Café
The Coffee Lab in Hongdae serves fresh roasted beans, a mean affogato and a perfectly quiet Sunday morning.
Fifty Things
I love lists. I always have. So while enjoying a perfectly simple holiday-birthday weekend, I was quietly concocting a way of sharing some of my favorite bits of the last year. A Little Miss Year in Pictures, if you will. And then the Queen of List-Making, the irreplaceable Andrea, made this list. And it made [...]
Rain on Saturday
A little taste of autumn blew through Tokyo on Saturday. A little rain, a book, some movies, a long run around the palace. I was only missing a fireplace and some socks.
Another Bicycle on Film, Agfa Vista 400
Izakaya
Izakaya are traditional Japanese pubs, often small and intimate, cozy and comfortable. Drinks are served with small dishes that are shared with your table. My first authentic izakaya experience in Tokyo was with two Frenchmen at a spectacular and sophisticated hole in the wall in Ebisu. Literally. We walked up to a wall, they pushed [...]
Display
One of my very favorite things on earth is a good display. A shop window, a well-merchandised table, a refrigerated case. It makes me go ga-ga in the same way that my other strange preoccupations — paper goods, things in miniature, ginger anything — make me swoon. As far as presentation goes, Japan basically kicks [...]
Filums, je pense que oui
Two Saturdays ago, I spent a perfectly wonderful day with my friend Philippe, a Parisian I met during my first year in Seoul who has been living in Tokyo for the last two years. It was, sadly, his last day in Tokyo, as news of my arrival prompted him to move to Shanghai. Not really. [...]
Octopus Hot Dogs and So On
Wednesday evening, my friends Meera and Ross rescued me from what otherwise would have been another steamy night with a series of graphs, flowcharts and charts explaining How the Internet Works. Thank you, Meera and Ross. Thank you from the depths of my soul.
As part of her yearly quest home to Singapore, Meera was able [...]
A few favorites
A few favorite things during my first week:
Bicycles
Mornings on the patio
Miso baked halibut with genmai and seaweed soup for lunch ($8)
Powerpoint
(Actually, no. But it owns me. OWNS ME!)
The vast selection of convenience store puddings and custards
French shows on Japanese TV (the only ones I understand)
The flower shop around the corner
Walking to work
The curtains over restaurant [...]
Third Time’s a Charm
As if I do not have enough to do this week, I decided Sunday was the opportune moment to cook dinner for my girlfriends. Given my monstrous to do list, I wanted to keep it small and simple, so I prepared a menu of dishes I’ve committed to memory. My favorite way to eat in [...]
Chocolates, polaroids, hot hot heat and a guitar named Karen
As of late, life has been of the variety in which one does not know if one is coming or going. While there are presently some rather large question marks in front of me and the juggling act is reaching epic proportions, I am fairly certain of a few things.
It is difficult to wince in [...]
I have a question
If, say, you were to stumble upon some fresh radishes at the market behind your apartment, and you happened to chop them up with japanese cucumbers and your favorite Korean green that you still don’t know the name of…if you squeezed a lemon over it and drizzled some good, chilled olive oil over it and [...]
One morning, last November…
One Saturday morning last November, after inadvertently closing down Baby Guinness the night before, Youngdoo and I slept late and then meandered our way down Namsan Mountain, through the winding streets of Haebangchon, in search of hamburgers.
Along the way we stumbled on a tiny little shop with ddeokbokki steaming in the window. For $1, Youngdoo [...]
Piccata
It all started at lunch last Friday. I spied a photo of pasta something with something sauce and CAPERS, slammed the menu shut and declared, “I am going to make chicken with lemon caper sauce tomorrow.”
“Excellent, I have planned nothing,” declared Erik, inviting himself over.
And so it was that I found myself hosting my first [...]
Over and over and over again…
Ever get in a rut? My tire is currently stuck in a skipping record of Japanese food. I don’t know what prompted it, but lately I cannot get enough of the whole izakaya, udon, Sanuki Bore, agedashi tofu, Lunch Set B, tempura sweet potato, soba noodle, miso, sashimi, gingko nuts on toothpicks thing.
It could be [...]
Tabletop
This weekend my kitchen table arrived, and with it, the burning desire to document everything I put on it. This weekend I put bread, jam, tea, tomato salad, homemade yogurt, kiwis, blank books, pens, hairclips, the iron, antihistamines and fresh ratatouille on my table.
When I had tired of putting things on my table, I [...]
Twilight
I don’t spend nearly enough time in my apartment. I spend a disproportionate amount of time in a tall building downtown, where there are Lots of Things To Do. So when I have some quiet time, with quiet light, I take full advantage.
It’s a long holiday weekend in Korea, already full with a stocked refrigerator, [...]
Oops
In my defense, I spied them several weeks ago, sitting quietly in the window of a shop down the street. I was late to meet a friend, but I vowed to return and retrieve them.
I realize this totals three new pairs of shoes in as many weeks. I realize that these shoes are not a [...]
On Deck
On Deck this weekend:
Wine, cheese.
Rain.
Therefore, couch + book.
Paella & tapas in Hongdae.
[Perhaps a flamenco lesson, as well.]
Korean Rock-a-billy.
[No, really.]
A big fat lantern parade.
Lomo Shop.
I hope your weekend is really, really…
By popular demand…
It’s really not important that one has furniture or an apartment of one’s own, for that matter, when one stumbles upon something that one knows will pull a whole room together when one has said room.
I believe I’ve mentioned before that I previously lived in a cave in the netherregions of southeastern Seoul. It was [...]
Perfect Sunday
The Perfect Sunday
A Report by Stephanie Cornell
Early morning run along the river to Okkervill River and Bon Iver
Old men gathered in clusters playing MahJongg and Dominoes
Small pig-tailed children bowing and waving “annyong” on the street
Sweet, fragrant lilacs bursting everywhere
Stumbling on the garden of a shrine, in full bloom
Stumbling on yet another amazing pocket of my neighborhood, as if [...]
Home
Before I had furniture I had tchatchkes, breakfast, a view, a mismatched collection of books and a roll of Fuji 400H in my camera.
White Day
So there is this holiday in Korea called White Day. March 14th boys are expected to give chocolates to girls…apparently February 14th, or Valentine’s Day, girls are supposed to give candy to boys. So, today was our day.
Since the only boys I know in Korea are ages 9-13, I did not receive any chocolates from [...]
To Market
Today I finally went to the huge open farmer’s market near my apartment. It was a bit like stepping back in time with old wooden carts and sellers crouched around fires to keep warm while trimming root vegetables. It was strange to feel like I was out in the middle of nowhere just steps from [...]
