Come to Korea with me - 2

The weather has cooled down around the time I arrived in Korea so it was around 28 degrees but I still thought that it was extremely hot due to the humidity and also because I am used to living in cooler weather.  It was definitely not easy coping with the weather and it made me realized that I tend to become really impatient and frustrated when the weather gets too hot... (stay away!)  Good thing air conditioner exists almost everywhere in Korea but apparently last year because air conditioner was on max, the power source of the city was turned off.  After that incident, people are trying to save energy but providing less air conditioner in public places such as the subway stations.

 I decided to go to Insadong on this day to visit my uncle who has a clothing store on the main street and also to experience Korea culture.  Even though I was born in Korea, I always find traditional things interesting and Insadong is a perfect tourist place to come if you want to buy/ eat and experience Korea traditional culture.

 There was a Samul nori performance at the entrance. Samul nori is a genre of Korea traditional percussion music

 random vendor

My uncle, aunt and cousin went to grab lunch and I think this was my first and last naeng myeon of the trip.   I personally am not a big fan of these noodles because they are hard to chew.  The noodles are usually made from flour and starch of various ingredients such as potatoes, sweet potatoes or buckwheat.  When I do order naeng myeon, I order the spicy version of it like the one in the photo.  You can also order a non-spicy version and it is served in a cold soup.  (naeng myeon is always served cold)

April randoms

Another random post with random photos from different places!  Let me know if you want a review for any of them.

Ddeokbokki made from an instant package purchased from H-mart- with vegetables and cheese

If you don't know what Dduk bo ki is, check it out by clicking the name!  Despite these being packaged, it was delicious!  The vegetables definitely made a difference but overall, not bad.  I ate this around 11pm with a friend and I didn't regret it at all. (I can work out the next day right?)  We also put some cheese on top which makes it less spicy and the melted cheese really goes well with the dish.  Please do try it with the cheese if you cook it at home!

Korean spicy hotpot - Bu dae stew.  This dish has spam, tofu, sausage, some vegetables and green onions.  Bu dae stew is basically a cheap man's dish because it's made from

Gyu- Kaku

These photos are actually from long time ago but I wanted to post it because of my crazy meat cravings at the moment at 1:35 AM.  (torture!!)

My friends and I went to Gyu-kaku in December before exams started.  I was excited that it was DYI grill restaurant just like the ones in Korea except with Japanese twist.  There were Korean food available at the restaurant but they weren't very good in my opinion.  Gyu-kaku is a franchise with locations in California, New York, Hawaii, Illinois, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Vancouver.

Please visit

http://www.gyu-kaku.com/menu/cn_vn/vn_alacarte.pdf

to check out Vancouver Gyu-kaku's menu

Tofu with Kimchi

The kimchi looked like kimchi but didn't taste like one and it was too salty.  The tofu was soft and yummy though.

Gook bap (literally means soup+ rice in Korean)