I love birthdays. They're such a fun reminder of all the goodness in life (though Tyler and I joke that his favorite day of the year is March 8th).
This past Saturday, I woke up "early" to watch the sun rise (lucky for me, the sun rises at 7am in Seoul!) and to admire all the birthday decorations around our apartment.
In Korea, when babies are born, they are already considered 1 year old (the time in the womb apparently counts... abortions are therefore unsurprisingly illegal in South Korea, though the country has one of the highest abortion rates in in the world). Additionally, on January 1st, everyone in the country officially turns one year older. (My Korean friends get around this inter-continental age confusion by directly asking me what year I was born in). So this past Saturday, my American age started catching up with my Korean age.
After a birthday toast of Lindemans framboise (my favorite beer because it tastes just like a delicious raspberry smoothie -- yes, really), Tyler and I headed north to Itaewon for my birthday brunch at my favorite brunch places, the Flying Pan. On the way, it occurred to me that this weekend marked my six month anniversary in Seoul (though who's counting??). So my birthday brunch with friends was as much a celebration for the day itself, as well as a celebration for the community we've started to develop during our time here.
You know it's a good day when the only items on the agenda are: brunch; green juice; massage; dinner. It was the most relaxed (but full) birthday I've had in recent memory! The massage at the W was one of the best massages I've had... well, ever. It was a "Korean cup" massage... which hooked me with the "Korean" in the name (must be authentic even though it's at the W, right?) -- but the receptionist kept trying to talk me out of it: "It's a very hard massage. You may have bruises tomorrow."
Needless to say, I reconsidered, but decided to go ahead anyway. The whole experience was a bit surreal (the decor was space ship themed), but sooooo deliciously nice (and no bruises to speak of!).
Feeling like jello and floating on clouds, I headed southwest from the W on Walker Hill to meet Tyler at Apgujeong, the fancy part of town that reminds me of London's Knightsbridge or Madison Avenue in NYC. We met at Chef Lim's Jung Sik, a "New Korean" restaurant, whose New York branch has two Michelin stars. With Tyler's own good news from the day (more to come!), we splurged on a celebratory 8-course tasting menu with wine pairing. My mouth is watering just thinking about the night... It's become easily my favorite restaurant in Seoul: amazing ambiance, great service, inventive cuisine. Definite must try!
It's Korean tradition to eat seaweed soup, or miyeokguk, on your birthday. This is because the mother-to-be is fed lots of seaweed soup prior to delivery (as it's been explained to me: "seaweed is slippery, so it's thought to help the baby come out more easily") and traditionally eats seaweed soup as the first meal post-delivery. After doing a bit of research, it's actually more scientific than one would think! The seaweed soup is made up of a type of seaweed called "miyeok" or brown laver. Not only is this seaweed smooth, rubbery, and slimy -- but it is also rich in iron and iodine (important given all the blood loss during birth!)
After hearing it was my birthday, Jung Sik gave me an extra course during the meal. In true "New Korean" style, it wasn't soup though -- they had created a type of pesto from the seaweed and served a dish that I can only call "Korean risotto."
It was an amazing meal and a wonderful night. Looking up at some point between our three courses of dessert, we realized that we were among the last two tables still there. Felt like a true date night!
Tummies full, we headed out and turned a corner to find a jazz club called "Once in a Blue Moon." What a fun night to an amazing day.
True to form, we were in bed by 11:30pm though. I am 36 now after all.
This past Saturday, I woke up "early" to watch the sun rise (lucky for me, the sun rises at 7am in Seoul!) and to admire all the birthday decorations around our apartment.
In Korea, when babies are born, they are already considered 1 year old (the time in the womb apparently counts... abortions are therefore unsurprisingly illegal in South Korea, though the country has one of the highest abortion rates in in the world). Additionally, on January 1st, everyone in the country officially turns one year older. (My Korean friends get around this inter-continental age confusion by directly asking me what year I was born in). So this past Saturday, my American age started catching up with my Korean age.
After a birthday toast of Lindemans framboise (my favorite beer because it tastes just like a delicious raspberry smoothie -- yes, really), Tyler and I headed north to Itaewon for my birthday brunch at my favorite brunch places, the Flying Pan. On the way, it occurred to me that this weekend marked my six month anniversary in Seoul (though who's counting??). So my birthday brunch with friends was as much a celebration for the day itself, as well as a celebration for the community we've started to develop during our time here.
You know it's a good day when the only items on the agenda are: brunch; green juice; massage; dinner. It was the most relaxed (but full) birthday I've had in recent memory! The massage at the W was one of the best massages I've had... well, ever. It was a "Korean cup" massage... which hooked me with the "Korean" in the name (must be authentic even though it's at the W, right?) -- but the receptionist kept trying to talk me out of it: "It's a very hard massage. You may have bruises tomorrow."
Needless to say, I reconsidered, but decided to go ahead anyway. The whole experience was a bit surreal (the decor was space ship themed), but sooooo deliciously nice (and no bruises to speak of!).
Feeling like jello and floating on clouds, I headed southwest from the W on Walker Hill to meet Tyler at Apgujeong, the fancy part of town that reminds me of London's Knightsbridge or Madison Avenue in NYC. We met at Chef Lim's Jung Sik, a "New Korean" restaurant, whose New York branch has two Michelin stars. With Tyler's own good news from the day (more to come!), we splurged on a celebratory 8-course tasting menu with wine pairing. My mouth is watering just thinking about the night... It's become easily my favorite restaurant in Seoul: amazing ambiance, great service, inventive cuisine. Definite must try!
It's Korean tradition to eat seaweed soup, or miyeokguk, on your birthday. This is because the mother-to-be is fed lots of seaweed soup prior to delivery (as it's been explained to me: "seaweed is slippery, so it's thought to help the baby come out more easily") and traditionally eats seaweed soup as the first meal post-delivery. After doing a bit of research, it's actually more scientific than one would think! The seaweed soup is made up of a type of seaweed called "miyeok" or brown laver. Not only is this seaweed smooth, rubbery, and slimy -- but it is also rich in iron and iodine (important given all the blood loss during birth!)
After hearing it was my birthday, Jung Sik gave me an extra course during the meal. In true "New Korean" style, it wasn't soup though -- they had created a type of pesto from the seaweed and served a dish that I can only call "Korean risotto."
It was an amazing meal and a wonderful night. Looking up at some point between our three courses of dessert, we realized that we were among the last two tables still there. Felt like a true date night!
Tummies full, we headed out and turned a corner to find a jazz club called "Once in a Blue Moon." What a fun night to an amazing day.
True to form, we were in bed by 11:30pm though. I am 36 now after all.
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