lazy sunday for focaccia

The last Sunday of 2012... It was a sunny morning to begin the day - but it was another cold day outside.  After doing our short yoga session with Chaz (podcast), we turned to see what we could do on this sunny beautiful Sunday~..

Staying in.  We both decided that was the best thing to do :)

And make something new...

School Food (food court at Emart - Gongdeok)

There's something special about our combo that we get when we're hungry in Emart.

We've been getting this exact combo of food in School Food for "snack" - never for dinner or lunch.  We claim to just want to nibble on something, but we always end up with "nengmyun"(cold noodles) and "#2 mari" (spam & egg roll kimbap!).

perfect nengmyun........ I think I'm drooling now

Their nengmyun is just too good to skip.  It has the perfect spice and flavor - it does get pretty spicy at the end - but worth the little burn!  If you like nengmyun, this one is too try!  About 7500won.

spam & egg roll kimbap......perfection!

Spam and eggroll kimbap......... do I have to say anymore?  This one is the one!

I did try a different one and didn't like it.  We're sticking to this.  It comes with a side of "hot soup" by the way.   About 7500won.

The two flavors - hot and cold - spicy and sweet and rich - is perfect to us :)

We'll always be back for more!

Antibiotics-free eggs - really do taste different

My husband came back from the us of a couple months ago and raved how much he missed eating Korean eggs!  He says how the eggs back at home had no taste what so ever.  There's a good reason though, because we've been sticking to "antibiotic-free" eggs. 

beautiful eggs~

MISSHA 50% December SALE!!! (once a year only!)

MISSHA is having a huge sale this month (December).  Some of the items are 50% off!  I actually marked it on my calendar a few months ago -.-

December Missha sale purchase!

It only happens once a year!  I haven't tried any Missha skin products, so I decided to give it a try.

Paris Baguette - cheesecake

Paris Baguette has a good selection for dessert - especially individual cake pieces.

PB is on every block in Korea.  We're lucky that our PB in our town has fresh cake ready when we want them (although sometimes frozen...).

Christmas cheecake

My favorite is their cheesecake.  It comes cut into individual pieces.  Perfect for a hungry dessert eater like me.   So I don't eat a whole cake! -.-

my husband raves how nicely cut they are :P

not too light or heavy - perfect for a good dessert

What's your favorite dessert right now?

homemade pizza - our first try ever

What did we have for Christmas dinner?!

Homemade pizza~ it was an adventure!

Angel-in-us Coffee & caramel bread (Gongdeok)

I had a very bad experience with Angel-in-us couple years ago.  I told the barista that the cappuccino sucked (not literally) and I was told to just drink it for what it is.  That's what I get for being a customer and speaking my mind.  I had a fit with him and since then avoided Angel-whatever coffee chain.

2 Americanos & caramel bread combo for less than 10,000won

But here I am talking about it --- probably going to be a positive post because the "caramel bread" on the photo looks pretty good, right?

Okay, so here we go~

Saturday playtime with kinect

We're old farts when it comes to Saturday nights. The "going out on a Saturday night" is not usually in our to do list - we usually like to do the opposite - stay in, cook and avoid the crowd :)

We tried something a little different tonight and decided to open up a new game my hubs brought from us of a, called "leela". It's quite meditative and addicting.

Party supplies, gift wraps, stationery goods at Daiso (Myungdong)

One of my favorite places to get stationery goods is Daiso in Myungdong.

They have the largest selection I've seen for stationery/party/gift goodies for such affordable prices and great value! :D

party supplies!

M&M's portable

These would actually be handy for someone like me - chocoholic.

on sale at Emart for 2320won

 It will fit nicely in a bag and easy to open and store away for convenience.  The genius!

Dinner - Sifnos island (Greece)

We had a lovely spread of the island specialties for dinner at Neo's restaurant.

feta cheese~~~

fried Sifnos island cheese

chick pea balls

 Dinner was amazing.



We were accompanied by a handful of cats waiting for a bite or two or three while we dined outside.

There were just a flock of them around our table - one even dared to get up to a seat to parade it's cuteness for a trade of food.

Dinner was memorable and even more so with friendly locals.


I miss it and I won't stop missing it.


It's one of the few places we've been on vacation where I want to go back - like every year!


Sifnos I love you!

Korean presidential election tv coverage with a big fluffy bear

The tv coverage for the presidential election was quite entertaining to watch. Amusing and confusing sometimes.

a bear with "kyungki" numbers

SBS channel had a big white fluffy bear to add some cuteness with the boring numbers that they kept showing which was becoming mundane.. At least they try to make it entertaining.

a bear fishing .. for numbers

now on the edge of a mountain... with Ulsan numbers

sunbathing in Haeundae, Busan

But we kept wondering how much time and money it took for all the unnecessary work they put in for this coverage.. Oh SBS...

Choongmoo kimbap

Plain rolled mini bites kimbap (with just rice inside) with a side of radish kimchi and spicy octopus side dish - this is called "choongmoo kimbap".

I often get one serving (6000won) for a quick meal in Myungdong.

 It comes with a side of hot soup.   It's quite filling and spicy!

eat with a fork (no chopsticks here)

nomnomnom

Don't forget that you can get refills on the hot soup and banchan (radish kimchi and spicy octupus).  So worth the 6000won.

DIRECTIONS:  

Get off exit 6 of Myungdong station.  Walk towards the big street on your left.  Keep walking down about a block and on the corner of the second block on your right (before the M-Plaza building), you will see a small store with these kimbap on display.  

Get inside and pick a table/seat - you have to pay first before you get your food (they take cards).  It is 6000won per serving.  You can even just get one serving even in a group (unlike meat grill restaurants where 2 serving is a minimum order).

cheddar sheese

Engrish at McDonald's (Mapo)

cheddar sheese...

Waiting to eat these orange bundles of flavor

I got these semi-organic (?) persimmon from Emart yesterday and am quite eager to eat them!

But we will have to give it a few more days until they ripen and are at the point of bursting!

 That's when it gets really flavorful and messy :)

Kraze Burger - and this is...

chicken and salad on a bun - I don't remember the name.

Yes, this one is mine..

after these silly burgers - we stopped hitting the Crazy Kraze Burger joint.

after all - why mess with burgers anymore - I just want the real thing.

Vietnamese restaurant in Gongdeok station (Lotte Hotel arcade)

In really cold days or days when you just want a good bowl of soup and noodles - pho is the best thing ever.  But I haven't found one close to my favorite bowl at home. 

I love love love a good pho~

My old neighborhood back in the states had the best pho!

I haven't been to Vietnam to taste the real thing - so I'm a bad judge of this - but I still haven't found a good pho close to my favorite bowl at home.

The Vietnamese restaurant inside the Lotte arcade off Gongdeok station has decent pho - just average really.  The rice and everything else is so so, too.

When will I ever find my pho?   

Time will tell, time.

December snow in Seoul

snow snow snow - so much this month.
 

the first day of snow - from our apartment

snow trails

pretty fluffy snow

after 3 days of consecutive snow - the streets are dangerously slippery

Snow is pretty, but Korea is horrible in handling the "snow matters".  Like "salting" the streets... even in a big main street - you will see frozen icy patches that could well be a death trap. 

I thought not having to drive was my luck in Korea - but it seems like we pedestrians don't have it as easy as well.

I hope everyone stayed safe and warm during the snowy days.

rice & kimchi in stock - winter ready

Something about the winter brings back rice and kimchi back in our routine.  As much as I claimed to want to stick to the "paleo diet" - it's not working out this winter. 

10kg rice - online buy - for less than 20,000won

I live where rice and kimchi is indeed is a staple - no matter how much I want to deny it. 

fits all in the 10kg rice container

never forget the "rice bug repellant"

tucked in

 we're now officially ready for winter.

& behold the ever staple of staple, kimchi.

You can do so much with kimchi.  When it's fresh like this - you can have it as a side dish - a refreshing spicy salad.  

And when it starts to get more sour - it turns into a soup, braised with pork, or sauteed with rice.  The possibilities...

I ordered a 10kg kimchi online and didn't realize how much 10kg of kimchi is..

it takes half the space of our mini kimchi refrigerator - yes we really do have one, which came with the apartment when it could have should have been an oven instead.  

But I'm not complaining now because at least our refrigerator no longer reeks of kimchi every time we open it! :)

Kraze Burger - what is this?

throw back photo of a " _____ burger" from Kraze Burger.

sorry, I can't remember what this was called..

Not mine, but his.  

Who gets this monstrous burger with all the mix of flavors?!  only my hubs!;)

Kraze Burger fries

these were yummy

I'm not a Kraze Burger fan, but I can recommend their fries - garlic bits and sweet sauce

:)

chocolate milk! (Denmark Milk)

If you love milk, or milk chocolate, you have to try this!

It's like drinking a 4500won chocolate drink!  For 1/4 of the price! so so yummy!

Denmark Milk - "that man's cacao" - no, really that's the name of this drink :)


Anyways, it's pretty rich and chocolatey~  yummm!!

Palazzo gelato ice cream (gongdeok emart)

We often get a cup of Palazzo ice cream as a "reward" after grocery shopping.

Acropolis Museum Cafe - Athens, Greece

Enjoying a lemon tart, frozen hot chocolate and cappuccino while taking a break from the Acropolis museum..

The view right out the terrace is the Acropolis..  just amazing.  Even more so that I can have my favorite things to savor and eat while taking it all in.. it was perfect.

And that was just the beginning - our first full day in Athens. 



Greece was amazing.  If anyone is even thinking about going - just go :)