Korean Bun

I picked up this bun at the Korean grocery store.



I was told it was a "vegetable and sausage" bun, but there might've been something lost in translation, since it didn't seem to have any meat in it.

The filling was potato with some peas and onions. Pretty savory and not what I would describe as an "asian" or "Korean" taste.



But pretty good for a buck-fiddy.

Weird Snack: Seasoned Kelp

I picked up this at the Korean grocery store, because it was only 69 cents and it label said it went well wth beer.





The pieces of kelp are pretty large and ungainly and they are dusted with sugar. I can stand the little pieces of kelp in yr miso soup, but the overall kelpyness of this snack is too overwhelming. Also they would be a better snack (esp. with beer) if they were salty rather than sweet.

Coffee Maker Noodles

I generally disdain "starving student" type foods, because generally I think if you're smart, creative and not lazy you can eat well without spending a lot of money.

But I saw this on Salon's Ask the Pilot : coffee maker ramen.

The cellophane brick variety is preferable to the kind in Styrofoam cups because it's easier to pack and impervious to damage.



Directions:
1) Rinse out the filter basket assembly of your hotel room coffee maker;
2) crush noodle brick into the carafe;
3) partially fill coffee maker with water, and switch on;
4) once carafe is full, wait three minutes;
5) drain carefully, add flavor packet, turn on Comedy Central and enjoy.

I decided to give this a shot. I dunno what I expected. It tasted the same as ramen noodles do. The main point is to let the noodles soak in the warm water until they swell up.



This ain't rocket science - but the idea to cook food in a coffee maker is a good one.

Hello Saigon

Today we hit up an old friend; Miss Saigon which has been renamed Hello Saigon. Their lunch special is $5.99 incl. soup and salad. There's two soups, the default soup is really sour orangey/lemon-grassy and the soup of the day is a clear broth with a few chunks of celery and stew beef. I prefer the latter.

The mains are all Viet/Thai style (well they seem Thai to me) and come with either white rice or pad thai noodles. If you spring for the spring rolls, it's another 50 cent.

Chan had the pork stir fry:



It comes with Kim Chi on the side.

and I had the Red Curry Beef:



Which comes with cubes of fatty, sometimes grisly beef in a medium/mild curry.

The lunches here are tasty, and you get a variety of items, but at $8.50 ASAD it's a bit steep for Chinatown lunch.

Verdict: Not in the regular rotation, but a fixture on the extended roster.