June 24: Seoul Food
Kathy arrived around 6 or 7 a.m., unpacked and checked email while I worked on waking up. Around 11:30, we headed out to lunch. Kathy knew a famous restaurant for tofu. We sat on the floor and had side dishes that included fried fish. I could already tell we were in a nicer, more expensive restaurant than I had been in on my own. It was also the first time I’d been in a restaurant with eggs on the table that you could crack and put directly into your food. I guess I was nervous, because when I tried to crack one into my bubbling hot seafood tofu, it slipped and fell into the bowl. Kathy asked if I was trying to make a hard-boiled egg.
After lunch, we walked towards Kathy’s preferred hair salon. The hope was she could get her hair cut and I could get it styled at a low price. But they couldn’t help us for another 20 minutes, and it would have cost too much to get my hair done (or at least, more than it was worth). We decided to grab a coffee at a place that looked a lot like a Pinkberry. Then Kathy went to get her hair cut, and I headed to the Metro to go see Biwon. Kathy told me to meet her at 6:00 p.m. at the Mapo subway stop.
I got on the subway, and changed trains to go towards Biwon. A man asked in English if he could help me. It turned out he wanted to practice his English with me. He was older and at first the whole experience seemed kind of creepy. But something in me felt I should be kind and patient and let him practice his English. Then it occurred to me that he could help me with something, and it would be good practice for him. I asked him to tell me how to get to Mapo from Anguk (my first destination). I’d had a hard time finding it on the subway map, though I’d seen Mapo-Gu Office. He found it, and it was different from Mapo-gu. So once again, someone practicing their English had saved me from directional failure.
I got off at Anguk and started walking towards what I hoped would be Biwon; I hadn’t packed my guidebook because I thought I’d be getting my hair done. I didn’t find that, but I did see signs for the Korean Food Institute! This was not just precious because of my food obsession; my last group of Samsung students had taken me there on our class trip. I have very fond memories of going there and learning to make two kinds of dok (rice cake). I couldn’t take a class again, but I went to the café and had tea and rice cakes. Then I paid 3,000 won and went again to see the museum.
I never did find Biwon after that, but I enjoyed walking around the tree-lined streets nearby. I finally got on the train and headed to Mapo, where I met Kathy. She led me to her favorite pa jung (pancake) restaurant; it’s the thickest Korean pancake I’ve ever had. We also had a spicy noodle salad. Kathy’s mother met us there as well. We had a nice repast.
Tags: Asia, Korea
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