Travels of THB: Day 3: Seoul

Day 3: Seoul

Weather: Cold and much better visibility, THB is not sure why since it also rained a few nights ago and was hazy the next morning. The locals continue to give us the “factories in China” reasoning. As the day goes along, the temp probably moves from the low 40s to the mid 50s. THB stays in his Antarctica mode pretty much the whole day: t-shirt, cashmere hoodie, jacket (not his great red Polar Latitudes jacket), ear flaps down, gloves early on, backpack always on.

Quote of the Day: You need to chew thoroughly

Department of Corrections: After discussion, DB and THB think the lunch restaurant may have a mention in a Michelin guide, not a star. Per Evan, our food guide today and authority on all things related to Korean cuisine, it is typical to get tasteless buckwheat noodles served with mustard and vinegar. That doesn’t persuade THB to think it is fine dining, just typical Korean food. Don’t let THB get started on the absurdity of ketchup as an upscale condiment.

Not a great night’s sleep though we are in bed for a long time. THB does his 7 minutes in the fitness center, then we have our usual eclectic choices for breakfast.

Today is our food tour, DB figures out that THB had misunderstood the start time and gets us out the door for the walk along the stream to one of the big traditional markets.

Hey, it’s marathon day! We can see them starting off near our hotel. As we’re walking to the stream, we’ve joined up again with the runners (going at a pretty good clip).

She thought it was Bay to Breakers day?

We get to the stream, go down to the path alongside, and realize the marathon route has also turned and up above us we can hear the race proceeding. Pics along the stream:

Mosaic tiles

How to cross the stream if you want to exit on the other side

When we come up from our stream tour, the marathoners are running right in front of us, making crossing the street to our meet-up point with Evan a real challenge. One of the local gives us the cue and we jog in amongst the runners and make the other side without anyone getting injured.

Since we’re meeting up with Evan at a subway station exit we get a chance to see the runners again because they’ve done a u-turn and are now headed the other way. All the exits are cleverly numbered so it makes for easy meet-ups…Evan and Maria work for the same tour company and thus used the same easy method. He is right on time, and out of breath. His bus couldn’t get him close as the routes were changed for this morning only. Then he switched to a taxi and just made it.

As we walk through the market Evan gives us a run-down on the history of the market, some of the more unusual dishes, and starts us at the bean and pumpkin porridge stand. We realize (and have to repeat) that we’re thrilled to share portions or we’ll be too full to appreciate each dining stop.

Here in pics are most of the dishes we shared:

Octupi

Red bean and pumpkin porridges

Korean horchata

Evan is doling out the won at each place

Fried mung bean, bean sprouts, egg, no flour; look closely and you can see our pancake, it is quartered for easy sharing

Fish cake cooked in broth; spicy/mild designate the heat in the fish cake, the baste is neautral

Soy based sauce to baste on fish cakes

We go spicy, which is actually pretty mild

Octupi coming up, fixings for bimimbap in foreground (we didn't have bimimbap)

Our next dish, served two ways

The tentacles are sliced up and still moving on the plate; it's a Survivor contest! THB chews away, you don't want to swallow these suckers when they are still capable of sticking to your insides, eaten with nori and cabbage; THB did not get pic of the steamed head, eaten with kimchee

Excellent miso with rice soup accompanies the octupussies

One of the most popular booths

Rolled rice flour and braided like challah

Korean "Twist" or donut, dipped in sugar and cinnamon: Korean churros

And pics of stuff we didn't eat:

Korean Melon that is eaten like an apple, peeled or unpeeled

Dumplings stuffed with typical stuff mixed with tofu, usually served steamed

Shrimp and veggie mash in a noodle

Gelatinous "gnocchi" rice dough cooked down in a spicy sauce

Another fried pancake; take-out can be reheated in microwave or with little oil on a griddle, a few seconds on each side

Pancake before turned brown

Blue crabs, suck to eat meat, salty and spicy side dish

mini blue crabs, eat them whole

Top left: fermented fish roe, an expensive delicacy (like caviar)

Kimchee salad of garlic stems marinating in spicy sauce (not fermented)

No clue

Crunchy "cookies"

Cucumber in kimchee like brine

Cabbage same-same

Fish stew to go, roe on top

Fish stew for two, you pick and they boil in cooking broth

Veggies to go with fish stew to go

Altar offerings for rituals, eaten afterwords (marzipan?)

Same same

Smoked fish packed to go

Singles

There are fabric shops and other specialty shops behind the food stalls; here are hand decorated fish for Buddha's birthday

At the end of the food tour, we walk another 10-15 minutes for calming tea (slowly, we’re carrying more weight than when we started); DB goes for ginger and THB goes for stamina (didn’t help, THB is exhausted at the end of tour and really exhausted after our next stop).

Tea and coffee house

Stamina tea (didn't work) and yet another porridge side dish

Light fixtures in the tea house: Tea pot? Pinocchio? Phallic symbol?

Unlike our Paris and Amsterdam tours, we don’t end up with local spots to get food to go. This was more specifically about the food market stalls and the history of the dishes.

Either a defective card or a defective user

Like most of what we've seen, clean and efficient

Time to learn about taking the subway. Evan gives us a lesson: helps us buy our tickets (90 cents per ride and 90 cents deposit for the card, which is more like a Clipper or Oyster card), and explains about the deposit and refund on the tix (you can turn the card back in).

Two stops later we are few hundred yards from the Zaha Hadid designed Design Plaza. Except THB’s card doesn’t work and the exit gate won’t open. Something tells THB that he probably entered without his card working (how? Not sure). The deposit on the card is 90 cents, so not a huge loss when looked at in the context of the overall cost of the trip. THB leaves through a handicapped exit; there are no station attendees!

The Design Center is quite a structure: more like a giant slug sinuating over a large city block; covered with aluminum panels; fully integrated with the surrounding plaza that moves in, under, and around the building; fascinating interior staircase, and way too much for THB and DB to take in on tired legs (it’s another 12K steps day). There’s supposed to be a great light show at twilight when leds blink on and off; since we have another 4 hours until the show, it ain’t happening for THB and DB tonight.

Back to the subway, purchase two more cards (with deposits) and make it back to within a block or two of the Westin Chosun. Three of the cards yield refunds. Of course the one that didn’t get a refund was THB’s no-exit card. THB is starting to pile up coins: 9 “dimes” and 3 “half dollars”.

A long rest in the room, DB decides to dine on the great sourdough bread THB has been “stealing” from the breakfast buffet each morning and THB has tuna sandwich from the deli ($17) which is pretty decent and comes on toasted sourdough bread (excellent) and some form of glutinous paste in the form of a cookie from the food tour.

Pics from around town: