this is the REAL pizza crime

as advertised by “korea’s little sister” moon geun young…

the grand prix from mr. pizza: a cheese pie topped with shrimp, bacon and potato AND! a soft “european-style” cookie crust studded with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and raisins. as an added bonus, blueberry dipping sauce for the crust so you can have a sweet ending to our meal, oh boy!

W21,900 for a regular, W30,900 for a large (=US$22/$31 respectively)

when pigs fly

i heard about these weekly “quiz nights” at 3 alley pub in itaewon. you answer trivia questions and the team with the highest score wins free drinks all night. i was like, oh yeah, i’m up for that! since i never made it on jeopardy, i figured this would be an alternate way to attain a small modicum of nerd glory. i tried to assemble a strong team of knowledgeable players but jacco had to catch an early train home due to the subway strike and hae-sun had to pack because she’s moving tomorrow. so it was just mike and me.

we started with dinner at the pub. irish stew for mike and grilled smoked pork loin with sauteed potatoes and sauerkraut for me. the food here is very manly, stick to your ribs fare and in huge manly-man portions. i think i grew some hair on my chest after i cleaned plate. they offer a good selection of reasonably-priced draft beers and i downed two not-quite-pint-sized glasses of hoegaarden.

this was my first time at 3 alley pub and i wasn’t aware the crowd would be so fratty. i haven’t seen this many white folk and baseball caps in korea since i went to the hootie concert at jamsil (not). i thought, “could all these people be here for quiz night?” i was half-expecting a bunch of alex trebeks, maybe even cliff clavens, not ben afflecks and matt damons. seriously, there was one dude there who could’ve been matt’s younger brother.

due to a snafu where our retard waitress screwed us with bad seating, we couldn’t hear some of the trivia questions announced by the emcee over the sorry-ass speaker system. still, the questions were challenging enough that i don’t think it made a huge difference. we rocked the movie category and of course knew the easy ones like the leader of the waco cult (david koresh) and the first televised US presidential debate (nixon -v- kennedy) but stumbled, a lot, on the bible section. i shoulda paid more attention in sunday school then i might have known that men in biblical times could not sleep with their wives when they were on the rag and women who were not virgins when married were stoned. at the end of questioning, we got to score our neighbor’s paper (above), just like in korean class. to be especially obnoxious, i corrected their spelling, too. (hey, how are they ever gonna learn if no one corrects them?)

after the scores were tallied, there was a four-way tie. sad to say, team “when pigs fly” (the name i hastily chose due to the flying pig graphic on the answer sheet) was not one of the finalists. to determine the top two winners, representatives from the four teams had a drink off: see who can drink beer through a straw the fastest. i’m surprised the crowd wasn’t chanting, “chug! chug! chug!”

mike and i are determined to win one night. we want the free drinks! we need more people on our team, though, if we’re to maximize the knowledge pool. jacco and hae-sun: clear your calendars for next thursday and break out those old baseball caps. when pigs fly needs you! okay, gotta think of a better team name.

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late night pizza with bacon and rucola
at spannew

today was a long day starting with an editing appointment with the dentist then an impromptu lunch with ji-min; shopping jaunt and coffee with ji-min and her friend jessica; squeezing in some translation before meeting jacco and mike at the press club; and ending with a late night supper afterwards at spannew.

the highlights:

- the big soothing bowl of kalguksu at 명동교자 for lunch. the buggers raised the price to w6,000 but at least the ajummas replenish your kimchi supply and refill your water glasses with OCD-like attentiveness.

- jessica was great. she’s ji-min’s other gyopo friend who seems to have a life that is strangely parallel to mine but also the mirror opposite so i joked that she’s bizarro susan: i’m from nyc, she’s from LA ; i married a korean man who i met in the states, she married an american man that she met in korea; i’m snarky and sarcastic, she’s sweet and sincere; my weakness is green kryptonite, hers is blue. on second thought, maybe i’m the bizarro jessica…

- at the press club, i met the lawyer who defended the primary suspect in the infamous itaewon lesbian murder case of 1998. he gave us the inside scoop on why his client was not guilty. the story is fascinating and jacco finally sent me the link for the court tv account.

- the delicious rolls and pizza at spannew, of course but also watching mike and jacco attempt to snag the partially eaten salad leftover by a stranger at another table. ji-min and i were MBB (mortified beyond belief) but were able to stop them from eating sloppy seconds.

- screaming at the drunk guy on the street who wandered too close to me on my way home and hearing him apologize.

- coming home and blogging all about it.

really freaking good

the tranny bars aren’t the only attractions up on “homo hill” in itaewon. today, the hubby and i (and carl) had lunch at pharaohs, the egyptian restaurant across from queen. the place is tiny, just four tables. we and a party of three american expat gals were the only customers. i love small little restaurants like pharaohs where the chef takes your order, cooks your food and plays waiter and cashier all at the same time. chef hussein took care of everything and was a sweetheart, to boot. it’s so rare when someone is nice to you in a restaurant around here that i practically swooned when he offered us extra pita.

canadian lisa had recommended their falafel and hummus so that’s exactly what i ordered. the hubby had the pharaohs chicken which was declared “really freaking good” by one of the loudmouthed americans at the next table. everything really was freaking excellent, especially the falafel which was super crispy and delicious sandwiched in the hot homemade pita. omg, my mouth is watering as i write this in bed at 3:38 am. i hate when i crave something at an hour when i can’t do a freaking thing about it. must. stop. blogging. now.

last dessert of 2005

clockwise from top left: blueberry chiffon, green tea chiffon, strawberry charlotte, classic chocolate cake – from paris croissant

clockwise from 1 o’clock: pecan pie, cheesecake with chocolate crust, cheesecake, tiramisu, 2 pumpkin cheesecakes, another cheesecake, walnut pie – all from the heavenly cafe lalee.

eat here now

ever since jacco raved about petra, this middle eastern restaurant in itaewon, i’ve been dying to try it. i finally got the chance last night.

petra is a small, modest restaurant with just 5-6 tables and a dire need of a queer eye makeover but when we walked in, the owner, yaser, was so friendly and inviting i felt more like a guest in his home than a customer in a restaurant. and judging from the jordanian bachelor pad decor and the tv in the corner playing arabic soap operas, i wondered if, in fact, he did live in the restaurant.

we sat around flipping aimlessly through the 8-page menu so yaser stepped in and offered to design a dinner set for us, suggesting the holy trinity of hummus, tabouleh and baba ganooj to start, followed by a chicken dish and a lamb dish. it all sounded good to us so we left it in his hands.

the thick, puffy homemade pitas, the size of hub caps, still hot from the oven were perfect for scooping up the appetizers. the tabouleh and baba were light and refreshing but, sad to say, the hummus was too dense with tahini for my taste. my favorite dish was the chicken simmered in a crock with juicy green olives and salty-sour preserved lemons. the lamb braised with raisins and spiced with cinnamon had a lovely aromatic flavor but i wish the chef had held back on the motherload of raisins which i thought made the dish a tad too sweet. still, the lamb was succulent and practically melted in the mouth. the soupy broth from the entrees was especially delicious eaten over the rice.

i don’t know if it was the birthday party of 12 at the next table yacking it up, the catchy belly dancing music on the speakers or all the wine but i thought the atmosphere was so fun and convivial. yaser did some impromptu belly dance hip swiveling for us and even the little korean pre-teen from the birthday group got up and performed her own hip hop grooves to the beat.

the prices at petra are very reasonable; around W5,000 for apps and W12-17,000 for entrees. plus, the restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol but if you byob, yaser, the kind man that he is, doesn’t charge corkage. yay for yaser! he’s the best.

jacco’s taste in neck ties may be questionable but his restaurant recommendation was spot on. thanks for the tip, jacco. (forgive me for the tie comment.)

"i wash dead people"

met my language partner ji-min for lunch yesterday. she suggested spannew, an adorable italian place the size of a shoe-box in gwanghwamun. ji-min had the vongole e rucola, i had the peperoncini e scampi, and we both had too much of the delicious bread.

i’d forgotten to do my korea foundation class homework but breezed through it with ji-min’s help. my overachieving partner, on the other hand, came prepared with an english article that she had memorized! i was thoroughly impressed.

one important lesson i learned from the language exchange session was that a big bowl of pasta followed by a steaming mug of milky hot chocolate is as effective as 2 nytol tablets. i figured that out after lunch when i felt the zzz’s attack me during my editing appointment with the dentist. i had to pinch my thighs under the desk to keep from nodding off entirely.

after the dentist, i was off to my korea foundation class where we read a fascinating article about the odd jobs korean college kids can take on to earn extra cash over the long winter break. in the category of “you couldn’t pay me enough money to do that” is washing corpses at a hospital for 100,000 – 200,000 won ($100 – $200) per hour. to put that pay into perspective, part-time clerks at a convenience store in korea only make 1,800 – 3,000 won ($1.80 – $3.00) per hour. but at least they don’t have to touch dead people.

excuse me, waiter. there’s no guac on my plate.

dinner at casa loca, the new mexican restaurant across from cine city in apgu. i had beef fajitas and chicken quesadilla. i thought the food at chois’ tacos was better but i do give casa props for ambience and excellent service and customer relations. when i asked what happened to the guacamole that’s supposed to come with the meals, the waiter inquired and returned with an apology from the kitchen, “the avocados weren’t ripe enough so please allow us to comp your dessert.” classy, huh? so we ordered the flan, which was a tad spongey but worth eating for the lovely caramelized sugar syrup.

chois tacos

there are three things i miss most from the states: (1) the diversity of people, (2) the freedom to do whatever the hell you want to do, and (3) good mexican food. unless i start importing people of different backgrounds to seoul and start my own personal crusade against korean social norms, i can’t do much about the first two. however, why should good mexican food be so hard to find? (maybe because there are no mexicans in korea which brings me back to number 1 but anyway…) i heard about a good and cheap mexican joint called “chois’ tacos” in sinchon so i went there with mike to catch up on news and to get my sour cream and guac fix.

turns out that chois’ tacos is just a tiny take-out shop just a few steps up from the krispy kreme. there’s a counter and maybe eight seats in the house if you want to park and eat right away. it wasn’t too crowded when we went so we dined in. mike ordered the beef-bean burrito (W4,900) and beef special taco (W3,800) while i tried the steak-guacamole fajita (W4,300) and refried bean-rice taco (W2,500). i know what you’re thinking: really, how good can a taco be if it’s made by someone named choi? pretty damn good.

i didn’t expect the food to live up to authentic mexican standards and it didn’t. but all the ingredients were fresh, well-seasoned and all together tasty. mostly, i’m thrilled that it wasn’t a mangled koreanized hybrid. although i think it’s funny that they offer a “korean-mex taco” with bottled salsa instead of the homemade fresh-tomato version which is flecked with cilantro. the owner doesn’t skimp on any of the ingredients either. the steak in my fajita was quite tender and the guac was made on the spot with ripened avocadoes. considering the care and quality that goes into the dishes, i thought everything on the menu was a good value. and if you have your meal to stay, you get all-you-can-drink coca-cola .

turns out our meal was exceptionally good value because when we interviewed the owner for a podcast and he found out that mike does the show on his own dime, he comped our meal. that’s mr. choi – maker of good tacos and an all-around nice guy.

there’s no place like our place

a really awful thing happened last night. my ibook died. i was going through pictures on iphotos when the screen made a “pop!” noise and went blank. i haven’t been able to turn it on since. i tried the command-option-p-and-r keys, holding down the power button, and all sorts of voodoo. nada. and just my luck the service centers are closed on sundays. god, i hope i didn’t lose the 2085 photos i had stored in there.

on a brighter note, i had the most excellent meal at our place in itaewon. the upstairs terrace has a new vinyl roof and we could hear the staccato of the rain tap-tap on it as we lingered over our dinner. a candle on each table was the only source of lighting which made everything look all hazy and romantic – and that’s even before the wine took effect.

i started with a serving of liquid gold in a soup tureen, the french onion soup. every element was sublime, starting with the floating crouton smothered in gooey melted cheese to the deeply-flavored broth full of sweet onions beneath it. my next course, seafood pasta in fresh tomato sauce, was another winner. it arrived studded with fresh, perfectly-cooked shrimp, mussels, clams and squid.

we had a lovely end to our meal when the party at the next table sent over two slices of their birthday cake. there’s something about our place that makes everyone that much more civilized. i think it’s because the owner is always incredibly warm and friendly to customers and sets just the right tone for the restaurant. sigh, i wish every place could be like our place.

we moved on to budweiser carnival, a budweiser-themed bar with skinny girls in skimpy outfits. we started with the 모듬감자튀김, a medley of tater tots, crinkle-cut ore idas and potato wedges. jacco, being dutch, requested mayo for the fries. mike, being weird, asked for gochujang then proceeded to dip his fries in a combo of mayo and gochujang. it wasn’t as disgusting as i thought but i’ll just stick to ketchup, thank you.

next on the menu, a super spicy order of “bud special bbq chicken.” it was just like the waitresses: lots of legs and thighs but no breast.

the tragic flaw inherent in hotel buffets: out of greed and curiosity, eclectic foods from opposite ends of the world get piled on a plate in one big sacrilegious mess.

i do have to say that you can’t beat hotel service. with a server-to-guest ratio of 1:3, as soon as i put my fork down, someone would magically appear and offer to clear my plate. kudos to the intercontinental for properly training the staff.

tray délicieux

lunch
and dinner (first course, anyway)

4th of july in october

went to an opening party for suji’s at a new location with more space and an expanded menu. suji told me she’ll serve 50 items for brunch alone. 50?! when i make a list of things to eat for brunch, i run out of ideas after #26: leftover chinese food.

the party was packed – on all three floors and even the rooftop. the crowd was about 50-50 expat and korean. suji provided free chow, beer and wine. each floor had a huge bbq spread: meaty pork ribs, miniburgers, (oscar meyer!) hot dogs, wings, pasta salad and potato salad made with hellman’s mayo so it was blessedly not sweet. this is exactly what my sister would serve for 4th of july in her backyard; no frills, good ole american grub. mike, lena, travis and i don’t get to eat this kind of food very often so we oinked out on it like guests loading up on shrimp cocktail at a wedding.

we went out to the roof to complete the bbq experience. i think there was live entertainment earlier but at this point the mike was unattended. uh-oh. drunk people with access to an open mike is like listening to the auditions for american idol. somehow travis got roped into playing back-up guitar for the drunk ballad singer who made up lyrics as he went along. then there was the drunk opera singer who had a very big voice but he sounded more like adam sandler doing operaman than pavarotti.

mini-celeb sighting: that’s steven revere from let’s speak korean (green sweater, last shot.)

40 thieves jacked me for hummus

there’s a reason why you don’t pour bacon fat down the sink drain. after eating all the fried chicken, the grease congealed in my digestive system. i was a walking clogged pipe in desperate need of dran-o.

i knew exactly what i wanted to eat for dinner: hummus, baba ghannoush and a salad, washed down with copious amounts of wine. it would be light, refreshing, yet still satisfying. for this, the hubby and i went to ali baba, an egyptian restaurant in itaewon that seems to have problems paying their electric bill. they had everything i wanted but wouldn’t serve us alcohol because it’s ramadan. wha? is that also why it’s so freakin dark here?

the hubby ordered lamb kebabs. everything was fine but the portions were teeny tiny and they make you order the pita bread separately (W3,000 for 3 single-ply rounds!) which to me is like a korean restaurant charging you extra for kimchi. extremely annoying.

anyway, i shouldn’t complain. i should thank my lucky stars that i can even get hummus in this country, as overpriced as it is.