Finally in Seoul!

 

It is my first day in Korea and it has been alright thus far. I wouldn't say that I am enjoying myself here at this point of time but I wouldn't say that I am not - I am feeling neutral towards things in Korea. I suppose this is the feeling that I am suppose to get when I am adapting to a new environment. Also, I guess it could also be because I did not really do much sightseeing except to walk around our neighbourhood (the hostel that I am staying in is called Koart Ville which belongs to SungKyunKwan University) and to familarize ourselves with the surroundings - what can we find around us? Where the nearest subway station? etc.

The nearest subway station to our hostel is Sungshin Women's University on line 4. There are many eateries and shops selling clothes, accessories, bags and shoes.

Shopping Street near Koart Ville
Alight at Sungshin Women's University on line 4
Take Exit 1 and turn right and keep walking straight

Nevertheless, experiencing the local culture first hand over here excites me! Koreans are pretty much quite funny. They are occasionally awfully rude (they push you away instead of saying excuse me) when you are in front of them, yet some of them are really so sincere in wanting to communicate with you even though they cannot speak your language. Anyway, even if they had said "excuse me', i wouldn't have understood them.

I like how it when people are not able to understand me and that i can barely understand what they are saying. I find it intriguing and interesting when i am able to catch some of the words that they are saying and decipher a meaning from there.

Baby and I really love the food in Korea! We went to this place near Koart Ville called Hong Kong Banjum for lunch. Hong Kong Banjum is a chain and you will find them all over in Korea but we were really lucky that it's conveniently located near our hostel.

Menu at Hong Kong Banjum

I ordered jjam-pong (짬뽕), which is a spicy seafood noodle soup that is a mainstay of Korean Chinese cuisine. It was SO delicious. I am naturally a lover of seafood soups and spicy food so this combination really got me. Everything about this dish was right - the noodles were thick and chewy, but soft and absorbed the tasty soup really well, and the seafood was fresh. For only 4 000W, it was really worthwhile!

jjam-pong (짬뽕)

Baby ordered the sweet & sour pork (탕수육) for 9 000W. I was initially skeptical about it and wasn't so keen on her ordering it because I felt that we can easily get sweet and sour pork from Singapore and at 9 000W, I thought it was more expensive than the other dishes on the menu. However, it turned out to be one of the best sweet and sour porks that I have ever eaten. The pork was fried so well and was crispy on the outside. They used full big chunks of pork and the ratio of batter and pork was just right. The sauce was light and not too sticky. Because the sauce was drenched above the cabbage instead of directly on the pork, the outside of the pork remained crispy instead of being soggy and we could dip the pork onto the sauce before we put it in our mouths!

sweet & sour pork (탕수육)