Hidden Treasures Unearthed

What a day!  Thursday night, one of our summer interns told us about a hamburger place within walking distance (translation - within a 3 mile radius) of our dorm. He guarantied a real American hamburger! So, Friday morning, we set out in search of said restaurant, planning on arriving for lunch. On the way, in an area we've wondered through before, lo and behold... a Presbyterian church with an English speaking service. Much, much closer (translation -  a 35-40 minute walk in low heels) than the church we've been attending. TREASURE # 1!

A few short blocks away - TREASURE #2 - PLAYBURGERS. And sure enough, hamburgers are what they serve. About eight different kinds are on the menu.  Koreans have difficulty leaving something "plain" but with high hopes both Doug and I ordered a "plain" hamburger, potato, and salad. Despite the fact that our hamburgers did have a sauce, the potato was a fried patty, and the salad was covered in some type of mustard dressing - (where do they come up with these things?) , we are calling it, TREASURE # 2.

Finally, to Doug's absolute delight, two stores down from Playburgers, a donut shop selling a multitude of various donuts. The first donuts, I might add, that actually taste like what we call donuts. Hence,TREASURE # 3!

Donut shop!

So, delighted with our finds,we walked home with our box of 6 donuts in hand, stopped at the store for a few groceries and spent the evening playing our 200th game of Ticket to Ride.

Penance supper after treasures number 2 and 3.

A New Twist On Two Old Favorites

Thursday evening, grad students from CNU that we entertained when they were summer interns at SDSU,  invited us out for a Korean meal. Lots of food and good conversation during dinner, then on to a coffee house for dessert and more conversation. Very fun.

And now, here's the "New Twist On Two Old Favorites"
I know we seem to be obsessing about food, but Friday Doug and I did have a most unusual lunch. As usual, our lunch tray was bedecked with a variety of interesting food items, but two stood out in particular. In the middle of our tray....egg salad. Now I know what you might be thinking, but re-adjust your thoughts. Literally, we were looking at a lovely green salad, fairly large, with a cold fried egg sitting on top. That;s it...greens and a cold fried egg. And on the left side of the tray, we spotted french fries! Yes, french fries, but... these fries were combined with a smattering of green beans, carrot strips and a "mystery ingredient", squished together into a clump, dipped in some kind of batter, and fried again. Admittedly, most creative are our Student Union 3 Korean cooks.

A new twist on 2 old favorites (egg on a salad [top] and french fired medley [left side of tray]) 

Then Friday evening Doug and I attended a Korean "folk dance" at the Daejeon Cultural Arts Center. The building itself is pretty spectacular, and the evening was very Korean and very entertaining. We had wonderful seats, compliments of the professor who choreographed the dance. Based on a traditional folk tale, this particular dance was being performed by other dance companies in various Korean cities, so we're assuming it's something Koreans are familiar with. "Rose and the Mating Dance" was the title of the performance, and the audience seemed to know who the characters were and what the story was about. Doug and I did a lot of guessing and wild speculation, then went home and looked it up on the internet.

Daejeon Culture and Arts Center Complex