First Day Off

Hi everyone!

Today I had my first day off since I started to work at Shake Shack, NYC. Of course, I got my sleep as it's one of the really precious things to me :P and then some ordinary chores like going to the laundromat and cleaning up the place. Only after I got my reward for the 5 continuous days of work: I got to hang out with whom I hope will be my first Korean friend.

Those of you who already know me, you are aware of my new found passion for Korean culture (a.k.a. k-pop music, k-dramas, Korean food, etc.); so, I had to do something to actually get in contact with Korean people, right? Here's what I did: I posted an ad on craigslist.org looking for Koreans who'd be available from time to time to hang out with me and talk about their culture, mine, and teach me some Korean. I got somewhere around 8 answers (males and females, in their 20s and older, people looking for friends and some for more serious stuff I guess), and the first one to meet me was Katie. 

We went for a free concert of Spirit Family Reunion in Bryant Park (which was pretty fun, the band very energetic, great voices, and the audience got to dance and sing along), and after we had dinner in Korean Town, at Muk Eun Ji Restaurant. I was so excited as it was the first time in a Korean restaurant, and I really wanted to see my food being grilled/boiling in front of me (I love the idea of preparing your own food, all fresh, you know what you eat). So, after bugging Katie and the waitress we settled for Dak Dori Tang, which is Kimchi Chicken Casserole (you can have it only if you want at least 2 orders, and it's $14,99). 

Let the feast begin! We received ice water, and 12 side dishes (3 types of kimchi, spinach, a carrot+egg+cabbage salad, sea weed, and some more things I have no idea what they were, but the flower shape thing was really great). 

And then, we got the big load :P 

It was like 6 pieces of chicken, potatoes, kimchi, and soup- and what a delicious soup it was! It was mildly spicy, had a bit salty taste, the meat was really tender but to my shame I still needed a fork to get the meat off the bones :( I promise though that I'll practice more until those chopsticks will feel like an extension of my fingers :)) Oh, and we each received a small bowl of sticky rice as well.

We got our bellies full and there still was plenty of food on the table. I think those 2 orders are suitable for 3 people actually, so you can even split the bill in 3 and leave full from the restaurant. We even got a dessert
if I can call it like that: a sweet yogurt to drink after we were done with the spicy food. The food was great, I only got an unexpected meeting with the spiciness of the cucumbers and almost choked and I slipped a tear :)) but the service could get better. And what I mean is that when Katie asked to have the remaining of the food in a to go box, we waited a long time until someone remembered about it, and same happened when she asked for a fork for me. I get that it's a crowded place, but please don't forget about the guests who already ordered for the ones who just entered! 

Of course I dropped questions about Korean culture like bombs on poor Katie, who might have been thinking "OMG! she's a weirdo! she's watched too many k-dramas! she dreams too much about k-pop singers!"  :)) but that's who I am right now. And she was the best at keeping up with my enthusiasm. I really appreciate her spending time with a stranger, and her patience, and her being so easygoing. Thank you, Katie!

On the way out, we stopped in front of the restaurant to say bye to Katie's friend who works there, and had one more bite of the delicious pork belly with kimchi.

And right after we said our goodbye, we came back to ask for a picture of today's heroines :)

This was my day. My first hang out in Manhattan this year, with my first Korean friend. 

If you had the patience to read all this, thank you, and I hope you like how my 2012 NYC adventure began. 

Take care!

P.S.: if you know what the other side dishes are, please let us all know. You can click on the pics to see them bigger.