Rajeev's World: March 2016

Sunday, March 6, 2016

I Don't Want Nirvana! I Want Great Food, Always! -- Part XV - Yummy Delights From Gyeongju...

No visit to a new destination is complete without sampling the unique cuisine of the place. We were fortunate indeed to have had unique culinary experiences in Gyeongju...

Our first full course meal in Gyeongju was a multi-course Korean meal after we visited the Bunhwangsa temple yesterday...

We visited this traditional Korean eatery - multiple side dishes, mainly seasonal vegetables, seaweed, mushrooms and sprouts, alongwith curried fish, pork, tofu, seaweed soup and rice. And that is what I loved about Korean - it is rich in fibre and is spicy!

The quote reminds me of our trip to Turkey last year...

Our destination for dinner last night was Curry Hut in the heart of Gyeongju's commercial area...

Curry Hut is ornately decorated with Indian motifs...

When we were in India, I used to loathe eating Indian cuisine while dining out, but it has been a different story since we shifted to Korea...

The place advertises itself as an Indian restaurant but as we discovered, the owner is a Pakistani from Lahore. Pakistanis hate Indians and dare I say, we have similar emotions for them but then why the hell would they call the food they sell "Indian"...

A Korean friend here told me that there is a bit of stigma that the locals have towards Pakistanis given their involvement in terror. That has forced Pakistani restaurant to peddle their food as "Indian". And that is also a big indicator of India's immense and unquantified soft power that even Pakistanis bow down to, even though they would hate to admit it (frankly, I don't care!)...

Palak paneer, dal makhni and curried aloo gobhi with rotis and yogurt...

All plated up...

Koreans have a deep fascination for foreign food, especially European and this Nordic cafe that we saw on our walk back to homestay proved this...

And this morning, we had a few hours to kill in Gyeongju, before heading back to Seoul, we stopped by at Nahbi Brunch & Books Cafe, after reading all the positive reviews on TripAdvisor...

And trust me, we weren't disappointed...

The brunch menu, ideal for a lazy Sunday...

Read through the books as you sip on your coffee...

And if you donate books here, you get a free drink...

The atmosphere around the cafe was extremely lively, with books all around, soft music playing, patrons enjoying their food and the owner TJ serving everyone with an infectious smile...

The food was quite good - fresh and delicious...

Would recommend Nahbi to anyone who visits Gyeongju! A big thumbs up to the owner TJ for living his dream!

Another Indian place - Didi's Curry...

Postcards From Gyeongju...

We leave Gyeongju in a few hours and indeed yesterday had been exciting - we did an incredible whirlwind tour of significant sites of this ancient Silla capital.

Like every other city in the world, Gyeongju does have its unique beauty but also its unique quirks. Postcards From Gyongju showcases some of them here...

Holic? I am probably Gyeongju-holic by now...

From the GS convenience store - a nipple concealer. What do I say on this?

The Gyeongju skyline - all Korean style lowrises...

This is quite a different site from what we see in Songdo...

The mounds next to our homestay. Gyeongju city is dotted with historic sites - small and big...

Korean style traditional roofs...

This is supposed to be a teahouse...

The mounds again...

And that makes me inquisitive on the story behind these mounds...

Another set of mounds in the commercial centre of Gyeongju...

It is amazing how modern Gyeongju co-exists with the ancient relics...

The Gyeongju Eupseong fortress site - this is also in the marketplace...

The fortress walls...

There is an "Angel-in-us" in Seoul and an "Angelish" coffeeshop here! May you become angelic after having a coffee here...

The Uptown Girl is Forever With You!

Luwak coffee - the famous civet coffee from Indonesia...

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Invaluable Silla Treasures...

Our final destination of the day was the National Museum of Gyeongju which is home to treasures of the Silla era.

The entrance to museum is graced by a giant bronze bell - the Bell of King Seongdeok. It is believed to be the largest bell in Korea. The bell is also known as the Emile Bell, after a legend about its casting.

The 18.9 tonne bell was commissioned by King Gyeongdeok in honor of his father, King Seongdeok. However, King Gyeongdeok passed away in 765 AD before the casting of the bell. The bell was finally cast in 771 AD.

The bell is also known as the Emile Bell - Emile, pronounced as "em-ee-leh" is an ancient Silla term for mother.

According to a legend associated with the bell, the first bell that was cast produced no sound when it was struck. The bell was recast many times but with no success. The king, who had wanted the bell cast, died after a while. His young son took over the reign and carried out what his father had started but still he didn't have any success.

Later, a monk dreamed that if a child was cast into the metal, the bell would ring. The monk then took a child from the village and had her cast into the metal. When the bell was complete, the bell made the most beautiful sound when struck. When rung, the sound of the bell is said to have been heard from 40 miles away on a clear day.

The museum is home to the gold crown from Geumgwanchong, an invaluable treasure from Korea's Silla heritage...