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tumblunni · 5 years

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Me in the hospital: i cannot sleep for 24 hours, the slightest noise is blaring, i am perpetually anxiety adrenaline

As soon as i get home: has the best sleep of my life

I usually take an hour to get to sleep each night but i totally just curled up like a snail and dropped into dreamland instantly. And i woke up to a nice warm house cos the heating turned on while i was asleep, and now all the anesthetic is completely worn off so i feel energized and great! And my throat pain has eased up so thankfully i wont have to be liquids only for as long as i thought. I was all hyperactive and cooked a great fancy omelette and it tastes like heaven itself! Its so weird how stuff tastes slightly diffetent when its the first time youve been able to chew with the right side of your mouth in five years. I guess the tastebuds on the sides of your tongue are slightly different? When i eat everything now im gonna be rolling it all over my mouth like WOW ITS ALL SO NEW AGAIN! Will probably look nuts in the middle of mcdonalds with my cheeks puffed like a squirrel XD

Oh and this is also a great excuse to drink loads of chocolate milkshakes from my milkshake viking mug! I feel so energized with calcium and yums!! EVERYTHING TASTES SO NEWWWWWWW

Oh man i do feel a bit sleepy again now after just being up for a few hours tho. I have these good jaw pain specific medicines i have to take for the next two weeks til my followup appointment to check if theres any infection left. But man i feel SO ALIVE AGAIN im pretty sure all the rot is gone! It feels so wild having space in my mouth and not constant clenchy tightness. It actually hurts less recovering from the surgery than it did before, lol! I can feel all my teeth moving apart again and loosening up into normality and the gums healing up all their injuries and oh god i just love how they cleaned out all the broken parts of my teeth and capped them with these great replacements that look so real you'd never be able to tell! My smile looks not ugly!! My smile looks not ugly!! Aaaaa! I just expected regaining the right side of my mouth, i didbt expect to e like "holy shit it must have hurt even more than i realized cos this feels so amazing now". Like i guess i got used to putting up with it and forgot how it felt to not have painmouth? Underestimated how good a teeth can be! And man i never asked for reconstructive cosmetic stuff too but they did these caps and aaa my teeth never looked his good even when they were new!! My front teeth were always crooked even before they did the weird balogna slam together and shattered into a pile of crap. And now they look like perfect supermodel teeth!! The only side effect is that its a lil hard to get used to the lack of gaps between them now after so long dealing with the shattered mess. My tongue keeps being like "oh no did something get stuck in the gaps again oh wait there arent any" and then i subconsciously try to clean them after taking every bite and just bite my tongue instead. Man i never noticed i picked up a bunch of weird mannerismd cos of tje bad teeth! I was constantly paranoidly checking my mouth 24/7 in case the slightest thing made it even worse, and eating super gently so that nothing accidentally touched the Wrong Tooth and set off a jolt of pain. And i actually needed to get a filling put in on the leftmost back tooth that was the ONLY TOOTH I COULD USE TO EAT WITHOUT PAIN for all this time! Overuse of it meant that it got ground down a little and probably would have become painful too if i'd left it any longer. Then i really would have been all soups all the time and that sucks!! Soups are good but nothing but then gives u stomach issues. The bad poops!!

Man sorry im rambling so much im just so hyper and happy and also still kinda dopily sleepy! Im not still delirious or anything i just feel the happy kind of sleepy where the anesthetic is all gone and its not "oh god i cant stay awake" and more natural sleepyness of a long day being over and everything being okay. I had such a good long nap and i feel well rested after getting so little sleep beforehand due to all the dumb anxiety. And i still feel dozey but happy doze~

Anyway its awesometo be able to really chug and crunch a foods! With the other side of my mouth i forgot about! And taste milkshake to its fullest extent!! Oh and whats weird is that the reconstructive surgery capping on my front teeth means that theyre kinda one tooth now? The caps are all linked in a single piece to fill the gaps fully without even the natural ones you'd have on healthy teeth. So its like a solid tooth guard just sculpted to look like three teeth. Itll be tricky to train myself out of thts subconcious rubbing the gaps with my tongue when theyre not even there. But i expect once i get over the unfamiliarity this triple cap will be really useful! Theyre totes reinforced so that even if i do get tight mouth problems again and the front teeth take the brunt of the pressure, now theres no gaps to smash into each other and become a painful mess. Its like scaffolding reinforcing my whole mouth by fixing the loadbearing beam, or something.

Oh also these pain meds make u a little bit more sleepy than normal paracetamol so i'll probably doze off again soon. But hopefully i will have slept off most of the "healing debt exhaustion" tomorrow and will be able to go walk down the shops and buy some icecream and other soft food. I mostly stocked up on purely liquid food cos i tjought my mouth function would be more limited. But honestly the teeth are working so much better than before, they were already so swollen and painful that i couldnt crunch stuff! Now the mild discomfort of mid-healing from surgery feels like barely anything and i bet i could bite thru a goddamn rock right now! I just cant really swallow crunchy stuff or stuff thats too salty or citrusy. I didnt even know about the stabbity throat pipe so i didnt expect it to be the most painful part that takes the longest to heal. It feels so weird cos i keep coughing like my brain thinks theres phelgm stuck in my throat when its actually a skin flap/blister from the insertion. So obviously that aint going anywhere and i have to try and force myself not to cough or swallow or else i set off this cjain of "must get thing out of throat must puke" reflex. And the pain feels like a sore throat but it isnt?? Its not really inflamed ot anything its just an actual friction burn on the opening of my airway. Which is not a common occurance so the brain is justvlike "what the fuck is happening, must send all contradicting signals at once!" So sore throat medicine wont work cos that goes down your throat passage to your stomach when really this lil skin tag blister thing is in the lung throat opening thing. And sucking on throat sweets made it worse cos all the muscles were really tense around the area where the tube was inserted, hence why it was hard to swallow food even tho it was my windpipe that hurt. And sucking on something is kinda like perpetually swallowing nothing, when you think about it? Im glad that the muscle tenseness is mostly gone now and the painkillers are helping with the ouch, and my brainis getting usedto not coughing and making it worse. But still should eat soft easily swallowable stuff for a lil while and it'll be fun to go aroundthe shops with my last pocketful of change and find neat ingredients to stick in omelettes. Im so excited to taste all my favourite things in new HD functional mouth power!!! And i can smile at the shopkeeper!!!

And oh man i really do think that my sleeping problems with stiff neck and that kind of 'bloodrush to the head' migraine were indeed part of the bad wisdom teeth bleeding internally under the gum. I thought it had to be that cos nothing else in my life changed around that time aside from getting a better and healthier bed which should have been beneficial to my neck. And even going back to sleepong on the floor like before didnt make a difference so it definately wasnt the bed! And it kept getting worse while nothing was changing, and i kept trying different things like changing my pillows and headphones and cutting caffeine out of my diet and eating more salt and eating less salt and fuckin ANYTHING ELSE cos i knew if it really was the dumb tooth being infected then there was nothong i could do about it til my surgery day arrived. Itd be such a relief to know for sure that it was indeed the tooth and now that nonsense is gonna be gone forever! But also thats really worrying to know that it was getting so bad it could have spread an infection to my jawbone and the top of my spine if itd been left much longer. I kept sneezing up blood lumps like the size of a fifty pence piece! Had never had nosebleeds for a decade and now suddenly all the time! God it feels so good to be able to lay my head down and not feel all woozy and tense im the forehead or neck. I really hope this good neck untenseness continues and the awful aches really were just the tooth. But everyone in the hospital was so nice that i think even if i do need a second surgery to check for jaw infection then id be able to be less nervoud than i was this time

Man do u ever get that thing where youre so peaceful and contented that like you can breathe easier? Like subconciously taking bigger breaths and the middle of your chest feels slightly puffed out and warm. I guess thats what the "heart leaping in yout chest" idiom is meant to refer to, lol! Or maybe i can just literally breathe easier cos the tooth pain might have been passing into my nasal cavity too, lol. My entire head feels so less tense!! Its like all my bones were rebelling against me and now they're at peace again!! Man i feel so giddy happy like i chugged a giant energy drink or something but its the opposite its a good sleeps drink XD

So im gonna go lie down again and have a relax and watch a movie or something and see if i pass out when the medicine kicks in, or if its not too bad and i can still continue my hyper mood. But my nap was so long that its too late to go to the shops now anyway so i'll just make more plain omelette and milkshake if i get hungry. I mean it doesnt taste plain when all my sense of taste is so amplified likethis! I dont mind if its all i can eat all week. PURE MILKSHAKEY DECADENCE

Aaaaa im just so happy!! I missed my chance to get the new. Kingdlm hearts but ive beenwaiting fkr this surgery for ages too and it feels like just as much of an exciting relief!

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sheylafethurva · 4 years

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Ber...wait for it...bere

In this post, we are going to keep exploring the unknown. As Thai food once was new to me, and today is one of my favourites, I keep searching for unexplored flavours as a way to develop my tasting perceptions, upgrade my repertoire as a gourmande and maybe discover a new favourite dish. Below you’ll see that I did try a new cuisine recently. Do I have a new favourite dish? Well, let’s discover.

Silva, S. (photographer). (2019).Toronto, ON

love walking in the streets. I’m always looking at the stores and especially to restaurants. Have you ever tried to make a list of all the restaurants you want to visit? I have one, and I’ll tell you, it keeps getting longer and longer. One of the restaurants I crossed from my list was African Palace*.

Ethiopian /Eritrean Restaurant?

I HAD to go.

My husband didn’t hesitate one second when I suggested for us to go there. We were starving, and as the proverb says “hunger is the best spice,” nothing could go wrong.

Silva, S. (photographer). (2019).Toronto, ON

The restaurant is super simple and looks authentic.

I’ve never been to Ethiopia or Eritrea, but I didn’t feel that I was in Toronto either.

The smell of the place, to begin with, was not familiar at all. I could relate it to something close to the earthy vibe that comes from cumin together with a citrussy cardamon/ginger sort of breeze, but the truth is that it wasn’t in my range of known smells.

Since we didn’t have any reference for this particular cuisine, we decided to order a plate, which was composed of small portions of ” main dishes.” First cultural divergence: no silverware. Yes, we're supposed to eat with our hands (not entirely new for me because I had already eaten this way in a Maroccan restaurant). My husband was a bit surprised =O As appetizers, we ordered samosas. Yes, a safe choice. But the main dish was going to be a surprise. While we’re waiting, I caught myself looking at the tables beside us. All of them had a sort of beige napkin folded on a plate. I thought to myself, “those napkins look dirty. I’m not using them”. We ordered some beers, and soon the samosas came (6 und). Super hot, crunchy, and spicy, the way it should be. They were filled with vegetables (potato carrots, peas, onions, and garlic), and as a dip, they brought us a very fresh sauce, probably made of cilantro, lime juice, and pepper. It was delicious, but nothing new. Delicious samosas served to two starving people: undeniable success. We were still carefully tasting the samosas when our plate came. It was a big tray covered with what seemed to be a french Galette (made of buckwheat), and onto it was the selection of 8 main dishes- in small portions-, and a little fresh salad in the middle. On a separate plate, they gave us the “beige napkin.” Well, it wasn’t a napkin, after all, it was, in fact, their flatbread, called Injera. That was my first mind-blowing moment.

Silva, S. (photographer). (2019).Toronto, ON

Later, I found that this injera bread is made of Teff ; an ancient grain from Ethiopia and Eritrea, widely used in both cuisines. Totally new to me in all senses. It’s beige- soiled like colour is not quite appealing, not mentioning its unique texture and smell.

Peter Cassidy / courtesy Kyle Cathie. “ Traditional injera from Ethiopia “

Retrieved from:

https://nationalpost.com/life/food/cook-this-traditional-injera-teff-sourdough-flatbread-from-ethiopia

The first chock was related to its temperature; it was COLD. The appearance/ consistency was very similar to a crêpe, but a bit thicker. It also wasn’t completely dry; the sensation was the same as touching a slightly humid cloth. It also seems like a cloth/napkin, so in terms of visual appreciation, it’s a challenge to our sigh sense.

As I said, the only tools available to eat are our hands and the injera. This bread is supposed to help you eat since it absorbs the moisture and works as little bundles for you to fill with the variety of meat and legumes on the tray.

Carlos Thurler by Silva, S. (photographer). (2019).Toronto, ON

First, I wanted to taste the plain injera because I thought it could be similar to the buckwheat crêpe.

I was WRONG.

It’s nothing like it. It is light, and it has that tangy characteristic present in fermented foods. Later, while researching about it, I discovered the Injera dough must ferment for at least four days, so the harsh smell that emanated from it comes from this process. In terms of taste, it is quite neutral; however, you can perceive the earthy presence of the teff, together with the specific acidity from the fermentation, all composing a spongy, ultrasoft, cold dough that claims for a complement.

Obviously, it is the intention; this flat bread is not meant to be eaten plain. It’s neutral taste, and spongy consistency is the perfect choice to go with such robust flavoured and succulent main dishes.

Silva, S. (photographer). (2019).Toronto, ON

Ours were: Yemisir Wot (red lentils with berbere sauce), Gomen Wot (Spinach and carrot with onion, garlic, and ginger), Tikil Gomen ( Cabbage and carrot in a mild turmeric sauce), Yekik Alicha (Yellow split peas with onion, garlic, and turmeric), Azifa (green lentils with onion, garlic, cumin, and turmeric) Silsi (Tomatoes, onions, and garlic in a berbere sauce), Beef Tibs (with onion, tomato, and peppers), Ye-Beg Alicha (bone-in and carrot in turmeric)

To be honest, I didn’t look at the plate’s description when ordered; I didn’t want any spoilers. As I mentioned before, the first very unique surprise was the injera itself, which is so very eccentric in all senses. So, to start my exclusive tasting, after trying my bread plain, I torn another piece of it and started filling it with the lamb, which resembled a very thick stew. The taste wasn’t different as well, but it was sweeter to some extend, and it had a gamey smell and taste that wasn’t disguised by the fair amount of turmeric. The high point of this dish was the softness of the meat that easily melted as soon as we started chewing. The next bite was the red lentils. I had never tried red lentils before, so I was curious. As usual, I smelled it before putting in my mouth, and I couldn’t identify it’s fragrance. It wasn’t something I knew, so I had to eat it. the Second mind-blowing moment, I couldn’t recognize it’s taste. The lentils tasted nuttier than regular lentils, but there was something else. It was spicy and citric with a pinch of sweetness sort of seasoning that I couldn’t relate. I remember thinking it could be cardamon or even ginger, but it was something between them or even more to it.

After trying those lentils I couldn’t focus on anything else. It’s so rare to taste something COMPLETLY knew, out of our range of flavours that I was intrigued. I had to discover what it was. I kept trying all the other dishes, and all of them were well seasoned; in most of them, we could identify the sweet taste of caramelized onions, complemented with the powerful taste of garlic, turmeric, and ginger. Texture-wise they were all very soft; there weren’t any contrasts. They all blended in a single smooth bite. By the time we finished eating, the only thing I wanted was to know what was in those lentils. The menu wasn’t with us anymore, so I couldn’t look at it. I thought I could ask the waitress, but she was really busy, and when we paid the bill there was no time for interaction. I had to discover it on my own.

What I thought was going to be difficult was as simple as it could be.

I just had to google “Ethiopian/Eritrean” spice, and the answer was right in front of me: BERBERE. When I read the description, it was exactly what I could taste, and I couldn’t identify that taste because there are very specific spices that I had not tried or even heard about it before. Also, I discovered that berbere is like a curry, each family, restaurant, or region have their own. The amount of spices normally varies from 12 to 25, according to preferences and regions. It’s difficult to find a standard recipe, but most of them include ginger, garlic,chili peppers, cardamom, fenugreek, all spice, nutmeg, paprika, korarima, and ajwain. The completely unknown taste, and fragrance probably comes from the korarima and ajwain. The korarima is also known as “Ethiopian cardamon,” so I could understand why those lentils were so sweet and fresh at the same time.

Castleman, Joe (Gyrofrog). “Whole Kororima ”. Own work, copyleft, 2010.

If I had to compare it with a regular cardamon, I would say that the korarima added much more freshness than sweetness to the lentils. The most perfect complement, I suppose it’s the ajwain.

TRACHYSPERMUM AMMI: Ancient Unani medicine for modern cure, A review of potential therapeutic applications - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Ajwain-Plant-flowering-top-seeds_fig1_329521413 [accessed 6 Mar, 2020]

Those fruits (yes fruits, not seeds) are dried and roasted, and they are part of the same “family” (Trachyspermum ammi) as the cumin, caraway, dill, so they also complemented the dish, adding pleasant minty/ sweetish notes.

About the experience

The whole experience at this restaurant was a blessing. What is a regular Ethiopian/ Eritrean meal was a memorable night for my husband and me. All of our senses were explored from the time we entered that place to the moment we stepped out of it. The cozy ambient, the animated music, transported us to a place we have never been before. That plate to be shared, eaten with our hands, made me think about how a meal can unite us. The eccentric injera, with its unappealing colour, unexpected temperature, and unforeseen texture, establishes itself as a pillar of the Ethiopian/ Eritrean cuisine, being not only their primary carbohydrate source but also an indispensable kitchen “utensil.” The Berbere was a unique discovery. Its taste is so peculiar, full of not relatable flavours that transformed simple lentils into an exploration. I definitely need to try injera again to evaluate it in terms of taste. I was in love with its concept but not captivated with its mouth-feel. In my next post, you will see how this experience inspired me to create a delicious treat.

* African Palace: 977 Bloor St W, Toronto.

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dcbicki · 7 years

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Jonsa AU: The Summer and the Winter Garden (alternatively, Beauty and the Beast)

To her fortune, she had not yet been forced into any marriage or sacred act by the beast, but she figured that time was drawing closer. He had scarcely spoken to her since he had let her fall onto the fresh tiles of his grand hallway, muttering and mumbling about her father and his broken promise. He affords her dresses and whatever else she may need to feel at ease, and she rewards his kindness with smiles.

They have shared only few meals together, and she has tried one too many times to earn the right to stare at his scars. His face is mauled, seems to have been savaged by some wild animal. A wolf, she guesses.

There is a deep scar running from his left eye brow down to his cheek, and one lightly circling around his right eye. His lips are bruised, constantly beaten and battered and she does not know how this happens. His teeth appear sharp, like those of lions or tigers. His hands are always covered by his gloves, but they are quite large and remind her of a mammal’s. His legs are thin, all bone and knee, but the hair that grows there is thick and matted.

He is not entirely handsome, but he is not ghastly to look upon either. There is something about him.

She had sought out this black beast, walked the castle time and time again in search of him. But he was nowhere to be found when she wanted his company.

The summer garden’s flowers were still thriving, blossoming into the evening and morn again. But the white sheets of snow falling over the winter garden had begun to encase the whole castle, and little by little the summer garden’s colours began to fade.

It has only been some days since he took her, since he made good on a promise that her father could not keep.

She had been traded for a rose, an exquisite white rose that now withers away in a vase on her bedside cabinet back home.

Her father had stolen it, you see; trespassed on land that was not his own, and robbed it from right beneath this beast’s nose. But it had been her fault all along, she supposes.

She had asked him for three items on his last venture into the town. A dress, which he had bought finely made and fitting. Shoes, which he had found tasteful and practical for his beautiful daughter. And a rose, freshly sprung and watered.

The one small, or at it seems grand, problem was that no roses grew in the winter. And so she had almost foolishly charged him with a rather grueling task. She would take it back, if only she had known what would entail.

By some ungodly misfortune, her father had happened upon this same dark castle sitting lonesomely at the edge of the village.

He had been enchanted by its gardens, somber though they may at first seem. One side of the castle was shrouded in fallen snow and snappy torn leaves. The other side was more colourful, capturing the essence and feeling of a fresh summer’s day.

He had only meant to linger for a moment, just enough time to pluck a flower from its root and feign recognition of such an act. Her father was no thief, but he had thieved now and the black beast had not liked that one bit.

“Give me back my rose.” He had warned her father, stunned him with his sudden presence into a dead silence. His legs were covered by ripped pieces of cloth, his clothes grim and dreary, but the thick hair beneath was plainly visible. “Give me back my rose.”

Her father had paid only little mind to the beast’s face, scarred and flawed.

“Please. I must have this one rose for my daughter. She is the most beautiful daughter I could ever have. She will be saddened if I do not return with it.”

“Let her be sad.” The beastly creature of a man had offered, but then he changed his mind, “Or take my rose and I will take your beautiful daughter as my wife in seven days.”

He hadn’t wanted to plead, so instead he had accepted a proposal he assumed would never take.

Returning home, her father had chosen to not let Sansa know of this arrangement, for truthfully he thought little of it.

Seven days passed, and on the seventh day when her father departed for the town once more, Sansa had been tending to that day’s supper.

The beast of a man had knocked, rapped against the door only twice before letting himself in and tossing the young woman over his shoulder. She was nowhere to be seen when her father returned.

Having grown quite easily accustomed to her new surroundings, Sansa had thought to make the most of her situation.

She had sought out this black beast, walked the castle time and time again in search of him. But he was nowhere to be found, and she could not find a safe way past the gardens for he had caged them in quite thoroughly.

He affords her dresses and whatever else she may need to feel at ease, and she rewards his kindness with smiles.

The hair that graces his head is curly though, all black and soft on the eye.

He is not entirely handsome, but he is not ghastly to look upon either. There is something about him.

He is not charming, but instead brooding and solemn and on the occasion that she can find him, he barely speaks. She does not know who cooks for them, who cleans the castle. It seems they are a lonesome pair.

She has had to gather everything she can about these circumstances she finds herself in from the mirror. He had shown her this mirror as reassurance, you see.

Missing home, Sansa had cried for days and forced an emotion from him. He had shown her a small mirror in return, and through it she had seen her father in their home. He had been weeping, grieving his loss. The red eyes did not hide his illness, though.

“I must return home.” Her father is not well, and she is saddened by this.

This beast she has fallen into a quietly comfortable habituation with, whom she surmises is named with a man’s name beginning in J from a locket she found in a locked draw, grants her permission to return home to visit. But she has to promise to return.

“Seven days. You must come back in seven days.” He calls after her, and his quiet melancholy voice is harsher, desperate even. She promises.

When four days have flown by, her father passes. He caught a cold from the town, and a lack of treatment and aiding had caused him to give into the sickness. She is deeply dismayed by this, and the seventh day passes without her ever noticing, too preoccupied with her grievances.

On the eight day, she comes to realise that she is missing the black beast. She has grown fond of him, in a strange way, and she finds herself wishing that every mirror could show her his reflection.

Her own mirrors are not magic though, and she finds herself saddened at the thought of him. Sensing that he too has fallen ill somehow, she departs for the castle with haste after only a moment’s thought.

He is nowhere to be found though, once anew. And the bright side of the castle that once shined from the sun’s rays is darkened, all coated in snow and crunchy leaves. The castle itself is coated in blackness, once gold furnishings suddenly dull and plain. Everything is black, except for her black beast whom she cannot find.

Wandering into the winter gardens, she allows a fresh dusting of snow to coat her cloak and hair as she searches for him, digging through dirt and unorganised heaps of fallen leaves.

Sensing something she cannot quite put her finger on, she rummages through a large stack of old wooden logs. They are damp and soft from the snow’s frosty bite and beneath them all she finds him. He is cold and unmoving, and he is dead.

Saddened once again, she runs the pads of her fingertips over the scars on his face, loathing their depth whole-heartedly. Leaning down to express her grief, she kisses his frozen left cheek, right at the bottom edge of the thicker scar. She kisses it again, for pity’s sake, and he shifts beneath her body.

Backing away, she falls onto her knees as he awakens, his face slowly transforming into that of a handsome man. The scars of his face turn from deep gashes to thin lines of liquid blood, his lips curl as he attempts to talk and they shade into a healthier pink colour.

She does not apologise for breaking her promise, for returning to him a day late. If she had, perhaps she would not have discovered his true nature. He is no black beast, but a dark prince by the name of Jon.

#gotedit #jon x sansa #jonxsansaff #jonsansasource #alittlestardustcaught #qinaliel #couturegirl20 #riahchan #edit*#jonsaau #ship: jon x sansa #ch: sansa stark #ch: jon snow #jack zipes is a fucking hero #sweet hell this took me way longer than it needed to... or than i'd care to admit

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myseoul17-blog · 6 years

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Ep.13 Dinner search @ Kondae Taste Street

Thurs. Oct. 5. @ 5:00pm. It is now time to look for dinner food!

Kondae Taste Street (aka Kondae tasty street, Kondae tasty alley, Kondae food alley. ..) is an area near Konkuk Univ. that is filled with eateries, convenience stores, noraebangs, & a small amount of shopping. I found it hard to navigate around here bcos there were a lot of diagonal alleyways. On top of that, beyond the “eateries” layers, there were residential complexes at the end of the alleyways. Parts of Hongdae are like this too, but I found it easier to navigate thru bcos the streets were more “regular” in a sense. Here, in this area, I ran into several instances where I was in the middle of a 5-6 way intersection. Street signs & numbers weren’t very effectively placed either, which made things more difficult.

The reason why I had to look at street sign info was bcos I had a restaurant that I wanted to eat at. I can’t remember if I have mentioned this before but I used an app called MangoPlate to find food haha it’s super user-friendly, has a lot of diff filtering options (such as by cuisine type, by price range, by area) - I really like the “by area” option. It also gives you neighbouring choices after you’ve clicked into a restaurant so you can see what’s nearby. For Kondae, I found 4 places & “favourited” them on my phone.

This was my top choice: Golmoke Golmok. It was located on the 2nd floor of a short (deadend) alleyway. The staircase to get to the 2nd floor was really shady (literally) bcos it was located behind the building, if that makes any sense. But whatever. I wanted to eat here bcos there’s a dish they serve that I think looked & sounded awesome haha it’s a hot pot ddeokbokki (+ ramyeon noodles) with seafood but the twist is that it’s not a red/spicy sauce like the typical ddeokbokki. It is a creamy white sauce, so imagine something like a creamy carbonara or alfredo sauce but it’s boiling in a hot pot with typical ddeokbokki ingedients in it. It’s something different & unique; they’ve been named (by MangoPlate) one of the top 10 ddeokbokki places in Seoul.

However. ..

I got up to the restaurant. It was pretty small, with only half a dozen or so of tables (each table has 4 chairs but can probably accommodate up to 6 ppl). I told the guy that it’s “for 1″ & he said “no” =( & then I said “no” in my head.. . as I processed his response. This place .. . the dishes (so like the hot pots they have on their menu) are meant for sharing so it’s for at least 3 ppl. They don’t do individual servings. I tried to explain that it was ok; I’ll still pay for the entire dish. .. & he kept saying no & points to a table of 4 girls that were enjoying the food, “4 ppl, 4 ppl.” So then. .. I had to go :’( I was quite upset about it bcos it took me some time to find the restaurant & I really wanted to try their white ddeokbokki. .. *shrugs* it just didn’t work out. It was my 1st time being rejected by a restaurant but I also understand that from their perspective, they don’t want to waste food bcos they only offer the one-size portion that’s meant for sharing.

Therefore, my 2nd choice: Premium Jjimdak (aka “Naega Jjimhandak”). This is a chicken stirfry restaurant. The top one is the Andong Jjimdak (Andong = name of a city; jjimdak = braised/stirfry chicken). Andong is famous for this type of chicken dish; it’s marinated chicken that’s cooked with veggies in a soy sauce base. The bottom one is the spicy gochujang jjimdak, which is a variation of their Andong jjimdak.

Let’s go! Excited to try jjimdak for the 1st time.

Once you sit down, you’ll be given these: cold water jug, a salad & some cubed pickled radish. The salad was interesting. It contained raw green cabbage, raw purple cabbage, corn, & corn flakes (the cereal), & the sauce was a light. .. wasabi mayo type of dressing. The texture was super crunchy & fresh. The pickled radish was also very good; very refreshing & only slightly spicy. The cold texture was so awesome!

Here is a glimpse of the counter. Behind it, the kitchen.

The other side of the restaurant. Again, it was a 2nd floor restaurant. Nice lighting & clean.

Their menu~

Basically they have the 2 chicken dishes: the OG Andong chicken & the spicy version. But there’s a lot of customizable options. The top & bottom on the far left are their OG Andong jjimdak; the top is boneless option while the bottom contains bones (bcos some ppl like to nibble on bones). Far right are their spicy versions; again, boneless & bone options. Depending on how many ppl are dining with you, they have small, medium, & large portions. The middle dish is like their most popular dish, which is the boneless cheese jjimdak (ie: contains melted cheese on top), which cost 3000w as a cheese add-on fee. The yellow boxes are the extra add-on options & beverages. You could get extra cheese, dumplings, noodles, & rice.

I got the small Andong jjimdak (I always go for the original when I try new places) with a side of rice. The dish itself does not come with rice so it’s 1000w for the bowl of rice.

This is it in more detail~ Onions, carrot, cabbage, (boneless) chicken, some ddeokbokki rices, glass noodles/sweet potato starch noodles, & dumpling sitting in a soy + sesame sauce. Smelled so good!!

This was a small. .. There’s quite a bit of food in here. I know it looks flat in the photo but the plate was sort of like a flatter bowl, like it’s a little deep in the center.

My favourite part of the ddeokbokki: it was stuffed with cheese in the middle!! :D What a pleasant surprise~!

Of course, I was unable to finish everything, but I finished the rice & about half of the dish, which means.. . I did pretty well.

After dinner, I walked around the area to digest. As the evening approaches, the signs appear brighter & more ppl are now wandering thru the streets.

There is my restaurant from the outside (2nd floor).

Street view of Kondae Tasty Street/Road.

Every time I see these flags, I think of Itaewon lol.

Bcos I had a particular restaurant in mind when I 1st arrived here, I just went looking for it, but this area (Kondae Taste Street) has an official “entrance”, & here is what it looks like. In my opinion, it serves as a nice place to meet up with someone. The place is structured like a large web of alleys & corners, & so as a tourist, it doesn’t have an impact for me.

Nonetheless, selca in front of the “official” entrance.

This is what you’ll see when standing underneath the banner of the entrance.

Final thoughts/tips: In comparison to Hongdae (I’m more familiar with Hongdae bcos I’ve been there several times), I feel like there were less “non-Korean” food options here at a glance. For instance, Mexican, Vietnamese, western salad bars/bistro types of places, Thai, etc. It was mostly han-sik (or Korean cuisine). If you happen to land here unexpectedly & you wanna eat non-Korean cuisine(s) that you are interested in, whatever it may be, it might take you some time to find a suitable place.

#travel #seoul #korea #kondae #kondae taste street #food #dinner #chicken #jjimdak

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