The love of my life brought me dinner from cafe mamas. It was ok. I mean I wouldn't eat there regularly not did I think it fit my palate, but it was interesting. The first thoughts that came to mind were soft and cheesy. This was followed by the thought of my arteries clogging up with grease.  The balsamic salad was topped with delicious but too much homemade ricotta (which seemed more like a drained cottage cheese), dried cranberries and nuts. This was served with a very soft white bread which seemed too plush to have been baked in an oven (this is not a complement). The sandwich was a grease bomb. It was oozing with cheese and grease from the beef. It was artfully decorated with a slice of eggplant before being pressed in the panini press. Like I said too much mozzarella  cheese that was more stiff than oozie (my fiancé did takeout, so this might have had something to do with it). Anyway, it was a bit too much it made it dense and impossible to eat. Well, it could definitely...

I am working these days because I want to get in relatively decent shape for my health. One thing that has been helpful is 7 minute workout. It doesn't seem like much but you really work up a sweat in 7 minutes. I try to do two sets. The second set I use the equipment at my gym and do jump rope. My fiancé told me that workouts only start to burn fat after 40 minutes. Has anyone else heard this?  Ok. Back to work. 

Z Life is good today. I actually got up early and exercised for about an hour. My body needed it and it felt good. I saw some old photos and I realized how much I let myself no. It's not good and I need to take better care of myself. Especially since I am getting married soon.  Yes, I am falling into the stereotype. Once in love many things change and it is as if your life restarts. I just wish I met my fiancé when I was in my prime. But then again, I think I was probably an egotistical bastard then. In my old age I seem to have matured a bit. I am learning to be nicer and not get so stressed. I realize it is not the end of the world. I am falling into a prioritized lull. My future and that of my love are my priority. I am not going to try and rush things for at the moment everything is comfortable and lovely. I realize that a meal doesn't need every flavor emphasized. They should just work together.  Lunch 

I remember 9/11. It is as clear today as it was 12 years ago. I was driving to work in my red Chevy Blazer listening to the Smashing Pumpkins' song 'Today.' The news came on so I tried to switch the station but that station was also the news. I kept switching until I noticed something was off. The streets were empty on a normally busy day. Then I heard about the attacks on the radio.  I rushed to my workplace and I saw all my fellow employees crowded around the TV. Some people were crying. Others looked rigid and poised. We all watched and gave whispering details.  The bosses had announced the restaurant would be closed so we should all go home. Some of us didn't want to go home alone so invites were issued, supplies acquired and we left into the now very scary world.  It is horrific to believe these types of occurrences can happen in our modern world.  Dan

I am so happy that today Apple has announced the new iPhone 5c and the 5s. I have had my lowly iPhone 4 for 3 years and it is time for an upgrade. The phone is now slow as molasses opening up the camera and I am just tired of it.  Here is what I like about the new 5s and why it will be good for me.  /faster processor The new A7 processor will make my life so much easier since I am always out and about.  /better camera Although the iPhone 4 camera is still technically usable, I need something better. The dual flash is very exciting.  /fingerprint scanner I hate constantly having to put in my passwords for all the stupid websites. If this extends past just the iPhone store then this will make my life so much easier and I can say goodbye to constantly opening up my password app.  /size I like being able to type using one hand- especially on the bus or subway. Even though I have an iPad mini, I use it less and less because in public it is awkward to hold (I am alway...

Last night I went to Hanchu Chicken and the meal was epic. The stuffed and fried chilies and crispy chicken was simply orgasmic. Totally recommend you all make a stop there in Seoul. 

    Koreans call beans, ‘Meat from the fields.’ A long time ago, meat was a luxury that commoners rarely had a chance to eat. So instead of meat, Koreans cultivated a wide variety of beans to supplement their diet. Beans such as black beans and peanuts were often used to make banchan or side-dishes, but others like wild kidney beans, white beans, and peas were added to rice. Red bean in a sweetened paste was used as a filling for rice cake desserts. There is even a bit of notoriety about eating rice steamed with beans. If you ever encountered some people that might have looked a bit unruly or dangerous and you suspected they might have spent time in prison. There is a way of asking them instead of asking them obviously. You could ask, “how long did you eat beans and rice?” If that person spent time in prison, they would know what you meant and might answer 3 months, 1 year, 10 years etc because a long time ago prisoners were only given rice while in prison. Now the most import...

After fighting forever with wordpress, I have decided to start up a personal blog so I can get my ideas out faster. It is named after me, but by a nickname that my friend Maggie used to call me: Danimal. So...this is just a personal blog where I will be able to write about whatever I'd like. Who knows what direction it will go. Dan

I am at Crystal Jade today just having a simple lunch of dimsum, jjajamyeon(14,000) and sicheun fried rice(12,000). Everything was very good- especially the sauce in the jjajamyeon. We ate almost all of it with-spooning the leftovers into the spicy rice.  The rice was good as well-spicy and I liked the poppy shrimp.  The veggie dumplings were just ok(6,000). They were chewy because they put sweet potato into the wrapping but the filling had too much shiitake mushroom.  Overall, not a bad restaurant. It is a bit more expensive than regular Korean places. 

Here is a guest post from Cindy Ung who is covering food and beauty in seoul at  http://www.cunggie.com/ Finding good cupcakes in Seoul is almost impossible. Sometimes the cake is too dry, sometimes the frosting is not sweet enough, sometimes it’s not even real frosting, but just a whipped cream that’s bland in taste! The best part is being able to find that one spot that “hits the spot” and sharing it with the rest of the expat community here in Korea. Sugar Daddy At the very top of the list is Sugar Daddy, a small shop in Itaewon where the baker is in the store baking and decorating as she sells cupcakes from the same table finally opened a café by the McDonald’s. This extremely small and cozy spot is filled with all things delicious which are not only cupcakes! Sugar Daddy offers cupcake sized pies, mini cheesecakes, fudge bars, cookies, and cupcakes of traditional flavors as well as all things crazy. Many of the ingredients used in the recipes are ordered from foreign markets a...

Well, wordpress has gotten so bloated that I can't even use it. It takes forever to even get the write a new post open. I feel like I need a voice out there and that what I say is more important than all this other junk. I'm thinking of keeping Seoul Eats where it is right now because the site actually brings in some money and then I will refocus this current blog and later give it a cool name. I like blogger's simplicity and speed. I also learned a lot while doing the wordpress blog. I didn't need to make pictures so big. I think this is what ultimately slowed it totally down. When I restart blogging, I will make pictures smaller I think. I wonder if it would be best to just start all over again. Argh, the struggle. Come take a cooking class or take a Culinary Tour in Seoul! http://www.ongofood.com Join the Seoul Eats Facebook Group Page to keep to date with the latest events.

So...the doors have opened and we have had customers visit Brew 3.14π . Strangely though you never know what is going to happen until you open the doors. Construction takes a while and you can't really do anything until you start. Luckily, we had a good team of people to come and do the construction. It is also quite fun and our group all participated in putting the place together. There were little mistakes that we had to fix and all, but I really liked the idea of getting my hands dirty and building something. Everyday we were working, all the neighbors would stop in and look. Most of the times they just glanced and walked away. Others would poke their heads in and ask what we were doing. The landlord was a frequent visitor because she was very curious about what was happening to her building. I don't think she expected to get tenants like us because her little first floor shop was now something very different than what she expected. I think she thought we were building a li...