Min's Kitchen

Located just down the street, this new restaurant has been beckoning for a few weeks. Eli and I finally made it there last weekend for lunch.

The menu boasts modern Korean cuisine. The rough finish of the cement walls and the large windows contrasted nicely with the white table cloth and rustic ceramic place settings. If the interior design was any indication, Min's Kitchen is indeed pretty modern.

Unfortunately, there was no English menu and only one server who could speak a bit of English. Undaunted, we took her advice and ordered the lunch set for two. Since the menu was in Korean and the translation was very rough, I can't tell you exactly what the names of the dishes were. Instead I'll have to let the pictures speak for themselves.

There was also a soup with potatoes and squash that was on the salty side, but unfortunately I'd forgotten to take pictures of it.

Overall, the meal was quite good and not too expensive at about 30,000 W for two. I'd like to visit again though it might be best to go with a Korean friend.

Location:
189-11, Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea
02.324.5511

Cloth Bracelet

Nudged along by a few inspirational posts and pictures, I made this little bracelet out of scrap cloth. 

It's based on a simple sailor's knot. Check out how to make a bracelet like this one in Etsy.com's how-to article.

Home Plus Wines

Normally I am an E-mart shopper, but Eli, my boyfriend, has recently persuaded me to go to Home Plus. I'd been to Home Plus once before and hadn't been impressed, but I hadn't seen the wine section yet.

Home Plus is a joint venture between Samsung and Tesco - with Tesco owning 94% of the shares. This changes everything. I shopped at a Tesco when I lived in Prague, when I lived in Shanghai. Therefore far from a stranger, Home Plus is actually an old friend in disguise. With its global reach, Tesco produces and imports into Korea its own wines. The star of which is its Cava.

Cava is well described as the Spanish version of champagne. This one is delightful - perhaps because it is produced in its home country! With pizza and a light salad or with a fettucini alfredo dinner, this bubbly delivers just the right flavor. It brings me back to the first time I tasted it in Barcelona. What an unexpected pleasure to find it in Seoul for 12,000W!

The label of this bottle has gotten Eli and I to jokingly refer to it as the "Martha Stewart Wine." The quality of this bottle doesn't quite match up with that of the Cava, but nevertheless, it is the best of the 9,000W wines I have had in Korea. Yup. 9,000W for a decent Malbec. It isn't awesome, but it really hits the spot when you'd rather not spend more than 15,000W for a bottle of wine.

Muuido

6 am on the beach, just after sunrise.

A beach trip slipped in before the cool autumn weather is pretty irresistible. So despite a gloomy weather forecast, the boyfriend and I decide to go along with our plans to head out to Muuido over Chuseok.

Muuido is an island located just off Incheon Island. In fact, it is just minutes away by bus and ferry from Incheon International Airport. We left the concrete jungle and about 2 hours later, we found ourselves in a local bus winding through the hilly island's bumpy roads. Along the coast boats lay on mud flats, waiting for the tide to come in. Nestled in the hills are small vineyards growing table grapes. Accommodations on the beach consist of three rows of beach bungalows available for 40,000 W a night. There are several bathrooms and a shower room as well. 

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The food out on the island isn't fantastic, but there is a barbecue restaurant at one end of the beach and a convenience store near the entrance to the beach. The convenience store sells ice cream, beer, ramen, various chips and cookies, and hats. It does not sell sunblock lotion, however, so don't forget it!

Outdoor seating at the barbecue.

This beach is popular with Koreans for clam digging. When the tide is out, groups armed with buckets and trowels head out onto the mud flats to dig up their dinner. Quite a few came back with full buckets. We didn't head out ourselves, but we did find some pretty neat things along the shore.

At this time of year, the tide comes in at 5am and 5pm so swimming didn't really happen. Still, the weather was perfect for laying out with a good book and some frisbee tossing.

Low tide.

Getting there:

Airport buses from all over Seoul deliver you right to Incheon International Airport for around 10,000 W. The newly opened subway line to ICN is another good option. It stops at Seoul Station and Hongik Station, and costs 3,700 W.  Once in ICN, head over to Exit 2 on the 3rd floor and get on Bus 306. Get off at the first stop, where you'll see signs for Muuido. Follow the signs until you see a bus stop for Bus 222. This will take you to the ferry terminal. A roundtrip ticket costs 3,000 W per person. Once you land on the other side (a 3 minute ride), jump on the local green bus and get off at the second stop. 

Cafe Sukara

This past weekend was a much needed holiday. The Korean holiday Chuseok fell on September 12 this year and I had a precious few days off. In the middle of my very relaxing time off, my boyfriend and I found this seriously cute cafe.

Everything is made in an open kitchen in the center of the cafe, and nearly everything is organic or free trade. The menu showed a wide range of teas and a decent offering of coffees. Some savory items - simple Korean dishes - and desserts were listed as well, and most of the other patrons were taking meals.

 From our seats, we could smell onions caramelizing. We watched as the barista made each of our drinks with surprising care. This is no Starbuck's where the barista moves in a flurry of motion, steamer shrieking and ice scoop clanging. My iced latte received a handful of frozen coffee cubes and a gentle pour of chilled espresso before getting topped off with milk. The iced soy chai latte my boyfriend ordered was finished off with a light dash of cinnamon.

Pots of water on the boil for hand dripped coffee.

 The eclectic collection of furniture is pleasingly arranged in configurations that hint at great dinner conversations and raucous laughter. The unfinished cement and brick walls provide a great backdrop for traditional art, too. As we left, the smell of something delicious curled about our heads. We'll be back at Cafe Sukara soon!


View Cafe Sukara in a larger map

Chevron Mugs

Here is a project I undertook that is dear to my heart. After finding these FABULOUS mugs on Etsy, I decided to try my hand at making my own chevron coffee mugs. It was harder than i thought! But in the end, they're one of the most meaningful items I own.

I found my local ceramics painting shop, Paint the Town, and chose a barrel mug. I used Scotch painter's tape to make my lines and painted away! The taping took the most time...

Inspired

Recently I decided that I should spend some time on the blank wall in my room and found this picture of inspiration.

This page is from the September 2011 issue of Real Simple magazine. The mountains on the wallpaper caught my eye for texture and it has a sort of comical, fun attitude. I had to have it.

I decided against wallpapering my bedroom wall, seeing as it seemed like the wallpaper would be $$$ and wallpapering isn't exactly on my list of fun things to do. Instead, I opted for a large canvas painting with the same cheery mountains.

Below are progress pictures from inspiration to installment. Enjoy!

First: Wine, Music, & Materials

Second: Line Drawing

Thirdly: COLOR!!

Fourth: Have a friend check on your progress

Color Done! Time for outlining.

I didn't want to make the lines too stark,

so I went with a deep dark blue.

And the finished product...

Unfortunately, it didn't look as good in my room

as it did in my dining room...

Surprisingly, the colors in the painting

tie together all the colors in my living room

and dining area. Coincidence? I like to think not.

But I still need something in my bedroom...