The Cioccolata Fiorentina

If you ever have the chance to eat at Carluccio's Caffe, you have to try their Ciococlata Fiorentina. For chocolate lovers and chocolate sufferers alike, it will be melted heaven in your mouth!

The description in their dessert menu is: Thick drinking chocolate served in an expresso cup. I went to their caffe in St. Christopher's Place which is near Selfridges. It was a little packed but it is on 2 floors, so if you don't mind sitting downstairs you should be able to find a place. It was a nice day so the al fresco tables were all taken. Once you walk in you will find yourself in their deli which is packed full of good stuff! You will be drawn to pick something out. Food's good and I like their atmosphere. I especially like the marinated olives they serve at the table.

Marmite Rice Cakes

Needs more kick!


I thought it would be more packed with Marmite flavour. But sadly it tasted more rice cakey than Marmitey.

FInally Found: Toast Rack

I have been looking for a toast rack for years and finally found one at Peter Jones in Sloane Square, London. Peter Jones is the upmarket version of John Lewis. Not bad for GBP5!

Marmite Rice Cakes... What will they come up wth next?

I love Sainbury's. I will say it again, I love Sainbury's! Wide aisles and plenty of choice. Not only did I find my usual favourites, I came across something that I can't wait to sink my teeth into and find out how it passed the food tasting department of Best Foods or Unilever as is the proper owner of the trademark.

MARMITE RICE CAKES!

Or should I say Marmite flavoured rice cakes. That's going to be an interesting combination. The bland taste of rice cakes combined extremely salty and strange overpowering savoury taste of marmite. I will try to keep my verdict of how it is a snack to a minimum number of words later. Now's not the right time for me to eat it. It's barely 8am on Saturday and I'm jetlagged.

Checking Out Lee Chul Hair Ker Ker

In a previous post, I wrote about looking for a hairdresser. I found a place in Myeong-dong that is fairly well known called Lee Chul Hair Kerker. I have no idea why the Kerker at the end, I am sure it has some vague reference to hair in a language other than English. I first read it on Annalog’s blog, she went to the one in Apgujeong. After going to the Lee Chul website, I found that they had a salon in Myeong-dong which is easier for me to find.If are taking the subway, take Line 4 and get out at exit 6. You will emerge in front of Migliore shopping centre. (The shops are shut now due to renovation, try visiting the one in Dongdaemun if you’re interested). With Migliore on the left, walk down the street and take the first left. Keep walking about 25m and about 3 stores after the first lane on the right, you will see the sign for Lee Chul. It’s on the 4^th floor but they usually have a poster outside the entrance to the building.

Take the lift to the 4^th floor and you will see the reception desk a little inside and to the right. Tell them what you want done (eg. Shampoo, cut & blow dry, perm, colour etc…), then you will be ushered to a little waiting area with some padded benches to wait. They offer you coffee or tea while you wait. Once a stylist is ready, that person will bring you to one of their seats.

They spoke very little English so I used whatever basic Korean I knew to communicate how I would like my hair done, but I did ask for a magazine with hairstyle to make it easier for them to see what I wanted. They brought me a clear holder where they had inserted pictures of Korean stars to see which hairstyle I would like to emulate! I found that quite amusing. I am not too familiar with the Korean stars but there were quite a few of them there for me to get an ‘idea’ of what’s IN.

In the end, I found a ‘do’ that was similar to what I wanted to achieve and told my stylist, whose name is Linda by the way, with some adjustments to length etc…

Next thing I know I am getting a shampoo and the shampoo girl (for lack of a better title) did a decent job of washing and massaging my scalp. Then we move to the sinks and I like how we aren’t totally lying down like the salons in Singapore and Malaysia but you’re not sitting upright either like in Australian salons but sort of at a comfortable 45 degrees. This makes it a lot easier to get up after your hair is washed and your head feels heavier with the towel.

All in all, the cut was neat and nice. The layers were good, gradual and not too choppy which is important. I would feel more comfortable if Linda spoke a bit more English as it still felt a bit risky letting her have a go at my hair even with the picture.

I would definitely go back. KRW25,000 for shampoo, cut and blow dry is really reasonable and much cheaper than Singapore!

You can never have too many Yugwa (유과)

Last weekend my 4th Uncle and Aunt from my father's side came to visit. Although it had been raining the week before, the weather turned nice and hot. On the day they arrived, I took them for the traditional summer food - Samgyetang at this restaurant that I rather like in Insadong. It's one of those places that I keep going back to because the service is good, atmosphere is pleasant and the food is good as well as being reasonably priced.

I don't actually know the restaurant's name but it's on Insadong 5-gil or Insadong 오-gil. It's somewhere mid-way along the main avenue of Insadong and there is a street sign identifying the alley. The restaurant is the first one on the right. There are of course plenty of quaint restaurants in Insadong to choose from in the many side streets.

After lunch I took them to try some Korean tea and traditional korean cakes. We ordered Jujube tea and Ginger tea. The latter was quite spicy but it felt good after a full meal. Ginger tea helps reduce gas which is always good. I wanted them to try a type of Hangwa (한과) which the term for traditional Korean confectionary and in particular Yugwa (유과). This particular tea house only has 1 type of serving and that is 16 pieces on a plate!

I think when I exclaimed "Sixteen!!!", everyone in the restaurant turned to look. The cute little waitress then said, "Oh you can pack to take away if cannot finish." Oh well then...

In the end, the 3 of us finished everything. They are so light and fluffy that it is easy to eat. They are crisp on the outside but honeycombed on the inside. So makes eating it very easy and not too filling. I guess that's how we managed to scoff all 16!

Top: Jujube tea; Bottom: Ginger tea; Right: Yugwa

Oh and the best thing is, we realised all the other customers got one each when they ordered their tea. So we could always have just ordered the tea and tried another dessert! In fact that means that we should have gotten 19 pieces of Yugwa!

Prawn and Mushroom Pasta at Sortino's

I have found the best Prawn and Mushroom Pasta! What a find!! I had dinner at Sortino's at Itaewon last weekend (and that was only 'cos Macaroni Market was full) with family. We ordered a Diavolo pizza, Penne Arabiatta, salad and my Aunt ordered the Linguine alla Sortino's (which is the Prawn and Mushroom pasta).

The salad was fresh and whetted our appetite nicely for the mains. Next came the pizza which was crisp and they were generous with the topping which was nice. They did add a bit too much chilli flakes in my opinion. I like my Diavolo spicy but not mouth searing. Still, it did not kill the taste of the pepperoni/salami too much.

The Arabiatta was mediocre. The penne was a little undercooked and once again a little too much spice to the dish. Or maybe it was just simply overshadowed by the subtle and yet delicious taste of the Prawn and Mushroom linguine.

That dish was made with sliced (porcini) mushrooms in a creamy tomato and thyme sauce. Whatever it is the creamy tomato sauce was not heavy and had a delicate flavour, quite different from a typical cream based pasta and yet did not have the tangy taste of a tomato base.

They topped the dish with 2 jumbo prawns which... I didn't think was quite that jumbo. But it is a small discrepancy in an otherwise delicious dish. I would give it 5 out of 5 for taste. Sorry I have no pictures of the dish right now but I will be returning there shortly for their signature dish and this time I will bring a camera!

For details of their location and contact details, please go to their website: Sortino's

My Singer is finally here

I had recently decided to tap into my more creative side. I am not terribly interested in crafts but am pretty alright with sewing. So began my quest to find a good beginner-intermediate sewing machine. The last sewing machine I used was the old machines from back in the 60's/70's that was in my grandmother's house. I had a lot of fun with that machine and did some pretty decent little projects.


I was also inspired by my aunts who were always quite nimble with their fingers and made some useful home decor and bags etc...

In my next post I will talk a little more about whats available out the for a beginner-intermedate model sewing machine. Here though is my new Singer Traditon 2273. Still in the box! Had not had time to take it out yet. Will do that later tonight.

For those who are interested, I bought it from Sunmart. I went to their store with my friend SY who is Korean and that was a good thing because they don't speak English. They have all their model there and you can try each one out. I found it extremely useful to test out the machine and have the salesperson show me all the functions and even how to thread, change the feet, fill the bobbin, etc...

After doing some more research I decided on the Singer and bought it online with the help of SY. I decided to buy it online rather than go to the store (which is in an office building and is really more like an office) because I could get a bigger discount online. I could not open an account with Sunmart because I am not Korean. This is quite typical of a lot of online shopping websites except for G-Market which is obviously ahead of its time. ; ) You also cannot pay with a foreign credit card. So your options are either a bank transfer, credit card or I think Direct Debit. (Not sure about the last one).

Front view of the box

Back view of the box

I can't wait to start using the machine!

Oh Churros, how do I love thee! Let me count the ways.

Since going to Disneyland back in my teens, I have been rather fond of Churros and over the years it has grown to a honest to goodness love for the snack! Churros originated in Spain and apparently is normally eaten during breakfast dipped in hot chocolate.

The only way I have eaten churros is when it is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. I have been able to find it sold by street vendors in Japan, Singapore, Korea, Australia and of course the US. The ones in Japan are pretty spot on, Singapore sells them slightly shorter and less thick in diameter which makes them slightly dry when they keep it in the oven. The same goes for the ones I have tried in Korea. A little disappointing when the center is hard. It should be cruncy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.

My sister recommended this really yummy one at Victoria's Market in Melbourne. The vendor was in a van situated at one end of the clothing market and if a queue is any sign of a good thing in the making, this one certainly had a steady queue of customers. My sister bought it for me to try but in the end I only got one as she gobbled the rest.

I am happy to report that I have found churros in Seoul! You can now buy a box of 25 from Costco for about KRW13,000 and heat them in your oven for 10mins at about 200C. You can then enjoy them to your hearts content. They even come with their own bag of cinnamon sugar. YUMMY!

The best thing is, it tastes even better than what you can get from the street vendors here. Just the way I like it. Crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. 10mins is enough. If you want it more crunchy keep it in for a little longer.