Cuban Cigars

Normally I am not a smoker. I actually hate being exposed to second hand cigarette smoke. I find it to be one of those annoying things one should not have to put up with. But, a few years ago I picked up the habit of indulging in a Cuban cigar, or six during the summer months. Summer because I can be outdoors with it and not have the smoke kill me, or anyone else, inside of an enclosed room. Summer because it is very relaxing to be outdoors with a gentle breeze blowing and a nice rich cigar slowly burning. I also find that most cigarette smokers seem to loath the smell of cigars. So, in a way, I look at this as getting back at those who have annoyed me with their cigarette smoke.

Whatever rationalization I may want to use, it does not matter. I enjoy my cigars. For those who know anything about cigars, Cuban cigars are the world's best. They have a rich, smooth, mellow taste to them that no other country's cigars can match. They are also the most chemical free and most naturally hand-made cigars in the world owing to the simple fact that the country is so poor and backwards technologically that modern methods are not used at all. Being one of the few remaining communist countries left in the world, they are also closed off to most big corporations and their methods. Good thing. Rest assured that a Cuban cigar is the least likely thing to kill you if enjoyed in moderation. I may have at most 4-6 of them in one year during the summer months.

As for the best brands, Cohiba is the most famous. Some of the others include Punch, Trinidad, Partagas, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrrey, etc. But, my favorite is H. Upmann. H. Upmann is not that easy to find outside of Cuba. Most people know the names Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo and that's simply because they have never been to Cuba to know that there are a few dozen well known brands being made all with a character their own. I've been to Cuba 3 times in my life and have tried a number of different brands.

Ironically, Cuban cigars are all price fixed no matter where you buy them in the world. They are expensive even in Cuba. Consequently, fake cigars abound and there are entire websites devoted to rooting them out. If someone in Cuba offers you cut rate cigars because their brother/sister/cousin/uncle/mother/father/aunt/uncle works in the factory, just walk away. The real deal costs big bucks no matter where you buy them. The only authorized exporter of authentic Cuban cigars is Habanos S.A. All cigar dealers must get their stock from Habanos for authentic Cuban cigars. All others are fake. I would advise you to learn how to spot fake Cubans before venturing out in this endeavor if you are unsure as to the authenticity of your dealer's stock.

Anyways, here in Korea, there are two Habanos authorized Cuban cigar dealers and they are Maska's Cigars at the J.W. Marriott Hotel at Express Bus Terminal subway station in Seoul and Pierre Ltd. at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul. As I went to Maksa's, I know where it is located. I Don't know where Pierre's is located, but I'm sure you can find it on-line.

Maska's is a short walk from the subway station. The Marriott is located right behind Shinsegae department store as you exit the subway. Depending on where you exit, just look for either one. If you see Shinsegae, then the Marriott is behind it blocked from view. If you exit at a further exit, you cannot miss the Marriott as it is a looming tower in the sky. Maska's is just to the left as you walk towards the reception desk. It is smaller than I anticipated and the selection is limited to mostly the Cohiba brand. But, a fairly good selection of Cohiba is to be found. I bought 4 Cohiba Siglo II's (see pix). I liked the Siglo I's when I tried them a few years ago and the Siglo II's are a more mellow version of the Siglo I's. I'm waiting for a nice day on the weekend to try them.

Additionally, I also like vanilla flavored mini-cigars. If you know of North American brands like Colts and Captain Black Sweets, then you get an inkling of what I am talking about. But, they are just horrid compared to Dominican Republic (DR) brands of vanilla flavored cigars. Brands from the DR being the best of this cigar type that I have personally tried. Still, they do not hold a candle to a true full-size Cuban cigar. But, sometimes there is just no time to enjoy a full-size Cuban. Unfortunately, the vanilla flavored cigars become quite harsh and bitter at about the halfway point, so this is another one of those times when size does matter!

Cost: Cohiba Siglo II at Maska's - W26,000 each; Havana Honeys at Maska's - W3000 each.

Update (July 5, 2010):

As one ages, one's taste in things also changes over time. This goes for everything from food, to drinks, to music, to movies, to hobbies, etc. Perhaps this is just how one evolves, or perhaps we just become more discriminating. I dunno. But, what I do know is that my enjoyment of cigars has waned over the past few years. And, I think this summer is my last summer of cigars. They no longer taste as good to me as they once did. Time to say good-bye to them me thinks. So, good-bye. It was nice while it lasted.

Vietnamese Food in Gangnam

I went to Gangnam on saturday to look for an authentic Japanese food restaurant that I had read about in one of the food blogs that I follow. The directions seemed fairly straight forward, but the place was no where to be found once I go there. Perhaps the place had closed by now, or the directions were incorrect. I dunno. I spent about an hour looking and asked several people if they knew of it to no avail. I even had the address and phone number with me. But, for me to call, would have been a non sequitur; I neither speak enough Korean to know how to describe where I currently am in relation to any directions I might have been given in return. Duh! I'll have to go with a Korean friend next time.

As I had seen some other Japanese restaurants while searching, I decided to go to one of those instead. On the way back, I spotted a Vietnamese restaurant. A closer look at the menu posted outside showed photos of the food that looked to be very, very, authentic. The pricing, especially for Gangnam, seemed very reasonable, too. I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. It was good and a lot lot closer for me than the other Vietnamese restaurant I went to in Ansan a few months ago.

That Vietnamese restaurant in Ansan made 99% authentic Vietnamese cuisine. You can see a previous blog posting of mine reviewing it at the bottom of this page, or one page back. I even tried to go back to it again, but got lost on the subway system that ended up costing me about 7 hours going around and around in circles until I ended up back at my starting point again. Friends I had arranged to meet there had left a long time ago. Don't ever confuse "Ansan" subway station with "Asan" subway station. The first time I went there I was driven there by a friend.

Anyways, back to the main point of this post. This new place, PhoMein, made excellent food. I ordered the "Pho", which is the standard Vietnamese beef noodle soup, and the signature piece of Vietnamese restaurants. This signature piece has to be good, otherwise the restaurant would not be considered any good by its Vietnamese patrons. Much like "Har Gow" is to Chinese Dim Sum restaurants, this signature piece has to be good. And, good it was. The broth was a deep color and very authentic in taste and consistency. The rice noodles were the thin noodles, which are my personal favorite type for this soup, and the protein bits (beef sirloin, beef flank, beef tendon) were all good. Although, missing bits included cilantro, lemon grass, and basil for the toppings and tripe and beef balls for the protein bits. They were also a bit skimpy on the lemon (should be lime, though, for real authenticity). I could have asked for more, but didn't bother. All in all, the missing ingredients did not really detract from the overall taste, or experience of the soup itself. The main taste was still present. And, the Hoisen Sauce was the real deal, too. A well known brand with the proper taste I have come to expect of it. That made up for the missing ingredients.

I would have to say this meal saved the day. I will go back again to try out some of their other dishes, but I would have to say that they are probably going to be just as good judging from their food photos and the soup I tried. The staff is very friendly and the atmosphere is of a contemporary diner with modern furnishings. Nice and clean. Bright and relaxing. Bilingual menu in both Korean and English. About 95% authentic in taste.

Highly Recommended

Location: Gangnam subway station, exit #7. This puts you on the main drag. Walk straight and make a right turn at the first, or second, driveway/alley way that leads to the back streets where all the restaurants are. If you walked passed the Canon camera store already by this time, better take that upcoming alley. Make a left at the restaurant street and the place will be on your left very shortly thereafter. Address and stuff on business card above.

Cost: Averages about W10,000 to W15,000 for most basic dishes.

NOOO!!! Crystal Bowersox LOST!??

No, it can't be, it can't be! This must be some sort of curse or something...

WHY IS IT THAT MY FAVORITE IDOL ALWAYS END UP SECOND!!??

*sniff* Crystal..... WHY!? You were soo awesome! How could you lose!!??

Its always like this every year. Last year was REEAALLLY disappointing. Adam Lambert had the Oomph! He had the voice, the style, everything but a straight dick.

So what if he's gay? I don't give a damn even if he wears a dress for all I care... ok, maybe a bit.... BUT STILL!

Yeah, I'm surprised that you won too, Lee.

And this year is ol' Simon Cowell's last year on idol. More disappointment... he's one of the reasons why I watch this show. His comments are harsh, but honest and straight to the point.

I'm gonna miss that bastard...

Its official, American Idol is gonna be absolute crap.

A "Chinese Restaurant"

I went to a Chinese restaurant today after work with a fellow teacher friend from my school. It was surprisingly good! I would estimate that it is about 85% close to American style Chinese food overall. But, with more of a "home cooked" style of preparation and taste than a true authentic restaurant taste.

We ordered a few very simple items as the servings are quite large and there were only two of us. I was a bit unsure as to the amount of food we would actually get. My friend has been there before of course and I deferred to his recommendation. As it turns out, the servings are about twice the usual size I would normally have expected. Good thing we only ordered two items. I am still feeling stuffed as I write this.

The Fried Dumplings were nicely colored and crispy. The skin wrapping looked to be the authentic flat and square shaped egg noodle normally used. I think they were. The stuffing was a mix of Chinese style and Korean style meat and vegetable fusion. They were very good. I'd say about 95% authentic American-Chinese style in taste and presentation.

The Beef with Celery dish, really a home cooking style combination of a basic meat and vegetables dish, was also very good. The Chinese style mushrooms were a nicely added touch. The beef was marinated quiet well, but not over marinated. And, the taste was very good overall. I think the best part of it for me was that there was actual garlic cooked along with the rest of the ingredients. How I miss cooked garlic in my food. A bit too much corn starch and oil though, but that's par for the course. The beef looked a bit strange to me at first as it looked like pork in color, but it was definitely beef. Think of it as almost veal-like in appearance and you get the idea. I'd say close to an 85% rating with respect to authenticity and taste.

I know trying only two different dishes does not really show how good overall a restaurant really is, but with limited mouths to help eat the food, it will have to suffice for now. I had a good feel for the place even after such a limited exposure. I would personally stay away from the knowingly Korean-Chinese style dishes, though, as I have never liked this fusion. Just my taste and nothing against those who do like this fusion style.

As this was an impromptu meal at the end of the day, I did not have a camera to take pix with me. I even forgot to get a business card on the way out; something I told myself earlier to get on the way out. Duh! I'm getting old! Luckily, I pocketed an unused napkin while still sitting at the table. As for the address, I have no idea! My friend drove and all I know is that it is inside Bupyong-Gu halfway between Gyayang-Gu and Bupyong subway station. All in Incheon, of course. If you live here, just call them and ask for directions. It is just off a main street near Bupyong-Gu Office, so you should be able to find it. Limited parking on the side streets. Trilingual menu in Chinese, Korean and English.

Recommended

Name: See pic above. I cannot read Chinese!

Location: See above last paragraph.

Price: A bit on the expensive side, but still worth it. I would go back again with friends.

Random Readup #9

Wow, been doing so many random readups lately...

What's up my dear readers! I've been neglecting my blog lately and I will make it up to you. Things have been pretty busy lately. Check out the things that have been going on so far:

Well first of all, there's our church play based on the story of St. Jean Marie Vianney; the farm boy who became a priest despite all the trials he has gone through and the years of torments from the devil.

The guy on the left is Victor playing the big role as St. Jean, voiced over by Russell. The boy on the right is one of the characters who taught St. Jean Latin.

I have a role too, but its a small one. I'm one of the kitchen maids who kneads the dough and stuff and I have to tell St. Jean that there isn't any more supplies and he prays for it and then POOF! There's food in the cupboard!

To be honest, I originally wanted to take that role so that I could be part of the play for the first and last time AND I get to play with dough on stage.

There are dancers.

And there's the choir.

And there's Roann and I! Gee, she's been featured a lot in my blog posts lately...

Not only I was involved in a play, there's also our BEC church zone's Family Day. We youths have to plan the games and entertainment.

So this is the venue of the event:

Its in Hulu Langat; the place where I used to study back when I was in Seri Suria. Its nice to go by the familiar roads which I used to take in the mornings whenever I go to school. Ah! Good times, good times...

Plus, I've been playing by the rivers so many times and I can't believe I've never seen this place before especially since its just a 2 minute drive away!

Once again, there's Roann in the pink shirt.

Check it out! There's even places where you could pitch your tents!

And there's the place where the event will take place! Its a 10 minute walk uphill there,

Look how calm and clear the waters are.

There's even a few built in BBQ pits too!

Also, mom wanted to have her kitchen renovated so in the meantime, things are a bit crowded here with all the stuff taken out from the kitchen.

The kitchen is all sealed up so that no one could go in, but, there's a small entrance by the side just in case we need to go in.

I did go in the kitchen before, but, I'd like to keep the suspense for my readers and surprise you later. Midterm exams are here and I hope you do well for your studies, at least, one of of us will :S

Junk Food

I love junk food. To be more specific, I love potato chips and corn chips the most. But, that was back in Canada when I didn't know any better about the other kinds of "chips", or crunchy junk foods to be found.

I can go for months without having any junk food at all. And, that's a good thing as I love the stuff so much I would be over 150kg's (that's over 300lbs for those of you still stuck with imperial measurements) if I ate the stuff all the time. So, after a few months of not eating any junk food, there will be a week, or two, of "measured" face stuffing. And, by measured, I mean a large 180gr bag will last me an entire week of a few chips per night along with some healthy stuff like yogurt afterwards.

As I intimated earlier, chips were my thing. Now, it's a new type of crunchy "chip". In this case, they are shrimp flavored chips shaped like French fries. If you have ever eaten at a real Chinese restaurant before, you will know these things as the round, multi-colored, chips they serve with certain foods. They are flavored with shrimp and are just another deep fried slice of something (I have no idea what they are made of). Here in South Korea, there are entire aisles of chip styled junk foods. This was one of the ones I tried, amongst many, that I liked very much. Most of the stuff are potato chip and corn chip based just like in North America along with other things never before seen. I think most of it is similar stuff just in different shapes and/or colors. But, having found this one that I like very much, I have no need to experiment with other things for the time being.

The chips themselves are really nice and have a nice crunch to them, but they are not too hard textured as to leave your mouth feeling lacerated and/or shredded by too hard a chip like potato, or corn chips, have a tendency to do. The flavor is nice and subtle and does not disappear when you eat too many of them as your taste buds have a tendency to over saturate with flavors that are too intense. That's why the first bite of something is usually the best bite of all as the initial flavor explosion leaves all later bites over powered and a bit lacking in that initial impact.

Now, one thing to note that is very, very, different with Korean chips, and Korean food in general, is the extremely low levels of salt used in the foods, even in junk food. Whereas ALL North American junk food kills your taste buds with salt and other chemicals, the stuff here is very mild and subtle. There is actual TASTE in the food, and junk food, that is absent in North America where the predominant flavors are TOO SALTY, TOO SWEET, or TOO SOUR.

Just like milk chocolate in North America that is way over sweetened to the point where there is no real chocolate flavor in it, only SWEET. Gone is the luscious, smooth, flowing flavors of real chocolate and the melt in your mouth, almost sensual, explosion of chocolate taste that overpower ones senses. It's almost impossible to find unless you avoid like the plague milk chocolate and stick to semi-sweet and/or dark chocolate by European makers like Lindt, or custom chocolatiers like Godiva, etc. Although, even these well known makers are now veering too close to the lack of taste and the TOO SWEET side of things. Shame on them!

Anyways, the point of all this is the discovery of a new chip for me and a new junk food that I enjoy once in a while when the mood strikes. For those of you here, try them. I know the shrimp flavor might sound gross to some people not accustomed to the flavor, but they really are very good and not as bad as the name might imply.

Highly Recommended.

Locations: Most large grocery stores like Home Plus, E-Mart, Lotte Mart, Grande Mart, corner convenience stores, etc.

Cost: A hair over W1000 per 180gr bag.

Chicken Shawarma at Ankara Picnic

This is the place. You can't miss it.

The big mass of chicken that has been on my mind for so long.

Made with love and care.

See the helpful little plastic baggy?

Yummy!

Even more yummy!

(Sorry. Not my pix. Images from the web of the actual place itself. Too hungry and in a rush to shoot my own that day.)

I went to Itaewon this saturday just passed. I've had this image of shawarma in my mind for weeks, if not months now. Every time I went to Itaewon I never had the opportunity to try the shawarma at Ankara Picnic for one reason or another. Today, I went there specifically to do so, as well some shopping afterwards.

For those of you who do not know what shawarma is, it is a Middle Eastern food consisting of roast chicken (or lamb, goat, etc.) carved from a large rotating mass and wrapped in a flat bread with a yogurt based garlic dressing along with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and (in this case) pickles. Most shawarma in Korea is also known as kebab instead of the proper name of shawarma. Kebabs are actually cube cuts of meat cooked and served on a skewer most of the time. But, the Koreanization of the food has shawarma being called kebabs here. Something to keep in mind if you get confused and/or are looking for shawarma. Just remember it's called kebab here.

Ankara Picnic is a tiny place not much bigger than a few phone booths, but the place is always packed; not even standing room only most of the time. There's always a line up. At least you know everything is fresh under these conditions. The chef carves the meat from the spit carefully selecting only those portions at only the right state of doness. Each shawarma is wrapped with care and then folded into a wax paper wrap with a small plastic bag added to the bottom to stop it from becoming an unmanageable mess halfway into eating it. You can see the care taken in the making of the thing.

The shawarma at this place was excellent; juicy, flavorful, smokey, and just plain awesome. No one ingredient overpowering any of the others; the mixture was superb. An authentic taste for sure. There was none of the Koreanization of the food so evident with most ethnic foods here (well, maybe with the exception of the pickles but they did not detract from the taste at all). The shawarma was so good I pigged out on two of them. Next time I'm in Itaewon again, I'll eat there for sure.

Ironically, Ankara Picnic is also one of the top five shawarma places in Korea as recommended by Dan of Seoul Eats. I only found out about this after the fact when I was searching for some pix to go along with my post. I lucked out!

Highly Recommended.

Name: Ankara Picnic

Cost: W4000

Location: Itaewon Subway Station, just at the top of the stairs of exit #3.

Teacher's Day With SMKBBSL

HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY TO ALL THE TEACHERS IN THE WORLD!

It was a blast coming to school today! I didn't want to come in the first place, but, because my friends are performing, I came just to see them.

The students from the afternoon session came to join us too and there were plenty of performances by the students. There was the choir group

And there were some who was beatboxing, danced, sang and there were even two bands; one Malay and the other Chinese.







And there was my favorite, the drama my class made up called 'The New Kid'. It was a title I just made up when I did the script. I did it as fast as possible for the next day. But later, they used a new script made by someone else using the original one by me. It was much longer and more Malaysian like as the language is more 'Manglish' as I call it. Both malay and english.






Haha! I guess I'm a little too english :p





OK, I guess you must be wondering what's the story like so, I'll just give you the basic idea.





So the story starts with a new kid named Azmir(our class moniter) that enters the class. He was doing homework when the gangsters of the class approached him and disapproved of him doing homework. So, they took him under their wing and taught him 'how to live'.





A week later, Neville, one of the gangsters starts dancing and moonwalking to the song 'Billy Jean' by Michael Jackson, RIP. And then, the whole group starts dancing to Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance'. SOO COOL!





Then, the teacher comes in, tells them to stop but they won't listen. It was at that time when the discipline teacher comes in and they all got in trouble. Meanwhile, the teacher called their parents.





At home, Azmir comes home and got one heck of a bollocking by his mother(Wen Peng, she's the director) telling him how his father left them and how hard she has to work and yadi yadi ya....


Azmir then storms out of the house after being punished by his mother. While he was out, his mother was unconcious because of asthma.





And it so happened that Azmir's teacher came to visit, saw his mom, revived her, called Azmir and then he rushes back home. It was soo damn dramatic; they had sad background music when they had reunited and there was touching speeches like Azmir saying he's sorry and his mom saying that he's forgiven and stuff like that.





The next day, Azmir was doing his homework again in school and his new friends persuaded him to dance again. He bangs the table saying that they should be learning and stuff and you get the deal; teacher feels touched and all's well that ends well.





THE END





I guess its a pretty good drama, I really enjoyed watching it and I applause!

Oh yeah! I was also a hired papparazi photographer taking pictures of a few specified people by request. I'd take pictures of really handsome guys or pretty girls for a certain someone who will kill me if I ever told a soul about their identity. So don't bother asking me, I won't budge.

Sometimes, I'd shout just to get that person's attention. And if there's no way I could get a good shot of them, I'd even go up to them personally and tell them that I want their picture for a certain reason. No prob.

Oh! And if you catch me taking pictures of you, I'm not a stalker; I'm a hired stalker. Take it as a compliment, it means someone likes you :D

So if there's a special someone you'd want a picture of, contact me. I'm available ^.~

Random Readup #8

Whew! What a week! A lot of things and happenings are going around in my school SMKBBSL. First of all, our school has this new 'outdoor classroom' where there's gonna be tables and chairs along with a white board at the assembly hall.

Apparently, this new classroom is meant for students who don't wanna study. But, what's the point of creating a classroom for those who don't wanna learn? Its also meant as a form of punishment where you'll be seen by everybody as a humiliation.

In my opinion, I think studying in a classroom like that sounds like a fresh change! Sure, you'll be recognised by everybody, but, when you see someone you know, you could just say hi and stuff and its not like they're intruding or anything, there are no walls!

Oh! And because Teacher's Day is coming soon, my classmates wanted to do a performance on that day. They wanted to do a drama about bad kids and stuff and I was asked to make the script.

I'm telling you ah, these 'gangsters' in the play especially cut their hair bald so that they'll look mean and tough. But, so far, people just keep laughing at them. Their hair is cut like the NS style like cousin Aaron. His head feels like a tennis ball. A wet, oily, tennis ball :S

Even the history teacher called them 'The Botak Gang' lolz!

Even now, my life has been active for the past few weeks. My friend Roann and I need to lose weight, so, we both agreed to meet up every Wednesday and Fridays at the Club to play badminton and go swimming. So far, we've been keeping up to our schedules and we did lose a few pounds.

Sometimes, on Satudays, I follow my mom to the gym as well and I ran for 6km! I couldn't believe I could do it either! I just did it, and I didn't feel any pain whatsoever.

Ah! I've been getting so many stuff to do involving writing; the scripts, letter writing, e-mails, homework and so much more!

Plus, judgement day(mid term exam) is coming soon. Oh boy!

Have a great week!