Yummy!!

Yesterday (Monday) we woke up to a big thunder storm, so we made a decision to find some indoor exploring for the day. A little retail therapy seemed in order, so we went off to see a big department store, Lotte, where we were told "they have everything!" Well, that was a little hyperbolic. But they do have 12 floors (I think) of high end merchandise from all the chic corners of the world. All the Paris and New York and Italian designers are well represented, as well as many others we were not familiar with. We were all kind of stunned to discover that we would be stretched to buy a handkerchief in a place like that, let alone an outfit! Prices there, unlike in the rest of Seoul, were pretty astronomical. Same was true for the next store we entered, Shinsegae, a Japanese department store, very exclusive and hushed. We felt like a troop of beggars schlepping through there in our ordinary outfits when everyone around us looked like a fashion ad. On the way into the first store, we passed the egg-mcmuffin-maker (above) and were drooling for a taste of his wares. But then we discovered the department store basements! Here were the food courts, grocery stores, and specialty food markets where we happily spent the next several hours exploring, tasting bites of dozens of surprising things, and eventually having a lunch purchased from among all the items on view. Yum!!! For retail therapy, we all failed to purchase anything yesterday. But we all enjoyed the food shopping and the opportunity to see and try so many new things.

In some of the photos I'm about to post, you'll see prices in Korean won. The rough estimate is that 1,000 won equals about 1 US dollar. So if you knock off the last 3 zeros, you get an idea of the equivalent US price of things in these food markets. Ready to drool??

Dumpling stand here....
waffles every which way....

everything on a stick....
not really sure - peppers? meat?
dried persimmons....
rice and noodle bowls...
wild mushrooms.....
mochi buns .....
melons, gift wrapped.....
dried persimmons used as decor......

dried beef (kind of like jerky, with dozens of flavors)....
concord grapes .....
cakes.....
dried fish in bondage....
sashimi or ahi .....
mixed deli, Korean style.....
Later in the afternoon we stumbled out into the bright daylight, and across the street we saw the Tomato Bank! It seemed just right after such a culinary day.