Weekend #13 : Abiko Curry, Hongdae

Okay, so this is a really late post. Like, 2 weeks late post, but I'm gonna post it anyway because we were impressed with this restaurant.

I never thought I would find a nice curry house here in Seoul. Don't get me wrong, but Japanese food seemed a bit rare here, the restaurants are dominated with Korean specialities.

Curry is one of my and Mr. M favorite foods in common. And it's not a long list, we are in different paths when it comes to food most of the time.

When we caught this restaurant in the corner of Hongdae mall, we instantly agreed to have our lunch there. I gotta tell you, I had some pretty good feeling about the restaurant. But it doesn't matter, since most of the time I was completely wrong.

First impression, very lovely interiors. It was warm and saying outloud "we're Japanese!". Look at some of the evidences.

Manga figures

More Manga figures

Second, they have an English speaking waiter! Yaayy.. I could ask whatever I didn't understand on the menu, what they were contain of, how spicy was "spicy", etc.

Four steps in ordering :
1. Pick your carb. There were plain white rice, hayashi rice (hashed beef and rice), and udon.
2. Pick your protein. There were chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, etc.
3. Select the level of spiciness. Mr. M decided to go with "Spicy" and I tried the "Extra Spicy"
4. Add additional deep fried for topping, such as fish cutlet, beef, chicken, etc.

So, I ordered beef curry over white rice with addition of fried chicken and Mr. M ordered Chicken curry over white rice with chicken katsu and vegetable croquette. Our curries comes with two bowls of miso shiru, scallions, and fried garlic. Andra got rice, fish cutlet, and miso shiru.

Yes we took some time to take pics while waiting for our foods to come

My curry turned out to be too spicy for me even though I didn't feel it at first bites. I ended up having watery eyes while finish it up but I really enjoyed it. It was warm and full of flavor. The fried chicken, we really liked it! It was that crispy-on-the-outside-and-tender-in-the-inside kinda thing. Andra also enjoyed his fish cutlet and miso shiru so much.

For sure we are coming back to Abiko Curry, but next time I would have my curry just in "Spicy" stage.

Two years and Four months

Two years and four months. Wow, I was always imagine how you would be at this stage of age. Reading about other moms' babies who were 2 years something when you were a baby, it seemed like a two years something were a grown kid. But here you are now and for me you are still my baby.

This past 2 weeks you've been  having runny nose and lately followed by heavy cough and we decided to take you to a pediatrician, which ended up you have you take medicine 5 times a day. There are some times that you were so hard at taking them (crying involved), but most of the time you take them willingly.

And at 2 years and 4 months you are able to differentiate when I write IBU (mother), AYAH (father), or ANDRA.

You have been really curious about everything since you were a little after your second birthday, but now the question "why?" is heard more constantly and demanding. One question leading to another and you won't stop until the very end (or sometimes because I say, "Well it's just the way it is, baby").

You make circles now with your color pencil! I am always stunned with the progress you make in everything, one of them is how you now take more control of your pencil, from only zig-zag-ing and now you can make a circle (you said it was the earth) and fully colored it.

You love shower time. If the water's cold, it gets you more hysterically excited. It makes me laugh every time you place the water in your cylinder container and throw it through your head and screaming and laughing.

Beside Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Larva, you are now also interested in Mister Maker, Robocar Poli, and Doc McStuffins, which made it easier for me to take you to the pediatrician, get your body examined without a fuss and you ask me to sing her song when it comes to medicine time.

Watching Doc McStuffins

You are now giving advices. You warn me of hot oil every time you hear a sizzle from the stove when I'm cooking. I can see that you concern a lot about people around you. For example when Ayah said that he forgot to take his wallet with him when he arrived from work, you rushed to him and questioning him, how could that happen with some serious eyes on your face.

You are still the one who wakes up first in the morning, and you play by yourself  until you are bored and start to kiss Ayah and me to wake us up.

I love your crazy hair and I can't get enough of kissing and smelling it.

Your favorite game is Hide and Seek, and you often hiding in Ayah's closet and then yell, "Where's Andra, Bu?"

Another favorite time is imitating Ayah's weird dance. Together you would make me laugh because of that.

You can't pronounce F and P yet and replace them with S. I think it's cute when you say "hey-sawn" for handphone, "See-dio" for video.

Obsessed and stunned with fireworks. Ever since you saw fireworks from our window above the Seoul World Cup Stadium, you always want to draw them, and asks when can you see them again, all the time.

I know I'm not always patient with you, baby, but I love you so much you can't imagine. Keep on growing and be a good, generous, polite, thoughtful person as you are right now.

Did I say that I love you?

I love you!

Korean Sea Snail Salad

First time I read this sea snail salad recipe, I was excited. It seemed like a either-you-like-it-or-you-hate-it kinda recipe. And I am that kind of person who's quite adventurous in food, in my own opinion at least.

In a week, I've been making the salad twice, and I am still craving for it. It has strong flavor, the acidity, the spiciness, the crunch, I totally fall for it.

If you can't find the sea snail, you can try chicken gizzard instead. I find it quite similar in texture and flavor. Dump the gizzard with crushed ginger in boiling water until soft and diced, and you are ready to go.

Recipe from here.

Ingredients

1 canned golbangyi (Korean sea snail)

1/4 cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 onion thinly sliced

1/2 carrot, julienned

1 small cucumber thinly sliced diagonally

1 clove garlic finely minced

2 T Korean chili paste

2 T Korean chili flakes

2 T white or rice vinegar

1 T sugar

2 T juice from the canned golbangyi

1 T toasted sesame seeds

1 green onion chopped

Korean thin wheat noodles/vermicelli 

Directions 

1. Drain the golbangyi and reserve 2 tablespoon of juice. Rinse the golbangyi and cut in half if the pieces are too big.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine cabbage, onion, carrots, cucumber, and the golbangyi. Set aside.

3. In a small mixing bowl, combine garlic, chili paste, chili flakes, vinegar, sugar, golbangyi juice, and sesame seeds. Mix them well to make the sauce.

4. Drizzle the sauce over to the golbaygi and vegetable mixture and toss well. Chill in the fridge while you are cooking the vermicelli.

5. Cook the vermicelli in a package direction or boil in the water for 3-4 minutes. Rinse it in the cold running water and drain well.

6. Put the salad in a bowl with the vermicelli. Mix well before serve.

Week #12 meals recap

Andra was having a flu starting on the weekend and so I added some honey on his diet for this week. I simply just diluted the honey in warm water and he liked it so much he could finish it all in one sip.

Well, maybe two.

Monday 1/7 :

Breakfast : oat + raisin + apple
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : Nasi Uduk + omelette
Afternoon snack : cheese cake, honey tea
Dinner : Nasi Uduk + steamed spinach and tofu

Tuesday 2/7 :

Breakfast : oat + raisin + apple
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : Rice + Chinese egg drop soup (with enokki mushroom and red bell pepper)
Afternoon snack : cheese biscuits, honey tea
Dinner : Rice + Chinese egg drop soup

Wednesday 3/7 :

Breakfast : rice + nori sheets
Morning snack : cheese cake
Lunch : macaroni soup (with tofu, bok choi, and daikon radish)
Afternoon snack : plain yogurt
Dinner : macaroni soup
Evening snack : french fries, honey tea

Thursday 4/7 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + raisin + apple
Morning snack :
Lunch : rice + pan fried salmon + stir fried eggplant and cucumber + nori
Afternoon snack : cheese cake
Dinner : rice + pan fried salmon + nori

Friday 5/7 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + apple + raisin
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : rice + beef soup (with carrot and spinach)
Afternoon snack : butter cookies
Dinner : rice + beef soup

Saturday 6/7 :

Breakfast : banana pancake
Morning snack : plain crackers
Lunch : rice + pan fried salmon + stir fried tomato and cabbage
Afternoon snack : churros with sweet potato filling
Dinner : rice + fish cutlet + miso shiru (with scallions)
Evening snack : churros, crackers

Sunday 7/7 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + raisin
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : Korean vermicelli + tofu + spinach in anchovy stock
Afternoon snack : butter cookies
Dinner : Korean vermicelli + tofu + spinach in anchovy stock
Evening snack : Korean crackers

I add an extra, this is the scene I get every morning when he's having his morning snack.

He loves his yogurt.

Our meals recently #2

It's obvious that here I cook more often than when I was still in Indonesia. When we were living in Jakarta, I could easily buy our meals outside for a relatively cheap price.

The Apartment we stayed in was surrounded by so many restaurants, food courts and street vendors so it was pretty easy to get your meals without a fuss. Most restaurants even had a delivery service. So all I had to do was cooking for Andra and call a delivery to get my meals.

I think the benefits are, I could practice my cooking skill more here, I get to know that some recipes are not as complicated as they seem they are, or opposite. Here are some of our meals recently.

White rice + Indonesian sambal goreng kentang daging + stir fried veggies + Padangnese sambal hijau

Bubur Ayam Cakwe (Indonesian chicken porridge)

Stir fried prawn with king mushroom and cilantro. So good!

Spaghetti Aglio d'Olio made by Mr. M

Mie Ayam Jamur + Bakso (Indonesian noodle with stir fried chicken and meatballs)

Birthday Dinner

On my birthday, we decided to have a simple dinner just the three of us. Turned out that Andra was sleeping already on the way to the restaurant because he refused to take a nap before so I kinda like had a date with Mr. M.

The restaurant was only a block away and though it was already 7 pm, the sun was still shining brightly.

On our way

The restaurant was specializing in beef bulgogi, but they also have other choices if you decided not to eat the grilled beef, like soup or stews.

They use traditional heat source, charcoal

I ordered beef short ribs or LA galbi bulgogi (1 kg) for 18.000 won, and Mr. M ordered ribs for 20.000 won. And this is what we got.

 The banchan were wonderful. There was cold noodle, Jjajangmyun, salmon sashimi, crab sashimi in hot spicy sauce, and persimmon dessert.

 I just love the color of the vegetables. Makes you feel healthier knowing you are about to eat them.

The thing about traditional Korean restaurant like this, don't you ever, ever, try to cook the meat yourself. It is forbidden! Trust me on this, because every time I was lifting the scissor and tongs to flip the meat, the waitress suddenly came and take over the flipping job. Seriously, she had radar that she knew, who was playing with her stuffs.

Sorry I didn't take any picture when it's done, because we were starved already. We were satisfied both with the food and the service. The waitresses were so helpful and very smiley. Though we were full when we got home, we still couldn't resist the takoyaki temptation.

This takoyaki in front of our apartment is sooo good. It has big chunk of octopus, and if you want to try other flavor than just octopus, there are 5 choices : chilli, jalapeno, cheddar cheese, garlic, and pineapple. My favorite is octopus and garlic.

So that's it for my first of July. Again, I feel blessed.

What happen if I turn around..

..for only 2 minutes. This was what I got.

I am so sorry toilet tissue that you couldn't function as you should have to. At least you were not sank anymore, I saved you from the deadly water flood in the sink. May you rest in peace.

30 years old

 When I was a little kid, my parents often made me and my siblings this birthday gathering. I wouldn't say party because it's only for family, my cousins and aunts and uncles who also lived in Bandung. The event was usually only contains blowing the candles and dinner. That's it. It was never a big celebrations, but what I remember the most is that we always gather whenever there's someone's having an additional age. There's laughs, stories told, karaoke, and I enjoyed being surrounded by people that I love and love me.

My first birthday away from my family was my 13th. I was on a home stay program with my sister in Sydney, Australia for 2 weeks. A day before my birthday, I cried heavily knowing that my parents, my brother and my cousins wouldn't be there for my birthday. I felt so sad. After crying for hours, I went out to my boarding house's mother and told her that I was having my birthday the day after.

The next day when I and my sister arrived home from our course, my boarding house's mother gave me a surprise. Turned out that she was busy all day in the kitchen, made me a special birthday treat, Indonesian Nasi Goreng and Chicken Satay. I was so touched at the moment and I felt so blessed even though I was away from my family.

That was what a birthday meant to me. People congratulate you, gifts, affections, feels like you are the center of the world.

One of the most memorable birthday would be my 20th. I remember thinking that it was a huge difference between a 20 years old and a teenager. I felt like a grown up. I mean, it has a number 2 in front. Like you are old enough to decide what you want in life.

Yesterday, I turned 30 years old.

Being from a twenty-something to a thirty years old, I think it was just as important as being 20 from your teenage years. Not that I was hoping for a huge celebrations or luxury gifts, but it's more to a grateful moment as I realized that almost all of my dreams in my childhood came true.

Became an architect. Have someone you didn't know you really loved and needed as your husband. Have an amazing son. Experience of living abroad in several countries.

I had some conditional flukes here and there but still I think I am so blessed and loved. I am grateful. For having wonderful family and friends, a husband that understands me more than myself, a son that is so adorable and kissable, and a really exciting chapter of our life journey right now and what to come.

I love being thirty. And I am soaking my moments.

Midnight birthday cake

Week #11 meals recap

Monday 24/6 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + apple
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : rice + chicken soup (with potato and carrot)
Afternoon snack : banana
Dinner : rice + chicken soup

Tuesday 25/6 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + apple + raisin
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : rice + fried mackerel + stir-fried eggplant and tomato
Afternoon snack : sliced apple
Dinner : rice + fried mackerel + stir-fried eggplant and tomato

Wednesday 26/6 :

Breakfast : rice + nori sheets
Morning snack : plain yogurt, cheese sandwich
Lunch : rice + miso soup (with tofu, cucumber, and bean sprouts)
Afternoon snack : raisin
Dinner : rice + miso soup

Thursday 26/6 : 

Breakfast : cheese sandwich
Morning snack : plain yogurt, raisin
Lunch : rice + Soto Bandung
Afternoon snack : biscuits, fresh milk
Dinner : rice + Soto Bandung
Evening snack : mango jelly

Friday 27/6 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + apple
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : rice + steamed carrot + salmon nugget (with mayonnaise and cilantro)
Afternoon snack : crackers
Dinner : rice + steamed carrot + salmon nugget

Saturday 28/6 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + apple + raisin
Morning snack : plain yogurt
Lunch : Fried rice (with egg, bell pepper, and spring onions)
Afternoon snack : cheese
Dinner : rice + nori sheets + soft tofu

Sunday 29/6 :

Breakfast : oatmeal + apple + raisin
Morning snack : oreo
Lunch : potato soup (with broccoli and beef)
Afternoon snack : biscuits
Dinner : potato soup