Finally decided to watch the Dark Knight yesterday, in the incredible IMAX experience.

By the way, when did IMAX get so expensive? $15. Yeesh. I could’ve had a nice dinner instead of watching that crappy movie.

So, everyone keeps ranting and raving about how the Dark Knight is the greatest superhero movie of all time, how Christian Bale is the greatest badass hero, Heath Ledger is the best villian ever, yadda yadda.

Of all the claims I’ve heard about the Dark Knight, the only one I can agree on is Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker. He is the only success of the Batman movies thus far. I know Christopher Nolan was aiming for a darker, edgier, more realistic Batman unlike the campy Joel Schumacher batman films of the 90s. While Schumacher made a mockery of the Batman franchise with cheesy scripts and costumes, Nolan has gone TOO far in the other direction that Batman overly gritty and too planted in “realism” that he is ultimately unbelieveable.

However, the Joker was the dead ringer for a comicbook villain to manifest himself in reality. He had enough of the classic Joker’s psychosis and sense of humor seen in the comic book with the perfect twist of realistic darkness.

While in the other comic universe of Marvel, we have Iron Man, which I loved to pieces. It was the perfect summer blockbuster. Humorous, action-packed, and it is the best superhero movie that has come out so far. You got to see Tony Stark’s moral direction in an quick, justifiable pace without having to travel to friggin Siberia or wherever and watch Christian Bale train for with ninjas, like in Batman Begins (which I also did not favor so much).

So far, DC hasn’t has much success in the movie realm with their creations. The newest Superman didn’t even peak my interests. The renewed Batman series still hasn’t shown any merit for me. Furthermore, I can see the upcoming Watchmen movie dying at the box office. The trailer seems geared towards the true devotees of the comicbook series, which is a small niches, and doesn’t help anyone who knows nothing about it, which is the greater audience.

Marvel, on the otherhand, has had great success in the X-men movies (although the quality of said movies are arguable), that has led to two separate spinoffs featuring Wolverine and another with Magneto. Ironman won rave reviews by fans and critics alike. Okay, so both Hulk movies weren’t exactly huge successes, but the (horrible) Spiderman movies more than make up for the Hulk’s lack of sales.

DC can’t ride Batman’s success much longer. It’s going to need something greater soon. Hopefully, the Justic League movie can pull it off, but….I doubt it.

Here we are at lovely Insa-Dong, in Seoul, a hot tourist spot for anyone looking for some traditional korean goods. This can range from key chains and pencil pouches to traditonal brushes and old-fashioned snacks.

The snack I’d like the especially highlight today is 엿 [Yut]. This Korean sweet dates back to God knows when and is made from boiling malt and rice into a thick syrup and letting it harden into a hard, chewy candy.

Yes, that giant almost indistinguishable blob is in fact Peanut Yut. Normally, on a smaller scale, it is cut up into bite-size pieces and powdered with malt flour. In this case, a guy shaves of pieces of it with a plane. (No, not a flying plane, but a wood plane.) He then takes the shavings and puts them on a chopstick for your easy enjoyment.

Surprisingly, though there is no sugar in this, it is incredibly sweet. It has that malty sweet flavor, almost like caramel, that is overpowering if you eat too much of the stuff. (Heck, we split this between the four of us and couldn’t finish it). It has a very tough consistency that is ten times chewier than taffy or caramels. It’s not necessarily sticky to the touch, but if you decide to take a huge bite of this stuff and chew on it, say goodbye to your fillings or to ever opening your jaw again. This stuff can glue your jaw shut like nothing else.

For this very reason, saying you’re “feeding someone yut” or telling someone to “eat yut” is considered a HUGE insult in Korean. I’d say it’s on par with (if not surpassing) telling someone to “shut the f*** up.”

So, be advised, enjoy this tasty treat in small portions and let it melt in your mouth, not pull out your teeth.

Being in a relatively rural area of Korea, at least compared to the metropolis of Seoul, I have been able to get some of the freshest organic, free-range, what have you, poultry from a local lady that raises the chickens and ducks herself and will butcher them right then and there for you.

No, I don’t have pictures, because it’s just slightly too graphic to post…okay actually I didn’t bring my camera when I went with my aunt to pick up a chicken. Besides, it’d feel slightly out of place to be taking pictures when the bird’s guts are being pulled out. Although I did find it amusing I wasn’t put off in any way about eating the chicken even after seeing it go from clucking to gutted to on my plate. Then again, I have never really been squeemish about anything.

More importantly though, dear friends and/or strangers of the internet, is the reality of eating freshly killed, only-been-dead-for-45-minutes chicken. That is REAL chicken.

My aunt just boiled it whole in a traditional Korean chicken soup with ginseng, jujube, garlic, and salt, and I was in heaven. The meat was chewy, because these chicken was able to actually move around, but so intensely flavorful. It wasn’t because of the seasoning, but because of the chicken itself was delicious.

I know it was the chicken that was tasty because, I ate some of it raw.

 GASP! Yes, I know, it goes against everything the FDA tells you to do about chickens and salmonella and all that. But breast meat has never tasted so good as when it’s raw, like sashimi. Dipped in some sesame oil and salt, it has an intense natural chicken flavor that you could never get from a supermarket.

Now for the disclaimer: DON’T go out to a supermarket and try to slice yourself some chicken sashimi. Not matter how many organic, free-range claims it makes, it is impossible to care for the chickens properly on such a large scale. The risk is too high for contracting salmonella or any other serious diseases. My aunt has been getting poultry from that lady and has known her for a good 15 years. She knows how the chickens are cared for and trusts the lady enough to be able to eat the chicken raw.

With that aside, if you ever have a (trustworthy) opportunity to try raw chicken, I suggest you do. It’s not crazy, I’ve eaten a chicken tartare at a restaurant with a different aunt. There people out there that eat raw chicken! And see, I’ve lived to write about it!

Being in Korea has opened my eyes to the incredible amount of resources America wastes. Sure you hear about it all the time, but seeing another country in comparison is astounding.

At my aunt’s apartment complex, where I’ve been staying these past few months, there are separate waste bins for decomposable (food) waste, plastic, glass, metal, paper, non-recyclables and even designated bins for donations (i.e. clothes). This isn’t just a particular system for my aunt’s apartment or city. This is standard practice all over Korea. Some fast food restaurants even have special containers just for paper cups to be recycled.

This is incredible on two parts: (1) That Korea has such a solid system set up and (2) that people actually follow. In Korea, recycling is just a given, a norm, commonplace, a standard!

In many places in the US, it’s almost a hassle to recycle. You have to request recycling services, which even then are limited in what they can take. Either that, or you have to drive around yourself to drop off your recyclables.  Even in places that have rather impressive and simple recycling systems, people STILL refuse to put in that minuscule effort. In New York City, papers products go in the green bins; aluminum, plastic, and glass go in the blue bins; and everything else goes to trash. The city picks it up for you, and your job is finished. Easy as taking out the garbage. And yet, so much still goes to waste.

Now I’m sure there are avid recyclers around that are exceptions to these claims, but if my experience around SVA and its dorms are proof of anything, it’s that the vast majority is still TOO DAMN LAZY.

Honestly, it’s not that hard.

So I’ve been in Korea for the past few months. Hence the lack of updates. I can’t say too much, since there is a lack of internet where I am saying (which is sadly not the metropolis of Seoul).

I’ll try to keep in touch

I haven’t updated recently due to the overwhelming amount of works that piled up near the end of school. At SVA, starting Sophomore year, Graphic Design and Advertising majors must pass a portfolio review in order to advance to the next grade. I was working on that on top of all of the other final projects in all of my classes.

It doesn’t really make sense to make “finals” week the same week as the portfolio. It’s like having to take your high school finals and then having to SAT right at the end. When do you have time to study for both??? Couldn’t they just make the Portfolio due the week after “finals” week? But no, the seniors have it due on the monday after “finals” week, while the seniors have it due on the friday. Ho Hum.

Now I’m back in GA and I’m actually going to be heading out to Korea soon. Wonder if I’ll be able to upload on that…

Either way. I’m trying to organize everything and round up some pictures for more posts. We’ll see.

Ah yes. Finally I’m reviewing another restaurant. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I was out with my bf in Williamsburg and we decided to venture towards Chai. I’d eaten there before and was pleasantly surprised. He’d gone there plenty of times with his roommate and his roommate’s girlfriend.

Normally I don’t like Thai food at all, mostly because the first time I had it was just awful and that experience has tainted my opinion of it ever since. But this place was pretty nice. It has a very cozy and stylish decor with a relaxing pool with flowers.

The best part is the lunch special from 12pm to 4pm: $5.95 for an appetizer and entree with your choice of chicken, beef, or tofu. I don’t know if the price made the food better or if the food made the price even better.

For the appetizer, you get a choice of soup, spring roll, or salad. I’ve always gotten the spring roll. I have no idea what the garnish is. Some sort of dyed radish? Last time mine was orange. Either way, the spring rolls are fried to crispy perfection served with a touch plum sauce.

We also decided to add in another starter for good measure: the Japanese Style Fried Chicken, marinated chicken with sake, soy sauce, and ginger juice. I don’t know about the sake or soy sauce, but it was such tender chicken also fried to crispy perfection. Squeezing some lemon juice definitely brings out more of the flavor.

Then came the entrees.

He got the chicken pad thai (again) but it is a goodie. It’s not soggy like what I’ve had before with a nice fresh balance of noodles, egg, chicken, shrimp, peanut, bean sprouts, and scallions. Love to squeeze that lime for that extra kick.

I got the Red Curry with chicken this time around. It was definitely a rich curry abounding with bamboo shoots and coconut milk. It was tasty, but as I got to the end, it was almost too much for me.

It’s a great place to hit up, especially if you’re around the area between the hours of 12 and 4pm. The service is always nice, the foods great and it’s only $6. What more do you need?

Chai Home Kitchen
124 N 6th St. (btwn Bedford Ave & Berry St.)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-599-5889

The B-52s are still around? producing new albums?? making the #11 spot on the Billboard charts??? AND they’re from Georgia????

I’m so misinformed…

The hunt is on for a new apartment. As much as I love the SVA dorms, for the price I’m paying for it, I might as well find a place of my own with a REAL kitchen. Besides, I’m going to have to move out after graduation anyway.

Today, we found this lovely place in Brooklyn, that’s pretty far out there (Bushwick? Bed-Sty? Something like that). In between the Kosciuszko and Gates stop on the J line. And it only takes ~30-40 min to get from SVA to there.

But, it was a lovely place. 2-bedroom apartment with central heating and A/C, your own washer & dryer, dishwasher, and balcony. Oh and a freakishly large bathtub. It’s a new building that wasn’t selling so they opened it up to renters. It’s a nice area too, pretty quiet.

And the kitchen! The beautiful Kitchen! (excuse my soon-to-be roommate’s intrusion)

Oh the meals I could cook on this baby.

Brings tears to my eyes. It was definitely a nice place, but it cost too much for 2 starving art students. Were I a working woman, perhaps I would’ve gotten it, but then again it still would be too far away from Manhattan. Plus, the bedrooms were on the small side.

So bummer, but it was nice to see such a nice apartment.

Alas, the hunt continues. I have all of summer to find one so there’s not too much pressure.

My lack of Korean food lately has put me into a withdrawal of sorts. I’m moody, irritated, hungry, and insatiable. The most Korean thing I’ve been eating lately has been Kimchi fried rice. But now with final portolios and projects due, I definitely don’t have time to make anything myself. Sigh. At least I’ll be able to go home in a little over a month and eat real food.

Kimchi Fried Rice

Ingredients:
Rice (already cooked, preferably cold leftover rice)
Kimchi
Bacon
Egg
anything else you like

Directions:

1. Cut up the bacon into however big/small size chunks and sizzle it up.

2. Cut up the kimchi into however big/small size chunk and sizzle it up with the bacon.

3.Throw in anything else you like and then top it off with the rice.

4. Stir it around so that rice soaks up that kimchi-bacony grease and isn’t cold and hard anymore.

5. Beat the egg (like it owes you money) or just enough to break the yolk. Scoot the mess onto one side of the pan, or make a little volcano hole in the middle of the pan to make room for the egg. Pour in the egg. Sizzle it up and stir it up with the rest of the mess.

6. I garnished mine with some cut up seaweed, but whatever. Eat away my happy friends.