Coffee at the EPC's office

With all the crazy coffee shops all over Seoul, I was stunned to find this in our office:

Well, ok.  The tea was nice.  But instant coffee?  This is a joke, right?  We've put up with this for several months. 

Then just last week, we had a pleasant surprise:

OK, I had to buy the coffee.  And the filters.  And the measuring spoon.  But the contractor provided the coffee pot. 

When you go to the grocery stores you find out how much Seoul residents love - or rather, buy (I don't know if they really like the stuff) instant coffee.  It's a LOT.  The local market near our house has all kinds of instant coffees, but only two brands of ground coffee.

Pets and a Pet Fail

Like I mentioned, dogs are found everywhere in Seoul.  I should add that you find more in some parts of Seoul as compared to others.  For instance, in the Itaewon/Hannam dong area they are everywhere.  I hear dogs bark at night.  I see other owners with dogs, walking them.

The photo I posted of a woman with a dog was taken near the Gangnam area.

We visited the section of town that has all of the pet shops.  There must be an easy two or three dozen pet shops.  Here is one of my wife and daughter perusing one.  This is typical.  Just crammed full of all sorts of pet stuff.

But later, we happened on a store that had this box we could see from the store window:

I have no idea what it is.  I don't care to know.

Taking Peeps to a whole new level

We took a quick weekend trip to Fukuoka Island in Japan.  It was close to Easter so all the shops were selling Peeps.  But these are Peeps like I've never seen before.  Here is a photo of one:

And here is a huge lighted ad for them:

But they really weren't much like the Peeps in the US other than a vague shape of them.  No marshmallow center.  No sugary crunchy/squishy exterior.  And they tasted....ok.

Preparing for??

This photo was a little frightening.  Maybe the Koreans really are concerned about the survivability of a fire in the subway stations.  Or maybe anything else that might happen in a subway.

Tiramisu’s creator focuses on customer happiness

I don't want to abandon talking about food completely.  So I found this great article about the guy who invented Tiramisu.  I had never heard of the stuff until the movie Sleeping In Seattle.

Iannaccone was good at his work, and restaurants wanted his desserts. After success with a food distribution business, he moved to Baltimore to help a business contact launch an Italian restaurant. Although he and his wife, Bruna, had initially planned to return to Italy, events compelled them to stay. Now they run Piedigrotta on 1300 Bank Street, where everything is handmade with Italian authenticity.

In the midst of it all, Iannaccone invented tiramisu.

Or so he says.

A Washington Post reporter investigated the claim in 2007 and found it credible, although the dessert’s provenance is debated by food historians. With the same dismissiveness he applies to his age, he said of his world-famous concoction: “It’s no big invention. It’s not an airplane.”

AND he's modest!

At the end of the article is his recipe for Tiramisu.  Looks to die for!

Houston Mission Control in Tokyo Train station at Airport

I had to make a visa run to Japan a month ago.  I thought I would take the subway to the city center...until I saw this:

 



There was no way in heck I was going to figure this out.

The death of kimchee?

Who doesn't know what kimchee is?  Sort of the Korean version of sauerkraut, I guess.

But with garlic.  Lots of garlic.  Lots and lots of garlic.

So, when I saw this in the men's bathroom, it sort of reminded me of an alcoholic who had finally admitted he had a problem and needed to do something about it.

If you haven't figured it out, it's a mouthwash dispenser.  See the blue green color in the cup?  That's the mouthwash.

Now, the South Koreans still consume vast quantities of Kimchee, morning, noon and night.  But they aren't stupid.  They know their breath reeks.  But mouthwash only works for a little while, and the garlic breath comes back.  The real cure is to go cold turkey.  And I think they know that.

So, what I see is kimchee slowly over time being consumed less and less and only brought out for special occasions.