Makan Malam Lagi

Kamis mlm...sering banget....mkn mlm di luar sama pak Yang. Kali ini bersama dg rekan kami dg anak-anaknya....dan sementara itu....hanya Eyra yg kuajak.

untung ada tante Seonhee yg selalu menemani.....yg penting.....semua pembicaraan done over dinner. ...ronde pertama kelar!....kedua....pun dimulai...

Mana lg selain di cafe. Coffee Beans jd pilihan terdekat....dan selain cheese cake....maka chocolate mint latte. .jd pilihanku....yg freshly served cold pastinya.

Dinner Now...

This is something for me. 

Let the pics speak for themselves.

After a long day in Ansan...I was treated something nice for dinner. 

One of my favorite dishes. ^^ 

Misoya: Japanese Bistro... 

Hmm...looks so yummy. (so they say:)

A Dinner with Ilya's Parents

I've been wanting to post this entry for quite some time since I did enjoy the time when the parents of my  pal right here in Korea invited me to have dinner with them. So, it was Ilya's parents' special visit to Korea that made it even more meaningful. Ilya--my friend and kind-of-my-younger-brother from Kazakhstan  --had been so busy the week his parents visited him in Korea last December (2011).

 We had this special dinner at a Chinese restaurant just around the block near our campus.
I remembered vividly that it was a chilly and windy night of December. But, the warmth of the dinner and especially Ilya's parents and auntie made it worthwhile for me to remember the occasion.
One thing I treasured: they even ordered just a special food for me since they'd known (thanks to Ilya) that I happened to be a vegetarian.
.....
Some of our friends were also invited in the dinner: Aigerim, Yelena, Aizhan (three of them from Kazakhstan), and Taekcho (from China).
The best part: it was such a wonderful occasion since it was (surprise...surprise) a customary (is it?) in Kazakhstan to bring along some present to their guests. Wow what a treat.









I mean...I got this whole bunch of candies and fruits from Kazakhstan...that I would not have tasted, had I not known these friends of mine. Amazing, right?
(more pictures and stories of these colorful candies later on^^ my other entry).

Another thing that I want to keep in mind was the fact that both of Ilya's parents did invite us to their homeland should we have a chance of going there. Why not. It would be such a great trip should I be able to realize this dream of going to Ilya's country--someday. Fingers crossed? ^^. Some say dreams do come true, right?

Dinner @ Korean Restaurant

A sumtuous meal was deliberately laid out before our eyes. Well, for my wife and kids who are yet not too-well-accustomed to eating the whole package of Korean food, the experience was somewhat a great deal...too good to resist.  We went into this 하늘과 바다 (haneul gwa bada) ‘sky and beach’ restaurant. Well, I did not know exactly as to why it was named this way.

The point was...the food was delicious. We ordered 양념 돌솥비빔밥 yangnyeom dolseot bibimbap with the whole set of side dishes.  Since it is called yangnyeom ‘nutritions’ the food is surely full of nutritious ingredients. And it was. Even the side dishes were a vast arrays of any imaginable feast we could get right here. Of course, kimchi was included.

The best part of  having a meal in any Korean restaurant is its free service of any additional side dishes that we eat. We won’t be charged of any side dishes that we eat no matter how much or how many times we ask the owner to keep refilling them. Great!

Since I love the sesame oil fried sprouts, kimchi, and tofu, I kept asking the ajumma or the eonnie or any restaurant owner to keep them refilled.^^

냉반쫄면 Naengbanjolmyeon

냉반쫄면 or literally translated into 'chewy noodles on a tray'. Yes, that's it.

I did not know what it was or let alone how it would taste in the first place.
쫄깃쫄깃하다 (jolgit jolgithada) means 'chewy' or 'al dente'. So, this should've given me a hint what it would taste like actually.^^
I ordered it simply because it had no meat on it.
I looked at the picture and it seemed so nice and looked so delicious, especially it had lots of vegetables that go with it.
...
Ok. It was 5,500 Won or about US$ 5.
Cheap for a diner in a place like this. (Well, it was about 2,500 Won at campus:)^^
Then, here came the naengbanjolmyeon that I ordered. After a device that I got from the food stall 흔들 흔들하다 (heundeul heundeeulhada) or vibrated, I got up from my seat and went to the food stall to receive the food I ordered.
You see, there are no waitresses  or waiters whatsoever in most places in Korea, well of course there are...but not as many as we might have expected. So, that means we--the customers- should be ready to be the waiter of ourselves. A different culture.

yummy, eh?

This is it.
I tasted it first.
Then....I kinda liked it and kinda felt not sure if  I would be able to eat them all...because it was spicy and sour at the same time.
It turned out that the goju (red chili) paste was mixed with the vinegar and sesame oil. Well, that explained.
But, it was nice though...especially lots of veggies are mixed into one place (tray): carrots, cabbages, onion leaves, sprouts, and others that I did not know of:)
All in all, it was a great dinner we had.
Oh, I am sure that my wife would love to have this....it is soooooo Meity's since it tastes exactly like asinan Bogor..only that it uses the noodles instead of fruits.

Dinner @ Doota, Dongdaemun's Fashion Shopping District

Doota.
I think most of youngsters in Korea or those Seoulites must know this so-called Doota.
or..Doota Tower.
Ok. first thing first..this is the pic of Doota Tower that boasts itself to be one of the must-see fashion haven for anyone interested in Korean-style accessories and latest & hip-to-date styles.

X-mast already!

But, I am not gonna tell stories about this mall.
I just had dinner at the 7th floor of the building where a food court is widely laid out there. With a night view overlooking the crowded mass of people with the intersecting cars passing by the over crowded street in the midst of cool temperature in Autumn night, the diner could not have been better.
What's more...I was having the dinner with my new Korean friend from Korea University, my new Malaysian friends who are studying and traveling to Korea, and my student who is on a 2-week trip for both academic and leisure activities. ^^
Ok.
The fun part was that...the price is relatively + reasonably cheap for a place like this. I mean....it's not so much different from the prices at my campus. Ok, then.
The interesting part was that...I could choose a lot of non-meat dishes. A big surprise for me.
The cool par was that...the ambiance of the place itself was OK-lah. ^^

Oh about my friends:
There is Minju, a Korean who is fairly fluent in Bahasa Indonesia since she learned it in Bali and Jogja. She visited Jogja twice and I got an impression that she loves it. I was surprised to know that she speaks Indonesian, especially she is not majoring in the language....for she is attending the Geography department.^^ Hmmm...
Then, there is Yahwe, a Malaysian who is currently studying Korean language at Korea University.
Then, there is a traveler, a Malaysian who on purpose came to Korea for a week or so to explore the city. His name is Ryan. He's now studying in Singapore--that's what I learned--and had this off-season period to travel to Korea. With the sophisticated camera on his shoulder all the time, he looks just like a pro photographer. It was a great advantage to have him around..coz he took indeed splendid pictures. (too bad that I haven't yet got any from him since he must not have uploaded them into the net).
Then, Dita...my student who's visiting Korea for a cultural and social visit thanks to the PAS invitation.
She seemed to be enjoying her time here.
Well....with the full stomach, we were then ready ....and heading ourselves toward Cheonggyecheon...^^
(see my entry about this...)

Dinner di Geum Gang San 금강산

Masalahnya ini bukan geumgangsan yang ada di Korea Utara, tapi hanyalah nama sebuah restoran yang sering kita datangi apabila Prof. Yang mengundang kami semua.
This is a place near our campus where only the certified fresh food are served.
We were all happy to meet over the dinner.
Three professors from Malaysia (Encik Zaharani Bin Ahmad and his beloved wife), Encik Lim Kin Hui,  one professor from English Linguistics Dept. (Mr. Lyman McLallen), one professor from Indonesia (Pak Mohtar Masoed), two students from Indonesia, one from Malaysia, one from Korea, and Pak Yang dan Prof. Park Jae Bong
A sumptuous meal.