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sarea
Buffallow Sungjae crashed another outing. First Ilhoon oppa had to put up with it, and today it was Park Hyungsik oppa who was forced to endure having his outing intruded upon. You see, Sungjae sneaked in there while I wasn't looking in my rush in the morning I forgot to take Sungjae out of my purse.
Park Hyungsik oppa is represented by a purple giraffe. Why? Because it was super hard to come up with something for him, okay? Give us a break! He's tall and skinny, hence the giraffe. And purple because he played a king in Hwarang. YES IT'S WEAK. I KNOW. DEAL WITH IT. WE HAVE TO.
We had a late start today, on purpose, becauseadelagia had seen on Google that Hanmaum (Korean fried chicken), where we planned to go for lunch, was open at 2pm. (Sooooo many of the places we want to go to in Federal Way are only open for dinner! Grrr.) We also wanted to try a new noraebang place, because while at So Moon Nan Jib for dinner last night, we noticed it in the same strip mall -- they have happy hour from 6-9pm for only $10/hour. So the plan was to go and stay later than we normally would.
The first wrench in the plan came in the morning when I was checking Yelp for suggestions on what to order at Hanmaum. Yelp listed them as being closed on Sunday. People also mentioned that they had changed ownership at some point, but it wasn't clear if Sunday had been added or removed, lol. I tried to call, but no one answered at that hour of the morning. Adelagia and I pushed back our start time to 1:15pm, so that we could be on the road at 2pm and we could confirm if they were open or not.
I was late getting to her place, because despite having woken in plenty of time to get all the stuff I needed done, everything took longer than I expected. Gel nails, while quick to put on and quick to get you going fast, takes foreverrrrrrr to remove. I mean, the trade off is probably worth it, but I'm just not used to it so I didn't know how to deal with stubborn bits that just wouldn't come off and stuff like that. So it took longer than I expected. I also tried to wear falsies for the first time in yeaaaaars (and had only attempted it one other time previously), and had very limited success. I didn't put them on perfectly, and they weren't super comfortable. :/
Anyway, our first stop was Lowe's, because Adelagia needed to have a spare set of keys made for me. (Recently we'd gone through a scare where no one could reach her because, unbeknownst to her, KakaoTalk was not sending through everyone's messages, so we all thought she had perished in her apartment and was being eaten by wild dogs. Anyway, it made us realize that our procedures in case of emergency left something to be desired. My big plan when she couldn't be reached was to go to her apartment. And then knock on it sternly. Yes, that was basically it.)
WARNING -- LOTS OF RANTING AHEAD. While we were there, EVERYONE tried to delay us. And I know I am the most impatient person in the world, but seriously!!! Adelagia took it all in stride, while I was ready to lecture all of them. First there was the grumpy key maker, who was the opposite of friendly, and then there were the two white dudes who asked him a question JUST as Adelagia gave her keys over. And instead of making them wait, the Lowe's guy actually started helping them. Like, okay, if the question is quick, then fine, I'll grin and bear it. But they chatted for MINUTES. And when the guys noticed he was actually busy/helping someone else, one of them was like, "Oh, I'm sorry, you're helping someone else" but this sort of courtesy is USELESS. It's like, the "I'm sorry if this is rude, but..." BUT I'M ABOUT TO BE RUDE. Just because you say sorry ahead of it, if you still say it, YOU'RE STILL FUCKING RUDE. Also, what the FUCK was he apologizing to the Lowe's guy for? The people he should have been apologizing to were me and Adelagia!! And the Lowe's asshole should have said, I will help you after helping my current customer!! But no, instead, these three older white guys just basically demonstrated EXACTLY why people hate older white guys -- because by their behavior, they made it clear that THEY'RE more important than the two young(ish) Asian women who GOT THERE FIRST, BY THE WAY. It's not like we wanted to be served ahead of anyone else who was rightfully there. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SERVED NEXT. WE HAD STOOD IN LINE WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S KEYS TO BE FINISHED. Those assholes basically just CUT IN LINE. And the fucking Lowe's asshole LET THEM DO IT. God it made me SO MAD. Finally, after SEVERAL MINUTES, I looked pointedly over at them, and one of the men said, "Oh, sorry, you were busy" (the apology was again to the Lowe's guy, not to us) and "Are you in a hurry?" (to us). I responded, "Yes, we ARE in a hurry, actually." But it also made me mad that he asked. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE'RE IN A HURRY OR NOT. We GOT THERE FIRST, and we were supposed to be getting our keys made, but YOU inserted yourself ahead of us, and the one person who had the authority to object -- the guy who worked there -- ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN. Ohmygod I could go on and on. But that was not the end of the terrible customer experience at Lowe's. Next was the cashier, who decided that OUR TURN was when she would have to open a bunch of rolled coins in preparation for when she would need them. So we had to stand there and wait while she did this. Adelagia was going to pay by credit card. She didn't need fucking change. If this woman needed to make coins available for change, THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL SHE HAD A CUSTOMER WHO PAID CASH. Then if THEY'RE made to stand there and wait because she needed coins, at least they HAVE REASON TO, and because it was their choice to use cash. But don't make two people who are paying by fucking credit card wait, so that you can be ready with fucking coins for the next person who's paying by cash. I mean, seriously!!!!!!!!! People should not be this criminally stupid.
Furthering my aggravation was the fact that while in line, I called Hanmaum, and an ahjumma answered who could not understand my question of whether they were open or not, and I did not know how to ask it in Korean. :/ On the one hand, it was positive that anyone had answered at all. On the other hand, lots of restaurants have staff around even when they're closed, in order to do prep work. And what little English she was able to say did not fill me with a lot of hope of whether they were open for business.
We decided to go there anyway, with a backup plan to go to Youngwol Noodle if Hanmaum was closed. When we rolled up, it did not look promising. The open sign wasn't lit up, and there were no cars parked in front of it. However, there were lights on inside, and when we tried the door, it was open. There wasn't anyone in the restaurant, but there was an ahjussi behind the counter. Still not sure if they were open, I hesitantly greeted him and asked if they were open. He seemed to hesitate, and I was like, oh oops, are you closed? And he was like, we open at ... what time is it? And I was like, um it's 2:30. Like seriously he didn't even know he was supposed to be open lol. But when he learned of the time, he was like, yes, yes, we are open! Come sit! So that was nice, that after all that, we actually got to eat there after all. Adelagia and I decided to get the plain fried chicken, and they had corn cheese, too. But something else caught our eye -- "cheese egg roll." Both imagining some fried, cheesy, artery-clogging deliciousness, we ordered it. We were also amazed by some other things we saw on the menu, from a snail salad (I think it was a salad) to 번데기 (boiled silkworm pupa). When we saw that we were both like, AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (/On-Dal from My Only Love Song) or Homer Simpson:
However, we agreed that while we would never in a million years actually order it, it was cool to see it on a menu (the first time ever, for me!), because it means the place is LEGIT. LOL
Before our food came, they gave us a little dish of tortilla chips, which was kind of odd but charming. I don't know what that's about. It tasted unusual to me, because while very crunchy, it didn't taste much of corn. I asked Adelagia if she thought it tasted different from normal tortilla chips, and she said that she noticed a very strong corn flavor. LOLOL we have no idea. Then before the food we ordered came out, the ahjussi brought out a dish of freshly fried fries, saying that they were on the house, and they were so hot and delicious. They were extra delicious because of being free. Then the rest of our food came out. And boy were we surprised.
At first, when I saw the omelet, I thought it was yet another free thing they were giving us. But then they placed it on our table, and I was like, did they get our order wrong...? But then Adelagia whispered, OMG is this... the cheese egg roll? And I was like, but how can it be? It's a FREAKING OMELET. And then she was like, think about it... it's egg... rolled...
OMG. So we looked up the Korean, and INDEED, "rolled egg" is what they meant. In fact, I now know what it was supposed to be... it's like that banchan where it's rolled up in a cylinder and then you cut slices from it. Ha!! Sometimes English words and their meanings make no actual sense. I mean, honestly, who named what *we* consider an eggroll, "eggroll"? Most eggrolls DON'T EVEN HAVE EGGS IN THE FILLING OR IN THE WRAPPER. Well played, Hanmaum.
The omelet we ordered was fine, though much less cheesy than we were expecting. The free fries were better, lol.
When I went to take a pic of the oppas with the food, I accidentally sat Sungjae down onto a crumb. That's why he looks grumpy.
The fried chicken was good, and I liked that it was cut up into smaller pieces. The chicken itself didn't appear to have been brined, so they give you a small dish of salt to season it yourself... and it does need it. I think the fried chicken is probably actually better at Stone Korean, but I like Hanmaum's vibe and the fact that their focus is on fried chicken and its accompaniments. However, while I normally don't like Korean seasoned chicken, I'm thinking maybe theirs would be better with it. Anyway, they also give you the quick pickled white radish that is a MUST when having Korean fried chicken, as well as a simple cabbage slaw and some fried sliced squash. Oh oh, we also had a total K-drama moment when the ahjussi came by with some plastic gloves for us to wear while eating the chicken. TEEHEE! Usually in dramas they're using the gloves to eat messy sauced things like chicken feet. Anyway, I had already started using my hands to eat the chicken so I wished he'd have brought them out sooner, if he was gonna!
We did fairly well for it being a whole chicken! Also they provide a little bucket for chicken bones.
When we were done and went up to pay, I asked him in English about whether he knew what Yelp was. (We had tried to use a little Korean with him, but he seemed totally uninterested in conversing in that language. Which, to me, meant that his English must be fairly decent.) NO ONE ELSE came in while we were eating, and I wondered how much of that was due to Yelp saying that they were closed on Sundays. So I told him about that, and he was like, ugh, they're wrong. Thank you for telling me. That was cool; I'm glad he understood why I was telling him and that he appreciated it. I'd been waffling about whether it was worth the bother, or if I should just try and correct it on Yelp myself. Anyway, as we were leaving, he thanked us profusely (even though he was just being extra courteous by showing us the door, it felt like he was trying to chase us away, lolol) and Adelagia said, "안녕히 계세요!" This is how you say goodbye to someone (who is staying at their location), and the look of shock on his face was hilarious. I don't know if he was just ignoring our Korean before because we were using words many people would know (such as "hello" and "thank you") or he just couldn't hear us, but this less-than-common phrase seemed to take him aback that we might actually know a little ACTUAL Korean. LOLOL If only Sungjae and Hyungsik could have popped out and helped us out! That should be the oppas' superpower, lol.
We were trying to decide if we should go back to Asensio for coffee, or if we should try a place called Cafe Noir that served scrumptious-looking shaved ice desserts. But they cost $13, and I'm trying not to be too indulgent with sweets, so we decided to just go back to Asensio. Cafe Noir served coffee and tea, but we weren't sure if it was a place you could just hang out, like Starbucks. Anyway, at Asensio we both used our new Joco glasses and got a cold brew (me) and latte (Adelagia). We did a wee bit of story planning.
However, we neglected to check their hours, and at 4:45 we were informed that they would be closing at 5. We were then forced to find a park (I think it was called Steel Lake Park, not too far from the H-Mart we always go to), but it was a pretty lame one where there were a couple of fields for kiddie baseball type games, and some benches, but no real place to comfortably do what we wanted to do, which was story plan. It was a nice day, but we wanted to sit in the shade because of heat and also because we didn't have sunscreen. Also there was this super aggressive squirrel with zero fucks to give about humans. It came within like two feet of us several times. I've never seen a squirrel come so close!
Finally around 10 to 6 we decided to head back to Hanmaum, or rather, to Comma, which is right next door. What was hilarious was that was we pulled in I noticed none other than... Cafe Noir!! LOL. We could have just stayed in that same strip mall the ENTIRE DAY. In fact, if we had gone to So Moon Nan Jib for dinner instead of the seolleongtang place, we literally could have spent our entire day at that same strip mall, lolol. If we'd gone to Cafe Noir, we wouldn't have had to do all the extra driving, or get kicked out to find a lame park!! Next time, we are trying that place. I HAVE DECIDED. Plus I am intrigued by their shaved ice now, lol.
Comma was AMAZING. It looks like a total craphole from the outside, but inside it's clean and roomy. Our room did smell a bit of smoke initially, but sadly (or happily) I got used to it pretty quickly. The coolest thing was that they had lyric romanization, which we have found very few places have. Plus their karaoke controller has English translations taped on it, which will make poorslitherhither very happy. And we only have to pay $10/hour for happy hour!! It's a total score. Adelagia and I feel slightly guilty about abandoning our noraebang ahjumma at First Avenue, but the pros of Comma are too strong to ignore. Ahjumma's noraebang costs *150% more*. She supposedly opens at 3, but she's also unreliable. More often than not, she's not even there at 3, and then you have to call her to have her come open it. Yesterday she didn't even get to us until nearly 4, which totally delayed us for dinner, and she'd just been in the bar across the way the whole time! Plus, I don't think she really needs our business. If she did, she would open when she's supposed to open. We strongly suspect (or at least I do) that the noraebang is just a front for money laundering, lol. I also strongly suspect that she/her husband/family owns the bar, which means that's where they make most of their money. We liked First Avenue because they have comfy rooms, we sort of know the ahjumma (and how she always appears somewhat high) and her us, and the big one: it has romanization. Comma's rooms aren't AS comfy, they don't add extra time (First Avenue ahjumma would add an extra 15 min for every hour), and they're open later... BUT at least I can be sure they'll be open when they say they'll be open. They also seem to have a stronger grasp of English (not that that's so important when our transaction is so simple, but it does come in handy), the rooms aren't UNcomfortable, the karaoke system is similar to First Avenue so we have the codes to all our favorite songs at our fingertips, and again, most important of all, it also has romanization. To get all that for $10 is just so, so worth it. We can live with the cons, including The Winter's Tale video playing ad nauseum on all BTOB songs. (Please Comma, get new videos. That's the one thing I don't understand about karaoke systems. How can all the songs be the same numbers, but the visuals that accompany the songs be different? It's flummoxing.)
Hyungsik and Sungjae decided to do a duet! Which I realize now is funny and appropriate, because they actually HAVE sung together in real life.
When we went to pay, I had the following exchange with the guy at the register:
Him: 두 시간? (Two hours?)
Me: 네. (Yes.)
Him: ㄹㄴ우ㅏㅂ어ㅜㄴㅇㅎㄴㅁ잳오풪도ㅑ냥ㄹ뭏모 tax? (aka, bunch of random Korean that made me go ???)
Me: ...um, what?
Him: ㄹㄴ우ㅏㅂ어ㅜㄴㅇㅎㄴㅁ잳오풪도ㅑ냥ㄹ뭏모 tax?
Me: Sorry, I don't...
Him: ....
Me: ....
Him: Oh. I said, if you pay by credit card, I have to charge extra.
LOLOL. This is the danger of showing that you know even a little Korean... they, probably rightfully, then assume that you know the language well and speak to you in it. Unfortunately, my Korean is so, so weak, particularly when it comes to hearing it spoken quickly by a native speaker, because they use all sorts of words and conjugations that I don't yet know! So I can't really converse with anyone unless they are really patient. But the only person who's willing to be that patient is our massage therapist, lol. Adelagia and I would like to practice, but once they realize you can't actually speak Korean, they usually would rather just get the transaction over with in English. :/
Afterward, we went to our favorite seolleongtang place. Seolleongtang is a beef bone broth that has been cooked for hours and hours and hours, so that the resulting soup is milky white. It's served with some kind of sliced meat (Adelagia and I usually get tongue, but brisket is delicious too) and this place also serves it with either clear or white noodles, which isn't traditional, but it works. Anyway, it's served unseasoned. At the table, you season it yourself with salt, green onion, and spicy sauce if you desire. They also give you a bowl of rice, kkakdugi (turnip kimchi), and napa cabbage kimchi. It is all so, so delicious. We also love the place because of seolleongtang ahjussi, who is this super nice man who works there. He recognizes us and is always really nice, and has even thanked us for returning to the restaurant multiple times. The last couple of times we went, he wasn't there, and we figured it was because he worked the dinner rather than lunch shift (we were there for lunch last time). Now I wonder if it was because he was working in the kitchen area the whole time! We were SO looking forward to seeing him (is that weird? It's probably a little weird) that when we went into the restaurant and he wasn't there, it was disappointing. So disappointing, in fact, that I felt I had to ask after him. I mean, did he not work there anymore?!
Then Adelagia and I had to figure out how to say "tall" in Korean. We had gone over it in class, but we go over a lot of things in class and not everything sticks. I WISH I had a photographic memory. Because of the way adjectives work in Korean, and because of the vague memory I had of our teacher talking about it, I thought it was "기큰 아저씨." Adelagia thought it might be reversed, to "큰기 아저씨." And I get why. Because "큰" is the adjective form of "big," while the "기" part is what indicates height. So she was thinking "big height ahjussi." BUT -- and I don't know if I can articulate this clearly -- my understanding of how adjectives work in Korean is that the whole description is the adjective. So to make "height," you have to put the word that indicates height as PART of the descriptor, so in this case, "기큰."
When we were seated, Adelagia spoke to the ahjumma (emu?) in Korean, which of course prompted her to speak to us in Korean when she came to our table to take our order. We then had to explain that we didn't actually know how to speak it. We opened by asking after the ahjussi, and once she realized who we meant, she said that he was working in the back/kitchen today. Since we had a native speaker right there, I took the opportunity to ask how we would say "tall" in Korean, because we were learning the language, and she confirmed it was "기큰." Then she proceeded to ask us questions of her own, such as our names and nationalities. She told me that she thought I looked Korean, which I get a lot from other Asians -- but unfortunately it's not like, the perfect-skinned, big-eyed, gorgeous celeb type of Korean, but just your regularJosephine Mi-young Korean. (According to the Korean version of Fated to Love You, "Mi-young" is a super common name for women, lol.)
The food was super delish, as usual. It's so hard not to eat it all. While we were seasoning our individual soups as we like to eat it, Adelagia contaminated the kkakdugi with spring onions. Gosh, can't take her anywhere. Later, Sungjae decided that he, too, would like to put green onion in the kkakdugi. No, Sungjae! No! Don't follow Adelagia's bad example!
Adelagia said Sungjae looks mad because he wants to go on all the outings, and then he's grumpy from being tired due to going on all the outings. lolol Also, she totally Sungjaed her leftovers (otherwise known as dumping one's rice into one's soup).
When we were paying, the same ahjumma from earlier pointed out the ahjussi back in the kitchen and said, "See? There he is!" So we waved and he bowed and he said "I'm working back here today!" And it was all very cute and slightly awkward, lol. Adelagia gave me a quarter, which I used on the hot drink machine they had. I chose Job's Tears tea, but it wasn't as good as it is at Sam Oh Jung (where you can get it for free!)... I realized later it was because it wasn't nearly as sweet, which is good health wise, I SUPPOSE.
Seriously... you wouldn't know by the content of this post that Hyungsik was supposed to be the star today, sigh.
Park Hyungsik oppa is represented by a purple giraffe. Why? Because it was super hard to come up with something for him, okay? Give us a break! He's tall and skinny, hence the giraffe. And purple because he played a king in Hwarang. YES IT'S WEAK. I KNOW. DEAL WITH IT. WE HAVE TO.
We had a late start today, on purpose, because
adelagia had seen on Google that Hanmaum (Korean fried chicken), where we planned to go for lunch, was open at 2pm. (Sooooo many of the places we want to go to in Federal Way are only open for dinner! Grrr.) We also wanted to try a new noraebang place, because while at So Moon Nan Jib for dinner last night, we noticed it in the same strip mall -- they have happy hour from 6-9pm for only $10/hour. So the plan was to go and stay later than we normally would.The first wrench in the plan came in the morning when I was checking Yelp for suggestions on what to order at Hanmaum. Yelp listed them as being closed on Sunday. People also mentioned that they had changed ownership at some point, but it wasn't clear if Sunday had been added or removed, lol. I tried to call, but no one answered at that hour of the morning. Adelagia and I pushed back our start time to 1:15pm, so that we could be on the road at 2pm and we could confirm if they were open or not.
I was late getting to her place, because despite having woken in plenty of time to get all the stuff I needed done, everything took longer than I expected. Gel nails, while quick to put on and quick to get you going fast, takes foreverrrrrrr to remove. I mean, the trade off is probably worth it, but I'm just not used to it so I didn't know how to deal with stubborn bits that just wouldn't come off and stuff like that. So it took longer than I expected. I also tried to wear falsies for the first time in yeaaaaars (and had only attempted it one other time previously), and had very limited success. I didn't put them on perfectly, and they weren't super comfortable. :/
Anyway, our first stop was Lowe's, because Adelagia needed to have a spare set of keys made for me. (Recently we'd gone through a scare where no one could reach her because, unbeknownst to her, KakaoTalk was not sending through everyone's messages, so we all thought she had perished in her apartment and was being eaten by wild dogs. Anyway, it made us realize that our procedures in case of emergency left something to be desired. My big plan when she couldn't be reached was to go to her apartment. And then knock on it sternly. Yes, that was basically it.)
WARNING -- LOTS OF RANTING AHEAD. While we were there, EVERYONE tried to delay us. And I know I am the most impatient person in the world, but seriously!!! Adelagia took it all in stride, while I was ready to lecture all of them. First there was the grumpy key maker, who was the opposite of friendly, and then there were the two white dudes who asked him a question JUST as Adelagia gave her keys over. And instead of making them wait, the Lowe's guy actually started helping them. Like, okay, if the question is quick, then fine, I'll grin and bear it. But they chatted for MINUTES. And when the guys noticed he was actually busy/helping someone else, one of them was like, "Oh, I'm sorry, you're helping someone else" but this sort of courtesy is USELESS. It's like, the "I'm sorry if this is rude, but..." BUT I'M ABOUT TO BE RUDE. Just because you say sorry ahead of it, if you still say it, YOU'RE STILL FUCKING RUDE. Also, what the FUCK was he apologizing to the Lowe's guy for? The people he should have been apologizing to were me and Adelagia!! And the Lowe's asshole should have said, I will help you after helping my current customer!! But no, instead, these three older white guys just basically demonstrated EXACTLY why people hate older white guys -- because by their behavior, they made it clear that THEY'RE more important than the two young(ish) Asian women who GOT THERE FIRST, BY THE WAY. It's not like we wanted to be served ahead of anyone else who was rightfully there. WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SERVED NEXT. WE HAD STOOD IN LINE WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S KEYS TO BE FINISHED. Those assholes basically just CUT IN LINE. And the fucking Lowe's asshole LET THEM DO IT. God it made me SO MAD. Finally, after SEVERAL MINUTES, I looked pointedly over at them, and one of the men said, "Oh, sorry, you were busy" (the apology was again to the Lowe's guy, not to us) and "Are you in a hurry?" (to us). I responded, "Yes, we ARE in a hurry, actually." But it also made me mad that he asked. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE'RE IN A HURRY OR NOT. We GOT THERE FIRST, and we were supposed to be getting our keys made, but YOU inserted yourself ahead of us, and the one person who had the authority to object -- the guy who worked there -- ALLOWED IT TO HAPPEN. Ohmygod I could go on and on. But that was not the end of the terrible customer experience at Lowe's. Next was the cashier, who decided that OUR TURN was when she would have to open a bunch of rolled coins in preparation for when she would need them. So we had to stand there and wait while she did this. Adelagia was going to pay by credit card. She didn't need fucking change. If this woman needed to make coins available for change, THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL SHE HAD A CUSTOMER WHO PAID CASH. Then if THEY'RE made to stand there and wait because she needed coins, at least they HAVE REASON TO, and because it was their choice to use cash. But don't make two people who are paying by fucking credit card wait, so that you can be ready with fucking coins for the next person who's paying by cash. I mean, seriously!!!!!!!!! People should not be this criminally stupid.
Furthering my aggravation was the fact that while in line, I called Hanmaum, and an ahjumma answered who could not understand my question of whether they were open or not, and I did not know how to ask it in Korean. :/ On the one hand, it was positive that anyone had answered at all. On the other hand, lots of restaurants have staff around even when they're closed, in order to do prep work. And what little English she was able to say did not fill me with a lot of hope of whether they were open for business.
We decided to go there anyway, with a backup plan to go to Youngwol Noodle if Hanmaum was closed. When we rolled up, it did not look promising. The open sign wasn't lit up, and there were no cars parked in front of it. However, there were lights on inside, and when we tried the door, it was open. There wasn't anyone in the restaurant, but there was an ahjussi behind the counter. Still not sure if they were open, I hesitantly greeted him and asked if they were open. He seemed to hesitate, and I was like, oh oops, are you closed? And he was like, we open at ... what time is it? And I was like, um it's 2:30. Like seriously he didn't even know he was supposed to be open lol. But when he learned of the time, he was like, yes, yes, we are open! Come sit! So that was nice, that after all that, we actually got to eat there after all. Adelagia and I decided to get the plain fried chicken, and they had corn cheese, too. But something else caught our eye -- "cheese egg roll." Both imagining some fried, cheesy, artery-clogging deliciousness, we ordered it. We were also amazed by some other things we saw on the menu, from a snail salad (I think it was a salad) to 번데기 (boiled silkworm pupa). When we saw that we were both like, AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH (/On-Dal from My Only Love Song) or Homer Simpson:
However, we agreed that while we would never in a million years actually order it, it was cool to see it on a menu (the first time ever, for me!), because it means the place is LEGIT. LOL
Before our food came, they gave us a little dish of tortilla chips, which was kind of odd but charming. I don't know what that's about. It tasted unusual to me, because while very crunchy, it didn't taste much of corn. I asked Adelagia if she thought it tasted different from normal tortilla chips, and she said that she noticed a very strong corn flavor. LOLOL we have no idea. Then before the food we ordered came out, the ahjussi brought out a dish of freshly fried fries, saying that they were on the house, and they were so hot and delicious. They were extra delicious because of being free. Then the rest of our food came out. And boy were we surprised.
At first, when I saw the omelet, I thought it was yet another free thing they were giving us. But then they placed it on our table, and I was like, did they get our order wrong...? But then Adelagia whispered, OMG is this... the cheese egg roll? And I was like, but how can it be? It's a FREAKING OMELET. And then she was like, think about it... it's egg... rolled...
OMG. So we looked up the Korean, and INDEED, "rolled egg" is what they meant. In fact, I now know what it was supposed to be... it's like that banchan where it's rolled up in a cylinder and then you cut slices from it. Ha!! Sometimes English words and their meanings make no actual sense. I mean, honestly, who named what *we* consider an eggroll, "eggroll"? Most eggrolls DON'T EVEN HAVE EGGS IN THE FILLING OR IN THE WRAPPER. Well played, Hanmaum.
The omelet we ordered was fine, though much less cheesy than we were expecting. The free fries were better, lol.
When I went to take a pic of the oppas with the food, I accidentally sat Sungjae down onto a crumb. That's why he looks grumpy.
The fried chicken was good, and I liked that it was cut up into smaller pieces. The chicken itself didn't appear to have been brined, so they give you a small dish of salt to season it yourself... and it does need it. I think the fried chicken is probably actually better at Stone Korean, but I like Hanmaum's vibe and the fact that their focus is on fried chicken and its accompaniments. However, while I normally don't like Korean seasoned chicken, I'm thinking maybe theirs would be better with it. Anyway, they also give you the quick pickled white radish that is a MUST when having Korean fried chicken, as well as a simple cabbage slaw and some fried sliced squash. Oh oh, we also had a total K-drama moment when the ahjussi came by with some plastic gloves for us to wear while eating the chicken. TEEHEE! Usually in dramas they're using the gloves to eat messy sauced things like chicken feet. Anyway, I had already started using my hands to eat the chicken so I wished he'd have brought them out sooner, if he was gonna!
We did fairly well for it being a whole chicken! Also they provide a little bucket for chicken bones.
When we were done and went up to pay, I asked him in English about whether he knew what Yelp was. (We had tried to use a little Korean with him, but he seemed totally uninterested in conversing in that language. Which, to me, meant that his English must be fairly decent.) NO ONE ELSE came in while we were eating, and I wondered how much of that was due to Yelp saying that they were closed on Sundays. So I told him about that, and he was like, ugh, they're wrong. Thank you for telling me. That was cool; I'm glad he understood why I was telling him and that he appreciated it. I'd been waffling about whether it was worth the bother, or if I should just try and correct it on Yelp myself. Anyway, as we were leaving, he thanked us profusely (even though he was just being extra courteous by showing us the door, it felt like he was trying to chase us away, lolol) and Adelagia said, "안녕히 계세요!" This is how you say goodbye to someone (who is staying at their location), and the look of shock on his face was hilarious. I don't know if he was just ignoring our Korean before because we were using words many people would know (such as "hello" and "thank you") or he just couldn't hear us, but this less-than-common phrase seemed to take him aback that we might actually know a little ACTUAL Korean. LOLOL If only Sungjae and Hyungsik could have popped out and helped us out! That should be the oppas' superpower, lol.
We were trying to decide if we should go back to Asensio for coffee, or if we should try a place called Cafe Noir that served scrumptious-looking shaved ice desserts. But they cost $13, and I'm trying not to be too indulgent with sweets, so we decided to just go back to Asensio. Cafe Noir served coffee and tea, but we weren't sure if it was a place you could just hang out, like Starbucks. Anyway, at Asensio we both used our new Joco glasses and got a cold brew (me) and latte (Adelagia). We did a wee bit of story planning.
However, we neglected to check their hours, and at 4:45 we were informed that they would be closing at 5. We were then forced to find a park (I think it was called Steel Lake Park, not too far from the H-Mart we always go to), but it was a pretty lame one where there were a couple of fields for kiddie baseball type games, and some benches, but no real place to comfortably do what we wanted to do, which was story plan. It was a nice day, but we wanted to sit in the shade because of heat and also because we didn't have sunscreen. Also there was this super aggressive squirrel with zero fucks to give about humans. It came within like two feet of us several times. I've never seen a squirrel come so close!
Finally around 10 to 6 we decided to head back to Hanmaum, or rather, to Comma, which is right next door. What was hilarious was that was we pulled in I noticed none other than... Cafe Noir!! LOL. We could have just stayed in that same strip mall the ENTIRE DAY. In fact, if we had gone to So Moon Nan Jib for dinner instead of the seolleongtang place, we literally could have spent our entire day at that same strip mall, lolol. If we'd gone to Cafe Noir, we wouldn't have had to do all the extra driving, or get kicked out to find a lame park!! Next time, we are trying that place. I HAVE DECIDED. Plus I am intrigued by their shaved ice now, lol.
Comma was AMAZING. It looks like a total craphole from the outside, but inside it's clean and roomy. Our room did smell a bit of smoke initially, but sadly (or happily) I got used to it pretty quickly. The coolest thing was that they had lyric romanization, which we have found very few places have. Plus their karaoke controller has English translations taped on it, which will make poor
slitherhither very happy. And we only have to pay $10/hour for happy hour!! It's a total score. Adelagia and I feel slightly guilty about abandoning our noraebang ahjumma at First Avenue, but the pros of Comma are too strong to ignore. Ahjumma's noraebang costs *150% more*. She supposedly opens at 3, but she's also unreliable. More often than not, she's not even there at 3, and then you have to call her to have her come open it. Yesterday she didn't even get to us until nearly 4, which totally delayed us for dinner, and she'd just been in the bar across the way the whole time! Plus, I don't think she really needs our business. If she did, she would open when she's supposed to open. We strongly suspect (or at least I do) that the noraebang is just a front for money laundering, lol. I also strongly suspect that she/her husband/family owns the bar, which means that's where they make most of their money. We liked First Avenue because they have comfy rooms, we sort of know the ahjumma (and how she always appears somewhat high) and her us, and the big one: it has romanization. Comma's rooms aren't AS comfy, they don't add extra time (First Avenue ahjumma would add an extra 15 min for every hour), and they're open later... BUT at least I can be sure they'll be open when they say they'll be open. They also seem to have a stronger grasp of English (not that that's so important when our transaction is so simple, but it does come in handy), the rooms aren't UNcomfortable, the karaoke system is similar to First Avenue so we have the codes to all our favorite songs at our fingertips, and again, most important of all, it also has romanization. To get all that for $10 is just so, so worth it. We can live with the cons, including The Winter's Tale video playing ad nauseum on all BTOB songs. (Please Comma, get new videos. That's the one thing I don't understand about karaoke systems. How can all the songs be the same numbers, but the visuals that accompany the songs be different? It's flummoxing.)Hyungsik and Sungjae decided to do a duet! Which I realize now is funny and appropriate, because they actually HAVE sung together in real life.
When we went to pay, I had the following exchange with the guy at the register:
Him: 두 시간? (Two hours?)
Me: 네. (Yes.)
Him: ㄹㄴ우ㅏㅂ어ㅜㄴㅇㅎㄴㅁ잳오풪도ㅑ냥ㄹ뭏모 tax? (aka, bunch of random Korean that made me go ???)
Me: ...um, what?
Him: ㄹㄴ우ㅏㅂ어ㅜㄴㅇㅎㄴㅁ잳오풪도ㅑ냥ㄹ뭏모 tax?
Me: Sorry, I don't...
Him: ....
Me: ....
Him: Oh. I said, if you pay by credit card, I have to charge extra.
LOLOL. This is the danger of showing that you know even a little Korean... they, probably rightfully, then assume that you know the language well and speak to you in it. Unfortunately, my Korean is so, so weak, particularly when it comes to hearing it spoken quickly by a native speaker, because they use all sorts of words and conjugations that I don't yet know! So I can't really converse with anyone unless they are really patient. But the only person who's willing to be that patient is our massage therapist, lol. Adelagia and I would like to practice, but once they realize you can't actually speak Korean, they usually would rather just get the transaction over with in English. :/
Afterward, we went to our favorite seolleongtang place. Seolleongtang is a beef bone broth that has been cooked for hours and hours and hours, so that the resulting soup is milky white. It's served with some kind of sliced meat (Adelagia and I usually get tongue, but brisket is delicious too) and this place also serves it with either clear or white noodles, which isn't traditional, but it works. Anyway, it's served unseasoned. At the table, you season it yourself with salt, green onion, and spicy sauce if you desire. They also give you a bowl of rice, kkakdugi (turnip kimchi), and napa cabbage kimchi. It is all so, so delicious. We also love the place because of seolleongtang ahjussi, who is this super nice man who works there. He recognizes us and is always really nice, and has even thanked us for returning to the restaurant multiple times. The last couple of times we went, he wasn't there, and we figured it was because he worked the dinner rather than lunch shift (we were there for lunch last time). Now I wonder if it was because he was working in the kitchen area the whole time! We were SO looking forward to seeing him (is that weird? It's probably a little weird) that when we went into the restaurant and he wasn't there, it was disappointing. So disappointing, in fact, that I felt I had to ask after him. I mean, did he not work there anymore?!
Then Adelagia and I had to figure out how to say "tall" in Korean. We had gone over it in class, but we go over a lot of things in class and not everything sticks. I WISH I had a photographic memory. Because of the way adjectives work in Korean, and because of the vague memory I had of our teacher talking about it, I thought it was "기큰 아저씨." Adelagia thought it might be reversed, to "큰기 아저씨." And I get why. Because "큰" is the adjective form of "big," while the "기" part is what indicates height. So she was thinking "big height ahjussi." BUT -- and I don't know if I can articulate this clearly -- my understanding of how adjectives work in Korean is that the whole description is the adjective. So to make "height," you have to put the word that indicates height as PART of the descriptor, so in this case, "기큰."
When we were seated, Adelagia spoke to the ahjumma (emu?) in Korean, which of course prompted her to speak to us in Korean when she came to our table to take our order. We then had to explain that we didn't actually know how to speak it. We opened by asking after the ahjussi, and once she realized who we meant, she said that he was working in the back/kitchen today. Since we had a native speaker right there, I took the opportunity to ask how we would say "tall" in Korean, because we were learning the language, and she confirmed it was "기큰." Then she proceeded to ask us questions of her own, such as our names and nationalities. She told me that she thought I looked Korean, which I get a lot from other Asians -- but unfortunately it's not like, the perfect-skinned, big-eyed, gorgeous celeb type of Korean, but just your regular
The food was super delish, as usual. It's so hard not to eat it all. While we were seasoning our individual soups as we like to eat it, Adelagia contaminated the kkakdugi with spring onions. Gosh, can't take her anywhere. Later, Sungjae decided that he, too, would like to put green onion in the kkakdugi. No, Sungjae! No! Don't follow Adelagia's bad example!
Adelagia said Sungjae looks mad because he wants to go on all the outings, and then he's grumpy from being tired due to going on all the outings. lolol Also, she totally Sungjaed her leftovers (otherwise known as dumping one's rice into one's soup).
When we were paying, the same ahjumma from earlier pointed out the ahjussi back in the kitchen and said, "See? There he is!" So we waved and he bowed and he said "I'm working back here today!" And it was all very cute and slightly awkward, lol. Adelagia gave me a quarter, which I used on the hot drink machine they had. I chose Job's Tears tea, but it wasn't as good as it is at Sam Oh Jung (where you can get it for free!)... I realized later it was because it wasn't nearly as sweet, which is good health wise, I SUPPOSE.
Seriously... you wouldn't know by the content of this post that Hyungsik was supposed to be the star today, sigh.
