Fighting jetlag and starting new jobs were difficult enough tasks, but the first couple months in Korea were especially hard for one reason in particular: no coffee maker. Both Janice and I worked as baristas for stretches during and after our college years, and our love for good, strong brew runs deep.

After a bit of searching, I was able to come up with a hand grinder and a Panasonic coffee mate. All that remained was findings beans — tricky in a country still in love with Maxwell House. While some cafes here sell their own roasts, they often taste a bit…off (I would guess due to a lack of training). Because of that, we’ve been relying mostly on care packages from home. But I was hopeful after reading about Beautiful Coffee in an article on World Fair Trade Day, and found a 200g bag of their Nepal roast (organic and fair trade) at a small shop near my work.

Neither one of us had tried Nepalese coffee before, and admittedly weren’t even aware it was a coffee-producing region. The beans smelled rich and earthy, and I ground them pretty fine to bring out the flavor.

It was a rainy morning and the mood was right, but this coffee just didn’t deliver. Despite its aroma, it lacked both body and flavor. It wasn’t burnt or bad….just not memorable. I’m hoping their Peruvian will be better, but if not, we’ll have to find another source. (Oh, how I miss Kickapoo.)

I’m a big fan of street food in Korea. Food carts, called pojangmacha, offer everything from french-fry covered hot dog on a stick to steamed silk worms and blood sausage. I had been wanting to try “hot bar” (핫바) for a while, but whenever I would come across a stand selling them I was either already full or just on my way to eat a meal.

There were two men working this particular cart in Myeongdong. One guy skillfully portioned out the batter and rolled it into logs before dropping them into a vat of oil, while the other continuously pushed the floating bars around so they cooked evenly before pulling them out and spearing them.

The taste is similar to fish cake (오뎅), and hot bar is also served on a stick. Each bar was made fresh to order, and there were two sauces to choose from, although neither bottle was labeled. The first I tried was like ketchup, which wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either. The other sauce was similar to sriracha and was much tastier. I mean, everything tastes better with sriracha, right?

The hot bar itself was softer than fish cakes. It was mild in flavor and steaming hot. Perfect for a cold winter day (I don’t normally wear mittens in May… this was in March… it was still snowing).

The beginning of May is packed with holidays in Korea, and so at the start of a long weekend on Saturday Ben and I took a much-needed vacation to Taean County and the west coast.

We met up with my aunt and uncle from Busan, my three cousins and their spouses and children for an early celebration of 어린이날, or Children’s Day. What ensued was two days of eating delicious food and playing on the beach with my nieces and nephews.

Traffic was pretty rough going from Seoul to Taean, and by the time we made it to our rented pension, it was mid-afternoon and we were all starving. Luckily, my aunt was prepared and brought along 13 사발라면 (instant bowl-ramen), a dozen rolls of 김밥 (kimbap), and some 떡 (rice cakes). All we had to do was heat some water and dig in. Processed food never tasted so good!

My aunt and cousins brought carloads of food to cook and share, and we spent the first night grilling 갈비 (marinated short ribs), 삼겹살 (pork back) and 새우 (shrimps) outdoors. Throughout the evening, there was lots of laughter and beer and soju and nonstop eating. Being next to the ocean, surrounded by family and fresh, salty air, made everything taste even more incredible.

We finished off the night with lots of fresh fruit and a 윳노리 tournament before turning in for the night.

Even after all the eating the night before, everyone woke up hungry and ready to dig into the Korean breakfast spread my 언니’s prepared for us: 해장국 (there’s many types of this “hangover soup,” but this one had dried fish and bean sprouts), spicy crab stew, rice and loads of 반찬.

Later that day for lunch, we had fresh seafood which included raw sea anemone, sea cucumber, and wiggley octupus that Ben got to try for the first time. We finished the meal with 해물칼국수 and 매운탕 before saying goodbye, piling back into our cars, and returning to Seoul and reality.

Time flies when you’re not sitting in your dank office wishing you were on vacation.