Garak Market, family times, and the park bunny^^*!~

     A truly relaxing Sunday...when this day has been generally understood as the day of rest, I can't recall when I actually had a lazy fun Sunday. Lazy being an issue of semantics really. I allowed myself to sleep in, actually sleep in. Shut off as many stress points as possible and when I woke up I decided to hit up the subway for Garak market. A subway station and destination I've always wanted to explore!!
     The day was hott, and the market essentially empty when I got there. There were several vendors...and as the day went on, more people started wandering.

veggie stands (photo taken by VeganBeats)

I stumbled upon a warehouse FULL of watermelons! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

colorful veggies ^^* (photo taken by VeganBeats)

the roots, sweet potatoes, lotus root, sweet potatoe...(photo taken by VeganBeats)

     After the market, I trucked around my new purchases (man watermelons are HEAVY!) and went over to 송파 and visited my 이모!! Never took time to soak in the walk to her place....look at her entrance!

     We caught up on the past and ate watermelon and then decided to make 호떡(hoedoek) that flat fried pancake filled with cinnamon sugary goodness...no street vendor for me, I got this jam down. I'll get the exact recipe soon...but here's the general process in picture terms!

flour, sweet pumpkin flour, and yeast (photo taken by VeganBeats)

add some warm water (photo taken by VeganBeats)

the filling! cinnamon, ground nuts, sugar (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Make some dumplings and fry up...flatten with that weird spatula in the top right (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Hello 호떡!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     After packaging these up, my 이모 her husband and I went over to Olympic park to enjoy the breeze, drink some coffee and soak in our surrounding. The sun was out, a light breeze filled in from the skies and it was cool. I could smell grass, here people laughing, children playing, and was just chilling when all of sudden!!!

this guy found me!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

  Apparently, this little guy lives in the park...was very calm, super cute, and... well...animals only improve my day!! He looks like someone smeared some liquid liner on him!!

too cute ^^*!~ (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Considering this only covers Saturday.....

RocKorea, getting out of Seoul, the Tatles, and Burlesque! ^NSFW^

     I'm now smack dab in the middle of my long weekend, my three days of...full fledge breathing smiling dancing being weekend. I planned on doing lots of Seoul searching, doing me things...and so far I have been, all while being with loved ones as well.
     This Saturday I had plans to go to RocKorea, a small fesitival in Midan packed full with cover bands. Chris got some free tickets (thanks you!) and we ventured off early afternoon out of Seoul!
I met Chris and Amy over at DosTacos, a place I have yet to try and even this time around, we'll just say my stomach wasn't really feeling for anything besides liquids. >.<# Chris went with the broccoli and refried bean burrito, sans sour cream and cheese and Amy went with the fried veggie burrito, both were colorful, well portioned, and not too pricey, around 8,5000W per rito!

Chris' refried bean broc-rito! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Amy's fried veggie rito! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

How to get to DosTacos in Gangnam

Gangnam station, line 2, get out exit 6 walk straight for about 5-7 minutes, Left before FRISBEE. 

    After nomming (and water guzzling) we ventured off to find a bus to Incheon airport...after much confusion, the right buses passing by us and farting buses, we enjoyed a long nap to the airport where we met with Mipa and others for another bus ride to the festival. 

     About twenty minutes from the airport, and through a lot of construction sites, we arrived at a small, middle-of-nowhere mud pit with a single stage and about thirty tends outlining a rectangle. This was no Bonnaroo! Mipa and I did some tent wandering and found some potential vegan energy stops...but, bringing something with us may have been much smarter. 

the nacho stand was the closest to vegan...photo taken by VeganBeats

독벅이 and 라면 photo taken by VeganBeats

     On the RocKorea site both Mipa and I read about some art tents...we found two, more like one and a half. I'll be honest, I was really hoping for some full fledge festival-like art tents...

cool concept, art tent 1 (photo taken by VeganBeats)

art tent '2' photo taken by VeganBeats

     The first band I recall playing and actually got me moving and singing out loud were the Tatles, a Beates cover band. They were great, adorable, and got the crowd really going. Be it the Beatles, the songs, their energy...I think they got/gave four encores!

the Tatles (Beatles cover band) photo taken by VeganBeats

yea yea I know...bloated and huge, baggy sweatshirts and several gallons of water...leave me alone. 

     The next act, after about thirty minutes of dj mixes was the much anticipated Burlesque show. This was the first one I've ever really seen and man...you're eyes don't leave the stage or sight of these beautiful confident women. 

"~~~> *" photo taken by VeganBeats

O_o# photo taken by VeganBeats

Todde (right) joined in on the fun! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     If anything, this was empowering. Fabulous, sexy, and more than confident women strutting around...hell yea! 

A bit after the Burlesque act, the temperature got the best of me and I decided to venture back Seoul side...

Saturday was a lovely day, thank you crew, Chris, and Mipa ^^*!~

I LOVE my kids ^^*

     I'll be honest, I've been in a bit of an emotional rut for the past couple weeks. Been feeling more down and out than up and adam, been in this head of mine so much and getting out of it is essentially impossible...
     The best analogy I have for really even kissing what's been going on is that inside my head is a massive bowl of spaghetti and all of these insecurities, fears, points of nervousness, doubts, etc, all have a fork jabbed up in there and they are all swirling around, creating such a tangled overwhelming mess of unorganizable thoughts and processes. In that, I've been in hiding just trying to work through the tangles...
     I know this is a vegan blog, but hey it's VeganBeats, what I walk to, think up, and work with....that being children! They are wonderful and I spend most of my time a week with these guys. The young Seouls full of energy, enthusiasm, and just loads of love. Here is a   collection of photos of the wonderfully intelligent kids that bring a smile to my face on a daily basis...and who collectively have kept my head above water for a bit!!

Chris and our wooden block robots (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Wooden block robot making time! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

adorable Dean! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Chris makes me smile everyday...dances, loving hugs, and karate moves!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

brushing teeth!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

photo taken by VeganBeats

Every time I see Alex he greets me with "Let's have FUN!! Good Luck to You!!" (photo taken by VeganBeats)

let's brush our teeth! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Jun!!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

"Teacher, let's make zombie faces!" (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Antonio! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Tony! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

photo taken by VeganBeats

taken by VeganBeats

     This next two pictures are of Sean, a boy that...he melts my heart. He is so sweet and caring and adorable. He is really bright too...

pretending to sleep! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

gorgeous!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     The next pictures are of my seven year olds, I spend a lot of time with them and they are such a blast. Always full of energy, always trying to have a conversation, and full of enthusiasm. There is such much genuine positivity coming from these kids that just being around them I feel bright and smiley. I can be on the most apathetic of moods and, they get me caring again, laughing, dancing...the whole shebang!! I look forward to my classes with these guys!!

Kevin in his Birthday best ^^* (photo taken by VeganBeats)

David, the class heart-throb! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

graceful, sweet, lovely Julia! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Tony! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Kevin again!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

First time Jack has EVER been shy!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

only some of them tried to make expression ridden faces! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Daniel!! and faces! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

At the end of class...I am surrounded! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

Children will never know how much they improve life, my life....my existence!

Thanks kids....for helping me and getting me to smile!

Vegan Love filled weekend(s)^^*!~

     Ugh, it's been a while since I've posted anything, apologies. Life happens right...and my computer has been a teensy bit sick lately. First, it wouldn't take/upload any of my pictures, viruses, slowness, picture issues...it needed a break, I should be patient with it. So I gave my hard working computer a vacation and hopefully it will be a bit more cooperative.
     A lot has been happening and been in the works since last time I wrote. More vegan treats, teaching fun, adventuring, catching up times...general genuine bliss...it's been good.
I've been spending time with a lot of WONDERFUL people, and cannot express my love and feelings of gratefulness enough. I hope you know who you are...^^*~
A while ago, I wandered over to Sean and Kia's place and being the talented baker she is, Kia whipped up a bunch of adorable mini donuts for an ARC bakesale...

rainbow sprinkles *^^* (photo taken by VeganBeats)

chocolate dipped with sugar caps (photo taken by VeganBeats)

While helping decorate the mini cuties, Kia was more than generous and let me use her oven to make some Mediterranean olive walnut and sun-dried tomatoe bread...

yeast free, super simple and delicious! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

     The bread was moist, full of flavor and yeast free! Kia dried the tomatoes herself and...ugh I miss the olive bars back int he states where you could get sun-dried tomatoes by eeek the pound!!
   
     Last Saturday, there was the HBC fest (Hae Bang Chon Fest) where there are loads of live music happening in all sorts of cafes and bars. Along with that there are a lot of artsy stuff being promoted, independent artisits, etc. There are apparently two festivals a year, one in May and one in October. According to their site:
"Local pubs and local artists, have a day of celebration, music, life and art."
I went with Kia and Sean and bumped into all sorts of friends, connections, old coworkers, artists...it was fun!
      Kia and I wandered over to Indigo for a glass of wine and some noms...vegan friendly and yummy!! Scanning the menu there were a decent amount of vegan friendly options, edamame, tortilla salad (omit cheese), side salad, etc. Everything was decently priced too, about 5-10,000W a plate and the staff was more than friendly. We went with the steamed edamame and the hummus plate.

edamame!! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

And the hummus plate was delicious. The hummus was creamy but still kind of nutty, and it was salted just enough. I HATE over-salted hummus, it loses so much when it's over spiced...and the salad that came on the side was served with an amazing balsamic dressing. I was literally scooping the dressing up...uhhh balsamic ^^* Olives are a bit pricey here, so I was surprised to find so many olives with our dish...thankee!

hummus plate! (photo taken by VeganBeats)

How to get to Indigo:
Line 6 Noksapyeong, walk out of exit 2. Walk straight for about 5-7 minutes and when you come to a fork on the road, veer to the left and continue up the hill. Indigo will be on your right side about 200 meters up!!

HBC fest pretty much closed up last weekend and this weekend I spent time with Sean, Kia, and Mipa~ along with some other wonderful people! Sean and Kia had a house warming party FULL of vegan noms that Kia and Sean made and were all delectable. Sadly, my missing camera and technical issues prevented me from even trying to document everything...regret now!
raspberry lemonade (with vodka), basil lemoncello, olive tempanade, babaganoush, roasted herbed potatoes, tofu scramble, vegan sausage, vegan deli meat slices, blueberry coffee cake, blondies, pesto gnocchi....jezum, the vegan love, the stuffed bellies, and my tipsy demeanor...

Another weekend finished, enjoyed, and positively reflected upon!

So Delicious Cafe

YES~ There's still one left, still one calling to vegan and veggies alike...hell anyone that wants DAMN yummy ice-cream. And the BEST (WORST) thing about it is that it's RIGHT between my house and my gym...

     A while back, there were several So Delicious cafes located throughout Seoul but something happened and essentially all of them closed/shut down. This made fixing that sweet creamy craving nearly impossible to fulfill. I accidentally found this place while exploring my neighborhood on the way back from the gym. I passed by a guy trucking a large coffee with "So Delicous" broadly plastered on the cup, I thought to myself about that rather available soy deliciousness back in the states...walked a tad further and with bright lights, and I swear angelic hymns glowing around me, there is was...SO DELICIOUS VEGAN ICE CREAM cafe....I felt sinful, dirty, giddy, excited...everything... squealing loudly in my head I scrambled inside to 'ooh and ahh' at all the safe options~ vanilla, coconut amaretto, green tea, chocolate brownie, chocolate...Pomegranate chip (O_o#) and much more. They even have a bakery (I don't know if it's vegan...and they have meat options here...womp womp) and coffee and even meals. I have to state, not everything is vegan or even vegetarian here. They have sausage bread, cheesy jazz...but I feel like this is so they can get a bigger support group and customer base.
     It's not cheap but, it's well worth it and the hours are more than awesome~7am to 2am. There are tons of drinks to choose from, smoothies, coffees, shakes...etc. I have only gotten the ice cream so I can't promise that the shakes are vegan.
     The wait is a bit long, I think they just started but they're all very kind. I want this place to do well because it's the only one left, it's VEGAN ICE-CREAM, and it's got to be a tough market.

Support this place and get yourself some vegan ice-cream...

How to get there:
It's in between Nambu Bus Terminal (line 3) and Seoul University of Education station (line 3 and 2)
From Nambu Bus Terminal:
Get out at exit 6 and turn around, Lotteria will be on your Right side. Take a right and walk straight for a bit (KFC will be on your right) tak eyour first Right turn. Walk straight for about 3-5 minutes and it's on your Left!!

From Seoul University of Education Station:
Get out at exit 14, walk straight for about 6 minutes (maybe 8) until you get to a four-way intersection, Mr.Pizza should be on your right, cross the street and take a right, then your first left. Walk straight for about 3 minutes and it will be on your Right.

this is the address if you want to map it first!!
서울 서초구 서초동 1594-3 1층

ughhh please Enjoi!! *^^*