Day 15: TechnoMart Flashback, Pesto Pasta and an Empty Ratchaprasong

Woke up at 9:30am today after a little over 6 hours of sleep. Too much drinking from the previous night rendered my brain useless for anything except sleep and the occasional nocturnal sojourns to the bathroom to take a leak.

Lunch was sinigang na spareribs (which I burned my tongue on, durnit). I pigged out, naturally, before spending a little time chatting over YM. Shopping is over and done with (theoretically... is it wishful thinking?) so no plans to go out to Silom tonight. After all, walang pasok so only a few vendors would be out there. So what to do?

Like I said, today's goal was techno-overload. On the itinerary: Pantip Mall.

Popsie, Bradir and I took a cab to the said mall, which was a few meters away from Platinum Mall (tempting, indeed!). Looking at five floors of electronic madness, I was transported to TechoMart in Seoul - circa December 2008. That time, I bought a PSP and a Cowon O2 for Jen. This time, I bought... nothing. Harhar. I was looking for a 500GB external hard drive but Popsie kept insisting on a 1 terabyte drive. "Konti lang kasi ang diperensya ng presyo", he says. But how on Earth do I fill up 1000GB? My pictures, despite how huge a picture-freak I am, will barely take up 10% of that space! So what to do? Postpone the purchase for the trip to what Popsie refers to as I.T. Mall... wherever that is!

Walking back to Big C from Pantip, I noticed something strange: Ratchaprasong (the shopping area/district along Thanon Ratchadamri - you know, all those designer stores and those malls surrounded by hotels) was strangely empty. Like Ayala Ave during Holy Week. Like my brain when I go back to work on the eleventh. Mwehehehehe...

When I got home, it was time to check the AS400's after the shutdown. It was ok, a few missing records but nothing a manual run can't fix. Mom made pesto to smother the spiralli with, while Sissy and I walked along Convent to Silom for some kai thot (fried chicken). At 10 baht for each chicken leg, not a bad deal eh?

I'm still not in blogging mode, as I'm a bit sad that Mom and Bradir are leaving for Manila tomorrow night. Almost makes me wish I booked my flight for January the second instead of the ninth. Almost is the operative word since, truth be told, I'm not ready to go back to the Philippines yet. If it were up to me, I'd stay here for a year. Harhar...

But that's not in my hands... so I'm doing what I can: drinking up this ice-cold 630-ml bottle of Singha beer. It's light and a bit sweet: like San Miguel Light crossed with Cerveza Negra. Cheers to 2010!

P.S. The Weather Pixies look so cute! They all have fireworks in their own skies... Either that or I'm drunk... Hardeeharhar!

Day 14: Sawasdee Pi Mai Kha!

Yesterday, our plan to welcome 2010 over at Central World was thwarted. After going to the grocery at Big C, we saw the stages being set up along Ratchadamri (saw one in front of Central World and another in Siam Paragon. Not sure if there were more within Ratchaprasong) and the crowds that were gathered. It was HUGE, rivaling that of the crowd in front of Galleria during EDSA Dos. Okay, that may be an exaggeration but it was only 7pm!

Mom, Sissy and I were planning to take the jet-jet (Bus number 77) since Dad, Sister and Bradir took a tuk-tuk back home with the groceries. Walking out of the Big C, we saw that most of Ratchadamri was closed to traffic, since the aforementioned stages were up and running. So Mom, Sissy and I just took a few pictures on the street and bought three pairs of those plastic headpieces with horns that light up. No traffic = no buses so we decided to take the BTS. We walked to Ratchadamri station but ended up taking a tuk-tuk to Sala Daeng station, as it was cheaper (50 THB as opposed to 63 THB if we took the BTS) and we wouldn't have to climb three flights of stairs.

At Sala Daeng, we bought pesto from Tops. Then we got 200THB worth of fried chicken legs (that's twenty pieces!) from a vendor at Liberty Square on Thanon Silom, a couple of blocks from home. The plan was to cook some spiralli, smother it with pesto and serve it with fried chicken. EPIC FAIL! The maids of the condo invited us for dinner and drinks on the courtyard. Of course it was impolite to say no... so off we went.

The food came in varying degrees of wicked spiciness: the kai (chicken) was not spicy, the moo larb (ground/chopped pork - sauteed with lemongrass, cilantro and I dunno what else) was a bit spicy, and the kikiam with tomatoes and onion was wickedly spicy! It made good pulutan for the Isan wine (a kind of fermented rice wine from Northern Thailand - it was sweet and potent. Reminded me of basi) and the wine coolers. After drinking myself to a mild buzz and dancing like heck, we headed upstairs at around 10:30pm. An hour and a half, a quick shower and a few drinks later, we ran to the condo's rooftop to watch the fireworks from all around the city! Another perk of living in the middle of the CBD: we are surrounded by hotels and our rooftop offers a 360-degree view of the fireworks. It's World Pyrolympics - for free!

After the fireworks, we went back to our unit and started drinking. We didn't last long (rather - I didn't. I was reduced to being the bartender) and we decided to catch some Z's.

Today, our AS400's are on shutdown mode so I'll need to be online at around 3pm my time to do some testing - hopefully. Sucks to be without SameTime. Thank goodness for YM and Skype!

So, here's 2010! I hope it will be better than 2009 because last year was a freaking PAIN in the rear end, I kid you not! My 2010 forecast isn't very encouraging. To be quite honest, I kinda saw this coming but to actually read it in black and white (and seeing the past year flash before my eyes while watching the trailer of 2010) was a little too much for me... had to have a drink afterwards. Oh, what the heck! Cheers! Thank you to everyone who was a part of my 2009. Here's to OUR 2010!

The Seoul Train Part II - De-kimchi-fication Galore

November 11.

11/11/08.

On that day, Tuesday, it was Pepero day! As TaeWoong explained, it's like Valentine's Day or some other modern holiday. It's in honor of the snack called the Lotte Pepero. It's a line of pretzel-like snackfoods that have two distinct looks: like a thin Champola wafer stick or like those mini-pretzels with sugar outside. Only there's more variety to those two major types.

For the Champola look-alike, there's one filled with lemon cream (think Rebisco sandwich), mocha cream, and some chocolate-with-something combination that's absolutely addictive!

The other form reminds me of Jack and Jill Pretzels. There's a variety exactly like that: thinner pretzel sticks dipped in chcolate. There's also the "naked Peparo", as KiKeun calls it: like sugar-coated Mini-Pretzels of our childhood. My favorite variety is the one that's double-dipped in chocolate then rolled in crushed almonds. Mmmm... I am so addicted to it that i vow to bring home BOXES of that stuff. Perfect for Christmas!

It's my twelfth day here and so far, my life is made up of: the cold, the food and the new discoveries.

Discovery number 1: Persimmons

Robby's old entries declare her love for persimmons. Back home, I have seen and eaten persimmon only once: Mom and I bought a few pieces (it was about 3 dollars per kilo. Doh!) while Christmas shopping. When I peeled, sliced and took a bite I found them bland. Like papaya sucked dry of its flavor.

Ohho, but Seoul's persimmons are a revelation. That delicate thin skin. That juicy flesh. Those perfect brown seeds that remind me of oversized Coffee Beat candies. Luscious... Mmmm... And at around 1.50 USD per kilo, it's a great buy!

Discovery number 2: Unknown plant life in the form of kimchi-like salad

It's sour, it's salty...a little bit spicy but crisp and fresh! It's not kimchi but it sure looks like it! There's a salad with frissee-like greens, another with what looks like Money tree leaves that taste like gumamela leaves (let's not talk about why I know what gumamela tastes like), and yet another that reminds me of oregano (only this one is less fleshy and is a darker green). After walking around the grocery store, I discovered that they were sesame leaves. Yum!

Discovery number 3: "Fishballs"

They're actually sheets of mashed fish, flour... and Lord knows what else. They look the way orlians do, only rolled flat and without the anise aftertaste. Here, it is sauteed in chili (served as a side-dish during meals), cut into strips and dropped into hot soup, pierced by huge wooden skewers isaw-like and simmered in spicy broth and sold off the street for about 50 US cents. I happily chomped on one in front of the Doota mall in Dongdaemun (shopping isn't my thing but street food definitely is!) and yet again outside the office before heading on home. Yum yum!

Discovery number 4: The Typical Korean Meal

It has four major components: rice, soup, kimchi, at least two other side dishes aside from the kimchi.

I think I have enocuntered kimchi if at least ten different sorts in the two weeks I have been here. Off the top of my head: radish, bokchoi (Chinese pechay in Manila), cabbage-lettuce hybrid...thing, the aforementioned money-tree-tastes-like-gumamela, the frissee-like thingie, something-that-resembles-sponge-gourd-in-life (patola in Tagalog), and a yellow rootcrop (not kamote, not potato, no idea what it is).

I have also seen different sorts of stuff thrown into soups: mung bean sprouts at least 3 inches long, tofu blocks, fish balls (sheets), radish strips, leeks, celery tops (or what looks like celery tops)... even shreds of chicken and beef bones.

Rice...ah, the rice! The rice is absolutely gorgeous! Those sticky little grains of starchy deliciousness... Mixed with barley, rye, purple rice (traditionally called tappol), and on its own - it's a meal in itself!

I love rice. I can never survive South Beach Diet... rice is just too good to pass up!

Discovery number 5: Chilsung Cider

It's a soda drink by Lotte. It's clear like Sprite, but the flavor is more like Mountain Dew with more of a lemony-limey taste. I buy the stuff at the grocery by the bottle (a liter and a half each). It's cool, refreshing...and makes great chaser for Soju. Speaking of Soju...

Discovery number 6: Soju

Soju is an amazing thing! It's 20% alcohol, a bit like your regular vodka or gin or tequila. It's clear and has almost no alcohol-y smell. The taste? It's smooth and crisp. Swabe... and it's easy to down one shot after another and not feel dizzy at all. But try standing up and you'll feel it hit you in the face... and everywhere else.

Ah, I hate traitors but when it's in the context of an alcohol kick, then ILOVEIT! Hahaha...

Hmmm, I think above entries would have been more appropriate in the other blog... Oh well!

~*~*~*~*~*~

The weather is great! It's nice and cool with a little bit of wind. This week, it averaged 7 degrees at noon - bearable without a jacket, provided there is no wind. Jacket-weather or not, I go walking around the blocks surrounding the office, just observing and enjoying the weather. I will miss this when I come home to Manila.

During my walks, I encounter lots of convenience stores and vendors. I try to buy something from vendors when I see them. They're nice and chatty, even when I don't understand 99% of what they're saying. Most of all, they provide lots of new discoveries for a Seoul first-timer like me.

I have about five more weeks here before I come home to Manila. I'm sure there are new adventures waiting for me out there. You can bet your pwet I will blog about those too.

By the way, Yahoo Weather says there'll be scattered snow showers on Thursay. Looks like winter is finally here. Brrr...

Now excuse me while I bury myself under the sheets.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Listening to: Mariposa - Sugarfree

"Nagsisising matatapos ang gabing alam naman nating
Mayroon nang taning;
Nagsisising nagising sa katotohanang
Di ka naman talaga akin;
Di mo lang alam
Inaasam ang panahong
Makapaling ka sa una't huling pagkakataon"