“Autumn leaves” II and soul food

Three weeks ago we went to Pureun Arboretum near Onsu Station (Exit 3, Lines 1 and 7) for some more autumn photos. The minibus number 07 links Onsu station with the rear entrance of the Arboretum but the distance is also walkable (around 1 Km) – just follow the signs. We were blown away with such intense colours.

It has several theme gardens (rose, maple, hibiscus, herb, vegetable etc.), with both Korean plants and from around the world, spread in an area of more than 100,000 m3. The main attraction for us was the old railway track on which you can promenade.

Old train track

Another reason to like autumn in Korea is that 호빵 (steamed buns) are back. We love the sponginess and the "smoking hot" red bean. There are other fillings, ok... but we only buy with red bean filling (팥호빵).

Hobbang (호빵)

Another breakthrough in the baking field is that we finally managed to get to May Bell bakery, twice! This bakery in Itaewon is one of a kind and every single Seoulite knows it. Interesting facts: it opens at 11am (yes, I wrote bakery!), and closes as soon as they run out of bread, which happens around 2pm (yes, 2pm). Customers start queuing outside even before the opening time, which makes buying here a great challenge.

We had to queue both times, and there's a lot more choice if you're among the first customers. Getting there is so hard that people buy in quantity. This place’s secret is not only quality ingredients but also lower prices when compared to other bakeries. Our favourites: multigrain bread, fig rye bread, cranberry rye bread and the red bean and walnut bread. The focaccia and the baguette are also good but not our favourite types of bread. Our priority is ALWAYS to stock up on read bean bread!

Red bean bread galore

Meanwhile Sambazon (the açaí bowls shop) has opened and we tried it last Saturday. They have three sizes: small (cup), regular and large (bowl). The one in the picture is the regular size (7,500 won). It's packed with tasty fruits (mango, kiwi, blueberries, banana, dragon fruit), chia seeds, goji berries, and further greatness. Hard to believe that a shop like this can survive by only selling açaí, but anything can happen in this fast-paced market.

Açaí bowl

Also on Saturday, and because the days are cold enough, we went to Daejong Sundubu for some heartwarming uncurdled tofu stew. They make their own tofu and, in our opinion, this is one of the best 순두부찌개 in Seoul. The banchans are also delicious and they brought us a refill without us even having to ask for it!

Uncurdled tofu stew and side dishes

정말 맛있어요 (really delicious)!

Okinawa: Japan at its southernmost limits

I should have written this post almost two months ago but laziness got the upper hand. In October we were in the Japanese tropics for 10 days and absolutely adored it, despite the weather conditions. We have a soft spot for Japan and not even two typhoons (one of them the worst of 2014) could demotivate us.

We started off in Naha. We hoped to do some sunbathing in the first 2 days, so we had booked a hotel in Itoman, 10km south of Naha airport. Our hopes soon kicked the bucket when we realised the first typhoon (Phanfone) was approaching and the swimming pool and beaches were closed for the next days. We pulled ourselves together and decided where to eat. We were told at the hotel that Itoman was bustling, but as far as a small fishing village can bustle!

We had lovely grilled mackerel, noodles with squid ink, sashimi and tempura. We tried for the first time Okinawan awamori, which is drunk with water and ice. Not our favourite but we left the bottle almost empty. On the way back to the hotel we tried to save a little kitten but in vain. This was not the booze seeing things. There was an actual kitten meowing in the bushes.

Okinawan Awamori

The next day we spent it in Naha City, visiting the Shuri castle, which was the palace of the Ryūkyū Kingdom and was almost completely destroyed in the battle of Okinawa in 1945. We strolled along Kokusaidori Street (literally International Street) and had our first Okinawan soba for dinner, and Okinawan doughnut for desert. The Okinawan soba is actually different from the buckwheat noodles known as soba in the rest of Japan. These noodles look more like udon and sometimes have a curly shape. The broth is closer to a ramen broth. Some restaurants have vegetarian options, but the more traditional ones only have the soba with pork on top.

Ishigaki soba

Next day we were off to Ishigaki. The weather was improving and we were happy. The domestic terminal in Naha airport looks more like a nursery than a place where people board planes. The place is packed with orchids.

Naha airport domestic terminal

We rented a car in Ishigaki. Driving on the wrong side again… by this time we should already be used to it, after Malta and the Seychelles. International driving license (under 1949 Convention only!) is required for Japan and they really check. The island is small and traffic is almost non-existent except in Ishigaki City. After checking in to our “villa” in Nagura, we drove straight to Kabira Bay, which is postcard worthy when depicting the Yaeyama islands.

Kabira Bay, Ishigaki island

If you are in for one of the best culinary experiences in Okinawa, then Hitoshi Ishiganto should be on our list. Fresh, melting in your mouth sashimi and out of this world seaweed tempura!

Taketomi island was next. We spent a full day there cycling, looking for star sand and being careful not to step on sea cucumbers in Kondoi beach.

Star sand

We had a diving tour booked for the next day. Diving spots were south of Taketomi and Kuroshima. The sea was pretty rough on the first spot but better on the second and third. We saw for the first time a giant moray and that was worth the bumps and the rain we put up with that day.

The second typhoon was already approaching and the north port of Iriomote, another Yaeyama island (second biggest in Okinawa Prefecture), was already closed. We took a ferry to the south port and a bus to the Urauchi River mouth, and then trekked until the Kanpiree waterfalls (Kampirē-no-taki).

Kanpiree waterfalls

On the next day we were flying back to Naha. After filling our stomachs with tofu and rice (plain is good!) off we went to the airport, surprised to see that our flight was still confirmed. Naha airport was closed shortly after we landed. We checked in the hotel and went for the last time (so we thought!) to savour the local treats in Yunangi: green caviar, seaweed tempura, and squid ink soba.

Green caviar

Vonfong was getting closer. We checked the status of our flight to Seoul (we were flying the next day) but it had been canceled. We were re-booked for the following day. We managed to get our hotel room for one extra night. All hotel doors were secured and only the parking lot door was left open. We never left the hotel, the rain and the wind were simply too strong.

The airport was open the next day and the first ANA flights started arriving. We were stranded an extra day (time to go and try Ushikima Garden) and finally managed to come home 48 hours later than expected. Still, would we do it again? For this, a thousand times over!

"Autumn leaves" and nostalgic eats

Autumn has made a hard landing here in Seoul, knocking out our sweet Indian summer. We took a walk up to Namsan mountain last weekend and pictured some amazing colours:

We have also discovered in the meantime that it's possible to buy Portuguese egg tarts (pastéis de nata) in Seoul. In fact there are several locations where they sell them. Although we do not crave the tarts that much, the discovery made us happy for some underlying nostalgic reason.

Portuguese egg tarts in Anguk-dong

Pastel de nata (egg tart)

We tried the shop in Anguk-dong. They not only have the classic egg tart, but also a few non-Portuguese variations: chocolate, walnut, apple cinnamon, lemon, pumpkin and sweet potato tarts. Price per tart is 3,500 KRW. Classic is 2,200 KRW.

To get there: from exit 1 in Anguk station, turn right and immediately right again. The shop will be on your left roughly 200 meters up the street.

This combined with the Manoel de Oliveira Retrospective being shown at the moment in Seoul Cinematheque makes 10,000 kilometers seem a hop, skip and a jump.

The cherry on top of the tart was finding out almost simultaneously that we will soon be able to eat  "açaí na tigela" just next door from us (Itaewon-ro 54-gil).

Açaí bowls: opening soon in Itaewon

Ok, we will not go wild on the açaí because we don't want to contribute to the Amazonian deforestation, but at least, Autumn just got a tad more interesting!