So, I have been really super busy, but I have made time to stop at the HMart in Houston and pick up some things. First, let me say that that is the most awesome grocery store ever. I mean... really EVER. They have a cool section in the front like a mini-mall. I picked up some really nice headbands there. The one on the right, I wore to a wedding. It was a nice accessory and added some nice sparkle to the dress.
I also had a nice dinner in their food court, which has really good Korean food despite it being "food court" style. I had bibimbap and it was delicious! It came in a hot stone bowl, and came with soup and kimchi. So far, I've had it twice there. It is absolutely repeat visit kind of good.
Anywho, while I was there (I've been twice so far so this covers all of those visits) I picked up a few things to try. Check 'em out:
Okay, these chestnuts were just terrible. Perhaps they were bad, or perhaps it's something you either have to get used to or have to grow up with to like. Either way... they were bad. They tasted more like vienna sausages - which doesn't really fit in with the sweet part of the description on the bag. Don't worry all you Chestnut fans - I haven't given up on them forever. I will try them again when I can get some fresh roasted ones... some that don't come in a foil pouch. I will see if I like them better then. I hope so, because I was rather looking forward to liking them.
Oh, lovely lovely kimchi. This stuff is really tasty. From what I have heard, it isn't quite as spicy as it could be, but I am okay with that. I can add more spice if I want. I got some gochujang and red pepper powder, so there is plenty of spice to be had. Let me also say, I haven't had any kimchi that I didn't like. I did, however, find some in my local (non-Korean) market today and it sort of scared me. It looked really really bland, was full of water in the glass jar it came in, and had no color. It didn't look good at all. I thought about buying it just to try it, but decided to stick with what I already knew was good.
This wasn't something surprising, but I like Pepero. I already knew I liked Pocky, so this one was pretty much a given. I really wanted to get the one that was all fancy and had almonds or peanuts or some kind of nuts crushed into the chocolate but it came in a box the size of my head, so I passed on that this time. My birthday is coming up though, so I might buy it then. :p
And lastly I have some rice cakes. These were Strawberry and Blueberry flavored bean paste filled. Really it might sound weird if you don't already know what it is, but these things were DELICIOUS. It was just really too bad that one little thing was something like 400 calories. I ate 4 of them on my 6 hour drive from Houston to New Orleans, realized how many calories each had, and decided to ration out the rest. Additionally, I should note that these aren't Korean. They are actually wrapped up in a pink and purple Japanese package. That didn't matter. They were good, so I will have them again. There were a lot of other little rice cakes, some of them looked like regular flour cakes too, but most of them looked too messy to be eating while driving so I passed on them. I might get them another time or the next time I have an extended stay there in Houston.
Well, that's part of my haul I guess. I did get some other things that aren't included like ddeokbokki, the before mentioned gochujang paste and powder, and some fish cakes, but I will talk about those things later when I discuss making ddeokbokki for the first time in a later post. I also will weigh in on a kimchi stew meal I plan to make later in the week - but my family doesn't like the smell of kimchi so I sort of have to sneak it in when they are asleep or something. Bummer.
Yup, that's it for now. Let me know what you like to buy at the market and what you like to cook. If you have any cool recipes, let me know. I would like to learn to make more things.
