Buddae-jiggae is one of my favorite Korean dishes.
'Buddae' meaning 'army base', and 'jiggae' which means stew, got its name during the Korean War when, during that time, due to the scarcity of food, Koreans made a stew out of leftover sausages and Spam from the U.S. Army base, and then mixed with noodles and vegetables in a huge pot to make a stew. Thus, buddae-jjigae, or Army stew.
And today, at lunch, I went with my friend, James, and visited a neighborhood restaurant which serves an EAT-ALL-YOU-CAN buddae-jjiggae!
So, we got a table with a stove and they gave us a pan filled with jiggae broth, which we then filled with ingredients from the 'buffet table': mandu (dumplings), tteok, sliced sausages, sliced spams, noodles and an array of vegetables!
I like this dish because of the variety of ingredients that go with it, even though it's a little bit spicy.
So in case you're in the neighborhood of the Yongsan Station, the restaurant is on a small street to the right of I-Park Mall (if you're facing it). It's on that alley behind the NH Bank building.
A buddae, that's 'bu-ppe' (buffet).
Ciao.
Thanks to the Korea Tourism Organization for the free tickets! I usually stay away from performances or events at the Olympic Park as it usually takes more than an hour by bus and subway rides from my place.
But since I haven't seen any B-Boy competition and the ticket was free, I decided to go...on the second day. The first day was the solo competitions; the second day was the crew competitions with participants from Korea, Spain, France, Germany, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Vietnam and China! I don't know much about dance moves called locking or popping, but I think I know what 'b-boys' (break-boys) do.
The battles were a display of creativity, energy, flexibility, showmanship and the strong neck bones! These guys were spinning on their necks much faster than I can spin on my swivel chair! And they could spin so balanced, like they have mastered how to center their weight right atop of their heads upside down! It was like the men's gymnastics routine on the floor exercises but with DJs and electronic music!
I was able to sneak backstage and chat with the Philippine crew, who called themselves P-Noise. Congratulations to them for their hard work and for having defeated the Puerto Rican crew on the quarterfinals, but the P-Noise lost to the eventual champion, Jinjo Crew, at the semis.
I was actually impressed with the performances of the Jinjo Crew from Korea, who were very creative in their moves, and I thought their jacket routine was really creative and inventive. They deserved to win!
The crew competition started from 6 PM and lasted until about 10, causing me to starve right in the middle of the competition as I neglected to bring anything to feed myself with. But I guess I was able to feed on the energy of the whole Olympic Park where the audience cheered and screamed each time they saw moves which no average person would be able to duplicate.
It was a great show and a great competition! Kudos to the R16 competitors and organizers! My only question was: Why were the R16 t-shirts so freakin' expensive?
I hope to watch it again next year!
Today, July 1, is the first day of the new Philippine President Noynoy Aquino, and he wants to be called P. Noy, short for President Noy.
Like most Filipinos, I wish him luck in his leading the Filipino people into a new calls for good governance and hope for a better economy.
I voted for Noynoy because I trust him. I trust him to lead the country into the right path...I trust him to rid government of corruption....I trust him to be an example to all civil servants to be true to service and the people....I trust him put to justice those who betrayed the Filipino people's trust and who abused their power in office...and I trust him to help watch over the plight and the rights of the Filipino overseas workers.
That's the photo (sorry, a little bit dark) of Noynoy when he campaigned at my hometown, courtesy of my sister's camera.
Yellow is in again!
Ciao.
As I was doing my Sunday stroll in my neighborhood today, I couldn't help but remember that movie title while looking towards the mist covering Nam-san.
Today is cloudy and misty, but unlike the psychological thriller movie, I just strolled, not stalked. Ha-ha-ha!
And hopefully tomorrow, the mist will disappear and reveal the mountain again; and the clouds move away to reveal blue skies.
Hopefully.
Now that rains have been ruining our days in Seoul lately -- like getting soaked in the rain while watching the World Cup matches at City Hall, to having to carry a bulky umbrella or worst, to not being able to play tennis on clay!
So, I , like most of the Seoulites, am praying for some clear skies this week - skies as clear on this photo I took a few weeks ago when one can almost see forever....on a clear day.
