This past weekend was packed with seeing people and various activities. During the week, I don't always get to socialize much, so whenever I get a chance to hang out with people and catch up, it's just really nice.
On Saturday, I attended a bridal shower for a former coworker. I hadn't seen her as well as a few of the other girls in soooo long and it was really good to catch up with them. The bridal shower was held at a pretty upscale posh restaurant in Daechi dong... Orange Hill. It's one of those fanshy places where rich Gangnam ladies come to lunch and sip tea with their pinky fingers raised. Really feminine and elaborate interior.
Bread basket... probably not vegan, especially the black bread, which is most likely colored with squid ink.
The menu didn't have many vegan options, but I was able to get a mushroom salad with balsamic dressing (gotta request it without any cheese). The salad was definitely loaded with mushrooms, which were soooo good. Chewy, juicy, and even meaty in texture.
Isn't the champagne color so pretty? Cheers to the bride-to-be!!
And then right after that, I had to rush to Gangnam for another gathering with my church small group. We met up at Julio for Mexican food (google map here). This was my first time going there and I had heard some good things from different people so I was excited to try it out. However, in the end, Julio's really disappointed in the veg-friendly department. Practically everything had animal products in it and a lot of them were pre-mixed with cheese etc, so they couldn't even leave the cheese out of tacos or burritos. So in the end, I ordered two different sides, both of which weren't all that.
A side of chips and salsa (2,000). The chips were a bit oily... but the salsa had a nice spicy kick.
Chips and refried beans without the usual sprinkling of cheese (2,000). I also totally forgot to ask whether the refried beans were fried in lard... so it's possible that this wasn't even vegetarian.
So in the end, I really can't recommend Julios to any vegans out there. Dos Tacos is way more accommodating. Thank goodness I was with some awesome company, because otherwise, it would've been a really sad dining experience! I was too involved in the conversation to care about what I was eating any way.
Well, moving on to something SO DELICIOUS:
Yuuup. So Delicious mini ice cream sandwiches! I got this at a 7-11 store in Gangnam, but I've also seen it at Shinsaegae department stores and Veggie Holic bakery (I think). One box with two small sandwiches cost 3,800 won (none of the prices you see in the photo are the right ones). It was definitely expensive, but it's been years since I last had an ice cream sandwich and this time, I couldn't resist. Seriously, back in the day, ice cream sandwiches were my thang. I never cared for ice cream in a cone or in a cup... I was all about the sandwiching action. But then I went vegan and haven't had one, until now.
Korean info. Check their Korean website to find Purely Decadent cafes.
Two mini sandwiches, each the size of a bar of soap.
Eeeee! :) So cute, I just wanna bite it.
Like dis. Mmmm. Yea, it was good . And deliciously coconutty. The ice cream was actually lighter and fluffier than I was expecting. Not as creamy as regular ice cream, but almost marshmallowy... not that that matters.
I ate my ice cream while hanging out at one of the numerous 'multi rooms' in Gangnam, which are getting more popular these days. Multi-rooms are basically where groups of friends (or couples) can go to hangout in a room that isn't your actual room. It's kind of like a norebang (karaoke room), but oh so much more.
Koreans usually don't hang out at each other's apartments like people do in Western countries, so sometimes they don't have anywhere to go to just lounge around without spending a fortune. So multi rooms are the answer. How it usually works is you pay by the hour and get a small curtained room where you can play wii games, watch movies, eat food, or make out if you're a horny teenager. You could also go into the 'cafe' area any time to fill up on complementary drinks and snacks. And if you're super hungry, you can even order food from a restaurant outside and have it delivered to you. So Korean... :)
Us gals getting our wii on.
We pretty much just played the wii dancing game the whole time. Hilarious, and also quite the work out.
My reward for all the wii dancing.
Ok, that was my weekend update. Peace out!