A-Mao的部落格

For budget travelers, Toyoko Inn is good value, clean and mostly at good location. A-Mao loves traveling abroad even though it is mainly for business. After doing team works in the daytime, however, I don’t like to accompany the other male colleague in a twin room at night, especially when we finished all topics to talk. And, sometimes we had no choice but a double room! Thanks God for that I & engineer R encountered “business twin” of Toyoko Inn in 2007. As soon as I opened its door, surprisingly, another door was in front of me—it seems to be against Chinese Feng Shui, and we happily noticed it is a toilet almost separating the room. There are two beds, two desks, two TVs, two air conditions, you name it. Both of us had basic private space, and the best is that the cost is the same as a normal twin. Those having “business twin” I know: Tokyo Kamata Higashi-guchi, Kyoto Shijo-Omiya, Shin-Osaka Chuo-guchi Honkan & Shin-Osaka Chuo-guchi Shinkan.

In November 2007, A-Mao did business trip with engineer R for 7 days in Japan. We visited one company near by Asakusa, and then I took him to Sensouji to ask for a safe & fruitful trip from the Guanyin. After that, I chose a tempura restaurant at random without R's comment because he really has no idea about Japanese cuisines. After googling the words on the bowl lid in photos several months later, I knew Sansada is a famous & historic one. Both of us went for Tendon then, including fried a half of eggplant, a piece of squid, two shrimps (very fresh) & one whole whiting (my favorite). The rice is al dente, whereas the source is as flavorful as tasteful. For comparison, however, next time I would like to visit another famous tempura restaurant in Asakusa, Daikokuya.

Now kaiten-zushi is not special in metropolises, but Tachigui (stand-up eating) sushi seems cool & interesting to me. Magurobito (Tuna People) Kaminarimon Shucchoujo is near by Sensouji and their price is so affordable. Basically, if you order one ingredient, nigiri-zushi (hand-formed sushi) or gunkan-maki (warship roll) would be served in pairs. This time A-Mao tasted 8 kinds or 18 ones (7 x 2 + 1 x 2 x 2 = 18). As soon as I finished a nice one, I kept the other and ordered the next. The following are TOP 5.

Surprisingly, Japanese is much more useful than English in Busan, the largest port city in South Korea. After googling, the result makes sense that this city is so close to Japan, and it takes 1.5 hour from Osaka by plane, whereas it takes 3 hours from Fukuoka by ferry. By the way, I changed tourist information with an old lady, a lonely & kind backpacker from Kumamoto, on my way to Beomeosa, a must-see temple. Let's get back to foods. When A-Mao arrived in Busan by KTX, an alluring smell of beef was floating in the underground passage connecting Busan station to the opposite Chinatown, or Shanghai Street. I therefore was liked a rat hearing the march from "the Pied Piper of Hamelin" and found this restaurant. One of their young waitresses speaks Japanese well and suggested their beef soup. The kimchi is all-you-can-eat which the best kimchi is in my whole life.

Thanks to Korea Tourism Organization. I got a free but exclusive Chinese-speaking tour guide at Gyeongbokgung for 2 hours and really enjoyed it. He highly recommended Tosokchon & their Samgyetang (or chicken ginseng soup) for a lunch near by the palace. Before my first Samgyetang, as usual, I had kimchi as appetizer. It is average, and I couldn’t tell what the difference between these two daikon kimchi is.

From my point of view, Itaewon in which a local landmark Hamilton Hotel can be found is the most non-Korean area in Seoul for tourists. Slightly similar with "Khao San Road" in Bangkok & "Pham Ngu Lao" in Ho Chi Minh, there are lots of stores, bars & restaurants earning money from foreigners. If you don't have much budget for sleeping, I recommend a sauna in the basement of Hamilton Hotel because it's cheap and near by the subway station. But the ceiling of sleeping area is so low that you have to watch your head, and you may lie next to a guy snoring loudly. In Taiwan, anyway, dolsot bibimbap is my favorite Korean cuisine. It is served in a very hot stone bowl in which a raw egg & seasoned vegetables with chili pepper paste is cooked against the sides of the bowl, and the layer of the rice touching the bowl is golden brown & crispy. I ordered this in Itaewon which is a colorful one but the most distasteful dish during this travel time.

Regarding marinated raw crab I encountered in Busan, there are two versions: soy sauce one with lemon & pepper and spicy one which is wrapped in so much red sauce that I almost couldn’t see its shape. I wasn’t hungry then, and its price isn’t cheap, but it will be tried when I go there next time duo to reviews from the other bloggers & its egg yolk inside.

When it comes to cold noodles in East Asia, I experienced three already: Taiwanese type with sesame source, Soba mainly served with dashi in Japan and Mul Naengmyeon in Korea, a cold soup with the noodles contained in broth and the boiled egg, meat & vegetables added. In fact, there is the other variety called Bibim Naengmyeon, served as more of a salad in a spicy dressing, but my guess for my tong the free kimchi is enough.

Before being employed in CCTV industry, I had no prejudiced view of Korean. Not only are they our main competitors, but I also disliked their behavior when they observed our DVR at exhibitions. After traveling there in 2007, I had changed my mind because most of them are enthusiastic as well as virtuous. Anyway, have you watched “Dae Jang Geum”? The heroine introduced abalone porridge at a cooking competition and it deeply touched my heart duo to her introduction: because abalone eats lots of seaweed, its entrails shine light green and is distillation of ocean. About this one, creamy mouthfeel and seafood taste with slightly sesame flavor made me almost cried. Albeit expensive, it will also be a must when I go to there in the future. Meanwhile, the small bowl of soup is not a soup but mul kimchi (or water kimchi) and the liquid is really tasteless.

In Seoul, I found a crowded roadside stand selling Sundae & Tteokbokki. The latter seemed so spicy that I went for the former (or blood sausage) come with steamed pig liver & stomach. There are two seasonings for me: one is chili flavor salt, and the other one is chili soybean sauce. Not bad for tasting, but too bad I finally noticed the soybean sauce is for every gourmet, and, actually, Korean has the third dressing option—their friends' Tteokbokki source.