Feb: Seoul Day 2

Good Morning ! As the sun shines in, we know it's a good day to head outdoors!  

Took a morning walk at Garosu gil and realized the trees are bald!

I guess I'll have to come back in summer. Jin drove by to  meet  me and we had spicy chicken for lunch just down the corner. Woah, it was really SPICED up and we were sniffing as we ate.

Jumped on the subway towards Oksu, heading for a walk around Samcheong-dong. Hills were filled with small streets of old residences, coffee shops and handicraft stores. Old residences were transformed into cafes/ tea spots & museums.

I discovered the ancient parts of Seoul that Jin has never been. Walking 8 hours today was simply enough, I headed home for dinner to rest my feet. Jin ordered Jajang Myeon "black bean paste + noodles", a typical home delivery dish among Korean families. Take out dishes were delivered with plates and bowls to be picked up later after we are finished with dinner!  

Feb: Seoul Day 1

Right after CNY's, I took a trip to Seoul to visit my pianist friend whom I met 7 years ago in New York.Upon being picked up at Hyatt hotel, we headed out to the lastest hotspot "Garosu-gil"- a street with trees on both side of the roads, filled with upbeat coffee shops & stores owned by Korean pop stars. So as Jin said, when you visit Korea for the 1st time, you have to eat "Sam Gyeob sal", bbq'ed kimchi & garlic with a slice of bbq was simply so tasty!  

 Rice, seaweed, kimchi, tofu were all side dishes that filled us up!

After dinner dessert was a cup of tea & cake at a florist based cafe~ Bloom & Goute

Serious Catching UP~ New Celebrations

Chinese New Year celebrations run for days in Taiwan, we are in the holiday mood for a month in Febuary! Company year end party " 尾牙" is held prior to CNY where we enjoy a full buffet, put on a show, and get our chances to see our supervisors sing & dance on stage.  This year we were assigned to put on a 5 min show related to the 100th year celebration of Taiwan, and we did a Taipei 101 firework show! Stools were stacked up to represent Taipei 101 and we were the men-in-black putting out the fireworks behind a big black screen.

As we've spent previous years flying huge lanterns with crowds at Pingxi, this year we headed off to the major Lantern festival in Hsinchu county-Zhunan. Pup Pudding is almost 1 year old! His birthday is March 5th, 2010 and there's no cake to celebrate, but a late night-out to celebrate CNY with lights.

3 months away

It's been 3 months since the last post. Happy 2011! It'll be the lunar new year in just 2 days! Finally, it's a time to stay home, hibernate from the cold winter.

This shall be the first lunar new year away from home, as the daughter is "married" out of the family. Chinese New Year eve & the 1st day of CNY will be spent with my husband's family. Married wives have told me how awkward they felt,  I wonder how i'll be feeling?

Bali or Paris

When people asked me where I was heading to, I said bali (in chinese), so where was I going? Bali & Paris in Chinese sounds alike. If I had flewn to Paris, I wouldn't be welcomed with beautiful Frangipanis.

 So, what's in Bali? to name a few, Fresh Tropical fruits,Villas with Pools, Xtremely large lizards, chocolate & hot stones SPA, water sports, sea turtles, bats..etc

Keeps me wondering why Bali turned into a favorite spot for the Chinese, Koreans & Europeans. If we had a EAT PRAY LOVE tour in Bali, travel the Bali she's seen, meet the guru who changed her life, wouldn't it be closer to perfect to join such a tour?

my Siblings

 So far, my siblings are getting along quite well, other than the occasional fights over jealousy. Both love FOOD and it's how I acquire their full attention. P2oodle's favorites include bread, apples, pears & lettuce while pudding loves anything edible found on the table. His recent accomplishments of consuming a full bowl of sliced honeydew, cliff's lunch box portion of ma-po tofu + vegetables, half a plate of grapes. Their favorite game includes tug of war with their dalmation spot squeak bone, racing each other to the door and following wherever I go.

How Naughty!

After encountering p2oodle consuming my breakfast crossiant this past week, pudding jumped on our coffee table and helped himself with slices of melon. Worst of all, within these few days, he ate up Cliff's packed lunch of Ma-po tofu + vegetables!