Showing Stephanie South Gate Market, Suwon

Stephanie and her tres-Korean meal of spaghetti and Coca-Cola at Hans Deli (less than $5)

Amusement Park & Samgyetang

Woncheon Amusement park is built on a resevoir in Suwon. Tae Hun and I went for a walk on the semi-abandonned grounds before enjoying Korean health food: samgyetang.

Samgyetang: gingseng chicken soup, is traditional Korean health food- often served at dog meat restaurants. A chicken stuffed with sweet rice sits in a broth of ginseng, garlic, and chestnuts. Ours came with kimchi sidedishes. A bowl costs about 10USD. This restaurant was located near Ajou University, but you can find quality samgyetang just about anywhere:

Bottles of ginseng on the window ledge:

More Folk Village Pics...

Beautiful, no? Visit Youngin's Traditional Folk Village, just outside of Suwon.

A wealthy man's wedding, table adorned with candles and candied fruit.

Don't the business men look about 5 here? I was proud of my students for being so gung-ho, the wind in their hair.

Traditional Korean Porridge

Also known as "health food," get well food, and food Korean men don't consider a meal.

I recently ate at a restaurant called, "Korea Traditional Porridge Restaurant," a couple minutes East of Hotel Castle in Suwon. I ate alone until a Texan business man walked in, and proclaimed he had been dining here on a regular basis because he can't handle the kick of most Korean food. Korean porridge is mild, and comes in various flavors like seafood (which is more like a stew, shrimp was his choice) and my favorite: pumpkin.

Remember when I was served pumpkin soup at a Korean family's home in Seoul? Click here.

The direct translation for Chuk is "gruel", which sounds downright unappetizing, so Koreans use the more palatable word, "porridge." The porridge is made by steaming grain over low heat until it thickens into a thick liquid ready for the ingredients. Pumpkin soup is sweet, hot and home to chewy rice balls and the odd pumpkin seed. It's definite comfort food, even in the heat of summer.

Pumpkin Porridge (with sidedishes and juice): 6USD

DO YOU LIKE KOREAN PORRIDGE? LET ME KNOW!

A Saturday in Suwon

TRADITIONAL FOLK VILLAGE:

These "breathable" clay pots store dwen-jang and kimchi:

fermented bean paste and cabbage.

The old heating system unique to Korea. Even today, the floor is the primary heat source -

by means of hot water pipes.

This man was selling traditional honey candies from his trunk.

A family fishing with nets.

This is why they call it a "living museum." A Chosun Dynasty pottery mill recreated.

My students enjoying cold Ginseng tea. Koreans drink cold tea in the summer, and hot in the winter. Mine is persimmon tea, it tasted a bit like apple cider with cinnamon. I fought tooth and nail with my student about paying for my own, but he insisted, "it's my pleasure."

We shared a big pot of mushroom, beef and seafood soup. My students asked me to explain the sayings, "it could be better," and, "it couldn't be better," in relation to the food. I was so hungry from walking around that I said, "it couldn't be better."

Enjoying the view with a student. He told me there that when he and his wife got married, they went horseback riding on Jeju Island. I told him about my frightening ride down a mountain in Venezuela.

To SOULMATE bar, near Ajou University:

I was good friends with this guy, Young, when I first arrived in Korea. He, Min and I hung out a lot, but he went away for work. Well surprise surprise, he got an engineering job at Samsung company in Suwon, and called me up to go for a drink. Since when do I have "old" friends in Korea? I've been here for awhile now.

Drink house food- A platter of fruit for 10USD. Beer and watermelon anyone? Help yourself.

Tang Grill, Californian Rolls

Tang Grill Japanese restaurant is located near the Gate of Ajou University, across from Lotteria. These Californian rolls filled with tuna, rice, fish eggs and mayonnaise rang up at 4,000 W or 4USD. They came with a complimentary cup of miso soup and cabbage salad. The waiter (thanks mud) was great. Fans pointed at my table provided relief from the humidity.
I was first introduced to this restaurant by friends who ordered the pork cutlet with cheese. Yum. For those of you outside Korea, pork cutlet is VERY popular here, available at many Korean and Japanese restaurants- even "traditional" Kimbap Heavens. It often comes with fries.

I think the waiter thought I was a food critic because he was especially attentive when I pulled out my camera and notepad. Little did he know I was writing a to-do list for the day!

There were 9 big rolls on the plate, and I couldn't finish the last two.

If you've had Californian rolls, what do you think? Too much sauce? Too sweet? Too messy? Too perfect?

Yummy in my tummy tummy tummy and it feels so good.

You won't believe the price. 2.60$ USD for all of this...

As I waited for my lunch: Kongnamul-guk (bean sprout soup), at a soup restaurant near Ajou University, the waitress brought out side dishes:

Hot peppers. Dip them in the flavorful red sauce:

Radish kimchi (upper right), standard homemade kimchi (bottom right)

A touch of seafood: the pink. It isn't really kosher to nosh on the side dishes before the main dish arrives, but Koreans do it. I ate a pepper and some kimchi before the soup made an appearance:

It was quite good- a light peppery broth with bean sprouts, green onions and a poached egg. It wasn't spicy so I think a lot of foreigners would enjoy it.

Oooh Fancy Fancy Fancy!

I was treated like a princess tonight!

On the excruciatingly long plane ride from Canada to Korea, I sat beside a Korean man who lived in Calgary for 9 months. He is in pharmaceuticals with aspirations to be a politician;

he's so driven and successful that he's a bit intimidating,

but he's also playful in his own way.

There was some e-mail miscommunication but we finally got into contact and met tonight for the first time since we choked down plane food and watched 'The Notebook', high above the sea. His childhood story is facinating. He met his parents and younger brother for the first time at age 7. I'll tell you the story, in depth, sometime.

Anyway, here are some photos from our night. He picked me up in his car and gave me a traditional pouch that brings good luck. A luxury seafood restaurant awaited us, and afterwards we watched dancers in the park near the Suwon Arts Center: