Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Kimbap (김빕) with my mom, Spokane, WA.

Kimbab literally translates to "dried seaweed rice". We're going to use tuna because that's my favorite. :) Above is tuna salad. I didn't have mayo, so I used a little caesar dressing and it worked really well.

Spam ham! I know, this makes the blog un-classy. But in Korea, Spam is very expensive and thus, special. You won't get Spam in kimbap if you go to a restaurant, because it's expensive.

Carrots.

Boiled spinach with some sesame oil, sesame seeds and a little salt.

Korean fish product (오댕) and fried egg.

Pickled radish (단무지).

Dried seaweed sheet (김). There are different varieties of these and some of them will be too salty and too flaky, so you have to make sure to get the right kind.

Lay the rice, only over half of the seaweed sheet.

Top with what you choose. We mixed it up for different rolls! :)

Roll!

And ta-da! :)

Taste testing. Traditional kimbap calls for lots of color! :)

Taste testing. I didn't roll this one very well.. :)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mom's Korean style ribs, Spokane, WA.

Soooo tasty! :) My mom's cooking is really the best.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Mother's Day dinner at the Safari Room, Davenport Hotel, Spokane, WA.

Mushroom, fontina cheese and herb flatbread. This was just okay.

Caesar salad. I liked the salad. It was a nice homemade dressing and I loved the croutons.

Blackened fettucini with salmon. Flavor wise my pasta was nice, but the fettucini was overcooked and falling apart.

BBQ pulled pork sandwich. My brother got this and he said it was okay. The met wasn't smoked though.

Grilled rib eye with potatoes and spinach. This actually came way overcooked and very dry, so we ended up sending it back and the next one was better, but the spinach both times was just way too salty.

Overall, we didn't have the best experience at the Safari Room... :( It's a really nice space, but the menu is generic and the food wasn't worth the super long wait! They were busy, yes, but they should have been more ready for it. I mean, they're a big-party restaurant and they should know how to handle it.



Thursday, May 7, 2009

Ramen ddukbokki (리뽁이), Spokane, WA.

First, I made the ddukbokki with Korean rice cakes, onions, carrots, Korean spicy paste (고추장) and Korean sauce mix.

In restaurants, and out on the street in Korea, you will see this the Korean rice cakes that are shaped like long cylinders. This is a dish that's traditionally eaten very spicy. It's common street food for kids in Korea and has recently become fusion food with ramen and mozzarella cheese.

The ramen my family eats! :)

I like to break the noodles in half and then boil them. Not too long though, because they will cook more with the ddukbokki.

Add the noodles.

And mix! It doesn't look like it, but this was really really spicy. And delicious!! I don't really love ramen with soup, but I looove spicy ramen noodles! :)

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Rogue Coffee, Whitworth, Spokane, WA.

I got a 16oz. non-fat iced caramel latte. It was very good. My favorite is from Starbucks, but that's not because I liked Starbucks' coffee, it's because they have my favorite caramel sauce.

Mmmmmm.

The cases remind me of the Rocket Bakery, but more upscale.

Caitie and I shared a slice of the homemade carrot cake. It was absolutely delicious.

Definitely my new favorite cafe on the North side of Spokane! :)

Brunch at Old European with Caitie, North Side, Spokane, WA.

Cinnamon roll. The frosting was yummy, but the roll itself was a little hard and I couldn't really taste the cinnamon.

Eggs Benedict with hashbrowns. I usually go with the waffles here, but, now, whenever I brunch, I want eggs benedict! I'm afraid this was the worst eggs benedict I've ever had.

European breakfast set.

I've been to the old Old European and really liked the food, but it seems to have gone downhill. That or it's just a really hit-and-miss menu? Anyway, I didn't mind because I still had a wonderful brunch with my Spokane besty, Caitie, and the service was great, too!

*Note: Caitie wouldn't pose for a photo so I had to catch her during a laugh! :)


Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Zip's fries and fry sauce, Spokane, WA.

OMG. These are my favorite fries in the entire world! And fry sauce! OMG! FRY SAUCE! Haha. Fry sauce is a mysterious thing--some people think it's just a mix of ketchup and mayonnaise, but I've had fries with ketchup and mayo and it's not fry sauce. Maybe some sour cream in thrown in there or something? Hmm.. perhaps. Anyway--this was dinner and it was divine!


Monday, May 4, 2009

Korean cold noodle salad with radish kimchi (무김치), Spokane, WA.

NEW FAVORITE MEAL. OMG. These noodles.. I can't even begin to explain the yumminess..

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Auntie's donuts, Five Mile Heights, Spokane, WA.

My aunt made donuts! She fried them in her wok! :)

And rolled in sugar. Delish! :) I get sewing skills/passion from her and I think I get my baking skills/passion from her, too!

Kalbi (갈비) dinner at my Auntie's, Five Mile Heights, Spokane, WA.

Chicken and beef, marinated in "kalbi sauce".

Kalbi (갈비). You can grill it, bake/broil it in the oven or do it on the stovetop. These long strips with the three bones are how I grew up eating kalbi. Most restaurants these days don't do it like this anymore though.

And for the side dishes (반찬), here is some squash (호박무침).

Pickled green onions (파김치).

I'm not sure what this plant is called in English, but in Korean it is 고사리.

Pickled bean sprouts (콩나물).

Again, I looooove my Auntie's cooking! :)