Street Food Yum - Hoddeok Revisited

My all time favorite street food yum and Korean traditional eat is the sweet Korean pancake, Hoddeok. You can find this sweet tooth satisfaction in the streets at an average price of $1, sometimes even less! Because there are so many different stands to purchase this from, everyone has their own take to it. The more recent stands are turning this flat, doughy pancake into a more fluffy, bread-like eat. This stand in Kongdae offers fluffy bread that is cut in half and filling is added before handed off to guests to enjoy. This breaks away from the traditional way of filling a dough with a pine nut based syrup and thrown in a flat pan of oil to cook. Nonetheless, it is still my favorite traditional Korean eat and I just can't get enough of it!

Sweet Tooth Satisfaction - chocolatyum

chocolatyum is an extremely small and cozy location in Hongdae where they bake all things chocolate which includes cakes and cookies. It is a popular spot to visit for anyone looking for a quick sweet pickup. Because the location is extremely small, there is always a crowd of people exploring the many baked goods and trying to find someone to cater to their taste. Some of the goodies are able to hit the spot and be on point, but there are a few sweets that are not recommended which include the freshly baked Peperro sticks. Nonetheless, it is a place to visit to pick up something sweet.

From exit 9 of the Hongik station on line 2,  go straight until you hit the light. Take a left at the light and go straight you come to a Taco Bell and Tony Moly. Take the street (or following one on you right) and go straight until you reach the next intersection. At the first intersection, take a left and go straight.

Address: 서울특별시 마포구 서교동 358-125

Korean Traditional Eat - Jumok Bap 주먹밥

My all time favorite Korean tradition eat is the Jumok Bap 주먹밥 which is a rice ball with different kinds of fillings depending on the restaurant and what you order. My all time favorite is tuna and anchovies which I just can't get enough of! This rice ball is topped with either sesame or dried seaweed and maybe a touch of other delicious ingredients. The best part about this fun eat is that is is extremely cheap, usually just a measly $1 will provide you with a pretty filling rice ball (or two) depending on the location. It is definitely on the top of my list for best eats in Korea!

Korean Traditional Eat - Kalguksu Noodle Soup 갈국수

Kalguksu is a traditional Korean eat that is usually enjoyed as a seasonal dish. There are many different takes on this traditional eat. It basically consists of wheat floor noodles that are made in a chicken broth usually. Additional ingredients of cucumbers and a handful of other vegetables are added in and the soup is topped with a meat of your choice. The popular consists of seafood, beef, and chicken. 

Depending on how are you consuming this dish, it can be served as a single serving per person or it can also be served with a bowl of soup over an open fire shared between a table. Ingredients are then added as you consume, to your liking. This is rather important for those who are eating beef because leaving the beef in for too long can result in an overcooked and extra chewy slice of meat. Many people strain away from this by cooking their beef slices as they eat. If consuming beef, it is recommended to go with the beef base broth which provides a better enhancement to your taste buds than the common chicken broth. 

Story of My Life - Korean Online Shopping

Being abroad, getting certain items is definitely difficult, especially foreign items. As a lucky discovery and one of the hottest websites in Korea, 11 street definitely makes my life easier. It not only offers foreign items, but it also provides international shipping for anyone who is looking for true Korean products.

My first purchase was for Herbalife which has been hitting the market hard as a diet option in America and definitely in Korea. Although in Korea, they offer the Korean version of the product, it is still the same as those abroad, but in the Korean language. Because it is a Korean website, most information is written in Korean, but there are several English translations that help facilitate the ordering process.

I am in love with the easy click-through from beginning to end that allows for easy ordering. They even tell you how much additional each items is when clicking to order. Simply add it to your cart and checkout as a whole when you are ready to. I think one of the best parts about the website is the quick shipping. Average for most stores is a day and a half, max at two and a half days shipping. Korean service is just that amazing!

11 Street makes it that much easier for getting foreign products, Korean products, all mixed in one. It is the one recommendation I make for anyone who is looking for anything and everything shipped to your door within a few days! Most companies even offer free shipping, now that's a deal.

Restaurant Review - L&B's Spumoni Garden

L&B Spumoni Garden

2725 86th Street

Brooklyn NY 11223

(718)449-1230

The one place to go to to get your sicilian pizza fix is L&B's Spumoni Garden. A well known pizzeria and restaurant in the Brooklyn neighborhood, it has also been featured in a handful of media as well. Spumoni Garden is the place go to for outdoor seating, family enjoyment, and of course food. It is the perfect combination of pizza and homemade spumoni with a history over 70 years. 

Once you try a slice of their sicilian pizza, you will definitely go back for more. They break away from the traditional round pizza by baking up square pies all day. The fluffy bread is the one pizza restaurant that you will probably want to eat the crust as well. Although many visit Spumoni Garden for their extremely cheap $2.25 sicilian, the home made spumoni is to die for. Many locals make a drive by just to pick up a cup of spumoni, like myself. When ordering out, it is also likely to order a quart for delivery (maybe not sharing), but for enjoyment. You can't visit L&Bs without having both the speciality sicilian and a cup of spumoni. You'll regret it if you do!

Sweet Tooth Satisfaction - Lee Saem Cupcake

Lee Saem Cupcake who's motto is "life is just a cup of cake" is one of the most popular cupcake locations. In fact, it is the most popular location to go to for cupcake in Itaewon. This small little white shop is hidden in a little alley from the Itaewon station in the basement floor. Once discovered, you will find yourself in a cupcake fairytale, surrounding by all things cupcakes and picnic seating to enjoy your cupcakes. With a small number of seating, it is recommended to grab these goodies to go.

Lee Saem Cupcake offers one of the more moist cupcakes in Korea. Offering traditional flavors as well as more creative ones, cupcakes are paired with a different kind of icing and sprinkle. The matcha cupcake is extremely bold in green tea taste which is recommended for anyone who is in love with green tea, sprinkled with a light touch of matcha powder. The blueberry is one of their best sellers and extremely fruity. It takes you back to being a kid because they sprinkle it with candies that pop in your mouth, just like the childhood favorite of Pop Rocks. The classic vanilla, which is the sweetest of them all, is topped with a mix of white and chocolate cookies which is the one recommendation to make. 

Address: 93-28 SangSu-dong, Mapo-gu
Phone: 010 7112 6770

From the Itaewon exit 2, go straight and follow the curve around at the bottom of the hill. Take a left at the dead end without crossing the street (follow the hill). After two blocks of going straight, Lee Saem will be in a small block on the left after the turn.