Monday, February 11, 2013
For The Love of a Bite of Porchetta Sandwich
I have to admit that I have a huge crush on Anthony Bourdain. I have to say in my eyes, he's the sexiest man alive. But his sexiness has nothing to do with sexual things, although I will have to say that this celebrity chef is sexy. His sexiness for me is more related to his passion on food. I've seen a lot of celebrity chefs on various TV program and I haven't seen someone as passionate as him. Anthony is like a chameleon, he's practically blended with his surrounding perfectly. In one of episode, he traveled to Indonesia and went to one of the crowded area in Jakarta. I'm Indonesian and Ive lived in Jakarta for more than 10 years, and I will not step my foot on that area, nevertheless eat the food there. But Anthony did the unthinkable for me, he eat the food there surrounded by the local kids who are following him around (it's rare to see a caucasian man in that area). It was a beautiful picture and I'm intrigue to know whether he experience major stomachache after consume those food or not.
For me a food traveler should be like Anthony Bourdain, who are willing to try a local delicacies no matter how odd it looks like or no matter how strange the ingredients is. He enjoyed eat those strange and yet delicious food and I always drawling in front of TV watching him eat. Seriously..
And at on of the episode he went to Seattle. Yeayyy...he went to my city and he went to Salumi. My sister lived in Seattle for so many years but she never heard about this place. I'm a meat lover, so when I saw that episode, I literary stuck in front of TV and I swear I almost can feel the salami in my mouth. Hahahahaha.
Well..I'm obsessed with this little store in downtown Seattle and at I was in the neighborhood and I decided to try the food here. It's a warm store where you can see lot of cured meats and for those who loved cured meats, well..Salumi is your heaven. I'm not lying. This place served one of the best cured meats I've ever tasted.
But what I personally loved about this place is the sandwich. I'm deeply in love with their Porchetta Sandwich. This is the perfect choice for a meat and spices lover like me. It's strong and super duper delicious. As I wrote this I started imagining the hot and the juicy pork meats and the meatballs. Oh.. yeahh..I'm having a foodgasm.
I feel like a kid in a toy store every time I went to this place, they have a yummy gnocchi on Tuesday and they have gorgonzola cheese. Well...here goes my salary. And Salumi is the place I missed when I'm away from Seattle. I missed the excellent food and the warm feeling every time I entered this store and the people there are very warm and nice and helpful. So if you are a first timer, no need to worry, they will guide you to choose the menu that suitable for your taste.
Winter in Korea
Play with snow ball..the girl in front of me is about to get the hit. hi3
While
waiting for my boarding call to Singapore, I read an article in an online site
that contains the list of cities with the most beautiful women. I couldn’t stop
smiling as I read “Seoul”as part of that list. Personally, I disagree, because
in my
opinion, I think Korean women, especially those living in Seoul, should be more
appropriately called as “fashionable women”.
Most
of the latest fashion trend can be found in Seoul, more precisely in the
streets of Dong Dae Mun, Myeongdong all
the way to Apgujong. During the winter season, Korean women will blow your mind
with the chic and stylish boots and
different colored coats added with catchy and sexy accessories. It seems that
no one ever leaves the house looking
sloppy, whether you are a fashion lover or fashion hater it is an absolute trip
watching these ladies strut their stuff
down the “catwalk” of their own streets. I enjoyed sitting in a coffee shop
while ironically sipping hot
chocolate (the coffee here is not suitable for my taste but the hot chocolate
is like heaven) while looking at the streets and watching those skinny women
pass by. Sometimes I wonder, how can they walk down the stairs at the train
station wearing those heels. They bring the concept of “beauty is pain” to life.
Besides the excitement of watching people dress up, winter in Korea has now
been known for its indoor water parks such as Vivaldi Water Park. This boasts
as Korea’s largest water park, located in the Gangwon Province or Caribbean
Bay. This water amusement park will pump adrenalin into your system with their
crazy rides as well as pamper your needs in the spa that is located inside the
amusement park. It’s a one-stop place for excitement and comfort for the
weekend warriors and the entire family.
Even though I was born and raised in a
tropical climate, and have either seen, tried and survived almost every water sport
known to man, I can and will say that trying winter sports is really in a class
of its own and something that I will not forget for the rest of my life. As the
official host for 2018 Winter Olympic Games,
I did slide from the top and my ass hurted like hell
Koreans are preparing themselves
as the host for this international event. Yong Pyeong, the location for this
event is already famous for its winter
resorts and they also provide various winter sports activities. You can see
young children and teenagers swinging and riding the ski so effortlessly. I
told myself, I can do that and all I have to do is stand firmly on the board
and ride it confidently. During my first try, I found my face buried in the
ground, I dusted myself off and gave the excuse that it was only my first time.
You know that saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again?” well
I did and I just fell again and again also. Standing on a ski board is not
difficult, but balancing yourself when it is speeding on a slope is like riding
a crazy roller coaster standing up. Two hours went by so fast and I must say that I had so much
fun and it was all worth it (i.e bruises that I got from falling down.) If you
have the opportunity to visit Korea, make sure that you visit Yong Pyeong area
and try the winter sports game and enjoy every fall and down. Finally, as a
self confessed foodie, the thing that I love so much about winter time in Korea
is food., street food to be exact. I just love the winter street food in Korea.
MANDUNGUK
Myeongdong Kalguksa is one of the
most popular restaurants in Myeongdong area. My friends and I literally stood
in
line for about an hour in the
cold before we actually got ourselves a table. We ordered one bowl of noodle
and mandu
(Korean dumpling), which contains
minced pork. Eating noodles that are hot in the cold made it more delicious
indeed
and I have to admit that this is
one of the best noodles I ever had the pleasure of eating and the kimchi here is
topnotch and a lot more spicier than the norm.
A cup of noodle for the tiring soul. Man...this noodle is sooooooo goood
HOTTEOK
For all foreign visitors,
Insadong are known as traditional market where tourist can purchase traditional
“stuff”.But for me, Insadong is the place
where I can get the best Hotteok. Basically, hotteok is fried cake with brown
sugar and nut filling. It’s the perfect
snack to beat the cold weather.
Watching ahjumma making htteok. the smell is arousing. hungry..hungry..hungry
Htteok..htteok..htteok
ODENG
During the winter, my favorite breakfast
is called Odeng (skewered fish cake served with gravy broth). It’s a common
menu that you can easily find across Seoul.
BUNGEO-PPANG
This cake shape like fish filling
with sweet red beans is probably the most popular street food in Korea. Koreans people believed that the way we
eat this snack shows our personality. For example, when you start from the
tail, it means you are romantic but
insensitive. Whereas if you cut the snack in half before eating it means you
are a stingy and stubborn person.
32 CM ICE CREAM
Ice cream lover will love this
famous vendor in Myeongdong area. They serve various flavors with very cheap
price (around 2.000 won). Ice cream
during winter is ironically one of the best seasons to enjoy it. The ice cream
will not melt as easily as it would in
the hot sun of the summer. No Stained blouse, no sticky hands and melted ice
cream dripping down the side of the
cone. But that’s just me.
*as written on Venture Magazine on December issue*
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