Seattle: Pike's Place Public Market

On the list of places that almost no tourist can leave Seattle without visiting, you'll often find Pike's Place Market ranking pretty high. While this status as a must-visit destination bodes well for the old market's reputation, it also means that you'll likely be confronted with some serious crowds vying to jostle their way through for their own photos, merchandise, or purposes. It's the nature of these sorts of things, I suppose. With popularity comes foot-traffic, and with increased visitors and crowds come wallets stuffed with currency eager to buy up a unique souvenir to surprise someone back home with. Hell, sometimes you'll even catch locals wandering the halls, though they may be loathed to admit it when out-of-town visitors aren't around to justify it. I'd dipped a toe in the market once or twice, back in yonder years, but was excited to explore it with Antho! We were immediately taken by this statuesque beauty, the uncannily lifelike likeness giving pause and causing some to squeal out in surprise when she blinks, or lifts her arm to delicately wave hello to the curious onlookers.

We left her a tip and she allowed us some photos, which we appreciated. It's not easy to put together an ensemble like this, so I hope y'all can appreciate and respect when you encounter a character such as this. She made us smile, so we felt a tip was fair trade. I can't imagine how long it takes to wash all that paint off her face at the end of the night...labor of love, right there. 

Of course, the main focus of Pike's Place is in it's name: the Market. There are so many different vendors throughout the winding corridors of the buildings, with both the old and new markets standing near each other. We stuck with the old market for this trip, and due to the crowds we didn't linger for as long as we might have, had it not been shoulder-to-shoulder in so many places. We'll definitely be making another trek out at some point, but we may plan it for a weekday instead of going on the weekend. Antho's gone on his own volition, and those photos will be upcoming in a future post, but this was the only time we visited together. 

It's such a colorful, iconic place. There's really truly something for everyone, whether you're into anime figurines, rare instruments, fashion, fresh produce, jewelry or flowers. I get why it's so crowded, and why it ranks so highly on so many lists for things to do in Seattle. With the plans to expand the waterfront over the upcoming years following the demolition of the Viaduct, I'm curious to see how Pike's Place evolves alongside. 

Seattle: Japanese Garden

It probably goes without saying, but just in case you need to be reminded, I'm absolutely and utterly enamored with the country of Japan, from the beautiful scenery of the natural landscapes to the dense urban sprawl of Tokyo to the kind-hearted and incredibly generous people I met along the way, there's something just so magical about the place. Given this state of affairs, it should come as no surprise that when I learned of Seattle's Japanese garden, conveniently located within the gorgeous and expansive Washing University Arboteum, there was no doubt that we had to go. The 3 and a half acre park was constructed under the guidance of Juki Iida, a renowned designer of Japanese gardens, during the 1960s and has remained a fixture of the Seattle gardens scene ever since. The Emerald City itself is home to roughly 6,000 acres of parks, so even if you're not much of a Japanophile the city will have something green and gorgeous to appeal to you. This is a city that takes it public greenery seriously, and for that, among other reasons, I'm all the more in love with it. 

There's a reasonable fee for admission, but as I said, it's reasonable. You can park for free at the Arboretum nearby, which is a rare gift to find in Seattle. The grounds are meticulously maintained, and while it was a rainy day during our visit there were still plenty of people walking about taking in the beauty of the place. It was still the midst of fall during our stroll, so shades of red, orange and yellow burst through the green to add a spark of vivacity to the surroundings. It was an absolutely lovely stroll, even in the drizzling rain, and I look forward to seeing the garden again under the light of another season! It definitely gave me some hard nostalgic pangs for my time living in Japan, and for that, I have to applaud the designer. They knew exactly what they were doing since they were a professional designer of these gardens in Japan! 

There are plenty more photos to come, but if you ever get the chance to visit the gardens in person I seriously encourage you to do so! There's only so much I can capture in a photo, after all...

Vegas: Sushi Wa dinner

When it comes to food, there's absolutely no question in my mind that the supreme contender for my utmost favorite thing to put into my face-hole has to be sushi. I love most forms of seafood to begin with, whether it's black-bean coated stone crab at the All-You-Can-Eat Chinese buffet nearby during their seafood special night, or slippery slabs of cold salmon sashimi bedecked with golden orbs of salmon roe upon a bed of steaming hot white rice. I will gladly consume most things you can dredge out of the ocean, though sea cucumber and daebul aren't things I'd eagerly seek out again. Sushi, though, is the kind of food I can eat any day, anywhere. I mean, there's definitely a huge distinction in quality between your typical grocery store ready-made packages of sushi and a legit sushi restaurant, but when you're in a bind there are the occasional lucky finds.  Luckily for us, we weren't resigned to eating sushi pre-packaged in thin plastic containers from the deli section! Sushi Wa is a good bit more out of the way than we would normally dine at, but when Antho and I happened to be in the area, hungry and in need of fuel, Sushi Wa was there so we decided to give it a go. We weren't disappointed! 

We had to have our usual favorites, of course, like the fatty goodness of salmon or the unctuous briny essence of the sea that is uni, but there were some fun new dishes available for the curious consumer to sample, too, like this dish below with tuna and sweet, sticky rice crisped on the outside drizzled with a spicy sauce and a piquant pickled jalapeno to wake up your tastebuds. Everything we tried was tasty and fresh, full of flavor and contrasting textures, like in the fried ice cream! Yes, fried ice cream. I know that's not a novelty to some of you, but it's always an amusing conflict of temperature states and textures to me when I find it on a menu. Overall it was an excellent meal and the only reason we didn't frequent the restaurant when living in Vegas was the fact it was so far removed from us. There's no shortage of delicious places to eat in the city, but if you happen to find yourself out in Henderson this is an excellent option to fill your belly with some quality sushi goodness!  

Korea: Simple snacks at home and lessons in simplicity

This may come as something of a surprise to you, but I'm a person who absolutely and utterly adores food. Not only is food a necessary form of fuel to power us through the routine tasks of everyday existence, but it's also a form of entertainment and escape, an art in and of itself. The foods that speak most strongly to each person's soul are going to be as unique to that individual as their thumbprint, due in large part to what they grew up eating but also to the formative food experiences they've had over the years. I know, some of you probably rolled your eyes so hard at the phrase "formative food experiences" that you're reading this sentence through your nostrils. That's fine. I understand your hesitance, the skeptical glare sweeping your eyes. For a lot of people out there, walking around, food is solely fuel and therefore maintains a lowly stasis as something that must be done, not something that should be done, and that's a shame. A formative food experience, however, is a resplendent and unimitable experience, where something simple takes on all new elevation. 

    

Fish was one of these formative food experiences for me. Growing up I was pretty lucky, for a desert dweller, to be blessed with the opportunity to try various kinds of seafood at an early age. I was a pretty adventurous eater from youth, so I was more than happy to mow down mussels or join my dad for a crab leg night at the local buffet, and an obsession with the original Japanese Iron Chef (dubbed over for American television) didn't hurt either. Even so, fish itself wasn't something we ate much of- definitely never was it ever cooked it in our home. It was looked down upon as a diet food, something bland and boring to be breaded and deep fried and only eaten on a whimsical flight of fancy in the form of a filet o'fish on some drunken eve. Plus, there's that notorious smell it's known for releasing, so it just wasn't around much. One fateful day while living in Japan, however, I found myself introduced to a new approach to eating fish- skewered, simply grilled for a long, slow cooking period over charcoal. The skin was crackly, crispy and had that deep, unmistakable charcoal essence while the juices ran down the stick and along my arms. I sat hunched over among the stones at a temple near my home, a festival raging around me, focused on my fish. It was ridiculously affordable, and in the end it changed my approach to fish. Now, any time I confront an unfamiliar type of fish at the market, as I had while living in Korea and found a package of these long iridescent belt fish, I would grill them, simply, with salt. While using a frying pan sorely lacks the charcoal essence, you're still able to get a decent level of crispiness to the skin and the salt brings out the flavor in the fish without burying it in unnecessary extravagance. The method is simply called 塩焼き or shioyaki, salt-grilled. While Korea has taught me to appreciate soups, Japan taught me to enjoy rice and the simple pleasure of a well-seasoned fish.  

And, of course, dessert is always nice, too.

Korea: 홍어회 in화정 or Hongoe in Hwajeong

Throughout my entire stay in South Korea, I lived in the small town of Hwajeong, in Goyang prefecture. It's only a short commute outside of Seoul, about 30 minutes by train in to Anguk area which was without a doubt one of my favorite neighborhoods to spend time in. Hwajeong was a charming little suburb to reside in, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time living there! Not only was it easy (enough) to commute to and from work on the daily, but there were multiple options for shopping, recreation, and dining throughout the area. While your typical suburb in Las Vegas has at least one convenience store nestled in its midst, there's no real guarantee that you'll be able to get to a grocery store on foot, not in any timely manner anyway..this issue is referred to as "food deserts", where fresh foods are less readily available and residents need to commute to have access to amenities. In Hwajeong I could walk 5 minutes and have my pick from several small groceries, multiple convenience stores (of different brands/names) and countless fast or slow food restaurants. Who says that Americas the greatest country in the world? For sheer capitalistic indulgences and opportunity, South Korea certainly seems to have learned from us and upped the ante.   

Another thing South Korea does well, that we don't really do much here, is fermented fish. Tangent much, eh? In the United States, you might find some form of pickled fish hiding in a dusty, forlorn corner of the grocery store's "ethnic" section, but in Korea, there's a famous fermented fish whose name strikes fear into the hearts (and nostrils) of those familiar with it: Hongoe. This funky beast is the result of fermenting skate, those cute little mini-mantas who have the peculiar habit of urinating through their skin. This, naturally, gives the fermented variety of their flesh a distinctly ammonia-heavy odor that even I, a girl whose sense of smell is laughably non-existent, found challenging. To be fair, hongoe is a challenge even for native Koreans who grew up around the stuff. Typically eaten with super-ripe kimchi and sweet milky rice alcohol in the form of makkgeoli, you can also find hongoe prepackaged at some grocery stores. It's much more affordable to buy the prepackaged variety, and so I decided to give it a go, but I have to admit I wasn't able to eat the whole package on my own. The texture of the fish is unusual, too, with a cartilaginous crunch that's hard to compare to anything that hasn't been rotting in its own urine for an extended period of time. 

Even just looking at these photos is giving me olfactory flashbacks. Oof. Enjoy the photos of the pretty view from here out, to hopefully get some of the funk out! You might also enjoy noticing the little bird, who perched atop the tower here. 

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

🐟

XOXO,

NAU

Vegas: AJ's Day out part 3: Flamingo Wildlife Habitat

If you're at the Flamingo hotel and casino here in Vegas and wanted to see an actual, say, living and breathing Flamingo instead of the silly stuffed animals and artificial replicas that profligate the area, you're in luck! While I can never seem to find it on my own volition or haven't tried hard enough to yet, Antho is adept at finding the way to the Flamingo's Wildlife habitat. It's not far from their buffet, so once you're in the hall where the buffet is you should see the large glass windows and doors leading to the habitat. Once you step through those doors you'll be in a lush oasis where the soothing tones of trickling water mingle with the laughter of tourists and other visitors to the area, with conspicuously high humidity compared to the rest of the strip thanks to all that lovely water splashing around. The signature flamingos are there, along with pelicans, ducks, koi, catfish and many other beautiful creatures big and small. The habitat is open 24 hours as far as I'm aware, though the animals aren't going to be active for that entire duration, naturally. Everyone has to sleep sometime! During the busier hours of the day there will also be trainers around with some parrots, who will kindly pose for a photo for you if you'd like. We've seen at least one person get pooped on while posing, though, so pose at your own risk. 

 

It's free to enter, though I believe the photographs with the birds will cost you. There are certain times of the day where you may be able to participate in, or at least watch, as the animals are fed, which is always entertaining. Pelicans are especially goofy when eating, due to their expanding throat/chin pouch that they have. Nature, you crazy! It is neat to see all the diversity there is, though, and this is an extremely small slice of the sheer biodiversity existing on our planet. While the flamingos and many of the long-term residents have had their wings clipped to prevent an escape, there are many other birds who simply stop by to enjoy the scenery. I imagine it's especially lovely to come outside and enjoy a coffee in the early hours, as the animals and humans begin to rouse from their slumber. There's certainly plenty of options for grabbing a bite or a cuppa inside the casino, and there's a small cafe just inside the doors adjacent to the habitat itself. 

Lots of photos below, taken kindly by our lovely Antho Jay (or AJ for short) as ya girl Nau here was working at the time. Nice of him to capture these moments and adventures for us, right?

Enjoy!

Korea: Mystery sushi

How adventurous are you? Are you willing to eat the unknown, the mysterious, the...uh...crunchy? On this particular evening, I decided to take a leap of faith and purchase an unknown seafood platter at the local market... Living in Hwajeong, I had access to multiple varieties of fresh seafood and fresh markets where all sorts of delicacies from the oceans were made readily available...With so many options available, I felt I absolutely had to experiment and try a few new things, given the ready proximity to the seas that the Korean peninsula offered. There's a mixture of sweet and spicy chili-pepper paste that you will frequently find served alongside Korean raw fish that sets it apart from it's Japanese equivalent, where wasabi and soy sauce may be the regular choice (some fish varieties are served with grated ginger or garlic instead of the wasabi)... trust me, however, when I say that the Korean sauce is exceptionally tasty, with a balance between pungent spicy goodness and sweet, savory smoothness. It's an invigorating way to enjoy the fresh seafood, with the complex flavor profile of the sauce adding to the satisfaction you feel upon completion of your meal. I enjoy most presentations of raw fish, so long as the fish is of good quality. 

This fish was very fresh! It had a beautiful reflective skin and mild fishy flavor that was enjoyable...but I'm the kind of girl who enjoys a good mackerel from time to time, so strong oily fishes aren't something that bother me. I don't fully understand why they were sliced in this specific way, though, as it meant that many of the bites had tiny bones that could potentially revenge the fish's death by stabbing your mouth as you eat. Not that I can blame the vengeful fish spirits...given the size of the cross-sections, the fish themselves are likely not that large, to begin with. I ate a fair portion of it with soy sauce and wasabi before trying the bright red sweet and spicy sauce.  Like I said above, I appreciate most preparations for raw fish as long as the fish is good, but with all the bones to contend with in this batch I found the sweet-spicy chili sauce helped me finish the generous portion.  

Overall, it was pretty good. There's always the chance that my foolish self simply dove headfirst into it raw, when the preferred preparation for this specific fish would have been cooking... but as I don't know, I went for it and was pretty happy. The bones were mildly annoying, but when you're consuming the flesh of little beings sliced up whole you kind of have to expect some degree of anatomy to be involved. I know there are plenty of people out there who can't handle chicken or fish on the bone, and I respect that. The bones were certainly not my favorite part of this meal... 

Live and learn, and try new things!

Until next time~

🐟

XOXO,

NAU

Korea: Garak Market part one

Garak market is something of a legend for me; it was the FIRST agricultural wholesale market open to the public of Seoul and facilitates one-third of the overall agricultural and fishing trade. The original buildings went up in 1985, so they had been in operation for decades! The photos I encountered on the Visit Korea website promised warehouses full of vendors with an old school feel and I was excited to find another market to check out, one I hadn't gotten to previously. Other websites, too, show a vibrant and lively market, not unlike Gwangjang market... 

What I found, however, was the Garak Mall, which felt more or less like any other mall, unfortunately.  I mean, they had the fish markets with bubbling tanks and live critters were even swimming in some, and there were many small butchers stands with their chilled displays of fresh meat, but it was quiet during my visit and the spacious, air-conditioned halls echoed with the sounds of my footsteps as I explored. The second floor of the three-storied building was something else, though, like a Costco. An expansive shopping market with towering shelves of bulk product, from cheeses to pickles, dried snacks and processed meats. I didn't make my way to the third floor of the building as it was primarily restaurants where you would take your purchases to be cooked, and I didn't make any purchases. By this point in the day I was already pretty worn out, having tackled the Seoul Fortress wall early in the day. Making the trek out to Garak market alone would be quite the journey, as I was staying in the more suburban area of Hwajeong, so it made sense to hit several spots in one day. 

It took me a bit of wandering around before I found the right place, too. My hangul comprehension got better the longer I was in Seoul, but I didn't (and still don't) have an extensive vocabulary to process (and add meaning to) what I was reading. I may have made a lap around a restaurant before realizing I'd gone in the wrong doors...oops! Overall, though, I was glad to have gone and made the trek to Garak mall at least the once, if just so I could cross one more location off of my to-do list. I'm sure it'd be well worth visiting again in the future, especially with someone who's fluent in Korean and can make more use of all the amenities and things available in the market. 

I've split the photos from this trip in to two posts so as not to overload anyone! Enjoy!  

Korea: Noryangjin New Fish Market Fall 2016

Now that I've feasted on the flesh of still squirming shrimp and sampled the infamous slithering octopus tentacles of sannakji once more, it's time I set aside my unease and explore the newest Noryangjin building. In my previous visit to Seoul in 2014, Noryangjin was one of my favourite destinations! It was so raw, quite literally, and seeing so much seafood bubbling in tanks or still twitching it's last throes on the icy tables while the bright-apron-clad aunties climbed up the tanks to wrangle out a massive lobster, crab, or other delicacy was fascinating. The old building, which is still operational next to the new market, has been in it's current location for over 40 years and feels like an established, and invariably older, market.  The new building still offers plenty of seafood, yes...but it's in a much more sterile environment. The floors, while still prone to being slick, are a lacquered linoleum reflecting the bright florescent lights from above. Instead of feeling like a wet market, it's more of a department store gone super fishy. Some people will indubitably prefer this, and I suppose that's okay. I don't despise shopping malls, after all...I can see how the clean, austere, controlled environment and crisp appearance would appeal. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on the matter, and everyone's tastes are different.  Seoul is a city that strives to perfect itself and strive towards modernisation whenever and wherever possible and their old, established markets are not immune. To me, though, it feels like a shadow of the former market. If I came to Seoul for the very first time and had never visited the older market, maybe I'd have swooned over this one. From what I've read, the new building costs more for the vendors to rent their stalls, which means that their prices are typically higher to account for that, but it's also a sticking point for many of the vendors who site the higher rent as prohibitive. Roughly half the vendors have refused to move into the new building, so the new market still feels a bit unfinished and empty as a result. You'll still find people diligently breaking down fish for various methods of consumption and various uncles and aunties mostly eager to sell their goods (when not in the midst of an afternoon nap, of course), and there are restaurants upstairs you can take your choices to, should you opt to purchase anything while here. If you find yourself in Seoul, check it out and decide for yourself. For now, here are my photos.

Korea: Noryangjin Old Fish Market part one

Seoul, much like my hometown of Las Vegas, is a city constantly striving to improve upon itself and renovate the old in the hopes it will bring in brighter, better futures along with more visitors and more money, so I can't be surprised that things will have changed since my previous visit in 2014. However, with Vegas we're a fairly young city, having only been founded in 1905, so our history, and even our culture as Americans, is still rather new when compared to a city and culture as old as Seoul and Korea's so tradition hasn't really had time to set roots..I mean, seriously, guys, have you considered just how ancient the Korean culture is? The United States of America was established on the 4th of July in 1776, a measly 242 years. That's not even three centuries yet. In contrast, it's believed that the ancient precursor to what is now known-as Seoul (Baekje) was established in 18 BCE. That's right, 18 years BEFORE we even started this whole 0-to-2000 countdown thing, so that'd be 2036 years ago. That's seriously OLD, guys. 

What all this means is that for Vegas, I think we have a bit more wiggle room to tear down and rebuild because the history, culture and traditions of the city of Las Vegas, while important to the region, are so young and still fomenting. With Seoul, they have to be mindful that sometimes the endless pursuit of modernisation and improvement must be tempered by appreciation and respect for their past and the ways that have been established over their many centuries. There are ancient Temple buildings peppered all throughout Seoul, neighbourhoods where traditional Bukchon style homes and old-school streets are kept in pristine condition, and the ancient Fortress Wall (first built in 1396) still stands it's somber vigil like a spine crawling atop the back of a massive, slumbering dragon. Soldiers still walk the wall, too, and you'll need to sign in and be alert of the no-photography zones because they're quite serious about enforcing them. This same fierceness has been brought to the desire to renew and rejuvenate, and at some expense. 

The old Noryangjin market has been in operation since 1927 before settling in to it's current location for over 40 years. It's a bit old, nostalgic, and funky, but these are all part and parcel of the reasons I loved it so much! It was real, gritty, slippery, fishy work and the people working the stalls true blue-collar hard working Koreans trying to make their livelihood the best way they know how. There's little to no pretence, no glossy K-pop idol wannabe's patta-patt-patting their perfectly coiffed faces or checking that their bangs maintain the perfect arch in their compacts, at least not working the floor. You will find guy's like this friendly fellow to the left, who was here during my previous visit, too! I gave him a hug both times. Thank you for what you do, dude. Motorbikes and heavy-duty carts roll through, beeping or honking to alert photo-focused photogs and awestruck tourists alike. The new building, shown in part above, is absolutely nothing like it. And, to be totally honest, I didn't like it. This post, however, is going to focus on the old market, the part I love so dearly. Thank glob.

More photos below!