I have been a bit busy (drinking, mostly..) so I am now more than a month behind on posts. On a weekend in early November I visited Yangjae Citizen’s Forest. It was a great place to enjoy autumn right in the middle of the city. Just one block away from the streets, the air was really nice. And the area around Yangjaecheon has a good atmosphere too, and since it has not been developed all that much yet, it still feels quiet and laid-back. I just hope it stays that way.

The Citizen’s Forest

It is not huge, but it was nice that it was not packed with people. Maybe because the autumn leaves were at their peak, there were lots of people out with cameras.

A quiet forest path

It was getting dark and this is a phone camera, so the atmosphere does not come across well. I really should carry a proper camera around, but I do not have the headspace for it yet.

Well.. it is never going to look like Kyoto, but I will have to be happy with this. To properly enjoy the autumn leaves you have to go to the famous spots, but sadly I did not have the time this year.

For dinner we went to Collagen Factory near Yangjaecheon. It is a place with an unusual concept, serving Asian noodles and jokbal, and every dish is on a high level. The jokbal looked delicious, but with only a few of us it felt like a bit much to order.

Side dishes

Simple.

Collagen pyeonyuk

It is more like a fish cake in style than meat. The taste is not bad, though the seasoning seemed a little strong. The jokbal comes in a fairly large portion, and it is a shame that there is no side dish to order separately other than the collagen pyeonyuk.

Tomato beef noodles

The taste is similar to the beef noodles at Soi Yeonnam, but with the tomato it has even more umami. Lots of meat and a generous portion, so I was very satisfied. Finding a hair in it while eating was a bit off-putting though; they need to pay a bit more attention to hygiene.

Pho

This one was good too. A properly made Vietnamese pho. I had originally been thinking of going to Mao but came here instead, and it was a good choice. Well, next time I might go to Mao though.

Costco pizza

In the middle of dinner at Collagen Factory, someone I know suddenly got in touch, so we went to the Costco in Yangjae. It was my first time at Costco at my age, and there were really a lot of people. Fresh produce is on the pricey side, but dairy and imported goods were cheap and came in large quantities. For a family of four or more there would be plenty of reason to go often, but for anything smaller I am not sure there is much benefit. What really startled me was the 2,500 won slice of pizza, which is bigger than two slices from other pizza places. It tastes great too, so I would say it is the best value for money in the country.

Mini rye croissants

Warm them in the microwave and the smell of butter fills the air. I was amazed that using real butter makes bread taste this good. Of course there are plenty of better croissants out there, but at this price and this level of taste, Costco is probably the only one.

Beyond that, the Philadelphia cheesecake, NFC orange juice and California almonds were good too.

The meat looked good as well, and some of the alcohol was fairly cheap. But these days my taste runs to foods that help with dieting (I have put on far too much weight thanks to drinking and overtime…), so I did not really know what to buy at Costco. Still, the pizza and croissants were so good that I will have to diet a bit this winter and go back once I have some results to show for it.

한국어로 읽기日本語で読む