Squid food (Korea)

Korean eat squids a lot. They have many recipes to cook.
Squid sashimi is really good to eat in the East Sea side.
The food in the picture above is baked squid marinated with red peper paste.

Jajang Myun (Chinese Noodle)

Korean style Chinese noodle - Jajang Myun

The Host - Korean Film

My wife and I watched "The Host" today.
The director of this movie is Bong, Jun Ho, who made "Memory of Murder (2002)."
The Memory of Murder is one of my favorites. The story is based on real serial killer case in Korea in 1980s. Police could not find the killer yet. The director made a movie based on this story very well.

I hugely expected "The Host" because of the director.

However, this movie is not good as much as the "Memory of Murder."
Casting was very good. All actors and actresses played their roles very well.

But, there are several episodes which I don't like.
For example, in the beginning of the movie, one of director in chemical Lap in a US military camp in Yongsan ordered to throw toxic chemical in the drain which is connected to the Han river because the bottles have dust.
This toxic chemical is a causation of the wired creature in the movie.

Does it make sense? I am not sure that how many people could agree with this story. Do people throw toxic chemicals in the river because of dust?

Overall, this movie is not excellent to me.
I maybe expected to much.

Korean Restaurant in Anandale, VA

Instant Noodle from Japan

My mother in law brought this instant noodle from Japan.
Although the noodle was instant noodle, it was very tasty.

Homemade spring roll

Homemade spring roll

crispy!

Pho 75 (Fall Church, VA)

If you don't care about MSG, pho is one of good choice for lunch.
Pho 75 is a very famous pho restaurant in D.C. area.
You can enjoy authentic pho in this restaurant with very cheap price.
However, if you care about atmosphere, I don't want to recommend.

Pho 75
3103 Graham Rd. UnitB
Fall Church, VA
Tel: 703.204.1490

The following story is directly quoted from travel section on New York Times.

"Now, however, it was time for breakfast, so I drove through the city, past numerous barbecue joints and root beer stands for the more balanced delights awaiting me in the city’s Asian District, a modest neighborhood of strip malls and slightly run-down houses lining North Classen Boulevard.

I knew exactly what I’d be eating: pho, the beef noodle soup that is considered the national dish of Vietnam. It may seem a strange breakfast, but all over Southeast Asia, it’s common to begin the day with noodle soup.

And that’s how I began at Pho Hoa (901 NW 23rd Street, 405-521-8087), recommended by an Oklahoma-born friend. In the brightly lit room, surrounded by Vietnamese families, I ordered a small bowl. The first bite was heaven, as if my taste buds had been in suspended animation all these weeks. The noodles were thin but firm, the broth redolent of star anise, topped with thin slices of rare flank steak and well-cooked brisket. I garnished it with bean sprouts, basil and ngo gai, a long, lemony leaf known as sawtooth or culantro, then squeezed in some lime juice and mixed it all together. The bean sprouts crunched, and the herbs provided a fresh counterpoint to the hot soup.

When I dipped a slice of flank steak in a little dish of Sriracha chili sauce, I could tell it had been a long time since I’d eaten like this — my tongue, usually able to withstand any assault, from habaneros to bird’s eyes, was on fire. I cooled down with a salted-lime soda, then walked out the door with an iced coffee enriched with condensed milk, having paid only $11.53 for a taste not just of Vietnam but of home. (I lived in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, in 1996 and 1997.)" http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/travel/04frugalweb-1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

China-town in Washington D.C,

My family went to China-town in Washington D.C. for New Year's day.
We had mogolian style Chinese noodle.

February 18, 2007