3-Alley Pub Lunch and a Movie

Ever since JH returned from his American vacation he has been craving some of the foods he sampled there. One of which is the American burger. I'm not talking about a McDonald's burger but the kind you get at a mom-and-pop restaurant. One that is thick and juicy with a big bun and fresh toppings.

He realized that the usual places to get a burger in Korea, like Kraze Burger, just weren't cutting it. I told him how this is how I feel about pretty much any dining experience in Korea. But I told him there was hope, for Itaewon was known for good burgers.

With a little inquiring, over at the Seoul Patch, I heard that the 3-Alley pub serves up great burgers. So with much anticipation we headed over to Itaewon to see for ourselves if a truly delicious burger exists in Korea.

The 3-Alley Pub wasn't hard to find as our parking spot was just up the hill. Plus the name of the place and the location match, as it is situated within a narrow back-alley of Itaewon. We came during lunch time and the traffic wasn't heavy. The cool air still lingered as summer isn't fully upon us yet.

JH declared the cheeseburger and I the fish and chips item on the menu.

We waited...

Then finally a beautiful spectacle came before our eyes...

As you can see this looks like a very tasty burger and indeed it was. The bun was fluffy and wholesome, while the meat was juicy and seasoned wonderfully. But the most important part was that JH found himself satisfied that there is an "American worthy" burger here in his country.

The fish-and-chips were pretty good, however I concluded the burger was way better and so next time will get that. JH was so pleased with his meal that he proposed we came here every Saturday! I told him if he wants me to grow more fat than sure. haha

After lunch, we meandered around Itaewon for a little bit before heading to TechnoMart for a movie. 

The above was a sign on the pub's window, asking people to not bring in cakes. I found this especially funny. It is common for Koreans to take a cake with them to a bar or restaurant for a special occasion. I suppose this pub doesn't really want that kind of culture in their establishment. Or they are making a joke?

As we walked down towards the main Itaweon street we passed Tartine bakery, which is very famous amongst the food-Kblogosphere for being one of the best in Korea. I definitely was tempted with their window display of goodies. 

We found ourselves later in the new WhatTheBook store, which is so much bigger and brighter than it use to be.

I loved how this store felt like a cozy book-store from back home, and I was more pleased to find they had the author I was looking for. Now my bedtime reading is very much fulfilled. 

If you notice, in the above picture, I left a little something behind on their bulletin board. ;)

Heading back to the car I spotted these "yellow fruits."

Itaewon is a place for many treasure finds, and I think it offers something for everyone.

The movie we saw was KungFu Panda 2 in 3D, which was pretty fun actually. It was my first time experiencing a movie in 3D, and I found it to be a new and exciting way to enjoy a film. However, I would say that your eyes get use to it and by the end of the movie you don't really feel like you are having a 3D experience. I would recommend seeing this movie, because it is one of those laid-back ones that you can just enjoy and have a good time with.

After the movie JH took me over to his neighborhood where I said hello to Tom's brother Tiger, and had dinner at a nangmyeon place nearby.

All in all, a pretty fun day and one that was very satisfying thanks to the 3-Alley Pub.

Love comes a knocking: Part I

Saturday awoke to a new day as I knew my love, BK was going to see me. I awoke feeling anxious but mostly excited that I would be meeting him in my new home. Indeed when we found each other at the subway station that tingling feeling inside was all over me and I didn't know whether to hug him or not in public.

I showed him my studio apartment we talked a bit, but then we went out to get me a cell phone. This time I was off with BK on a bus, because apparently it was a lot faster than taking the subway. Our Destination was TechnoMart.Imagine if you will a mall, now most malls (especially those in America) are laid out architecturally amongst a horizontal plan. Think about this for a moment, building a structure like this can fit a lot of stores in one space but it also consumes a lot of land. This precious commodity is something to be bargained for here in Seoul, so department stores that promise many stores in one area are packed into a structure that functions vertically. Horizontal space becomes Vertical.

To get from one area to the other, you can take two well known modes of vertical transportation:

The Escalator (google images)

and The Elevator

Technomart, Hyundai Department store and Emart (all places I have now visited) function on a vertical format. To get from one floor to the next you take the escalator or the elevator.

Each floor promises something different, for instance in Emart:

• Floor 1 is packaged food
• Floor 2 is kitchen and bathroom items
• Floor 3 is clothing
• Floor 4 is more clothing and jewelry
• Floor 5 has Electronics and school supplies (my fav)
• Sub-floor has the vegetables, fruit, cheese and other perishables.

When shopping in these places you don't walk from one end to the next, instead you plan your path from top to bottom or visa-versa. I find this aspect of architectural planning an intriguing use of space compared to America's use of space.

Cell Phone:

But the real reason we went to TechnoMart was to find myself a good yet cheap cell phone. BK did most, well all of the talking and got me a pretty sweet deal.

So cute! The salesman threw in the extras, like that clear case and a travel plug all for free.

Total cost: Purchase of the Sky phone was about $30 USD, Deposit about $30 and monthly service fee is approximately $12.

It has been a lot of fun being connected to a cell phone again. Yet the only person I have been contacting has been BK. Yet, I am sure my contact list will grow as time passes.

After the purchase we explored the building and found a grocery store below (Lotte Mart), which was a bit more expensive than Emart, so I only a bought a few things. Well TechnoMart you were pretty cool and I hope to come back someday when I fancy myself a large Plasma Screen Tv. ;)