Bim Bap at Kosirae

Bim Bap with Beef

Kosirae, Sukhumvit Soi 55, Bangkok, Thailand

Price: 300 baht (US $9.73)

Like other major metropolitian cities, Bangkok has its fair share of ethnic restaurants run and own by the original creators of the food. There is sizeable Korean population in Bangkok and with it comes excellent Korean food.

Located just off Sukhumvit 55 (Soi Thong Lo) and accessible by the BTS Skytrain, Kosirae is owned and run by a Korean family, offering both a la carte and a 290 baht Korean barbecue pork buffet. Having come for the highly recommended buffet before in which they use hot coals to power your stove, I wanted to try out the a la carte menu as well.

I ordered the Bim Bap with beef (300 baht or US $9.73), which is basically served in a piping hot stone bowl with raw beef on top. You would then stir the beef and mix it with the rice, in which it will quickly cook and become well done, given the immense heat of the stone bowl. An hour later, the bowl was still warm. The rice itself also comes mixed with flavourings as well as fresh mountain vegetables.

As part of the set, you also receive a set of nine side dishes which you can ask to be refilled as many times as you want. These side dishes include kimchi, fruit salad and very delicious spinach, which is crispy and has a very distinct flavour. The side dishes themselves are very tasty and almost constitute a meal in itself. 

The bim bap was scrumptious and came with a bowl of soup, which helped to counter the stronger and spicy taste of the side dishes.

It's an experience, but the price of the bim bap is rather expensive, given that its 10 baht more than the buffet. That said, it's trying to understand the taste of Korean food, but I would probably come back for the buffet next time.

Green Tea Lattes

Next to the Beanbins, to the shop's left, is a Lavazza coffee shop whose name, I believe, was Red Espresso. That's where Sunny and I met.

Sunny and I smile for the camera. We both had green tea lattes.

I was impressed by the high ceilings and glossy, red walls. The store, furthermore, had mood lighting, as we found out when the manager began turning the lights down...

The sign for the toilets -- apparently, these graphic depictions are catching on as I saw these types of humorous signs in the Beansbins shop in Myeongdong!

Green Tea Lattes

Lavazza Coffee Shop (Red Espresso?) (삼각지역 9출구, 서울)

The shop is quiet, and the sofa an seats are comfortable.  It's worth visiting, if only to immerse oneself in a sea of red.  Tip: in general, the tea lattes in Korea are more expensive than the coffee choices on the menu. 

Cafe Coreano

Cafe Coreano, with Combination Waffle
WON 4,500 (coffee)
Beansbins Coffee, Myeongdong, Seoul

I spent a blustery, snowy afternoon inside the Beansbins coffee shop, just off the main thoroughfare in Myeongdong. The lighting was warm, the decor homely and the prices just right for my budget. I tried a cafe coreano and was blown away by its flavor: neither too sweet nor too bitter: in fact, that foamy cup had just the right hints of both! Instantly, I had found my new favorite cup of coffee, in the world.

The next day, I brought my friends to the same shop where this time I ordered a combination waffle to accompany my delicious Coreano. By the time my friends and I had plowed through our food and drinks, we were not only stuffed, but surely satisfied. Beansbins provides the total Korean coffee shop experience, more so than Angel'N'us or the Coffee Bean, what with the Beansbins's ample, commodious seating area and its scrumptious victuals; and, of course, who can forget its affordable, best-in-the-world coffee.

토스트 (Toast)

The cart operator browns the bread before slapping an egg in between two slices, topping it with brown sugar (mustard, too, is an option) and spreading some buttery substance on it. She wraps the toast neatly in foil before putting it, along with a napkin, into a black plastic bag. Toast is breakfast on-the-go for a little over $1USD!

토스트 (Toast)
1,300W
Cart (홍대역 1번)

This toast-maker operates in the mornings just outside HongDae exit 1; and she charges 1,300W for the bare-bones toast, the process of making which is posted above. Surprisingly, however, that isn't even close to a deal because I found a diminutive stall in Myeongdong that sells a more substantial toast for a shocking 1,200W! That the HongDae cart operator, when compared to the stall operator, has reduced costs by skimping on ingredients and operating from a mobile platform leads me to believe that there is significant margin in each piece of toast that she sells.

넥타린 (복숭아)

넥타린들
4,000 원
트럭 (명동)

A basketful of nectarines costs 1,000 won less than a basketful of plums; or does that farmer, in whose truck I find all this delicious fruit, set the price by the swarthy visage of his customer?  If the latter is the case, then is it possible to bargain with the dude?

What lends credence to the bargaining idea is the lack of conspicuous price tags on the various items in his truck, as though the fruit in his truck were used cars in a parking lot just waiting for the right price-insensitive customer to walk by.  Indeed, I have seen price tags on other trucks in Seoul, so my suspicions have been raised.  I'm going to consult several of my friends tomorrow on this matter - the investigation continues!

많은커피

Cappuccino

1,900 원

Sweet Buns (명동역, 서 울, 한 국)

조지아

800 원

GS25 (홍 대, 서 울, 한 국)

GS25 Coffee

Ridiculously Cheap (Was it 350 or 750?)

GS25 (홍 대, 서 울, 한 국)

I've lately been really crawling down the coffee price ladder in Korea. First it was the fixed price cappuccino at Sweet Buns inside the Myeong-dong subway station; then, still not satisfied with a hot cup of joe at a decent price, I switched to the canned stuff, hitting up a GS25 for an 800won can of cold Georgia coffee. At last, unable to stay awake in class, I resorted to one of those mysterious plastic cups in the convenience store, inside of which I found an instant coffee packet and a stirrer. How far have I fallen!?

Trust me: coffee doesn't taste much better the more expensive it becomes; but I guarantee that the less you pay for a cup of joe, the less likely it will taste like a cup of joe! The 350won cup of instant coffee tasted as horrible as if maggots were just shoved down my throat; and what's worse, I still couldn't concentrate in class! So, I've learned to pay enough for at least a can of coffee, if not the authentic, steaming hot stuff made right before your eyes.

Peanuts, Plums and 사 과

Bag of peanuts (3,000 원)
둘 사 과 와 한 basket of plums (7,000 원)
Truck (명 동)

I finally found fresh produce; and experienced first-hand what my friend had complained about earlier in the day: price shock (x_x).

Can you feel the electricity? Perhaps my wallet alone can sense that eery tingle after dishing out $8USD for two apples, a bag of roasted peanuts and a basket of plums. That for that price I could either buy those items, or dine-in on 둘 돌 솥 비 빔 밥 strikes me as strange, somehow. What's more, the smell of burnt leather is in the air.

The extortion, however, should end soon if my friend is correct. What with the fleeing of the rural youth to the cities, my friend opines, the ultimate generation of Korean farmers, along with a ridiculously sheltered agricultural industry shall pass away into the quietude of the past. I concurred with his prediction, and then wondered aloud how many more years it would it take for the government to offer seductive enticements to lure the young people back to the countryside to farm!

홍 대 의 커피

Cappuccino

1,900 원 (포 장); 4,500 원 (dine in)

Coffee Brown (홍 대, 서 울, 한 국)

Coffee, it seems, is a national drink of Korea; and the schemes to price it have blown me away.  While walking in Hong Dae today, I noticed a multitude of coffee shops, most of which can be found on second floors; and when I went inside one to check out the menu, I winced at the exorbitant charges for a cup of Joe; prices that are outrageous in Hong Kong, even.  Then I went back out and found a Coffee Brown kiosk, where cappuccino could be bought at a reasonable 1,900 won; and thinking that I could find a seat on the second floor, where they have a cafe, I marched up the stairs, only to find out that dining in - ordering a cappuccino ten feet from the ground - more than doubles the price of the product - whoah! (O_O)  I descended from the cafe area and bought my coffee on the ground.  It appears that at least in Hong Dae, sitting inside commands a ridiculous premium; and if you are willing to consume outside, in an environment that doesn't guarantee a comfortable seat, you can save quite a lot of change!