The Grand Day Out.

Instead of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, I was delighted to learn that there were just Three Degrees of Separation between myself and five former Wisconsinites now living in Korea!  This was heartening for yours truly, the cowardly lion, to hear.  And within days of landing in Seoul, I was lucky enough to be led all over the city by the dapper Noah Wilson - also an alumni of University of Wisconsin-Stout and former resident of my beloved Menomonie.  Had I any second thoughts about wearing my close-to-safety-orange asymmetrical dress for our outing, they were quickly thrown to the wind once I laid eyes on Noah's red with white polka-dot shirt and plaid shorts...can you BELIEVE that I failed to take a picture of us in our fantastic duds?  My fail.

Nevertheless, plenty of pics survive from the day, as you'll see very soon.  The days leading up to us meeting went something like this:

Thursday - left for the airport in Wisconsin early morning
Friday - arrived at my apartment in Seoul late evening
Saturday - unpacked luggage and did a trial walk to the subway station I was going to meet Noah at Sunday
Sunday - met Noah at 11 a.m. for our grand day out

After subsisting on adrenaline, shock, and white carbs for three days (see previous post) I was uber excited to find good food and depending on Noah to lead me to some...he did not disappoint!  After getting a tutorial in how to use the subways, Noah and I schlupped around the city for hours before following our stomachs to an alley restaurant somewhere in...well...um...the day was such a blur I can NOT for the life of me remember where it is.  I'm hoping Noah remembers, because I'd sure like to go back!

Where's Waldo - I mean, Noah?  The restaurant was open to the alley, and had these fantastic curtains made of wicker-like rings.  Though environmentally shameful, it was a joy to sit in air-conditioned, shaded splendor while people watching.

Bibimbap (lower right hand corner) is traditionally served with lots of little side dishes.  The side dishes are usually pickled vegetables of one kind or another, and always include at least one kind of kimchi.  There are five in the middle of this picture.  You add any of these side dishes to the Bibimbap bowl, stir, and enjoy!  (The egg gets cooked when stirred.)

The same Bibimbap you saw above - after being stirred, chili sauce added, and doled out onto a side plate.  Oh.  My.  God.  This.  Was.  Good.

Ice noodles!  When Noah wanted to order these, I thought they sounded gross and was questioning his ability to make sound culinary decisions.  Turns out he's a frickin' genius - and so is this dish!  Imagine clear noodles, a broth of crushed ice that's cucumber-y and vinegar-y...now garnish with mystery vegetables, cucumber, Asian pear, and a hard-boiled egg.  Divine.

One of the many fantastic sights from the day...more pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/65633043@N08/. 

So...the food was great, the company fantastic, and the sights amazing...could there have been anything more?  Um, yeah.  Duh.  Noah turned me on to a little thing called makkoli (http://www.trifood.com/makkoli.asp).  If you like sake, makkoli is a cloudier version that tastes a bit more malty.  It's served cold and only costs one to two dollars at your local convenience store here - which is good.  Because I sure can't afford this...

70,000 won = $70...Last time I checked, it wasn't that expensive in the states, was it?