Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Grocery store, part II, Laura's quest

So, Ian already wrote about the grocery store we went to in town.

As many of you know, I like to visit grocery stores abroad (heck, I like to visit grocery stores in the US too), and usually, I've been very impressed by what I've seen.  The sterling produce of Japan, the condiments sold in drinking glasses in France, and the fruit markets of Australia all seemed wondrous.  In Korea, there was little variety to the products offered on the shelves, and the overall look of the store was of an Aldi or a price club.  There was a lot of bulk packaging, and displays often included packing cardboard.

Mostly, people around here must buy food from the large open air markets, full of vegetables, fruits and grains.  That's probably a great thing, but I don't have any cooking facilities beyond a tea kettle, so supermarket fare is more what I was looking for.  I heard from a coworker that there was another grocery store in an opposite direction that was larger and more impressive.  Ian and I tried to find it a few times, but couldn't quite understand the directions we had been given.  Based on previous directions given by this coworker, I figured that we just hadn't accounted for his understanding of a "short" walk, so yesterday, when Ian had called it quits on wandering around due to the high heat and humidity, I decided to try my luck again.  After about 3/4 of a mile down a main thoroughfare, I saw a store that seemed a prime candidate.  Most of the stores here don't have any English characters in their names, and no descriptive logos.  So, the only way to identify the store type is by peaking through the window.  I crossed a street, and found it was indeed a grocery store!  I did a quick once over of the store, and saw a bit of the same bulk packaging, but on the whole, the store had more variety and life to it.  I took a few pictures of things I wouldn't be purchasing.  The dried tiny fish available in bulk, ranging from an inch long to 2.5 inches, the army green sack labeled combat rations, and huge sacks of enoki mushrooms that cost about 80 cents all didn't make it into my cart.

I was able to find a variety of instant noodle options.  As a rule, I've been staying away from any packaging that has fire on it, or a happy animated sea creature, and that's served us well.  I also found some chips, and a variety of 50mL glass bottles of juices including black raspberry and goji, along with others.  Wandering down the drink aisle I found a plum wine that contained three whole plums (of the small green variety) and crumbled gold leaf.  I picked up some large crystal (I mean up to 1/4 inch) sugar for coffee to bring home, and some sunkist hard candies to carry around.  Finally, I ended up with a variety pack of 8 yoplait yogurts for quick breakfasts on the go.  I'm happy to report that Korea does have more than 3 breakfast cereals, as I previously stated mistakenly.  They even have Oreo cereal.

So I was happy to find a grocery store with more options, and to keep our room stocked with things.  In general, prepared food here is very inexpensive.  Ian and I went out to a good dinner here and each had an entree, and split a steamed basket of dumplings for under $18.  Restaurants that have pictures and English words usually run between $5 and $7 a plate, and places with only Korean words usually sell items for $2-$3.  So we're perfectly fine eating most meals out.  I've also got a more than adequate per diem from the company that I expect will cover all our out-of-pocket costs.

Pretty good things.  Up next, I'm going to try to find this hiking trail that leads to a beautiful lake that I've heard much about from work colleagues.  This weekend, we'll try to take a trip into Seoul to sightsee and visit the markets.

Also, if anyone wants an ear spoon, do drop me a line.  They're everywhere, and I know they can be hard to find in the US, due to the (probably correct) general guidance that even a q-tip in the ear is dangerous.

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