[LA April 2019] Day 1: Arrival and Koreatown

This past weekend, I took a quick trip to LA to see Lovelyz at the Korea Times Music Festival on Saturday, April 27th! I'll quickly blog about day one of my trip.

I looked up when celebrities usually arrived at LAX for past KTMF, and found that generally idols would arrive 2 days before the event. Staff from KTMF would also be at LAX to greet the invited artists and hold an impromptu interview. However Woollim likes to send artists at the last minute, so I gambled that Lovelyz would arrive on Friday instead of Thursday, and decided to arrive on Friday morning. Lovelyz (sans Kei due to her MC schedule for Music Bank) did arrive on Thursday morning. Kei ended up arriving on Saturday morning, but my scared self couldn't get the courage to see her at LAX by myself. I'm beating myself up after seeing others' fancams of greeting Kei at LAX; she seemed so friendly and accepting of fans' gifts! So here is another fan letter I've written (this time 100% in hangul!) that I didn't get to deliver.

I took the LAX Flyaway shuttle to Union Station, then took the Metro Purple Line into Koreatown to spend the rest of the day. Walking around, I saw flyers for KTMF as well as flyers for Ailee in California.

I ate lunch at 본죽 Bonjuk, a Korean rice porridge chain restaurant. This restaurant holds a special place for me because I ate at one in the Edae/Sinchon area near my dorm when I had studied in Korea. I ordered the kimchi octopus porridge (낙지김치죽). I remember one of the free sides I had in the Edae/Sinchon branch was a really delicious drink, but sadly that didn't come with my meal here in LA. To my surprise, the octopus was cut very large but still very tender! The bowl is also very large, but with time I was able to finish everything (even though though the kind woman kept refilling my white radish kimchi (동치미))!

After lunch, it was time to visit the kpop stores! Along the way, I passed by BCD on Western, the same area that Infinite walked in front of in their Destiny in America DVD.

Next I visited Music Plaza, located in Koreatown Plaza. They have a lot of albums from many Kpop groups, as well as DVDs, season's greetings, official concert/fanmeeting merchandise, magazines, and a lot of BT21 goods. On another side are unofficial merchandise. There is also a TV playing Kpop music videos. They played a lot of TXT while I was there, and "Cat and Dog" was stuck in my head all day afterwards.

My goal coming into this trip was to buy all the Korean magazines that featured Golden Child within the past year, but unfortunately I couldn't find any from all three stores I visited. To my surprise, Music Plaza did have Indeed Vol. 0, which is a fairly new magazine.

Being sleep-deprived for the past few days and entering a Kpop store was probably a mistake...! I ended up buying the following:

• 1st Look Vol. 158 - $7.99
• Lovelyz 2018 Season's Greetings - 40% off of $52.99
• Lovelyz 2017 Alwayz Summer Concert DVD - ~$55 (I forgot the exact price)
• Lovelyz 2018 Lovelyz in Winterland 2 Bluray - $69.99
• Astro 5th Mini Album Dream Part. 02 Wind Version - $21.99
• Astro First Album All Light Green version - $21.99
• Top Class No. 164 - $11.99

Now time to justify my selection...before Golden Child, I would only buy season's greetings at $35 or less, because that's the price in Korea. Shipping is at least $15 (though it can cost as much as the season's greetings itself), so I could never justify buying a calendar for $50+. But if I find a previous year's for under $35, I think it's reasonable. As for Lovelyz in Winterland 2, I was so surprised to see they have the bluray version, because it's literally sold out everywhere! (They also had the DVD version...maybe next time)! Unfortunately they only had the DVD version for Alwayz. The BTS magazine is for a friend. As for Astro...2019 may be the year I'm becoming (dare I say it) multifandom?! Somehow my friend and I are getting into the group, but it makes me feel better that Bomin and Sanha are great friends.

They used a Twice tote bag as my shopping bag. At the counter, the worker asked what groups I like to give me freebies. I had asked for Infinite, Lovelyz, Golden Child, and even Astro (it felt so weird asking for Astro!) and they had none...in the end I chose IZ*One (for Chaewon and Eunbi!) and TXT (maybe the long Golden Child drought naturally made me explore other groups...?!). So here are my freebies from Music Plaza.

I'll make separate unboxing posts for the Woollim items but I'll just share my Astro pulls here. For Dream, I pulled Moonbin and Sanha photocards (out of 12), Sanha Polaroid card (out of 7), and Rocky for the box. I was unnecessarily super happy pulling Sanha twice!

For All Light, I pulled Eunwoo lyrics book (out or 6), Jinjin and Moonbin for the photocards (out of 12), and Jinjin and Eunwoo for the selfie cards (out of 12). Even though Jinjin is my original bias, I wasn't excited pulling him twice...I need to figure out if he's still a bias or not...

My next stop was Choice Music, located in Koreatown Galleria. My Woollim heart instinctually grabbed the season's greetings I was still missing. I got the following:

• Infinite 2019 Season's Greetings - 30% off of $49.99
• Lovelyz 2019 Season's Greetings - 30% off of $49.99
• Lovelyz 2017 Season's Greetings - 50% off of $45.99

The worker at the counter was really nice; her first group was Infinite so we connected through that. Based on the amount I spent, she let me choose 2 members from any group she listed. None of the groups I was interested in were on the list, so I asked if I could choose Eunbi and Chaewon instead. She said they're on the list for spending a cheaper amount, but she still gave them to me. I also sheepishly asked for TXT's Beomgyu, which she happily gave. So those postcards and photocards above are the freebies.

I also went to Sejong Bookstore two stores down from Choice Music to see if they had any magazines featuring Golden Child. They did have the February issue of Woman Donga that features Lovelyz for about $16, but I had to put my shopping spree to an end.

I ended the night by dining at Hwal Uh Kwang Jang (활어광장) with my aunt. This place felt really authentic - only Koreans were here, and the waitresses spoke to me in Korean and handed me a Korean-only menu. Later on my aunt asked for an English menu.

I wanted to come here for the live baby octopus (산낙지), which is a dish I hadn't had since going to Seoul in 2014. My aunt wasn't as adventurous, so I had this dish all to myself. The pieces of octopus kept squirming around. Once in my mouth, it would suction onto the inside of my cheek and my tongue, so I kept quickly biting the suction cups off first.

We also ordered the combo sashimi course for 2 people. Pictured above are various banchan (quail eggs? and spicy octopus were highlights), along with the sashimi platter. But this was only the beginning - many more dishes came out after this! Another highlight was octopus sashimi that was tender and easy to chew - a first because often it's too chewy. It was definitely a worthy seafood banquet and quite the experience.

This was it for my first day; the next day would be touring around LA and the Korea Times Music Festival!

Bellevue: Seoul Garden Restaurant Review

Going to this restaurant was an impromptu visit, so I apologize for the lack of detail and photos. This restaurant is quite small and is located in the corner of a strip mall, on 304 105th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004. The decor is quite simple, with colorful walls, a TV displaying sports and American music playing in the background (sadly no signs of kpop anywhere). The waitresses are fluent in both Korean and English; in fact their English seems like their native tongue.

The place setting is really adorable.  I love the sanitary slip placed over the spoon!

 Here are the side dishes.  We received three sets of six dishes for 10 people.  From the top left going clockwise, there was seaweed, cucumber, kimchi, jelly-like strips, noodles and bean curd.  Each dish had its own taste to counterbalance each other.

The main dishes were very flavorful.  We ordered a variety of dishes, and each had its unique flavor.  We ordered two tofu soups, one originally spicy and another mild.  Usually when the customer alters the flavor of the dish (like choosing mild instead of the regular spicy) the dish doesn't taste as flavorful, but the mild flavor actually had a lot of flavor!  I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely order mild again.  My favorite was the dduk-bohk-yi, a spicy rice cake appetizer that had me wanting more!

The price was pretty reasonable, especially for the large portions served.  The bill ended up being about $108 for 10 people (six adults) for dinner, which is very decent, especially because everybody was stuffed and we had leftovers.  The service was also very good, despite only three waitresses working.  There were about 5-10 other parties, and the waitresses were prompt to serve everyone quickly.  Overall, I'd definitely come back to get my Korean food fix!

U District: Korean Tofu House Restaurant Review

I haven't found many Korean (authentic and fusion) restaurants in Seattle itself, though there is a significantly larger population of Koreans in Federal Way with many more Korean restaurants and shops.  I was ecstatic to find Korean Tofu House in Seattle, that I came here practically every week since I had found out about it!  Korean Tofu House, also known as just Tofu House, is adjacent to The Ave (University Way).  Just look for the painted green building, and walk down a short flight of stairs to get to the entrance.  It is one of the many ethnic mom-and-pop restaurants populating the University District, and definitely my most favorite of the bunch.  As my brother has said, you know a Korean restaurant is authentic when you smell of Korean BBQ when you leave!

Each entree comes with a bowl of rice and a variety of side dishes, including kimchi, bean sprouts,glazed potatoes, bean curd and seafood pancake.  Each of these side dishes were delicious and offered its own flavor and texture, creating diverse flavors.

I ordered #1, which is the Mixed Tofu Soup (clams, shrimp and beef), for $8.99.  This soup came out in a sizzling clay pot with a raw egg poured on top, which I skipped.  There were two clams, two shrimp, sliced beef and lots of very soft and smooth tofu. 

 

The Mixed Tofu Soup is my usual, but all of their selections are just as tasty!  I also love their Soy Bean Paste Soup and Bulgogi. 

This restaurant gets crowded during lunch and dinner, so prepare to wait and don't forget to sign your name by the cash register.  Though this is a full scale restaurant, a lot of it is self-serve.  Napkins, chopsticks and spoons are in a tray at each table and there is a tray near the cash register for takeout containers and plastic bags.  You pay up front at the cash register, and you must pay in cash if your bill is below $10.  I especially love coming here because it's affordable, tasty and I always end up boxing half of my soup and some side dishes because it's so filling.  I can't wait for my next meal at Korean Tofu House!

The Great Wall Mall: Various Korean Stores

Just the other day I traveled to The Great Wall Mall, a small Asian mall with several clothing boutiques, antique shops, 99 Ranch Market and restaurants of different Asian cuisines.  Here is the address: 18230 East Valley Highway  Kent, WA 98032.

Joo Joo Cosmetics
This little kiosk is a gem of a find, because there is no indication that such a places exists via the Internet. The store hours are very limited, only opening a few hours from Thursday to Saturday.

Joo Joo offers a limited selection of Korean beauty products, but many of these items are unreachable in the greater Seattle area. This kiosk has one Holika Holika mask, Etude House masks, several SkinFood products and Holika Holika's Pig-Nose product. The masks are $3 each, which includes tax. I came here only to by one product:

Holika Holika Cherry Blossom Essence Mask.  This is my first Holika Holika product, and I was entranced by this mask because of the brand's endorsers, CNBlue. When I use this mask, I'll be sure to write a review.

Morning Glory

This shop is part of the global Morning Glory chain that sells Asian trinkets and stationary.

This particular store also carries a few Kpop items.  There are PSY tee shirts out front. Covering the exterior are posters of beauty advertisements, including Han Ga In for Isa Knox. This store also offers large and small calendars, as well as posters, of kpop bands 2NE1, 2PM, Beast, Big Bang, Infinite, MBLAQ, SNSD and Super Junior.

Jang Soo Tofu Korean Tofu and B.B.Q. Restaurant
This restaurant is amazing in every way. The warm Korean food smell, along with tasty food and a TV is an excellent combination.

I sat at a table that faced the TV, which was showing the currently airing drama The King of Dramas on SBS with English subtitles. Seeing Choi Si Won while enjoying my delicious meal made me so happy.

Every meal comes with side dishes, and this restaurant offers high quality, unique ones. There are the usual brussel sprouts, but every other dish was much more fascinating. The kimchi had lots of flavor and was chopped up perfectly, so there were no chewy, tough pieces. The zucchini was slightly crunchy and had a mild spice.  The small red ball in the top right is a slightly chewy squid/fish/radish (I'm not sure)...all I know is that this side dish is my favorite. The mashed potatoes were sweet and consistently soft and pureed.  Each meal also comes with a small fried fish that you debone yourself. The fish is so soft and tender and flavorful; definitely a side dish that Korean restaurants don't often offer. Best of all, the friendly waitresses kept asking if we wanted more of each side dish (except for the fish).

If you're looking for a few hours of Asian shopping, come by The Great Wall Mall to do your grocery, cosmetic and merchandise shopping, as well as tasty dining.