Seoul.Ria

Monday night found me wondering where I could go for dinner. Having gone to restaurants at Darling Harbor, Tower restaurant which rotates to give you the Sydney city view, and even dinner at the Rocks, I was looking for something authentic, palatable, and poignant. And I was lucky enough to find it.

Clueless on dinner plans, I approached the concierge desk at Swissotel where I was staying which interestingly enough was attended to by an Australian, a Korean and a Thai. Recommendations to all the tourist restaurants failed with me - yes, I know some of you are going to shake your head at fussy Ivy again - and the Australian who was somewhat exasperated by this lady who knew exactly what she wanted without a clue of what it actually was, suggested a little tongue in cheek and a little practically that they had very tasty McDonald's and KFC's around the corner.

The Korean then suggested Chinese food in Chinatown and drew on the map how to get there. I asked if he knew of an authentic one there, and he was at a loss. Finally, the Thai (apparently head concierge) appeared and gave some suggestions of fusion Thai food. As I was due to fly to Bangkok week after next, I told him I preferred not to, and he finally had a brainwave and asked if I liked Korean food. It was an instant hit. Apparently this Korean restaurant was frequented by all the Koreans in Sydney, so it had to be good, according to him. Only 4 blocks down from my hotel, I decided to take a walk and make an evening out of it.

It was chilly, so I was sure to wear my jacket and took a leisurely stroll down the street. I had to pass by the Town Hall, St Andrew's Cathedral, and later the only college in Sydney. At least that was what the sign said. There was also this interesting shop that reminded me of those shops back in Chinatown Singapore where you could get stuff at 1 - 2 dollars, with the tape recorder on a continuous roll spitting out what you could get for a dollar, asking you to hurry before everything gets snapped up... When I saw the Movie Theatre, I looked out for the corner with the delifrance I was supposed to turn into. It was a little confusing as the Delifrance there looked like a bar or pub amongst many that could be found in that area. The Thai concierge had told me that the Korean restaurant was just above Delifrance, so I looked out for a stairway that would lead upstairs. When I finally saw it, I stopped short in my tracks. The sign above the stairway read "Adult Books and Litererature. Adults allowed only." I blinked. Maybe there was another stairway round the other side. I circled to the other end of Delifrance, but there was no stairway. only a Japanese restaurant a few doors down.

I suddenly wondered if the head concierge had pulled a joke on me to make fun of what a big fuss I was making over where to go for dinner. I went back to the stairway and stared at it. I wondered if maybe the Korean restaurant would be beside the Adult bookstore upstairs. I continued staring at it, and soon realised that some people were staring at me staring at the "Adult Books & Literature" sign and were stopping to stare at the stairs as well. I didn't want to give up walked toward the stairs and peered up at it. Yes, I am extremely stubborn and determined over things that seem trivial. But I had come all the way for a good hot Korean meal and I was intent on having it! However, the sight of the dinghy, desolate stairway with a large piece of torn cardboard the size of half the height of the wall covering the corner of the stairway wasn't encouraging. I decided that I would ask the delifrance staff and if they were unable to help, I would just have to find somewhere else to have dinner.

The senior staff that I asked didn't know if there was a Korean restaurant there. Refusing to accept it, I asked again. This time, the other junior staff at the counter heard me and blurted out loudly that it was just round the corner and a couple of doors away from where the Japanese restaurant was. After her outburst she suddenly clamped up as a look of regret and fear came over her and she stole a glance at the senior staff. She immediately tucked her head down and continued with her duties and avoided eye contact with me. When I walked down the street, I realised that the senior staff had apparently not wanted to be helpful as there were actually a few Korean restaurants there. Then I saw it, and knew that it was the one the head concierge had talked about. The entrance to Seoul.Ria was actually a door to a lift which you had to take to go up to the restaurant.

I was totally unprepared for the culture shock i was about to have. While we always talk of finding authentic asian food, we always tend to be a bit more sceptical of the word "authentic" when in western countries. This was my state of mind. While I was waiting for the lift, there were other Asian Australians there who just struck a conversation with each other and joked around, including me in on their conversations. Young and gregarious, they seemed to have met only at the lift entrance and ended up having dinner as a group. They looked at me, and I graciously declined. Even in a different country, I was a little uncomfortable at having dinner with strangers in a foreign country, especially when I was alone.

When the lift opened at the 3rd floor, everyone emptied out and I was immediately hit with the sound of Korean being spoken all over. The restaurant was big, and I felt as if I had stumbled at one of those pentecostal prayer meetings where everyone was speaking out loud in tongues at the top of their voices. The menu was even more exasperating. Written in Korean with English descriptions, they used terms that I was not familiar with. What in the world were Pork "shards' fermented in wine? And all the portions were huge - almost all tables had at least 3 persons with one of those large flat metal containers with food covered in spicy sauce or soup over a fire. There were also the standard side dishes of Kimchi, pickled cucumber and potatoes.

Overwhelmed, I kept knocking things over. First it was the plastic drinking cup, then the disposable chopsticks on the table. Each time that happened, even if there were visibly no waiter/waitress near your table, they miraculously appeared out of nowhere and as unobtrusively as possibly replaced what you had dropped on the table. When I was ready to order, I asked for recommendations, and again exasperated the waiter with knowledge of what i did not want without knowing what it was that i really wanted. He waved to another waiter who after a few glances at my facial expression in response to his recommendations, finally recommended his personal favourite which was spicy tofu soup. Not too sure if that was what I wanted, but it was something that did not sound as alien, and was not too challenging in portion for a single diner. So I asked to have that. And it turned out to be exactly what I needed. Authentic, tasty, not too sourish, full of brothy flavors from the mixture of tofu, mussels, spring onions, chives, all types of mushrooms, and beef stock in kimchi flavoring. Tasting of a hearty home cooked meal, it was hot, interesting to the palate with enough kick, and totally addictive.

While I was having my meal, the waiter who recommended me the dish popped by and asked, "Do you not like?" I swallowed what I could and told him that it was very good. The pleased look of surprise and pleasure at being praised that came over his face was priceless. How much did I pay for the meal? A grand total of AUD 11 dollars for the spicy tofu soup dish, inclusive of the 3 side dishes and free flow of water. I whipped out my corporate card and paid it off amongst the clucking of the owner at having to start his credit card machine for such a mere amount. But i was happy, contented, and didn't really care...I took some photos which I will upload once I'm home and have my memory stick connector with me. Am planning to try the fusion Thai restaurant for dinner today..

My Morning Kit

So I flew to Sydney on Sunday night for a business trip. I usually take the Singapore Airlines - more comfortable and better menus. However, as Qantas offers free stopovers for those flying business class to some Australian states, I booked my ticket with them as I was planning to take leave in Perth and Albany with some friends who are staying there.

As all business class seats on Qantas flights were full, our company travel agency put me on British Airways. I didn't quite know what to expect but as a friend pointed out - it's business class after all, how bad can it get? The check in was more exclusive - no queue, private seating area, and your luggage was personally carried and checked in for you while you are seated at the counter, waiting to collect your boarding pass.

I asked for a window seat and was told that it would be facing the opposite direction. I was more prone to claustrophobia (and having a window always helps!) than backward travel sickness, so I opted for the window seat. It was interesting that the seats are positioned in opposite directions with a centre partition. But I soon realised that the seats can be adjusted to horizontal position, which was good and made sleep a lot easier and more comfortable. The one thing that hit me though, was that the entire plane was full of Australian and Brits. I certainly felt like a fish out of water, and that I stood out like an oversized sore thumb. People were striking up conversations with neighbours and aircraft crew, talking about the weather, good bargains, families at home, etc. Believe it or not, I saw a couple of boys who looked like they were still in college, and I guess they must be rich kids in some ivy league school flying home.

The entertainment on the plane was faulty which was ok, as I had not been able to sleep the night before due to accidentally drinking coffee after 12pm which doesn't work well with my system. I was planning to be dead to the world on the whole flight. Once I reached my seat and had the controls figured out (not that hard to), I settled myself into a comfortable position and was happily closing my eyes when the gayish steward passed me a grey cosmetic looking pouch. Curious, I took it from him, and lo and behold it was my morning kit. Not surprising considering that it was an overnight, sleeper 777 plane. What was a little astonishing to me was that the toothpaste, moisture lock, pulse balm, lip balm, etc were all Molton Brown products. I guess they must be way cheaper in UK than they cost in Singapore. Having not had the time to get sunblock or lip balm before flying off, I said a little prayer of thanksgiving to God for meeting all my needs.

After a dinner of roasted mediterranean vegetables, steak and potatoes and the pass up on dessert and expensive wine, I lowered my seat down out of sight from the elderly gentleman facing me in the next row who also kept curiously peering at me from above his book, threw the comforter/blanket over myself and blissfully switched the world off.