseng, but still a better alternative to the even nastier straight up soju which i think tastes like nail polish remover.

for anju (food to accompany our drink), we had roasted ginko nuts and egg drop soup. the broth was chock full o’ msg but the place is so cute i can’t hate them for it. it’s like trying to be mad at a puppy.

o-damn, that’s good o-deng

we headed out for some late night booze and munchies. one thing that’s great about korea is the variety of good eats you can have with your grog. everything from the korean version of jalapeno poppers to elaborate multi-layered pork rib stew. we went to a wonderful mom + pop o-deng bar one neighborhood over from us. they serve fat, meaty o-deng (that’s what koreans call the japanese fish cake oden) in a rich, long-simmered broth that is the cadillac of o-deng compared to the flabby little yugos in msg baths hawked by vendors on every street corner.

the place is tiny, just 6 bar stools along a skinny counter and no a/c, only a couple of fans moving the warm air around. the decor is utilitarian – about as charming as eating in a communist soup kitchen. but i could tell a lotta love went into the food. each piece of o-deng was bursting with chunks of juicy octopus and minced vegetables. the broth was complex and flavorful, served hot but had a restorative and refreshing effect even in the dead heat of summer. we slaked our thirst with cold beer and chilled sake.

i like the ajumma who works there. she takes the orders, mans the stove, serves the food and drinks all by herself. she’s nice without being effusive, yet attentive enough to refill your dish of pickled radishes before you run out which i think is a first for me in korea.