Bon Appétit

I'm not trying to turn this into a food blog or anything, but I just had to blog about this restaurant. So I met up with Joann the other day...wait, you remember Joann right? The one from the Doctor Fish post...You remember? Anyways, I met up with Joann the other day in Sinchon. Because of my work schedule, the only time I'm really free during the week is in the morning, so we met to catch up over brunch. At first, she we thought about getting Italian, but she said she'd read about a really good French crêperie nearby.



Now, I don't know about you guys, but the prospect of a French restaurant in Korea seemed pretty cool in my mind. I've been to a lot of different restaurants, but I can't recall a French one. So when we got to La Celtique, I was definitely intrigued.

The inside was really nice. There were these random French posters on the wall, French magazines on tables, and for some reason, little life preservers hanging from the ceiling. I think there was some kind of beach theme going on, which was very refreshing since it was kinda gloomy outside.





Later on, I found out that the restaurant's motif was reminiscent of Bretagne, France, residing in a large peninsula in the northwest of France. Located between the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay, Bretagne (or Brittany) features gorgeous views of the coastline and is also known to be a great place for water sports.

It was a pleasant atmosphere, with French jazz music playing from the corner, and the chef was also amusing as everytime he spoke to us, he juggled phrases in French, Korean and English. At one point he goes, "Enjoy your sweet crepe, bon appétit, kamsahamnida." He was great.



So let's talk about the food. First off, the menu was in French and Korean, so we read through it with me guessing what the French words meant, and Joann reading what they were in Korean. But there were also pictures, and everything looked delicious. They had a dish called a galette, mainly associated with the region of Bretagne, that was kind of like an omelette, except instead of egg, it was served on a thin, wheat pancake with the meat and vegetables.



Now I'm already a big fan of omelettes, but that galette was pretty exceptional as well, especially served with shrimp (thanks to joann for sharing her food). The side salad was also really fresh and served with a balsamic vinaigrette. C'est Magnifique!

But we weren't done yet, because we saved room for dessert. I mean, you can't go to a creperie and not have a crepe, right? Of course you can't. Which is why this was the best part of the meal.



May I present to you this delectably decadent sweet crepe. This is where the chef comes over and says "Bon Appétit". A scoop of vanilla ice cream with fried bananas and drizzled with caramel. Looks appetizing doesn't it? Imagine sitting at a table with it in front of you.

If you think I'm exaggerating, just ask Joann.



I swear, while we were eating it, every ten seconds we would stop and say, "This is SOOO good." And every bite was just as delicious.

So not every experience I have over here is specifically Korean. A cozy, creperie turned out to be my favorite eating experience so far. Shout out to Joann for making another appearance, and finding such a great spot for brunch. Also, a huge shout out to Chef Charles Duval and his partner Yu Yeong Jin for the meal.



Paix (Peace)

P.S. Yes, those are light bulb salt & pepper shakers.

Two Words: Duck Boats!

So most of the adventures I have over here tend to be indoors, especially the ones that occur at night. But I just so happened to enjoy some nice weather and beautiful scenery last weekend. If you didn't know, there happens to be quite a few Michigan grads in Korea. Some I knew before, some I just met, and some I'll meet later. But one of my favorite people from home is Cynthia.



I met up with Cynthia at Hangang park along the Han River, outside of Yeouinaru Station. I planned on meeting up with her earlier, but I got caught up in Itaewon trying to get a haircut (that's a story for another day). But it was still light out so we got to hang out.



We talked about experiences at our respective hagwons, what we missed about home, and the various idiosyncrasies we noticed about Korea and its citizens. But the coolest thing we talked about was the Han River, stretching from North Korea all the way through Seoul. There were ferry tours at the park along with stores and shops sitting on the river. But the thing that caught our attention was the duck boats.



You may call them swan boats or you may call them duck boats, but the point is they have pedals, a steering mechanism and an area of the river sectioned off just for them. If you've never ridden in one, you've at least seen them on TV or something, and Cynthia was pretty eager to take a ride so we strapped on life vests and hopped in.



So we pedaled around the river for awhile, veering around the other duck boats, and bumped into an empty duck boat that just happened to be in our way. Then after we got tired of pedaling, we aimed the boat at a nice angle and enjoyed the view.





The view from the duck boats was pretty nice, especially where the sun hit the river. Some light leg exercise and watching the sunset was a nice and relaxing way to end the day. Pedaling duck boats around the Han River is definitely a cool way to pass the time, and we might have to take another trip in the summer. Apparently it gets so relaxed that you can just pitch a tent and take a nap.



Shout out to Cynthia for the latest adventure. Always good to meet up with a friend from home, especially a fellow wolverine.

Oh, and we're in the midst of World Cup fever right now, so yesterday I went to a bar with some of my co-workers to watch S. Korea play Greece and it was CRAZY. Mostly because we won 2-0, but it's just really cool being in a country where the World Cup actually matters. But maybe that's for another blog post.

Peace, Love & Duck Boats

P.S. I decided to change the title of my blog to "Life In Marvelous Times" because, in the words of the Mighty Mos Def, "We are alive in amazing times." And besides, I'm having more adventures out of Ilsan than in it.

Is That A Didgeridoo???

So there's this hookah lounge in Gangnam called Rainbow. It's a really cool and mellow environment. If you ever walked inside, you'd think they were selling all kinds of illegal narcotics to straight stoners. There's pictures of Bob Marley and Jimmy Hendrix, florescent mushrooms, and there's this mural on the side that's a bit creepy but has this Alice in Wonderland/Donnie Darko vibe.



It's a nice spot to go and just chill. During my first week in Korea, when we were still in training, a bunch of us felt like lettin off some steam to relieve the stress before our final day of testing and presenting. So we slipped out of the hotel and headed down to Rainbow for some wild mint. The way it's set up is that you sit on cushions across the floor around the hookah. It's a really comfortable setup if you get in the right spot, and we were all feelin a bit lighter.





But the coolest thing about Rainbow has to be the music. Every night they have a different genre of music playing and it really adds to the vibe. The first night I went, there was a DJ playing electronic/nu-jazz. That was when I knew it'd be a cool spot to frequent. The next time I went they played all smooth jazz and I could've sat in there forever. But this night in particular was the best music-wise.

So this guy comes up to the front and sets up a microphone. Apparently, that night was Live Music Night at Rainbow, and he was the main attraction. It started off smooth enough when the dude pulled out a small harp-like instrument and played a couple of songs.



We all thought that was cool, but he blew us away with what he did next.

So I don't know where he pulled it out from, or how he even came into possession or instruction of it, but the guy starts playing a didgeridoo! For those of you who don't know what a didgeridoo is, it's this long Australian pipe instrument that you make sounds into. Think of it like a giant kazoo. It was even better when another guy walks over and picks up a conga drum and accompanies the guy on the didgeridoo. It was quite the performance.



Korea is a pretty interesting place and you see some pretty interesting stuff, but I never expected to see anything like that. I'd love to post a video of dude playin the didgeridoo, but my internet is crappy and it'd take all night to post. Definitely a good night out though, and a cool story to tell. Shout out to my CDI fam for gettin thru training and hopefully succeeding as English instructors all over Korea. Makes me all warm inside just thinkin about it.



Oh, and just to update you all. I made it thru my first week of teaching, moved into my apartment, and celebrated a couple of birthdays this past weekend. It's been a ridiculous week, but I'm diggin it. Look out for my next post.

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