SMALL FRITES

HIATUS

2010-10-20T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hi,

It's been awhile and I do have a bunch of stuff to Post.
Went to Tokyo, New york City and of course back to LA. Hopefully in the future I can get back to it.
For the upcoming future the blog will be postponed.

Thanks!

LA Burger

2010-09-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

A buddy picked me up at LAX from my trip in Portland.

I was hungry and wanted to feed him since he picked me up.

Went to Umami in Los Feliz.

Had a truffle burger

And a pork belly burger.

With onion Rings.

Soooo good. What's bette rthan great beer and burgers!! I miss this type of food everyday here in Korea. It cost a grip to eat out in LA but it's good when it's good.

Portland stuff

2010-09-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

So here are some pics of Portland stuff.

Portland Outdoor store. Like the sign, inside they sell lots of Filson, Pendleton, Dickies, durable wellmade American brands and you can buy a stetson and boots too. They also have a large selection of bags.

It's nice to see how Portland keeps it's historical buildings and blends it with the modern.

Too bad other cities don't regulate there construction as well. I really enjoy walking around Portland, mostly in summer. It's pretty amazing. Small, but amazing.

This is a neighborhood in the Pearl. these were super nice condos. Check out the roof top deck! No clue how much a place like this would cost but I was peeking into the homes and they looked beautiful. hehe.

Look stacks of chairs!!

Anyone notice how ugly chairs are safely left alone in the street. haha!

These big plastic bins are bike covers. It's cool, you put your bike in and lock the outside. These were next to the metro line.

Some pics of the signage and buttons on the Portland metro. It is a super easy ride to the airport from downtown. If you are heading to Portland, take the metro if you aren't renting a car. You can go straight into downtown for a couple bucks and the train stops right next to the check-in counters. Seriously the trains are a couple feet away from where someone who would be driving would drop you off.

Portland Restaurants

2010-09-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Opps long time no post. Been busy busy with work. So this was my first dinner on my Portland trip.

Went to Le Pigeon, supposedly nominated a bunch of times for James Beard Award and stuff.

It's a real small restaurant couple table and a bar overlooking the kitchen. I was eating alone so I figured it'd be easy to get a seat at the bar, they don't take reservation for the bar. But still had to wait 45 minutes on a monday!

Braised beef below. Overall the meal was pretty darn delicious. I had the wrong lens on my camera so no pics of my food. Had Sweet breads appetizer, duck breast entree and cherry sorbet dessert. Yum! hehe.

So these are some pics of Olympic Provisions, a different restaurant. They make there own charcuterie.

Went with some design friends who are doing footwear design in Portland.

I ended up eating most of the food cold cuz I had to walk out in the hallway and take a call from Korea. ugh!! I can't get away! The food was good tho.

Portland food trucks

2010-08-23T01:34:00.000-07:00

Food trucks are a big trend in LA. I have to give it up to Portland tho. they have had food trucks for years!! Not just sandwich and taco trucks, but a big mix of cuisines and choices.

the people in Portland and super nice too. I'm not use to folks coming up to me and introducing themselves and all. but I've encountered it lots in Portland.

So this food stall below is a pizza place that friend recommended. If you notice the left half has a dome. That's a wood burning pizza oven. YES! Wood Burining! The pizza which has there own fresh made mozzarella is deliciously. I want to eat some now. It is so good, I still remember it. Honestly Pizzeria Mozza wasn't as good. Probably the atmosphere and the low price helped but the ingredients tasted really fresh from Pyro Pizza.

Belgium fry truck!

I wanted to eat some fries cuz I love'em but I noticed the truck load of pre-cut fries in the back. How good can they be if they're sitting precut in the back of a truck. Maybe a box or two but this many? I'm a fry snob.

Portland Farmers Market

2010-08-23T01:24:00.000-07:00

Went to Portland for work for a couple days. Luckily it is summer so it was nice. Haven't been to Portland in summer since I was a kid so it was nice to see the sun and people about. In winter it is horrible, if you are use to perfect weather year round similar to LA, Portland is weak.

So went to the farmers market downtown. The peaches are amazing. It cost me $1.40 for one but it was sooooo good.

Beautiful colored eggs.

Even the dogs were drooling for the wonderful food at the market! haha.

They had fresh breads, meats and a grip of beautiful fruits and vegetables.

In LA you get things year-round but when it is seasonal, it taste better.

You gotta wait for your prize some times.

LA/Portland

2010-08-23T01:15:00.000-07:00

So I had the pleasure of being home for a couple days. My mom was nice enough to oblige and make me Prime rib for my first meal back. Yum! Miss American meat in nice large portions. I gained some weight on this trip.

Some friends got together to eat Shabu Shabu after someone bought a meat slicer. Apparently it was a good deal and they always wanted a meat slicer. Go figure, the good part is we had lots and lots of meat.

Followed by scoops ice cream. If you live in LA and haven't had scoops, I highly recommend it or I will take you myself!!!! I can always go for scoops.

Spoons new haircut. haha! Respect!

summer Beach DaDae Po

2010-08-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

So I went to the beach this weekend to check out the summer happenings.

At the beach you can check-out tubes

Me apartment was in the clouds today. It was good cuz it kept it cool and out of direct sunlight.

Kite surfing kites. My friend would appreciate this.

What's cool and crazy about asia is the lack of regulations.

If you notice all the kite surfers, they were right next to the beach. You can also run a jet ski off the shore as well.

It was funny watching people rnu on the beach with the kites, kinda getting dragged around slowly.

Most folks were under umbrellas avoiding the sun. hehe.

Packed in like sardines.

Stuff

2010-07-24T05:36:00.000-07:00

I really like my Coca-Cola, sadly Korean Cola is weak in flavor and comes in this narrow can. Technically better for your health cuz the portions are smaller but I'm from the Big Gulp generation!!

that Jelly jar is my cup, I lost my water bottle so decided to use this thing. I continue to use the lid cuz it keeps the dust out.

It's been nice and sunny this past week. Last week was horrible weather with humidity, could and heat. Now it's just heat and humidity, but sun makes it nice.

Summer sunset from my apartment. Pretty amazing I see this everyday.

Had to load a truck with some product to ship. Trailers are much better designed here. You can load from the back or from the side. Both sides can open, this helps you access stuff in any area of the container. I am sure it cost a grip more than the ones in the US, but much more functional.

Friends wedding!

2010-07-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

Surfin the web came across these pictures a friends engagement. Super nice couple!
I usually don't post peoples face on the web, but since they already are on the web...I hope they don't mind.

Photographer and location are cool. Good job Erwin from Apertura.

Click on the following to see the pictures:

J & C engagements pic

Korean BBQ Gimhae

2010-07-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

So ate at a BBQ place the week before heading back to the US. It was pretty damn good. A far drive but I was driving an Audi R8 so it was fun.

Outdoor seating

Or indoor banquet seating. Heard this place holds lots of weddings and stuff on the weekends.

It has a waterfall and pond as well

Yummy!

Family dogs

2010-07-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of going back to the US for work and visit family. I was too happy enjoying my time back to take pictures so not gonna see much of my trip.
Here are some pictures of the family dogs.

Brutus

Casie

Spoon

Buddha's birthday

2010-06-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

So here in Korea, Buddha's birthday is a national holiday. Yipee, no work. I decided to go to the largest temple in my area. Wrote about this place before. Woke up at 6am to avoid the crowds. haha. I was stuck in traffic for an hour not moving. Guest everyone tried to avoid the crowds. I decided to hike it in and not wait to get into the temple. It's part of a national park so the temple is real large if you count the land.

these lanterns all light up at night. Sadly I got there so early I wasn't going to stay til it got dark.

the lanterns are hand made to look like lotus blossoms.

All in all a nice way to spend the morning. Great weather and a nice peaceful crowd.

Birthday lunch

2010-06-01T04:22:00.000-07:00

So this is what I had for lunch on my birthday. It was a work day so ate some pork for lunch haha! Also went out for dinner but didn't bring my camera.

local beach stroll

2010-05-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's kinda nice to have a beach about a ten minute walk away from my front door, hehe.

Took a stroll to the beach and on my way down to the beach noticed this large drainage gap. How is that safe? Imagine walking at night and not seeing this thing. It is actually right next to a playground which makes it 10X dumber.

they also have exercise equipment out for anyone to use. Probably need a tetanus shot first.

It was a nice walk and beautiful saturday.

Sr. Developers Birthday

2010-05-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Took the senior developer out for his birthday. It cost me a decent amount, but gotta take employees out once and awhile.

We gonna eat these suckas!!

Some of the panchan that comes with the seafood dinner.

Octopus, kinda bland, more for texture I guess.

Three types of fish, no clue what is what.

Really like the serving dish for the fish. It has holes where there is ice underneath.

Grab lettuce, fish add sauces, kimchi's whatever you like wrap and eat.

Extra side dishes, yummy abalone!!

End the meal with a spicy fish soup and rice if you wish.

We ended the nite by going to cold stone. hehe. Healthy seafood dinner followed by unhealthy dessert.

Awesome weather!

2010-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Nice late spring weather ! yipee!

this is actually a decent neighborhood. Right by the water and some nice apartments. So what's up with the ghetto sofas?

Ate at this pork restaurant. Check-out the lady, she is smoking the pork before they pass it to us to grill it at the table. It adds a smoky flavor, not keen on it.

Another day around Dadae

2010-05-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

Been over a month since my last post. Way too busy here. Big hailstorm outside the office in April.

Bought some strawberries from the local market. Lots of outdoor markets here, sadly it's packaged in styofoam.

Bought gas at a self service station, but not real self service cuz I needed help. the machine is all in Korean and I can't read Korean haha.

Syndrome chicken. They deliver.

There is spicy, plain and rice cake included. Since I love fried chicken, it's pretty darn delicious.

I could eat it everyday but won't cuz that will kill me.

Hadan food

2010-04-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Check out the chicken ass restaurant (literal translation I am told). You don't really need to be able to read Korean to understand what they serve. haha.

So below isn't the chicken ass place, but it did serve fried chicken. Regular chicken parts. I love me some fried chicken and despite Korea having lots of places that serve fried chicken, it usually ends up a little short of expectations. This place is good enough for me to go back!!!! Seasoned? check! Crispy? check! Fresh? check!

They even make there own fresh potato chips! what? yup!

It's also near a college so it's cheaper than fancy parts of town. double whammy!

This happy fellow was cooking our izakaya. Seemed nice enough just perplexed I was taking a photo. Found a couple izakaya places around the corner from the fried chicken place. Kind of a fattening dinner.

You pick what you want from the fridge in front of you. The grill cook was pretty good, he was attentive to the food so it wasn't raw or overcooked. Oh and this place was like 20 bucks for my coworker and I with soju. Well soju usually only cost $2-3 a bottle. haha.

Molundae hike II

2010-04-18T21:38:00.000-07:00

Another view of the walkway around the Molundae park.

these ladies are collecting herbs from the park. I think they use it to make rice cake.
That lady in the wetsuit was collecting seaweed.
Bunch of people fishing, couldn't see if they caught anything but it seemed like a fun afternoon thing to do.
Hiking trails inside the park.

Molundae hike

2010-04-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

That's my apartment building. The land in the foreground is some sort of local farming patch.

Some cherry blossoms on my way down to my hike to Molundae.

View south from Molundae, it's a local peninsula, decent hiking spot.

Old Military bunkers.

Nice how the signs are covered up by the trees.

Cartoon safety signs.

They built this wooden walkway over the rocks along the beach.

Spring flowers

2010-04-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

So it was spring flower season last week. Lots of cherry blossoms and canola flowers.

there are fields of this stuff. these parks are about a ten minute drive from my place.
Haha, Koreans and their damn speedtrack racing. I say this cuz these assholes yelled at a bunch of kids as the kids began skating to get out of their way. Sorry guys, other people need to learn and if you're so pro try swerving out of the way. Oh, these douche bags were going about jogging speed, so pretty damn slow too!!!
Hip-hop dance crew!!! They had a drum to keep a beat. They were pretty good.

Koreans bring tents to parks. I guess they like to make a day of the trip, seems nice.

Sadly this skate park had no skaters, just elementary kids going up and down on there bikes.

Lunch

2010-04-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Kind of a cute scooter. It seemed really small too.

this is a Tonkatsu place near a university that is in town.
Quite yummy. Nice and fresh, also a great deal cuz its a student neighborhood. I got this plate for 5000krw, like $4.75 or so.
We ate some blowfish soup for lunch the other day. You realize how common this stuff is when you can go to a local lunch joint and eat blowfish. The entire concept of exotic is really just in the west. Asian eat everything, makes latest trend of restaurants with offal in America a joke.

Shinpyung office

2010-04-10T05:03:00.000-07:00

These cherry blossoms are in the neighborhood outside my office.

It's cool to see all the blossoms, it makes the city ten times nicer. Too bad they only last a couple weeks. This area is where a bunch of senior citizens sit and play Korean checkers and chill during the day.
Fruit stalls in the street by work.
Never noticed this market, I though it was only going on at nite. Oops, guess it happens all day.

Gotta check it out and buy fruit and stuff when I have time.
Saw this gas truck and noticed he put a sock on his exhaust. Yeah, that'll reduce the pollution!?

Korea is crazy.

Lotte Town II

2010-04-08T23:50:00.000-07:00

Ginseng in the Lotte supermarket.

This is the food court. It's always so nice looking, well for a food court atleast.

View from TGIF. Yeah we went to get a beer, plus it has an awesome view of the sea.
Stuffed squid and some rolls.
Pastry shop in the Lotte department store. It was pretty darn good. Pricey, but good.

This is some of the prepared food and meals you can eat at the department store. Looks yummy. This is where we got the big stuffed squid.
So Korean won conversion is 1 USD us like 1200KRW. So the big fish here is 6 bucks.

Busan April

2010-04-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

I went home on tuesday and lok what I found!!! A market in my parking lot. Usually this market is up the street but this week it was on my block. Cool!

The trailer on the left is a shoe repair place. Guess he drives his business around, neat.
My house is in the last building on the right with the yellow top. so only three buildings away.

There was vegetables, plants, some hot food, seafood.

Not lots of stuff but nice to have so close.
Love the traffic! The light is green and no one is moving. haha! Notice how the right lane isn't a real right lane. Such bad drivers here.
Cherry Blossom season! I'll take more pics this week, it's supposed to be at the peak this week.

Lotte town

2010-04-04T23:14:00.001-07:00

So this is the newest department store in Pusan. The clothing and food court are open. The theatre and tower and not yet complete.

Roof deck of the Lotte town department store. Most big stores have roof decks which is cool.

The bench features this nice curve that seems good for kids and people of different height but also lame and uncomfortable.

So these are locks that people put up on the railing. It's a copy of an idea from Seoul.

The idea is couples put two locks together on the railing to show their love.

They then throw there keys in this box, which they can't get their key back.

hmmmm. As lame as it is, the store knows their customers. Korean couple like to shop together and hangout at the mall alot!

Pusan KFC

2010-04-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

As I said in previous post. I was going to hit-up KFC and I did.

Went to PIFF to try the fried chicken.

So Koreans like fried chicken. You can get spicy wings and stuff all over the city. So loving fried chicken, it should be a good thing. It's not healthy having it so convenient but oh well.

Sadly, Koreans like all their chicken the same say sort of. Spicy and either crispy or saucy.

So my coworker and I went to KFC and to order the original it takes a 30 minute wait.

If you want spicy crispy they have a boat load ready. WHAT?! No 11 herbs and spices ready to in the middle of lunch. It was a let down cuz it pretty mich tasted like every other korean chicken joint.

One cool thing was the paper spoon to eat the coleslaw.
Fold and use, nice! Flimsy but good try and decent for the 5 minutes you use it.

chicken and more chicken

2010-04-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

I try to keep this blog full of my going ons, but damn!

The new KFC sandwich that is coming needs a post. Don't need the sauce but throw in some fries somewhere and I'm good to go.

Wonder if they will have it here in Korea? For this I will try KFC here.

Actually I'm gonna go find one today.

for the haters of my hat

2010-04-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

Got the hat in Portland.

It's made by Shaun Deller. from recycled material. I like it. so too bad. I'll be wearing it alot!!!!

check the link to see the video:

http://www.shaundeller.com/about.htm

Portland

2010-04-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

Had to go to Portland for a couple meetings. I started out pretty good with the pics but it faded fast. Maybe jet lag cut up to me or something but less pictures from here out.

Left these beautiful blue skies in So Cal for crappy Northwest weather. Lame!

He struck a pose and then got shy, haha.

Outdoor heaters in Portland airport. waiting for buses and car area. Nice touch but a waste of energy.

I liked the curved shower rod in the bathroom in the hotel It made the shower feel much larger. Highly recommend you get one if you use a curtain.

Also like the tiles and decor overall. Hotel DeLuxe in Portland is decent. Location is central but not walking distance to anything. 3 blocks is too far for me. I'm lazy like that.

LA

2010-04-01T01:09:00.000-07:00

Spent couple weeks, stateside. Had meetings to go to and talk to some lawyers bout some stuff I've been working on.

Great excuse to meet and eat. Sorry I was busy grubbing so limited in the pics.

Also my better half has alot of pics on her camera.

Fries cooked in duck fat!!!!! haha. My mom is awesome. She hooked up the duck fat so we could try cooking stuff in it. People gobbled this stuff up fast.

nice welcome home pastry. did they get a discount with the misspelling. haha. Little Saigon and french pastry shop equals LeLe?
Sorry didn't rotate this but its ribs.
Delicious, ribs and all the sides. Nothing like a gut busting first meal back!
hehe! I'm writing this in Korea and I wish I could eat some now. All you suckas better be enjoying your food.

Went home to LA!!!

2010-04-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

As a consummate designer I had to take pics of crap during my layover in Japan. This girl had a cool bag.

Also had to stop off to get some yummy sushi. Hey it's an airport so don't expect an amazing meal, but it's still ten times better than most places in the world.
ahhhh, yummy!

Shanghai random

2010-02-28T01:43:00.000-08:00

Some cops chatting it up onShanghai.

So fancy. Wait! It's a Haagen Dazs ice cream shop.
They added colored lights under the freeway system in downtown Shanghai. It's for the Expo, crazy!
I like the soda can. It's lychee flavored which wasn't so good. But the top is aluminum and the body is plastic. You get to see the contents and it should make it harder to recycle. Why do it?
Street in Kunshan, near factories. The lights have counters so you know how long you have to wait. Also lots of bike and at night all the bikes and most motorcycles don't have lights. Pretty dangerous.

Shanghai again

2010-02-28T01:37:00.001-08:00

Yup, went to Shanghai for a quick factory visit. Ahh, China eastern airlines. At least I got back safe. It's a short 90minute flight anyways.

Candy shop in shanghai. Not bad.
This is in downtown Shanghai, it's a historic park. You pay 30RMB to get in, about $5-6bucks
Had some tea overlooking the crowds.
These lantern floats are for new years and celebrating the Expo being held in May in Shanghai.

Dalmaji Pho

2010-02-18T05:42:00.000-08:00

This past weekend went out to Dalmaji, which as I've said before is modern and has decent design and style.

The photo above is a coffee shop where I had some frozen yogurt. It was ok I guess. One topping, not much of it but better than nothing. Like the interior tho. Cool lights.

Yup, I ate Pho in Busan. I was desperate enough to try it. I've had pho in K-town in LA and after having it once...never again. I was super drunk and hungry and there was no way I was going to eat it again. Even when I had to sit and wait for everyone else to eat it.

A plus, this place had a good location, across the street is a beautiful view of the ocean.

the menu didn't have anything to odd. Sorry no pictures of egg rolls but they were pretty good. I'd eat'em again. Not cooked correctly, but good. They need to quick fry them, then fry again to achieve a nice golden brown color and delicate texture. These were chewy but had the right flavours. Of course nouc man (dipping sauce) was forgettable.
The pho, loaded with onions, no cilantro and no extra herbs but not bad. Meat in Korea is expensive so can't expect much in terms of meat. I'd eat it again cuz it's the only thing around.

Nothing like mom's or a Vietnamese restaurant in LA. Oh it cost like 8 bucks too.

Shinpyung

2010-02-18T05:27:00.000-08:00

Hi,

I was sick last week so haven't been able to update anything. Also swamped with work so not much to write about. Of course super happy about being able to watch the Olympics.

Most of the stuff they show is speed skating here and way too many replays of the same races. I do get to watch Canada play hockey so yipee!

I've decided to stop posting stuff form holiday trip cuz it was months ago.

Here is my daily stuff.

This top onions is condiments to go with the duck stir fry stuff below. This is from our lunch cafeteria/restaurant. Usually lunch is free but to get this you pay extra, about 3 bucks a person more.

These are controls for the radiant floor heating. Love the exposed wires.
Other guests in the restaurant.
Server and soju fridge. The thing on the left is air conditioner.
In table burner controller.

Walking to get lunch. The weather is nice just cold.
This is part of the crosswalk that has been under construction for about 5 months. Reworking water main and paving the sidewalks. Pretty slow and when they're fast it gets sloppy. Guess you can't win.

Taipei 5

2010-01-25T07:47:00.000-08:00

Tarako tunnels. hehe.

Cabins that we stayed at. It's a native Taiwanese tribe, located in the heart of the national park. Cool!!
Closer view of the cabins. It was nice to sit on the porch and relax as the sun set.
I would highly recommend not only visiting Tarako, but staying here is uber cool too. they have a typical hotel in the town 20 minutes away. Who wants to stay at a regular hotel. This place is on it's own plateau and no other people around so super quiet and peaceful.
They had a nice buffet dinner with locally grown vegetables and wild pig. They also put on a nice native Taiwanese dance. They let some guest participate in the dance at the end.

Taipei 4

2010-01-23T03:54:00.001-08:00

This is entry to Torako national park. Took couple of hours and lots of winding roads to get here.

It is winter but summer apparently the canyon rivers is much deeper and larger rapids.

It's very beautiful and a cool landscape. Nice change of pace from the cities we've visited.

Taipei 3

2010-01-21T07:36:00.000-08:00

Some famous noodle place in Taipei. Apparently bus loads of tourist eat here. It is a friends favorite place to eat. Normally I don't trust people's palettes but I've tried her picks and they're good to go.

this is the start of pics from our overnight roadtrip to Taroko. A national park in Taiwan. It's along the coast as you can see.

Taipei 2

2010-01-19T18:17:00.001-08:00

Hot pot. They put the charcoal in the middle of the funnel and you cook around it. Seems precarious but it is good.

All the different sauce ingredients. You serve yourself and make your own sauce flavor.
This is Jules favorite desert shop. It has different jellys and toppings. One serving is pretty huge, mostly after a meal. Jules manages to finish, while I get close. haha.
The side streets of Taipei has some really cool shops. I will post more later. Sadly the sizing is screwy. Alot of the sizing is smaller than usual. Most of the people I met weren't small but the "normal" sizes aren't always available, so you can't buy much that fits.

Taipei 101, well Taipei 1 more soon.

2010-01-17T23:26:00.000-08:00

So after visiting Tokyo, went to Taipei to see what all the fuss is about. the local mountain was a good start. Went hiking with Jules' folks and some of their friends.

ahh sweet potato freshly baked and in a nice to go container. waste of a spoon tho.
Yeah...no upholstered seating outdoors please. Gross.
Got up to the falls and it was nice to see people chillin and doin exercises. We left at 8am. when the heck did these people get up to come here.
This is more my speed of hiking. there are alot of dogs around Taiwan. Lots on the street too. All very nice.

Tokyo II

2010-01-17T23:22:00.001-08:00

This guy had a good Christmas apparently. Maybe toooo good.

Cool bear display in department store.
Amazing detail and craftsmanship in the armour.

Harajuku. yo.

Tokyo II, best meal for reals! Christmas dinner

2010-01-17T22:38:00.001-08:00

For reals? The best meal. Well...it was really good. Probably a combination of ordering everything and anything. it was also Christmas. A cool looking place and great friends to enjoy it with. Yes, tourist go here. but there were 90% locals and business men when we went.

The cooks kneel and you point to what you want. They then repeat the order and begin grilling. There are no prices but I am sure if you asked for a menu they would give you one. It might help with the sticker shock which we received after the meal. Good thing cuz probably wouldn't enjoy it as much when you know how much your spending.

This is how everything you eat is cooked. On an open grill. The fish on top was mine! yay!

Giant prawn, it was delicious!!!! We each had one.

We shared this fish with 6 people. We were pretty much too full anyways. We had crab, beef skewers, veggies, you name it. We cleaned up. People around us looked at us like we were crazy. haha.
Large clam, each had one of these two.
Grilled mochi to end the meal. Complementary as is the napkin they give you at the end of the meal.

Tokyo II

2010-01-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Late night eats under the subway bridges!

this is my first bowl of Ramen. Ate it after our first night in Tokyo. Everybody was jet lagged so they went to sleep. Me and Jules walked around and found this ramen shop under the subway. It felt quintessentially Japanese with the rumbling of the trains overhead as you eat.
Look garlic press and all the garlic you want. hehe.

This store is in the Tokyo subway.

A quaint country inspired craft store in the subway. seriously? sweet!

Notice how the teapots are used for house lighting!

Cool store in Naka Meguro. The stuff outside was samples that were being sold by the guy that actually hand made em. Real nice quality and decent prices.

Melon bread. Had to wait 15 minutes as they just opened and had to freshly bake the bread out of the van. OH, soooo good!

Takoyaki. Everywhere you go, you have to wait a bit for the food. It's always made to order. Nothing better than knowing its fresh.

Tokyo II

2010-01-16T20:13:00.001-08:00

good old Shibuya. Lights and crowds!

Ate yoshinoya. Yup, the same chain all over America. Much better in Japan and it has a decent salad and the same cool dressing container I saw in the Busan airport for my jam.
Naka Meguro. Ate lunch in the cafe upstairs. It was cool cuz it was a nice small place with 5 tables. Two cooks in the kitchen and a server. So lots of employees provided great food for a room that didn't fit many people.

Daikanyama. One of our friends got a haircut, so I was sitting outside. This is a heater with a LeCrueset pot they used for potpourri.
The lighting and tight architecture creates a warm ambiance in Tokyo side streets. The close, small streets are balanced by the clean streets.

Tokyo II, Ghibli Museum

2010-01-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Deux Chavaux on the way to the Ghibli museum, we saw this Citroen 2cv. If you are gonna have a car in Tokyo, might as well be a cool one.

Crazy big koi in the river. Wild pretty koi in a river in the middle of the city. I like Japan lots.
So this is the Ghibli museum. Thought we were gonna spend maybe an hour or two. We ended spending like 4 hours I think. It's a must see if you like Miyazaki films.
Totoro manning the ticket booth. haha.

Sorry no pics inside. It's banned but it is real cool!

Tokyo II

2010-01-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Cool bikes all over Japan. Love the bar brakes. Gonna be huge in the states soon.

woke up and ate sushi at 7am. Damn good!

soooo fresh.

Japan, trip to Hakone

2010-01-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

Took a train to Hakone to go to the hot springs. Nice ride.

Small city with cool hot springs. It was indoor and outdoor. Sorry no pics, was afraid steam would mess up the camera. We stayed one night, had a great meal. Sadly, we didn't partake in the beauty of the area. The lake, hikes or historic buildings. We instead chose to make a dash back to Tokyo and overwhelm our senses some more.

Tokyo repeat, this time Christmas!

2010-01-07T22:10:00.000-08:00

After leaving Vietnam, stopped by Taipei for a nite and picked up some folks. Went to Tokyo the next morning. This time got to explore with friends not work. yay!!!

Crossing the bridge next to Tsukiji, more on fish market later.

I have shown a photo of this bakery from my last trip but never went in. It's in Ginza and it looks super cool. Curved walls, smells delicious. Kinda like make believe.

Cool shop in Ginza. Yeah we went to Laduree and had some macaroons for a snack.

Vietnam VIII

2010-01-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

Scooter ride before heading home. I rode with my cousin around the city. It was super packed on saturday nite and they drive pretty crazy. I recommend giving it a shot since you can get around the traffic where a car would get stuck for hours. Also wear a mask because my throat hurt for 4 days afterwards from the pollution. Not used to the air.

Evening traffic.

Vietnam airport. Much more modern than I expected. Sadly, everything will be updated and won't be much of an adventure to travel to Vietnam.

It was a cool trip. Never thought I would have enjoyed it as much as I did. It was very easy to feel at home in Vietnam. I guess knowing the language, familiarity with the culture and an open mind all helps. After 5 days it is time for my next stop. hehe.

Vietnam VII

2010-01-07T17:59:00.000-08:00

One of the nicest meditation places I have ever been too. We visited a temple run my nuns. It is super clean and organized. Also out in the country so no neighbors, very quiet.

there lotus pond, they collect the seeds. Lots of fish which were huge, they don't eat meat so the fish grow lots. It is also connected to the local river so the fish have a place to hide here from people.

There rice patty. so nice. there were a couple acres of self sustained plants for the temple. Like 250 nuns I think.

they individually wrap the fruit on this tree to protect it from birds and insects. They also built covers on other fruit trees to protect it from the sun. You really have to have a deep knowledge of the plants your growing even if they are local.

Pic of a family on a scooter. hehe.

Vietnam VI

2010-01-07T06:45:00.001-08:00

Well here is some food. My relatives friends caught some crab and we grubbed on it. hehe.

Guess this place is supposed to be good and popular. It was crowdy and damn good.
This chicken was soooo good.

Vietnam V

2010-01-07T06:31:00.001-08:00

Crazy harbor by the sea. We went to the beach, took about 2-3 hours.

Seaside restaurant.
the restaurant was crazy close next to the sea. It was also very good and cheap. $30 bucks for 5 people. lots of seafood and full. Sorry, starting here I forgot about taking food pics and began just eating.
Thought about going into the water but the waves looked crazy choppy.
Vietnamese put lots of stuff on bikes.
Saw three to four people on bikes.

This was cool. Heard the ducks quacking away.

Vietnam IV

2010-01-07T06:17:00.001-08:00

Dirt road we took to go to a old family friends of my mom. It was a long old trip. Couple hours.

The meal we got was yummy. Chicken was from there farm. The vegetables as well. Only the bread was brought by them.

Coffee farm! Drying coffee.

Coffee beans.

Vietnam III

2010-01-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

My hotel for the trip. It was real nice.

This is was a breakfast option. Pho! It was a buffet so got to eat what I wanted. Darn good too.
Cool fountain in the hotel restaurant.

Kids hanging out taking pics of the christmas decorations.

Vietnam II

2010-01-07T06:08:00.001-08:00

Delicious fresh pineapple juice. Lots of different fresh juice all over Vietnam.

Cool dinner boats on the river. Boats are decorated differently with neon. We were gonna ride on the river and enjoy dinner but my parents ate it and I prefer tasty grub over an interesting ride.
Cool noodle cart outside hotel.

This is my first meal in Vietnam. Love my rice and pork chop!!! Com bi!

Vietnam!

2009-12-27T19:56:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Vietnamese instruction on Vietnam airflight to Saigon!

Saigon airport.

It was cloudy when I landed and started to rain when I got out of the airport. It only rained for a couple of hours, but it was good because I guess it washed a lot of the dust away.

View from hotel balcony. Nice hotel, great breakfast. Really good food so I filled up for the day every morning. Nice warm vacation from cold Pusan.

Fresh sweet fruit! Got to spend a couple days in Vietnam. Spent time with family and met up with mom and dad. Will update more soon.

Shanghai 4

2009-12-14T21:07:00.000-08:00

Apologize for sequence and lack of images. Being in meetings during the day equals limited opportunities to see much.

Shanghai airport, cool roof.

Second glass of watermelon juice for the trip. I miss Irvine sometimes, need larger glasses in Asia. They fresh squeeze it here, so it's good.

Hope you can read the freeway sign. They separate cars in lanes according to size. Like Chinese drivers will listen and give a damn, everybody goes anywhere they please.

Smart of the hotel to have this opening connecting every other floor. Makes it seem airy.

Entrance to Ritz.

Little christmas cookie and ginger bread house outside hotel lobby.
The breakfast was pretty decent. We were up and eating by 7am so nice to get some grub before the day.
Asian/ Chinese breakfast section. Some dim sum, congee, egg station next to it (not pictured)
Some more breakfast foods. It was on the second highest floor, so it had a nice view.

Shanghai 3

2009-12-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

I should know the name of this area but I don't. It's popular anyways. Something like Jackie Chan helped to develop the area. They preserved the old buildings and opened yuppy restaurants and bars. Of course starbucks is here. haha.

Ate at this Shanghainese restaurant.
Food is awesome. Personal rice basket.
Sooo good.
They cook this meat and vegetable dish outside your room in oil. Nice little show.
Pretty much best Chinese food I have had.
Ever! Shanghai food is good. Plus we had wine. All good!!

Shanghai 2

2009-12-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

Streets of Shanghai, this is the crazy rich area, right next to hotel. Typical elaborate luxury brands. Doesn't feel like China or anywhere different.

Cool thing about Shanghai is the blend of old european style buildings and the super new high rises.

Shanghai 1

2009-12-13T03:06:00.000-08:00

din tai fung in shanghai. Luckily the restaurant is in the hotel. Yummy and fresh watermelon juice. yay!

View from my room in Shanghai hotel. Soviet era museum building across the street.
Nice rooms at the Ritz Carlton. The bed was uber comfortable.
Nice bathroom too.

Busan museum of modern art

2009-12-13T03:02:00.000-08:00

Not the museum, but darn good dinner.

Art piece at the museum. You get a magnifying glass and the little sculptures are visible.

Nice wooden art piece in the museum. It was a good day to go since it was a free day.
Outside museum.

Busan

2009-12-12T22:25:00.000-08:00

Nice view of Busan from top of a mountain. Went with some coworkers from Taiwan.

Just some photos of shopping near Busan University. It was pretty darn cold that night.
Cool business in a wooden box. Guess you can just wheel it around and open shop.

Hong Kong 15

2009-11-24T03:24:00.001-08:00

Went to Sai Kung for seafood. Took the subway then a 30 minute bus ride to a seaside fishing village.

Crazy big fish tank. We ate at this place. There a bunch of restaurants facing the harbour here.
You pick out the fish and seafood you want to eat. They weigh it and then you go to the restaurant and they prepare it the way you want.
We had fresh prawns, razor clams, regular clams, shanghai crab and veggies. Way too much food for two. shanghai crab was overrated, it is in season but too much work to get the meat.

It was good, definitely recommend checking it out but it isn't cheap.

Hong Kong 14 Macau

2009-11-24T03:16:00.000-08:00

Jules made it a habit of taking pics of the cool Graphics around the Hong Kong area. Check-out the old folks for the wash closet logo.

Haha!

We were looking for lunch and ended up going downstairs from the main street. We saw a bunch of locals going in so how bad could it be? It was GOOD! No english menu, but Jules managed to order for us. Look at how thy serve the milk tea. It's in an ice bucket.

Hong Kong 13 Macau

2009-11-24T03:11:00.000-08:00

Ruins of some important church in Macau. haha, that's how interested I was. Guess everybody goes here and takes pics.

historic area of Macau, cool to see the European style buildings mixed in with a Chinese vibe and crown.
Crazy Casinos in Macau. Uber tacky, but all casinos seem to be. Well, except Monaco.
Like how there is a nice pop of bright color.
Felt so mediterranean being in Macau. It was warmer then Hong Kong as well.

Hong Kong 13

2009-11-20T07:58:00.000-08:00

You can take the subway from Kowloon to Hong Kong island or the ferry.

Inside ferry.
This is another ferry that crosses the harbour. It is about the same price and a nice ride. Get a view, sea breeze, pretty cool.
Hong Kong pay phone, like the cover.
What's this?....Oh yeah! Macau! More soon.

Hong Kong 12

2009-11-20T07:54:00.000-08:00

View from room. yeah not direct view of harbour. The side with direct view was under construction. Maybe next time.

Some cool buildings in Hong Kong.
Bank of China. I.M. PEI i think
Lippo Centre, koalas climbing a tree
From Victoria peak, Kong Kong Island foreground, Kowloon background.

Hong Kong 11

2009-11-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

Where's the monkey's head on the left?

Look soup trolley car!!!
Bamboo scaffolding everywhere. They even use it on crazy tall high rise buildings.
Like the polished steel gates. Not exactly beautiful but nicer than the stuff we see stateside.
Liked the awnings in this small street.

Hong Kong 10

2009-11-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

If you look closely. At the white base of the buddha you can see some stairs. He's that BIG!

I guess it makes sense there are lots of animals. The entire area is a buddhist temple. Gotta be safe for animals right?

This guys was funny, he was looking for food. The dogs looked well fed and pretty clean. Probably neighborhood pets just smelling something some tourist threw in.

So what is up with the lane direction signs for the subway pedestrian traffic. Funny, it's like a road. haha. I'm a rebel so I went the opposite direction. Look out! Oh yeah, look at all the people.

Hong Kong 9

2009-11-18T06:55:00.000-08:00

That buddha is huge. Yeah cows. say what?

Seriously he's big. Buddha high five!
The line to ride the cable car back. sooooo long!
Again sooo long. We paid extra to ride the glass cable car and only had to wait 15 minutes not 1:30 minutes.
Awesome! Jules was taking a picture and then this monk walked up and took the same angle picture. hehe. I think they were tibetan monks.

Hong Kong 8

2009-11-18T06:49:00.000-08:00

This is right where we originally took photos of the light show. Cool lit up animal things.

More Kowloon at night, huge old trees right in the middle of the city.
A crowd watching the performance. Love the energy. Asia is pretty cool.
They had performance going on in Soho area of Hong Kong for the wine festival. This guys was juggling at like 10:30pm.
My good deed for the day. This lady was going home and had to carry her stuff down the stairs. So I gave her a hand. The escalators in Hong Kong change direction according to the time of day so they were only going up.

Hong Kong 7

2009-11-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

Despite all the craziness. I thought I would continue the Hong Kong posting for some entertainment.

This place is right across from our hotel. Jules likes the rice so we gave it a try. Right in Kowloon and as you can see, super local.

The food was alright for me. What I thought was cool was the table had a drawer to hold utensils. Nice idea.

We ate here for dinner. Some famous place in Hong Kong island, open a real longtime. With specialty duck and other dishes supposedly won a bunch of competitions.

We had to wait a bit on the second floor. There are three floors to the place and it was full.

The duck and friend prawns with crab roe. The crab roe was really good, outside not crunchy like I prefer. The duck or was it goose? was pretty good but not worthy of all the hype. Overall I would recommend going because it was good and the service was very good for Hong Kong.

SNOW!

2009-11-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Interrupted posting of Tokyo and Hong Kong to show you snow! It snowed yesterday night. Not much, maybe an inch but nice to see. It's getting pretty cold here. I told my co-workers who grew up in Pusan that it was forecasted 20% chance of snow. They said that doesn't mean anything and it wouldn't snow. haha! Weather person got it right for once.

Hong Kong 6

2009-11-15T16:06:00.000-08:00

took a cable card ride to see the big buddha in Hong Kong. you can hike there but....too lazy. It's an all day kinda hike.

Oh yeah glass bottom cable cars!! Pay extra but shorter lines and kinda cool if you are'nt scared of heights.

woooaaah!

See! It gets real high!

There's the big buddha in the background. More of it later.

Hong Kong 5

2009-11-15T08:27:00.000-08:00

Crowd in subway. Gets busier but when it is no time for pics, just try to avoid the traffic.Double decker trolley in HK island, cool ride.
they're all painted differently and have open windows which is nice and breezy.
some typical HK buildings
Uber modern malls all over HK

Hong Kong 4

2009-11-15T08:12:00.001-08:00

Lan Kwai Fang on HK island. So many people. It was 11pm.

Look at all the kegs from the LKF area food and wine festival.
Saw this in the subway in the afternoon. Like how the little kid is on the ledge looking at cookies. Cute.
Fresh made waffles! Taro flavor? yup, Jules at this everyday before we went back to the hotel cuz it is close by. It was good, but I didn't eat much cuz she would scarf it down before I could.
Moules and frites!!! Soooo good. Miss western food.

Crazy amount of kid vending machines.

Look more! This group is like 5 feet from the previous picture.
A different angle of the crazy long escalator.
There was a long line so we figured we would try it. Hey crowds do work, it was delicious!!!

I'm sure my sister is jealous she loves this kind of stuff. Octopus, Sausages, Organ meat, yumm.
More food on the street! So good.

Hong Kong 3

2009-11-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

Lots of people on the subway. The trains are clean but the people have typical habits.So many people, very chaotic. Big contrast to the orderly crowds of Japan.

Really sic landcruiser in HK street.
We took a bunch of photos of this thing.
Yes, this guys is gutting, cleaning and preparing these two pigs in an alley outside his restaurant. Kinda unsanitary looking but not bothered enough not to eat there. haha.
Couple selling chestnuts in the middle of the street. It was way too hot and humid to eat this now. Maybe in a couple weeks.
Super long escalator in a mall in Kowloon.
Desert had dry ice to keep it cool and smoky effect. Interesting concept, waste of energy personally, but the desert itself was good.
Quick look at the inside of a restaurant. ate lunch here, it was yummy.

Hong Kong 2

2009-11-14T23:07:00.001-08:00

Giant soup dumpling and spoon in a store display. haha.

Hong Kong has some crazy busy streets. On the ground and above pedestrians. Most of the pics will be like these.
Shanghai crab season is in november. Supposed to be delicious. I will post my experience with it later. they display them like this on the street and in stores to show the roe. looks yummy sort of.
Crazy how they wrap'em.

Hong Kong!

2009-11-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

yup, it's me in Hong Kong! Only picture of me you'll find. I had the joy to go to Hong Kong for a few days to visit Jules!

The city is awesome. Lots of stuff to do, good food, can get around easily in english (I miss being able to get around) and a holiday. All good.
Bruce Lee statue by avenue of the stars in Kowloon.
Everynight they do a laser and lightshow set to music. It's cool how they coordinate multiple major buildings in the skyline to do this. Great showcase for architecture and tourism.

Tokyo 10

2009-11-14T22:27:00.001-08:00

Lights and crowds. Love the energy.

full garage doors open along the building face. Inside there are living walls with a waterfall, cool.

Nice bikes and a red insight!

Tokyo 9

2009-11-14T22:16:00.000-08:00

Ginza. they close the street on the weekend so you can walk and chill without cars in the way.

Sensoji temple in tokyo. It's the old large temple in tokyo. Super crowded. Where I got the corn and ice cream.

Cool outfits for a wedding I think they were attending at the temple. I wanna get it for my niece and nephew. haha. Don't think they would appreciate or get it.

See how cool the divider blocks are! Nice considered shape with polished edge to control traffic. Oh it's by the imperial palace.

The imperial palace, as close as I could get. Lame.

took a nap in the imperial gardens, nice, quiet, clean and so relaxing.

Tokyo 8 food

2009-11-14T22:07:00.000-08:00

sushi! yummy! Saw huge chunks of tuna behind the counter. small restaurant in the airport before heading back to Pusan but lots of good sushi.

Fresh grilled corn at the temple in Tokyo. It was good but it cost $4.50
Melon ice cream, delicious!!!! they have lots of flavor and they do this by having flavors individually wrapped and put it in the machine when you order. It keeps it fresh and awesome.
Lots of plastic food in the windows in Shinjuku.
Beef tataki, tofu and salad. So good.
Sushi! Ate some sushi in Ginza. It was sunday which I know is a bad day for sushi but still good. This cost about 40 bucks I think. Came with miso soup.

tokyo7

2009-11-04T16:45:00.000-08:00

Cool!

Old school fan in the subway rotates.
Signal button for the blind? How do they find it.
Why do australians love to wear there country jerseys everywhere they go?
So many people!

tokyo6

2009-11-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Love the super small alleyways in Tokyo. They're very clean considering.

haha! Beer! Couldn't help buut stop and eat at one of the small eateries in the alley.

How can you go wrong with a lady like this behind the counter.

yummmy. Chicken, chicken skin, gizzards, kidney, meat, peppers...

You leave the alley and you see this stuff. Awesome.

tokyo5

2009-11-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

The hotel had a pretty damn good breakfast which was included with our room. Had fresh pancakes, french toast, eggs and japanese breakfast.

Liked the umbrella storage outside the hotel.

This is the walkway to the park where the design show is held. So peaceful and pretty.

100%Design Tokyo!

Actually did some work on this trip. It was a cool show. The shows strength is not the main venue but satellite venues held in conjunction with the main show. It encourages visitors to explore the city and helps combine smaller local artist and genres not normally seen at these shows due to the expense.

tokyo 4 clips

2009-11-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Store front in Ginza with animatronics.

Japan is crowded but it is amazingly orderly.

Not many loud voices or loud cars. The noise level is very low considering the amount of people moving around you.

There was this monkey entertaining people at the Sensoji temple.

haha.....monkey.

tokyo3

2009-11-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

Stood inline to get these donut sized belgian waffles in Ginza.there were flavors like maple, almond, plain, chocolate, maroon. They were ok, but not worth standing inline for. Maybe if they were made to order, the line helps in keeping fresh batches but not as good as Europe. Sorry Japan. Oh also saw a bunch of french patisseries but after having many failed Macaroon experiences, I will wait til my girl makes me try one. Sorry Paris wins this one still.

That thing in the window is a donut sponge type cake. There was a line for this thing too, don't worry they slice it so you aren't buying the whole thing.

Tokyo tower, copy of the real deal, but is a copy ever any good?....nope.

Tokyo tower behing Zojoji temple. Real big temple in the middle of the city. It was cool, closed but cool area looking nonetheless.

My suntory time! I did have Suntory beer, but that's later. hehe.

tokyo2

2009-11-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Look at all the salarymen. It was around 8pm so I guess they are getting off work.
Tamiya factory store. I think it was 4 floors of Tamiya stuff! Gott get stuff for people from here next time.

I like seeing the crowds of people, the restaurants and usage of the space beneath the train tracks. In the US the area under trains become parking lots and us just dirty. The Japanese use it for restaurants and businesses. So smart!

Every corner in major intersections is filled with lights and shops.

ITOYA store, all you designers can appreciate a one stop shop for art supplies. haha. Like 5 floors or 7 floors, crazy.
Ginza is crazy nice, apparently very expensive area, all the top brands are here.
cool exterior of a restaurant next to the train.

Tokyo 1

2009-11-02T18:52:00.000-08:00

Stayed in a big hotel, but in a small low cost room. No more last minute trip planning. Argh! I like to plan lik ecrazy but since it was for work, I let someone else handle it.
We went to Ginza since it was close by and we wanted to eat some sushi. tsukiji fish market is couple blocks away.
Since it was friday nite, most sushi places in the area close early so we went to a donburi place. Coworker wasn't excited about it, but I eat this stuff a couple times a month in LA. I miss it lots.
Cozy, locals eating a nice bowl of rice with sashimi on top, mine was negitoro and eggs (sorry, I don't remember my Japanese)

Tokyo!!!

2009-11-02T18:40:00.001-08:00

So finally get to go to Japan and stay, not a layover at the airport. Japan has been on the top of my list of places to go. I was super happy to go at first but realized as it got closer I was going for work so that kinda sucks. Japan was awesome anyways, can't wait to go back and take time to enjoy the culture.

Got some yen for the trip, it's about 90 yen to the dollar. So 10,000 yen is like around $110USD. Got about 500 changed just in case. In the end didn't need that much cuz I didn't buy anything. Just food and getting around.

This is the train station at Narita, you can get to Tokyo on the JR train for $35. It's an express train and it takes 1 hr. The slower trains are much cheaper but take 80-90 minutes atleast.

If you have never been on a good train system, you are missing out. They're efficient and easy to navigate. You also get to nap and not worry about traffic. They also have a girl pushing a snack cart in the aisle if you get hungry.

Noticed they have an LED lit map that progress as the train travels. It's cool

Future Place?

2009-10-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

Went to check out a new place in Dalmaji. Might move here in a month or so. It is about an hour from current place. On a hill and in the expat area. Lots of stuff down the hill but around the place not much. It's also an older building.A nice view of an outdoor auditorium.

Little smaller than current place.

Remodeled bathroom with a clawfoot tub.
It was owned by this nun and she wants to sell it. Cost about $2.5-2.7 million USD depending on conversion. Crazy prices in this area.

Kalbi Jiim

2009-10-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Restaurant in my neighborhood.

Saw this stuff Kalbi Jiim on tv so I wanted to try it. This is a local place not the cool place on TV so it didn't look as good as I thought. The meat should be huge and stuff. It was alright, kinda sweet like spare ribs at a Chinese place.

Ofcourse we also ate grilled pork and a bunch of Panchan.

I finished my meal with some mul naengmyeon. haha. I'm losing weight from not excercising but gaining a belly. ahh.

Weiner and Kraut in Pusan?

2009-10-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Yup! sausage and saurkraut in Pusan. Apparently a food conglomerate which owns a hotel also owns a local brewery. They have three brewed beers on tap and the sausage is pretty darn good. They actually make it with a bone, that's the stick end. The fries were lame but I ordered more fries and told them to make em fresh which turned out much better.

They had a live band and most of the patrons were older and having a good time. The band sung songs in Korean, English and they were from Bulgaria!
Bar and brewery behind.
Ha!ha! the servers even dressed in costume. the guys has lederhosen!

Neighborhood Hiking

2009-10-26T05:43:00.000-07:00

Went hiking up he hill by my house. About five minute walk away there is a mountain, I've begun to go jogging on the local track field, but there is a trail that leads to this peak.
My apartment is the last one on the right row in the far back. So I have an unobstructed view of the sea. Also get good ventilation and nice lighting.
The peak of the mountain has this pit which they use to use to signal for wars or something. That's what the locals tell me.

Check out the old ladies. They carry blocks of granite on there heads to the top of the hill. Pass it along to each other. They're building a landing pad for a helicopter.Crazy! feel like a lazy slob seeing old women do this intense labor.

Paris Style

2009-10-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

Don't want to post too much stuff I find online but this is from thesartorialist.

Amazing photo of youth and great style despite the guys bags. They have an amazing sense of fun and carefree attitude.

Taiwan part III

2009-10-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

Sadly, these are the few daytime pics I have of Taiwan. I was busy in the office most of the day.

Courtyard in the apartment. Nice little feature.

Great weather for the visit, not often you get crisp blue skies and mild temperatures in a polluted area.

This is in the Taiwan International airport lounge. Free food, free video games, blah, blah.

Food wasn't bad considering you don't pay anything.

This is the walk way above the customs check. Why would they let you hover above them. Not an expert on security, but this seams way lame....wait...oh yeah this is Taiwan. haha!

Hello Kitty themed nursery rooms for kids.

These five guys are developers and designer for the largest shoe company in the world. We saw them in the lounge in Taiwan, then Seoul and finally Pusan. You can pick them out by the company logo on their t-shirts, shoes, backpacks and checked luggage. Must be corporate policy you have to wear company clothing or just a really good discount.

Taiwan part II

2009-10-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Yup! that's TGIF. For my second and final dinner in Taiwan, I ate at TGIF. Not my choice but wutever. It is comfort food since I know what I am getting into.

Same decor, sadly one beer on tap!?!
The server asked me twice if I was sure I wanted the full rack of ribs. Sorry I ain't no wimpy Taiwanese eater. I'm a pig out American. Too bad that's all the fries they gave me. If you can see the plate under the fries, the portion is too small!
Crazy new apartments in this area, kinda reminded me of Century City, really nice apartments. If I had to live in Taichung I guess this is the area, kinda boring tho.
Yeah, bike galore. Taiwan had lots of scooter which I expected to see, but in Korea the car is king.

TaiChung Taiwan

2009-10-21T23:56:00.000-07:00

This is the street outside the Taichung Taiwan office. It's right off the main freeway near the center of town.

I've pointed out the new and old in Korea, but Taiwan has a larger dichotomy between new and old. There are brand new apartments and towers right next door to older buildings.

Office building at night changes colors.

Chinese restaurant near the apartment. We had to order out of the discontinued english menu cuz no one can read chinese. haha. Next time we bring local coworkers.