Rachel's YESON Squee!

[Rachelicious]

Indeed. Same time of year as my SRS revision, too. Ah what the holidays are for.

[Rachelicious]

Update - I'm booked, flight, hotel everything! Only about a month to go, as well

I"M SO EXCITED!!

[Delsorou]

This deserves the highest of fives. 

[Rachelicious]

Can I ask questions related to my stay in Seoul here and expect those with a knowledgeable answer to read, or do I go to one of the 60+ page threads where everyone and her mother is tagged? (Rhetorical question.)

I'll be in Seoul in a few weeks!!! Super psyched.

Currently I'm looking at food - where to eat, if there's anything like an organic grocery where I can get a few fresh things like bread or fruit while I'm there, etc. I tend to eat out less and I already have an aversion to garlicky/ spicy / oniony / fatty foods so that should (theoretically!) be easy to accommodate

[barbie]

I tend to eat out less and I already have an aversion to garlicky/ spicy / oniony / fatty foods so that should (theoretically!) be easy to accommodate

I am sure garlic and onion are ubiquitous in Korean restaurants, including KFC and McDonald's'.

You can purchase organic vegetables/fruits in any nearby store, or even in a convenient store (GS25, Seven eleven, and Family mart).

barbie~~

[barbie]

bread

My kids eat bread every morning, and we purchase it in a nearby bakery. Bakery business is very competitive in Korea, and I am sure you will find one within walking distance. I seldom eat bread (occasionally with wine).

barbie~~

[Rachelicious]

I am sure garlic and onion are ubiquitous in Korean restaurants, including KFC and McDonald's'.

You can purchase organic vegetables/fruits in any nearby store, or even in a convenient store (GS25, Seven eleven, and Family mart).

barbie~~

Oh wow, Seoul has that kind of stuff in such conventional stores? I'm impressed. It's more a specialty in the US, something one would be surprised to find at a convenience store.

I plan to bring a couple of my favorite foods in the suitcase (granola, chips). It's dry, sealed stuff easy to travel with, mighty tasty & healthy too. From what you say, it may help me be less disoriented by a totally different cuisine from my usual fare. Though by all means I plan to have Korean foods that will be reasonable for me.

So a bakery is on my list! I'm so glad to hear the bakery scene is competitive haha that is good for me If I can find some good sorbet and/or yogurt beyond that, I'll be pretty set. And since I'll be in Gangnam Artnouveau, I can easily improvise to cook rice or something, too.

Thanks for replying! You're like exactly who I was hoping would

[barbie]

I plan to bring a couple of my favorite foods in the suitcase (granola, chips). It's dry, sealed stuff easy to travel with, mighty tasty & healthy too. From what you say, it may help me be less disoriented by a totally different cuisine from my usual fare. Though by all means I plan to have Korean foods that will be reasonable for me.

So a bakery is on my list! I'm so glad to hear the bakery scene is competitive haha that is good for me If I can find some good sorbet and/or yogurt beyond that, I'll be pretty set. And since I'll be in Gangnam Artnouveau, I can easily improvise to cook rice or something, too.

You can buy granola and chips in a nearby convenient store, which opens 24 hour, 7 days. There is several Starbucks stores, one is just next to the Artnouveau hotel. There are several bakery shops within walking distance. You can purchase juice, tea, yogurt, coffee, and ice cream in any bakery shop. Seoul is a far more convenient city to live (I just hate the poor air quality there). In Seoul, you can get everything the human species produce  .

barbie~~

[anjaq]

Hehe, I can imagine Seoul is very convenient. It sounds a bit like European cities with all the transportation and stores , but with things open 24/7 and not 8 to 8 as here in Germany.
Really, buying organic fruit and veggies and sugar and milk and all that is a speciality in the US? Her eeven the cheap discounter stores have at least some "organic".

But is it worth it to cook yourself when in the city? If takeout or restaurants are not so expensive, it may be more fun to just go there and use the time saved from cooking to look around the city?
But then again - cooking is fun and you are sure to avoid weird food or spicy stuff. And you can relax after a day touring around. So yeah - having a room with a kitchen seems nice

Do you sometimes need those air filter masks I have seen common in parts of Asia?

[Rachelicious]

Do you sometimes need those air filter masks I have seen common in parts of Asia?

I've been considering some kind of face covering - even if not for sanitation (I understand it's rather minimal protection if you yourself want protected) then just to keep warm when outside.

[Rachelicious]

Really, buying organic fruit and veggies and sugar and milk and all that is a speciality in the US? Her eeven the cheap discounter stores have at least some "organic".

The US has a few tiers of grocery stores. The best are places like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's where nothing is artificial or GMO. These days many chain grocers like Safeway have organics too (most common: organic milk) but it's often hit or miss what brands or products they'll have, and much/most of their inventory is still conventional. Convenience stores in better areas might have 'some' organic foods (ex. Naked juices) but here they're overall the poster child for everything that's processed & bad for you.

...so it definitely sounds like other countries are leagues ahead of the US in this area!

[ImagineKate]

All of the supermarkets here in NJ (A&P, ShopRite, Weis, Stop&Shop etc) have an organic section and they pretty much mirror the conventional produce section.

They have a lot of the organic juices and milk too. The price is higher though.