바토스 어번 타코스 (Vatos Urban Tacos)

Husband and I recently finished up our travels in America (New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas) and are now working our way through Central and into South America. Though I'm not documenting our trip on this blog--mostly because I don't have the stamina to keep up with blogging everything we do--I still want to blog in my own half-committing way, so I'm trying to stick to the original concept, all things Korean.

Well, as you can expect, that's getting harder to do. My posts may be sporadic, but they are nonetheless still filled with love.

We're currently in Mexico where I've been doing a whole lot of temple/ruin visiting, lying in the sun, and of course, my favorite--eating! While gorging myself on delicious Mexican delights, I have not been thinking "This would be great with some kimchi!" though that does remind me...

Mexican food + kimchi = delicious

If you want proof, and you live in Korea, do yourself a favor and visit Vatos Urban Tacos in Itaewon. This place is just a short scamper down the road from The Wolfhound. My friend Stephanie took me there for my birthday, and I went there two or there more times in the 3 weeks after that before I left Korea. It's that good.

My favorite thing on the menu is the Kimchi Carnitas Fries (10 000 won). I don't mean to exaggerate, but these are life changing! I wake up in the middle of the night just wanting to eat them again. French fries covered in cheese, meat, and kimchi, plus some kind of delicious sauce, sour cream, and onions. The menu says great for sharing, but I recommend eating a whole plate to yourself if you're gross like me.

They also have delicious tacos (6-7000 won) and quesadillas (8-10 000 won), both fusion and more traditional. Drinks range from the classic margarita to the delicious makgeolita (12-15 000 won) made with, you guessed it, makgeoli!

The deets:
Vatos Urban Tacos
2F 66-8, Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul Korea
서울특별시 용산구 이태원동 66-8 2층
02-797-8226
vatoskorea@gmail.com
www.vatoskorea.com

It gets pretty busy on the weekends, so I recommend making a reservation. Nothing is worse than spending your day dreaming about those delicious kimchi fries and then having all your hopes and dreams dashed when you realize you forgot to make a reservation.

추석와 난타! (Chuseok and Nanta!)

A few weeks ago was the Korean harvest holiday, Chuseok, which probably should be a post on its own, but I didn't actually do anything really "Chuseoky" except make 성편 with the nuggets at school. However, I did manage to harvest (not sure that's exactly the right word here) a visit from my little brother! More details of our week to follow in another post, but one of the highlights was definitely seeing "Nanta" in Myeongdong.

Nanta is a non-verbal comedy cooking performance. Seoul has several of these tourist friendly shows each housed in their own theatre ("Jump" is another one). I'd never seen any of them, so when brother expressed an interest, we couldn't miss it.

The show was energetic, exciting, and hilarious. Korean drum rhythms coupled with chopping knives and very showy culinary tricks are the staples of the show. Participation of the audience and jokes played at the their expense make it unforgettable.

The tickets are a bit pricey at 50 000 won per person, but if you can get into one of the open rehearsals where the tickets are cheaper, it's not so bad. If you've got the money to spare or a special reason to spend it (relative visiting), it's a pretty good way to spend 50 bucks.

Photography wasn't allowed, so all I've got is this crappy shot of the stage before the show. Please check this show out if you need a good laugh.

Oh yeah! And then we ate awesome french fry coated hot dogs after! I'm thinking about doing my top streetfood countdown soon. Stay tuned...

Ashu

고양이 카페 (Cat Cafe)

I love cats. A lot. If Boyfriend and I didn't have a strict no cat no smoking deal in our relationship, I would probably have about 300 cats. Or maybe just two. I don't think I can accurately explain the joy that kittens bring to my life, so here are some photos to help:

So yeah, I like cats.

Anyway, Boyfriend, knowing my love for the feline, took me to a cat cafe here in Seoul. You pay about 8 bucks to get in and there are about 25 cats just roaming around being adorable. You get a drink and you can snuggle, play, and photograph to your little heart's content!

I was basically in heaven. Boyfriend is not such a big fan, but one little outcast took quite the liking to him.

Isn't he mangy but nonetheless adorable?

If you want you snuggle adorable kittens too, cat cafes can be found all around Seoul, but the one we went to was in Hongdae.

Ashu

남이섬 (Nami Island)

I love my Korean boyfriend with all my heart. This summer has been quite different from last as Boyfriend has been busy preparing for the dreaded 취업 hunt this fall. Korean students can start applying for jobs at companies in their last semester of university. This heinous process of constant test-taking, stress, and self-punishment takes over the life of pretty much every unfortunate Korean college student at one point in their academic life. Boyfriend is no exception. He has been taking at least one test pretty much every weekend all summer, trying to improve scores by even the smallest amount to gain competitive edge in the ruthless Korean job market.

Personally, I'm not so worried. Boyfriend has a pretty solid resume consisting of ability in 4 languages, top grades, and experience in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps. A company would be crazy not to hire him, but I understand, it's hard to see it that way when you're inside.

Getting to the point, however, it's been kind of a sad, rainy, stressful summer. Boyfriend was supposed to take yet another test this weekend, but as if by some kind of Christmas miracle, on Tuesday he said:

"I canceled my test on Sunday. How about going somewhere to travel this weekend?"

So we did! We booked a pension and went to the 춘천 areaof 강원도. It was a much needed and totally fantastic weekend.

On Saturday we boarded a train from 쳥량리 to 가평. There was standing room only on the 1 and a half hour ride, but that meant a cheap ticket of just 3500 won. When we got to 가평, the 아저씨 from the pension came and picked us up. We borrowed bikes (for free) and cruised around the lakeside. Then we hiked for a bit, and went back to the pension to shower and watch 무한도전. After that, we had a gigantic barbecue dinner and got ourselves deep into a bottle of wine. Took a night walk and saw stars (impossible in Seoul).

Sunday morning we woke up around 10 and checked out of the pension around 11. We boarded a bus to take us to 남이섬. Nami Island is a famous man-made island. The scenery is really beautiful and some famous Korean and Japanese dramas have been filmed there. Before taking the ferry, we ate 춘천 닭갈비, one of my favourite Korean foods. It was a bit pricey, but we left with our bellies full and ready to cross the water to Nami. On Nami Island we walked around, checked out the exhibits and nature. It was lovely. About an hour and a half later, it looked like it was going to start to rain, so we headed back to the ferry wharf. A good call on our part; just as we got to the taxi stand to take us back to 가평 station, a thunder storm started. We were lucky to have such great weather the whole weekend, so without regret we boarded a train back to Seoul.

It was one of the best weekends in a long time, and I'm happy Boyfriend and I got to spend some time together before the job-hunt madness reaches critical mass this fall.

Ashu

무의도 (Muui Island)

I have a pretty solid group of girlfriends here in Korea that I don't see nearly enough. Between boyfriends, jobs, and living in different cities, girl time sometimes gets pushed to the back burner. This weekend we took a much needed girls only trip to Muui Island off the coast of Incheon. It was loverly!

When we got to the island on Saturday afternoon, it was quite overcast but still warm. The tide was way out. We cracked a bottle of wine (or many) and barbequed our little hearts out with the sunset. Met some cutie Korean kids and of course a few new friends, foreigners and Koreans alike. Common to lady gatherings, we stayed up way too late, drank too much, and got too little sleep. Though the sleep issue may have been due to our cheapness. We squeezed 7 gals into a 2 person beach hut (and were proud of it). Sunday morning was met with delicious BLTs and loads of sunshine. We were back in Seoul with our femininity reenergized by nightfall. All in all, a wonderful trip.

Financial Breakdown:

subway to Incheon International Airport: around 3000 won each way

bus to Muui Island ferry: 1000 won each way

ferry to Muui Island: 3000 won round trip

bus from ferry to Muui beach: 1000 won

beach hut rental: 7000 won/person

food and alcohol: 20 000 won/person

Grand Total: 35 000 won (about $30 Canadian)

Getting to Muui-do is cheap, but it takes a while. First take the subway or bus to Incheon International Airport. From gate 5 on the departures level, take bus 222 to Muui-do ferry. The ferry ride takes about 5 minutes. Then you can take another bus from the ferry to the beach (about 10 minutes). The whole trip takes about 3 hours from downtown Seoul provided you have reasonable connections.

Ashu

서울이 좋아요! (Seoul is awesome!)

My plan for this past weekend:

Saturday: Get visas for China trip next month

Dinner at the lovely Miss Mel's

World Cup (Korea vs. Uruguay)

Sunday: Trip to Ocean World

Things that failed this past weekend:

Saturday: Wrong pictures meant no China visas this time

Sunday: Weather was crap so no Ocean World

Things I never planned to do this weekend but happened anyway:

* 2000 won burgers in Gyeongbokgung

* visit to beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace - the best palace in Seoul in my opinion!

* visit to an awesome exhibit, "The Story of King Sejong" in Gwanghwamun - seriously, check it out. Boyfriend and I got to write our names in hangul with Korean calligraphy brushes!

* 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean war photo exhibition in Gwanghwamun

* walking up and down Namsan and a visit to Seoul Tower

* Indian feast in Dongdaemun

I didn't have to make reservations or plan ahead to do any of this. I found all these activities just from wandering around. It cost me 3000 won to enter Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Sejong exhibit, Seoul Tower, and the photo exhibition were all free!

SEOUL IS AWESOME!

불암산 수락산 (Buram Mountain Surak Mountain)

I know. I know. I'm a bad person. I'm sorry! Every time I say I'm going to keep up with blogging, but somehow I always get distracted with something else. Anyway, I'm back again with two months worth of updates and another empty promise that I'll keep updating!

First up, mountains! Spring has come and gone here in SK, not surprising since it was only about two weeks long. Spring and fall are my favourite seasons in Korea. The weather is warm, but not stiflingly humid as the summer. In spring you can witness the transient beauty of the sakura trees. In fall, the colours give a close competition to the Cabot Trail. It's also the best time to go hiking. Boyfriend and I did Buram Mountain in late April and then Surak Mountain in late May when my dad came to visit. These are two peaks of the same mountain range north of Seoul by Nowon.

It must be obvious by the amount I talk about studying and movies, that I'm not the most athletic gal on the planet. Actually I'm not even an athletic girl on the planet, but I do enjoy a good hike Korean style. Deck yourself out in over the top hiking gear, fill your giant backpack with snacks, soju, and makgeolli, find a pal and you're ready to go.

I'll leave the rest of the explaining to the photos. The Buram hike is more challenging, but if I can do it, you definitely can. We didn't actually make it to the peak of Surak because of a shoe malfunction, but the path did seem a little more friendly.

To get to Buram, take line 4 to Danggogae and then walk for 15 minutes to the park. For Surak, simply get off at Suraksan Station and then follow the signs to get to the park.