1 pm.
That is the legendary time of which I finally came back to life. But it wasn't until 4 pm that I actually went outside and saw the sun again... or what was left of it as it was already setting. Ava, Caillean, and I ventured out into the brisk winter afternoon, using our underground shortcut to reach the other side of 신촌 (Sinchon) station. As we passed through the station, the aroma of fresh eggs and buttery toast nearly knocked us off our feet. Egg Drop is a small food stand in Sinchon station. It had been built while I was last in the US, but its fame had reached me via Instagram with its unborn chicken deliciousness... and my body was ready.
I ordered, my stomach grumbling in anticipation. But when I received my ticket, my heart dropped.
My order number was 444.
For those of you who don't know, the number 4 is considered unlucky in many Asian cultures because in Chinese the word for 4 and death are very similar.
Day 1 of 2019 and I already have bad juju.
After nearly fifteen minutes of waiting (I think the chef had partied a bit too hard the night before), we finally received the world's most beautiful toast. And it was worth the wait.
Post toast, we realized our bellies weren't quite full. We continued on to a small Japanese restaurant deeper into 신촌. They specialized in rice dishes, and so we all agreed to try something new...
And by new, we mean bizarre.
I had soy marinated raw shrimp over rice. Caillean had raw beef over rice. Ava had marinated pork belly over rice.
All topped with a raw egg.
DELICIOUS.
Is there something about the uncooked factor that makes raw food so fantastic?
We all shared a bit of eachothers' dishes. I can honestly say that raw beef is delicious (and this is coming from a pescatarian) but is surprisingly cold when it touches your tongue.
After dinner, we did a small bit of shopping before I parted with the girls to meet up with 윤도.
윤도 (Yundo) is my very best Korean friend. He is Caillean's exboyfriend, which is actually how Caillean and I met. Much like divorced parents, I still love them both, just separately. So it was 윤도's turn to spend some time with me as he was visiting Seoul for a few days.
I rode the train over to 홍대, pushing my way to exit 9. There, perched upon a radiator was my dear, idiot, pseudo older brother. So of course I ran up to him with a big "boo!" and scared him off the radiator.
We talked over a beer at Cocky pub about how our friends were doing and what was new in the world. Then we went next door to Thursday Party, where we each decided it was time to do some beer tasting. 윤도 decided on passion fruit while I was more intrigued by hazelnut. Both of us agreed that I had the better decision.
Unfortunately, both of us were so exhausted that we had to throw in the towels for the night and head home.
As we walked back towards the station, we noticed a cop car and a few onlookers at a cautioned off section. Through all the fun we were having, I had completely forgotten about the fire that had erupted earlier in the morning. Never in my life had I seen the after math of a fire in person. And now I was seeing it in places I had eaten in, and was even shopping in the day prior. I was speechless. In under 2 minutes, the fire had taken over 7 buildings. I had eaten in one of the restaurants on new year's day one year prior.
Yundo and I parted at the station, hoping to meet once more before he leaves Seoul. I boarded the train home and met Caillean and Ava, who had not yet left my apartment.
We hopped across the street to CU, picking up some snacks. I bought some 팥호빵 (red been buns) and bananas. Caillean bought an egg sandwich and....... microwave sweetcorn on the cob (YUP THIS IS KOREA ALRIGHT). And Ava tried her very first 김밥 (kimbab, like Korean sushi roll), and a rice triangle thing which I totally forgot the name of. We agreed on another sleepover, and had a relaxing night of snacking, memes, and reminiscing on the night before.
That is the legendary time of which I finally came back to life. But it wasn't until 4 pm that I actually went outside and saw the sun again... or what was left of it as it was already setting. Ava, Caillean, and I ventured out into the brisk winter afternoon, using our underground shortcut to reach the other side of 신촌 (Sinchon) station. As we passed through the station, the aroma of fresh eggs and buttery toast nearly knocked us off our feet. Egg Drop is a small food stand in Sinchon station. It had been built while I was last in the US, but its fame had reached me via Instagram with its unborn chicken deliciousness... and my body was ready.
I ordered, my stomach grumbling in anticipation. But when I received my ticket, my heart dropped.
My order number was 444.
For those of you who don't know, the number 4 is considered unlucky in many Asian cultures because in Chinese the word for 4 and death are very similar.
Day 1 of 2019 and I already have bad juju.
After nearly fifteen minutes of waiting (I think the chef had partied a bit too hard the night before), we finally received the world's most beautiful toast. And it was worth the wait.
And by new, we mean bizarre.
I had soy marinated raw shrimp over rice. Caillean had raw beef over rice. Ava had marinated pork belly over rice.
All topped with a raw egg.
DELICIOUS.
We all shared a bit of eachothers' dishes. I can honestly say that raw beef is delicious (and this is coming from a pescatarian) but is surprisingly cold when it touches your tongue.
After dinner, we did a small bit of shopping before I parted with the girls to meet up with 윤도.
윤도 (Yundo) is my very best Korean friend. He is Caillean's exboyfriend, which is actually how Caillean and I met. Much like divorced parents, I still love them both, just separately. So it was 윤도's turn to spend some time with me as he was visiting Seoul for a few days.
I rode the train over to 홍대, pushing my way to exit 9. There, perched upon a radiator was my dear, idiot, pseudo older brother. So of course I ran up to him with a big "boo!" and scared him off the radiator.
We talked over a beer at Cocky pub about how our friends were doing and what was new in the world. Then we went next door to Thursday Party, where we each decided it was time to do some beer tasting. 윤도 decided on passion fruit while I was more intrigued by hazelnut. Both of us agreed that I had the better decision.
As we walked back towards the station, we noticed a cop car and a few onlookers at a cautioned off section. Through all the fun we were having, I had completely forgotten about the fire that had erupted earlier in the morning. Never in my life had I seen the after math of a fire in person. And now I was seeing it in places I had eaten in, and was even shopping in the day prior. I was speechless. In under 2 minutes, the fire had taken over 7 buildings. I had eaten in one of the restaurants on new year's day one year prior.
We hopped across the street to CU, picking up some snacks. I bought some 팥호빵 (red been buns) and bananas. Caillean bought an egg sandwich and....... microwave sweetcorn on the cob (YUP THIS IS KOREA ALRIGHT). And Ava tried her very first 김밥 (kimbab, like Korean sushi roll), and a rice triangle thing which I totally forgot the name of. We agreed on another sleepover, and had a relaxing night of snacking, memes, and reminiscing on the night before.
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