when you get the kimchi craving in madrid…

korean market in madrid, originally uploaded by suddenly.

as much as i adore spanish food, i got the kimchi craving. kind of ironic because the whole time i was living in korea, i’d have cravings for the good cured meats and stinky cheeses of europe which were in short supply or often beyond my means in seoul.

luckily, madrid has a fair number of koreans who keep the kimchi trade in business. han gang restaurante coreana is supposedly popular among the local koreans. while not great, the kimchi chigae and dolsot bibimbap were passable but the yook gejang was severely underspiced. my favorite dish there was the bibim naengmyun. they charge extra for a side of kimchi but if they think you’re korean they’ll feel guilty enough to give it to you for free. but i’m warning you now, the kimchi isn’t great. it tastes like it’s pre-packaged and not made by the loving hands of an ajumma. the only other banchan you get is a little plate of pickled peppers. the prices start at around 9 euros for most dishes.

the filipino waiter at han gang is friendly and speaks english. he told us about a korean market in town called “hans alimentación.” it’s a small shop on a tiny little street that sells korean basics like ramyun, various jangs and dried noodles. the kimchi was 10 euros a kilo — kind of steep but it’s homemade and much tastier than the stuff at han gang. we went through 2 kilos of it.

han gang restaurante coreana

calle atocha, 94

(near the reina sofia museum)

click for map

hans alimentación

calle maestro del guerrera

(near plaze de españa)

click for map

i ate a lotta empanadas

empanada de atun (little tuna pie), originally uploaded by suddenly.

what happens when you stuff tuna fish into a flaky crust? you get a little tuna pie and a whole lotta deliciousness. the tuna is canned tuna but miles away from regular ole tuna fish salad. it’s smothered with sweet caramelized onions and spiced just so with smoky paprika and other delectable flavorings.

i tried the tuna empanadas at various tapas bars. sometimes i’d get a rectangular slice from a bigger pie but this one is an individual pie so you get more crust all to yourself — yay!

i think this is a madrid specialty because i didn’t see it anywhere else in spain.

the protestors rain on the fiesta

the protestors rain on the fiesta, originally uploaded by suddenly.

after the first corrida, animal rights activists sitting in the audience, peeled off their plain clothes to reveal their black and gray minimalist protestwear and jumped into the ring to protest bullfighting.

(explanation added because i realized my original wording was confusing.)

there will be blood: my first bullfight, madrid

olé!, originally uploaded by suddenly.

i went to my first bullfight in spain. but it wasn’t without some internal conflict; the animal-luvin angel on my shoulder said, “no! bullfights are cruel. don’t go.” while the hi-testosterone alpha male devil on my other shoulder said, “shut up, PETA alf. bullfighting is kewl and part of the culture.” well, needless to say, i let the devil talk me into it.

first a primer to the bullfighting culture in spain.

all right, now that that’s out of the way…this is how it went down:

we bought tickets in advance at TEYCI. the bullfight was at plaza de toros, a gorgeous open-air arena near las ventas metro station. we chose the cheaper seats in the sun and even though it started at 6:30 pm, the sun kept shining bright till the end, nearly 2 and a 1/2 hours later. (tip: wear sunglasses and a hat, they sell ‘em for 7 euros outside the ring.) the seats are not really chairs but a stone bench and the area where you sit your booty is marked by a number. you can rent a cushion, BYO, or just park your arse on the hard stone which is what we did

hey it’s a fiesta! the bullfight started with a procession of everyone involved, except the bulls. there were 6 corridas (runs) in total so that meant a lot of people in the ring. those toreros and matadors have some fierce costumes and get this, they wear hot pink tights! i especially luved their winged hats.

the corrida, a show in 4 acts. each corrida has 3 stages that lead to the final act which is when the matador kills the bull. matador literally means “killer” in español.

toreros, originally uploaded by suddenly.

in act I, a trumpet sounds to start the corrida. the assistants wave their pink capes around to get el toro going. the matador watches from the sidelines to assess the bull’s mood. um…i’mma gonna guess that el toro is pretty pissed off.

in act II, the picadores, guys on horses, jab el toro in the back with long sticks. the bull REALLY does NOT like this and starts charging the horse. poor horsey, he didn’t do anything wrong. the horse is blindfolded and padded by some kind of armor, and is completely clueless as to what’s going on. in one of the corridas, i saw el toro knock the horse over and go after the picador.

at this point, i saw that el toro was bleeding. a lot. call me naive, but i didn’t expect to see blood. i’m a little grossed out at this point. in act III, a couple of bad-ass banderilleros take a pair of colorful sticks that look like oversized fancy cocktail spears and ram them into the bulls back. then run away as fast as they can, ninja-style. yeah, they better motor because they don’t have capes to distract the bull. el toro oozes more blood. you can see the bright red of the blood on those fancy cocktail spears. i feel bad for el toro.

in the final act, the matador struts into the ring. and i do mean strut. he enters with a lotta bravado for a guy in a shiny red shirt, skin tight capri pants and hot pink tights. he plays with the bull waving around his red cape, putting on a good show for the crowd. this is when the audience yells olE! the matador sometimes stares down el toro exposing his entire body to the horns and this really gets the crowd going. when he’s done with his show, he pulls out his sword and kills el toro

in the 6 corridos i saw, the first one was the best. the matador showed his artistry and killed the bull on the first stab which is like hitting a home run in baseball since it usually takes a few slashes to bring down el toro. the bull is a hulking creature; over 1100 pounds and built like a cinder block. el toro’s knees buckled, he knelt on the ground and eventually keeled over. and began spewing about a liter of blood from his mouth. horrifying but the crowd went wild! whistling and waving white flags. guys on horses dragged el toro’s corpse away. the audience must’ve really loved this guy because he and his assistants circled the ring, people tossed the matador objects and he threw them back to the tossers. more fiesta!

then protesters jumped into the ring and broke out banners to abolish bullfighting. the matador was pissed that these guys rained on his fiesta. he snatched the signs out of their hands. then the rent-a-cops showed up and dragged them away, pulling one of the protestors away by his hair! the crowd booed the protesters. um…yeah, they’re kinda preaching to the wrong crowd.

the other corridas were not so successful:

2nd corrida: the matador killed el toro in 3 tries. the response was lukewarm. the matador seemed sad and slinked away quietly afterwards. no fiesta for him.

3rd corrida, matador got gored! but he got back up and finished. still no fiesta.

4th: el toro won! the matador tried and tried but could not kill the bull. the fighters, dejected, left the scene and they brought in a herd of other bulls/cows. it’s a fiesta for the bull! i think they were trying to lead the bull back out of the ring. el toro soaked up the admiration. si, he is mas macho. viva el toro

5th: the matador killed el toro with one unclean stroke so his posse showed up and stuck a dagger in the bull’s head all mafioso style

6th: it took the matador three tries to kill the bull. audience is meh. tough crowd at these bullfights.

all in all, i’m glad i got to see the bullfights. there was more blood than i thought there would be but i can see that it’s not just about killing the bull but more about the matador playing a mind game with el toro. i liked how the matador shows his artistry and flair through his cape movements. you gotta hand it to these guys, they have a lot of cajones.

alas, el toro’s death is not in complete vain. they eat him afterwards.
see the photos here and videos on my flickr photostream.

getting el losto at el rastro flea market, madrid

it’s not a fiesta…, originally uploaded by suddenly.

every sunday, throngs of people descend upon el rastro. it’s the largest flea market in europe, continuing block after block near la latina metro station. i heard it gets crowded — and i’m no stranger to crowds, having endured rush hours in NYC and seoul — but geez louise, we were elbow to knee to ankles with hundreds, maybe even over a thousand people.

i thought the vendors would sell more old, vintage-y stuff but most of the merch was new; leather goods, candles, t-shirts. a few alleys sold antiques and random crap.

see what i bought and other things i saw at el rastro on my flickr site.

madrid – fiesta of san isidro, the 9-day festival

we’ve moved on to madrid where the madrileños are in the midst of celebrating their patron saint, san isidro. may 15th was the actual día de san isidro but the festival lasts for nine days. i’m not sure why it’s nine days but i think spaniards will use any excuse to prolong a fiesta.

san isidro day at plaza mayor, madrid

we hit the main plazas yesterday to see the locals don their gay apparel; the traditional costumes called chulapas. if you’re a woman, you wear what looks like a flamenco dress for laura ingalls with a kerchief on the head and a rose sprouting from the crown of your head. if you’re a man, you dress like a newsie.

chulapas: man and woman’s version

revelers, both costumed and plain-clothed, filled the streets and cafes, drinking and being merry. children chased each other and old men played cabaret tunes on their accordions –it felt like the spanish version of moulin rouge. the sheer exuberance among the crowds was palpable. this is why i’m enchanted with spain. the spanish have a real zest for life; they eat with gusto, take siestas and party till the wee hours. what’s not to like about that?

see the pho-tos from san isidro day on my flickr photostream.