Seoul pt 2: Eggs Benedict

Saturday:

So, I leave Spa Lei and oh it's pouring rain. FUN! I love finding places when it's raining. After getting highway robbed the umbrella price, I went searching for the 5 story Forever 21 in Sinsa-dong. Turns out Sinsa is a pretty hip/rich area. There's a bunch of clothing boutiques, fancy restos, Burt's Bees has its OWN store (not a kiosk) and they're getting a Godiva chocolate soon. Anyway, I also found The Flying Pan.

The Flying Pan- white (Sinsa Station, Line 3, Exit 8. Walk straight to the J Tower building, turn left at the next street AND an Itaewon location)
It's been described as one of the best brunches in Seoul. I've been burned before: Suji's (West end of Itaewon) was horrible. The hollandaise sauce tasted like I tried to make it in my blender*. I was gonna skip and head over to the Comfort Zone (Hyewa, Line 4, Exit 4) like I'd originally planned, but it was raining. However, the Flying Pan was YUM!

It was really good, but a few complaints and compliments as per usual, LOL.  Those yellow clumps were the hollandaise sauce. It was also cold and sorta tasted like ricotta/cottage cheese. It wasn't disgusting but not the best.

So-so: If you can get english muffins on Jeju Island, you should be able to get it in Seoul. Anyways, the bread was like a ciabatta bun. It was actually tasty. I was worried when the waiter told me it was bread. I've gotten benedict on Texas toast (really thick white bread) and it was not good.

Great: The eggs were runny and the salmon was seriously delicious and fresh. The bread actually worked well with the meal, despite what I said above. The pictures I saw beforehand and mine(!) look a croissant, which would've been really nice.

Ambivalent: The mood lighting. It was 11am, it seemed like a pretty kid friendly and it was RAINING. The place should've been brighter, especially since it was already dark outside. I like seeing my food, thanks.

Worth it: 16,000won --  Try once. The benedict also comes with ham. Overall the resto is really expensive for everyday. Most meals between 15,000-20,000won. I am glad I experienced it so I can cross it off my list.

*I did find and try a blender hollandaise sauce. It did not work. So gross, LOL.

-kilmosnaps

Why did this TAKE so long???

I was gonna start one when I first got here and it was gonna awesome. I was going to post pics of my Jeju Island adventures and my friends and family would and could live vicariously through me. It/my life was gonna be awesome! Yeah that didn’t happen.

Instead I got a job that… didn’t PAY! I can deal with no communication, inconsistent scheduling, wrong books, but I needs to get paid. Long story short, inconsistent payment and warnings from half the island about terrible work practices does not make a great time happen. Eeeeeee.

Turns out I’m a worrier. I had braids when I got to the island and braids are supposed to promote hair growth. I was to unbraid them and all I had to do was get to Seoul to work that out. Instead I got stress alopecia!

Alopecia means loss of hair on the head and body (thank you Wikipedia!). Anywhoo, my body decided to do patches. Not the best look. So, in the 3 weeks it took me to detangle my hair with hair product assistance from a friend, it was done. It did not look great, in fact I wore a (cute) hat all the time, I was that girl. BUT it was getting too HOT to keep going, so I shaved my head.

I figured it would be  a bigger existential crisis, ala an ‘America’s Next Top Model’ makeover episode. Not so much, I looked good with a mohawk and I was badass for the volleyball tournament.

Yada yada the job went under and I got screwed out of money. Though, I did get to experience the Jeju Labour Board on multiple occasions. They were actually really good and my old boss got fined and a criminal record!

Upside: I met the best people who ate cheese with me, kept me sane and had crazy amounts of Eggs Benedict at Winnie's Brunch/Pub with.

Anywhoo, so 6 months on Jeju Island, 1 month in Waegwan squatting (lol) at my best friend’s place looking for a job, and 2.5 months in basically Daegu at an English Village that pays on time. BEST JOB EVER! My standards are quite low, lol.

So, let’s see where this thing takes me. I’m getting paid (!), my hair is growing in and “The Vampire Diaries” and “American Horror Story” are back on tv. My life is going awesome, LOL. Actually travelling around the next 2 weekends. Seoul shopping trip next weekend (I have no pants!) then a Seoraksan & Sokcho East Coast Tour. Seoraksan is a national park so tons of pics!

-kilmosnaps