Kaya

In Malaysia I was fortunate enough to try one of the most popular breakfast items- Kaya jam. The owner of the hostel in Kuala Lumpur was fanatical about the stuff. She swore it tasted better than it looked and that I would immediately become addicted...what a smart woman.

Kaya is a coconut jam. It is made with eggs, coconut milk and sugar and either comes in a green color or a light brown color (where the sugar is caramelized). This stuff was one of the most decadent things I've ever tasted- and won me over more than Nutella ever could. Coconut milk, I love you.

There was only one way of eating it; spread on toast with butter. I became an instant follower and ate this everyday while staying in KL. I loved it so much, Isabel gave me a jar to take with me; which I later gave to the amazing staff at Me Mates Place in Phnom Penh.

If anyone ever goes to Malaysia, I highly recommend putting this stuff on your toast in the morning- or any time of the day.

A bit of a break...

So I have not posted any entries to this blog in over 3 months and I think its about time I start up again. There has been some major changes in the last couple of months including my departure from Korea, traveling throughout SE Asia and China, and arriving back in the good ol' USA. I'm still suffering from post-travel depression, so I hope that writing entries about my favorite things while traveling will lift my spirits. Photos and more to come! xoxo

goodbye.

And... I'm finished! I can't believe it's over.

Whoa Korea.

Found this on Tumblr.

According to the WHO, South Korea drinks about 12.5 or more liters of alcohol per person. Not surprised...

It is not rare to find people passed out in random places including the sidewalk, subway or restaurants at all hours of the day. Also, it is not unusual to see vomit everytime you walk outside. Blame it on the alcohol...

Everest

Since moving to Seoul I have become a huge fan of Indian food. Surprisingly enough, I ate Indian food for the first time in South Korea. Sad...I know, but my waist is thanking me, I'm sure. Friends and I stumbled upon a little Indian place in Dongdaemun called Everest. Having no exposure to Indian before- I find this place absolutely mouthwatering . I always get the same thing but it never fails to satisfy. I usually go once a month- so I'm really going to miss this place and thought it deserved a little shout out. Caution: may cause drooling.

Yummy samosas- filled with potatoes and spices

Chicken Tiki Masala- a winner everytime. Creamy, spicy and delish with chunks of chicken- I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Garlic Nann- perfection.

I may miss this place more than I'll miss Korean food.

Street Food

Haley and I checked out Gwangjang Market last weekend for some serious street food. I hate to say this, but I really don't eat enough Korean food. My fear of ordering in restaurants without pictures on the menu has taken over and now I'm really regretting it.

Gwangjang Market

Kimchi

Dried Fish

Gwangjang is one of Seoul's oldest markets, and was full of textiles and tons of food. Haley and I wandered for awhile before we really started to get hungry. We decided to go for it and sat down at a food stall with tons of mandu (dumplings). Before we knew it, a little old lady whipped up some mandu-noodle soup. She steamed up the mandu and noodles in hot water and added, what could have been the best broth I've ever tasted and topped it with some gim (seaweed). Delicious! As I slurped down every noodle, I wondered why I hadn't been doing this more. Not 5 minutes later, another Korean lady started feeding me kimchi with her trusty pair of scissors. That's right- scissors in my mouth.

Yummy soup!

Bean sprouts

Mandu

After the soup, there was something else I knew we had to try. Gwangjang Market is known for one thing: Bindaetteok (빈대떡). This delicious piece of heaven is made out of mung beans, onion, garlic and other vegetables. It is fried to golden perfection in hot oil and served immediately with marinaded onions. It reminded me of potato pancakes I've eaten in the past, but this was surprisingly made of ground up beans. Delish!

빈대떡!!!

Waffle Coma

With only a few weeks left in this country, I have been doing quite a lot of eating. I want to be sure I try and eat all sorts of Korean specialties before I'm stateside again. One known favorite food in Korea is the waffle. No, not your typical dried out Ego waffle cooked in a toaster. These waffles are big, fluffy and warm and usually served with ice cream, fruit, cream and different kinds of sauces. Waffles are served almost everywhere, but mostly in coffee shops. The waffles are usually so big you have to share. I told my coworkers that I hadn't eaten waffles in Korea yet and they were determined to find the best waffle in the city.

That they did.

The Giant Alligator

Thanks Haley for the pictures^^

They took us to Butterfinger Pancakes, a breakfast joint in Apgujeong. We ordered the "Giant Alligator." The cost was about 27 dollars and included 10 waffles, each with a heavenly cream cheese filling. Then surrounding the waffles were four gigantic scoops of ice cream: green tea, vanilla, raspberry and cookies and cream; two scoops of whipped cream and sauces with real fruit: strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, banana, orange, pineapple, and blueberry. The gigantic plate came to the table and the four of us squealed. We had no problem finishing it off, along with our four giant coffees. I've always had a major sweet tooth- so this dish was right up my ally. If I'm ever going to eat waffles again- its going to be just like this; no more maple syrup and dried out Egos for me.

Locks of Love

One of my favorite things about visiting N Seoul Tower is getting to see the locks of love. Attached to the fences surrounding the tower are different kinds of locks with messages, names and dates written on them. These locks are symbolizing the love between couples. They put their locks on the fence, throw away the key and vow never to separate. It's amazing to see all of the locks, new and old, attached with pictures and anniversary dates. Everyday new couples add their locks to the fence and trees surrounding the tower. The locks symbolize what is important in life.

Seoul is the city of couples; young and old, it is rare to see a woman without an attractive man on her arm. Walking around the streets of Seoul, it is hard not to get annoyed by the canoodling couples walking by in matching outfits. As a single woman living here the lovey-dovey atmosphere sure gets nauseating but it's hard not to enjoy. One thing I've learned about this city is that, Seoul is in love with love.

Happy Lunar New Year^^

Happy Lunar New Year!

Thanks to the holiday I have a 5 day weekend. This gives me crucial time to organize everything in my apartment and get myself ready to ship things home. The reality of leaving Seoul is really sinking in now that I am throwing away clothes and ticket stubs that I thought I wanted to keep. Right now my apartment has three different piles of clothes: clothes to throw out, clothes to keep, and clothes to travel in. I really don't know how I accumlated so much stuff in this tiny studio apartment, but I have a feeling I will be shipping almost 10 boxes home. Whoops...blame it on the amazing Korean shopping.

With exactly one month left in the city my goals are to:

-take more pictures of the city

-eat as much Korean food as possible (including eel, duck and waffles)

-visit the Korean War Memorial

-go to my favorite places in Seoul once more, including Insadong, Myeongdong and Hongik University

-noraebang atleast once a week (if not more)

-take my job less seriously and actually enjoy the time I have with my students

I'll have to think of more...I can't believe it's almost over. T_T

Don't go!

One of my favorite kids left on Friday. His family is moving to a different area so he is changing schools. He has been in Kiwi class for 11 months now, so the rest of the kids were pretty devastated to see him go. I asked when I got in the classroom, "Kipper, how are you today?" and his reply was "Teacher, I am extremely sad today because no more school and I move away on Sunday." The rest of the kids started yelling "noooooo!" and "don't go, don't leave!" It was so sad. Before he got on his bus I made sure to find him in the crowd of students anxiously waiting to go home and I told him what a great kid he was and how much I am going to miss him. He almost cried. It's too bad one of my more annoying/bad students couldn't have moved away instead...

This really made me realize that I'm going to have to say goodbye to all of my students very soon. I only have 23 school days left. Time really has flown by.

Teacher, tea is delicious?

On Thursday my students had to partake in a Korean etiquette lesson. They all came to school in hanbok, which is traditional clothing usually worn on special occasions and holidays. The hanbok was so beautiful with its silky material and bright colors. The four 6-year old classes sat on the floor, together, in a circle and learned how to properly bow, pour and drink tea. Most of the students took the lesson very seriously, sitting with perfectly straight posture and sipping their tea ever-so elegantly. It was amazing to watch. Children in America could never be so dignified. You can hardly get older children to drink tea, let alone 6 year olds. And bowing to your elders and family? Never. It was amazing to see such culture beaming out of such small people.

Kiwi.

Apple.

How are you today?

Hair accessories.

사랑해^^ <3

Bowing practice

Boys.

Waiting to pour tea.

^^

Yum?

7 weeks!

7 weeks left in Korea!

Hungry?

My recent trip to Thailand exceeded all of my expectations. Great people, parties, beaches, culture, shopping and of course, great food. Thai food has always been my favorite, and I couldn't wait for the day to actually have the pleasure of eating authentic Thai food in Thailand. I usually will eat anything and am open to try new things but I have to admit- on this trip, I stuck to the basics. I just couldn't get enough of my favorite pad Thai, spicy curries and tom yum goong soup. How can you blame me?

Here's some Thai food porn from the trip: drool and enjoy!

Pad Thai from an outdoor food market in Bangkok- with tiny dried shrimp. My favorite one of the week.

Spring rolls with spicy sauce from Chatuchak Weekend Market

Thai iced tea with sweetened condensed milk

Rice, rice and more rice.

Roasted duck curry- to die for. Pretty sure I ate the entire bowl.

Banana nutella roti- best thing I've ever put in my mouth. Basically a crispy doughnut with bananas on the inside fried in oil and a massive amount of butter. Then smothered with nutella. Heaven.

Chicken Pad Thai

Red Chicken Curry

A Koh Samui candy given to me by our adorable cab driver. Made out of sugar and coconut milk, he said they were a specialty on the island and decided to give his last two candies to me and Haley.