Slay me with cupcakes.

I'm feeling peckish at the moment and trying to persuade myself not to make brownies at 10:30 pm, so here's another post on food.

This humble looking pastry is called a mocha bun. Puffy white bread, sometimes filled with a bit of custard or whipped creme, and covered with some sort of coating. I have no idea what this coating is made out of! It is dry to the touch, a little crumbly, and very yummy. Perfect with a coffee.

Candy! Candy has been hit or miss for me so far. Sometimes great (this bunny poo shaped chocolate is very tasty!), sometimes not (gum that tastes like medicine!) Food with health claims seems to sell very well over here. The Kids Tree line of treats likes to pretend to be healthy. But really, these are tiny truffles. Shhhh. Don't tell mom. She thinks they're healthy because they contain milk! 

My children have been handed tootsie pops by very sweet ladies who proudly tell me that the suckers have vitamins so they are healthy. 

Sometimes actual food is disguised as candy. This, for example, is just bite-sized pieces of cheese wrapped to look like candy!

Fancy looking cakes are common here, much to the delight of my children. The two chocolate ones you see here tasted somewhat like a swiss cake roll. 

Waffles abound in Korea! Waffles with fruit and gelato? Of course. Waffle sandwich? Sure! (It was delicious). Waffle taco filled with frosting to eat on the train? Yep. Tiny waffle on a stick, dipped in chocolate, and rolled in sprinkles? Too easy. And then, in Seoul, a surprise! A coffee shop that specialized in pancakes. Which were also delicious.

We live near the Shinsagae mall which is another fancy mall with lots of expensive clothes, toys, and food. They also have a rooftop garden which our boys love to visit. There are lots of nice restaurants, but there is also a grocery store and food court downstairs. This food court is about as far from an American mall food court as can be, I just don't know what else to call it, so I have dubbed it "the food court". 

"The food court" has many, many different kinds of food. I of course like to visit the bakery and cupcake counters. One day I found this little gem. It tasted so much like the little chocolate lava cakes that one of my sisters makes! Delicious! Sadly, I have not seen this cupcake for sale again. I might have to try baking in my tiny Korean oven one more time.

I like to buy food from small shops and street vendors, here is a small sampling! This winter there was a guy roasting chestnuts in town. I thought they were yummy but the boys weren't as easily convinced (spoiled by all the waffles I guess). After seeing so many people eating them, I finally broke down and got what is essentially a double battered corn dog. It tasted the way you would expect a double dipped corn dog would taste. The little chick is essentially a small doughnut filled with vanilla custard. The coolest thing about those was the machine they use to make them (which I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of). Next we have one of my favorites, Egg Bread. It is just what it sounds like. A slightly sweet bread batter with an egg cracked on top and cooked in what I think is a steam oven. Delicious and perfect for breakfast on a chilly day. I don't know what the last item is. We watched the lady take a very soft dough and wrap it around something (maybe a giant rice noodle?) and then fry it. It was yummy, a little like having an omelet on a stick.

Cotton candy served in a cup with a tiny fork. Too cute.

I believe this was ox tail soup. Not sure. Sometimes I just point to something on the menu and hope it's good. This was delicious. I still have trouble getting used to how soup is served! The bowl is delivered to your table with the soup at a full, rolling boil. This is unnerving to me. I have yet to see anyone spill it though.

This is "fast food". So good! I'm sure I'd be losing this baby weight if it wasn't for those waffles...

How about some water fresh from the DMZ?

An interesting thing about living here...Every restaurant delivers. Even McDonald's. So far I have found one pizza place and one burger place that I can order from (because they have someone who speaks English). I don't speak enough Korean to order from anywhere else! (Oh, and see that Coke? I think it's about 16 oz. And it's to share between two people.)

Kids meals aren't always available, so it's a novelty to the boys. This is one we got the other day. Waffle pizza, gelato, marshmallows, gummy worms, fruit, and a juice box. The boys love it here.

And I couldn't end without mentioning fish ice cream. First introduced to us in Kansas, it's much easier to find over here in Korea! It's ice cream cone in the shape of a fish, filled with a creamy vanilla ice cream and a sweet red bean layer.

Best Fruit Ever.

Three boys, gorgeous weather, it's a combination that doesn't lead to much computer time. Most emails have been answered at the playground, me hunched over trying to shade the screen so I can see those tiny little keys. Many phone calls ring, unanswered, in the house. And my blog. Here it sits. Patiently waiting for me to get to it. My followers, however, have not been as patient. Ahem. You know who you are.
To get me back into the swing of things, here's an easy topic that everybody loves. Food. I've been eating a lot of it. Here is the scoop on the local produce.

The produce here is fantastic. The veggies are great. Delicious, fresh, and a wide variety. I've eaten many greens that I've never seen before! But the fruit, oh my, the fruit...

Strawberry season was bliss. They were everywhere. The grocery store, corner market, backs of trucks, everyone had tons of these incredibly delicate, amazingly flavorful strawberries for sale. We couldn't get enough. I'm currently mourning the fact that strawberry season is so short. Thankfully we appear to be starting cherry season now. I purchased some from a guy with a truck full of cherries and they were amazing.
Also making a daily appearance at the corner produce market, grape tomatoes that taste like you grew them yourself.
                

And now a confession. I have never cared much for watermelon. I can hear you now..."Gasp. Is she really American?! This is sacrilege. She must hate toasting marshmallows over an open fire too!". Hear me out.

I have to admit, they look promising. Giant, heavy, beautifully skinned things, calling out to you from roadside stands all summer. They show up sliced and pink and juicy at every potluck, ready to weigh down your paper plate. I always fall for it. Call it hope. And then, the true test. A big mouthful...of disappointment. A mouthful of vegetable flavored slush peppered with bug-like seeds. Fooled again.

Until now. I viewed friends with skepticism when they raved about the delicious -albeit expensive- Korean watermelons. But could it be true? Hope remained in a tiny part of my heart that hadn't been crushed under the tasteless watermelons of summers past. Reluctantly I shelled over the cash and hauled a heavy melon home. And thus my life changed. Friends, did you know that watermelons can actually taste like something?! They can be sweet, juicy, wonderful things. A melon truly worthy of taking up half your plate at a BBQ. This is the watermelon that I was thrilled to introduce my boys to.

Oh, right, this is why kids always have to eat watermelon outside.