jejudo deul

observation 2: there's no tipping in korea. as the story goes, an American had a meal at korea and left the standard tip. as he was leaving, the owner of the restaurant came running out, telling him that he accidentally left some money on the table. you would think that no tip would mean crappy service, but it's the exact opposite. i found the people to be very polite and accommodating (for the most part). if anything, the service is too quick here, most likely because koreans are impatient.

/rantabouttippinginAmerica (feel free to skip).

it's utter bullshit. now hold on a second before you start stoning me. this is not an attack on the food industry workers(there are a few other jobs that include tips, but this is the big mama imo) nor am i a stingy bastard...i put in the min 15% or more if i'm happy w/ the service. anyone who's been in the customer service industry can attest to the majority of idiots they have to deal with(and i put myself in this category as well). and if you have had any experience, you tend to empathize with the other people you see swimmin in the same shee it as you. then again, you can also choose to be an a hole and let out all your frustrations from your job to the next guy, thus continuing the vicious cycle of hate. let the circle be unbroken sucka. my qualm is with the system. there are a lot of other jobs, where people are on their feet all day, take crap from both customers and the higherups, and hustle so hard that by the end of their shift, their ass looks like something Michangelo himself sculpted. and they're receiving minimum wage (or less) just like servers but get no tip. how is that fair? why do only certain professions get tipped while others don't? who gets to arbitrarily decide that? the tipping system should be abolished. but since i know that's not going to happen, i'm going to make a tip jar and put it on the front desk at work tomorrow. and you best give me my 15% or i'm gona go Oprah on your ass (god i hate her so much, but that post will be for another day my friends). /endrant

the hotel we stayed at was the lotte jeju, and it was a fine hotel indeed. a lot of the hotels we stayed in had casinos to cater to visitors, but only foreigners were allowed. i think there's only one casino in korea in which natives are allowed to play in. another short note: tipping does happen in korea although i believe it to be rare. at a casino, i drunkenly asked the dealer if i was supposed to tip and he told me yes. but perhaps this was the case since only foreigners were allowed? even a lot of taxi drivers don't expect tip.

if the name sounds familiar, you may have seen the brand on a piece of korean candy or gum. lotte is a huge corp that also makes cookies, has their own chain of fast food restaurants called Lotteria as well as owning the baseball team the lotte giants.

there was a trail in the back of the hotel which led down to the beach where you found

peace

if you've gotten this far reading, i commend you for your perserverance. you're probably muttering to yourself right now, "this guy needs to get off his soap box and start showin the food porn or i'm out." so here was the breakfast buffet, which had both western and korean items.

the setup

there were a bunch of baked goods like bagels, croissants, and chewy tapioca bread.

and some fresh selections of fruit. fruit was really good here.

standard omelette and egg station along with waffles

different yogurts, bread w/ cheeses, fruit salad

fruit juices

a noodle soup station

salads, meats, and you gotta have that kimchi

there were a bunch of different hot dishes too, but i didn't take pictures of those (refer to observ. 1) but i got a slice of french toast and a waffle. the "sand" in the syrup is cinnamon sugar.

along with bacon, potatoes and jeonbok jook, which is abalone porridge.

your choice of coffee or tea. i ended up drinking a lot of coffee when i was here. many restaurants have coffee vending machines where for usually around 100 won (~ 10 cents), you could get a small cup of coffee. and by small i don't mean american small (which somewhere down the has turned into medium), but those small water cups people use to take shots with at parties.

i love breakfast and i love buffets. but the good life is over. as it was in the beginning, and now and ever shall be, world without end. it's back to my cereal w/ fruit.

oops, i forgot to write it on my last post, but let's go korea tomorrow!~

Agora Churrascaria

There are only two rules you need to know when going to a Brazilian AYCE. Red means stop, and green means keep the meat coming. You signal with a cardboard circle on your table. (You can see it hiding behind the bread basket in the picture below.) If you've never experienced Brazilian BBQ before, the servers come to you with the meat on these big skewers and serve it to you.

$23 bucks for lunch is pretty pricey to me, but I had just taken a midterm and wanted to go celebrate. I hit the gym after my test though to work up a good appetite, then drove over to Agora with my cousin.

The place was pretty nice and roomy, but it was a bit empty when we entered, granted we got there around 1:00 PM on a Monday.


As soon as we were seated, a big warm banana that had been liberally brushed with sugar and cinnamon came out along with a basket of some poofy bread that had a thin layer of cheese inside of it. Its taste reminded me of those cheese puff balls that comes in the blue cylinder container...I can't remember the name. Both were delicious.

Besides their offering of about 12 or 13 different kinds of meat, they have a decent/good salad bar as well as a hot food selection consisting of about 10 different items from rice and beans to salmon and potatoes.


This was the only shot I took however of the salad bar, which was more of the sides/condiments section...olives pickles, peppers, pico de gallo, and some cold cuts in the back. I know some people only go straight for the meat to not get full on the sides, but I like to have some veggies to eat along with it.


A picture of some of the things I got the first time around. In the end, I mostly got the onions, which had been marinated in vinegar and some herbs, and the bell peppers. They offer a variety of veggies, most of them served raw and plain, along with some different salads.


Collard greens, black bean stew, and garlic rice, which I really enjoyed particularly. The beans were cooked w/ pork, giving it a nice flavor.


First up was bacon wrapped filet mignon and some chicken. I found the filet was cooked a little too long for me. The chicken was great though.


Tri tip. This was my favorite cut.


Top sirloin.


Top sirloin well done (bleh) and the pork sausage. It had a mild almost nutty flavor to it.

And this is where I stopped taking pictures. I forgot about my camera and just gorged myself for the next hour. We were the last ones to leave the restaurant. The only other things I can remember they offered was a chicken sausage, which was good, and another bacon wrapped meat.

Service was great. The staff was helpful and asked us if there was anything we liked, so they could bring that out to us.

I heard from people/read reviews that the meat is too salty, but I thought it was fine with the exception of one or two items. My only complaint was that I didn't like the meats that had been cooked too long, but after going through one round, I became more selective of what I wanted.

My experience with Brazilian BBQ is very limited, so I am by no means an expert on the subject. I've only had it at one other place, which was in downtown SD, but I can't really remember how it compared, since it has been over 2 years since I've had it there. All I know is that the prices were a bit cheaper for lunch in SD, and I thought the salad bar was a little better there. But overall? It was my cousin's first time at a Brazillian AYCE, and he seemed impressed and liked the food. I also had a very enjoyable experience here and would go again for lunch sometime if I was in the area and had some cash to throw around =p


Agora Churrascaria
1830 Main St
Irvine, CA 92614

Still got that itch...

My god...first week of school is done, and my body is just not feeling it haha.

Vegas contd: The next day, I woke up and hit the tables once more. Gambling is such an emotional rollercoaster...my stomach def. suffered from the stress, but in the end, I came up a hundred after about an hour playing blackjack.

So, what was first?


Breakfast of Champions. Two daiquiris (strawberry and moonshine) with an extra shot in each from Tacone Wraps. I thought the moonshine tasted like crap. The strawberry on the other hand was delicious. My cousin said it tasted like a Flintstones Push Pop. You gotta love the fact that you can walk around outside while drinking. Viva Vegas!

We went to the Coke store, and we got a sampler of 16 drinks around the world for 7 bucks.


You get a good amount, enough to share among four people. You can click the picture if you want to see the full size. These were the non carbonated drinks. I personally liked the Delaware Punch(like a dark fruit punch) and the Pine Nut, which didn't really taste like pine nut, and had more of a limey taste.


Out of these, there really wasn't anything that I liked in particular. Honestly, I'm a Coke kind of guy. The watermelon really tasted like candy watermelon, but felt weird to drink as a soda. The mezzo(the clear one on the left) tasted disgusting and bitter. Yeah, I'm brief with the descriptions, but I've got a sketchy memory, and I don't take notes of what I eat or drink (yet haha).


Next door is the m&ms store. I thought this was kinda interesting. The first mascots. You've come a long way my friends.


This scared me.

Lastly, we hit up the Bellagio buffet before we left. We waited for almost an hour and paid $30 bucks (before tax and tip) for brunch. I've had Bellagio before for dinner a few years back and honestly it's just all right to me. I think it's too hyped up and not worth the wait or price. We went here simply because it was closest to where we were, since we were a bit short on time. I ended up leaving disappointed in the buffet and myself (you'll see why as you read along). While we were moseying along the buffet, I noticed a rather obese woman strewn across the floor with a manager or two around her. Evidently she had fallen off her wheelchair, and it took them a while to get her back up. All I could think about was how she was gonna try to sue...Meanwhile, life went on, as people went about their business picking at this and that at the buffet's offerings.


Pasta fagioli soup.


Shrimp, some fish(salmon and something else I forget, but this was pretty good), some seaweed salad and fried rice. I like to get a little of each thing at first to see what I like, so I can get more later.


Corn chowder. At first, I thought this was bland, but it had a sweet aftertaste to it, and I changed my mind about it and liked it.


Chilled crab legs. This was very salty and wasn't that great. I like my legs hot. Some kind of spring roll, which was pretty good, a lot of cabbage in it. Spicy tuna hand roll, which was decent for a buffet.


Cucumber salad, a vegetable roll, and a California roll. Meh.

You may be asking, why the hell are you getting Asian stuff at the buffet? As I said, I was working through each station...prime rib was next. They had an omlette station as well.

But unfortunately, this is where I stopped. I lost my appetite halfway through it all and just didn't want to eat anymore. Yeah, I didn't get my money's worth and left quite sad.
All in all though, a fun time with family...

Next time, places to go to: MGM blackjack tables (I've always been treated well there), Lotus of Siam, Mesa(Bobby Flay's restaurant) and Green Valley Buffet.

San Diego Part I: Thumpity Thump Thump...

Heyo.
I am back from my short trip to SD. It was great seeing everyone again, especially those who I had not seen since I had graduated. Being able to come down after such a long time made me realize how much I missed San Diego...Anyhow, enough on the nostalgia and onto what I had for lunch.
I met with some friends at Madras Cafe in the Indian Plaza off Black Mountain Road and Miramar for their buffet lunch, which was around 8 or 9 bucks. The place serves southern Indian food and is vegetarian. I don't remember exactly how many different items there were, but it was around 10-15.


All their ware is stainless steel from the trays to the cups. There is a pitcher of water on each table, which is a good thing for people like me who drink a lot.


Here's a plate of all the stuff I got. I really need to start taking some notes; I can't remember much but will try my best. From the top left corner and going clockwise, a spinach dish, okra (which had a spicy kick to it), cauliflower, carrots, and potatoes that was cooked with coconut, two types of rice, pickled lemon(i think), pakoras, and a salad with yogurt on it. I don't really know much of the names or what was in it. On the top three dishes, I did see some kind of seed that tasted like licorice. One friend remarked that none of the ingredients seemed very fresh.


There were also two kinds of soup available, and although I had both, I only took a picture of this one. It was sour tasting and had tomatoes in it.


Shortly after we had gotten our food, a waiter came out and gave us each an idli, which is a steamed cake made from fermented black lentils and rice. I enjoyed this and wish I could have had another.


We were also given a masala dosa, which was a crepe made from rice and lentils and was filled with potatoes. To the right was some kind of puffy thing. I've tried to look it up, and I think it might be puri. My puff was the only one that came out deflated. Winner! It was a bit oily, and I thought it was okay. There was also something else available that could have been puri, but I didn't take a picture of it. All I know was that on my first bite, it tasted like a shrimp cracker.


There were also two types of dessert available. One was some kind of sweet milk dish, which I thought was a little watered down, while the other was a rice pudding? dessert that was way too sweet.

The service was friendly when we first came in, but disappeared from sight soon after. I know this is a buffet, and it's all about self sevice, but they never took our plates away, and the place wasn't that busy either. Also, memory is a fickle thing, but I thought that the food was better on my previous visits. I've heard that there is some good Southern Indian places in Artesia and will definitely have to try one of those places out to get a more rounded view on what Southern style is all about...

I ate two plates and boy was I full. I definitely regretted eating too much because this stuff did not go down well, and my stomach was killing me later on that night.


9484 Black Mountain Rd
(between Activity Rd & Miramar Rd)
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 695-6229

What was for dinner? A sweet taco truck found through Yelp. Lots of pictures. Comin soon...