I ordered a bowl of short rib bibimbap and mixed in some rice, gochujang, and enjoyed my breakfast with side of seaweed soup and kimchi. The short rib was super rich, but the gochujang’s sweet pepper flavor cut right through and woke me up.

Among the many qualities that makes Incheon one of my favorite airports is that it houses a section dedicated to Seoul transit tours. We walked to the tour kiosks, signed up for a day-long tour, and ten minutes later, we were on a small minivan en route to the city center. Our friendly guide, Dambi, explained that since Seoul had just experienced its worst flooding in decades in the previous week, many roads were still closed. The rainy ride to Changdeok Palace took just under an hour.

Built by the Joseon Dynasty in the fourteenth century, Changdeok Palace sits within huge park grounds the palace’s living quarters, pavilions, gates, gardens, and the king’s private residence. Much of the palace was destroyed during the Japanese occupation of Korea, and today, only thirty percent of the palace structures remain.

We spent most of our afternoon at the palace before heading over to Jogyesa Temple, the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The temple was filled with folks quietly observing their prayers, so we were soon on our way to our next stop: lunch!

Seoul’s hip Insadong neighborhood is filled to the brim with not only fashion and art boutiques, but snack shops and restaurants too. Internet, I was beside myself. So! Much! Korean! Food! I could hardly contain my excitement as we walked into a traditional, mahogany-lined restaurant.

We nibbled on our banchan while we waited for our main dishes to arrive. Sauteed mushrooms, mung bean pancakes, pickled greens, daikon raidish, seasoned mung beans and cabbage kimchi kept me sated until my bulgogi stew arrived.

I’ve never seen this dish in Korean restaurants in the Bay Area. I think of grilled meat when I hear “bulgogi,” but this bulgogi a stew, and a deliciously flavored one at that. The thinly sliced meat was super tender, and sat atop a bed of glass noodles. The broth was light but meaty — a perfect balance.

We finished our meal off with a cold plum juice digestif before we went off to explore Insadong.

We soon headed to Ssamziegil, an artist-designed shopping center showcasing handicrafts, galleries, clothing boutiques, and snack shops. I only wish we had more time here, and after two hours, we’d only scratched the surface. I bought a pair of clear glass earrings and a silver ring before calling it a day. Our ride back to the airport was waiting for us, and we had a flight to catch.

At Incheon, we quickly passed through customs and spent the rest of our time checking out the seaweed, tea, and kimchi-packed duty-free shops. So much good food, so little time. I missed Vietnam already, but I felt that with South Korea, I’d only caught a lightning-quick glimpse. Until I return, I’d like to recreate the dishes I tried in Seoul at home. Do you have any tried and true Korean cookbook recommendations? Drop me a line.

Airplane food is rarely memorable, but I could hardly contain my excitement as I was served my in-flight meal of bibimbap on Korean Air, complete with a travel-sized tube of gochujang!

Twelve hours later, we landed in Incheon, right outside of Seoul. Determined to make the most of our short layover in what is the most incredible airport I’ve ever visited (sorry, Narita), we went straight for the restaurants.

Even airport food is top-notch in Korea, my sister and I soon learned at Bob & T cafe. I had a bowl of chewy noodles with skewered fish cakes, while Melody had a bowl of what can best be described as scalding hot pepper lava with beef and noodles. I love fish cakes, and the light, savory broth was just what I needed after a tiring flight.

We soon checked in to our connecting flight to Hanoi, and from there, took a late night taxi to our hotel in the Old Quarter. The next morning, we headed straight to Hoan Kiem Lake after quick breakfast of pho and coffee.

Ngoc Son Temple, or Temple of the Jade Mountain, sits on Jade Island in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. We spent our morning walking around the 18th-century temple, exploring the bridge and pavillion, and generally trying to avoid heatstroke from the sweltering sun.

Soon it was lunchtime and we headed back to the Old Quarter in search of something to eat. We spotted an old couple grilling meat on the sidewalk, and unable to resist the smell, we sat down for lunch. “I’ll have two bowls of what they’re having” transcends all language barriers, and ten minutes later, Melody and I were crouched on the sidewalk, happily munching on shalloty, charcoaly, herby, bun cha.

We spent the rest of the afternoon poking in and out of shops along the Old Quarter, and it was only a matter of time before we were hungry again. We stopped at Tamarind Cafe, a restaurant popular with expats, for a quick snack.

What’s more refreshing than mangoes with sticky rice? We washed it down with glasses of tamarind juice and nibbled at another plate of fruit before heading back to our hotel for a quick rest. At night, we walked over to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater to check out this art form unique to northern Vietnam.

The show was performed in a waist-deep pool, with puppeteers using rods to support the puppets under the water. An orchestra and singers sang the folkloric story being acted out by the puppets, to a packed house.

After the show, we headed back to our hotel for an early night’s rest. We had to be up early the next morning for our trip to Halong Bay, and hopefully, more delicious things to discover.

The calamari is prepared very simply, so if you can’t find lemon-pepper pasta, I suggest you substitute it with an equally flavorful pasta to give the meal a kick of herbs or spices. Anything citrusy is ideal, although spinach or garlic-flavored pasta would be a good match too.

Ingredients:
1 package lemon-pepper linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound calamari, sliced
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest, divided

1. Heat oil in a skillet and saute garlic over medium heat, 2 minutes. Season calamari with 1/4 teaspoon salt, increase heat to high and add to skillet. Continue cooking 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest.

3. Meanwhile, cook linguine in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente; drain and return to pot. Add calamari mixture to linguine and toss. Transfer to serving platter and serve.

But I’ve caved in. I’m a breakfast person now. I like eggs and turkey bacon; I devour sausages and hashbrowns. And that’s why I’ve become a repeat visitor to St. Francis Fountain, San Francisco’s old school diner-slash-candy store in the Mission District. Expect a wait, but it’ll be an entertaining wait as the place is always packed with the most hipstery of hipsters.

The chef’s mess (scrambled eggs with bacon, peppers, cheese, sour cream and salsa) is a popular favorite, but I often get the huevos rancheros.

The eggs are cooked just right and the salsa is fresh-tasting and spicy. During my last visit, I was feeling extra hungry and ordered the biscuits with sausage gravy, which also comes with two eggs.

The potatoes were perfectly crispy and the sausage gravy was delicious, but the biscuit was huge. Too huge. It felt like a rich mass of dough covered in a rich mass of sauce. Which is what it’s supposed to be, I guess, but in this case it was just too much. I think I was expecting a flakier, less intense biscuit.

Overall, St. Francis Fountain is a solid place to go to for breakfast or brunch. You can’t really go wrong on the menu, but some items certainly stand out more than others. The service is cheerful, the crowd is fun and I love the neighborhood.

i spent the better part of yesterday making an array of japanese stocks, learning that bonito, iriko, and konbu are indispensable tools for success. the results were well worth it:

miso soup with enoki mushrooms

rice with vegetables and chikuwa

moon-viewing noodles in broth

soy-braised sun-dried daikon

konbu and shiitake relish

tuna bagnat (okay, so this one isn’t japanese.)