It’s always like Christmas getting one of these packages. I know what’s in them, but I love opening them. This package included:

• I’ve been hearing so much about Food for Lovers Queso. I didn’t get to try it before I left the states. My mom can’t ship me Daiya, but she can ship this stuff. I will let you all know what I think once I’ve heated it up and tried it with some chips or on a baked potato. According to their site, they are now shipping worldwide via other outlets. I hope this can become a “thing” vegan queso. You ♥ me.
• Bac’Uns vegetarian bacon bits to top baked potatoes and salads.
•  It’s just too hard to find all the ingredients to make pancake mix in Korea. Bob’s Red Mill Pancake & Waffle Mix will do the trick.
• Now that I have an oven, I can make southern baked tofu and cornbread with Bob’s Red Mill Corn Meal!!
• If it’s available, I’ll always opt for the slow popping stuff, but sometimes I just need convenience. Bearitos Microwave Popcorn is a wonderful alternative.
• Nutritional Yeast so I can keep up my B12. Ever since I started using the nutritional yeast regularly a few months ago, I’ve noticed a difference in my premenstrual moods. Maybe it’s mental, but I needed something.
• I just love Fantastic Tofu Scramble mix. I’m good with using tumeric only, but there’s something about this seasoning mix that I love.
• Last, but not least, AFAR, my favorite travel magazine. After I post this, I’m going to sit back at the cafe, sip my tea and enjoy this issue. I haven’t read an AFAR in more than a year. The website is fantastic too as is the affiliate foundation, Learning AFAR, an organization that brings travel opportunities to low income students from cities throughout the US. I dream of a vegan travel magazine like AFAR.

Upon seeing the package, one of my friends wrote “Somebody is well loved – moms are the BEST!” I completely agree. ♥♥♥

I arrived in Seoul just about noon. I’d been drooling over the waffle on the train, so it was where I was headed. Katie had written that morning to inform me that she wouldn’t make it to the waffle brunch. I was disappointed, but determined to enjoy it solo. Loving Huts are infamous for being closed at the oddest times (usually when I’m craving Loving Hut food the most), so I decided to call ahead. No one picked up either phone number listed on the Loving Hut web site. I was two stops away and wondering if I should gamble and go there anyway or search Happy Cow for another restaurant. I was one stop away from Gangnam, an area I know has some vegan eateries. I checked Happy Cow and scanned the listings for something in the Gangnam area. Garobee was listed. I quickly called; a woman answered and confirmed they were open. Now, I had to decide if I should take my chances and go for the waffle or get off and go to Garobee. I chose Garobee and it was a decision that came with many delightful coincidences.

I entered and scanned the dining hall. I immediately noticed a friendly Australian I’d met three days earlier at a Loving Hut Haeundae. We’d had a lengthy conversation about the death of Whitney Houston. I approached them, and the girlfriend looked up first. I said “Hi, you don’t know me.” Then Robbie looked up, and it was like old friends reuniting. We explained to Courtney how we’d met. I told her how Robbie had told me all about the play she was in, Twelve Singing Animals. I told them of how I was headed to Loving Hut Thien Dang, but no one would answer the phone. They assured me she was open, and that those phone numbers are wrong. Of course I asked for a photo because that was just such a wonderful addition to my unplanned visit to Garobee.

Once I settled down, I began taking pictures. I was seated next to another solo diner. It would have been strange not to speak, so I dove right in. Her name was Trudy, and we talked about everything from traveling to making friends in Korea to marriage to what’s next in our lives. We discussed veganism at length, and I shared with her how I’d just informed an uninformed friend of how horrible dairy is. “Dairy is the Devil” I said among other things.

Trudy and I were hitting it off, so I thought she might like to join Katie and me at Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. I told her that I was meeting up with my friend Katie. I explained that Katie was the reason I was in Seoul; that she was leaving soon to go to graduate school back in Alaska, and she’s a Korean-American adoptee searching for her birth mother. “I know Katie,” Trudy said. “She’s a runner?” “Yes.” Wow! was all I could think.

After Garobee we headed to the museum. Of course we weren’t allowed to take photos, but after strolling through each of the four stories of the two zones, the very last exhibit I saw was Jenny Holzer‘s Survival Series which projects a rotation of aphorisms. The one on display at the moment I walked by was incredibly fitting and a nice button on the end of the day: “SPIT ALL OVER SOMEONE WITH A MOUTHFUL OF MILK IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR PERSONALITY FAST.” I had to defy the guard’s many requests that I not take a picture and get the picture. I offered profuse apologies. There just was no way I was walking out of there without it. Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of Ms. Holzer‘s now.

We decided we wanted waffles and got on the train to Namseong. I privately prayed it was open. There’s nothing quite like dragging myself around Seoul only to discover my destination is closed; it’s even worse when I’m dragging others along. But it was open. Alas, we had waffle.

We finished the night at the excellent Siloam Spa near Seoul Station. The best part of that night was when the three of us were finally settling in to sleep. One of the many sleep rooms was really quiet when suddenly we heard a short bit of lady moaning coming from one of the older gentlemen’s smart phones while his wife lie asleep next to him. All three of our heads looked over at him and he quickly muted whatever he was watching. The three of us just lowered our heads and did the quiet, gut-busting laughter. It was hilarious.

Female bonding over a “hip treatment.”

Christine of Grrrl Traveler did a great job of summing up my sentiments in her review, Luxury at Seoul’s Dragon Hill… hip or hype?. There are many wonderful photos too. If your heart is set on it, you should definitely go to Dragon Hill, but it seems more like a place for teeny boppers than those wishing to escape the madness for a bit.

My mom and I discovered this meatless jerky at El Cerrito Natural Grocery Store back when I was home in January 2011. We couldn’t get enough of this treat. Seeing it on the shelves was such a tasty surprise that reminded me of home and my mom.

Primal Spirit Foods Jerky comes in six flavors: Thai Peanut, Texas BBQ, Mesquite Lime, Teriyaki (my favorite), Hot & Spicy and Hickory Smoked.

• NON-GMOs
• ALL NATURAL
• VEGAN / KOSHER
• NO CHOLESTEROL
• NO PRESERVATIVES
• NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS
• HIGH ENERGY – HIGH PROTEIN
• SOY, SEITAN & SHIITAKE MUSHROOM

Visit the Primal Spirit Foods web site for a retailer in your neighborhood. Enjoy!

On February 14th, eight (8) winners will be randomly chosen using woobox.com. The Grand Prize is a 6-month supply of chocolate. The seven additional prizes are a 1-month supply of chocolate. For full terms, click here.

Go get your chocolate! Good luck!

In Korea, there’s something about suffering through 20-degree days that makes 45-degree days feel like I’m paradise.

If you’re single like me, consider treating yourself to something or getting something for another single in your life.

Big Vegan Hugs & Kisses!

How do you prepare for excursions? I research on the web to find vegan restaurants, vegan bakeries, vegan markets and vegan ice cream at my destination. I also research the region’s attractions, including the wildlife and eco-tourism. Finally, I sometimes take a 10-week language course if I am not familiar with my destination-country’s language. It helps with bargaining in the markets, as locals respect visitors who attempt to speak their language.

Perito Moreno Glacier, Patagonia, Argentina

You do a lot of solo traveling. Why does solo travel work for you? Though it would be great to have someone to share exciting experiences with, there are indeed benefits to solo travel. For one, I get to meet other travelers from many countries and many locals who may even invite me to visit their families or to dine with them. I get an inside look at the culture.

Second, I get to see everything on my itinerary at my pace. I am a very detailed planner who loves to cram in many, many activities on a vacation (often at an accelerated pace), even if its just a long weekend. I keep an hour by hour list of what to do, which landmarks to see, which museums to visit, which tours to take, and where to dine! I am REALLY good at sticking to it!

Tell us an interesting encounter you’ve had on the road. In South Africa, I embarked on a 3-day, private tour along the east coast “Garden Route”. Everywhere along the highway, there were families of baboons with babies, posing for photos it seemed!! They appeared to be vegan themselves, as I noticed them biting on something which resembled an apple. Just a couple of days earlier, I had visited the penguin colony at Boulder’s Beach. As I started taking some photos, the penguins all lifted their heads up and opened their jaws simultaneously. In the photos, it appeared as though they were singing or communicating with each other!

Boulder’s Beach

Tell us about how you became vegan. I became vegetarian at the age of eight when my 3rd grade teacher told us unpleasant animal stories. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks that animals are killed for food but do not need to be! I became vegan about ten years ago when my local vegetarian society had a film presentation which revealed to me that dairy cattle are killed after milk production ceases. I could not bear the thought of contributing, even indirectly, to this. My appreciation of life, both human and non-human, keeps me vegan. Sentient beings deserve a life of non-suffering and a life as long and as natural as human beings.

The menu was excellent though I could have used a little more of everything because it was very good and very different from the vegetable stir frys and bibimbap I’m used to eating everyday in Daegu. At 40,000 won it was a bit pricey, but the ambiance, company and specialized, pretty dishes made it all worth it. It was nice to spend the day with other veggies too.

It was the first day I used my camera extensively, so I was experimenting with lighting and settings. Here’s how the pics turned out.

Seoul Veggie Crowd

1st course: Amuse Bouche

2nd Course: Tomato Salad with lemon sorbet, lemon tea & organic blueberry

3rd Course: Cauliflower Arugula Puree with tomato tartar

4th Course: Ratatouille, mushroom, rice ball, mushroom puree, black rice risotto

Mirrors on the Ceiling

5th Course: Sweet pumpkin tart with black bean soya walnut ice cream

6th course: Coconut

The Chef with Seoul Veggie Club host, Jeyong Jung

C U L I N A R I A

My lunch companions, Rasheeda & Tiffany

Getting there:

I consider this place impossible to find without someone from the restaurant giving you directions. Please call ahead for detailed directions.

Culinaria 12538
Gangnam-gu, Sinsa-dong 651-9 2F, Seoul/서울특별시 강남구 신사동 651-9 2F
02.515.0895